Dear 4A Families,

We made it!  The last week of school and the last newsletter of the year.  I am always a little sad writing this letter as I say good-bye to my students and their families.  It has been a wonderful year with such a creative, enthusiastic and talented group of students.  I have so appreciated the kind support of all the 4A families.

Some important messages:

·       All students need to turn in their special papers for DeAnna and Peyton no later than this Wednesday!  Since there is no other homework, I am expecting extra thoughtful and neat work! 

·       Cleaning Day Wednesday!  We will do the major desk clean out on Wednesday.  Students are asked to bring in a sturdy bag or two as well as some rags for cleaning.  Thank you!                                

·       Report cards will be sent home on Friday.  You will find many important inserts including, next year’s supply list, reading information and comfort kit lists.  I am asking students not to open their report cards until they get home or in their car.  That way no important notes will be lost.

·        Recent final tests and assignments will come home this week in your child’s portfolio.  Please be sure your child shares this folder with you. It also contains many of their big projects this year, and is a nice compilation of their work.  If the students have any work they do not wish to keep–things like their saint report, mystery book report, MLK paper, etc. I am always in need of  some new samples for future students.  Students will have stapled a list of the recent tests to the actual tests that are in the portfolio. The students have worked hard this trimester, especially these last two weeks on their final tests and projects.

·       Those students who signed up to take part in the Summer Math Club will receive their packets on Thursday.  Thank you for your support and assistance with this summer practice.  Students should save their completed packets and bring them in the first week of the school year for some special treats.

·       Mrs. Harris has an excellent site on her homepage for links to great books to read as well as other reading resources.  Please take time to check out this useful resource.  You can always check the web site links on our class web page for summer review and book ideas as well.   If Icome across any good sites over the summer, I will add them as well.  There are many great reading, math and writing sites that are perfect for summer review.  I have to give one more plug for summer reading!  It is the best way to keep skills strong and reduce the summer learning loss.

For those of you looking for additional summer review work I would like to recommend the Children’s Book Store.  They have a location in Burien.  They stock the Summer Bridge series, and some other quality review books as well.  You can also find specific help for any subject area.  The clerks there are very helpful and would be happy to lead you in the right direction. 

Pray for sun!! Our final field trip of the year will take place tomorrow.  We will be exploring below the streets of Seattle on the very entertaining, and historical Underground Tour.  For those of you that have been on the public tour before, please know that this tour is geared for school age students and very appropriate!  Following the tour we will walk up the street to the Smith Tower to enjoy a beautiful view of our city as well as ride the last manually operated elevator in Seattle.  Finally we will head to Alki to eat our lunches and have some playtime together.  Students may want to bring an extra water bottle, especially if it is hot. We plan to be back at school between 1:30 and 2:00.  If you signed up to drive/chaperone, you will find an attached note.  Students may enjoy free dress on this field trip.  Please follow all rules regarding free dress days. They should wear tennis shoes, not sandals or flip flops for the tour. It is dusty and dirty below!  (They may bring sandals or flip flops to wear on the beach however..) If it is raining we will return to school for lunch (how sad would that be!).  If you

Thursday is a half-day and a free dress day as well.   We will finish up our cleaning and organizing, and hopefully enjoy a viewing of a slide show I have been working on chronicling our year. We will also have a special presentation for DeAnna and Peyton. It has been great fun putting the slide show together, and it is amazing to recall all of the great work the students did this past year.  Enjoy!

That is about all for this last newsletter.  Again, I want to thank you all for a wonderful year.  I hope you all have a great summer. I was looking through the newsletters of the year and reminded of just how much students have accomplished. I am very proud of them all!

If any students would like to write me letters in Montana (a great way to practice those writing skills) I would love to hear from them.  I will send postcards in return. 

My summer address is:

Mary Simpson

 P.O. Box 97

Seeley Lake, MT   59868           

Have a happy, safe and fun summer everyone!

Just a couple of more thoughts on summer reading (I can’t help myself!)

A Smarter Summer: Less TV
By Carol H. Rasco, Director, America Reads Challenge

Would you allow your child to spend summer vacation watching television every waking moment for two straight months? Of course not! Yet over the course of a year, that is how much time the average child watches TV—one thousand hours, or more than 60 16-hour days!

The shows kids watch add up, and summer’s free time can mean even more time for the tube. But most parents don’t want their kids to have a “dumber summer.” That’s when a student’s school year gains are eroded or erased by months of mental idleness.

National studies show a decline in achievement when kids watch TV more than 10-15 hours per week. Students earn higher test scores when they read more and watch TV less. But few children can regulate themselves when it comes to TV-most spend as much time with TV in one day as they spend reading for fun in a week!