Hello Parents,
I thought you might be interested in this special deal from Epic!. This is a great way to have your child read over the summer... they will be able to read anytime, and anywhere. Check it out! :)
4/7/19 - Parents: The "2018-19 Photo Gallery" has been updated. I added the 2nd Trimester Award Winners as well as the Calico Field Trip pictures that the parent chaperones were kind enough to sent me. Feel free to copy any pictures with your child, and to add them to your personal collection.
4/7/19 - Thanks to several of our generous families, we are no longer in desperate need of supplies. Three of our families donated money, and I went shopping. We now have enough copy paper, tissue, and hand sanitizer that I hope will be enough to finish out the year. Thank you so much for coming to our classroom's rescue!
3/24/19 - Parents: We are in desperate need of several classroom supplies. Our class is going through about one box of tissue a day with all the colds and flu going around, and now we only have two (2) boxes left. We are also on our last ream of copy paper, and very low on hand sanitizer. Please go to the classroom section of the "SUPPLY LISTS" page to get more information. Several of you have given quite a bit throughout the year (Thank You!). If you haven't given yet, then now is your chance to help out the entire class. Thank you!
3/7/19 - Reminder: The Baldy Mesa Science Fair was rescheduled for Friday, March 8th. It starts at 5:00, but they ask for people to arrive at 4:30 for set-up.
2/12/19 - Information regarding Valentine's Day can be found by clicking "HERE".
2/2/19 - You'll want to see the new "2018-19 Photo Gallery" page I just created for you. I started with the pictures I took celebrating the 100th day of school. You will see a normal picture of your child, then a picture of your child as they may look when they are really old using a phone app called "Aging Booth". I'm sure you'll get a kick out of looking through all the pictures, I sure did. Be sure to read the caption above your child's picture, LOL. Feel free to copy the pictures and add them to your own photo collection. I will be adding pictures to the gallery as photo opportunities come up.
FYI: I always take pictures of students at award assemblies, so don't worry if you are unable to attend.
Again, if you took any pictures of your child during Baldy Mesa's dress up week, please electronically send them to me through Dojo, or email, so I can upload them to the photo gallery. Also, please send me any cute, funny, unique, or favorite photos you may have of your child too. When I was creating the photo gallery page I came up with the idea of doing a section of pics for each student. I love the idea of a photo area for each student, but it might only work if I can get parents to send me the pictures. So, please send me pictures! :)
FYI: I always take pictures of students at award assemblies, so don't worry if you are unable to attend.
Again, if you took any pictures of your child during Baldy Mesa's dress up week, please electronically send them to me through Dojo, or email, so I can upload them to the photo gallery. Also, please send me any cute, funny, unique, or favorite photos you may have of your child too. When I was creating the photo gallery page I came up with the idea of doing a section of pics for each student. I love the idea of a photo area for each student, but it might only work if I can get parents to send me the pictures. So, please send me pictures! :)
1/27/19 - Parents, please go to the "Science Project" page to learn all about it. There are uploads of the PTA Science Project packet, and chapters from a science project book that can really be a big help to you and your child.
There's also a new page for "Valentine's Day" that you should read.
There's also a new page for "Valentine's Day" that you should read.
1/26/19 - Parents, please go to the "Classroom Supplies" page to see the items in RED that are currently needed in our classroom. Thank you.
10/25/18 - Please make note that I added a new tab called, "Volunteers". I could always use some help in the classroom and would love it if you were willing to volunteer some time on a regular basis.
10/18/18 - Our class is scheduled to shop at the Scholastic Book Fair on Tuesday, Oct. 30th @ 9:00 am.
Important Reminders:
Please make sure that your child is completing the daily homework by reading for 45 - 60 minutes per day (depending on their need for practice). If I learn that they are NOT doing the reading homework, then I will be forced to resort to reading logs that will need to be filled out and signed by you daily, then turned in each Friday in order for your child to earn Friday Fun Time and Extra Recess (Intervention Recess).
Please save and send in all BOXTOPS and LABELS FOR EDUCATION. A few don't amount to much, but if everyone sends in a baggie of them, then our PTA will get thousands of dollars to spend on our school, and for your child's educational experience.
Thank you!
