THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6TH

Dear Parents of Room 21 Students,

WHAT’S DUE THIS WEEK?

Homework due this week includes the following:  Behavior Chart signed and brought back, Reading Log, Math Unit 3 study guide and Homework and Remembering C-1, C-2, and C-3.

Classwork due by Friday of this week includes Mt. Language; Science p. A153 questions; a writing piece called “Out of Orbit;” “Entering Animal Worlds” info and picture panels; Matisse Art; and math Graphiti art.

Additionally, students will be required to do at least two activities on Compass Learning by the end of the week.

An optional February book order went home today and is due Friday for anyone interested in ordering books. 

ANY TESTS THIS WEEK?

This week we will have the Math Unit 3 test tomorrow, the Unit 20 spelling test and Lesson 11 Wordly Wise test on Friday, and a selection test over “Sing to the Stars” on Wednesday at the earliest and Friday at the latest.  Our weekly math facts drills will be Wednesday.

Looking ahead, we are planning the Unit A, Chapter 5 science test for next Wednesday, with study guides being given to students on the afternoon of Monday, February 13th.  

MISSION REPORT AND PROJECT UPDATE

All projects have been shared and all tangible ones are on display in the library—they will come home in a few weeks.  I am still in the process of reading and grading reports, projects, and presentations.  Score sheets on these will go home next Monday.

KUDOS

Once again, our class was awarded the second place Colt for Running Club last month.  Despite nearly tripling our number of miles from the previous month (we increased from 12 miles in December to 33 miles in January), we were no match for Mrs. Kolodziej’s class total of 53 miles last month, which was good enough for the first place trophy.  We did have some impressive numbers of laps at the jog-a-thon last week, so hopefully February will be an even stronger month for us. 

Our grade level awards ceremony last Friday was also a great way to celebrate the success of so many of our students—some of whom achieved not just one, but two goals.  Ms. Osborne praised some of the speeches our students made when accepting their awards, especially ones that highlighted never giving up and applying the knowledge of fractions to personal uses, such as dividing a cake.

HOWEVER…

Our classroom assignment completion rate has remained a little lower than where it was earlier in the year (only 94.5% of all assignments last week, compared to rates above 98.5% in the fall), despite the fact that we have finished our mission reports and projects and our novel study of Island of the Blue Dolphins.  Again, I acknowledge all of the distractions right now (school talent show, Valentine’s Day, upcoming vacation time, etc.), but our main focus should still be on the core of what we do at school.  Some time in the first half of March, Second Trimester report cards will go home again, and students who are consistently missing an assignment or two every week or are missing as many as 5-7 these past couple of weeks are probably not going to have very high marks in certain areas of their report cards, especially in Effort and Work and Study Habits.

FIELD TRIP

A field trip permit slip and cover letter went home today.  It is due by Friday.  The cost of the field trip is $10.  We will be taking a bus, so no parent drivers are needed, but I can take as many as three parents on the bus with us as long as they have passed the most recent requirements for Megan’s Law Clearance and updated TB tests.  For your convenience, I have attached a copy of the Megan’s Law Background Check Form to the e-mail if needed.  Further details and instructions about the trip will be found in the cover letter on the back side of the field trip form.  I will be posting both the field trip cover letter and extra copies of the field trip permission slip to the classroom web site later this evening just in case the forms get lost or don’t make their way home.

VALENTINE’S DAY PARTY

Attached to this e-mail, you should find a class list in case students want to put actual names on their Valentines (although addressing them is not required).  You may have already received or will be receiving shortly some further details from our room parent about donations still needed for our party, as well as planned activities and ways to help. 

Thanks for reading this update.

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 30TH

Dear Parents of Room 21 Students,

WHAT’S DUE THIS WEEK?

Homework due this week includes the following:  Behavior Chart signed and brought back, Reading Log, Math Homework and Remembering 3-16, and a number of multiplication practice packets.

Classwork due by Friday of this week includes Mt. Language; Science p. A147 questions; a writing piece called “Just in Time;” the Social Studies study guide, and Alphabet Art.

Additionally, students will be required to do at least two activities on Compass Learning by the end of the week. 

ANY TESTS THIS WEEK?

This week we will have the Unit 20 spelling test on Friday.  We had the selection test for “Marven of the Great North Woods” today, and will probably have the selection test for “The Last Dragon” later this week as well.  The Unit 2 Social Studies test is tomorrow.  Our weekly math facts drills will be Wednesday.

