Lots of new things happening this week.

This week has seen alot of new action in our room.  We have taken delivery of some new tables!  These things are fantastic, the tops fold up for quick storage, and the surface is large enough for 5 students to spread out on!

These really increase our usable space!

We are also beginning a parallel program to band.  As you know not all students choose band, and this year, those who don't will be making ukuleles!  We will be working for the next four of five weeks to build and finish our ukes, and when they are done, we will learn to play!  At the end of the year, any participants from our "Uke-club" will be able to purchase their instrument if they wish (the cost is $46.00).  

As usual, I will wrap up this post with some reflections students have had about the week.  These take on a few themes, the most prominent of which are homework, and chromebooks.  We began our homework program this week, and it is off to a rolling start. Nearly all students are practicing at home, and all are eager to share what they have done.  Also we have a 1:1 ratio for Chromebooks this year.  Each student has a machine assigned for their use, and they will be using these for the duration of this year and in years to come.

I hope this post finds you well and that you have a relaxing and refreshing weekend.

-Dave

A friendly sock reminder.

This quick note is just to remind everyone that our sock fundraiser orders are due on Monday.  Originally they were due tomorrow, but as it is hike day, we are moving the deadline to Monday.  If your student(s) have sock fundraising forms please return them on Monday.

Enjoy your weekend, and our hike tomorrow if you can join us.

Dave

We are hitting our stride!

As we exit this week we are really starting to gel as a community.  We are working together in academic areas, sharing our work, and getting excited about things to come.  As usual the students have reflected this week, and our "paper blog," follows a few themes.  Students are getting really excited about many of our specials, their sports, and meeting up with old teachers.

Many students are really stoked about P.E.   This week the weather was nice enough to be able to go outside and play capture the flag.  This is such a valuable game for building teamwork and patience, and the students love it!

Students are also getting excited about band.  We have 12 students who will be participating in band this year, and we are looking forward to hearing them soon.  As for the students who are opting out of band, we will be working on some alternative music themed investigations, more to come on this soon.

Also next Friday is our all school hike!  If any of you are planning to attend, please be certain that all forms have been submitted to the office for a clean launch Friday morning.

As always, I hope this finds you well and that you have a relaxing and restful weekend.

Week three!

This week, like all others, saw a lot of excitement, hard work, and fun in our room.  This week's reflections have some common threads which are special classes, bus-action, and read aloud engagement.

In read aloud we finished our first book of the year.  The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, is one of my favorite books and I share it with every class during our first few weeks together.  Throughout the course of the book Edward learns to accept and engage in love.  Though he is only a china rabbit he goes through some strong emotions and learns some valuable lessons.

A few of the students reflected on some lessons they have learned on the bus.  Our bus drivers are embracing the PBIS model, and have been working hard to use this approach to keep our buses safe and sound.

Students are also getting very excited about band.  Yesterday many students picked up their instruments last night.  Please remind them to bring their instruments on Tuesday as that is the first day of band, and even though they may not meet in band on Tuesday, it will be helpful to have their instruments here at school to be certain they are ready for Thursday.

Finally, today we did a timed subtraction assessment.  For this assessment are checking students knowledge with the "foundation" facts in subtraction.  That is to say all of the subtraction facts with numbers 10 or less (9-6, 5-4, 7-3...).  A score of 40 or more on this assessment means your student is meeting the criteria for fourth grade at this time.  A score of 40 or less means they could use some more practice.  Please try to work this practice into some of your evening and or weekend routines.  This practice can take the form of oral practice of subtraction facts, written practice, card games (difference "war" is a good one, they all know how to play this), or your favorite practice method from childhood.

As always I hope this communique finds you well and you have a relaxing and refreshing weekend.

-Dave

Our second week!

As we move into our second week we are beginning to gel as a community. We are all getting used to one another, our school building and our routines.  Throughout the week all students have participated and worked hard in all aspects.  After this week there seem to be two strong themes in student's reflections.  One theme is the upcoming three day weekend, and the other theme is school related excitement.

For this upcoming weekend students are excited about many different things.  A few students will be travelling to coastal New England states.  Others are excited about some trips to visit with and spend time with family, while others still are excited to spend some quality time with friends.  I for one am excited to send some time with my family, and get out in the canoe with my wife and our 1 1/2 year old.

As for school related excitement people are really enjoying P.E. with Mr. Blanchard, and although new to us this year, he already fits into the fabric of our staff.  Three students are getting really amped up for band.  This is an exciting year as students get their first chance to play a band instrument.  Please keep you eyes open for information from Ms. Gelfon regarding instrument pickup, and from me regarding what those of us who choose to pass on band will be doing when band is in session.

Finally we are moving through our review of the foundation concepts in math, and are getting ready to move into more advanced ideas.  Students are working on increasing their depth of knowledge in the area of subtraction to establish a solid base to master addition and division.

As always I hope this update finds you well and that you have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

-Dave

First week of school

The first week of school is always busy, and this week followed suit.  We have been getting to know one another, and getting into our classroom routines.  From this week a few highlights seem to rise to the top of the students minds.  We have read some interesting and engaging books, had our first round of specials, enjoyed a band preview, and become acquainted with our school.

In this room we often use read aloud for instruction, this week we have had the chance to read some fantastic books.  We started off the week with The Sweetest Fig.  This book ends with a twist, and keeps readers engaged throughout.  On Thursday Mrs. Christy came in to share The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, this is a story about a man who loves books, and who in turn is loved back by his books.  Finally, on Friday we read The Garden of Abdul Gazasi, this final one is one of my favorites and will be referred to often throughout the year.  We also have been reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, this beautiful book is a perennial read aloud for me.

We also have previewed and had our first meeting for specials.  There is a specials schedule on the sidebar of this blog so if you are ever curious what days specials happen on you can use it for quick reference.

As we get into this year we are also getting used to the systems of the physical plant of our school.  This will be our first fully-functional start to school in years!  We are taking mini-field trips to be certain we know where everything is, as well as to give us a little practice moving through the building.

I hope you have a refreshing and invigorating weekend, and look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday!

-Dave

Winding down...

As we approach the end of the year, we as still keeping our sights trained on academia.  We are working with American Tall Tales and Greek Myths.  As we read these we have been comparing and contrasting them, seeing the similarities and defining the differences.  This is one of my favorite units, as it helps to set some context for students in the parlance of our times.  Also, these stories are just really fun to read and listen to.

In math we are working on our end of year assessments, finding lines of symmetry, and making some origami.  The art of origami is one of my favorites, and we are entering the practice with an open mind to feel the relaxing effects that origami can provide.  Although it can be easy to become frustrated when making origami we are working on letting our minds stay open, and being open to the possibility of correcting our minor folding errors.

Our final unit consists of three pieces of writing that span 3 genres.  Students have chosen a topic that interests them and are working on creating a piece of narrative, informational, and opinion.  The topics they have chosen span from hypnotism to Disney World, and encompass everything in between.

As we approach the end of the year I like to prepare families for the work that will be coming home.  We will be cleaning house and sending home work during the following week.  To this end, if you can equip your student with a grocery bag that will ease their work portage.  I have found that paper grocery bags work best, although plastic can work as well.  I will have a few on hand here, but if you think of it, and can send one along it would be wonderful.

I hope this note finds you well and that you have a relaxing and refreshing weekend.

Dave