For the past few years, my classes and I have had a shared passion for food and cooking. My class last year had a regular habit of sharing their favorite meals from the week or the evening before with me as we came up to start our day from the playground. This year's class has continued the tradition! We talk about our favorite foods, family traditions, and our favorite, "just right" recipes. I just love hearing all about their loves, interests, dislikes, and passions in every area! In the first few weeks of school, we have talked a lot about the "just right" recipe for growth in fifth grade. We have discussed this both as a class and as a grade level. Specifically, we have discussed how each of us has different strengths and goals. Therefore, we need many different recipes for growth with each recipe individualized to meet each student's needs. I am so excited about the positive energy of this class, the reflective nature of the group, and their desire to learn and grow. I look forward to working with your families this year to support the growth of your children in all areas. I will do anything I can to inspire each of your children in their learning this school year.
I also wanted to share a few updates on events this week:
We hope to see you this evening for our Curriculum Night! Captain's Curriculum Night will begin with a Specialists' Reception at 6:30 p.m. Following the reception, Dr. Martin's will make opening remarks in the cafeteria beginning at 7:00 p.m. Then, you will have the opportunity to come upstairs to the fifth grade suite for a brief presentation about our work together this year in fifth grade. I look forward to seeing you all tonight!!
In addition, this week our class will take the NWEA Math Assessment. This is a computer-based, adaptive test that provides us with information about students' individual strengths and growth in mathematics, as well as areas in mathematics that we can strengthen for our classes as a whole. Students will take this test three times this year to monitor their progress. All results will be shared with you.
Finally, this Friday, August 28, 2015, students will not have school. Teachers will have a professional development day focused on literacy.
I hope you all have a wonderful remainder of the week, and please let me know if I can be of any support or answer any questions!!
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
An Amazing First Week and First Formal Friday!
Wow! What an amazing first week we had in fifth grade!! I so enjoyed getting to know all of your children and your families! Our first ever fifth grade leadership retreat was truly inspiring! I hope your children had positive experiences and wonderful memories from the retreat! We had tremendous discussions on what it means to be a fifth grade leader, what it means to be original, what our school norms are and what norms we need in fifth grade, how every student in fifth grade has different learning needs, and how we can be brave this school year and in life. We began building our community as an entire fifth grade and as a class. We developed the following norms for our grade level. These norms will be true in each of our three classes. I was quite impressed with the final product:
Please let me know if there are any questions regarding our schedule, units, routines, and procedures!
And speaking of new routines... Last week, your children may have said that they needed a necktie or bow tie for school on Fridays. I wanted to explain why you had this request and give you the very interesting back story behind the tradition of what we have come to know as "Formal Friday." Ever since October 2008, Fridays have been a special day for my classes. One Friday in October of 2008, I was greeting my students as they entered our classroom, and I noticed one of my students was wearing a suit and tie. I asked him why he was so dressed up and he explained to me that his dad had "Casual Fridays" because he had worn formal attire all week. The student then said to me that he should therefore have "Formal Fridays" because he wore casual attire all week. I was struck by the originality of the idea, the confidence he demonstrated, and also, the amazing ripple effect. At first, this student stood alone. Friday after Friday, he took a risk and sought to be original. He was brave. Soon, each of my students began asking if they could also participate and put his or her own spin on our new classroom tradition. We, of course, set up our norms and procedures for the day so as to not disturb our learning and the learning of others. I was so excited that our class had created a new tradition, one that anyone in the school could be a part of if they chose, and that it brought our class together as well. Ever since that day, "Formal Fridays" or "Tie Day Fridays" (the name it was given at Captain), have been a part of our classroom community. Students are welcome to wear ties on Fridays. I have a class set as well in case any students may forget or want to borrow one from me. At the same time, wearing a tie is completely optional. Many students may choose to not wear a tie, and it is completely each student's choice. We celebrate everyone's choice to participate or not participate each Friday. As I had stated above, we also have our norms and procedures for the day, as the tie is reminder to us to be professional and focused in our learning without any distraction. The tie is also a reminder to always be original and let innovative and creative thinking shine through each day. Our class and the entire fifth grade have chosen to carry on the tradition, and I look forward to seeing our fifth grade make the tradition their own. We really enjoyed our first Formal Friday last Friday, and I look forward to posting a whole class picture soon of our "Formal Fridays" together!
Please mark your calendars for our Curriculum Night on Tuesday, August 25, 2015. It will begin at 7:00 p.m. in our school cafeteria. We look forward to seeing you all that evening!
