Archives

Utah Compose and Business for the Coming Week

Nov2

Beginning tomorrow, all students will have access to the Utah Compose writing tool.  This is an internet based writing program designed to help students improve their writing skills.  This website replaces Utah Write, a site that level 5 students have used in the past to help prepare them for the DWA (direct writing assessment).

Each week your student will receive a writing lesson during class and a writing assignment that will need to be completed at home.  They will have some time to utilize the computers in class, but because of the limited resources in the classroom and time during the day, students will need to do a portion of the work at home.

All students will be logging in and resetting passwords tomorrow in order to be able to utilize this great resource at home.  At that time, we will be learning how to navigate the site and begin the first writing assignment.  The more time they are able to spend with this resource, the better they will do on the assessment and the better their writing will become.

Feel free to email me with any questions you may have.  As always, if you do not have access to the internet, we will make arrangements for your student to have time during class.

In other news, our school has decided to participate in the interim testing for SAGE.   Our class will test Tuesday, November 11 and Tuesday November 18.  This will enable the children to experience a form of the test, before they have to take the test in the spring.   In addition to the testing, students will be doing practice assignments in class utilizing the SAGE portal.  This practice will help them become familiar with the site and the types of questions they will encounter on the SAGE Summative.

This week we will also be discussing the expectations for the next book report (due November 21).  This month the students will be doing a scrapbook page book report.  All information for this report and the expectations (with a rubric) will come home this week and will be available on the blog.  I was so excited with the creativity and thoughtfulness the students put into October’s report!   We had sandwiches and wardrobes, posters and puppet shows.  Your children are so clever!

With the weather cooling off, please be sure your children are dressed appropriately. Unless there is lightening or extreme freezing temperatures, all students go outside for recess everyday.  Students who do not have appropriate clothing, will not be allowed to stay inside.  Make it routine for your children to check the weather.  4th level students are studying weather in science so this would be a great practical extension on their weekly science lessons.

~Cheers

 

Class Business Week of October 27

Oct27

I want to apologize in advance for the amount of information I’m about to deliver in this blog post.

Firstly, our class will be joining Ms. Holly’s lower elementary class on a field trip to the Ben Lomond Cemetery this Thursday, October 30.  This walking field trip will allow students to explore our local history by participating in grave rubbings as well as an historical scavenger hunt.  We took this field trip last year and the children really enjoyed it.  If you are interested in joining us on this field trip, even though it is short notice, please let me know by Wednesday,October 29.  We will be leaving the school at 9:00 am,  and returning by lunch at 12:00.  This is a great trip for parents who can’t take an entire day off work (been there, done that).  Because the field trip will take place in the morning on Thursday, we will be holding reading groups on Friday.   If you are a Thursday reading group volunteer, we will plan on seeing you again on Thursday, November 6.

Our October book reports are due this Thursday.  As previously stated, these book reports are student choice.  From the genre to the presentation method, these reports are in the hands of your children.  They can turn in a simple written report, they can do a power point, they can create a display board or even a diorama.   If your student is planning on doing a power point presentation, they will need to turn in a print copy of their power point on Thursday October 30.  We will do the actual presentations on Wednesday, November 5.

This week is Red Ribbon Week.  We have several different activities happening this week.  Our class is participating in a door decorating contest in which the winning class will receive a pizza party.  Our class has a great concept that we will be working on tomorrow.  Tomorrow we also have an assembly featuring Dorian Willes.  Dorian is a recovering drug addict from Idaho who has dedicated his life to educating others about the dangers of addiction.   Please take time this week to speak to your children about making healthy choices.  We have spoken a bit about what it means to be healthy and why it is important to be drug free.  The theme for Red Ribbon week is “Love Yourself.  Be Drug Free”.

