So Much Learning

4th Grade

 It was another great week at SOS.  Our book a day bulletin board is growing.  There are some amazing conversations around the books that are read.  Some of our discussions include acceptance, being different, friendships and being unique.  The children seem to enjoy this time of the day.  I do enjoy reading aloud to the children and find it beneficial in class discussions.  Our writing sometimes reflects what we read about. 

In 4Z we have begun using Class Dojo in which the children earn points for various things such as, being on task, participation and helping others.  This system helps us be attentive to the rules and reminds us of what we should be doing. 

This week I gave the benchmark for writing.  They had to create a story with the given prompt.  This will give be a better understanding of what areas I need to focus on.  Some may need help with hooks, others many need work on the details or even the conclusion of the story.  Once I have read through these stories I will be able to work in small groups to focus on their needs as a writer.  We use the Units of Study by Lucy Calkins and their first piece will be a Personal Narrative. 

 
I truly love watching the children read and listening to the conversations they have from reading their books.  They find a comfortable spot in the room, pick out a book and become engrossed in the book.  As an ELA teacher, I love to see this happening.  The book they read may even spark a piece of writing.  It's all about giving them voice and choice. 

 

If they choose to read alone or with a partner, it doesn't make a difference.  As long as they have a love of reading, they will develop a better understanding of what they read. 

The skill of note taking can be a bit tricky for students, therefore, our focus this week will be on taking good notes.  We try to stress that it's not every word that they need to write but the key words and facts.  There are many strategies to taking notes and these skills will be carried out through all of their learning.

5th Grade
Our 5th graders seem to be doing well also.  We have begun to talk about the Summit Platform and they even had a scavenger hunt.  In ELA we conducted a Socratic Seminar, in which the students sat around in a circle and discussed the book Crash that they are reading.  It was run by the students and they participated in discussion sections of the book, parts they did not understand or something that they made a connection with.  It was amazing to hear the wonderful discussions that took place.

 

 
 
 The children have acclimated to the rotating schedule and seem to have a good handle on expectations of each teacher and what needs to be done.  We are loving our new school and using all of the learning commons/areas.  The children are excited to sit in a nook or at a table with wobbly stools.  The gymnasium and the library are also beautiful areas that we all enjoy using.  I am sometimes still pinching myself to make sure I am really working in such a wonderful place.  Very grateful and appreciative of where we are and the students that we are teaching. 

Dot Day and Open House

This week was full of activities and many wonderful creations. We kicked off the week celebrating Dot Day.  The Dot is a book written by Peter Reynolds and is about making your mark.  We planned a number of various activities and the children seemed to have enjoyed themselves while working together collaborating.

 

 

The students created structures with one box of dots and toothpicks. First they had to plan what their structure would be and then had to start building it.  The children worked in teams and created their masterpieces.  It was great to see them work together and discuss their ideas as a team.  Many great structures were built.

 

Our Open House was held this week and was a huge success.  There were many parents, both new and ones that we had already known.  The parents were absolutely amazed with the new school and all had wonderful things to say.  I am looking forward to having a fantastic year and want to make sure that all parents and children are having a positive learning experience. 

 

We are still learning about each other and hold many circle time activities so that we can learn about each other more.  Friday we played a game in which the children took turns rolling the die and based on what number they rolled, they shared their answer to the group.  Some of the questions were, what is your favorite place to be or if you won $5 million what would you do with it.  All of the students had great answers and felt comfortable talking to the group.

 

Can't wait to see what the week ahead brings.  I know it will be great hearing the conversations based around the various activities and seeing their reactions to them.  

Our First Full Week

We are in full swing here at Stephen Olney School.  We have settled in nicely but are still getting used to the new spaces.  The children love to work outside of the classrooms and in the learning commons.  They are reading, writing and working together.  This is a great opportunity for collaboration. 

 
There are so many wonderful places and various seating to get to and do their work.  The children are always eager to use these spaces and there is always plenty of supervision in these areas.  Children are on task and know what is expected of them in all of these spots.

The first book they are reading is Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  They have the option of working in partners or reading on their own.  The discussions that go on are wonderful to listen to. 

This is my favorite part of the day.  Each afternoon, right before lunch, I read a book to them.  There are many great conversations that follow along.  Some of the children make connections to the story line, while others discuss the various themes of the book.  On Friday we vote on our favorite book of the week and they write why they like that book.

We are in a wonderful new building.  I feel so fortunate to be part of all of this and am looking forward to the year ahead.

I hope you will join us for Open House on Tuesday for grades 3-5 at 6:00

Sneak peek to what is ahead for the upcoming week:

Our New School Year

Welcome to our previous and new families. We are so excited to begin our new school year.  We have had a great 2 days and are very eager to get going with all our new projects and curriculum.  Our brand new school will give us plenty of opportunities to make our children become the best learners they can be.

 
Our school lends itself to plenty of room and open spaces where students can safe and engage in many learning opportunities.  When I began to set up the classroom, I wanted to use the space so that the children can have areas to go to and use it to the fullest potential.

I set up reading areas, writing areas and spots where children can work in groups or independently.

Unpacking was the first challenge in all of this.  Once boxes were unpacked, I began to arrange furniture in a way that would be most optimal to learning.

We are still a work in progress, but most of the room is situated and we are becoming familiar with our new environment.

 

Each area of the classroom has a specific function to make it a place of learning and discovery.  I read a book to the class each day and we have wonderful conversations around the book. We read First Day Jitters and After the Fall.  Our classroom book a day wall will grow as the days pass.

We will also continue with our social emotional initiative.  The children will come in and show how they are feeling in the morning.  We will have discussions about feelings and many of our books revolve around their feelings and what we can do to feel better.  

 
We are doing many ice breaking activities to get to know each other.  One of those activities was the toilet paper game.  Children took toilet paper and for each square they took, they had to share an interesting fact about themselves.  We have many new students in the class and it was a great way to get to know one another.

 I have created cozy spaces for children to get lost in a book and hope that the children enjoy their room.  I am so thrilled and lucky to have this new space.  We feel very fortunate and grateful to have a new building to work in.

The possibilities are endless in our new school.  I am looking forward to sharing the year with you and your child.  Stay tuned for more exciting times ahead!!