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Level 5 History Studies Volunteer Help Needed

Dec11

Good Evening.

Our level 5 students are wrapping up a unit on Ancient Egypt.  As our culminating activity we will be making plaster masks on Monday, December 15 in the afternoon.  I am looking for 3 parent volunteers in order to make this activity run smoothly.  The plaster takes approximately 30 minutes to apply and dry enough to be removed from the student’s face.  If you are able to help out with this activity, I would greatly appreciate it and I know your children will too.  Please let me know if you are able to volunteer your time to our classroom between 1:30 and 2:00 on Monday, December 15.

Thanks!

 

 

This entry was posted on December 11, 2014, in General.

SAGE, IXL, Utah Compose Updates

Dec10

I know there has been a bit of confusion regarding the online homework lately.  For that I apologize.  I am still trying to sort out the best way to utilize all of our resources without overwhelming your children and your families.  I know some of you have several children at MMA and the expected work from each class varies.

Last week the first SAGE assignment was given.  I set a one week due date for this assignment (it was due on Monday, December 8).  Very few students completed, or even began, the assignment.  This could have been poor communication on my part, or a misunderstanding on your child’s part.   I have extended the due date to Friday, December 12.  This will give your child a couple of extra days to log on and do the assignment.  Again, you can access these assignments with your child’s log in that is recorded in the back of their planner.

The web address is www.sageportal.org  Once there you must choose students and families and then SAGE Formative.  At this point you can enter your child’s login information.

On Monday, December 15 there will be a new IXL assignment given which will also be available on the blog sometime over the weekend.

We have been working hard in the classroom learning about different types of essays.  I have two learning groups at this time, argumentative essays and informative (or expository) essays.  As such, there has been no Utah Compose updates because we are working with a couple of specific articles and infographics that are not a part of the Utah Compose curriculum.  I’m really excited about the progress your children are making with their outlines.  Our first rough drafts will be turned in this Friday, and from those your students will edit, revise and make a final draft.   It is my desire that these face to face lessons will enable your children to make the most of Utah Compose when we pick it up full swing after the holiday break.

As a reminder, our International Festival is next week.  Your children should be well on their way to a completed project.  If your child has lost their note packet, you can print another one from the PDF page.  Due date for this project is Wednesday, December 16.

And finally, we have our class pancake breakfast on Friday, December 19th.  Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered to help and donate supplies and food.   Please let me know no later than Monday, December 15 if you plan on having breakfast with us that morning so we can plan accordingly.

~Cheers

Movie Night

Dec4

Achtung! Achtung!

6th graders who are volunteering for Movie Night need to arrive and meet in the gym at 4:30 pm.  Instructions will be provided and they will break into specific areas.  Also, please bring board games or game ideas or activities for the kivas – ie. Simon Says, Mother May I etc.  If your child brings a game make sure they have their name on it.     

 

This entry was posted on December 4, 2014, in General.

SAGE and IXL

Dec2

Starting this week, we will alternate between SAGE practice and IXL practice.  Your children will be resetting their passwords in class tomorrow and will then have access to the SAGE portal.   As with IXL, I will do my best to have the SAGE assignments available by Monday, with a due date of the following Monday (meaning it must be completed by Sunday evening in order to be considered on time).   The benefit of SAGE is that the assignment will be listed for your child when they log in.  There is no need to record a weekly list of assignments.   An additional benefit is that your child will be able to practice language and science concepts as well.

I have created an assignment that your students will have access to upon logging in.   The assignments will vary in length and will contain a mixture of math, language and science. Some weeks it will be one subject, some weeks it may be all three, but it should never take longer than  20-30  min/night to complete the work.

I know the number of websites and online practice tools seems overwhelming at times.  I am doing my best to try and mitigate these feelings.  The reason for alternating between IXL and SAGE is to hopefully eliminate some of the stress while at the same time allowing your children  a variety of ways to practice skills they have learned in the classroom.   Practicing SAGE on a regular basis will allow your children to become more familiar with the format that they will see during the summative testing, which will in turn decrease some of the test taking anxiety they may feel.

This practice is designed to help your children be successful and is a requirement of our classroom and an expectation of the school.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding the expected practice.

6th Graders and 6th Grade Parents – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Nov30

Please help up by volunteering at the Parent’s Night Out/Movie Night.  We need both student volunteers and parent volunteers.  Jobs include student check-in, concession sales, movie supervision, games and activity supervision, hallway monitoring, and all present will be asked to help at parent pick-up after the event.  Parents, students should sign up under your email so you are informed about their responsibilities for the evening. And if you still need to log some hours this is an easy event to get some in.

Thanks in advance!

Julie & David Zeigler

Here is how you sign up:

We’re using VolunteerSpot (the leading online signup and reminder tool) to organize our upcoming signups.

It works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our Sign-Up on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/Pq8Jxq

2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.

3) Sign up! It’s Easy – you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on VolunteerSpot.

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me (Julie Zeigler) and I can sign you up manually.

http://vols.pt/Pq8Jxq

This entry was posted on November 30, 2014, in General.