Thursday, March 18, 2010
Spelling Packet Error
Hi all! I made a mistake with the spelling packet that is due next week. The words are for the story Trapped by the Ice. We already did Across the Wide Dark Sea. Sorry for the mistake.
Friday, March 12, 2010
March 15-19, 2010
A big THANK YOU to all who contributed to Mr. Harris' gift for Kaleidescope. He has done a wonderful job with the students and will be missed very much. It was nice having an extra teacher in the classroom for the past 2 months.
Biographies have come along nicely. All students should have their completed report turned in by Monday, March 15. Since we really want students to focus on their speeches over the next week and a half, the spelling packet for Across the Wide Dark Sea will be due in 2 weeks on March 26th. Speeches will begin on Thursday, March 25. We will have about 6 speeches a day, ending on Wednesday, March 31. Mrs. Feldbrugge has kindly offered to video tape on Monday the 29th and Tuesday the 30th. A sign up sheet will go around on this week for students to sign up the day they would like to present. Once all students have signed up, a copy of the schedule will be sent home along with a Speech Scoring Rubric. We hope this has been an enjoyable learning experience for your child.
On a side note, erasers and pencil squishies/grippers have become a hit in our classroom. Students are coming with several(10 or more), of these items. They are causing a distraction during class time and we are asking that these items stay at home. We are fine with 1-2 erasers at the most, but when kids begin trading, it breaks school rules. If we continue to see an abundance of these in/on a child's desk, they be collected. We had a problem with this earlier in the school year and now it has become a problem again. We don't want to punish students for these items, so it would be better for them to just stay at home. Thanks for your support on this.
Also, Jogging for the Arts raised almost $7500. Thank you for all of the donations!
Biographies have come along nicely. All students should have their completed report turned in by Monday, March 15. Since we really want students to focus on their speeches over the next week and a half, the spelling packet for Across the Wide Dark Sea will be due in 2 weeks on March 26th. Speeches will begin on Thursday, March 25. We will have about 6 speeches a day, ending on Wednesday, March 31. Mrs. Feldbrugge has kindly offered to video tape on Monday the 29th and Tuesday the 30th. A sign up sheet will go around on this week for students to sign up the day they would like to present. Once all students have signed up, a copy of the schedule will be sent home along with a Speech Scoring Rubric. We hope this has been an enjoyable learning experience for your child.
On a side note, erasers and pencil squishies/grippers have become a hit in our classroom. Students are coming with several(10 or more), of these items. They are causing a distraction during class time and we are asking that these items stay at home. We are fine with 1-2 erasers at the most, but when kids begin trading, it breaks school rules. If we continue to see an abundance of these in/on a child's desk, they be collected. We had a problem with this earlier in the school year and now it has become a problem again. We don't want to punish students for these items, so it would be better for them to just stay at home. Thanks for your support on this.
Also, Jogging for the Arts raised almost $7500. Thank you for all of the donations!
Friday, March 5, 2010
March 8-12, 2010
Mr. Harris' first week of his solo went very well. Students continued to work on their biographies and made a lot of progress. We will continue working on completing the report in class. Our goal is to have the final typed or hand written report due on Thursday, March 11. This should include a cover page with the title of their report and at least 1 picture. Most students have already started this in class. For those who need additional time, reports will be accepted until Monday, March 15 at the latest. Once the reports are turned in, students will have about 2 weeks to practice their speech and gather up either a costume or props for their project. In the past we have required students to memorize their speech, in first person (for example: I am Benjamin Franklin. I was born on ...), or use note cards. We don't want the students to simply read their report word for word in front of the class. We would like everyone to be prepared and ready by Thursday, March 25. We will begin that day for those who are ready and will go into the week before Spring Break. We will listen to 4-5 speeches per day. ALL speeches will be completed before Spring Break vacation. Mrs. Feldbrugge has offered to video tape those who would like to be video taped.
We apologize if the deadlines for this project have not been clear. You never know how long something like this will take a class to complete, especially with so many more students this year. It's been a challenge supporting everyone, and we appreciate the help you have done at home.
Since we are completing the biographies, there will be no spelling packet this week, only math homework and reading logs. Also, on Tuesday we are having a GATE icon lesson presented to our class and will hold Lit. Circles from 9:00-9:25. If you are a volunteer, please come at this time if you can. Again, some students are consistently forgetting to bring in their Lit. Circle job and book to class on Tuesdays. When their assignment and book is not turned in it can affect the whole group. Someone even turned in one of the books to the Aptos Branch Public Library. If you notice a book that is unfamiliar, please check to see if the book belongs to our classroom first.
Thank you again for all of your support this year! Have a nice, hopefully dry, weekend.
