Fairview-Marguerite Elementary

Our school is proud to be a Title I school, which means we receive additional federal funding to support student achievement and provide resources that help all students succeed. We value our partnership with families and encourage parents to stay involved through school events, communication opportunities, and decision-making processes that support student learning. Please take a few moments to complete our Title I Parent Survey, as your feedback helps us strengthen our programs and better meet the needs of our students and families.

September is here, and we are excited for another month of learning and growing together! We are continuing to build strong classroom routines while introducing many new kindergarten skills.

CKLA | Foundational Reading Skills

This month, we are building the important foundational skills that will help us become successful readers and writers.

We will be:

• Practicing correct pencil grip
• Listening for and identifying environmental sounds
• Practicing drawing and writing different types of lines and strokes
• Strengthening listening, attention, and pre-reading skills
• Getting ready to begin learning letter sounds soon!

These introductory skills help prepare students for handwriting, phonics, and reading.

Our Five Senses

We are beginning an exciting new unit all about our five senses!

Students will learn how we use our senses to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the world around us.

We will also begin exploring informational texts and learning that nonfiction books can teach us real facts and information about a topic.

Ask your child: What are your five senses? How do they help you learn about the world?

SRSD Writing

Our kindergarten writers are working hard!

We will continue writing opinion pieces using our SRSD writing strategies. Our writing will connect to the books and topics we are learning about during our Knowledge Building/Reading block.

Students will practice:

• Sharing an opinion
• Giving reasons for their thinking
• Using pictures, letters, and words to communicate their ideas
• Connecting their writing to our classroom texts

Math

Numbers 1–10

We are finishing our unit on numbers 1–5 and will soon begin learning about numbers 6–10!

Students will practice:

• Identifying numbers
• Counting objects accurately
• Writing numbers correctly
• Matching a number to the correct quantity
• Building a strong understanding of numbers 1–10

Practice at Home

A few minutes of practice at home each day can make a big difference! Please help your child practice:

• Counting aloud to 30
• Recognizing numbers 1–10
• Writing their first name
• Using a correct pencil grip while writing

When practicing names, please encourage your child to begin with a capital letter and use lowercase letters for the remaining letters.

Thank you for working with us to build these important kindergarten skills!

Snack Donations Needed

Our classroom snack supply could use a refill! We would greatly appreciate any individually packaged snack donations for our kindergarteners.

Some easy classroom snacks include Goldfish, pretzels, crackers, fruit snacks, granola bars, or other individually packaged items.

Thank you for helping us keep our students fueled and ready to learn!

Thank You, Families!

Thank you for all you do to support your child at home. September will be filled with lots of learning, growing, and fun. We are excited to watch our kindergarteners continue to build confidence and independence throughout the month.

Happy September!

The Kindergarten Team

Hello! We are off to a great start this school year! As September begins, we will be busy learning all kinds of new material across all subjects. In CKLA, we will be working on digraphs, double letter spellings, and nouns. In our knowledge building section of reading we will be working on understanding the human body and staying healthy. We will also begin learning about how animals live and survive in different environments. In writing, we have been working really hard on opinion writing, which we will continue for the month of September. In math, we will be working on place value to 99(tens and ones) and begin our addition unit. Each night students are coming home with a reading passage. Please have your student read this passage to you every night and practice the power words on the page as well. Please sign and return that paper in his/her folder each day. Thank you for helping us start the year great. We look forward to helping your student grow and learn.

First Grade Team

We are off to a great start in second grade! As we move into September, we appreciate your continued support at home.

In ELA we are focusing on theme and text features.

In math we are working on place value of 3-digit numbers and comparing numbers using place value.

Here are a few important reminders to help your child have a successful month!

We Need Snacks!

Our classroom snack supply is running low! If you are able, please consider donating individually wrapped, classroom-friendly snacks for our students. Any donations are greatly appreciated!

Check Folders Every Night

Please make it a habit to check your child's folder every evening. Important papers, graded work, and information from school will be sent home in folders.

