Love more. Fear less.

Updated POL Schedule

2012-01-19T17:04:00.000-08:00

This week has been a very productive week. We have been laboriously working on completing our personal narratives, studying for our math final exam, and drafting our historical fiction papers. In addition to these assignments, we are reflecting on what we have learned during the first semester here at IA. Next week we will be presenting the information in our presentations of learning (POL). Each student will be selecting two topics to present to the class and parent visitors. The schedule for POLs next week will be:

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

1:00/1:15 Christy Malorie

1:15/1:30 Callia Carmen

1:30/1:45 Isaac Ashlin Adrian

1:45/2:00 Chris Nate Cade

2:00/2:15 Kyle Jacob M. Nick

2:15/2:30 Jordan Chase Kelton

2:30/2:45 Mohsina John-Michael

2:45/3:00 Abdullah Jakob R. Gracie

I hope that you can make it! These are the new updated times.

2012

2012-01-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful time over winter break. I want to thank all of the families who bought gifts for me and helped contribute to making our holiday party a success.
This week, we have jumped right back into our busy schedule. For math, we have continued with our computation clinics. The focus has been on our multiplication facts. So much of what we do in 5th grade math depends on having mastery of these basic skills. Many students are still struggling with learning the basic facts. The question is, so when do we move on from reviewing and worrying about the fluency of the multiplication tables? I am not sure that as fifth graders we ever fully do, but as the year progresses, so too do the focus and time constraints of what is important to address in class and what needs to move to an out-of-class responsibility. My expectation is that my students will be fluent in their multiplication tables once they enter the fifth grade. That is my expectation, mind you, but not always the reality of the situation! I have been spending several weeks now reviewing the tables and working with the fact "demons" that many students continue to struggle with. I have begun posing problems to students before entering the room, walking on the blacktop, and other "random" times throughout the day. Despite all my efforts, there are several students whom mastery seems to be eternally elusive. It is at this point, I need to enlist your help as parents and relatives to continue review of the times tables. Students who struggle are given tools such as the multiplication matrix. All of my students have access to these materials at all times. I would far rather the students wrestle with the concepts presented in an investigation than the product of eight and seven at this point in their mathematical careers. There are many online sites that are available to achieve this. In addition to these sites I have many games and resources that can help too. Flashcards are also an inexpensive way to learn the facts.
As a class, we have decided that our next publishing party for our personal narratives will be on the 20th of the month. Right now we are in the process of peer editing and revising our first drafts. Since we have enough computers for each student to share a computer, this next piece will be typed. A really cool website to help students type is called dance mat typing. It would be awesome if we could invite some parents into the class to celebrate all of the hard work these authors have done!
Also by now each student has picked a topic on their History projects. Currently we are researching our topics and writing the information on note cards in our own words. We are also looking at different websites and scrutinizing each one for validity of information and site that might posses possible ulterior motives.

Almost Winter Break

2011-12-14T12:03:00.001-08:00

Can you believe that it is almost winter break time? I am shocked by how quickly the time has gone by. I am also impressed with how much the children are learning and how they each have become so enthusiastic towards school. Just the other day, they were working on their personal narratives with incredible focus. I told them it was time for lunch and Nathaniel's response was, "No! I want to continue working!" In the morning, we have been working on our computation clinics to improve our basic math skill. In a very short period, many students have increased their multiplication skill immensely. Ask your child if their attitude towards math has changed.
It is such a great feeling watching the students take ownership of their learning and community. Speaking of community, we have been having very productive class council meetings. Every class has its set of issues, and we have been tackling them with kindness and compassion. Students who have been typically shy have been discovering their voice in the our community.
This Friday we are having a winter celebration. If anyone would like to contribute refreshments or snacks, please notify me via email or you can always call. Be expecting a conversation from your child about bringing something yummy to share with the class. During class council, we decided that it would be fun to have pizza too. If everyone brings $5.00 we can order pizza!
619-972-6032

Stolen DSi

2011-12-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

Ashlin, one of our 5th graders, brought her DSi game system to school yesterday. At the end of the day while she was cleaning up, it disappeared. If anyone has seen a pink DSi, please return the item to the classroom. Everyone makes mistakes, but it is how we make amends that enable us to grow and move forward.

December!

2011-12-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

Hello IA families! I hop that everyone had a wonderful time on their Thanksgiving breaks! Our school would like to continue the festive spirit by having a potluck on December 7th. Each student will be responsible for bringing a dish and having fun! In order to become a more sustainable school, each family is encouraged to bring their own reusable plates and utensils to limit the amount of trash we consume at school. To find out what type of dish to bring follow the schedule: If your last name ends in A-F please bring an entree, G-L a side dish, M-R a dessert, and S-Z please bring drinks. In addition to the potluck, student artwork and exhibitions will be presented.

