Dear Parents,
We have had a busy but wonderful first week together. It has been a pleasure getting to know your children and I am very excited to have such a sweet and hard working group of students! The students are getting used to the new routine including homework, LDC, conduct charts, etc. Please feel free to write a note in the student's agendas or email me with any questions. rzirczy@houstonisd.org Here is our daily schedule:
Mrs. Zirczy’s Daily Schedule 2010 - 2011
8:00 – 8:15 Morning Work/Announcements
8:15 – 10:00 Reading/Writing/Language Arts
10:00 – 10:45 Ancillary
10:45 – 11:00 Restroom Break and Snack Time
11:00 – 12:15 Inquiry
12:18 – 12:48 Lunch
12:48 – 11:18 Recess/ Restroom Break
1:18 – 2:50 Math
2:50 – 3:00 Pack Up/Dismissal
Vanguard Classes: Thursdays from 11:30 - 12:15 and 12:50 - 2:50 (we will do an early recess on these days)
You received conduct charts in the Tuesday folders today. I will send these weekly and ask that you sign and return them on Wednesdays. I will go over in detail conduct grades at the open house. If you have any questions between now and then please let me know!
I also put in a handout that asks for you to sign any student papers and place them back in the brown folders. I keep a file for each student that contains their student work. This is helpful when we are choosing work for student portfolios and for parent conferences as well.
I like to use Time for Kids magazines to enrich our social studies curriculum. It is $5.50 per student to order this magazine for the school year. If you are unable to, or choose not to participate your child will still benefit from the magazine and the coordinating activities, but they will not have their own copy to take home with them. You have been so generous this year already, I apologize for imposing another expense on you, but I believe that this is a valuable resource for students. I will collect the money and then write a personal check for the magazine. I will do my best to get any change back to you in a timely manner.
As you may have heard we have a class pet named Scarlet! She is a bearded dragon. We are co-parenting her with Mr. Bonn's class. She will be in our classroom for the first and third nine week periods! I have posted a weekly schedule outside my classroom for Scarlet food. If you would be willing to bring in a bunch of mustard greens or collard greens, and two dozen crickets for one week during this 9 week period please sign up on the weekly schedule or e-mail and let me know what week you would be willing to help. I am prepared to buy her food each week if needed, but any help would be appreciated.
I am in need of at least two chaperones for some upcoming field trips. We will be going to the recycling center and landfill on September 30th. We took this trip last year and it was very educational! You may drive your own car to the site, but the bus will take us up on to the landfill. We will be happy to squeeze you on if you would like a closer look at the landfill. Warning: It is stinky!
We will also be going to a sculpture garden and Glassell foundry on October 14th. This will be a new field trip for us, but will fit in nicely with our matter planner. If you would be interested in attended either of these field trips please let me know via e-mail. Thank you!
Open House will be on Tuesday, September 14th at 7pm. If you cannot attend I will send home a handout with the information I will present on that evening.
This week's spelling words are:
1. admire
2. magnet
3. contest
4. method
5. custom
6. rally
7. soccer
8. engine
9. sudden
10. finger
11. accident
12. mitten
13. intend
14. fabric
15. flatten
16. rascal
17. gutter
18. mammal
19. happen
20. cannon
Challenge Words
21. dungeon
22. magnify
23. festival
24. thunderstorm
25. injury
Thank you for bringing in wish list items, extra math and reading resources, and for all of your support already this year! I am looking forward to an exciting year full of learning and great experiences
Sincerely,
Rebecca Zirczy
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Welcome Back to School!!
Dear Parents,
I am very excited to be starting a new school year at Mark Twain! I look forward to getting to know the most important people in your life! I hope your children will enjoy coming to school each day as much as I enjoy coming to school each day. I look forward to a fun-filled year of learning.
I am posting a copy of a letter that I will send home with the students on the first day of school, and also a letter that I wrote to the students that tells you a little bit more about me. This is a post only blog, so if you have any questions regarding the blog or any information on it please e-mail me at rzirczy@houstonisd.org
See you on Monday!!
