News to Note

Happy Thursday! It's been a very busy week as ASA's began, I was in a training, we began MAPS testing and we gained a new student, our dear Soyeong. Thankfully, everything went very smoothly the weekend is here. (And all the teachers said, "Ahhhh...") :) 

Here is the plan for next week. It's going to be another full week of good learning and activities and then we will enjoy our Eid al Adha holiday. Please review this Assignment Sheet and News and let me know if you have any questions. 

One more thing, Sunday, Oct. 6th will be the kick off for something called "SEWA Day." Sewa (a Sanskrit word) is a commonly used term in South Asian cultures to denote a service that is performed without any expectation of result or award for the person performing it. It is pronounced as Se-Va (‘Se’ as in ‘se’llotape and ‘Va’ as in ‘va'se). 

This is important day for all of our students and is a great opportunity to bring a little joy to others and grow in their appreciation for the work people do in our building. This is the presentation I will be sharing with the class: Sewa Powerpoint 

We will be writing thank you notes to express our gratitude for the work that goes on day in and day out in our school to keep it clean, safe and lovely. What would our school be like without all of their hard work? 

Please keep this spirit of gratitude alive at home over the course of the next week, in particular, by modeling your appreciation for those in your life who help you (housemaids, nannies, drivers, gardeners, etc.) 

Thanks so much for all of your wonderful support at home and have a restful weekend. :) 

~ Thursday News ~

Dear Parents, 

A very happy Thursday to you each. It's been another very productive week, full of great learning, happy smiles and plenty of flexibility. 

As some of you may be aware, we faced two challenges this week: MAPS testing was delayed and we have had some school-wide difficulty with the Internet over the last couple of days. These are always terrific opportunities to model adaptability, patience and a positive attitude in the classroom as bumps in the road will always be part of life. The good news is that it looks like we are back online and, secondly, MAPS testing will start next week. 

Here is the updated schedule: 

• October 2 (Day 4): 8:30-10:30 ~ Language 
• October 7 (Day 7): 1:00-2:30 ~ Reading
• October 22 (Day 3): 10:30-12:00 ~ Math 

We Grade 3 teachers rolled out Words Their Way with our students and they seemed to really enjoy it! We explored different ways to sort our words (short and long u, as well as an "oddball") and refreshed different spelling patterns (CVC, or consonant-vowel-consonant, and CVCe, consonant-vowel-consonant-e) that they may have forgotten from Grade 2. WTW (Words Their Way) homework will not begin until after the Eid holiday. 

After School Activities (ASAs) will start next week. The children are very excited! 

Just as an FYI, Grade 3 teachers will be attending a training on campus next week. It will be in the afternoon (12:30-2:30) from Sunday through Wednesday. We are excited to welcome a small team from The Teacher's College at Columbia University who will be teaching us more about Reader's Workshop. Our TA's will be our substitutes.

Also, I want to extend a special thank you to Stephanie Nooren who has graciously offered to be our 3LN room mother. This entails a great deal of time, energy and effort, so I hope you'll all express your appreciation to her, as well. Additionally, Lamia Bibi has offered to assist Stephanie in her role, so I am very grateful to her also. Thank you both in advance!! I know you be a huge blessing to our sweeties and to me, especially as we approach the holiday season. Please know I'm very grateful. 

To facilitate better communication for planning class parties and events, we would like to put together an email database (exclusive to our class) that Stephanie and Lamia may use. If you are agreeable to share this information with them (and other classroom parents), please just check yes on "Get Connected" form that I will send home on Sunday. This will make future planning much easier. 

That's all for now. I hope you each have a happy, restful weekend! 

Ms. Laura