Archive for April, 2019

28
Apr

Week 33 Recap

Posted in Conferences, Field Trips, Montessori Philosophy, Reading | No Comments »

Hello Everyone!

Upcoming Week!

We have our last field trip of the year on Wednesday!  I sent out an email Friday afternoon that outlined the needed information for this field trip.  Please read everything carefully!  Here the information restated:

Wednesday May 1st- Planetarium

For any of our students in our class who NEED a ride TO and/or FROM MMA (see link below) to go on the Planetarium field trip, I have a sign up ready for you all!
*Has to be a wejoinin sheet because I needed the two columns.  Add your volunteer time to Track It Forward.
 
If you can take a student(s) from our class, please sign up- certified or not.  If you are parent who’s child needs a ride to the TRAX station in the morning and a ride back to MMA after, please look at the drivers who are available and you can pick who you want your child to go with.
Drivers and student drop off will take place at North Shore.  Please catch your ride at 7:30am.  If you are willing to drive others, please be there at this time.  It is imperative to be on time for this field trip as the Frontrunner will not wait for anyone.  We are leaving a good amount of time so nobody feels rushed.
If you are dropping your child off/meeting us at the Ogden Station to catch the Frontrunner, we ask you be there at 7:50am.  This gives chaperones plenty of time to park, get a ticket to ride the Frontrunner (your child is covered!)  We can get the children banded with their Frontrunner wristband and do a headcount.
Information Quick Glance!
1. Catching rides from MMA to Ogden Station Frontrunner will need begin at 7:30am (PLEASE BE ON TIME!)
2. If meeting/dropping off at Ogden Station- 7:50am meeting time.  8:10am is the very latest I would like to see students being dropped off.   This is a built in buffer time.
3. Ms. Kaley and Ms. Misha will both be present at Ogden Station.  NOT facilitating rides at MMA.
4. First 8 chaperones to come to me at Ogden Station get a free Frontrunner wrist band.  If I am out, the ticket station is right where we meet.
5. Your child NEEDS a backpack, lunch, water dressed for the weather, comfy shoes, school dress code
6. There is a nice gift shop, food trucks, and places to eat around the Gateway.  We will be eating outside by the big fountains at The Gateway.  Money for your child to eat out or buy things is your decision.  Eating at a restaurant will depend on the chaperone.
7.  If you are chaperoning, you will get other kids who you need to help us look after.  I want to put those groups together and tell you as soon as possible.
8.  We leave the Planetarium at 1:10pm at the very latest.  We will meet at the front of the Planetarium beginning at 1pm.  Please be aware of time chaperones 🙂
9. We catch the Frontrunner back to Ogden Station at 1:31pm.  The train arrives back to Ogden Station at 2:24pm
10.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have your child picked up at Ogden Station at 2:24pm.  Every year we are waiting and are needing to call the office to call parents who are tardy.  This is important to be on time to pick up your child.  

*Please read Planetarium cover letter for further information.
Clark Chaperone Letter01_Adults Rules and Tips (1)  *The cover letter doesn’t attach to the blog, but it cover letter is attached in the email that was sent out Friday afternoon from me.
We will have an Evacuation Drill sometime Tuesday
Monday we will have Kindergarteners visiting for their shadowing experience.  Monday afternoon at 1pm we will gather the Lower El to have a mini assembly on how to travel on Frontrunner, go over the safety video, and go over rules.
Students will begin to earn classroom dollars again beginning next week May 6th.  The big end of the year Store Day that will take place with other classrooms will be on May 20th from 9am-11am.

Past Week:

