Friday, August 7, 2009

Welcome!

Dear Room 11 Families,
Welcome to 4th grade! I hope everyone had a great summer break and is feeling rejuvenated. While it is hard to believe (even for me!), it is once again time to reestablish school routines. It will be a great year--focusing on writing and learning about the great state of California, in addition to the usual math, reading, science, music (learning to play the recorder), and P.E. (2-45 minute P.E. periods each week). We will also participate in a watershed restoration project and, hopefully, raise some trout in the classroom. I look forward to meeting everyone on August 20th!

Useful items you may want to purchase for the school year:
  • pencils--you'll need 2 #2 sharpened pencils for your own use each day. Consider getting a mechanical pencil. I recommend a .9mm lead pencil if you press down hard when you write or a .7mm lead pencil if you don't.
  • individual pencil sharpener--please do not get a battery-operated sharpener.
  • erasers
  • glue stick
  • markers (there will be markers to share available in class)
  • small pencil box
  • binder with dividers--a great way to stay organized!
Items I recommend you have available for your use at home:
  • wide-ruled binder paper
  • pencils, erasers, colored pencils/crayons/markers
  • 12" ruler, with both metric and standard measurement scales
  • protractor and compass
  • dictionary, atlas, and thesaurus
  • library card--visit the Novato Public Library regularly!
In an effort to reduce the use of paper, I provide my newsletters online here, at http://rancho4-11.blogspot.com. Once the school year begins, it will also be available by going to the Rancho website, going to the staff directory, and clicking on my name.

Here's to a wonderful year of discovery and learning!