Please also check and sign your child's behavior log daily. Your signature lets us know that you have seen how your child's day went and helps us keep communication between home and school strong.

Practice Vocabulary

Students receive vocabulary words that we practice throughout the week. Please spend a few minutes practicing vocabulary words with your child each night. Knowing these words and their meanings will help students with reading, writing, and understanding what they are learning in class.

Check Your Child's Grades

Parents are encouraged to check grades regularly so you can stay informed about your child's progress. In second grade, students receive grades in ELA and Math.

Grading Scale:

A: 90–100
B: 80–89
C: 70–79
D: 60–69
F: Below 60

If you notice that your child is struggling or has a low grade, please reach out to your child's teacher. We want to work together to help every student grow and be successful!

Thank You, Families!

Thank you for all you do at home to support our second graders. Checking folders, practicing vocabulary, monitoring grades, and staying connected with your child's teacher make a huge difference. We are looking forward to a wonderful September!

In September, our third graders will begin building their multiplication and division skills! We will focus on 3.OA.A.1 and 3.OA.A.2, learning how multiplication and division can be used to represent and solve real-world problems. Students will practice understanding what multiplication and division situations mean and using different strategies, models, and equations to solve problems.

Parents, please be on the lookout for multiplication fact cards coming home with your child. Students should practice these facts every night. Knowing multiplication facts quickly and accurately is extremely important because these facts will be the foundation for much of the math we will learn throughout third grade. A few minutes of practice each night can make a BIG difference in your child's confidence and success!

Thank you for supporting your mathematician at home! We are excited for a great month of learning!

Mrs. Mason and Mrs. Cook

Dear 3rd Grade Families,

Welcome to a new school year! We are so excited to begin this journey with your child. Third grade is an important year for students as they grow into more independent readers and writers. Each month, we will send home a newsletter to keep you informed about what we are learning, important dates, and ways you can support your child at home. We are looking forward to a wonderful year of learning, growth, and success!

What We’re Learning in Reading

During September, we will be reading both informational and narrative texts.

One of our biggest focuses will be teaching students to go back into the text to find evidence that supports their answers. In 3rd grade, we want students to do more than give an answer—we want them to be able to PROVE IT!

Students will practice:

• Answering questions about what they read
• Finding details and evidence in the text
• Explaining how their evidence supports their answer
• Reading and understanding both stories and informational texts

What We’re Learning in Writing

We are beginning the year by learning how to write strong informational paragraphs. Students will use our TIDE strategy to organize their ideas.

T – Topic Sentence
I – Important Ideas
D – Details
E – Ending

Our goal is for students to write organized paragraphs that clearly teach their reader about a topic while using details to support their ideas.

How You Can Help at Home

You do not need special worksheets or materials to help your child become a stronger reader! A few minutes of reading and conversation each night can make a big difference.

• Read for at least 20 minutes each night.
• After reading, ask your child, “What was the text mostly about?”
• Ask, “How do you know?” and have your child find evidence in the text to prove their answer.
• For stories, ask your child to tell you about the characters, problem, important events, and lesson.
• For informational texts, ask your child to tell you three important things they learned.
• Encourage your child to write in complete sentences with capitals and punctuation.
• Talk about unfamiliar words and use clues in the sentence to figure out what they mean.
• Make attendance and arriving on time a priority. Every day of instruction matters!

The best thing you can do is read, talk, and ask questions together!

Important: Tennessee’s 3rd Grade Retention Law

As we begin the school year, we want all families to be aware that third grade is an important year for reading in Tennessee.

A student's performance on the ELA portion of the spring TCAP assessment plays an important role in determining promotion to fourth grade. Students who do not meet the state's reading expectations may need to participate in additional support or meet the requirements of another promotion pathway.

TCAP may seem far away, but the work we are doing right now is preparing students for it. Every reading standard we teach, every passage students read, and every opportunity they have to find evidence and explain their thinking is helping build the skills they will need in the spring.