Looking ahead, we are planning the Unit 3 math test for next Tuesday and a switch in the library math group around the middle of next week.

MISSION REPORT AND PROJECT UPDATE

We shared 13 projects in class today and will do more tomorrow and Wednesday.  A few students still haven’t submitted their final draft of their reports or their projects yet.  There is a point reduction on both items each day it is late.  So far, the projects have been of a really high quality; those shared today are currently on display in the library and will be there for the next three weeks.

KUDOS

Last Thursday, I met with all but two of our students to set new goals and acknowledge those who met goals based on their identified MAP growth area last trimester.  Students who met goals this last time were given an awards announcement to take home with them to parents letting them know about the goals awards assembly on Friday at 2:00 p.m. in the MPR.  Overall, I was relatively pleased with the growth our students had on this round of MAP testing, especially in the area of reading, where our class mean (average) increased by 5.3 RIT points, the highest rate of increase of any 4^th or 5^th grade class.  Nevertheless, we still set goals in individual strands in both reading and math for this next trimester.  It is important to emphasize the success students have had with certain programs (Compass Learning and Lexia) and that they should continue diligent use of them to continue to grow.  It was also clear that Wordly Wise helped positively impact a large (4.8 RIT point) increase in the Word Analysis and Vocabulary Development strand, so studying for those Wordly Wise tests and putting the most effort into the daily activities is also an important trend to continue.  It is also important to recognize that in the area of math, where our class mean (average) increased by 3.8 RIT points, the concepts are about to get increasingly difficult with each new unit (metric system, long division, and fractions and decimals are just around the corner), so increased effort and student focus in the in this area will be helpful in grasping these complex concepts more quickly.  It would be great to see a mean increase of closer to 5 RIT points in this area next time.

HOWEVER…

Our class needs to work on better behavior while in line going to and from places, especially fire drills.  I will be honing in on this in the coming weeks by reviewing expectations, rewarding good examples, and marking Behavior Charts of repeat offenders who are playing in line, running in any form, or making too much unnecessary noise.

JOG-A-THON

Our class is scheduled to participate in the annual school jog-a-thon this Thursday, February 2^nd from 11:15-11:35 a.m.  A flyer about this went home with students today.  Having a 2 or 3 volunteers there to help pin tally sheets to students and mark laps as they go around would be great.

SPEAKING OF VOLUNTEERS…

All volunteers must be “Megan’s Law Cleared” before volunteering for any activity with our children at our school or on field trips.  We as teachers have been reminded to check with the parents of our students to be sure that they have completed a Megan’s Law Background Check form in the office before we allow any parents to accompany us on any future field trips (we have one coming up again in the middle of March) or volunteer with our classes here at Morning Creek.  This needs to be updated from time to time, especially with regard to tuberculosis (TB) tests, which often expire without the person being notified.  If you plan on volunteering with us in any capacity in the future, please take a moment to check in the office and make sure you have been cleared, or if you have been cleared before, that your TB test is still current.  For your convenience, I have attached a copy of the Megan’s Law Background Check Form to the e-mail if needed.  Thank you for attending to this important matter.

PE DAYS

A brief reminder to have your child either bring or wear athletic shoes to school on most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, as these are most likely to be PE days in our schedule—especially Wednesdays and Fridays.

Thanks for reading this update.

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 23RD

Dear Parents of Room 21 Students,

Here’s this week’s update:

WHAT’S DUE THIS WEEK?

Homework due this week includes the following:  Behavior Chart signed and brought back, Reading Log, and Math Homework and Remembering 3-14 and 3-15 and some multiplication packets started in class.

Classwork due by Thursday of this week (Friday is a Professional Growth Day) includes Mt. Language; Science p. A141 questions; a writing piece called “Bubbles Are Fun to Visit”

ANY TESTS THIS WEEK?

This week we will have the Unit 19 Spelling test and Lesson 10 Wordly Wise test on Thursday.  We had our reading selection test on “My Name Is Maria Isabel” today.  We will have our weekly math facts on Tuesday afternoon.  Looking ahead, I am anticipating a social studies test over Unit 2 next Tuesday.  Students will be given a study guide to begin in class tomorrow, so that they will have a week to prepare (it’s a long study guide and a long test).  The social studies study guide is not due until next Friday.

