January 22, 2012: If you've been trying to access your grades online, you've probably noticed that the link isn't working. The school district started having problems with the server last week and it is still down. They hope to have the server up and running as soon as possible.

January 13, 2012: There will be no school on the 16th due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We did discuss this holiday in class, as well as the reasons why we celebrate it. You may want to have a discussion with your child about human rights and equality.

Our Super Activity will be sometime in the next two weeks. The students who have earned the activity are going to take part in planning exactly what type of activity it will be. A note will come home with your child in regards to this event (if they have earned it) and will let you know the details. I am thinking it will take place on either Friday the 20th or 27th.

Before we know it, the Hope of America presentation will be upon us. To help prepare for this, we have been learning the words of the songs and the accompanying actions here at school. I have provided a link on the class webpage (the photo of the boy with the American flag) that will take students to the practice videos I have uploaded, and a page of mp3 versions of the songs so that they may download them to a computer or other device to practice.

Please make sure that you are reading with your kids on a daily basis. One of the best ways in which to become a better reader is simply to read. The more often they do this, the better they will get.

January 6, 2012: This week we’ve been learning about adding fractions with the same—and different—denominators in math. We will continue going over these and working on subtraction as well. We will also be working on adding and subtracting mixed numbers soon.

Next week we will be having our literature responses. These responses will take place on Wednesday and will be the same type as the last set. The students should still have copies of their previous ‘stand alone’ rubric to get ready for this response. Additionally, they should take into consideration the suggestions their classmates gave them as to things that they did well, or things they could improve on.

We will be having Market Day on Thursday of next week. If your child would like to be a vendor, they need to return the vendor’s license with your signature on it to indicate your permission. Just as a reminder, homemade food items should not be brought to school.

There will be no school on the 16th due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In class we discussed the reasons why we celebrate this holiday. We also have had some fantastic discussions about treating others with respect and being kind to everyone. You might want to ask your kids about the video we watched on Thursday, A Classroom Divided. Please remind your kids that this holiday isn’t just a day we don’t have to go work or school, but it’s to help us remember those who’ve fought for human equality.

Please make sure that you’re reading daily with your kids and helping them with their assignments as they need it. The time you spend now will be more powerful than you might ever realize.