We apologize if the deadlines for this project have not been clear. You never know how long something like this will take a class to complete, especially with so many more students this year. It's been a challenge supporting everyone, and we appreciate the help you have done at home.
Since we are completing the biographies, there will be no spelling packet this week, only math homework and reading logs. Also, on Tuesday we are having a GATE icon lesson presented to our class and will hold Lit. Circles from 9:00-9:25. If you are a volunteer, please come at this time if you can. Again, some students are consistently forgetting to bring in their Lit. Circle job and book to class on Tuesdays. When their assignment and book is not turned in it can affect the whole group. Someone even turned in one of the books to the Aptos Branch Public Library. If you notice a book that is unfamiliar, please check to see if the book belongs to our classroom first.
Thank you again for all of your support this year! Have a nice, hopefully dry, weekend.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
March 1-5, 2010
This week Mr. Harris will begin his solo teaching assignment with the class. Over the past 6 weeks he has made a connection with the students and looks forward to having them for the next 2 weeks. Mrs. Sandman and I will pop in to help, but he will be teaching all lessons from the beginning of the day to the end. We will be available on campus, so if you have any questions, you will be able to reach us at school.
A new spelling packet for Yunmi and Halmoni's Trip will go home Monday (due on Friday). We will continue to practice long division, but have started a new chapter on fractions. Equivalent fractions are always tough, so students may need extra time and support to complete math homework this week. Also, a March reading log will be sent home on Monday as well. Can't believe it's March already.
A reminder that Lit. Circles are due on Tuesday. Several students forgot to bring their job and book last week, so please try to finish over the weekend and bring to school on Monday so they're ready to go. Most of the Lit. Circle books are from the leveled book room, and when they are not turned in, we lose out on the sets. If you find any at home, please send them in with your child.
Biographies are under way. Most students finished their outline last week and began writing their rough draft. Our goal was to have the first 2 paragraphs written out. Students will continue to write on Monday. Again, we will keep you posted on when they are due and when the speeches will be held. We're thinking if the rough draft can be finished this week in class, then next week they can begin their final copy either hand written or typed. Once the final draft is complete, then students can focus on their speech at home.
Again, if you have any questions don't hesitate to email: athena_maraldo@pvusd.net or mary_sandman@pvusd.net
Enjoy your weekend!
A new spelling packet for Yunmi and Halmoni's Trip will go home Monday (due on Friday). We will continue to practice long division, but have started a new chapter on fractions. Equivalent fractions are always tough, so students may need extra time and support to complete math homework this week. Also, a March reading log will be sent home on Monday as well. Can't believe it's March already.
A reminder that Lit. Circles are due on Tuesday. Several students forgot to bring their job and book last week, so please try to finish over the weekend and bring to school on Monday so they're ready to go. Most of the Lit. Circle books are from the leveled book room, and when they are not turned in, we lose out on the sets. If you find any at home, please send them in with your child.
Biographies are under way. Most students finished their outline last week and began writing their rough draft. Our goal was to have the first 2 paragraphs written out. Students will continue to write on Monday. Again, we will keep you posted on when they are due and when the speeches will be held. We're thinking if the rough draft can be finished this week in class, then next week they can begin their final copy either hand written or typed. Once the final draft is complete, then students can focus on their speech at home.
Again, if you have any questions don't hesitate to email: athena_maraldo@pvusd.net or mary_sandman@pvusd.net
Enjoy your weekend!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Feb. 22-26, 2010
Good morning! The blog is usually updated over the weekend, but I caught that nasty bug that has been going around. I apologize!
Spelling packets for Across the Wide Dark Sea will go home today and are due this Friday. We are wrapping up division in math this week and moving onto fractions. Chapter 14 math test will be given today. Our weekly timed tests are improving and many students are beating their time. Congrats to those who continue to work hard on memorizing their multiplication facts.
Students will begin writing their biography report in CLASS today. There seems to be a lot of confusion around the directions of this project. We would like students to begin and hopefully finish the written part in class. They have the option of typing out the final report or having a nicely written copy. We will also make a cover page as well as a poster for those who finish their writing. After the report is written, students will practice their speech at home. Students are to pretend THEY are the famous American and present to the class either in a costume or with props. Before we begin the speeches, a sign up sheet will be passed around for students to pick a day and time. Parents are welcome to come in at this time to watch their child. A list of times will be sent home a week prior to the presentations. We won't begin presentations for a few weeks, so students have plenty of time to finish their report and practice. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.
Spelling packets for Across the Wide Dark Sea will go home today and are due this Friday. We are wrapping up division in math this week and moving onto fractions. Chapter 14 math test will be given today. Our weekly timed tests are improving and many students are beating their time. Congrats to those who continue to work hard on memorizing their multiplication facts.
