Dear Parents,
On September 29, 2008 through October 3, 2008 your child will be taking the ITBS Test. I know some of the children all involved in extra curricular activities that keep them out in the evening. Please make sure that your child gets plenty of rest. Especially during ITBS testing week. Some of the tests last 15 to 20 minutes at a time. So that means your child has to seat at his/her desk for 20 minutes. We stretch and excercise after each test just to keep the blood circulating. As Mrs. Blackburn stated in her Newsletter please make sure that your child is at school everyday and on time. Please stress to your child that this is not at test to see how smart your child is but an evaluation to help the teachers determine the strengths of the students and a way for the teachers to evaluate the curriculum for the school.

I read an article on Reading Aloud to your child. I thought it was interesting so I want to pass it on to you. Reading aloud to your child makes for a wonderful parent-child sharing time, and will help your child to love books and to become a better reader. The article had some tips:
1. sit with your child in a comfortable place, 2. talk about the book and the illustrations, 3. encourage your child to ask questions and make comments before and after the story is read, 4. talk about the characters in the story, 5. predict story events, 6. point to words some of the time when reading, 7. enjoy the story together. All of these things need not be accomplished each time a story is read. These are some tips to help create a meaningful read-aloud memory. Do not treat the read-aloud experience as a teaching situation but as a casual, comfortable parent-child time together. HAPPY READING!