Redding School of the Arts Mandarin Immersion Program Welcome Students and Parents to Ms. Simpson & Ms. Kang’s 3 rd /4th grade Mandarin Immersion Program

School Hours School begins at 8:00 The morning recess bell will ring at 7:55. Students need to be in the classroom at 8:00. The students will wait outside the classroom until the teachers open the classroom door. We have a red or blue sign on the door to indicate what group of students we have. Ms. Simpson’s homeroom: Red Group Ms. Kang’s homeroom: Blue Group

Schedule- Ms. Simpson 8-8:10 Greetings/Attendance 8:10-9:05 Envision Math 3 9:05-9:20 Recess 9:20- 10:55 Language Arts/Social Studies 1o:55 -11:35 Lunch ~Switch groups ~ 11:35-12:15 Music A/Reading A 12:15 -12:55Music B/Reading B 1:00-1:50 Envisions Math 3 1:50-2:05 Recess 2:05-2:30 Language Arts/Social Studies Elective Wheel - Thursdays and Fridays 1:00-1:50 1 st Trimester: Dance 2 nd Trimester: Tumbling/Fitness 3 rd Trimester: Art/PE

Schedule- Ms. Kang 8:00-8:10 Greetings/Attendance 8:10-9:05 Envision Math 3 9:05-9:20 Recess 9:20-10:05 Mandarin 10:05-10:55 Mandarin 10:55-11:35 Lunch ~Switch groups~ 11:35-12:25 Music/Mandarin 12:25-12:55 Music/Mandarin 1:00-1:50 Envision Math 3 1:50-2:05 Recess 2:05-2:30 Mandarin Elective Wheel - Thursdays and Fridays 1:00-1:50 1 st Trimester- Tumbling/ Fitness 2nd Trimester- Art 3rd Trimester- Dance

Academics Social Studies Themes The theme for this year is Ancient Civilizations. We will be focusing on Geography, Early Man, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Academics Science Life Science: Fossils, Dinosaurs, Human Body, Nutrition Earth Science: Seasons, Lunar Cycle, Planets, Oceanography, Volcanoes Physical Science: Energy, Stored Energy, Converting Energy, Transfer of Energy.

Academics English Reading There will be a reading log that will need to be turned in weekly. Students are required to read minutes each week. 3 rd grade will begin reading 20 minutes and 4 th graders will read 30 minutes each night. They can read on the weekends or only on the weekdays. Research also shows that the amount of reading done out of school is consistently related to gains in reading achievement.(Anderson et al., 1985, p. 7).

Academics Mandarin 1. Yes! Chinese/Langlang Chinese 3rd grade: Volume 3A, 3B & 4A 4 th grade: Volume 4B & 5A 2. Pinyin & Mandarin Dictionary 3. Computer Keyboarding: Type to Learn software 4. Mandarin Typing

Homework Ms. Simpson’s Homework Requirements (all directions posted on my website): Writing/Word Work- One week students will have a word study task, and the next week students will have a writing assignment. Due Mondays (or Tuesdays if Mon. is a holiday). Daily- Reading- 80 (grade 3)-120 (grade 4) minutes per week to be completed over a 7 day period. Lexia: 4 hours a month. Math 3- 1) Math Packet (Due Fridays)- Students will be assigned 3-4 pages of math per week. The assignments will include a Reteaching and a Practice Page for each lesson. *Enrichment page may be included/assigned as well, due date TBA. Due on Friday. 2) Dreambox 4 hours a month. Trimester Book Reports- I will go over how to do these in class so the students feel comfortable doing them at home. The directions will also be posted on my website as well.

Mandarin Homework The Mandarin homework packages are similar to Ms. Fan’s packages with a checklist. The students will get a weekly Mandarin homework package. The due date is on the following Monday. If the Monday is a holiday, then the students are expected to turn in their homework package on that Tuesday. When a student fails to turn in the homework package on time, the grade will be lower.

Conference Conferences will be held the week of October 26th -30th. This will be a minimum week with dismissal at 12:30. This will be a time where we will discuss your child’s academic and behavioral progress. This is also a time to ask questions you may have. Families will be limited to minutes of conference time with the homeroom teacher. If you need to talk with the other teacher, you will need to set up a time with them via . We will be posting on the website link for Sign Up Genius so you can schedule a conference time.

Website and Grades We will be posting weekly updates on our webpages. This will consist of educational activities for the week; weekly homework, and any school or classroom news. Since we are a green school, we will not be sending out paper copies of the newsletters. Please be sure to check your child’s Aeries gradebook regularly. We will not be notifying you of missing assignments, which includes homework completion and submission.

Academics Math RSA has adopted Envision Math as the math program and it was chosen because it aligns well with the Common Core Standards that will be implemented in the very near future. The majority of students will be taking math at their grade level so that they can fully master the concepts in depth– this includes enrichment opportunities for those that need it. Each student will be given a letter with a password to access the website for future games and activities. Topic videos will be assigned for home reference. The topics we will cover this year are Number sense, Multiplication and Division, Fractions, Measurement and Data, Geometry. sp

Academics Mandarin Math The Mandarin program will be using Envision math in Mandarin this year. They will spend time in class learning the same topics they are studying in the English Math. There is no Mandarin Math homework.