Listening and Reading Exams

Hi Guys,

40% of your child's grade for a major exam is based on listening and reading. The class average on this test was an astounding 98%. I will give it to your child on Tuesday to bring home together with the written exam.

The written exam, representing 60% of the final grade, is next Tuesday, October 4th. The skills that will be tested are Alphabetizing, differentiating between the subject and the verb, and identifying short and long vowels. There will also be comprehension questions from both stories. So re-read the stories The Twin Club  as well as Exploring Space  with your child. After each page you read, ask 2 or 3 simple comprehension questions.

My amazing co-teacher Susana has told me that a lot of you are interested in getting some Zack Files for your kid. All I can say is YES! Your kid will love these and read them with joy and pleasure. I have spoken with the English Director, Ms. Angel, and we will come up with a plan to include this fun lovable series of books in your child's 3rd Grade experience. Give me about 2 weeks please to come up with a solution that will be best for everyone.

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Kuhel

Field Trip: Bike Safety Along the River

Today we had our bike safety class in the Riverside Park along the Xin Dian River. The weather was perfect, the coaches were awesome and everyone had a great time.

This Friday, we will have a Unit Test on Exploring Space. I will send the books home with the kids on Thursday night. Please help your child prepare properly. Preparation creates confidence!

I hope everyone had a nice Harvest Moon Festival. Thank you all so much for the gifts. I really appreciate it.

Have a good week,

Mr. Kuhel

Your Child's Spelling Quizzes

Hi Guys,

I sent home Weeks 1 and 2 Spelling Quizzes to be signed today. Please sign them. I will have the students put them in their Portfolio Folders for future reference. They can use these quizzes to help prepare for the "Big Exams"

I was quite pleased with the overall results. 5 or 6 students got 100 %, and another 12 got over 90%

Week One Spelling Quiz Class Average: 84.
Week Two Spelling Quiz Class Average: 80

The Week 2 class average was a little lower, but the important thing is the class is getting used to new challenges. They are learning what my expectations are and what they need to do to succeed in the 3rd Grade.

If your child didn't do very well on these first two quizzes...do not worry or panic. At the end of the semester, I will "throw out" or delete the two lowest scores for the semester. If they got a low score, please encourage them and help them prepare for the quizzes every Thursday night. They should continue to improve throughout the semester. These first few quizzes are just learning experiences ... part of the process of improving their skills and abilities.

Tomorrow we have class! Whoo hoo!

Mr. Kuhel

Please Fill Out the Info Forms I Sent Home Today

Dear Parents,

        Thanks again for helping out with getting the required school supplies for the class. It will make my life a lot easier! 

        Earlier today, I stapled a notice in each student's communication book. I am currently setting up the learnboost.com site for Class303. In case you have never heard of this site, each student is assigned a special password for the learnboost.com site. With this password, you will be able to get online and check your child’s grades for all quizzes, tests, creative writing assignments and the homework cycle. In order to do this, I will need one parent’s email address as well as one parent’s cell phone number. 

Thanks for you help, 

Mr. Jeff Kuhel.

Student's First Name: ____________________
Student's Family Name: __________________

Parent’s Email Address: _________________________________________

Parent’s Cell Phone Number: _____________________________________

How to Complete the Homework Cycle

Hi Guys,

         These first few weeks will be focused primarily on how to complete the homework. If you don't understand, do not worry! I will explain it in great detail at the parent teacher conference on Sept. 24th. Also, all of this information is on the first page of your child's Homework Cycle Book. I am currently having it translated to avoid any miscommunication. 

This is how you do your homework in Mr. Kuhel’s class. Every week is the same.

Monday – write new vocabulary words x3/x2/x1

Tuesday – write new vocabulary sentences 1 – 5

Wednesday – write new vocab sentences 6 – 10

Thursday – rewrite any sentence  with a mistake x2

                    and prepare for spelling and grammar quiz

Friday – read and highlight (in green) the next story of Reading Street

For the spelling, you need to write each of the new vocabulary words (NVW) with its easy definition (EasyD) and Chinese x3/x2/x1 on one line. It looks like this…

1. NVW  EasyD   NVW EasyD NVW中文 

2. NVW  EasyD   NVW EasyD NVW 中文

.

10. NVW EasyD NVW EasyD NVW中文

Examples for spelling (every Monday):                 

a message a note a message a note a message  信息

beautiful super pretty beautiful super pretty beautiful   美麗 的

to miss to wish for s.t. to miss to wish for s.t. to miss  想

For the vocab sentences (every Tuesday and Wednesday), you need to write

1.  The new vocab word

2.  The word form (noun, verb, adjective, adverb or phrase)

3.  The synonym

4.  The easy definition

5.  The sample sentence

6.  Your own sentence using the new word correctly

Examples for Tuesday and Wednesday’s vocabulary sentences:

a message (noun) a note

Easy Definition: a note or anything that gives you info

Sample: The girl sent a text message to her friend.

My Own: I wrote a message on my friend’s notebook.

beautiful (adjective) super pretty

Easy Definition: s.o. or s.t. that is cute or really good-looking

Sample: Everyone says my sister is the most beautiful girl in her grade.

My Own: My mom is the most beautiful woman in the world. 

Have a great weekend and I'll see everyone on Monday,

Mr. Kuhel