Dyer Times

April 3, 2017 Issue 6

Dear Dyer Families,

Can you believe it is already April?! The atmosphere at Dyer is as busy as ever with students and teachers working hard and learning wonderful new things. Our Second graders recently attended their trip to the Sea Life Aquarium and seemed to genuinely enjoy that exciting educational experience. Third grade is also looking forward to taking a field trip in May. We are especially enjoying Friday mornings and Genius Hour. If you ever have Friday mornings off, and would like to come be a part of this time on our campus, please let us know. We would love to have you!

Since we are gradually approaching testing season, I wanted to be sure you understand that while the STAAR test is one measure of student progress, we recognize that it does not define a student and his/her success for the year. We are looking for each of our students to be making consistent progress throughout the entire year and do not want to place a great deal of pressure on them for the STAAR testing that takes place on May 8th and 9th. We will, however, continue to request your support at home as we want to ensure each of our students are fully prepared for the next grade level. The Spring semester is a little more challenging. Please continue reading with your children at home every night, maintaining consistent routines as best you can, and ensuring that your child is at school each and every day possible.

Students will not have school on Friday, April 14th OR 21st. The 14th is a Bad Weather Day that we get to take advantage of because of our very mild winter, and the 21st is a day for teachers to work and plan. Speaking of teachers, Teacher Appreciation Week is May 1-5. Please take time to reach out to your child’s teachers to let them know how much you appreciate the time and love they pour into your children each day. They are an incredible group of educators!

Thank you for the continued support throughout this year. We are fortunate to have such wonderful partnerships with our students’ families! We’re looking forward to seeing all of you soon!

Very sincerely,

Lindsey Boone

Our students are currently having a hard time remembering that school is not the place for toys and Pokemon cards. Please help us by reinforcing to your child that these items are not allowed at school. If they are found, we will take them up and hold them in the office until a parent can pick them up. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

April 11- PTO Meeting @Dodd - 6pm

April 12 - School Board Meeting

April 14 - No School - Bad Weather Make-up day

April 14 - End of 5th 6 weeks.

April 17 - Start 6th 6 weeks

April 21 - No School - Campus Planning

As referenced in the 2016-17 Student Handbook. Page 21.

Arriving late or leaving early is considered a part of the day: 4 or more tardies or picking your child up before dismissal time will exempt a student from perfect attendance awards/rewards and time may be required to be made up during summer school.

Doctor and Dental Appointments: Absences for appointments with doctors, dentists, orthodontists, physical therapists, and other health care professionals will be classified as excused absences if the student returns to school on the same day as the appointment and presents a note from the health care provider stating the time of the appointment and the time the student left the doctor’s office. If the appointment is at the end of the school day and the student has been at school all day up to that time, the absence will be excused if the student brings a note from the health care provider the following day.

April ES3 Award Winners:

Teacher of the Month:

Mrs. Kim Reed, 2nd Grade

Parents, please put your child's name in his/her jacket, coat or any other belongings that could potentially get put in our Lost and Found. We can then return it to it's rightful owner.

If your child owes money in the lunch room, please be sure to get those cleared up as soon as possible.

Here’s April!

We have concluded our 2017 Jump Rope for Heart and it was a huge success! We raised a total of $5916.39 for the American Heart Association! The top fundraiser from 3rd grade with $375.00 is Angelina S. in Mrs. Thomson’s class. The top fundraiser from 2nd grade with a total of $575.00 is Kase L. in Mrs. Martin’s class. Way to go Dyer! We had a jar challenge too! Ms. Murphy, Coach Alexander, and Mrs. Callaway collected at least $50.00 of coins and received an “elephant mud bath” in front of the entire school! The “top ten” students got a special treat of a movie and popcorn party!

We are slipping out of the 5th 6 weeks of the school year. With that being said, the students of Hattie Dyer have grown tremendously in their listening skills and their comprehension of more advanced skills used in PE. We always start small with low-organizational games and as the year progresses, we challenge them will more advanced opportunities to succeed.

We will start low level competitive games which teach kids how to have good sportsmanship, how to enjoy a healthy competition, and create moments of life-long learning. Games include team related sports, as well as, team activities that encourage the students to work together for a common goal. I like to wait until the end of the year for these activities to ensure their matureness and comprehension are more defined and can have more control over their emotional feelings.

This month also brings planning and preparation for Field Day which is May 25th. More details to come in the May newsletter.

We are learning more everyday and moving very quickly. Stay active and healthy!

Spring is a time to be artistic. 2nd grade is learning about ASCII art and learning more about Google Docs. 3rd grade is being artistic by learning how to use Google Sheets. They should all have something they could show you. Check it out.

​Wish List:

Box lids from paper boxes (the kind that holds many reams of paper)

Skittles​ (you can get these in bulk at WinCo)

The ​2nd grade work page is: bit.ly/scayce2

The ​3rd grade work page is: bit.ly/scayce3

To get messages from me for 2nd grade text the message, @2lab to 81010.

