Letter From Max's teacher

Dear Families,“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” -Nelson MandelaLiteracy (Reading, Writing, Spelling)We started the year off with a fun assignment in which the students created their own pages based on the alphabet book Animalia. These pages will later be combined to create our own special alphabet book, which we will be presenting to our K-1 buddies in the coming weeks. The very next week, we dove headlong into writing assessments (although the kids didn’t necessarily know that’s what they were). Students chose a Lifeskill to write about, were given a limited time, and were required to do all their own self-editing. This is a great way for me to assess an entire spectrum of writing skills, from starting to write, to presenting a final draft work. It is also critical that students become comfortable with putting their thoughts on paper as efficiently as possible. Be assured, however, that much our class writing throughout the year will be under less stringent circumstances.We have also begun to study poetry, both as an aid to increasing the use of exciting vocabulary, and to give students another tool with which to express their learning. Everyone loved our noun-adjective poems, and you will be seeing poetry appear throughout the year in student’s poetry anthologies. Our first “book groups” of the year will be devoted to the study of classic poems to experience a variety of poetic styles and techniques. These assignments are given and due on Tuesday and Thursday of each week, so please watch your child’s planner for the specific assignment on these days.MathFor Math, the students of both classes have been combined into two different groups. These groups may change slightly over the course of the year, and will be based on student abilities and experiences with the particular math concepts that are being covered.
Julie’s group has begun with a unit on geometry, looking first of all at simple polygons, and learning rules for defining them. We are now well into plotting grid coordinates and we have begun to use negative numbers for reference points. We are working to expand our mathematical vocabulary as we go along, and we are using terms like “vertical’, “horizontal” and “axis” both in math class, and about the classroom. On the way we have begun to explore metric measurement, and students are beginning to realize that the “ruler rule” is serious.Jo’s group is also focusing on geometry. We have started with a comparison of polygons, and a study of how to plot and read coordinate grids. Although this is technically a review for most of the students, they have all found the work challenging, especially as we worked with both positive and negative numbers for reference points.ProjectWe have started the year by providing students with some basic skills so that they will have more scope for presenting their learning in future projects. We have been studying a wide variety of concepts related to painting including specific artists, types of paint, color, shading, tinting, techniques, and styles, as well as how to clean up and treat our tools with respect. We will be discussing and voting on a class project this week, however, so look for our first true project to begin in the next week or two.The ArtsWe have used artist studies to investigate painting styles, and have produced some dramatic artwork which can be seen in the lobby. Look for the artists studied on our time-line, which runs around the classroom wall. Beginning this week, Maureen will also be joining us on a bi-weekly basis during which time she will be focusing on a specific aspect of visual arts. We will be starting with observational drawing. All of these skills and ideas will provide the children with an even wider palette of options when they represent their learning throughout the curriculum.",1]
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Julie’s group has begun with a unit on geometry, looking first of all at simple polygons, and learning rules for defining them. We are now well into plotting grid coordinates and we have begun to use negative numbers for reference points. We are working to expand our mathematical vocabulary as we go along, and we are using terms like “vertical’, “horizontal” and “axis” both in math class, and about the classroom. On the way we have begun to explore metric measurement, and students are beginning to realize that the “ruler rule” is serious.Jo’s group is also focusing on geometry. We have started with a comparison of polygons, and a study of how to plot and read coordinate grids. Although this is technically a review for most of the students, they have all found the work challenging, especially as we worked with both positive and negative numbers for reference points.ProjectWe have started the year by providing students with some basic skills so that they will have more scope for presenting their learning in future projects. We have been studying a wide variety of concepts related to painting including specific artists, types of paint, color, shading, tinting, techniques, and styles, as well as how to clean up and treat our tools with respect. We will be discussing and voting on a class project this week, however, so look for our first true project to begin in the next week or two.The ArtsWe have used artist studies to investigate painting styles, and have produced some dramatic artwork which can be seen in the lobby. Look for the artists studied on our time-line, which runs around the classroom wall. Beginning this week, Maureen will also be joining us on a bi-weekly basis during which time she will be focusing on a specific aspect of visual arts. We will be starting with observational drawing. All of these skills and ideas will provide the children with an even wider palette of options when they represent their learning throughout the curriculum.