Mrs. Zirczy
Parent Letter:
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to a new school year! I am very excited about working with your children and hope to foster their love of learning.
I use a blog to post announcements, spelling words, general info, upcoming items students may need, and upcoming events. Please check posts weekly at www.zirczysclass@blogpot.com.
There are a few items that I ask the students to bring that were not on the school supply list. I realize that the first week of school is a busy week for all, so if the items are at school by Friday of this week that would be just fine. I am asking for a three ring binder that has a soft cover that zips closed. In the fourth grade we work on teaching organizational skills and this binder is a great tool for that. Students will put their agenda, informational sheets, homework, etc. in this binder. Although these binders are a bit pricey they will be able to use them in fifth grade as well. Any binder will do, but the zipper binders are much more durable and have space for students to put their folders, etc.
Another item I recommend is a flash drive of any kind. We do a great deal of power points, research projects, etc. where this will come in handy. We will not be using them for a few more weeks, but if you have one on hand you might want to set it aside for classroom use. It is not necessary that they bring one to class at this time. I will let students know when they need to bring the flash drives to class. Again, this is only a recommendation.
There will be several forms coming home on the first day. Please try to return them as soon as possible. There is a parent survey and information sheet coming home specifically from me as well as the regular first day packet.
We will not have spelling words the first week of school but will have light homework assignments. These assignments will be written in the student's agendas each day. Please sign the agenda nightly so I will know that you have received the day’s homework and announcements.
Please pick up students in the cafeteria after school if possible. It helps the flow of traffic and allows me to make sure I know where each student is going and with whom.
I look forward to the 2009-2010 school year and working with you and your children!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Zirczy
Student Letter:
Dear Student,
Welcome to the fourth grade! Fourth grade is a very exciting grade and we get to learn about many interesting topics! I am looking forward to getting to know you and learning from you as well!
I want to tell you a little bit about myself. When I was growing up I moved around quite a bit. I lived in Houston, Midland, San Antonio, Cody Wyoming, Lexington Kentucky, and Vincennes Indiana. There were some great advantages to living different places, but at times it was tough. However, now I have friends all over the United States!
My parents live in Houston as well as my younger sister, Rachel. Rachel and her husband Dan have a 2 year old boy named Payne. I try to see him as much as possible. Do you have any brothers or sisters? My grandparents and aunts and uncles live in Kentucky. I enjoy visiting them about once a year and I love to see the beautiful horses that are raised there. Does any of your family live outside of Texas?
Growing up I really enjoyed school. My favorite subject was music. I started playing the piano and cello in elementary school and continued through college. What subjects do you enjoy? I graduated from the University of Houston in 2004. Since then I have taught second, third and fourth grades. This will be my sixth year teaching! I have to say that fourth grade is my favorite so far. This will be my third year at Mark Twain. I love teaching at Twain because the students here are very enthusiastic and committed. What do you enjoy about being a part of the Mark Twain community?
I had a very exciting summer. I started the summer with a trip to Toronto, Canada. I had french fries with gravy and cheese! It is a very popular dish there. I also got to go to the top of CN tower! It was very high and had a wonderful view of Toronto. Next, I spent 3 weeks teaching at the Summer Creative Writing Workshop at the Shlenker school. Teaching writing there was a wonderful experience for me, and I learned a great deal from the other teachers and my students. I cannot wait to teach again next summer! I also went to Miami, FL and Lexington, Ky. There were a few days left for reading and playing with my 20 year old cat, Holly. Right before school started my husband and I got a chocolate lab puppy name Mac. He is extremely cute, but a real wild man! What did you do this summer?
I am looking to fun filled year of exploring new things! Thank you for being a part of our class!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Zirczy
I am very excited to be starting a new school year at Mark Twain! I look forward to getting to know the most important people in your life! I hope your children will enjoy coming to school each day as much as I enjoy coming to school each day. I look forward to a fun-filled year of learning.