Students will begin writing their biography report in CLASS today. There seems to be a lot of confusion around the directions of this project. We would like students to begin and hopefully finish the written part in class. They have the option of typing out the final report or having a nicely written copy. We will also make a cover page as well as a poster for those who finish their writing. After the report is written, students will practice their speech at home. Students are to pretend THEY are the famous American and present to the class either in a costume or with props. Before we begin the speeches, a sign up sheet will be passed around for students to pick a day and time. Parents are welcome to come in at this time to watch their child. A list of times will be sent home a week prior to the presentations. We won't begin presentations for a few weeks, so students have plenty of time to finish their report and practice. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Feb. 16-20, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day and thank you for the yummy chocolates. Our favorite! Plus another 3 day weekend to enjoy with beautiful weather to top it off.
When we return on Tuesday, Literature Circles are due. Some students are neglecting to read the assigned pages and fudging through their job. Since this assignment will be done mainly as homework from this point on, please be sure your child is reading ALL of the assigned pages as well as completing their job. Assignments turned is sloppily will be sent home to correct. Again, Lit. Circles are assigned every Tuesday and due the following Tuesday.
In lieu of a spelling packet, students are to find a book about a famous American as well as a kid friendly internet article. Each student must turn in the Bibliography homework by Friday, February 20 and bring in their 2 resources to class. It is important to have the information readily available. Mr. Harris will give a lesson on note-taking and tell the students what information needs to be included in the report. Once their report is completed in class (typed or written), students will then prepare their speech at home. We know students are eager to begin, but for now, please just have your child read the book and internet article about their chosen American. As we move forward another letter will be sent home with the due date. We'll keep you posted.
Thank you for the handi wipes. If you have any more, please send them in.
When we return on Tuesday, Literature Circles are due. Some students are neglecting to read the assigned pages and fudging through their job. Since this assignment will be done mainly as homework from this point on, please be sure your child is reading ALL of the assigned pages as well as completing their job. Assignments turned is sloppily will be sent home to correct. Again, Lit. Circles are assigned every Tuesday and due the following Tuesday.
In lieu of a spelling packet, students are to find a book about a famous American as well as a kid friendly internet article. Each student must turn in the Bibliography homework by Friday, February 20 and bring in their 2 resources to class. It is important to have the information readily available. Mr. Harris will give a lesson on note-taking and tell the students what information needs to be included in the report. Once their report is completed in class (typed or written), students will then prepare their speech at home. We know students are eager to begin, but for now, please just have your child read the book and internet article about their chosen American. As we move forward another letter will be sent home with the due date. We'll keep you posted.
Thank you for the handi wipes. If you have any more, please send them in.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Feb. 9-12, 2010
Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful 3 day weekend!
We will begin Tuesday morning with Literature Circles. As I mentioned in last weeks post, this assignment is assigned every Tuesday and due the following Tuesday. Students are given only a short amount of time to work on this in class now, so most should finish as homework. If you have not seen this come home, inquire with your child. Please edit your child's work and be sure that they are writing in complete sentences. The reading from this assignment can be used for the reading log too.
We are taking a 2 week break from the usual spelling homework packet. Instead, students will be assigned to look for a book on a famous American and a grade appropriate internet article. A letter will be sent home on Tuesday to give more information about this project. Mr. Harris will begin teaching students about biographies over the next 2 weeks. Most of the written work will be completed in class (this is not a homework assignment). We'll begin with note taking and then transfer into a report. So again, NO spelling packet for the next 2 weeks.
On a side note, if anyone has any handy wipes to donate to the class, it would be much appreciated. Since we have clay once a week, we are using them more often to clean our desks and hands.
That's all for now! Have a great weekend!
We will begin Tuesday morning with Literature Circles. As I mentioned in last weeks post, this assignment is assigned every Tuesday and due the following Tuesday. Students are given only a short amount of time to work on this in class now, so most should finish as homework. If you have not seen this come home, inquire with your child. Please edit your child's work and be sure that they are writing in complete sentences. The reading from this assignment can be used for the reading log too.
We are taking a 2 week break from the usual spelling homework packet. Instead, students will be assigned to look for a book on a famous American and a grade appropriate internet article. A letter will be sent home on Tuesday to give more information about this project. Mr. Harris will begin teaching students about biographies over the next 2 weeks. Most of the written work will be completed in class (this is not a homework assignment). We'll begin with note taking and then transfer into a report. So again, NO spelling packet for the next 2 weeks.
On a side note, if anyone has any handy wipes to donate to the class, it would be much appreciated. Since we have clay once a week, we are using them more often to clean our desks and hands.
That's all for now! Have a great weekend!
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