It has been a month and a half since my last blog update!! Time is flying!
As your child may have told you, I was away the last two weeks due to my father's death right after spring break. I am happy to report that I got very good TOC notes about how hard the students worked in my absence, and how helpful many of them were. As parents, you should be proud.
Unfortunately, while students were working on speeches these past weeks (and we did begin planning out speeches long before spring break), some students are not on track. I want to share with you the due dates we've agreed upon in class so that you can help your child either stay on track or catch up!
Outlines are due no later than this Friday (the 13th). Tomorrow is preferable so that I can mark them and hand them back Friday. The outline comes from work we did previous to spring break, brainstorming and coming up with sub-topics. I suggested they choose three sub-topics to focus on (thus creating a five-paragraph essay), but some have chosen to do more. This is fine as long as they keep in mind that there is a time limit (five minutes).
Rough copies are due Thursday, April 19th. I will NOT collect and mark these as I usually do, because I unfortunately planned many months ago to attend a conference on Friday the 20th, so I am away again that day and won't be able to return the rough copies. I therefor ask that you please take some time over the weekend of the 21-22nd to read the speeches with your child and help them make any necessary revising and editing changes.
Their good copies should be done by Wednesday, April 25th because Thursday, April 26th is a pro-D day. This leaves us just Friday the 27th do speeches in class and decide who will represent each grade in the gym.
Then grade 4/5 speeches will happen in the gym on May 1st.
So--this is a VERY tight timeline, and not what I wish we were facing. Some students will breeze through (some are already finished their speeches!), but others will struggle--please take time each night to spend a little time working on the speech. The easiest thing to do will be to save the writing using Google Docs so there is no "I left it at home" issues.
I have given students a choice about using cue cards (and also whether they hand-write or type their good copies). However, those who are serious about competing for the gym or district need to use cue cards. They should also work as much as possible on memorizing their speeches. I will not take marks off for not having memorized, but eye contact will help their mark, and if they make it to the gym, it's essential that they give the judges lots of eye contact.
If you have any questions or concerns about speeches, feel free to email me, call, or see me in person. Some students have expressed anxiety about speeches, and we will be talking about working through that anxiety and I have assured them that nobody will be forced to compete in the gym if they are not comfortable with that. However, it is my experience that it is important for all students to give their speeches in class or by grades 6 and 7, a phobia can develop. Therefor, any student who misses school on April 27th will still need to do their speech at a later date.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Update
A couple of important things went home with your child today:
-strike notice.
The current situation with the job action is that the MRTA is withdrawing services Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
As a result, some parents are wondering about homework for next week on days where job action is scheduled. Mrs. Kollen asked me to pass on to you that the science test will be postponed until after Spring Break, so students need to bring home their duo tangs and textbooks and study over the break.
-Art Cards
All art cards must be returned to the school by next Thursday, as I am grading them as part of their art marks. All orders must be back by Friday. I think the butterflies turned out very well, and that they will copy well.
Mrs. Kollen asked me also to pass on to you that it would be very beneficial during students' time away from school next week and Spring Break if students who have not mastered their times table yet practiced it. Most of the fours are still working on their facts, and speed/accuracy in this area is so helpful down the road in math. For my math, we're doing fractions, so working this into your conversations would be helpful. Also, there are some great apps/websites that help kids practice their facts/fractions.
I have received and marked all but one Nanowrimo story now, and I have to say how impressed I am with the efforts the students have put into them. We're on to the next step starting tomorrow (publishing!) and after Spring Break we will have our authors' celebration. Details to come on that!
-strike notice.
The current situation with the job action is that the MRTA is withdrawing services Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
As a result, some parents are wondering about homework for next week on days where job action is scheduled. Mrs. Kollen asked me to pass on to you that the science test will be postponed until after Spring Break, so students need to bring home their duo tangs and textbooks and study over the break.
-Art Cards
All art cards must be returned to the school by next Thursday, as I am grading them as part of their art marks. All orders must be back by Friday. I think the butterflies turned out very well, and that they will copy well.
Mrs. Kollen asked me also to pass on to you that it would be very beneficial during students' time away from school next week and Spring Break if students who have not mastered their times table yet practiced it. Most of the fours are still working on their facts, and speed/accuracy in this area is so helpful down the road in math. For my math, we're doing fractions, so working this into your conversations would be helpful. Also, there are some great apps/websites that help kids practice their facts/fractions.
I have received and marked all but one Nanowrimo story now, and I have to say how impressed I am with the efforts the students have put into them. We're on to the next step starting tomorrow (publishing!) and after Spring Break we will have our authors' celebration. Details to come on that!