I am posting a copy of a letter that I will send home with the students on the first day of school, and also a letter that I wrote to the students that tells you a little bit more about me. This is a post only blog, so if you have any questions regarding the blog or any information on it please e-mail me at rzirczy@houstonisd.org
See you on Monday!!
Mrs. Zirczy
Parent Letter:
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to a new school year! I am very excited about working with your children and hope to foster their love of learning.
I use a blog to post announcements, spelling words, general info, upcoming items students may need, and upcoming events. Please check posts weekly at www.zirczysclass@blogpot.com.
There are a few items that I ask the students to bring that were not on the school supply list. I realize that the first week of school is a busy week for all, so if the items are at school by Friday of this week that would be just fine. I am asking for a three ring binder that has a soft cover that zips closed. In the fourth grade we work on teaching organizational skills and this binder is a great tool for that. Students will put their agenda, informational sheets, homework, etc. in this binder. Although these binders are a bit pricey they will be able to use them in fifth grade as well. Any binder will do, but the zipper binders are much more durable and have space for students to put their folders, etc.
Another item I recommend is a flash drive of any kind. We do a great deal of power points, research projects, etc. where this will come in handy. We will not be using them for a few more weeks, but if you have one on hand you might want to set it aside for classroom use. It is not necessary that they bring one to class at this time. I will let students know when they need to bring the flash drives to class. Again, this is only a recommendation.
There will be several forms coming home on the first day. Please try to return them as soon as possible. There is a parent survey and information sheet coming home specifically from me as well as the regular first day packet.
We will not have spelling words the first week of school but will have light homework assignments. These assignments will be written in the student's agendas each day. Please sign the agenda nightly so I will know that you have received the day’s homework and announcements.
Please pick up students in the cafeteria after school if possible. It helps the flow of traffic and allows me to make sure I know where each student is going and with whom.
I look forward to the 2009-2010 school year and working with you and your children!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Zirczy
Student Letter:
Dear Student,
Welcome to the fourth grade! Fourth grade is a very exciting grade and we get to learn about many interesting topics! I am looking forward to getting to know you and learning from you as well!
I want to tell you a little bit about myself. When I was growing up I moved around quite a bit. I lived in Houston, Midland, San Antonio, Cody Wyoming, Lexington Kentucky, and Vincennes Indiana. There were some great advantages to living different places, but at times it was tough. However, now I have friends all over the United States!
My parents live in Houston as well as my younger sister, Rachel. Rachel and her husband Dan have a 2 year old boy named Payne. I try to see him as much as possible. Do you have any brothers or sisters? My grandparents and aunts and uncles live in Kentucky. I enjoy visiting them about once a year and I love to see the beautiful horses that are raised there. Does any of your family live outside of Texas?
Growing up I really enjoyed school. My favorite subject was music. I started playing the piano and cello in elementary school and continued through college. What subjects do you enjoy? I graduated from the University of Houston in 2004. Since then I have taught second, third and fourth grades. This will be my sixth year teaching! I have to say that fourth grade is my favorite so far. This will be my third year at Mark Twain. I love teaching at Twain because the students here are very enthusiastic and committed. What do you enjoy about being a part of the Mark Twain community?
I had a very exciting summer. I started the summer with a trip to Toronto, Canada. I had french fries with gravy and cheese! It is a very popular dish there. I also got to go to the top of CN tower! It was very high and had a wonderful view of Toronto. Next, I spent 3 weeks teaching at the Summer Creative Writing Workshop at the Shlenker school. Teaching writing there was a wonderful experience for me, and I learned a great deal from the other teachers and my students. I cannot wait to teach again next summer! I also went to Miami, FL and Lexington, Ky. There were a few days left for reading and playing with my 20 year old cat, Holly. Right before school started my husband and I got a chocolate lab puppy name Mac. He is extremely cute, but a real wild man! What did you do this summer?
I am looking to fun filled year of exploring new things! Thank you for being a part of our class!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Zirczy
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