It is hard to believe that the first nine-week period is almost over. We will be assessing the skills reported on the report card for this term this week. Some test will be paper and pencil tests and some will be computer based tests. Doing it this way, allows me to see students tested in different modes and gives me several more grades to go along with those I already have. This gives me a good picture of each students strengths and possible weaknesses. Remember when looking at the report card, that students are aiming for a "4" by the end of the year, and we will be working on the skills that have been introduced this period all year. Many students are still struggling with fluency at recalling basic addition facts and related subtraction facts as evidenced by the timed drills that have been given. Timed math drills are where the students are given a page of basic math facts and a given amount of time to solve as many problems as possible. If your child receives a "1" on the report card this period, just keep working with him/her on memorizing their basic addition and subtraction facts. They should be able to get 50 problems in 5 minutes. This is a math standard and is reported on the report card. Please help your child memorize their basic math facts. As always, if you have any questions, please contact me by sending a note, email, or calling me at school.