Our timeline has been a huge success as a way to tie in our daily history sound bites. It is a source of amazement to me how interrelated world and historical events are, and we are able to refer to previously mentioned events by relying on our linear record. Students take turns in adding our daily historical news to the line. It’s exciting to watch them make them connections and to learn new and interesting aspects of world history on a daily basis.Social/EmotionalI’m very excited about our class this year. It has jelled amazingly quickly, and the students have all shown a great deal of caring and cooperation for each other. Students are being kind to each other, sharing our classroom resources and helping each other with the new rules and schedules. The fifth graders have been a big help in ensuring that the class is on track, and the fourth graders seem as if they have been here forever.In this grade blend, we expect students to begin to take responsibility for their own learning. They are held responsible for homework and classroom assignments, and must solve problems themselves on many occasions (“I do my homework, but I forget to bring it to school”). Although alien to many students, the Lifeskill of organization is one of the most important skills they can develop over fourth and fifth grade. It will save them many embarrassing moments for the rest of their lives. Please help them by supporting their efforts to organize their homework and ensuring that their planners are used and checked (by a parent) each night.In conjunction with this, please know that we start school at 8:30 sharp each day. If your student is late, he/she will miss out on an expected piece of work, which must be made up before the end of the day. Morning job and our daily history piece begin at 8:30, and a late arrival means that the student has missed directions, and feels lost. The classroom opens and 8:15 and arrival at this time allows the students to hang up coats, touch bases with friends and be settled for work at 8:30. Please help your child out with this. It is one area that he/she has less control over, but which affects his/her whole day.",1]
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Our timeline has been a huge success as a way to tie in our daily history sound bites. It is a source of amazement to me how interrelated world and historical events are, and we are able to refer to previously mentioned events by relying on our linear record. Students take turns in adding our daily historical news to the line. It’s exciting to watch them make them connections and to learn new and interesting aspects of world history on a daily basis.Social/EmotionalI’m very excited about our class this year. It has jelled amazingly quickly, and the students have all shown a great deal of caring and cooperation for each other. Students are being kind to each other, sharing our classroom resources and helping each other with the new rules and schedules. The fifth graders have been a big help in ensuring that the class is on track, and the fourth graders seem as if they have been here forever.In this grade blend, we expect students to begin to take responsibility for their own learning. They are held responsible for homework and classroom assignments, and must solve problems themselves on many occasions (“I do my homework, but I forget to bring it to school”). Although alien to many students, the Lifeskill of organization is one of the most important skills they can develop over fourth and fifth grade. It will save them many embarrassing moments for the rest of their lives. Please help them by supporting their efforts to organize their homework and ensuring that their planners are used and checked (by a parent) each night.In conjunction with this, please know that we start school at 8:30 sharp each day. If your student is late, he/she will miss out on an expected piece of work, which must be made up before the end of the day. Morning job and our daily history piece begin at 8:30, and a late arrival means that the student has missed directions, and feels lost. The classroom opens and 8:15 and arrival at this time allows the students to hang up coats, touch bases with friends and be settled for work at 8:30. Please help your child out with this. It is one area that he/she has less control over, but which affects his/her whole day.
Upcoming Events• September 28th, 6:00—6: 45pm, Back to School Night: PLEASE plan on being there, even if you are an old hand at Emerson. We have many new and exciting things to share with you, including schedule changes, information about Edline, etc.• October 13th, All-State In-Service Day: NO SCHOOL• November 11th, AUCTION: I know, it seems like a long way off, but it will be on us before we know it! BTW…have you procured any donations yet?The beginning of the year has started off so well, and I am so excited about all of our upcoming adventures. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. I am easily reached by e-mail, but if you would like a face-to-face meeting, just drop by before 8:15 any morning (I’m usually here between 7:30-7:45) and we can set one up.Thanks So Much!Jo jo@emersonschool.orgREMEMBER TO SIGN-UP FOR YOUR EDLINE ACCOUNT------------------------------------------------------------The sender of this email is not accepting any replies so any reply will not reach the sender.If you do not wish to get emails from your school, you may change your emailpreferences on the Manage Account page by clicking on the following link:http://www.edline.net/login/ManageAccount.pageEdline Email",0]
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Upcoming Events• September 28th, 6:00—6: 45pm, Back to School Night: PLEASE plan on being there, even if you are an old hand at Emerson. We have many new and exciting things to share with you, including schedule changes, information about Edline, etc.• October 13th, All-State In-Service Day: NO SCHOOL• November 11th, AUCTION: I know, it seems like a long way off, but it will be on us before we know it! BTW…have you procured any donations yet?The beginning of the year has started off so well, and I am so excited about all of our upcoming adventures. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. I am easily reached by e-mail, but if you would like a face-to-face meeting, just drop by before 8:15 any morning (I’m usually here between 7:30-7:45) and we can set one up.