Please continue to let me know what questions you may have or how I can be of any support!
- We will always respect others and be honest even when it is difficult.
- We will be brave even we are scared.
- We will be great leaders for everyone by always being kind and inclusive.
- We will never be selfish; always be selfless.
- We will get organized and stay organized to help us work better and stay focused.
These norms will be the foundation of our learning throughout the year, and we signed them to start our week this week. We did this to show our commitment to living them day in and day out.
This was a wonderful foundation to start from as we began to move into our regular daily schedule. Here is an overview of our daily schedule and what we are working on:
- 8:30 a.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Morning Routine - I will meet students on the playground each morning at 8:30 a.m., and we will then go up to our classroom. At 8:40 a.m., we will have morning announcements from Dr. Martin, and we then begin class at 8:50 a.m.
- 8:50 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. - Writing - In writing this week, we began our work with a pre-assessment, and we are then moving into a short unit on journalism. This will lead to the students contributing to our classroom blog! After this unit, we will move into our first narrative unit.
- 9:50 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. - Social Studies - This week we will begin our very first unit, Cultures Meet. In this unit, we will examine how cultural differences and competition for land lead to conflicts among different groups of people in the Americas. We will begin this unit by examining world geography. We are also excited that we can have the chance to partner with Mrs. Ketzer's class throughout this unit! Art is also during this time period on D days.
- 10:50 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. - Specials - (PE, Music, Spanish)
- 11:50 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Lunch and Recess
- 12:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. - Reading - We will begin our reading routines, and we will also begin our first unit, Interpretation Book Clubs: Analyzing Themes. This unit will help us begin to develop our writing about reading, and it will also help us to use book clubs to analyze the theme of a variety of texts.
- 1:50 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. - Math - Our first unit is focused on whole numbers, specifically place value to ten million, rounding, and estimation.
- 3:20 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Planner and Pack Up - We review our assignments for the day during this time, and we gather materials we will need for these assignments from our lockers. As you begin to see both our planner and 8-pocket folder come home this week, please sign your child's planner each night.
Please let me know if there are any questions regarding our schedule, units, routines, and procedures!
And speaking of new routines... Last week, your children may have said that they needed a necktie or bow tie for school on Fridays. I wanted to explain why you had this request and give you the very interesting back story behind the tradition of what we have come to know as "Formal Friday." Ever since October 2008, Fridays have been a special day for my classes. One Friday in October of 2008, I was greeting my students as they entered our classroom, and I noticed one of my students was wearing a suit and tie. I asked him why he was so dressed up and he explained to me that his dad had "Casual Fridays" because he had worn formal attire all week. The student then said to me that he should therefore have "Formal Fridays" because he wore casual attire all week. I was struck by the originality of the idea, the confidence he demonstrated, and also, the amazing ripple effect. At first, this student stood alone. Friday after Friday, he took a risk and sought to be original. He was brave. Soon, each of my students began asking if they could also participate and put his or her own spin on our new classroom tradition. We, of course, set up our norms and procedures for the day so as to not disturb our learning and the learning of others. I was so excited that our class had created a new tradition, one that anyone in the school could be a part of if they chose, and that it brought our class together as well. Ever since that day, "Formal Fridays" or "Tie Day Fridays" (the name it was given at Captain), have been a part of our classroom community. Students are welcome to wear ties on Fridays. I have a class set as well in case any students may forget or want to borrow one from me. At the same time, wearing a tie is completely optional. Many students may choose to not wear a tie, and it is completely each student's choice. We celebrate everyone's choice to participate or not participate each Friday. As I had stated above, we also have our norms and procedures for the day, as the tie is reminder to us to be professional and focused in our learning without any distraction. The tie is also a reminder to always be original and let innovative and creative thinking shine through each day. Our class and the entire fifth grade have chosen to carry on the tradition, and I look forward to seeing our fifth grade make the tradition their own. We really enjoyed our first Formal Friday last Friday, and I look forward to posting a whole class picture soon of our "Formal Fridays" together!
Please mark your calendars for our Curriculum Night on Tuesday, August 25, 2015. It will begin at 7:00 p.m. in our school cafeteria. We look forward to seeing you all that evening!
Please continue to let me know what questions you may have or how I can be of any support!
Monday, August 10, 2015
Welcome!
Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year! It is my privilege to welcome you all to fifth grade! This will be my eighth year teaching fifth grade, and I can't wait to begin this exciting journey with you all! Fifth grade is an incredible year! It is one that will bring about dreams of the possibilities ahead, opportunities for leadership and growth, and chances to see the world from different perspectives. I can't wait to meet each of you and begin to build our community together!
I look forward to hearing about all of your summer adventures! I hope your summer was filled with much joy, excitement, and also time to relax and unwind. My summer brought about new adventures and wonderful time spent with family. This summer was very special for my fiancé and I and our families as we began to plan our wedding that will be held later on this school year in the spring. I also was able to learn more about the great sport of golf and play my first full round. I am so excited about continuing to learn to play even though the sport can present its challenges and frustrations. I definitely tried to have a growth mindset on the golf course! The remainder of the summer brought our annual family vacation to Destin, Florida, time spent in my garden, and the great opportunity to attend the Singapore Math Conference. This conference was a tremendous opportunity to learn even more about great math strategies that I can share with the students this school year!
Our journey together will begin this Tuesday, August 11 at our Captain Kick-Off! We will welcome new families in the cafeteria at 8:15 a.m. for New Family Orientation. Then, all families can visit their new classrooms for Meet the Teacher from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Students are welcome to bring their school supplies too! I will have signs out in the classroom for supplies I will collect, and the remaining supplies can be stored in students' lockers for the time being. Students and families are also free to explore our classroom and get to know our classmates and their families as well. We completely understand if families may not be able to attend the Captain Kick-Off. We will then look forward to seeing you on our very first day, Wednesday, August 12. Students are dropped off at 8:20 a.m., and the teachers will meet classes on the playground to walk up to classrooms at 8:30 a.m. Announcements for the day will begin promptly at 8:40 a.m., and then we will go into our learning for the day. During the first week of school, the entire fifth grade class will participate in a leadership retreat to prepare to be the leaders of our community. Themes of our retreat will include: learning and owning our school norm of " do the right thing even when no one is watching," building positive relationships, working together as a team supporting one another, and having a growth mindset. Dismissal for fifth grade happens at the bottom of stairwell E, which is located on the west side of school nearest the playground right by the ramp at 3:30 p.m.
It is my hope that this year will be an inspiring one for all of my students and their families! I look forward to my partnership with each of your families and our work together! I also hope to use this blog to update you on our progress throughout the school year, share important dates, and share information on upcoming events. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns, or how I can be of any support to you!
I look forward to hearing about all of your summer adventures! I hope your summer was filled with much joy, excitement, and also time to relax and unwind. My summer brought about new adventures and wonderful time spent with family. This summer was very special for my fiancé and I and our families as we began to plan our wedding that will be held later on this school year in the spring. I also was able to learn more about the great sport of golf and play my first full round. I am so excited about continuing to learn to play even though the sport can present its challenges and frustrations. I definitely tried to have a growth mindset on the golf course! The remainder of the summer brought our annual family vacation to Destin, Florida, time spent in my garden, and the great opportunity to attend the Singapore Math Conference. This conference was a tremendous opportunity to learn even more about great math strategies that I can share with the students this school year!
Our journey together will begin this Tuesday, August 11 at our Captain Kick-Off! We will welcome new families in the cafeteria at 8:15 a.m. for New Family Orientation. Then, all families can visit their new classrooms for Meet the Teacher from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Students are welcome to bring their school supplies too! I will have signs out in the classroom for supplies I will collect, and the remaining supplies can be stored in students' lockers for the time being. Students and families are also free to explore our classroom and get to know our classmates and their families as well. We completely understand if families may not be able to attend the Captain Kick-Off. We will then look forward to seeing you on our very first day, Wednesday, August 12. Students are dropped off at 8:20 a.m., and the teachers will meet classes on the playground to walk up to classrooms at 8:30 a.m. Announcements for the day will begin promptly at 8:40 a.m., and then we will go into our learning for the day. During the first week of school, the entire fifth grade class will participate in a leadership retreat to prepare to be the leaders of our community. Themes of our retreat will include: learning and owning our school norm of " do the right thing even when no one is watching," building positive relationships, working together as a team supporting one another, and having a growth mindset. Dismissal for fifth grade happens at the bottom of stairwell E, which is located on the west side of school nearest the playground right by the ramp at 3:30 p.m.
It is my hope that this year will be an inspiring one for all of my students and their families! I look forward to my partnership with each of your families and our work together! I also hope to use this blog to update you on our progress throughout the school year, share important dates, and share information on upcoming events. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns, or how I can be of any support to you!
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