Important Reminders:
Please make sure that your child is completing the daily homework by reading for 45 - 60 minutes per day (depending on their need for practice). If I learn that they are NOT doing the reading homework, then I will be forced to resort to reading logs that will need to be filled out and signed by you daily, then turned in each Friday in order for your child to earn Friday Fun Time and Extra Recess (Intervention Recess).
Please save and send in all BOXTOPS and LABELS FOR EDUCATION. A few don't amount to much, but if everyone sends in a baggie of them, then our PTA will get thousands of dollars to spend on our school, and for your child's educational experience.
Thank you!
9/21/18 - Parents, I have just come to realize that the newer Mp3 players will only play recordings that were recorded using MP3 or WAV formats, and most of my recordings are older and were recorded using the Microsoft Windows Media Player (WMA) format. This means that the newer Mp3 players will not play MOST of my audiobooks. Therefore, please do not purchase an Mp3 player at this time. I am trying to find out if I can reformat my MWA recordings to the MP3 format, if so, then problem solved (after a lot of time spent reformatting). If not, then I will have few recordings available for the newer Mp3 players, but will still be able to choose from all of my recordings on the Mp3 players that will play the MWA format. For now, I will loan my older Mp3 players to students until I figure out how to work this situation. Thanks for your patience.
9/19/18 - The BIG Fall Fundraiser has begun! Parents:
Parents: Please participate in our PTA fundraiser. Without the money from this fundraiser the PTA can't pay for all the wonderful things that they pay for each year, like the transportation/bus costs of ALL Baldy Mesa field trips. Your field trip costs would be doubled if you had to pay for the transportation.
If every student in our class buys OR sells just ONE item, then our class will win several BIG class prizes from me, plus all the individual and class prizes that the fundraiser gives out (which are terrific).
Just ONE item is all it takes to help support your school, and your child's education.
Thank you :)
Parents: Please participate in our PTA fundraiser. Without the money from this fundraiser the PTA can't pay for all the wonderful things that they pay for each year, like the transportation/bus costs of ALL Baldy Mesa field trips. Your field trip costs would be doubled if you had to pay for the transportation.
If every student in our class buys OR sells just ONE item, then our class will win several BIG class prizes from me, plus all the individual and class prizes that the fundraiser gives out (which are terrific).
Just ONE item is all it takes to help support your school, and your child's education.
Thank you :)
9/7/18 - PICTURE DAY is this Wednesday, September 12, 2018.
9/4/18 - Grandparent's Day is this Friday, September 7th! Grandparent's Day is a little different this year. We welcome grandparents to come eat lunch with their grandchild/grandchildren. Grandparents will need to bring their own lunch as new laws prohibit the selling of any school food to anyone outside of the school (other than students, teachers, and staff). Grandparents may eat with their grandchild in the cafeteria, or outside at the picnic benches. The PTA will be outside the cafeteria to take pictures of grandparents with their grandchildren that will ultimately be sent home after developing.
Our class has LUNCH from 12:00 to 12:45. Please feel free to send me a Dojo message if you have any questions or concerns.
Our class has LUNCH from 12:00 to 12:45. Please feel free to send me a Dojo message if you have any questions or concerns.
8/24/18 - For those of you that haven't signed up for "Renaissance Home Connect" yet, here is the "Link" that will take you to my website page that has a link to it. When you sign up, they will send you all the test information each time your child takes an AR or AM test. This is a terrific free service that all of you should take advantage of.
Please do the "Parent Survey" on my Home page if you haven't done so yet. It's only a few easy questions. It's the big, black box on the upper left side of the page that has a button to click that says "Survey".
SCHOOL LIBRARY - Students can go to the library anytime they finish reading a book. However: the library isn't open for regular business yet due to classes visiting one at a time to get their first books of the year. We have about 40 classes, so it takes about a week to get everyone through the first visit with library procedure training. The school library will be opening for regular library time starting Wednesday, 8/29/18. In the meantime, if your child finishes both of their current library books, have them reread them so they will do well on the test and keep all the available points. My students still have plenty to read in the classroom as I have thousands of books in my personal library.
8/22/18 - AR Reading Level Info - I have assigned a reading level to each student in my class. I start students out at a level that is based on a combination of: 1) where their last year's teacher told me they were at the end of last year, 2) the result of their recent STAR Reading Test and, 3) their current test scores on the books they've read so far this year (we already did 2 books as a class, and the class has had lots of in-class individual reading time).
