B

Miss SWITZERS
WELCOME BACK EDITION

Star Notes
AUGUST 2013

Welcome to 4th Grade

I hope this letter nds you all enjoying these summer days of August! Were only a couple of weeks away from a new school year beginning, and I am really getting excited about it! Im looking forward to working with you all this year! I have so much fun planning and decorating our room so I really enjoy this time of year! I like things to be organized, colorful, inviting, and fun for you! I want to tell you a little bit about myself so that you can begin to get to know me. I have been teaching about 27 years--most of those have been in 4th grade. I graduated from the University of California in Santa Barbara, earned my teaching certicate from Fresno State University, and my Masters Degree in Education from the University of New England. I am originally from California, but Ive lived and taught in Maine since 1990. This is where I was always meant to be!

Our Class
Parker Bair

Lexi Bardwell Mercedes Barsalou Will Bourgeois Lexi Brent

Riley Cronin Paige DAmelio Liam Dunn Kathryn Fountain Andrew Furlong Savanna Hanscom Owen Horrigan Tara Howe Lizzie Murphy Croix Nowell Angie Peard Joe Pooler Reese Ronca Liam Whelton

I live in Wells where I am surrounded by great friends and family. In May I became the proud owner of Slugger, a now 7 year old yellow lab! He is a great walking partner, and he keeps me on my toes for sure :-) I love to pet sit for friends. Im sure you will hear many stories about my adventures very soon! You will also see many pictures of my favorite people and pets in our classroom. Did you know that teachers go to school, too? This summer I took a great class about exciting new technology things that we can use with Everyday Math this year. Im also excited to implement some great changes to our reading and writing workshop. Most of all, Im looking forward to helping you to be your best selves. One of my favorite sayings is Let your sparkle shine. We all are very special in our own ways, and my goal is to help you all be shining stars in our classroom! I have had a wonderful, sun and company-lled summer. My entire family and one dog visited for a few weeks. They live in Alabama. We had such a great time laughing, eating, dog sitting, shopping, and mostly hanging out at Ogunquit Beach! I love swimming with my niece, Sarah. This summer has been great for hanging out with friends and family and working on my tan!

Im excited for our new year to begin, but its always sad to see summer coming to a close. I hope you are enjoying your summer vacation and have been doing all sorts of fun things. I cant wait to hear about the places you have gone and the things you have been doing since I last met you back in June. We will be getting to know each other very soon, and I cant wait! Enjoy the last days of summer! Sincerely, Miss Beth Switzer :-)

Reading Testing

Some Important Stuff to Share With You

E-Mail Address School Supplies

Much of our Benchmark Reading testing will be completed in the next couple of weeks. Your parents have probably received the date and time for this already. This will help me understand how to help you grow as a reader. Most of you have taken this test before. Its nothing to worry about! If you arent scheduled, no worries. We will take care of it once school begins!

I will be working in our room on Wednesday, August 28th, from 3-5 P.M., and would love to show you around and say hi. So stop in if you can! Dont worry if you cant make it. We will all I will be working in our get to know each other room on Wednesday, soon enough. August 28th, from 3-5 P.M., and would love to show you around and say hi. So stop in if you Check out our webpage. can! Dont worry if you Be sure to check with your cant make it. We will all parents rst. get to know each other www.yorkschools.org/~bswitzer soon enough.

Informal Open House

Take some time to READ and WRITE! You can do Whenever possible I like Here are some school t h e m b o t h a l m o s t to use e-mail to keep in supplies that I would like anywhere and anytime! touch. If you could send you to bring in: me the e-mail address you would like me to use to Extra pencils/erasers contact you during the 2 Binders--1 should be A questionnaire for YOU year that would be great. at least 2 inches wide (not is also included. Please bswitzer@yorkschools.org the Trapper Keeper kind). return it at our Informal The 2nd one should be Open House or some wide enough to hold your time during the rst week 4th grade plan book and of school. I truly welcome We will be decorating our other folders (approx. 1 your insights as I get to writers notebooks the rst 1/2 inches) know your child. week of school. Please 100 sheet protectors save/bring in anything (the cheaper ones are you might want to use to perfect) collage your cover. You can use stickers, pictures, I w i l l b e p r o v i d i n g magazines, etc... Feel free scissors, rulers, crayons, to bring in some extra glue, and markers for you. Aug. 23rd and 26th magazines if you would Reading like to share them. Benchmark Testing

For Parents

Writing Notebook

Dates to Know

Informal Open House

Are You Ready?

Class Webpage

Have you been reading, writing, or practicing your math this summer? If you havent, its not too late to get back into the swing of school work! Ive included a math review calendar and a list of NO Excuse Words that you can review over these next two weeks--this is optional! There are also great links on our webpage for math fact practice.

-Aug. 28th Informal Open House 3-5 P.M. -Aug. 27th-29th Teacher Inservice Days -Tuesday, Sept. 3 First Day of School