It’s hard to believe the year has gone by already! It has been a wonderful year here at Mary Queen of Angels. Thank you to everyone, you have all made me feel very welcome my first year here. Either by having you for class or testing you for whole school statistics I have gotten to know each and every one of you here, and let me say you all have something special that you have been blessed with to make you individuals which will  guide you through your school years with success!

To the GRADUATING 8th graders:    A special 4 years are ahead of you. Have fun and remember to ALWAYS do your homework! My hope for you all is that you learn to love to read and that it will continue with you through your entire life. There is a quote that says…”Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” ~Charles W. Eliot      To a few of my students I have these thoughts:  DAN- you are the first student I have taught with the same last name as mine before I married. YEAH to the Koszuta’s of the world!  KAYLIE- having the same name and mannerisms  as my only daughter made you a favorite of mine!   DEANNA- that performance you did of Adele in the talent show will forever be what I think of whenever I hear Adele singing from now on…you ROCKED!    MATTHEW- no one makes a class more talkative than you! Maybe politics are in your future!    REBECCA- you are so loved by your brother and sister, not enough families are as lucky to have that!    KEVIN- the smartest and hardest working student from any of classes…You are going to shine in high school!    PAUL- your humor, your comedy is what stands out…you can use that in a career you one day choose!     BRITTANY- a very good reader already…I hope you enjoy all the novels in high school that you’ll read!   

To ALL my students from K-7 have a FANTASTIC summer and do two things for me until I see you in September again…READ a little EVERY day and practice math facts…K-2 addition and subtraction facts…3-7 multiplication facts! Do those two things for me and a nice surprize will be waiting for you in September from me!!

   Summer vacation is here!  I hope that you make it a time to rest, relax, read, but above all enjoy!  Reading, like a sport, involves practice and skill.  Real skill building occurs when children read for pleasure, when children read “just right” bools, that is , books that are not too hard or too easy, and when children can explore books about topics that interest them.   The more they practice with someone’s encouragement, suggestions, and praise (just like a sport), the better and more confident readers they will become.

  Here are some tips to encourage reading:  Set aside a regular family reading time.  Read to your children, even the older ones.  Let your children see you read for pleasure.  Don’t forget to pack a book wherever you go this summer.

    Students entering third grade should read for 20-25 minutes every day.  Make frequent trips to the library to pick out new books.  Read a book online.  Read a magazine or the newspaper.  Just read!

   The students should also work on the number facts that they mastered this year.  They should know the addition and subtraction facts to 20 without using their fingers.  This will make third grade math much easier next year.

                                                                                                                  Have a great summer!

                                                                                                                  Mrs. Gladwell

May 2013      

• We are celebrating Mother’s Day this month
• We are also remembering our Blessed Mother Mary with saying the rosary
• AIMSWEB Testing for all grades in reading and upper grades in math
• 8th grade trip to Pittsburg
• Celebrating Memorial Day
• 4th grade & 8th grade’s NYS Science Performance Test
• Grades K, 1, 2 FIELD TRIP

With all that is going on this month AIS classes will only meet one week this month

In Reading:  Each grade will read a different book, work on grammar and essay skills

In Math: Each grade level will be reviewing questions from the NYS Math exam they just took.

NYS ELA Exam is April 16th, 17th, & 18th

NYS Math Exam is April 24th, 25th, & 26th

This year the State Tests are all brand new. We are told they are going to be harder than previous years as we now follow Common Core Standards and not just NYS Standards. We have been practicing with “samples” of questions we have been given for successful scores from our students.

Tips for Taking State Tests:

• Get to bed early, and wake up with enough time to have a good breakfast!
• Tell your child not to worry about questions they are unfamiliar with. This is normal.
• RELAX and do your best – without worrying. The work you do throughtout the year is a better measure of achievement than any single test score.

In all Reading classes grades 3-8 we have been working on becoming accustom to reading informational articles and answering different formatted questions:  multiple choice, short answer responses with details from the article, editing, and essays.

In grades 3-8 we will be doing a unit on the book & DVD “Soul Surfer”.  Along with viewing the DVD there are activities, discussion questions, and scripture put in a way for younger students to understand. This is a wonderful lesson of learning to:

• understand God’s point of view
• stay positive and keep your faith strong when life gets tough
• discover the purpose God has for our life
• how perseverance is important in the midst of life’s challenges

In all Math classes grades 3-8 we have been practicing questions given to us by the state. Each grade has a different level of problems, but we were working on showing our work, explaining our work, and making sure we have answered all parts of a question.

When testing is done we will play some math games to take a break from the testing mode we have been in for nearly a month.  Games like Integer War, Bulls-Eye Math, Money Mart, The Price is Right, Light ‘N’ Strike Math, to name a few.

March News from AIS!

March 1st :  Read Across America Day!

                         Dr. Seuss’ birthday celebration!

What a GREAT way to Celebrate READING!

Mary Queen of Angels is registered to participate in this year’s READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY!

• We will be using the WONDERFUL technology MQA has by using our Smart Boards and iPads to listen and participate in an interactive book reading. Each grade will choose their book they wish to read.
• To get all the students in a Dr. Seuss mood we will have the school decorated for our celebration with banners and balloons!
• We will be singing Happy Birthday to Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Suess) and enjoying a birthday cupcake made by me (make that ordered and picked up by me!)

Dr. Seuss never retired and never ran out of ideas. His last book, Oh the Places You’ll Go! was published when he was eighty-six years old.  He had accomplished a great deal by the time he died. He had spent his life helping children to read. And he proved to the world that words are fun and that reading is an enjoyable pastime!