Welcome to Back to School Night!

1. Welcome to Back to School Night! Tuesday, September 20, 2011 Miss Lindsay Kipness Third Grade

2. A Typical Day’s Schedule in Room 7 • Morning exercises 9:00-9:15 • Math 9:15-10:15 • Social Studies/Science 10:15-10:55 • Specials • Library 10:25-10:55 (M) • Music 10:55-11:40 (T) • P.E. 10:55-11:40 (W) • Art 10:55-11:40 (Th) • Health 11:00-11:30 (F) • Lunch 11:45-12:25 • Reading/Spelling/Language Arts/Writing 12:45-3:15 • Dismissal 3:25

3. Our Daily Specials • Monday – Library • Tuesday – Music • Wednesday – P.E. • Thursday – Art • Friday – Health * Please remember to have your children wear sneakers on Wednesday for Gym! * Also, please be sure you’ve sent in a smock for Art and a folder for Music!

4. Signal Hill School Agenda • The agenda is our daily communication. • Students write their homework in the agenda daily. Students will also list quizzes and tests for the week. • Homework is given Monday-Thursday. Language and Spelling tests are on Day Five of the Reading Cycle. Reading and vocabulary tests are on Day Six. • Homework makes up 10% of the students grade in ALL subjects. • Please check and sign your child’s planner each night.

5. Homework • Homework is given for three reasons • To provide reinforcement of class learning objectives • To provide communication between teacher and parent • To develop a sense of responsibility for your child • Homework is given Monday thru Thursday, however there may be times during the school year when homework/studying will be assigned on the weekend. • Homework is put in your child’s Take Home Folder each day. Please go through the “stay home” side of the folder each night and put any papers that need to be returned on the “bring back” side. • Let me know if your child is having difficulty with any homework assignments!

6. School Materials Your child has brought in supplies which may need replenishing throughout the school year. Because of limited desk space, it is highly suggested to use a fabric, zip-closure pencil case. These provide plenty of room for supplies and keep them organized (as well as off the floor)! I encourage any supplies not on the list to be left at home as they tend to cause a distraction, especially hand held pencil sharpeners and lead pencils!

7. Birthdays If you would like your child to celebrate his/her birthday in school, please notify me at least one day in advance. You may send in a treat and napkins. Suggested treats are cupcakes, brownies, and cookies. If you choose to send a cookie cake, please make sure it is cut before bringing it to school. State law prohibits candy from being distributed in schools. School rules do not permit the children to pass out birthday invitations in class. Thank you for your understanding! * If your child has any food allergies, please send in a supply of snacks for your child to enjoy!

8. Labeling Please be sure to put your child’s name on all their belongings, including coats, lunchboxes, folder, notebooks, smocks, etc. Lost articles are placed in the “Lost and Found” in the front hallway. Children will be permitted to check there if they are missing anything.

9. Reading Street Second year of the reading program, Pearson Reading Street The program is a three-tiered model that will meet the diverse needs of our student population. As with enVision Math, the program has an online component 5 stories in each Unit Spelling, Language, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension are tested at the end of each story At the conclusion of the Unit, students are assessed with a benchmark test Weekly Reading Log

10. Spelling City Spelling City is a great website for spelling practice! Every list for third grade is available. www.spellingcity.com

11. Pearson enVision Math Pearson enVision Math is the program used district-wide. The program was first used during the 2008-2009 school year. Students have a math textbook and workbook. Continuous review of math facts (addition and subtraction) is of great help!

12. Teacher Web From Signal hill school’s website, you will find the “teacher web” for miss Kipness. Please check this website regularly for classroom updates.

13. Conferences • Please be sure to sign up for parent/teacher conferences. • Write down your scheduled conference time! • Please be on time for your scheduled conference. • Conferences are 15 minutes long. • Please notify me as soon as possible if you are unable to make your scheduled conference time!

14. Respect The theme for the 2011-2012 school year is RESPECT. It will be promoted in the classroom and during school-wide projects and activities, as well as in conjunction with anti-bullying lessons. Please help to reinforce these values at home!

15. Scholastic Book Club Each month I will send home an order form to purchase inexpensive children’s literature for your child. This is optional. However, if you choose to participate, please return the order form with a CHECK made out to Scholastic Book Club. Please put both items in a sealed envelope with your child’s name. PLEASE DO NOT SEND CASH. You can also place your order online!

16. Additional Information • Lunch Money • Colds – Please send in a large box of tissues to be used by the class during “cold and sniffle” season. By January, we usually run low on tissues and would appreciate any extra donations. • NJ ASK 3 Testing – May

17. Going Paperless! The Voorhees Township School District is going paperless. In order to help us “Go Green” please be sure you’ve signed up for the Parent Access Portal. If you’re already signed up, please remember to check the Virtual Backpack.

18. Reminders • Sign up for conferences! • Keep up the communication between home and school! • Please complete the questionnaire, yellowindexcard, & SHPFA questionnaire. • Please check your child’s StudentDemographicSheet and make any corrections. I will collect these! • Please write a note to your child.

19. Stay in Touch! • Voicemail 856-767-6749 Ext. 1107 • District and School Websites • E-mail: kipnessl@voorhees.k12.nj.us

20. Thank you! Thank you for your attendance this evening. I’m looking forward to it being a great school year!