October 7th, 2014
Dear
families,
Welcome to a new school year. We have
only been in school for a short while, and have already had a great start. Thank
you to all students and families who donated to the Terry Fox Foundation and
Cops for Cancer. I am looking forward to all the students growing and learning
this school year.
Mr.
Gadd’s website, Daily Agenda, and Homework
Please
remember that homework and other events are posted on Mr. Gadd’s website. This can be found at http://mrgadd.blogspot.ca/, or by
following the link on Happy Valley Elementary’s staff page.
Agendas have been ordered, but have
not yet arrived. When they do, you can
expect them to be filled in at school daily with homework and upcoming
events. As part of an effort to teach organization
and good study skills, please check your child’s agenda daily.
All homework should be completed in a
timely manner and will be collected first thing in the morning on the day it is
due. On nights when students do not have
homework they should be spending a little time reading, or reviewing. If you find your child is getting
overwhelmed, or spending a massive amount of time trying to stay caught up,
please let me know, so we can develop a plan that works for each student.
Spelling
We are currently doing spelling
assessment. Starting next week, spelling
works will come home on Mondays, spelling assignments will be due on Fridays,
and spelling tests will be on Fridays.
Please encourage your child to do a little spelling review each night,
as it is more effective than cramming on Thursday night.
Math
Students have begun a Math program
with peers of their own grade. Grade 5
students are studying math with Mr. Gadd, and Grade 4 students are studying
with Mr. Cook. Students can expect Math
homework most nights, especially work that they do not finish in class. If students have no homework in Math, they
should review their Math facts including multiplication and division
facts. Two great websites to facilitate
this study are IXL (http://ca.ixl.com/), and Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/).
Science
and Social Studies
Students have begun Science and Social
Studies programs with peers of their own age.
Grade 5 students are studying with Mr. Cook, and Grade 4 students are
studying with Mr. Gadd.
Fund
Raising
Thanks to everyone for helping make
our Terry Fox Run and Cops for Cancer so successful.
Our Class fieldtrips and other activities
are funded, in part, by our fundraising PAC.
This week, coupon books went home for students to sell as part of PAC’s
fundraising effort. Please consider
buying a coupon book, and supporting your children in this fundraiser. If you do not want the book, please send it
back to school, as each booklet must either be paid for or returned.
Thank you to all our PAC volunteers.
Getting
in touch
Open communication is very important
to me. Please feel free to come by after
school to introduce yourself. I am available
to talk most afternoons. I am always available
on email at rgadd@gmail.com. If you want to phone me at school, after
school is the best time. Or you can write a note in the agenda. Thank you to
those parents that have already come to talk to me; I hope to see you all at
Meet the Teacher Night.
Important
Dates
Tuesday,
October 7th - Meet the
Teacher Night. 6pm – 7pm
Friday,
October 10th - Photo Day
Monday,
October 13th - Thanksgiving
Day Holiday
Friday,
October 24th - Professional
Development Day: School closed
Friday,
October 31st - Hallowe’en
-
wear
a costume
-
costume
parade in the gym – morning
-
dance
at lunchtime
-
information
about classroom activities will be sent out later.
Thank
you for taking the time to read this newsletter. I’m looking forward to a great year.
Rupert
Gadd
250.478.3232
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