Parent Teacher Conferences!

Yesterday I had the joy of attending all three of my girls' parent/teacher conferences. I thought I would share some of the things we are dealing with right now.

McKayla is now in fifth grade. Things are starting to get tougher for her. Her fall Curriculum Based Measurement for reading shows that she is reading about 101 words per minute. This puts her right near grade level. This is about where she has been hovering most of her schooling. She is only 13 words from the benchmark, so not bad at all. The rest of her reading were all "M" which means she is meeting expectations.

In language arts, she got an I (is developing) in using correct word and sentence form and correct punctuation and capitalization. She got an N (needs improvement) on her handwriting legibility. To me this makes sense because until third grade she was still using both hands to write. I figure now that she is firmly a lefty, she will continue to improve.

Most of the rest of her report card she was meeting expectations. She did get one E (exceeds expectations) and that is being cooperative and respectful. Makes me feel like we are doing something right!

Here are the comments from her teacher: During the first nine weeks of school, McKayla has worked diligently and set a wonderful example for her peers. McKayla gets right to work every day and is polite and respectful to those around her. In fact, she has earned the character trait award for October, which is respect and responsibility. McKayla displays both of these traits daily. I encourage McKayla to take her time with her penmanship and ask for help when she needs it. Overall, McKayla is doing a wonderful job in 5th grade. Thank you for being so awesome, McKayla! You are amazing.

Natalie is in third grade. She continues to get special education for her reading. She is making adequate progress on her IEP goals. There will be a meeting sometime before winter break to see in more detail how things are going. Due to her reading problems, some of the other areas she is graded on were a bit lower. She is developing her word identification skills and new vocabulary skills. She needs improvement reading orally (which we knew!).

In Language Arts she is developing her skills in expressing her ideas well in writing, using correct word and sentence form and legibly writing. The part of her report card I loved seeing was the "work habits and conduct" section. There are a bunch of exceeds in there. The areas she got exceeds on are: is cooperative and respectful, follows directions, uses time wisely, participates in group activities and follow school and classroom rules.

Here are the comments from her teacher: Third grade is off to a great start! I appreciate the way Natalie has been working to help develop a strong classroom community during this first quarter. I am very impressed with her ability to persevere through her assignments even though they may be challenging to her. Natalie would benefit from basic math fact practice at home to help reinforce number sense. Natalie receives reading support in the resource room where the curriculum has been modified to meet her instructional needs. She is a great student who is well liked by all. Keep up the great work Natalie! 

Alivia is now in a second grade but is in a second and third grade combo class. She is totally rocking the reading (takes after her mommy!) She is reading at 70 words per minute (benchmark is 54+). Alivia is getting nearly all M's on her report card. She doesn't have any areas that need improvement. There is one area where she is developing and that is in her math, being able to calculate correctly. Her teacher thinks part of this is that she rushes through things a bit, sometimes without completely reading directions. Alivia also got a couple E's. Her areas where she exceeded expectations were: being cooperative and respectful and participating in group activities. Overall the teacher was super impressed with Alivia. The only concern we got from her is that Liv can be a bit of a "mother hen" and actually stopped a boy in the hallway bu grabbing his sweater when he was running. Both kids got a talking to, both were in tears. This is something we see at home too, so we will be more aware of when to correct her with this. Mrs. D just doesn't' want this attitude to affect her friendships.

Here are the comments from her teacher on this report card: It has been a pleasure getting to know Alivia this quarter. She arrives at school each day with a positive attitude. Alivia is an independent, self-motivated worker who enthusiastically participates in class discussion. Her positive, energetic and respectful nature makes her a role model for her classmates. Alivia seems to have a solid understanding of the math concepts taught so far this quarter. I would like her to practice basic addition and subtraction facts for more automatic recall. Keep up the great work Alivia! 

I am quite happy with this quarter's reports. Thanks for letting me share them with you!