This past week our students worked on their last Word Work!  Their Spiral Math has introduced them to their next grade level and is a review of the grade they are currently in and is getting them ready for their next grade.  We also finished up final drafts for the first opinion piece, “What Pet Makes the Best Pet?”  Starting Monday, students will pick their own topic they want to write an opinion piece on and do their last writing piece for the year!  It’s crazy how April is done this coming week, but that’s how it is every year!  May is going to be here and gone in a blink of an eye.
During May I will be doing some end of the year checking in on some skills for our portfolio.  We’ll focus on showing some current math, writing (from our opinion pieces), language arts, and some favorite cultural lessons.  We have pretty much wrapped up our scientific method processes for science at the beginning of April.
All reading testing from me is complete!  I focused on getting everyone done this past week andMs. Jamie, our reading specialist, has done the end of the year DIBELS reading part on everyone too!  Only thing that needs to be wrapped up is the 3rd graders need to do their DAZE (vocab word fill in the blank) part.  Ms. Jamie will grab them Thursday of this week.
Shadowing for the 3rd graders is underway!  We had about half of them shadow this week and rest will go next week.  Janessa will shadow this Thursday.
Thank you for everyone helping with transportation to and from our field trip to Sunshine Farms this past Wednesday.  I’m glad it was such a nice day to be outside.  It was interesting to hear how farmer Dan plans our his farm and gets the vegetables to local restaurants around Ogden.  The kids helped plant wildflowers, got a tour of the beds, helped move wood chips, and released lady bugs to help with the growing season.  For some students it was hard work that they normally don’t or haven’t ever experienced.  It was a good outside experience and it got our class their service time for the year by helping out farmer Dan.
PTC Sign Up: As a reminder, PTC sign ups are already up and ready for you all to sign up!  Students will run this conference to share their end of the year reflections and their portfolio.  I will have an end of the year progress report for Math and Language too. Please visit Track It Forward to sign up!
Have a great rest of your weekend and upcoming week!
Ms. Kaley and Ms. Misha

21
Apr

Week 32 Recap

Posted in Classroom, Field Trips | No Comments »

Hi Everyone!

Thank you everyone for a smooth field trip this past Thursday!  The movie was adorable and the kids loved it!

Farm field trip- For our field trip coming up on Thursday, please make sure to sign up on Track It Forward to let me know your child’s ride situation.  I will send out an email on Tuesday updating what I know about rides thus far.  The farm’s address is tricky, so please DO NOT plug the address into your phone.  Please refer to this map for where the entrance is, parking etc.  We will be meeting where it says shelter and then we will all walk over together. If you are giving rides, please be at North Shore at 12:25pm.  We will be out to catch rides at 12:30pm. Kids may be allowed to wear jeans and good shoes to work outside in (boots, tennis shoes recommended).  It is supposed to be in the 70s and sunny on this day, so make sure they have a hat or bring sunscreen and a water bottle to have.  If your child doesn’t wear a school shirt, please make sure the out of dress code shirt is appropriate logo or graphics wise for school (no violence or vulgar sayings etc.).  Pick up from the field trip will be at 2:45pm at the farm.  You don’t have to return to MMA unless you need to get another child or your child needs to go back to MMA to catch a ride at dismissal.

Sunshine Family Farms Map

Upcoming week

This coming week I will be beginning the UURC reading level test.  DIBELS will also be beginning for 1st and 2nd graders as Ms. Jamie is working around 3rd grade testing coming up.  She is beginning with the early childhood this week and might begin the lower el towards the end of the week.  Regardless, end of the year assessments and testing are now in full swing!

3rd graders will begin their Upper El shadowing beginning this week.  They are paired up with an Upper El classroom to see what it is like and become familiar with their environment.  Their shadowing experience will also play into their end of the year reflection for their portfolios at the end of the year.  The teacher they shadow with will not necessarily be their teacher.  Our class was just divided amongst the teachers this year.  The schedule will be as follows:

Franky- John May 7th
Jax C.- Laura April 24th
Lillian- Amy April 22nd
Lili- Shanan April 24th?
Janessa- Amity May 7th
Tenley- Kirsten May 9th
Lexi- Kotie April 22nd
Kaulin- John May 7th
Jaxston- Amity May 7th
Bronson- Shanan April 24th?
*waiting to hear back form Shanan on the date I gave her.
Thank you to those who signed up for snack for the rest of the year!
If you want to get a head start on signing up for end of the year conferences, my sheets on Track It Forward have been up and ready to go for you all.
The Spring Concert is May 1st beginning at 6:00pm.  Students should arrive at 5:45pm.  Please refer to the MMM newsletter for the flyer!  Solid black pants and a solid colored shirt for their performance dress code.  Thanks!
Happy Easter and have a great upcoming week!  See some of you Thursday!

14
Apr

Week 31 Recap

Posted in Classroom, Field Trips, Shared School | No Comments »

Hello!

We had a wonderful week back from Spring Break.  The kids came back ready to rock and roll.  We talked this week how the kids want more of a challenge towards better themselves and as a community.  This class meeting talk took place before Spring Break and we worked on it on Friday.  The kids will complete a classroom goal to earn 10 points.  When a goal is reached by the of the week then they get a little incentive.  There are 5 goals and as the kids reach another goal (or level) then they still have complete the previous goal PLUS the new goal.  We did this last year and they really liked it.  The 1st goal is the “Quiet” goal.  This goal will need the kids to cooperatively work together in group times such as circle time and lining up.  If they complete this goal by Friday then they voted on having a scavenger hunt as their 1st group incentive.  Tune in next week to see if they make it!

