In this grade our stu-dents will begin their requirement to un-dergo a examination call the MSA. The Maryland School As-sessment (MSA) is a test of reading and math achievement that

meets the testing re-quirements of the fed-eral No Child Left Be-hind Act. The test is given each year in early March in reading and math at grades 3 through 8. As the year goes on I will

continue to inform and help to prepare stu-dents and parents for the examination. For more information see this link: http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/

We have begun an-

other year and I am

so eager and excited

to start the year off on

the best foot. This

year I will be utilizing

the internet in many

more ways to keep in

contact with parents

and for parents to

keep in contact with

each other. This

newsletter will be a

way that I keep in

contact with parents

by sending it home

with students each

month to keep all par-

ents informed. This

newsletter also con-

tains a section on bul-

lying and a walk

through for parents to

join our class group

that we will use

through Google. We

will also explore

spending time to-

gether as a family and

being a healthier fam-

ily. Every night stu-

dents will come home

with a folder that may

continue information

important to parents

please be sure to

check this folder.

Every Friday students

will bring home work

that has been com-

pleted during the

week. Our goals for

this year are to dem-

onstrate critical think-

ing, deep understand-

ing of content, to be

creative and curious,

and to respect them-

selves and their

classmates. I look for-

ward to a great year

getting to know every-

one. Again welcome

back and go Bull-

dogs!!

Welcome Back to School

What are the MSAs?

BSU Elementary School

Caption describing pic-

ture or graphic.

August 23, 2011

Volume 1, Issue 1

Welcome to Ms.

Hobson’s 3rd Grade

Special points of in-

terest:

Information

for the

school year

Bullying

Family

Nights

Health and

Wellness

Bullying 2

Introductions 2

Grade Book 2

School sup-plies

3

Family Nights 3

Fun Zone 3

Healthy Minds 4

Inside this

issue:

the notes and all assignments

from the day to be found online.

We all remember when we were

young and there was always

that one child who used to pick

on other children. Sometimes

that child would pick on us but

most times we would sit and

watch our schoolmates be bul-

lied. Nowadays with bullying

happening not only at school

or at the bus, bullying now hap-

pens online and through text

messaging. Another children

are not joining in on the bully-

ing because it is a way to fit in

and it makes sure that they are

not the one being bullied. In my

class bullying will not be toler-

ated nor is it tolerated in this

school. Bullying on the first

offense is grounds for immedi-

ate expulsion from the school.

If it is an extreme case of bully-

ing that incident will be pass

along to the police department

where they will look into the

matter further. We want our

students to be completely safe

when they come into the

school and when they are away

from school. If your child is

being bullied you must alert the

school as soon as possible so

that we can help the bullying

stop. Bullying can lead to de-

pression, low self esteem, over-

eating, and even suicide in the

most extreme situations. To-

gether not only as a school but

as a community we can stop

bullying from happening com-

pletely.

and password that can be

changed. This allows the par-

ents to have access to grades

from quizzes and tests; home-

work, study guides, and pictures

from around the class. Here you

will be able to contact me if you

have any other questions and

stay in contact with other par-

ents. If your child happens to be

absent that day they can find

Here I hope to example to all

parents how we will use our

online grade book. We will be

using a program at http://

www.engrade.com which is a

secure and safe site. Students

information will also be kept pri-

vate and only accessible by the

parents or teacher. Each stu-

dent will be bringing home each

families personal login name

Page 2 Welcome to Ms. Hobson’s 3rd Grade

Bully Free Zone

Stand up to Bullying

Caption describing picture or

graphic.

Students Grades Online

2 Composition notebooks

4 pocket notebooks

12 Penciled Crayons

1 Red Pen

1 Green Pen

1 Pink Eraser

1 Ruler

2 Glue Sticks

Pencil Case

1 Pair of Scissors

For this school year our stu-

dents will need the following

materials:

12 #2 Pencils

Three Ring/ Three Inch

Binder

3 Packs of notebook pa-

per

2 Wide– Ruled spiral

notebooks

School Materials

"It is the supreme art of

the teacher to awaken joy

in creative expression and

knowledge."

