Mrs. Ries' Corner
Remember: a good night's sleep and a good breakfast are important to good test results.

Do not wait to the last minute to do long-term projects.   Do a little each week and remember to ask for help at Budlong Library.

To easily practice times tables, pick one number each night and repeat the multiples in order as you are falling asleep.

When learning your spelling words, just memorize a few each night.  Just 3-5 would be ideal.

Welcome to Room 111
New Homework Policy Starts May 1  Unexcused late homework will count against a student's record.  More than 10 missing assignments in may will result in loss of end-of-year rewards.  A letter went home April 30

Beginning with the next book report, the children will be using books they choose during library class. They have five more book reports and they must be one from each of these genres: Historical Fiction                       
               Folk tale                                         
               Nonfiction                                       
               fantasy                                            
               REALISTIC FICTION                         
The 'Due Dates' (listed below) are still applicable but the students may choose which genre to read for each date until they have fulfilled the requirements.                                               

Thank you to all of you who have searched for missing books.  When I sent home the letter there were 27 missing books and now all but 1 have been returned.



Grades are now available on-line. See directions below.


Mr. Iem
It is hard to believe it but sixteen weeks have flown by and we have said good-bye to Mr. Iem.  Although his last day of teaching was  Friday, April 19, he was still  in the building observing in other classrooms and doing lunch duty.  He  graciously agreed to be a chaperone on our field trip to the History Museum.  He may even come back for future trips if it works with his schedule. Mr. Iem has done well in Room 111 and we will miss him.  We wish him luck in finding a position. Any principal would be lucky to aquire him.
EARN EXTRA CREDIT
Mr. Newton's seventh grade social studies classes are on a crusade to save water for our planet.  They have asked all the students to ask everyone in their families to turn off the water faucets while they brush their teeth.  This will save an average of 2 gallons of water for each brushing.  your child has come home with a sheet to keep track for your family.  Every three weeks the sheets come back and the seventh graders will compile the data and keep track of how many gallons of water the Jamieson community has saved.  Please participate. When the papers come back, it will be worth extra credit.  It will alternate between science and social studies.  Those who did poorly in the first quizzes in these subjects for this term should be particularly interested in the extra credit.


 In Math we are revisiting multiplication and division but with larger numbers.  Be sure to continue practicing those times tables.  You need to stay fast.  There will be another timed test in the fourth quarter to be sure you still remember them.

In science, we  will continue to study our solar system.

In Social Studies we are studying Chicago.  Mr. Iem started us on the basics. we have now begun to research projects that will fill in the interesting history of our city. 

Please remember there is homework help available at the Budlong branch of the Chicago Public Libraries. In the past there has been someone available to give guidance to the children in need of it.

STORY OF THE WEEK
"Bat Boy and His Violin" (254-277)

SPELLING WORDS

Book Reports are due every second Monday.  A different genre will be assigned for each report.  SOMETIMES Only a small number of books for each genre are available in the classroom.  IF THIS IS THE CASE, I suggest a trip to the library, it is good practice for their later educational needs.
DUE DATES                                                    
April 7               See  information            
April 21                above  for                     
May 5                 book  genres                   
May 19                      and                                
June 2             how to choose them         


Remember: You can access your child's grades on line. Simply go to the Jamieson School home page under "Students" and click on "Check Grades". Your child's I.D. number is their user name and they  have been given an individual password which should be in their assignment notebook.
It is a pleasure to keep you aware of what is going on in our class through our website. Each week all the homework will be listed on this site so feel free to check up on your kids. Homework for the week will be changed after school by the last school day of the week. Any scheduled holidays, institute days or field trips will be noted with the homework. These should be copied into their assignment notebooks. 
For your information, anything from this website can be saved and printed. First, highlight the section to be copied and press "copy" on th "Edit" drop down window. Second, open a new "Word" document. Last, press "paste" on the "Edit" drop down window. Now it can be printed. If you print out the homework and spelling and vocabulary words and glue them into your assignment notebook, it doesn't have to be done in class, freeing you to start your morning work. Remember that the homework listed in this website is not carved in stone. What is written in the assignment notebook should be correct, if it was copied correctly from the homework board. If you printed the homework, make sure it matches the board.

At the end of each week, all student work is sent home in a packet with a colored covered letter to be signed by a parent/ guardian. Sign and return the cover letter, keep the papers. If you look over these papers, Weekend Writing, and book reports, you will have a good idea of how your child is doing.

Every day starts with morning work. Along with correcting and copying their homework, the students do math and grammar practice on the basics. Our first class is math.    I like to stress "Fact Families", if you know one member, you know them all.  Remember to refer to the parent letter which should come home when we start a new unit. This letter not only lets you know what we will be studying for the next several weeks, it has the answers to the homework so you can help your student if they become confused.


You'll notice that math practice is listed EVERY night in the homework. It is very important to practice math basics. Remember, nothing takes the place of actually KNOWING facts. Flash cards are okay, but I prefer the children to learn the facts as part of a "fact family". You may still have the triangles from second grade to use for addition and subtraction practice. This year they will add multiplication and division triangles to their collection.  Learning  relationships between the 3 numbers in the families makes remembering the facts easier. Money can give practice for many functions: counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's, adding with prices, subtracting to make change, etc.

Language Arts is next. It fills the rest of the morning. Ms. Ries will be team teaching with me as often as she can fit it into her schedule. The goal is for a small portion of each day. You should be noticing a pattern to the homework. 

In the afternoon, we alternate between Science and Social Studies.  Many reading skills are reinforced as we study these subjects.  Most of the work is 'open book'.  I am more interested in their ability to find the information than their memorizing it.

Class Announcements

HOMEWORK  
May 12 - 16
Monday 
Math: Homelink 10.2
Multiplication speed test Wednesday 
Grammar: 162
Spelling: 163-164
Practice:     
Read
Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.

Tuesday
Math: Homelink 10.3 Self-Assessment
Multiplication speed test tomorrow 
Grammar: 163-164
Spelling: Use words in sentences. 
Practice:
Read
Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.

Wednesday 
Math:HomeLink 10.4
Practice math facts 
Grammar: 166
Spelling:
Practice: 187A
Read 
Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.

Thursday 
Math: HomeLink10.5
Practice math facts. 
Grammar:
Spelling: 167-168 (New Words)
Practice: 189
Read:
Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.

Friday
Math: Worksheet
Practice math facts.  
Weekend Writing
Book Report
Read 
Get assignment notebook and colored letter signed. 
Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.