Dear Families,
14 of 25 students completed their reading homework at least three nights this week. If your child completed less than 3 reading logs I sent you an email with the number of reading logs they missed. If you excused your child from a night of reading I did not mark that against them. Hopefully, you find this information useful. If you don’t wish to get updates on homework completion, please send me an email stating such.
Thank you,
Mr. Cheney
Dear Families,
I just wanted to go over homework guidelines again. Monday through Thursday students are expected to read for 20 minutes and fill out a reading log. The reading log only requires a sentence or two describing the events of what your child read and a sentence or two about a reaction they had: connection, question, or prediction. Students are also expected to work on DreamBox for 20 minutes per night. I have heard of a few complaints about logging into DreamBox. If you’re having a hard time accessing DreamBox try copying this link and pasting it into your browser: https://play.dreambox.com/login/5spm/mallettsbs Once there click on Mr. Cheney. Your child’s username is: firstname.lastname Their password is the same as their Xtramath.org password, which is a 4-digit code they use everyday.
Although I don’t want parents and students struggling to get homework done, I do want everyone to give their best effort. This morning only 6 of 25 kids turned in a reading log. Typically, I will email parents if 2 or more reading logs are missed in a week, unless parents notify me that their child needs to be excused from an assignment. The easiest way to notify me, that you want your child excused from an assignment, is to write “excused” and your initials on the homework you want excused on your child’s homework log.
The Lighthouse 4th grade has decided to launch a new spelling program this year. We will focus on homophones, plurals, suffixes, and prefixes the first trimester.
Thank you,
Mr. Cheney
Dear Families,
Homework completion has been outstanding thus far. Thank you for your support in making sure your child’s homework is completed. Some of you have expressed frustration with accessing Dreambox. Hopefully this will help:
On a computer go to: https://play.dreambox.com/login/5spm/mallettsbs
On an iPad go to: http://www.dreambox.com/ipad or search for “DreamBox Math” in the App Store. Download Dreambox Math Green and Dreambox Math Blue to ensure your child has access to the full catalog of DreamBox Learning Math lessons. When prompted in the app, use this School Code: 5spm/mallettsbs
You may review your student’s academic progress with a DreamBox Parent Account. Please follow these steps to create your free Parent Account:
Log into your home account after set up:
Student Passwords
All students have a password document in their Google drive titled: “Name’s Passwords”. This document will have all of your child’s usernames and passwords.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at: joseph.cheney@colchestersd.org
Thank you,
Mr. Cheney
Dear Families,
We had a very good first full week of school. We are still getting to know each other, but have started some academic work in math, reading, and writing. In math we have been working on place value, adding, and rounding. In reading, we’ve been learning to pick just right books, and in writing we’ve had the opportunity to free write and make up characters.
Next week we will start homework. Students will be expected to read Monday – Thursday for 20 minutes per day and to fill out a reading log. They have seen this modeled in class and practiced on their own. It requires students to complete a summary (1-2 sentences) and response (1-2 sentences) to their reading. In addition to reading, students will be asked to work on Dreambox for 20 minutes per night. Dreambox is an online math program. Students will have logged in and tried this in class, so there shouldn’t be any issues. Homework can be very stressful, don’t let it be! Feel free to read with or to your child. It’s okay for your child to dictate their reading log to you. Complete the Dreambox activities together. If homework becomes a struggle, let me know and I’ll make adjustments for you.
I have a twitter handle: @JosephCheney151 I’ve posted classroom pictures to my twitter account and I’m working on linking my twitter account to this blog by the end of next week.
In a previous post I mentioned spelling. The Lighthouse 4th grade teachers are considering a new approach to spelling that may be more vocabulary based. We are not yet ready to roll that out, so spelling will not be starting next week.
Have a great weekend,
Mr. Cheney
September 1, 2017
Dear Families,
We’ve had a great week to start the year. It has been nice to get to know your children. They all seem very eager to learn and excited to be at school. I hope their enthusiasm continues throughout the year. We played several games to get to know each other and I learned some very interesting things about your children. I look forward to learning more about your children in the coming weeks and working with them throughout the year.
Dates to Remember:
September 4 ~ No school (Labor Day)
September 14 ~ School Picture Day
September 21 ~ Open House
Homework:
The first two weeks are full of assessments, so don’t expect to see too much homework. Homework will start the week of September 11. Students will be expected to complete a reading log Monday through Thursday. When students complete a reading log they need to read for fifteen to twenty minutes and fill out the reading log form, which they will all have in their homework folders. Students should write two or more sentences summarizing what they have read, and two or more sentences responding to what the read – questioning, predicting, or making connections.
Spelling will start on September 18, and I will give you more information on spelling homework when it starts.
Math homework will consist of occasional homework/study links and daily practice for 10-15 minutes on Dreambox (a school purchased math website).
Please don’t ever have your kids work to the point of frustration on homework! If homework becomes a struggle, let me know and I’ll make some adjustments.
Contacting Me:
You can reach me through email or handwritten notes. My email address is joseph.cheney@colchestersd.org If you choose to write a note please put it in a sealed envelope for confidentiality. I usually will get back to you within 24 hours.
Sincerely,
Mr. Cheney