The explanation of the Reading Level is as follows. If a student was assigned to read in the level 4.0-4.4 (1 & 2 point books), for example, the first part of the level (the 4.0-4.4) is the level of reading difficulty (grade level) of the book. The digit in the whole number place (in this case the 4) stands for the grade level (in this case 4th grade). The digit in the tenths place (in this case the zero) stands for the month of the school year (in this case it's the zero month). The first full month of the school year is September (August doesn't count because we don't have the whole month, only since August 9th), so September is month zero, October is month #1, November is month #2, etc., but not until the end of the month. So, by the end of November your child should be reading at 4.2 level, or higher, to be considered reading at grade level. So, 4.0-4.4 would mean: 4th grade zero month (4th grade, end of September) through 4th grade 4th month (4th grade, end of January). The points (1 & 2 point books in this case) represents the length of the book (or the amount of words). The longer the book, the more book points it is worth.
The levels are created by the individual teachers and there is no way for AR to know what levels we created unless we put computer boundaries on the students and lock them out of everything that is outside of the level we assigned. I only do that for students that show me it is required because I can no longer trust them to read in the level that I assigned them to read in. I don't do that for all students because when we read books together (which we do a great deal of), they can not be in every students' level, so then I would have to run around the class to every student's computer to enter a monitor password that will allow them to take a test outside their reading level.
This original assigned reading level is simply a starting point. I will raise your child's reading level after s/he earns four (4) 90% or 100% scores (any combination), in his/her assigned reading level, when read independently. Or, on the other hand, if your child is struggling and getting poor AR test scores, I will lower his/her reading level.
Please make sure that you are signed up for "Home Connect" so that you will receive notifications every time your child takes an AR or AM test. To sign up, go to my "Renaissance Place" page and click on the link to sign up. Easy, peasy.
The explanation of the Reading Level is as follows. If a student was assigned to read in the level 4.0-4.4 (1 & 2 point books), for example, the first part of the level (the 4.0-4.4) is the level of reading difficulty (grade level) of the book. The digit in the whole number place (in this case the 4) stands for the grade level (in this case 4th grade). The digit in the tenths place (in this case the zero) stands for the month of the school year (in this case it's the zero month). The first full month of the school year is September (August doesn't count because we don't have the whole month, only since August 9th), so September is month zero, October is month #1, November is month #2, etc., but not until the end of the month. So, by the end of November your child should be reading at 4.2 level, or higher, to be considered reading at grade level. So, 4.0-4.4 would mean: 4th grade zero month (4th grade, end of September) through 4th grade 4th month (4th grade, end of January). The points (1 & 2 point books in this case) represents the length of the book (or the amount of words). The longer the book, the more book points it is worth.
The levels are created by the individual teachers and there is no way for AR to know what levels we created unless we put computer boundaries on the students and lock them out of everything that is outside of the level we assigned. I only do that for students that show me it is required because I can no longer trust them to read in the level that I assigned them to read in. I don't do that for all students because when we read books together (which we do a great deal of), they can not be in every students' level, so then I would have to run around the class to every student's computer to enter a monitor password that will allow them to take a test outside their reading level.
This original assigned reading level is simply a starting point. I will raise your child's reading level after s/he earns four (4) 90% or 100% scores (any combination), in his/her assigned reading level, when read independently. Or, on the other hand, if your child is struggling and getting poor AR test scores, I will lower his/her reading level.
Please make sure that you are signed up for "Home Connect" so that you will receive notifications every time your child takes an AR or AM test. To sign up, go to my "Renaissance Place" page and click on the link to sign up. Easy, peasy.
8/17/18 - We had a terrific first week of school, besides the hot weather, and we are now all hooked up with all our regular daily websites and ready to roll. Please ask your child for the folder I sent home with them today as it includes all of their user names and passwords for our main websites so that they can also practice at home. The papers are also for you to use and sign in as a parent (parent directions are on each sheet) so that you can regularly check on their progress and scores. I made as many user names & passwords the same as I was allowed. Please be sure to check their work at least 1-2 times per week as you used to look over papers that went home (we won't have many work papers that go home as most everything is now on the computer). Keep the folder in a SAFE place all year as you and your child may need to refer back to the papers occasionally. Please DO NOT throw the folder and sheets away as it is a great deal of trouble for me to recreate them just one student at a time.
