BLOG Update!

Dear Families,

Wow, can you believe January just raced by! Report cards went home on Friday, so please check your child's backpack. If for some reason you did not receive it and your child does not know where is went, I have all report cards saved on my computer. Please let me know if you need another copy. One of the parents that received the report card was surprised not to find more of the "S" rating on his child's card. Please know this is the first report card for the year and reflects where your child is now regarding the standards listed. We have five more months for your child to develop their skills. We are at a point in the year where I am starting to see growth in behavior with many students. For instance, I had one student who had a hard time learning how to raise his hand to contribute. Just recently, he has started to self-monitor and almost never "calls out" anymore. Also all students are tracking their participation in class. They keep a 3X5 card at their desk and tally how many times they make meaningful contributions. I set expectations daily, but almost all students are exceeding those expectations. Students who never raised their hand to contribute are now speaking up. GO THIRD AND FOURTH GRADERS!!!!!

All student have given their animal speeches at this time. Animal art is displayed right outside my room, so stop by and see their work.

We are also working on autobiographical narratives. I need red pens for editing - our next BIG challenge. If you could send your child with a red pen or if someone is willing to buy 20 red pens I would appreciate it. We have been editing the morning message since the beginning of the year. Most students can easily point out my errors. Now, it is time for them to start editing their own and other's work. For those children that are behind on this writing assignment, you may see some work coming home. I am also setting clear expectations on the amount of work to be completed as there are times when students are choosing to talk to friends rather than work on writing. I hope that is "OK" with parents. Please notify me if it is not.

You will be seeing some changes in my classroom this week. The goal at IA is for education to be student-centered. Children will start to be much more in charge of their learning and investigating their interests more than a curriculum that I set up. The room will also be changing in its configuration. Should you have any questions regarding these changes, please feel free to email me or stop by!

This week a lot of time will be alloted for the POL's I mentioned in my last BLOG. Students will be thinking and reviewing what they have learned so far this year. Each student will be required to stand in front of the group and talk about a content area and project that they have learned from. They have been asked to talk about challenges as well. Reflection is a BIG part of being an excellent teacher and I think the same goes for learners.

We are engaging in BIZtown lessons and will continue doing so until our trip in March. I need parent volunteers to interview students and go to BIZtown the day of our fieldtrip. I will be posting exact dates soon, but please think about whether you can contribute to this valuable Real-Life experience with your child.

Please send in $3.00 for a trolley ride to Fashion Valley and a fieldtrip to the new Microsoft Store. We will be going the third Tuesday in February and I will be setting the topics to be covered with a Microsoft associate this week. Finally - our first fieldtrip!!! Parents are welcome to chaperone.

That's it for now and I hop my BLOG has given you a "PEEK" into your child's day.

Kim