All in a Week's Work

Presentations 

This past week we finished presenting most of the Spider Slides that the children created.  They were very excited to show their classmates what they created. We learned many interesting facts about so many different spiders.  

Take a look at some of your children as they showed us what they did.

These presentations went on for a couple of days and the children were so proud to bet up there and show off what they did.  We will be continuing with Informational writing for the rest of the trimester.  Many fun activities are being planned so stay tuned.

The children also asked so many wonderful questions to each other.  These were very informative slides.  I know that they really put some great effort into them and did an exceptional job.

There will be more presentations as the months progress.  I am looking forward to their book projects for this trimester.  They should all be reading biographies and planning how they will put together their Bottle Book Project.  These are due at the end of February.  They have been given the handout that they will be filling out, the directions on how to put it all together and the rubric on how they will be graded.  Below I included just some examples in case they need a visual of how they need to be put together. 

On the day that they are due, your child will bring in the bottle, paper that they filled out and the book.  For this presentation, they will have the projects displayed around the room and will tell us a little about the person they read about, their early life, education, accomplishments and later life.  

Student of the Month Assembly (Virtual)

On Friday, the school held its monthly student of the month assembly.  The children were introduced to the new trait for February- Friendship.  School wide, we are beginning a new initative, the children will be earning SOS Star Bucks for great behaviors, awesome attitudes, great effort and so many other positive behaviors.  

Each classroom will display a poster of what Star Patriots look and sound like.  Throughout the week, children will work on earning these bucks and their will be some friendly competions taking place as far as who earns the most bucks, individually and as a whole class.  We are so excited to be starting this and know that we are all STARs.  

Safe- I protect myself and others

Trustworthy- I am honest and tell the truth

Accountable- I take responsibilities for my decisions

Respectful- I value myself and others

We cannot wait to see all these great qualities being displayed throughout the school, in the hallways, classrooms, on the bus, during recess and lunch.  

  Upcoming Events:

The 4th graders will take part in the Pen Pal Project sponsored by USPS.

The children will be writing letters to a class of 4th graders from Las Vegas, Nevada.  The USPS has provided us with envelopes and cards to send out.  The children will be writing friendly letters to who they get paired up with. It will be exciting to get their letters and find out about the children.  I will introduce this Monday.  

February 2nd is World Read Aloud Day- as an ELA teacher it is one of my favorite days as I get to read aloud and the children will also have the opportunity to do that also.  

February 8th is our 100th day of school (can you believe it?)  I have some fun things planned for this day.  We will be working in stations.  The children enjoy stations and it gives them an opportunity to collaborate with each other and make new discoveries.  

Also on the 8th- Some students have been randomly chosen to take part in the NAEP survey.  The children will be asked various questions about Math and Reading.  It is not a standardized test, it is all for gathering data on our school and getting the children's input about their learning.  

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.  

 

Everything is Possible- Just Have the Right Mindset

As we begin to close out this month, we have been reflecting on having a growth mindset.  Our discussions, activities, and some of the books that are read aloud bring up how important it is to have a positive mindset.  Yes, there are bad days and things don't always go as planned, however, we look at those days as experiences to learn from and do better.  Our morning meetings have become so much more beneficial, especially when we are having a bad start to the day.  The morning meetings help us communicate and look at things differently so that our day can turn around and become more positive.

Informational Writing

This week we read all about Spiders from our Wonders book.  The children are now working on google slides to present to the class.  They chose a particular spider that they read about and researched it.  They took notes, organized their writing and now are in the process of developing their presentations.  

The children have been on task and focused.  They help each other out, advise them on how to put it all together and show great effort as they continue with the assignment.  It is wonderful to see and hear them helping out their classmates. 

This week we will presenting them and we will be learning about the many different spiders.  I am looking forward to see their final piece.  

With the cold temperatures and snow that we have had, the children have indoor recess.  It isn't as fun as being outside, but we make the best of it.  The children like to draw/color, use their chromebooks and go onto Prodigy or ABCyay and sometimes play Quiet Ball.  It is a time for them to have a break from the day's routine and socialize with one another.  

Just a couple of reminders:

The childen must wear their masks at all times, except for snack and lunchtime.  

The children should be bringing in their water bottles.  The room can get rather warm and many ask to go get water and that can sometimes take away from instruction time.

Also, we have noticed that many of the children are forgetting to do assignments that we send home to complete.  We are asking that the children bring in planners, nothing fancy, even a small notebook, to write down the work that needs to be done.

As always, thank you for your continued support.  We truly appreciate all that you do for your child.  Hope you enjoy the rest of the day and stay warm.

 

Dreams, Goals and Affirmations

As we celebrate MLK Jr. today, let's keep in mind that if you set your mind to getting something done, you can achieve it.  

This past week was a fast one and filled with many wondeful lessons and discussions in the classrooms.

Our morning meetings are an important part of our day.  We have share outs, discuss and the children do an activity around the day's conversations.  I find them very helpful, especially if a child is having a bad start to the day.  The meeting grounds them and gets them ready for the day ahead.

The classroom jobs were assigned this week.  The children have minor, but important jobs that keep the children accountable and responsible.  Some of the jobs include, paper passer, lunch monitor, board eraser, etc.  The children seem to be doing well with them and take them seriously.  

This book was read during one of our morning meetings.  It was very appropriate for the weather we are experiencing.  With that being said, please make sure that your child comes to school dressed accordingly.  Due to the cold weather, we have been having indoor recess.  The children play board games, draw or color and are able to socialize with one another.  

This week the children began and finished the writing benchmark.  They read an informational article and responded to a prompt.  The children worked on this and were focused on the assignment.  This benchmark serves as what topics I will need to cover within the trimester; whether it is paragraphs, hooks, conclusions, using details from the text, etc. I will create mini lessons that will have them be able to improve their writing.  

Stations are running very smoothly.  The children participated in centers on Friday.  The theme was Martin Luther King Jr.  They read an informational article about him, did a wordsearch, and created a mobile.  

The interactions and discussions were amazing.  I heard children talking about their dreams, they stated what they knew about him and recognized many of the words related to his famous speech.  

The children enjoy playing Blooket.  It is an interactive game that reviews many topics in all content areas.  I could see the focus and determination on their faces.  They love to compete against one another and see their scores on the screen.  It keeps them motivated to do better and it reviews various skills.

Overall it was another week of wonderful conversations, learning and discovering.  Many of the children participate and offer their thoughts and ideas.  No matter what time of the day it is, you can hear the classes all around having some fantastic discussions, doing wonderful activities and discovering many new things.  Our school community is working around the trait, Growth Mindset.

I want them to feel that it is ok to make mistakes, that's how we learn.  It is ok if they don't understand something yet, they will learn it.  It is ok if they aren't sure of the answers, they will get it soon enough.  

On a personal note, these past few years have taken a toll on everyone.  We have had to adjust our way of teaching, either virtually or in person.  We have had to address many social emotional issues both with students and teachers.  We have had to deal with a number of challenges that have come our way.  However, with all that has been going on, our SOS family is always there for the children and teachers.  I truly love my job, but at times the challenges do get to us, therefore, please bare with us and know that we are all doing our very best to get through these difficult situations.