KUDOS

Our students had many successes, ranging from 20 scores of 100% on the multiplication facts to 6 perfect 60-word spelling tests.

HOWEVER…

Scores on Mt. Language dropped from the previous week’s high with 14 scores of 100% (we had just one such score this last week), but hopefully we will regain momentum with this soon.

MISSION REPORT AND PROJECT UPDATE

All 27 students who turned in a mission report rough draft by last Friday’s deadline received their rough draft back today in class, along with a packet of what the final report should include and look like (sheets from this packet are also posted to the classroom web site).  Two students turned in their late rough drafts today; they will be returned when I return on Wednesday (I am currently attending a two-day Turn Around Schools Conference with 7 other Morning Creek teachers.).  The final report and project are due on Monday, January 30^th.  Four rough drafts have still not been turned in.

PE UPDATE

We have recently been able to secure some additional PE time on Wednesdays with Mrs. Santiago.  As a result, students should be prepared by wearing athletic shoes on these days, as well as on Tuesdays and Fridays, just in case we are also able to go out on those days.

Thanks for reading this update.

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 16TH

Dear Parents of Room 21 Students, 

WHAT’S DUE THIS WEEK?

Homework due this week includes the following:  Behavior Chart signed and brought back, Reading Log, and Math Homework and Remembering 3-10, 3-11, 3-12, and 3-13, which will be done in class on Friday.

Classwork due by Friday of this week includes Mt. Language; Science p. A135 questions; a writing piece called “It’s Good to Be Home Again;” the Mission Report Rough Draft (which will be written in class this week); and Chapters 28-29 of Island of the Blue Dolphins, as well as the book cover culminating project.

Additionally, students will be required to do at least two activities on Compass Learning by the end of the week. 

An optional Amazing History Book Order went home today and is due on Friday if anyone is interested in ordering from it.

ANY TESTS THIS WEEK?

This week we will have the Unit 18 Spelling test on Friday.  We will also do our weekly math facts drills on Wednesday.  We will also be returning to reading selection tests once again, with the one for “My Name is Maria Isabel” on Friday.

This week, we will also be continuing the next round of MAP testing.  We will be testing each of the next two Wednesdays between 9:50 and 11:00 a.m.  This week is math, with language being next week.

MISSION REPORT AND PROJECT UPDATE

Students should have had ample time to finish filling out their outlines with research.  We will begin writing the first few pages of the rough draft in class tomorrow, and will finish writing the last few pages on Thursday.  Students will follow a frame or formula I will provide them in class, with each student filling in their own individual research from their outline as needed as we go along.  I will post the frame I use in class for the rough draft to the classroom web site on Thursday afternoon, just in case there are some students who don’t quite finish in class on Thursday or are missing needed research still.  The rough draft is due in class by 2:50 Friday.  I will take the rough drafts home over the weekend and review them so I can help edit them and provide initial feedback.  They will be handed back to the students in class on Monday, January 23^rd, which will give the students a week to have them typed and in class the following Monday, January 30^th.  I will also be providing students with a packet on Monday, January 23rd on how to type the final report, what order its contents should be in, and how to do a quick write-up of their project.

KUDOS

The class average on spelling went up another 2 percentage points again this week from the previous week, with 12 perfect tests.  I was also pleased to see an increase of almost 9 percentage points in the class average on the most recent science test, with 4 perfect scores.  Also impressive were the slight increases in the three basic math facts tests and the 14 scores of 100% on Mt. Language, a new all-time high (the class average was 89%--also an all-time high).

Our class had a nice, solid increase in Running Club participation last week, with a collective 92 laps (23 miles) accumulated (of course, I should mention that an extra day of Running Club was offered on Friday to make up for the Monday holiday this week).  Still, this is a nice increase from previous weeks, and is a good start towards us reaching our goal of reclaiming the fourth grade trophy at the next Friday Flag.

Finally, our class has so far submitted 105 box tops for the latest round of Box Tops for Education—keep saving these—February 10^th is the deadline.    