Starting Monday, I will be sharing info with you about your child on ClassDojo (Dojo) daily. I will notify you on your child's classroom behavior, classwork, if s/he has their AR Target or not (figure on the Target being 1/2 AR point per day, on average). Our class is scheduled to go to the library on Tuesday, so your child will be bringing both library books home, and we will be starting homework that night. Typically homework will be Monday-Thursday for 45-60 minutes of reading per night. Please make sure that your child does the reading so I won't have to have him/her use a reading log (it's more work for both of us). Your child's AR points will tell the tale about if they are doing their daily reading homework or not.
If you have not gotten all of the "Student Supplies" yet (not including the optional Mp3 player), then please make sure you get them this weekend. We have already been using our folders, mechanical pencils, and pencil boxes; and starting Monday we will also be using the Composition Books every single day. Also, please send in what you can from the "Classroom Supply" List as we will go through those items very quickly. Also, please remember to check this "News" page at least once or twice a week for any updates, it takes less that a minute to check.
Starting Monday, I will be sharing info with you about your child on ClassDojo (Dojo) daily. I will notify you on your child's classroom behavior, classwork, if s/he has their AR Target or not (figure on the Target being 1/2 AR point per day, on average). Our class is scheduled to go to the library on Tuesday, so your child will be bringing both library books home, and we will be starting homework that night. Typically homework will be Monday-Thursday for 45-60 minutes of reading per night. Please make sure that your child does the reading so I won't have to have him/her use a reading log (it's more work for both of us). Your child's AR points will tell the tale about if they are doing their daily reading homework or not.
If you have not gotten all of the "Student Supplies" yet (not including the optional Mp3 player), then please make sure you get them this weekend. We have already been using our folders, mechanical pencils, and pencil boxes; and starting Monday we will also be using the Composition Books every single day. Also, please send in what you can from the "Classroom Supply" List as we will go through those items very quickly. Also, please remember to check this "News" page at least once or twice a week for any updates, it takes less that a minute to check.
8/5/18 - Dear Parents and Students, Welcome Back to School!
Parents,
I am Mrs. Brooks, and I'm looking forward to being your child's 4th grade teacher. Back to School Night is on Wednesday, August 8th (the day before the first day of school) from 3:30-5:00. There's been a change for this year. Our new principal, Mr. Shad Grijalva, and our new assistant principal, Mr. Steve Conrad, will be meeting with parents in the cafeteria from 3:30-4:00. Then parents will go to their child's classroom from 4:00-5:00. Your child will be in room 48, and I will have all of the computers on in the classroom so that you will be able to check out all the wonderful learning websites your child will be using this year. I'm looking forward to meeting you and your child. :)
This website is always under construction during the beginning of the year, so it doesn't have many pages yet. I will be adding pages to the website as I update them for the current year, and as they become relevant to this classroom. Each child in my class will have their own Chromebook to use in class. I use many different learning websites in class, and pay for several of them myself so that your child will get the full benefit of the website and also be able to use them at home. Technology is used for almost everything now, not much left to pencil and paper. Next week I will be sending home a technology packet that has user names, passwords, and directions for getting hooked up on all the websites at home for extra practice, and so that you will be able to monitor everything that your child does on the computer in the classroom and at home.
I do not assign any computer work as homework as I know that there are always a few families that don't have a computer, or one that they want their child to use. My main homework is 45-60 minutes of reading Monday-Thursday; but there will also be occasional worksheets going home for homework if your child didn't complete their classwork, or because your child requires more practice in a certain area, or just for more practice for everyone. When that happens just decrease the reading time by whatever amount of time your child actually spends on the worksheet that day. The reading homework is based on the honor system since I know that you also want the best education for your child. But, if my reports show me that your child is not reading much, then I will need to send home a reading log each week to be filled out and signed by you in order to verify the reading. Reading is, without a doubt, the most important subject area in school, so I watch those stats very carefully. Your child will do tons of reading in my class, but they MUST also do their reading homework. My homework doesn't start until the school library opens in 2-3 weeks as those will be the books that go home, my classroom books are for classroom reading only and NEVER go home.
