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Calling All Fourth Grade Students!!

Sep27

We have our first field trip coming up the second week of October.  We will be going to The American West Heritage Center near Logan.  This is a fantastic full day program where your 4th grade student will learn about Utah Pioneer History.  Please watch for the permission slip and information packet the beginning of next week.  We are asking for a $6.50 donation to help cover the cost of the bus rental as well as the price of the program.

You can get a preview of what they will experience at www.AWHC.org

 

 

This entry was posted on September 27, 2013, in General.

Classroom Expectations

Sep27

Here we are the last week of September, nearing the end of normalization, and the students are beginning to settle into a nice morning work cycle.  The goal, of course, is an uninterrupted 3 hour work cycle, and while we aren’t there quite yet, the students are steadily improving their work habits.    As part of the 3 hour work cycle, we have a math and language warm-up worksheet.  Though I’m not a big fan of filling out worksheets, this is important in preparing our students for the kind of language they will encounter on the state exams this spring.  The daily math and language work is also an invaluable tool that I use to assist me in planning what lessons they need.  We have begun checking these for accuracy and they will be returned,weekly, to correct their mistakes.   Please take some time to look over these with your children, it will give you a better idea of their strengths and weaknesses and enable you to share a bit of their school day with them.

In the last blog post I mentioned the importance of practicing math facts with your children at home.  Our fifth grade students have begun making their own multiplication flash cards and you should see these coming home with them nightly.  Please take a few minutes to go over these with your students.  Our 4th level students will begin making these this week and the 6th level students will do them as needed.   In addition to math fact practice, spelling words do come home with your students in their planners.   The students get their words Monday, practice on Tuesday and Wednesday through a variety of activities that they choose for themselves and we have a test on Thursdays.   It is important that you practice with them at home or even on the drive to school.  The ability to spell well will help your children reach their writing goals.

We have had several discussions in our class about what excellence looks like.   Beginning Monday, we will be focusing on handwriting excellence.  If the students do not do their best to write well, they will be asked to rewrite the work and turn it in again.  Though Ms. Kari and I realize this may result in some frustration, please  know it isn’t meant to frustrate your children.  We set the bar high in our classroom and we know what your children are capable of achieving when excellence is expected.

Thank you for supporting our efforts to ensure your children are always striving to perform at their highest levels.

Cheers.

 

And Now, Drumroll Please…. Entering Week Six!

Sep20

I cannot believe that we have already been in school for six weeks.  SIX WEEKS!  Time flies when you are having fun, and working hard.

Tuesday we held our elections for class representative.  All of our candidates gave fantastic speeches, one even sang!  I’m so proud of your children’s courage to stand up and give a speech.  Even though it was in front of friends, who they are now quite comfortable with, it took a lot of guts to put themselves out there.  In the end Samantha is our class representative.  Her job will be to report, to the student council, any concerns, problems or solutions our class may have.

Wednesday we had our first ever student council elections.  Two of our students ran for office and both gave amazing speeches in front of the entire upper elementary student body.  A big round of applause for their awesome campaigns and equally awesome speeches.

Yesterday was International Talk Like a Pirate Day.  While things didn’t get as piratey as I had hoped, we still had some fun making eye patches, creating geometry based treasure maps and practicing reading a coordinate graph.  We also had our first spelling test of the year.  The students have been practicing these words for two weeks now.  Going forward, they will get their words on Monday, practice Tuesday and Wednesday and have a test on Thursday.  Any words that they miss, they will be expected to take home and practice.  All students are expected to write their spelling words in their planners.  As you sign their planners each night, it would be a good idea to quiz them and discuss the words so they are prepared for the test on Thursday.

Today we had a 100 problem timed test.   Some of the students took an addition test, some a multiplication test and some took a mixed multiplication/division test.  Please watch for flashcards coming home in the next week.  Though Montessori schools are not traditionally known for homework, specifically rote memorization of facts, math facts are some things that the children do need extra work on at home.  Being able to quickly multiply or add single digits is key to progressing through the math curriculum.   Please support what we are striving for in the classroom by practicing these facts with your children at home.

Today also marked our second week of studio class rotation.   I am teaching recycled art,  and we made bracelets from t-shirt “yarn”.  The style we made were similar to the paracord survival bracelets that have been popular in the last couple of years.   It was challenging for some of the children and possibly a little frustrating as well.  I plan on making these bracelets with our class as a “free time” activity.  If you have any old t-shirts that are just hanging in your closet, please consider donating these to our class so we can create more projects.  I have in mind a rag rug that we can sell at the annual MAPA Gala as well as coasters and even more bracelets, headbands, etc.  These kind of projects are nice for the children to relax with after they have had an exceptionally productive day.   Ask your students what classes they have and what they have been doing.

