Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Dear Parents,

The students did so well this morning when we went to the library for the third week in a row. It is a pleasure to be able to sit with them as Mrs. Galipeaux reads a funny story to them. Most of the children did a nice job of getting their new books and settling down to read before it was time to return to the class.

This afternoon about half the children had material for their ABC States Report at school so that they could work on it. Several children asked for plain white paper so they could make the covers for their reports. I had brought colored pencils from home for the children to use since there are none in the classroom. The children were very responsible in their use of the pencils and with the guidelines I set up for them.

This afternoon I attended the staff meeting so I'd be prepared to administer the California State Tests next week. It's basically the same as every other year I've administered the tests, but it was good to know how long the children have for each of the sections. There are two sections for English-Language Arts, two sections for Math, and two sections for Science. Usually, we only test one section a day because each section takes a long time.

Tomorrow you'll receive Mrs. Higginbotham's letter about next week's testing, including what happens if a child arrives at school once the class' test has begun. (The student will not be allowed to enter the class once a test has started, and will have to wait in a designated location.) The state's rules and regulations surrounding testing are rather strict, and we are very aware of them.

One big concern is the number of students who are tardy each day. Yesterday 11 students were tardy, and today 10 students were. School does start at 7:45, and it's very disruptive to have students interrupting instruction when they come in late. It means I have to update the roll and the lunch count; it also means the whole class gets distracted as each child comes in late. Our math classes start at 7:50.

Have a good evening.

Sincerely,
Ruth Landmann

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