16308_NFP14_Poster_12x18

Thank you to those who are helping their children with homework!   Whether it is science fair, book reports or weekly IXL assignments, your support is vitally important to your child’s success.   I like to think of your child’s education as a team effort.  I am with your children for such a small percentage of time during the day that I count on your support when it comes to your child’s academic, social and emotional progress.  If you ever have a concern about your child’s development, whether academic, social or emotional, I am happy to schedule a time to meet with you.   If you are curious about how our classroom runs, you are welcome to schedule a time to come and observe in our classroom.   We welcome observations in 30 minute blocks.  Please contact the front office to schedule observation times.

Lastly, we have a 6th grade student and parent meeting on Thursday, October 30 at 4:30 pm.   Upper elementary teachers will be discussing the 6th grade student council, committees, expectations and fundraisers.  We will also be discussing the 6th grade Alliance Redwoods field trip.  We are so proud of the 6th grade students and who they are becoming.  We want you to be well informed about what is going on this year.  Please plan on attending, we hope to see you there.

IXL Account Changes

Sep19

Our classroom account was just upgraded without my prior knowledge.  This means all student usernames and passwords have been changed.  I will be working this weekend to reset them to what they were.  Because this is a time consuming process, your students will not have access to IXL until Monday.

I apologize for any confusion this may cause you or your students.  This was completely out of my control.

Thanks in advance for your understanding.

Week Three

Sep1

I hope you all have enjoyed the three day weekend.  I think it’s just what the kids needed before the long haul to fall break.

We have spent the last 2 weeks getting to know each other, building connections and strengthening our relationships through a variety of cooperative games and engineering design challenges.  We have a lot of problem solvers in our classroom!

This week we begin our modified work cycle.  We will spend a lot of time organizing and learning the procedures for planning our work day and recording our work.  Organization is very important to your child’s success, the more externally organized your child, the more organized their mind will be as well.  Though the time spent doing this could be used in lessons, the foundations we lay now will benefit your student greatly as the year progresses.

In the morning, we will begin reviewing parts of speech, punctuation rules and the hierarchy of numbers.   In the afternoon, on Tuesday, we have our first science lesson. Fourth grade students will be attending science with Mr. John, fifth grade students will remain with me, and sixth grade students will attend science with Ms. Kirsten.   Wednesday-Friday in the afternoon we will begin our Geography unit, and Friday morning we will have our first physiology lesson.

Wednesday we begin P.E.  Please ensure your child has the proper footwear and clothing to participate.  While the weather is nice, P.E. will be held outside which means sunscreen is a must!  The class length is 40 minutes and this is far too long to be outside without sun protection.  Feel free to send your child with a hat, that is free of logos and characters, that they can wear too, these are always allowed outside.

We have several additional activities happening this week.  On Tuesday, our 6th level students have a meeting to discuss volunteer opportunities as well as the 6th grade field trip, Wednesday afternoon we have our first studio assembly, and Thursday night is back to school night from 6:30-7:30.

Please be on the lookout for the studio flyer to come home with your child.  This must be filled out and returned on Thursday.  If this is not returned, your child will be placed in an available class rather than in a class of their choice.  I will also have the studio course descriptions posted on the blog Tuesday night if you would like a preview.

~Cheers

Take Home Folders

Aug22

Happy Friday!

Today your student is bringing home their take home folder for the first time.  Inside this folder you will find some flyers, possibly an engineering design challenge solution (some students chose to put this in their portfolios) and a work tracker evaluation form.

Because we have been doing team building exercises this week, we have not yet used a work tracker.  In an attempt to form good habits right away, I sent the folders home today.  I asked your student(s) to answer the second part of question number four about goals for next week.  Most students did this in class, as is the expectation.  In the event that they didn’t (we were doing this at the very end of the day), please have them complete this at home and sign the evaluation.

Your responsibility, as a parent, is to review the work in the folder, keeping everything with the exception of the work chart evaluation form which needs to be signed and returned on Monday with the take home folder.  If you have any comments or questions regarding work that came home, please record them on the evaluation form and I will address them by Tuesday start of school.

If your student has unfinished work from the week, this will also come home in the folder and will need to be completed and returned on Mondays.