No Worries Week

Hello Parents,
After the last many weekends of rain, I was finally able to play in the dirt yesterday, and it was wonderful. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing progress after a day of working in the yard. The rain today was a welcome sight because my new plants needed a healthy rain to begin growing.

As you know, standardized testing begins tomorrow morning and will last all week long. I am doing all I can to make this week stress free yet important at the same time. There will be no homework in Reading, Grammar or Math. This free time will allow everybody to play, review, and get a good rest for the next day. Please remind your student that the fifth graders will be testing when they arrive at school and talking should not happen. I will have my classroom door open, so my students can come right in and get ready to start our day. Our testing time will start at 9:00 and go until we complete our sections for that day.

This week will be the perfect opportunity to read or reread the book chosen for the 4th book report. Between each section of testing, there will be ample time to read as my students finish each section of the testing. Homework cannot be done, so reading is the best thing to do when testing is done for the day.

Thanks to those parents who are providing our healthy snacks for this week. Please keep the snacks finger friendly and sticky free. Pretzels, muffins, yogurt, prepackaged fruit, vegetable, or granola are great sources of nutrition and are easy to clean up. Between each section, there will be time to enjoy a snack and water before we begin the next session. Also, please do not worry about providing #2 pencils, peppermints, or tissues because I have all of these items for the entire week.

One more piece of information before our busy week begins, on Saturday, April 28 from 9:00-12:00; the 4th Graders will have our Cool Girls Accessory Drive at Wood Acres. This is our second community service project that will help hundreds of elementary and middle school Cool Girls in the Atlanta area. Cool Girls is an organization that Wood Acres and I have been involved with and supported for over 10 years.

What the Cool Girls Accessory Drive will do is it gives all of us an opportunity to bring in donated items that young girls can use to feel empowered, self-confident, and ready for school. Please consider donating new or gently used books, purses, jewelry, school supplies, stuffed animals, and games towards this great service project. Our students have already begun making posters to hang up around our campus to remind all Wood Acres’ families that they can help Cool Girls as well.

On Saturday, April 28, if your student can come and sort at any time that morning, Mrs. Kuegeman and I would truly appreciate it. We totally understand that Saturdays are busy with sporting events, shopping, parties, and other stuff, but if you student can help for just half an hour that would be awesome. Please let me know if and when your student can participate. Thanks a million.

Take care, and I hope the rest of your weekend is safe and dry.

Yours truly,
Cheryl Leagan
4th grade teacher
The Wood Acres School