Upcoming Writing TAKS - March 3rd!

Dear Parents,

     The most pressing matter this week is that the Writing TAKS test is next Tuesday, March 3rd.  We will be working diligently for the next 4 days to prepare for the revising and editing section, as well as composing written essays.  We have been working on these things for several months and will do all that we can to put the polishing touches on our skills.  Please remind students to get to bed early on Monday, eat a substantial breakfast, and remain positive.  The students will have the entire day to revise, edit, and write.  We are working on a five step process with our writing: brainstorming, rough drafting, revising, editing, and final drafting.  It will take the majority of the day for students to complete this process if they are working to the best of their abilities.  Please make sure students arrive on time, and are not picked up early unless absolutely necessary.  There is no writing re-take and I want all of the students to show off their best writing.  Please continue to encourage your children to believe in themselves.  I want this to be a positive experience for them.

     

On a lighter note, we have some upcoming events:

Free Dress/Go Texan Day - Friday, February 27th

LDC Begins - Monday, March 2nd

Last Day for Reading/Writing Tutorials - Monday, March 2nd

Huckleberry Bash - Friday, March 6th 7:00PM

End of 3rd Nine Weeks - Friday, March 13

Spring Break - March 16-March 20

Report Cards - Wednesday, April 1st

Bingo Night - Friday, April 3rd 6:00-8:30

TAKS Math Test - Tuesday, April 28

TAKS Reading - Wednesday, April 29

This week I only gave the students 10 spelling words.  This is due to the fact that I did not get the words to them on Friday.  Reminder: All spelling homework and tests are to be done in cursive.  I am not requiring student's essays to be in cursive because they are free to choose print or cursive on the TAKS writing test.  This weeks words are:

1) composition

2) adventure

3) elated

4) excited

5) hero

6) admire

7) 

8)

9)

10)

(the list is at school but I will update it!  My apologies, my memory fails me!

A big thank you to Ms. Mills for putting together our classroom creation!  That is a major project to undertake!

Thank you to those parents who donated bedding for Pumpkin!  She is thoroughly enjoying it!

We are in need of:

#2 Pencils (what came in the school supplies packages has just run out)

Cap Erasers

EXPO markers (skinny or thick)

Germ-X (or any brand of hand sanitizer)

One last thing ... Science Fair:

• This Friday the students should bring in the data from the experiments.  If experiments are still in progress please send a note along with any data that has been collected. Completed projects are NOT due, I only want to ensure that students are well into their experiments.
• Science Fair boards ($2.75), Subtitle Cards ($.25), and 1MG memory sticks ($5.00) available in the school store.
• Please write out any specific questions about science fair projects and send them with your child.  Some questions have been "lost in translation". :)
• Thank you for your part in this project!  I realize it takes a great deal of time and energy, but I know this is a wonderful and important experience for the students. 

Thank you for your continued support!

Mrs. Zirczy

Valentine's Day/Writing

Dear Parents,

     Just a quick update to let you know that I will allow the students to exchange valentine's and treats on Thursday February 12th.  I will be out of town on Friday, and I do not want to leave that type of activity for a substitute.  Let's just say the children tend to be extremely excited :). If you choose to send valentine's to school please send one for every student, so there are not hurt feelings.  If you would like to send candy or treats, that will be fine, but I will have to give them out at the end of the day (during the card  exchange) for the children to take home with them.  We are only allowed to have 2 official parties a year (winter break and the last day of school) so we will not be taking the entire afternoon, or eating in class. 

 

     I will also be sending home more writing in the next few weeks for homework.  I will be giving them different types of writing prompts.  The idea is not for them to write a large quantity each night, but to write well thought out pieces with voice.  It would be best if they do not get too much advice on their writing, because they will be writing without any aid on March 3rd.   

Thank you for your continued support!

Mrs. Zirczy

Upcoming Fieldtrip/Science Fair

Dear Parents,

     I apologize for the long break in posts.  It has been a crazy few weeks with Stanford, etc. HISD is requiring that we give a writing and math benchmark this week.  The writing benchmark will be Tuesday, February 3rd exactly one month before the actual TAKS writing test.  This will be a full day of revising, editing and writing.  Although this will make for a long day of hard work I believe that it will be extremely beneficial for the students to experience what March 3rd will really be like.  The math benchmark will be given on Thursday, February 5th in the morning.  This test will probably take the entire morning.  

There are a few things that I need your help with:

* I need one more parent volunteer for the field trip on Wednesday.  We will leave school at 9:00am and return at approximately 12:45.

 

*We are in desperate need of some bedding for Pumpkin.  The bedding is a bit pricey and I have used all of the extra Pumpkin money we had collected.  Any type of bedding is fine as long as it is soft.  Guinea pigs have sensitive feet :)

*Please make sure to send a sack lunch on Wednesday for your child.  We will be returning to school to eat, but the cafeteria will be closing down at that time.

Science Fair:  I know that this has been a bit of an overwhelming experience so far.  It is a big step for students to be designing and carrying out an experiment along with all of the paperwork involved.  Please know that we are performing experiments in the classroom and going through the same steps that the students are asked to go through.  Please look at the schedule in the science fair packet as well as the second to last page that talks about the Science Fair Log.  We discussed the log in class today, but detailed instructions are in the packet as well.  Please bear with me, as this is my first time working with science fair projects as a teacher.  Please let me know what guidance is needed, but also know the bulk of the work should be done by the students at home.  I have explained that they are the leader of the project, and although they will need help, they should be doing the work associated with the project.  Please make sure that they are filling out their science fair packets according to the schedule and bringing it on the due dates.  If they are unable to finish a step on time please send a note.  

Spelling Words were given out this week and I let the students know that all homework is now to be done in cursive.  This will include the weekly spelling test.  

Spelling words are coming...

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank your support with the science fair projects!

Mrs. Zirczy