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First Research Project and Other News

Aug28

Happy Friday!  We finished out our first week with full school days and your kids are doing great!  Learning how to plan and manage time has been the focus of this week’s morning activities, while observing and learning to distinguish the difference between facts and inference has taken place in the afternoon.  Your kids know a lot of facts about the teeth of T-Rex!  I’m impressed.

We have been doing a lot of writing with our observations and morning dictionary work, so if your kids are complaining of sore hands, it’s for good reason.

We began our first in class research project this afternoon with the reading of From Lava to Life, a story that supports our second Great Lesson, The Coming of Life.  You will find a description of the project here, Time line of Life Research Book Project , along with the rubric for scoring.  This will mainly be an in class project, due Friday September 4, but so many of your kids were excited to get started that they brought it home to work on.  If your students brought home their rubric, you will notice the total points possible is an error.  It states 50 pts, while the total should be 55 pts possible.  I have corrected it on the link.

As per our classroom management plan, your children should have brought home their weekly work evaluation form completely filled out for you to sign.  This must be returned with them on Monday.  Please ask them about this evaluation, it is a key tool, along with their planners, to see the progress they are making and to get an idea of the work they are doing each day in the classroom.  We have spoken a bit about goal setting (with many more discussions to come) and how specific goals are much more meaningful than a general goal of say, “work harder”.  We are talking about setting SMART goals as a tool for success in the classroom and out.  If your child has written “work harder” or “get a lot done” as their goal for next week, now is a great time to have a conversation with them about setting goals that are specific and measurable.

Finally, before this post becomes even longer, our school’s annual 5K Race for the Redwoods is on September 19 with a pancake breakfast to follow.  All proceeds from the race and the Pancake Breakfast support our 6th grade trip to the Redwoods!  This is an amazing experience that is worth every bit of your support.   Come support our school community and get to know each other!  In addition to a registration form for the race being sent home with your child, you can find additional copies at the following link.  Race for the Redwoods Registration

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Amity

 

 

Chili Cook-Off – November 16

Apr6

Good Evening! I trust you all had a wonderful spring break.  Your kids did amazingly well today considering the difficulty we all have getting back into the swing of things.

Chili-Cook-Off-Flyer

I’m putting out a call for volunteers to help our class prepare one (or more) pots of chili for the final fundraiser before our 6th grade students leave for Alliance Redwoods.   Our chili cook off is a chance for you to let your favorite chili recipe shine, while competing for prizes and supporting our 6th grade class.  You do not have to be the parent of a 6th grader to help out.  We would love any and all volunteers.  If you are interested in sharing a recipe, large crock-pot, cooking with the kids or donating items to prepare a pot of chili, please let me know as soon as possible.   This is a great way to get in your final volunteer hours before the end of the school year.

I would like to try and have two pots of chili from our class: a traditional recipe and a vegetarian/gluten free offering for our veggie friends.

The Chili Cook-Off is next Thursday, April 16 at 6pm.  We will be preparing the chili in class Thursday afternoon, then tasting it during the cook-off.

Thanks for supporting our school!  We are so much more with everyone’s help!

5th Annual Gala

Feb25

Good Evening!

Our 5th annual gala is fast approaching and we need your support.   This fundraiser is crucial to funding technology advancements, field trips and supplies for your children. Please show MAPA how much you appreciate all they do throughout the year by purchasing a ticket (or 2, or 3….) for this annual event.  You won’t be sorry you did.

Gala tickets are now on sale to purchase online!  This fun, adult only evening includes dinner, entertainment, raffle, silent auction and live auction, and is anticipated each year. 100 percent of proceeds go to the school to support your child’s experience.

The Gala will be held Saturday, March 21st at The Hub in Riverdale. Click on the link below to purchase your tickets.

https://squareup.com/market/mapa/gala-attendee-ticket

Hope to see you there!

 

6th Grade See’s Candy Fundraising Committee

Feb6

Good Morning.

If any of your 6th grade children are on the See’s Candy Committee, we will be sorting and distributing candy orders Monday, February 9 after school.  Last year this took about an hour and a half with just a few volunteers.   This is the perfect opportunity for your kids to get their required volunteer hours.

Please sign up on the WeJoinIn link below.

http://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/expjg

Thanks!

 

Parent Teacher Conference, Book Fair and a Valentine’s Day Celebration

Feb4

As a reminder, parent teacher conference is next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  As such, there is early release on all three of these days.  Please make arrangements to have your student picked up promptly at 1:00 pm.  There is no school on Friday, February 13 or Monday February 16.

If you haven’t already, please sign up for a conference time.  The link to sign up is on the sidebar of the blog.

As usual, MAPA is hosting book fair in the library during conferences and for each purchase you make a portion of the proceeds go to support our parent organization.  MAPA uses these monies to fund field trips, technology advances and various other activities and improvements for our school.

Because Valentine’s Day is on Saturday this year and we have no school on Friday, we will be having a small holiday celebration on Thursday, February 13.  If your child is planning on bringing Valentine’s, they must bring them for everyone, not a select few.  As per school policy, treats must remain sealed until your children bring them home.  A class list will come home with them on Friday.

~Cheers