Monday, February 13, 2012
The other blog
Hello again... time for an update.
I want to take some time to encourage you to remind your child to blog regularly. It is usually the only homework I give (aside from perhaps finishing some unfinished math), and I am impressed with the progress the students are making in writing.
We took the month of December off of the Nanowrimo novels, and then in January we went back to them, focusing on our writing lessons on revision and editing. Revision is the hardest part of writing, especially for children, and I am proud of how many took my lessons to heart and really thought about how to make improvements in their stories. This Thursday the "good copy" of the novel is due, and I will be marking it and doing some more editing so that they can publish their story in hard copy.
As we're finishing this up, we are also moving on to speech writing. I am doing this a bit early, as the district speeches will not be until early May, but I prefer that they have extra time to practice their speeches than to feel rushed. Because we only have writing a couple of times a week, they will need to work hard to finish their speeches before Spring Break.
In Socials, we have moved on to studying New France. We may do a small project with this unit, but nothing that will require the time and focus the Aboriginal project did. I do need to say how pleased I was by how well the groups worked together--group work was a new thing for many of them, and they flourished.
I hope your children told you about the Maple Man presentation we had on Thursday. What a great presentation! The students learned about the Quebec maple syrup cottage industry, got to play wooden spoons, and ate wonderful maple syrup taffy. Thanks to Ms. Ramsay for organizing this speaker to come present to the intermediate classes.
I want to take some time to encourage you to remind your child to blog regularly. It is usually the only homework I give (aside from perhaps finishing some unfinished math), and I am impressed with the progress the students are making in writing.
We took the month of December off of the Nanowrimo novels, and then in January we went back to them, focusing on our writing lessons on revision and editing. Revision is the hardest part of writing, especially for children, and I am proud of how many took my lessons to heart and really thought about how to make improvements in their stories. This Thursday the "good copy" of the novel is due, and I will be marking it and doing some more editing so that they can publish their story in hard copy.
As we're finishing this up, we are also moving on to speech writing. I am doing this a bit early, as the district speeches will not be until early May, but I prefer that they have extra time to practice their speeches than to feel rushed. Because we only have writing a couple of times a week, they will need to work hard to finish their speeches before Spring Break.
In Socials, we have moved on to studying New France. We may do a small project with this unit, but nothing that will require the time and focus the Aboriginal project did. I do need to say how pleased I was by how well the groups worked together--group work was a new thing for many of them, and they flourished.
I hope your children told you about the Maple Man presentation we had on Thursday. What a great presentation! The students learned about the Quebec maple syrup cottage industry, got to play wooden spoons, and ate wonderful maple syrup taffy. Thanks to Ms. Ramsay for organizing this speaker to come present to the intermediate classes.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Socials Studies Projects
Students presented their socials projects last week, and I wanted to share some highlights:
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Busy week next week
Hi Parents/Guardians,
We have a busy week in Div. 7 next week, and while the students are keeping track in their planners, I wanted to ensure that you had all the due dates handy so you can plan accordingly.
On Monday the students are having a music test on the notes and their values. This is not anything new, but work they've been doing for months but which some are still struggling a bit with. Hopefully this extra practice will help them in reading music.
On Tuesday the students are having a unit test in subtraction.
On Wednesday there will be a small quiz in science on the parts of the skeleton, and the students will have class time to review for it next week.
Grade fives have DARE again next Thursday, and they need to bring their permission forms back then.
Students need to be ready to COMPLETE their group projects in Socials next THursday so please make sure they remember to bring anything from home they need (print-outs, drawings, models, puppet show theatres, etc.) They will present them on Friday.
Oh, one more thing... we are having art tomorrow and many students do not have Sharpies at school. If your child would like, I have some I picked up at Costco. .75 will cover the cost!
We have a busy week in Div. 7 next week, and while the students are keeping track in their planners, I wanted to ensure that you had all the due dates handy so you can plan accordingly.
On Monday the students are having a music test on the notes and their values. This is not anything new, but work they've been doing for months but which some are still struggling a bit with. Hopefully this extra practice will help them in reading music.
On Tuesday the students are having a unit test in subtraction.
On Wednesday there will be a small quiz in science on the parts of the skeleton, and the students will have class time to review for it next week.
Grade fives have DARE again next Thursday, and they need to bring their permission forms back then.
Students need to be ready to COMPLETE their group projects in Socials next THursday so please make sure they remember to bring anything from home they need (print-outs, drawings, models, puppet show theatres, etc.) They will present them on Friday.
Oh, one more thing... we are having art tomorrow and many students do not have Sharpies at school. If your child would like, I have some I picked up at Costco. .75 will cover the cost!