Throughout the year, we will keep you informed about your child's reading progress, benchmark results, and any concerns we may have. Please reach out at any time if you have questions about your child's progress.

We are excited to partner with you and watch your child grow throughout 3rd grade. Thank you for supporting the work we are doing at school and helping us make this a successful year!

Your 3rd Grade ELA Teachers,
Ms. Horsley • Ms. Kennedy • Mrs. Richardson

Dear 4th Grade Families,

We are so excited to begin a new year in 4th grade! Our students have been working incredibly hard, and we are so proud of how quickly they have settled into our classroom routines. It has been wonderful to see them thriving, learning, and growing each day. We are already seeing so many great things from this group, and we can't wait to see what they accomplish throughout the year!

What We're Learning in ELA

This month, we are diving into some very important 4th grade ELA skills. Students will be learning how to identify the main idea and key details, write effective summaries, and determine the theme of a story. These skills will help students become stronger, more thoughtful readers and will continue to be important throughout the school year.

We are also spending lots of time growing as writers! Students are working on taking their writing to the next level by moving from writing a single paragraph to writing multiple connected paragraphs. We are focusing on organizing our ideas, adding strong details, using transitions, and making our writing clear and interesting to our readers. We are so excited to watch our young writers grow!

Testing & Instruction

Sometime this month, students will also participate in Aimsweb testing and Benchmark testing. These assessments help us understand what students already know and identify the skills where they may need additional practice and support. We use this information to guide and strengthen our instruction so that we can meet each student where they are and help them continue to grow.

We are off to such a wonderful start, and we are excited for all that this year has in store! Thank you for partnering with us as we encourage, support, and celebrate your child throughout their 4th grade journey.

Here's to a year filled with learning, growing, challenges, successes, and lots of fun! We can't wait to see what this amazing group of students accomplishes!

Happy Learning!

Your 4th Grade Teachers
Mrs. Coffey, Mrs. Herrington, and Mrs. Martinez

Where we’ve been:

For the past month students have been focused on understanding multi-digit numbers in terms of place value. We have worked on reading and writing numbers up to the millions place, comparing larger numbers, and addition & subtraction of multi-digit numbers. We will continue to spiral back and review these concepts throughout the year.

Where we’re going:

In September we will continue working on adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers. We will begin working on multiplicative comparisons as well as factor pairs and multiples. Students will extend and grow their understanding of multiplication from third grade, moving toward multiplying and dividing larger numbers. We will also be taking our first Benchmark assessment at the end of September, please make sure to check for any updates on Classdojo.

How to help:

Please make sure your child is completing their weekly homework as it is a good review of the skills and concepts we have already worked on in class. In addition, please help your child practice their basic multiplication and division facts. If you have any questions please reach out via ClassDojo.

Math

September will be all about building a strong understanding of our place value

system and decimals! Students will explore how the value of a digit changes

depending on its place and discover patterns that occur when numbers are

multiplied or divided by powers of 10. We will also practice reading, writing,

comparing, and rounding decimals using real-world connections, including

money.

Students can look forward to hands-on activities, stations, games, and

collaborative challenges that allow them to apply their learning in different

ways. Our goal is for students to not only solve problems, but also explain the

patterns they notice and the reasoning behind their answers.

Social Studies

In Social Studies, we will continue exploring Tennessee's journey and growth as

a state! Students will learn how Tennessee became a state, including the role of

voting and congressional approval, and identify important details such as the

year Tennessee became a state and its first governor. We hope to bring history

to life through activities such as a statehood and voting simulation where

students can experience parts of the process for themselves.

As we move through Tennessee history, students will explore the War of 1812,

important battles, Andrew Jackson's connection to Tennessee, and the Trail of

Tears and its impact on Native American populations and Tennessee's

boundaries and history.

Students will also have opportunities to investigate important people from this

period of Tennessee history through a short research activity and share what

they discover with their classmates. Throughout the month, we will focus on

making connections between the people, events, and decisions that helped

shape Tennessee.

In ELA class, we will be studying both informational and literary texts and working through a variety of reading standards; Particularly theme, central idea, text structure, and using context clues.