I use audiobooks in the classroom, so please be sure to go to the "Audiobooks" page to learn about how beneficial they are (they're very beneficial for ALL readers). Also make sure you check out the "Mp3 Players" page so that you'll know which brand to get if you decide that you would like for your child to have their own personal Mp3 player so that they don't have to be on a classroom wait list to borrow one of mine.
The main pages to check out right now are the "Supply Lists" pages. These pages will inform you as to what classroom and student supplies will be needed right away. The "Student Supplies" are the most important because we will be using most of them everyday starting the first full week of school (next week). They must have their journals (composition books), and 2-pocket folders right away because we will be using them daily. The "Classroom Supplies" are also important in that the students will need to use these items from day one.
***Please complete the critical "Parent Survey" ASAP; before the end of the first weekend after school starts. I will need to know which cell phone number(s) to use in order to contact you daily with the ClassDojo info. ClassDojo is an important and excellent way for us to keep in touch. You can contact me very quickly and easily through Dojo, so please get signed up on day one, if you aren't already.
***Also, be sure to sign up for "Renaissance Home Connect" so that you will receive test score messages every time your child takes an AR (reading) or AM (math) test.
Parents,
I am Mrs. Brooks, and I'm looking forward to being your child's 4th grade teacher. Back to School Night is on Wednesday, August 8th (the day before the first day of school) from 3:30-5:00. There's been a change for this year. Our new principal, Mr. Shad Grijalva, and our new assistant principal, Mr. Steve Conrad, will be meeting with parents in the cafeteria from 3:30-4:00. Then parents will go to their child's classroom from 4:00-5:00. Your child will be in room 48, and I will have all of the computers on in the classroom so that you will be able to check out all the wonderful learning websites your child will be using this year. I'm looking forward to meeting you and your child. :)
This website is always under construction during the beginning of the year, so it doesn't have many pages yet. I will be adding pages to the website as I update them for the current year, and as they become relevant to this classroom. Each child in my class will have their own Chromebook to use in class. I use many different learning websites in class, and pay for several of them myself so that your child will get the full benefit of the website and also be able to use them at home. Technology is used for almost everything now, not much left to pencil and paper. Next week I will be sending home a technology packet that has user names, passwords, and directions for getting hooked up on all the websites at home for extra practice, and so that you will be able to monitor everything that your child does on the computer in the classroom and at home.
I do not assign any computer work as homework as I know that there are always a few families that don't have a computer, or one that they want their child to use. My main homework is 45-60 minutes of reading Monday-Thursday; but there will also be occasional worksheets going home for homework if your child didn't complete their classwork, or because your child requires more practice in a certain area, or just for more practice for everyone. When that happens just decrease the reading time by whatever amount of time your child actually spends on the worksheet that day. The reading homework is based on the honor system since I know that you also want the best education for your child. But, if my reports show me that your child is not reading much, then I will need to send home a reading log each week to be filled out and signed by you in order to verify the reading. Reading is, without a doubt, the most important subject area in school, so I watch those stats very carefully. Your child will do tons of reading in my class, but they MUST also do their reading homework. My homework doesn't start until the school library opens in 2-3 weeks as those will be the books that go home, my classroom books are for classroom reading only and NEVER go home.
I use audiobooks in the classroom, so please be sure to go to the "Audiobooks" page to learn about how beneficial they are (they're very beneficial for ALL readers). Also make sure you check out the "Mp3 Players" page so that you'll know which brand to get if you decide that you would like for your child to have their own personal Mp3 player so that they don't have to be on a classroom wait list to borrow one of mine.
The main pages to check out right now are the "Supply Lists" pages. These pages will inform you as to what classroom and student supplies will be needed right away. The "Student Supplies" are the most important because we will be using most of them everyday starting the first full week of school (next week). They must have their journals (composition books), and 2-pocket folders right away because we will be using them daily. The "Classroom Supplies" are also important in that the students will need to use these items from day one.
***Please complete the critical "Parent Survey" ASAP; before the end of the first weekend after school starts. I will need to know which cell phone number(s) to use in order to contact you daily with the ClassDojo info. ClassDojo is an important and excellent way for us to keep in touch. You can contact me very quickly and easily through Dojo, so please get signed up on day one, if you aren't already.
***Also, be sure to sign up for "Renaissance Home Connect" so that you will receive test score messages every time your child takes an AR (reading) or AM (math) test.