Albert Einstein

Volume 1, Issue 1

index.html

A little information about

your teacher. I grew up in

Prince Georges County

Maryland and consider

myself an hometown girl. I

graduated High School in

Laurel and graduated with

my bachelors from Bowie

State University in Ele-

mentary Education. I have

many years and experi-

ence working with children

of all ages and back-

grounds. I am really big on

keeping our children

healthy by eating right and

being active which will be

very important part of our

curriculum. In my spare

time I really enjoying read-

ing a good book, talking

long walks outside, and

listening to music. Here

are some of my favorites:

Book– Harry Potter

Movie– Beauty and the

Beast

Color– Purple

Play– Cat on a Hot Tin

Roof

Sport— Basketball Go

Wizards!!!

Flower– Violets

Snack— Apples and

Yogurt

Helping your child learn:

http://www2.ed.gov/parents/

academic/help/hyc.html

Family Night

http://

www.familieswithpurpose.com/

familyactivities1.html

http://

www.parentinghumor.com/

activityecenter/familynight/

Check out these fun quizzes

and other links:

How do you pronounce your

words?

http://www.gotoquiz.com/

do_you_pronounce_words_right

Are you smarter than a third

grader?

http://www.ex-designz.net/

test_page.asp?tid=59

Page 3

Quick Links and Games

About Ms. Cassandra Hobson

game, watching a movie to-

gether, or doing another activity

in which the whole family partici-

pants. Spending time with your

family is a precious gift that be-

fore you know if children are

grown and out the house.

Spending time together as a

family has been shown to keep

children off drugs, alcohol, and

to not engage in premarital sex.

Below are some links that can

give families ideas. In this busy day and age fami-

lies have trouble just making it

to the dinner table as a family

each night. If this is the case

you might be missing out on

special moments with your chil-

dren that you cannot get back.

Family night is a once a week or

once a month night in which the

whole family gets together to do

an activity together. These ac-

tivities can be playing a board a

"Man consists of two parts,

his mind and his body, only

the body has more fun."

Woody Allen

Make it a Night to Remember

Ms. Cassandra Hobson

class time going over ways to

stay healthy. I know many think

being healthy is expensive but

its more affordable then you

know. Children should get 60

minutes of active and vigorous

play. I will also make sure that

students are getting their

needed amounts during recess

and physical education. This is

not just a family problem it’s a

country problem that every

community needs to get in-

volved in healthy our children

to live longer lives without wor-

rying about being ill later on in

life. By doing things such as a

family walk after dinner, taking

the stairs instead of the eleva-

tor, or even walking to school

can all help. Also we must

Today, almost one in every

three children in our nation is

overweight or obese. The num-

bers are even higher in African

American and Hispanic com-

munities, where nearly 40% of

the children are overweight or

obese. Doctors and scientists

are concerned about the rise of

obesity in children and teens

because obesity may lead to

the following health problems

heart disease, type 2 diabetes,

asthma, sleep apnea, and so-

cial discrimination. I say this

because I believe that healthy

body will lead to a healthy

mind, a child cannot perform

well if they are not well. To

keep our students active and

healthy we will be spending

make sure our children have

nutritious breakfasts to help

them learn and be attentive

during the day. For more infor-

mation on healthy meals and

places where you can go get

exercise visit the First Lady’s

site on healthy children called

Let’s Move, at

www.letsmove.gov

Phone: 301-555-5437

Fax: 301-555-5555

E-mail:

cnhobcnhobson87@gmail

.com

Healthy Bodies= Healthy Minds

Promoting healthy minds through healthy

bodies

BSU Elementary

School

BSU Elementary School was founded in 1995 as

a place where all children can receive education

no matter race, creed, beliefs, or circumstances.

Offering education to grades Pre-K through 5th

and having aftercare and weekend help for par-

ents. At BSU we have taken the First Lady Mi-

chelle Obama’s challenge to get our students to

move. Recess if given to all students that is 20

minutes long and physical education is given

three times a week. We are very involved in the

community and open our doors the weekend at

our community center that is right next door.

This is the ideal learning environment for chil-

dren to be educated in books as well as health.

At BSU we are reaching for the stars and pro-

ducing highly competitive students.

BSU Elementary School

Room 12

1234 School House Lane

Bowie, MD 20725