In no particular order . . .
We had a fire drill this morning. It surprised us all --- Mrs. Worley does not tell the teachers, so it really is good practice for all of us. As you might expect, some things went well and some things need improvement. Please ask your child about our safety procedures.
Thursday folders went home today. Please note that there is information about upcoming after-school classes. There is also a flyer about auditions for Keppel's Elite and Elite Prep Drill Teams. Mrs. Cris Neel, our Dance Artist-in-Residence, coaches these popular teams after school.
PTA Membership - Keppel's PTA membership drive has begun! PTA supports our school in so many ways --- I urge you to support our PTA with your membership dues. Our class goal is at least one adult member from each family. While every parent is welcome to participate, please know that paying your dues does NOT obligate you for any further commitment --- though volunteers are always welcome! You'll find the membership envelope in today's Thursday folder.
i-Ready - As your child may have mentioned, this week we began taking the i-Ready beginning-of-the-year diagnostic test in reading and math. A few students have finished both sections but most have not --- this is NOT a concern. These tests are not timed and students should take as much time as they need in order to do their best work. Once everyone has completed the tests, I will be sending home the parent report in the Thursday folder. Once a student has finished either math or reading, the lessons for that section are unlocked and your child may work on them at home. We will not be working on i-Ready lessons at school with the exception of the testing period --- students who have finished both parts will work on lessons while the rest of the class finishes.
Student Online Accounts - Some of you have discovered the Student Logins page elsewhere on this site. A few things for you to keep in mind:
- The password for your child's GUSD Google account has changed.
- I have not yet introduced the enVision (math) online account.
- I have not created TenMarks or Typing.com accounts for students. I will let you know when I have, and I may change the username and password formula for Typing.com to conform to their other accounts. TenMarks assigns their own usernames and passwords, so we'll get what we get (stay tuned).
Bathroom Matters - No surprise and right on schedule, a whole LOT of students have needed to go to leave class to go to the bathroom the last couple of days. I will never deny a child a trip to the bathroom, but I only allow one student to leave class at a time. Third graders are expected to use the toilet during their morning and lunch recess breaks. Please remind your child to "make a stop" before leaving the house in the morning. That way, we can start on "empty."
Uniforms & Free Dress - You should have received a phone call this evening from our principal, Ms. Siegal, reminding that tomorrow is a free dress day because it is the last Friday of the month. On all other school days, students are expected to be dressed in Keppel uniform colors (blue, khaki, white). I've posted details under the More... tab.
Scholastic Book Orders - Watch for the first book order to come home tomorrow.