Reset and Ready

 I was able to get away for a few days at the beginning of the week.  My parents live in Boca Raton for the winter so I had a chance to go visit them, even if it was for a short period of time.  It was a spontaneous mini trip, but so worth it.  The sunshine on my face, the sand touching my toes and palm trees everywhere.  It really was a relaxing time.  I read a good book on the plane, journaled some ideas I have, and soaked in the sun.  

With that being said, it is now back to getting back to my  normal routine.  Today's blog will include all that we did before we broke away.  It was very eventful with International Night and the days leading up to it.  

International Night:

It was a huge turnout.  So many families came to travel around the world to the various countries each classroom represented.  Mr. Berger did a great job with the music and Mrs. Marshall did an awesome job with organizing it and having all the classrooms participate.  

We decorated, researched, made posters, created travel brochures and really put a lot of work and effort into this school wide project.

The families came through and were in awe of all the great work created by everyone.  It was a team effort and we all came together and had a successful night.  

The children sang their hearts out and we so proud to show off their hard work and effort.

You can see the pride in the children's faces, smiles everywhere and conversations buzzing in all the rooms.

It was a wonderful turnout!

The children did a fantastic job and I am so proud of their efforts.  They pulled it all together so nicely and everyone couldn't stop talking about how great everything looked.  

Science Posters:

The children have been working on animal adaptations and created a poster with the animal they chose to research.  They are still working on them but some have completed them.  Below, you will see how they are turning out.

           

Black History Month:

This entire month of February we have been watching videos about famous black Americans who have influenced and made an impact in our society.  The children will be writing biographies about the person they chose.  We have begun with the graphic organizer and will eventually create posters.

Donations for the Earthquake Victims in Turkey/ Syria:

Thank you to the families who have sent in items for the victims of the devastating earthquake.  As a school, we really have come together to show our compassion and generosity for all the people who have had to go through all of this tragedy.  

The month has flown by and we have many events/activities coming up for the month of March.  Always check on Class Dojo and your emails.  Notices and announcements can be found there.

We will be holding our virtual February Student of the Month assembly this Friday.  Many of the students have been rehearsing for the talent show happening on March 17th.  There is a spirit week planned for the week of the 20th- more to come on that.  I will keep you posted on Class Dojo.

Spring is just around the corner...  

Focusing on all the positives

Another great week is in the books.  We celebrated the 100th Day of School.  We are continuing to celebrate Black History Month and our International Night is almost ready.  The week lead to many great convesations.  Our character trait is Friendship and lots of good learning took place.

Station Rotations:

Our station rotation time is running smoothly.  We are in new groups and it seems to be going well, for the most part.  The students are making discoveries, collaborating with one another and making progress as they go along.

100th Day of School:

We had a great time celebrating our 100 days of learning.  Stations were set up for Math and ELA.  We had many "older" students in class that day.  There were smiles fun activities planned.

There were lots of smiling faces all through the building.

The children enjoyed working in their groups and completing the planned activities.

Amplify Science:

We are continuing our unit about Vision and Light and the children are enjoying the research they are working on for their animal poster.  

Social Studies:

We are wrapping up our study on Portugal.  Our International Night will be happening on the 16th.  The children have been working very hard on completing their projects so that they can be displayed.  There has been a lot of collaboration and great effort put into this.  We hope that everyone enjoys it and is able to attend. 

New Classroom Management System:

I have implemented a new behavior system in our classroom.  This involves three cards, a green, yellow and red one for each student.  On Monday, we discussed/reviewed many of the rules of the classroom.  Everyone starts off on green each morning.  This means they are on task, doing their work and following directions.  If they aren't doing any of this, they get moved to yellow (a warning and need to refirect their behavior).  If the negative behaviors persist, they get moved to red, which means an email home.  This seems to be working for the most part.  Once they see themselves on yellow, they tend to know that they need to act accordingly.  

Our Postcard Exchange:

We are continuing to receive postcards from various states.  The children get very excited when another one arrives.  Once I read the letter/postcard we display it on our USA map and locate the state on our smaller map and color it in.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend and has a fantastic week ahead.  Don't forget to check your child's take home folder nightly, and reach out with any questions or concerns.  

Also, don't forget to complete the Survey Works and be entered into our raffle!