We had a super cute moment this past Friday during a 2nd grade small math lesson.  2nd graders are working this year on their addition and subtraction skills, but understanding multiplication.  We continued our practice with arrays.  I had them build arrays with Cheerios.  I invited others if they wanted to come.  We ended up with practically the whole class engaged in a book I read and then building their arrays.

Movie Field Trip this Thursday!

This Thursday is the movie field trip to see Disney’s Earth Day presentation: Penguins.  We will need your child to be dropped off at the Ogden Junction- The Megaplex at 8:45am.  Ms. Misha will be there to collect our students.  I will be at MMA to make sure kids are catching rides and then meet our class over there.  The movie begins for the kids at 9:15am.  To my certified drivers who signed up, THANK YOU!

Ms. Jalee has the sign up for any child needing a ride back to MMA.  Even if you aren’t a certified driver and you have room to take another kiddo back to school, please  sign up on this sign up sheet:  https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/jsiix

(Have room to take kids back to MMA!  No certification required!)
 
Reminders:
1. If you are taking your child to and from the field trip, have them keep their stuff in your car.  If your child isn’t going with you then they will take it into the theater.
2.  Please provide a lunch this day
3.  No snacks for the movie please and no money is needed to bring
4.  If you are picking up students to take them back to MMA- PLEASE be there out front by the stairs at 10:30am.  The movie is likely to end around 10:15am, so between 10:15-10:30 (at the latest).
PLEASE DO FOR ME THE FOLLOWING:
1. Email me your child’s ride situation TO the field trip and BACK to MMA.  Please do this by Sunday (homework for you!)
Permission Slips NEEDED:
Parker (told me he will bring it Monday.)
Madison
Amelia
Jax C.
*Please have to me by Wednesday at the very latest.  If your child does not bring me their permission slip, they will be helping Early Childhood or Upper El while everyone is gone.  They will return to class after we get back.
Next Thursday- April 25th is our afternoon field trip to Sunshine Farms.  Please sign up on Track it Forward to let me know your child’s ride situation.  This field trip is for our class and for Junior High students in Ms. Leigh’s Advanced Erdkinder class.
We will eat lunch at 11:45am on this day and then begin to catch our rides to the farm at 12:30pm.  Please be at the North Shore parking lot for picking up by 12:25pm. We will meet you all out there.  There isn’t a chaperone limitation for this field trip or for the Planetarium coming up.  Please let me know in the Track it Forward ride situation or via email if you are planning on chaperoning (if you haven’t already).  I will be sending out an email tomorrow (Monday) after school to let you know whose permission slip for the farm I am missing.  I have extra permission slips in the classroom if you just want to stop in real quick.

Past Week:

We had Botany with Ms. Rachael this past Monday.  She talked about some parts of the flower as spring has sprung and the kids can now see these parts of the flower!
The 3rd grade party has been scheduled!  This is only information for 3rd grade parents.  I will talk more about it soon, but mark your calendars for Monday May 13th.
We worked on rough drafts this past week for our opinion writing.  Students are working on writing an introduction, state 4 reasons with details, and then write a conclusion.  Their topic is “which animal do you think makes the best pet.”  Our students are using their feelings to understand opinions in their writing.  It’s been fun to hear the dog vs cat kiddos talk and challenge each other.
We worked on some Botany and Geography for cultural this week.  This coming week we will continue our study of plants in Botany and begin wrapping up learning time for 1st graders, the needs of humans for 2nd graders, and when humans appeared on the timeline for 3rd graders.

Coming Up!

April 22nd- an early out Monday
3rd grade shadowing- our 3rd graders will be checking out an upper elementary classroom soon!  Since we are partnered with a junior high class this year, your child has been assigned a room to shadow and check out.  I am working with all the upper el teachers to see what day and time works for them.  I will email you all that information once I have everyone scheduled.
3rd grade breakfast will take place on 3rd grade testing days.  We will need help to make these breakfasts happen.  I will be making the Track It Forward sign ups soon!
Spring Music Concert is May 1st.  Please see the MMM newsletter sent out for the big flyer with the times and information.  When I post it on here it posts small.
WE NEED SNACK!  Nobody has signed up for the rest of the school year!  If you are willing to help us out, please sign up on Track It Forward!  Please and Thank You!
Thanks and have a great rest of your weekend and upcoming week!
Ms. Kaley and Ms. Misha