Good morning!
Our Writing Camp this week went extremely well! The kids are learning to fine-tune their skills as the TAKS test looms closer, and I must say I am feeling good overall about the progress we are seeing. Expect to see more writing assignments for homework in the near future as we continue practicing the writing process.
Our 5 Spelling Bee participants did an amazing job this week! We are proud of them for doing their best, being good sports, and representing us well! Way to go Carter, Lauren, Braden, Kate, and Reed!
I am proud to announce that our class is the first class in the school to have all 4 math drills conquered! Every student is now about to beat the 5-minute timer for all operations! Mrs. Simons almost cried when we told her and promised the kids a pizza party. As soon as I have a date and time set (probably a Friday around 2:00), I will let you know. If you are interested in coming and helping out in any way, please let me know!
Here are the things you need to know:
1) Vertical Schedule resumes Monday.
2) The 11 kids who completed 5 Bluebonnet books by last Friday will get to go to a banana split party in the library at 2:00 on Monday! If you have questions, please contact the librarian, Cathy Patterson.
3) This week's Homework Menu has just one activity for the kids to complete. The students will practice writing an essay based on a TAKS-type of prompt. The menu gives clear step-by-step directions of the processes we regularly use in class to develop our ideas and organize our writing. The Writing TAKS is now just 6 weeks away, so we are working hard to help these processes stick.
4) The kids do not need to post on the class blog again this week.
5) Your child should have 17 books posted on the wikispace. If your child needs a recommendation for a good book, he/she should go to the wiki and read the reviews from his/her peers!
6) The kids are all now working on 4-minute timers (or 3- or 2-minute timers) for their math drills! (I'm so proud of their hard work!) Our goal is for kids to have every fact entirely memorized and to move entirely away from finger-counting or skip-counting. Remember, there are games on my website kids can use to practice these skills as well as printable drills to use at home.
7) Kids overall are getting better at getting to class on time, but we are still having a few kids who regularly show up to class after the 7:45 bell. Please try to get your child to school as close to the 7:35 bell as possible so that he/she can take care of morning duties and prepare for the day.
I hope you have a wonderful week! Stay warm!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Week 19
Happy Sunday! I hope you are enjoying your long weekend with your children.
Here are this week's main events:
1) There is no school Monday in celebration of MLK Day!
2) This week's Homework Menu is posted now. As always, please encourage your child to begin his/her assignment early to avoid stress later in the week. Remember that your child can stay after school Tuesday for help if you fill out the Homework Hotline pass.
3) Your child does not need to post on the class blog this week unless he/she did not post last week.
4) Your child should have 16 books posted on the class wikispace. We have several kids close to finishing their 30-Books Goal! It's simply amazing! Thanks for all you are doing to help support your child's reading at home!
5) Thursday and Friday we will have a Writing Camp to help our students further prepare for the Writing TAKS Test. (Can you believe their test is only a month and a half away?) Students will rotate through classes to help them improve their introductions, conclusions, word choice, and focus. This week the kids will also receive their scores for the Writing Benchmarks from last week and will work to improve the essays that they wrote.
6) The Spelling Bee is this Wednesday. We have 5 students from our class who have qualified to compete! If your child is one of the kids participating in the Spelling Bee, please don't forget that there is a very important meeting immediately after school Tuesday. Please contact Amy Moore (amoore@burelsonisd.net) if you have other questions.
7) Almost all students are now working on a 4-minute timer for our math drills! The kids are all improving and working to beat their best times. If your child has not yet conquered this task, please continue to have him/her practice daily. Remember, there are printable drills on my website for you to use at home.
Here are this week's main events:
1) There is no school Monday in celebration of MLK Day!
2) This week's Homework Menu is posted now. As always, please encourage your child to begin his/her assignment early to avoid stress later in the week. Remember that your child can stay after school Tuesday for help if you fill out the Homework Hotline pass.
3) Your child does not need to post on the class blog this week unless he/she did not post last week.
4) Your child should have 16 books posted on the class wikispace. We have several kids close to finishing their 30-Books Goal! It's simply amazing! Thanks for all you are doing to help support your child's reading at home!
5) Thursday and Friday we will have a Writing Camp to help our students further prepare for the Writing TAKS Test. (Can you believe their test is only a month and a half away?) Students will rotate through classes to help them improve their introductions, conclusions, word choice, and focus. This week the kids will also receive their scores for the Writing Benchmarks from last week and will work to improve the essays that they wrote.
6) The Spelling Bee is this Wednesday. We have 5 students from our class who have qualified to compete! If your child is one of the kids participating in the Spelling Bee, please don't forget that there is a very important meeting immediately after school Tuesday. Please contact Amy Moore (amoore@burelsonisd.net) if you have other questions.
7) Almost all students are now working on a 4-minute timer for our math drills! The kids are all improving and working to beat their best times. If your child has not yet conquered this task, please continue to have him/her practice daily. Remember, there are printable drills on my website for you to use at home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)