HOWEVER…

Assignment completion took a bit of a dip last week, and with a four day week this week with quite a few things on our agenda each day to complete, it is going to be all the more important for our students to stay focused.  Last week, we saw a sharp increase in the number of marks on Behavior Charts, as there were students who either had assignments done, but forgot to turn them in on Friday, or there were students who had trouble completing things in a timely fashion.  There were also some cases of students seriously off task, whether it was playing with items in their desk, working on things that were not priority assignments for our class, or not even having the right book open during the appropriate lesson.  I realize that there are some big distractions from student learning going on right now that are beyond my control, namely the upcoming school talent show, but our students need to remember the main reason why they are in school in the first place.  Hopefully, this week these types of behaviors will disappear (I’ve also changed about 8-10 seats in the class over the weekend), and consequently, the number of Behavior Chart marks will drop as well.

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 9TH

Dear Parents of Room 21 Students,

I apologize in advance for the length of this week’s newsletter, but there is a lot of important stuff to communicate.  Here’s this week’s update:

WHAT’S DUE THIS WEEK?

Homework due this week includes the following:  Behavior Chart signed and brought back, Reading Log, and Math Homework and Remembering 3-5, 3-6, 3-7, 3-8, and 3-9, which will be done in class on Friday.

Classwork due by Friday of this week includes Mt. Language; Science p. A126-127 questions 1-21 and the Unit A, Chapter 4 Study Guide; a writing piece called “Island Adventure;” and Chapters 23-27 of Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Additionally, students will be required to do at least two activities on Compass Learning by the end of the week.  These activities will most likely need to be completed at home, as we will not have use of the computer lab the next three weeks during our normally slotted time due to MAP testing (students in ESS may complete them there).  The link to access Compass Learning is linked to my classroom web site.  The login in the student I.D. number (lunch number with a “1” in front of it) and the password is their six digit birth date.  Your child was given a card with this information on it prior to going to the computer lab (in a few cases, a few individuals have been given this 4 or 5 times); nevertheless, please let me know if your child still needs this information again in order to access the program at home.

An optional Healthy Choices Book Order went home today and is due on Friday if anyone is interested in ordering from it.

ANY TESTS THIS WEEK?

This week we will have the Unit 17 Spelling and Lesson 9 Wordly Wise tests on Friday.  We will also do our weekly math facts drills on Tuesday.  Wednesday is our Unit A, Chapter 4 science test.  Students were given a study guide for science today, as well as the review questions to complete.  It is very important for students to focus on the study of the individual biomes—on the test itself, they will be given a biome grid, which they will have to fill out with two examples of plants and animals and a brief description of climate (temperature and rainfall) for each of the six biomes we studied.  It is imperative that the students spend a great deal of time with the book to do this.  While we spent at least an hour on it in class today, they may still need some time at home the next couple of nights to prepare adequately for the test.  Key pages in the science book to focus on include pages A104-A112 and A116-121.

This week, we will also be beginning the next round of MAP testing.  We will be testing each of the next three Wednesdays between 9:50 and 11:00 a.m.  This week is reading, next week is math, and the last week will be language.  Make-ups for absent students are very difficult to schedule, due to a couple of holidays/non-student days this month, so please try to schedule appointments around this time.  Also, a good night’s rest and a solid breakfast in the morning are always helpful.

MISSION REPORT AND PROJECT UPDATE

Students have been given an outline and have begun filling it out in class.  This will continue tomorrow, with the goal of having most, if not all of it filled out by the end of the week so that we can continue writing.  Students have been given very specific examples of how to fill out this outline, as I have gone through the first two pages step-by-step with them, and we will continue this tomorrow.  Most students appear to have enough research at this time, but may find needs for additional research as we progress through the outlines.  I will also work with students on a bibliography tomorrow, since many of them may have to return their library books on Wednesday.

Projects can be worked on at home at any time.  Please e-mail me if you have any questions about this process.

One item that will need to be changed is the due date.  Apparently, the original date our team decided upon is a professional growth day for the district—teachers come to school, but students do not.  Instead of January 27^th being the due date, which is the date that was originally communicated on the letter that went home before the break, the new due date will be Monday, January 30^th.  It is important to note that all other homework and classwork assignments that week (including spelling and Wordly Wise tests) will be due on Thursday, instead of the normal Friday.  The extension to Monday, January 30th only applies to the Mission report and project.  Presentations will begin in class on Monday, January 30th and continue on Tuesday, January 31st.

