Learning To Go Mr. Avery's Class on the Web 

We’ve arrived! What a wonderful journey. Congratulations to students, families, and teachers on this year’s many accomplishments. It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a committed community working together to inspire lifelong learning in kids. Thank you for your support and kindness all year, and I wish your family the very best as you continue on your journey!

Sincerely,

Ken Avery

The countdown is on: just 10 days until 3rd grade! The kids have come SO far, and are 100% ready for new challenges!

Some final notes:

1. This is the last week of reading homework, math homework, spelling quizzes, and math facts quizzes.

2. Please be on the lookout for all Floral St. Media Center books (they have a labeled barcode). This includes books borrowed from our classroom for homework (e.g. not just the one book your child has borrowed from Media). In addition, ALL books belonging to school should now come back.

3. Your child’s math workbooks will come home after this week. Please be aware that as we align the new program to our state standards, a few chapters are not being taught, and therefore will be blank.

4. Keep up those skills! Over the summer, many students lose some of what they’ve learned in a year. You can help avoid this with some easy tips:

a. Our subscription to RAZ Kids continues through the first 1/2 of summer. Keep on reading and take advantage of this on-the-go option! In addition, the Shrewsbury Public Library has a fantastic collection of leveled books your child can borrow. See the report card for your child’s just-right level, then choose books on–and just below–that.

b. I’ll be sending home a writing journal with some students to beef up skills. Be on the lookout!

c. Our Xtra Math membership will not expire! Students can keep studying and moving up levels, and in the fall I can transfer their accounts to next year’s teacher. In the event next year’s teacher does not participate, shoot me an email then and I’ll keep your child’s account active under my class!

d. Greg Tang’s math site is offering a “Summer Challenge!” Visit the site via the link in the Student Resources section above. I HIGHLY recommend visiting the site often, in any event. His vision for building math fluency in kids is spot-on.

With your help, we can avoid the dreaded regression of skills (or as we call it, The Summer Slide)!

You’re invited! Our End-of-Year Celebration will be held Friday, June 12, 9:30-10:15 in our Cafeteria. Similar to our Winter bash, we will be performing on the stage for family and friends, and we will remain after for photo opportunities and congratulations!

Field Day was a BLAST! Thanks to our parents Tony Mastromatteo, Angela Heske, Susan Agneta, and Mary Rosiello for helping make the day the success that it was!

Field Day is here! This Thursday marks the big event. To help make the day run smoothly, we need your help:

1. All students in our class are to wear GREY SHIRTS that day (this identifies them quickly for reasons of safety and for recording their achievements).

2. All sunscreen must be applied at home, not at school.

3. Well-fitting hats (e.g. baseball caps vs. big sun hats) are welcome.

4. Dress students for comfort: they will be very physically active and hot, and a few games involve water so expect a little wetness.

5. There’s a Hawaiian theme to this year’s games. Costume extras are welcome as long as they’re safe!

6. Sneakers are a must: no flip-flops.

7. Water bottles with student names on them are a good idea!

This week, students will be assessed in several areas for the end of the year. There will be math tests on geometry and problem solving, plus quizzes on skills described on our report card. There are DRA reading tests, and a district writing assessment (Opinion Writing). In addition, we will take assessments on social studies (timelines and maps) and science (states of matter). Most will be sent home next week. To tell if a student paper is a test versus classwork, look for a number score at the top (e.g. 6/7 means 6 continents correctly identified our of 7 on a social studies test). DRAs are not sent home but are passed on to next year’s teacher; however, student reading levels are noted on the final report card.

Reading and math homework will end on Friday, June 12. That will also be the date of our last math facts quiz and spelling test.

You’re invited! Our End-of-Year Celebration will be held Friday, June 12, 9:30-10:15 in our Cafeteria. Similar to our Winter bash, we will be performing on the stage for family and friends, and we will remain after for photo opportunities and congratulations!

Floral Goes Green was a big hit! Students engaged in activities from planting to wildlife observations. They learned about the importance of sustainability and the availability of CSA’s in our area to promote organic farming. We learned about the changes in nature out our back door through a video guided tour as we hiked our nature trail. And of course we were proud to display our learning about the importance of freshwater to our community and our world. Kudos to all!