To get messages from me for 3rd grade text the message, @3lab to 81010.

We are practicing for our grade level programs. 2nd grade will have a performance Thursday, May 4. 3rd grade will have a performance Tuesday, May 16. More info to come!

Email is the best way to contact me. Feel free to do so at larissa.perez@krumisd.net

Warm Weather Tips

As the weather is getting warmer and we are able to spend more time outside, remember these sun safety tips.

Use sunscreen to prevent uncomfortable sunburns and possible dangerous skin conditions in the future. Apply sunscreen before going outside and don’t forget to reapply every 1-2 hours.

Wear a hat and sunglasses to protect your head and eyes from the sun. And don’t forget your lips, they can burn too. Use a lip balm that contains at least SPF 15 and reapply often.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep your body well hydrated.

Question: How can I help my child with reading comprehension?

Answer: To help your child get the most out of books, talk about the books before, during and after reading:

• Before reading, look at the title and jacket description. Where does the story take place? Is there a conflict in it? What does your child think will happen in the story? Why?

• While reading, discuss the characters and plot. What are the main characters like? Does your child agree with their decisions? What does she think might happen next?

• After reading, make conclusions. Did the story end the way your child expected? What alternate endings can she imagine? What does she think was the author’s point in writing the story? Can she provide a retelling of the story including the main events from the beginning, middle, and end of the story?

Additional Comprehension Reading Ideas:

• Encourage your child to exchange reading suggestions –As children get older, their classmates become great sources of reading recommendations. Your child can ask his friends (or siblings), “What’s your favorite book?” or “Have you read any cool books lately?” He can also recommend books to others. When kids read the same books, they can discuss them, which builds reading comprehension skills.

• Following directions requires reading –Playing a board game or even completing homework involves reading directions. After your child reads a set of directions, ask her to tell you what she’s supposed to do in her own words.

• Encourage your child to actively read –When reading a chapter book, encourage your child to read “actively.” This involves doing things while he reads. Suggest that your child do the following:

• Stop once in a while and think. What are the main points? What has he learned? Is anything confusing? How does the material relate to real life? Restate what the book says. Putting things into his own words will help your child understand what he has read.

• Summarize the main points
  

“April Showers Bring May Flowers”, is a rhyme that you may have enjoyed saying as a kid, but as a parent with kiddos stuck in the house it may make you cringe. Here are a couple of indoor math activities your family can enjoy while practicing math facts.

Defensive Multiplication

What You Need: Deck of playing cards, face cards removed, (4) sheets of paper, Tape, Pencil, Scratch paper and a Black marker

What You Do:

1. Have your child and her friends create a game board by drawing a 2 x 2 grid on each piece of paper. Tape the 4 sheets of paper together on the back and create a 4 x 4 grid.

2. Announce that aces = 1.

3. Ask one of the players to remove all of the face cards from the deck. Then divide the cards they removed into red and black cards. Each player gets either the red or black cards.

4. The game consists of five rounds. A round of play is made up of 16 turns (8 for each player) and features a different target product. You can decide on whatever target products you'd like, but the target products we used are: 60, 72, 84, 90, and 96. These numbers have lots of factors so they're easier to work with.

5. The two players must face each other. Players take turns placing any one of their cards into one of the spaces on the game board.

6. Whoever completes a line of 4 cards in a row in any direction (including diagonally), successfully creating the target product, wins one point. An example of 84: 7 x 2 x 3 x 2 = 84.

7. Once the board is full the round is complete. Clear the board and redistribute the cards back to the players before starting the next round.

8. The player who has the most points at the end of 5 rounds wins!

www.education.com/activity/article/defensive-struggle-multiplication/

Play Subtraction "War"

What You Do:

1. Shuffle the deck of cards and deal them face down, giving each player an equal number of cards until the deck runs out. Each player keeps his cards in a stack. Assign picture cards, such as jacks, queens, and kings, a value of 10. Give aces a value of 1.

2. Demonstrate to your child how to play the game: Each player turns two cards face up, reads the number sentence and supplies the answer. For example, if your child draws a 5 and a 4, he says 5 - 4 = 1. If you draw a 7 and an 2, then your number sentence is 7-2 = 5. Because your result is larger, you win the four cards and you put them at the bottom of your pile.

3. If each of you has a number sentence with the same answer, then it's war! At this point, you'll reverse the math "operation" and do an addition problem. Each player puts four cards face down and turns up two of them. The player with the sum wins all eight cards.

4. Set up the timer and play the game for 10 to 15 minutes. When the bell goes off, each player counts his cards. The player with the most cards wins. If one player runs out of cards before time is up, then the other player wins.

Get your game on! Subtraction Math War is a marvelous, high-speed way to build up math skills while spending a richly enjoyable time with your child.

www.education.com/activity/article/subtraction_war/

Email: lindsey.boone@krumisd.net
Website: www.krumisd.net
Location: 304 N 3rd St, Krum, TX, United States
Phone: 9404822604