And finally, check out the snack sign up page as well as the celebration of life sign up page.  We love snacks in our class and the children love to share their birthday with their classmates.  If you have a child with a summer birthday, consider signing up for a half-birthday celebration!

 

 

This entry was posted on September 20, 2013, in General.

All Hope Abandon, Ye Who Enter Here.

Sep15

September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. This Thursday, our studies will be pirate themed. We will have pirate math, pirate language, pirate geography and pirate myths. I’m looking forward to sharing some good ole’ sea chanties and stories.

Ahoy thar me hardies!

On a different note, I will be sending home a packet with science fair information and deadlines. Please ask your children about these packets. They contain all of the necessary information to keep your kids on track. The first due date is September 30.

Our student council elections are this coming Wednesday.  Any student who declared their intent to run for office can hang 2 posters to aid their campaign.  All candidates will be giving a speech at an assembly Wednesday morning.  This is a very exciting opportunity for our 6th grade students!

Science Fair, Science Class and Student Council

Sep7

I believe it was Einstein who said time was relative, and boy, he couldn’t have been more correct.  I cannot believe how quickly the first three weeks have flown by and how we find ourselves in the thick of our studies, science fair preparation (only 4.5 short months away), six grade field trip fundraising,  and student council elections.

I will tackle the biggest one first.  Science Fair.  Here, at MMA, we have high expectations of our students.  As such, we do require that all of our 4th, 5th and 6th level students participate in science fair.  Please visit my Science Fair page  to read the letter from Ms. Paula detailing the project requirements and deadlines.  I know how much some of us hate deadlines, but these really do help keep the students on track and eliminates any kind of stress that may be associated from such a large, long term project.  I speak as a parent who has had a child on both sides, and believe me, sticking with the deadline schedule makes the project much easier to manage and will reduce the number of tears shed.

Image credit: Komboh.com

Science studies begin on Monday.  I am working with a team of upper elementary teachers to share students for science.  This is a great way for our class to get to know other students in the school, make new friends and learn from other teachers.  If your child is one who is uneasy with change, please discuss this with them this weekend so they have some time to get used to the idea of moving out of their comfort zone.  Our 4th grade class will be studying science with Mr. John.  He is a fantastic instructor and has a wonderful way with the children.  We are so lucky to have him sharing his talent with us.  I will be keeping the 5th grade students along with 2 other classes of 5th grade students.  And for our 6th graders, behind door number three, we have Ms. Nicoletta.  She has been with MMA since before it was a twinkle in the eye of all of us lucky souls.  She is everything we could wish for  a 6th grade science instructor.

Our sixth grade students will have an opportunity to run for office in our first student council.   We will have a president, vice president, secretary, historian and treasurer.  Elections will be held Sept 18, which also happens to be Constitution Day.  How apropos!   Students interested in running for office should notify me no later than September 11.  They will be allowed two election posters and will also be required to give a speech to the school on Election Day.   Each child will cast a ballot to determine their choice.    We have already discussed with the 6th grade students that they should elect the person best suited for the job, one who is responsible, kind, respectful and qualified for the position, not just the person who has the most friends or the nicest posters.  Please take this opportunity to discuss how to make a sound voting decision with your kids.

Lastly, we have already begun preparations for our annual 6th grade field trip to Alliance Redwoods.  Our 6th grade class is already thick in the throes of fundraising.  We have had two fundraisers already this year, the second of which, the pancake breakfast, raised $1000.  This is a nice amount of money but doesn’t put us anywhere near our goal of close to $30,000.  In order to meet this goal we need the help of everyone.  Our 6th grade students are required to do 40 hours of volunteer work, 20 of which is dedicated to fundraising activities with the school.  We also ask that our parents volunteer 40 hours of their time each year.  As a parent of a child at MMA and a former employee at a “9-5” job, and now a teacher here, I know how difficult it is to cram more into our already jam-packed days, but without the help and support of everyone, we will not be able to meet our goals.   Please take a look at our student We Join In page with your children and the parent We Join In page and sign up for the activities that you are able to help with.  Because your child may sign up to volunteer at a fundraising event that I may not be attending, please write down the number of hours your child volunteers in their planners.  These are hours specifically dedicated to the school, not personal service hours outside school activities.  Having said that, we also have a service hour requirement and students will have plenty of opportunities to serve the community with our school as well.