If you have an old SchoolNotes account, click here to migrate your account into New SchoolNotes.


Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30
Upcoming Events
Curriculum Coach
Pamela Mesimer
LANDIS ELEMENTARY
Contact Pamela Mesimer

Page Last Updated Oct 22, 2009
Number of Visits: 291

Notify Me when this page is changed.
(Remove me from Notify List.)

Jump down this page to view:
Favorite Links


Mrs. Pam Mesimer

Curriculum Coach

Landis Elementary

 

It always amazes me how quickly the school year just slips by ... we are already nearing the end of our first quarter.  I can hardly believe it! 

Our students have been working very hard in their classrooms. I am always so excited to do a lesson with them.  Their love of learning is so fulfilling ... I am so proud to be part of it all.

Parent/Teacher conferences are in the process of being scheduled. I know you all look forward to discussing the progress that your child has already experienced during the first quarter of school. 3rd - 5th grade students have also started working on their first quarter benchmark assessment. This assessment allows the teacher to see what skills need to be focused on during whole and small group lessons.

I am always happy to help in any way, so if you should ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me or come in to see me.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pam Mesimer

Important Dates to Remember:

Early Release DayOctober 29
Protected Teacher WorkdayOctober 30

First Report Card Issued 
(Parent Conference may be required)

November 10
Veteran's DayNovember 11
Early Release DayNovember 24
Annual Leave (Make up Day)November 25
ThanksgivingNovember 26-27
Mid Quarter Progress ReportDecember 9
Christmas/Winter BreakDecember 23-January 1
School Workday (Make-up day)January 4
Students Return to SchoolJanuary 5
Martin Luther King, Jr. BirthdayJanuary 18
Protected Teacher Workday (required)January 21
School Workday (Make-up day)January 22
Second Report Card IssuedFebruary 2
School Workday (Make-up day)February 15
Mid Quarter Progress ReportFebruary 24
Early Release DayMarch 17
Early Release DayApril 1
Protected Teacher Workday (required)April 2
In lieu of Good FridayApril 5
Spring Break (Make-up days)April 6-9
Third Report Card IssuedApril 20
School Workday (Make-up day)May 4
Mid Quarter Progress ReportMay 6
Memorial DayMay 31
Last Day of SchoolJune 10

 

  

How Can Parents Help With Writing?

1. Share your own writing with your child - for example, notes, shopping lists, personal or business letters you write.

2. Put a bulletin board in a convenient place and use it for messages for the entire family.

3. Ask your child to help with writing that needs to be done in the home - shopping lists, instructions for babysitters, notes to relatives, plans for family outings, and directions for visitors.

4. Help your child write thank you notes, holiday cards, and invitations.

5. Allow your child to keep a car journal for trips or simply a day's event such as a visit to the store or park.

6. Encourage your child to write stories and poems to relatives as gifts.

7. Help your child write letters for various purposes.

8. Write down and collect family stories into a "family book" that you can illustrate.

9. Encourage your child to write daily journals at home.

"Have You Read a Good Book Lately?"
Tips for Making Reading With Your Child Successful and Fun

Reading with your child is a great way to promote a love for reading and to spend quality time together. The following are tips to make your reading time successful and fun:

1. Choose the right book using the "Five-Finger Rule." Have your child open the book to any page in the middle of the book and read that page. Each time your child comes to a word he/she does not know they should hold up one finger. If your child gets to five fingers before they finish reading the page, the book is too hard. If your child doesn't hold up any fingers, the book is probably easy for your child and can be used to build reading fluency. If your child holds up two or three fingers, the book is likely to be a good level for reading to grow.
 
2. Use "sound" strategies to tackle a new word.
  • Ask your child to sound out an unknown word. Look at the letters in a difficult word and have your child pronounce each sound, or "phoneme." Then see if they can blend the sounds together to pronounce the word.
  • Help your child memorize irregular words. Explain that words like "where," "hour" or "sign" are hard to sound out since they don't follow normal sound patterns. Point these words out when you're reading to help your child learn to recognize them on their own.
  • Use suffixes, prefixes, and root words. If your child knows the word "day," guide them to define new words like "yesterday" or "daily." Similarly, if they know what "pre" means, it's easy to learn new words like "prepare" or "preschool."

3. Use the story to help your child learn.

  • Ask your child what word or idea would make sense in the plot of the story when he/she gets stuck on an unfamiliar word.
  • Encourage your child to look at illustrations, pictures, titles or graphs to figure out the meaning of new words.

4. Give support and encouragement. This is very important!

  • Challenge your child to figure out new words, but always supply the word before he/she becomes frustrated.
  • After your child has read a story, reread it aloud yourself, so that your child can enjoy it without interruption.
  • If your child becomes tired or frustrated, take a break. Reading should be stress free.

5. Be a good role model. Let your child see you reading, and share your excitement when you enjoy a great book of your own.

6. Make reading a priority. Whether it's 10 minutes every night before bed or 30 minutes every Saturday morning, it helps to set aside a specific time for reading. This kind of special "together time" can go a long way in getting your child interested in books.

7. Create the right atmosphere. Find a quiet comfortable place to listen to your children read. While you don't need to build a special reading nook, it helps to ensure that even in a busy home, there's a quiet place for reading.
 
8. Make reading fun. Kids may not get excited at the idea of quiet time spent curled up on the couch. Why not make it fun by turning reading sessions into impromptu drama sessions? Play around with funny voices to impersonate animals or unusual characters in stories. You'll get to release some tension and your child will learn to think of reading as fun rather than work.
 
9.Keep reading aloud to your child. Don't stop reading aloud to your child once he/she learns to read by themself. When you take a turn at reading, you let your child enjoy books that are beyond their independent reading level and build their vocabulary by exposing them to new words. Reading aloud is also a chance for you to model reading smoothly and with expression.
 
10. Introduce new books. Each year there is one book that seems to steal the hearts and minds of all children. While it may seem it's the only book your child wants to read, it's important to remember that there are millions of books that will suit your child's interests and capture his imagination.

 

Disclaimer:
Linked sites are not under the control of the school district or its employees. The school district is not responsible for the contents of any linked site, any link contained in a linked site or any changes or updates to such sites. This web page provides links as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement of the site. Please contact the school if you have concerns.


Favorite Links