Dear Parents,

Pajama day was a huge success! The kids really enjoyed it and almost all participated. They looked so cute and comfortable.

Our student teacher, Ms. Ferreira, is in her third week of student teaching. SNHU has given us a timeline for her to gradually assume responsibilities. She has already started to teach parts of the new reading program that we are piloting. She has taken the children to the Smart Room to work on Science reports about biomes. This week they will be presenting their reports to the class. Also this week, she will take on the responsibility for teaching some of the Math. There is no need to worry there; she was brought up with this program and knows partial quotients very well. She has been a big help by providing some one-on-one instruction to the kids in Math. Eventually, she will do two consecutive days on her own, and then a week by herself. By that time, she will be very capable of taking over. All of her lessons are done with approval from me. She has been instructed on how to follow the district guidelines and I spend a lot of time discussing her teaching with her.

We completed our first week of the Reading program that my class is piloting. It is called Imagine It. You will see some papers coming home for homework that pertain to the program. From looking at the scores of the beginning test, it seems like the kids need the most work in grammar, usage and mechanics. They all had a total score higher than the standards for the first trimester. Our day just flies by!

Our Valentine's Day party will be on Feb 12. Someone will call some of you to provide goodies for our party. I will send home a list of names so that children can address their Valentines. Please remember to include everyone; we don't want anyone's feelings hurt.

If you have any questions, please drop me a note or e-mail.

Sincerely,
Jackie