Welcome Back and Happy New Year!

First of all, I'd like to thank you for the generous gifts you gave me for Christmas. I truly appreciate it.

As much as I enjoyed my time off to relax, it was nice to see the smiling faces of your children on Tuesday morning. The week went well and students seemed excited to get back into the groove of learning. We were off to slow start, but now that we're back, we have a lot to do.

Spelling packets were sent home but aren't due until Friday, January 23. I have made a few changes to the Houghton Mifflin math homework. On Tuesday/Thursday when I send this home, the students are to choose 3 problems on the back for them to do. These problems begin easy and get very hard as you have noticed. A few parents commented on the difficulty and frustration, so I have made adjustments based on your child's math level. Everyone needs to continue memorizing their times tables. This is a 3rd grade standard and if kids don't learn them this year, it makes 4th grade even harder. Most of the students are on their way, but now that we have begun division, it's apparent that most of the kids don't have these facts memorized yet. I'll continue giving timed tests once a week.

As you are well aware, we have 2 field trips in the same week coming up. The first is to the Mello Center on Tuesday, January 27. All classes 1st-3rd will be attending and taking the school bus to Watsonville. Parent chaperones are encouraged to carpool since the parking is limited. This field trip costs $7.75. We are allowing 3 parents per class to chaperone and their admission is free.

The next trip is to the MAH (Museum of Art History) in Downtown Santa Cruz on Thursday, January 29. When we collected $11.00 earlier this year, that covered the cost of this trip(not the Mello Center). So there is no need to send in money. Ms. Landman will accompany our class as well. This will be a nice opportunity for her to meet the kids and parents who attend.

I hope you are enjoying this lovely 3 day weekend. I can't believe it's the middle of winter. What a way to begin the school year!