In Writing, we are continuing to practice proper writing structure and format for opinion essays. We have been working on Introduction Paragraphs and are moving into Body Paragraphs. Students will understand how to write a topic sentence, support it with text evidence, and explain their point in their own words.

In Science, we are currently learning how to identify materials based on their properties. We will build onto this skill later in the month by discussing attributes of chemical vs. physical changes.

Just a reminder that the first Benchmark assessment will be from September 21st to October 2nd.

Helping children make good choices, manage big emotions, and build independence takes time, patience, and lots of practice. Just like reading or math, positive behavior is a skill that children learn with support from the adults around them.

Here are a few simple strategies families can use at home:

Be Clear and Consistent

Children do best when they know what is expected. Keep directions short, specific, and positive. Instead of saying, “Stop making a mess,” try, “Please put the toys in the basket.”

Notice the Good!

One of the most powerful behavior tools is positive attention. Try to “catch” your child doing something well and name exactly what you noticed.

“I love how you started getting ready the first time I asked!”
“Thank you for using such a calm voice.”
“You worked really hard even when that was difficult!”

The behaviors that receive attention are often the behaviors we see more often.

Give Choices When You Can

Appropriate choices can help children feel a sense of independence while still following adult expectations.

Try: “Would you like to do your homework before snack or after snack?”
Both choices work for the adult, while the child gets some control.

Keep Routines Predictable

Morning routines, homework time, bedtime, and other daily activities are often easier when children know what comes next. Visual schedules, checklists, timers, and reminders can be helpful—even for older children!

Stay Calm During Big Feelings

Children often borrow calm from the adults around them. When emotions are high, fewer words are usually better. Give your child time to calm down before trying to teach, correct, or problem-solve.

Once everyone is calm, talk about what happened and what could be done differently next time.

Remember: Behavior Is Communication

Sometimes challenging behavior is a child’s way of communicating, “This is hard,” “I need help,” “I’m frustrated,” or “I need a break.” While we still maintain appropriate expectations, understanding the reason behind a behavior can help us teach a better way for the child to respond.

Celebrate Progress, Not Perfection

Children will make mistakes—and that is part of learning. Look for small improvements and celebrate them! Every time a child practices making a better choice, solving a problem, calming down, or trying again, they are building skills that will help them throughout life.

Home and school are a team. When families and school staff work together with consistent expectations, encouragement, and support, we help our Wildcats grow into confident, responsible, and resilient learners!

We have finished our Aimsweb screener. If your child goes to WIN with Mrs. Shepard, Miss Kori, Miss Williams, or Ms. Craft, we are working on foundational skills in Reading and Math. Ways to help your child:

Kindergarten

Reading: Practice letter names and sounds, rhyme words, clap syllables, blend simple sounds like /m/ /a/ /p/, read aloud daily, and practice writing letters and names.

Math: Count objects to 20 and beyond, recognize numbers, compare groups using more/less, practice making 5 and 10, identify shapes, and use toys or snacks for simple addition and subtraction.

1st Grade

Reading: Practice phonics patterns, blend and read CVC words, build high-frequency word recognition, reread familiar books for fluency, and retell the beginning, middle, and end.

Math: Practice addition and subtraction within 20, make 10, count forward and backward, compare two-digit numbers, identify tens and ones, and solve simple story problems.

2nd Grade

Reading: read aloud for fluency, discuss the characters, setting, etc

Math: Build fluency with addition and subtraction facts, practice place value to (1st grade-120 and 2nd grade 1,000), skip-count by 2s, 5s, and 10s, use money and time, and solve one- and two-step word problems.

3rd-5th Grade

Reading: Read a variety of fiction and nonfiction then summarize what was read.

Math: Practice multiplication and division, fractions and money, place value, and multi-step word problems

Parents do not need to recreate school at home. 10–15 minutes a day can be very effective. Read together, play card or dice games, practice one targeted skill, and frequently ask:

“How did you figure that out?”