KUDOS 

The class average on spelling went up 2 percentage points from the last test before the break.  As for assignment completion, we were back to our normal high standard of 98.7% classwide completion.  At Friday Flag, we once again earned the second-place Colt for Running Club, falling just 4 laps (1 mile) short of first.  Speaking of Friday Flag and Running Club, I have asked our two Student Council class reps for help with ideas to encourage greater class participation in Running Club and whether or not we should change up our chant/cheer for the college roll call we do at Friday Flags.  This year, we are fortunate to have two of the most outstanding Student Council reps I’ve ever had since I’ve been teaching at this school, so I look forward to their ideas to help us be our best in those non-academic areas (such as Running Club and Friday Flag) as well.

I am also pleased to report that our class has drastically improved in the last few weeks in cleaning up their floor and desk areas.  This is a great sign—but also something we want to see continue with some consistency.

Finally, our class has so far submitted 78 box tops for the latest round of Box Tops for Education—keep saving these—February 10^th is the deadline.    

HOWEVER…

We had a really solid first week back, but there was a noticeable drop in the class average for the three math facts drills last week (down 5.4% on addition and subtraction, down 3.2% on multiplication, and down 4.3% on division).  This is a normal expectation for having not done these drills for three or more weeks due to the winter break, but we might want to practice them a little each of the next few weeks to get that speed and accuracy back.

SPARTAN PROBLEM OF THE WEEK

We have had a steady increase in participation in this in recent weeks.  For the next few weeks, however, I will be shifting focus away from math problems and onto language-related themes, in anticipation of the upcoming language section of the MAP test.  This week’s Spartan Challenge of the Week can be completed before or after school and is posted in the classroom window:  “What are the eight parts of speech, and give an example of each.”  So far, one student has attempted this with 6 out of the 8 required responses correct.  We would like to see who else might be able to get all 8 correct by Friday.  

THE NEW AND IMPROVED CLASSROOM WEB SITE 

Our classroom web site went through a make-over over the weekend.  In keeping with our college readiness theme and our adopted college San Jose State, the classroom web site will no longer be known as “Lees’ Legion,” but rather by the name of “Spartan Pride,” with the old background of “desert sage brown” and multi-colored text replaced with goldenrod yellow background and medium blue text with black accents—the colors of our adopted college.  To distinguish any “hot” links from the regular blue text, these have been highlighted with a powder blue background.  Hopefully, the changes didn’t throw anybody off in case anyone was looking for it over the weekend and didn’t recognize it.  I don’t plan to be making any massive changes to it for the rest of this year, but will expand it and add relevant things to it as the year goes on. 

Thanks for reading this update.

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 2ND

Dear Parents of Room 21 Students,

Here’s this week’s update:

WHAT’S DUE THIS WEEK?

Homework due this week includes the following:  Behavior Chart signed and brought back, Reading Log, and Math Homework and Remembering 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, and 3-4, which will be done in class on Friday.

Classwork due by Friday of this week includes Mt. Language; Science p. A121 questions; a writing piece called “When Disaster Strikes;” and Chapters 19-22 of Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Additionally, research for the upcoming mission report and project (at least one book and at least one internet resource) should be brought to class by Friday.

An optional January Book Order went home today and is due on Friday if anyone is interested in ordering from it. 

ANY TESTS THIS WEEK?

This week we will have the Unit 16 Spelling test on Friday.  We will also do our weekly math facts drills on Wednesday.

Looking forward, we will have a Unit A, Chapter 4 science test next Wednesday, January 11^th.  A study guide will be given in class on Monday, January 9^th to prepare for this.

KUDOS

Our class had 23 scores of 100% in Wordly Wise, an increase in the number of extraordinary reading logs and science notebooks, and solid performances on most of the rest of the tests for the week.

HOWEVER…

Assignment completion was an issue last week, as we had five students with 5 or more missing or incomplete assignments the final week before the break, and our overall completion rate as a class was only 89% (our lowest of the year).  This is typical for the final week before winter break for the last three years, but hopefully won’t become a habit for the rest of this year.

IN OTHER NEWS…

--Friday will be our class holiday party.  Students will be permitted to bring and wear pajamas if they choose for the movie portion and will have a pizza lunch.  If your child is participating in the gift exchange, have them bring in their gift as soon as possible if they have not done so already.

--A special thank you to our room mom, Amanda Barger, and all of the students who helped me to celebrate my 40^th birthday last week with various gifts and treats.

--Start saving those Box Tops for Education again—another round of collecting is coming after the winter break.