Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't say it enough! I so appreciate all of the birthday cards and gifts that I received from all of you! Your thoughts and wishes mean so much to me. Thank you again! I hope that everyone enjoyed our ancestor/open house as much as I did! The students sang beautifully and Kaila and Claire were fantastic speakers! Back in the room I was impressed with the student's speaking skills and composure in front of a very large group! The kids learned so much researching their ancestors. Thank you parents and grandparents for all of your support and efforts! Moving on to the food you provided...wow! You all did such a phenomenal job! The delicious smells and flavors were amazing! Our second graders provided the largest number of recyclables this past week! Let's keep up the efforts! Please bring in your CRV aluminum cans and plastic bottles to our school for fund-raising purposes. We are also recycling newspapers. Help us out with this effort, too by bringing in newspapers! Be sure to check the homework site! If your child has a decodeable book as a part of his/her homework this week,please have him/her read this book daily and graph the time it takes to complete the reading. I'm seeing huge improvements in the class's ability to read with fluency and this only comes from lots of practice. Thank you for all of your help! If your child is on an independent reading agreement, rather than the decodeable book, s/he will only improve in his/her reading abilities if s/he reads frequently. If this is the program your child is on, comprehension is what we're trying to achieve (along with vocabulary development). Occasionally question your child after s/he reads. S/he should be able to tell you a short summary. Then you can ask him/her about his/her feelings about the events of the story or the character's actions. Your child needs to record the book titles s/he reads on the March reading log and turn it into me at the end of the month. If s/he reads chapter books, s/he can record the chapters read. If your child is beginning the "Read Naturally" program, the passage must be read on a daily basis. By Thursday evening, the reading should be fluent and accurate. Do NOT allow your child to improvise on the words. Every word must be pronounced and read accurately. We are on "Topic 7" for oral language..."My Favorite Artist". Go to the homework site for details! Please encourage your child to wear his/her spirit wear (Benedict t-shirts) on Fridays! See the homework section of this site for the oral language/spot light reader calendar.