In the class we have started a new History project called "The Domino Effect." Each student will be responsible for the following outcomes;

Time-lines of early American History
Choose one event in American History and create a skit to perform for the class.
Each student will write a 2 page typed biography of a famous person from their specific event. This is going to be written from the point of view of someone who lived in that time.
Each student will be responsible for contributing to a power point about their event
After completing the Early History segment, students will find a current event that relates to the past. A compare and contrast 1 to 2 page typed essay will be required for this section.
Finally a reflective presentation will be required to show how you can make history today!

Ø Your creativity will be your only limit. You can decide to volunteer to an organization, make a song, feed the homeless, impact your world however you decide that may be!

Short Week

2011-11-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

This week has been a very busy week indeed. We have been finishing up our science posters/presentations on the human bodies. Nick, Chase, Isaac, and Abdullah taught the class about cells by making "edible" cell out of cookies and graham crackers. It was so much fun and tasty too. Our personal narratives are getting finished up as well. Please make sure that your child has access to a gmail account for language arts. It will save me a tremendous amount of time by saving work directly on to the account instead of a flash drive. It also ensures that work will not become lost since the work is saved to the internet. A gmail account will also allow you to sign up for Khan Academy, which is a web site that is great for reinforcing basic math skills. Another good site for basic math skills is Sumdog. I have noticed that some students are struggling with the current math activities because some knowledge of basic math facts are missing. These sites are a great way to get some extra practice with and they have fun games too.

For math this week we have been learning about factors, prime and composite numbers, arrays, and square numbers. We also figured out our class average heart beats per minute. It was 84 beats per minute! Don't forget that tomorrow is class picture day and that Veterans' day is this Friday, so no school.

Happy November

2011-11-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween on Monday. Please remember that school policy is that candy and sugar drinks are to be left at home. Many children having been bringing candy and are spiking their blood sugar levels. It is best to leave candy at home because too much sugar is not healthy for developing children.

Don't forget that next week is picture day. I will be sending photo order forms home with the students today. Our class will have their pictures taken on Thursday, November 10th. Also, we are selling Rubio's this Friday for $4.00.

This week book reports for our independent reading books were due. Several students did not complete the assignments. We discussed at our class council what we could do to make sure students are accountable for completing their work. The class decided that there was in fact enough time given during class time to finish the assignment. They also noted that our class constitution states that we will have little or no homework. However, the class agreed that if work is not completed by the class decided due date, then the work needs to be taken home.

Today we are finishing up our science body posters and the factor game for math. Please take a moment and have your child share what they have learned in these subjects. Also, our personal autobiographical narratives are going to be completed next week. I would like every parent to sign their child up for a gmail account. The purpose is to be able to access Google documents to write their papers on. This will enable you and me the ability to access their written assignments and make notes and print their writing. It also eliminates the needs to have to save information to a USB drive, since it saves automatically on the internet. These accounts need to be managed by you because the owner of the account needs to be at least 16 years old. The gmail account will only be used for Google documents. To sign up click here.

Awesome Learners!

2011-10-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

I would like to first of all thank all of the students and parents who came to the student led conferences last week, they went really well.

We have been doing so many great things so far this year. Our class started brainstorming outcomes to our science project, "How can we create a more sustainable school?" We decided that we would like to begin building water collection units to gather precious rain water. We looked at averages of rainfall in San Diego and the importance of saving water, especially with the rising costs of water. Also, we are gong to begin researching and reporting on what other schools have done to become more "green." Hopefully we will get some good ideas about what we can do at school and in our local communities to make our lives more sustainable. For language arts we are starting to draft our autobiographical narratives. We should be completing them by next week, so we will be having our publishing celebration soon. The book reports that we have been working on this month are going to be due on the 1st of November, as decided by our class.

By the way, this Friday, October 28th is our first day of clubs. If your child is in my Ultimate Frisbee club, please make sure that they wear the proper attire (sneakers, and shorts).

SLC

2011-10-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

This week we are going to be having our student led conferences. These are not parent teacher conferences. At Innovations Academy, we believe that the most purposeful learning occurs when students take ownership for their own education. When ownership is taken, students feel empowered to make more important choices, and ultimately become more involved in their lifelong learning process. I will be sending home reminders to each parent tomorrow that will have your time slot in addition to a goal setting sheet that needs to be completed prior to the conference. This will be an opportunity to hear your child's voice about how they view their education. We can discuss what our day looks and feels like, what is going well, and what they might be able to improve upon. If you have not signed up for a conference please email me or call me 619-972-6032. I will be happy to set up a time slot with you. Also, don't forget that Wednesday through Friday all school days will be minimum days with a 12:00 dismissal.

October is Here! Drivers Needed!

2011-10-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it is October already! My how time seems to fly when we are having fun. October is a busy month and there are many important announcements. The first is that we are planning a field trip to the San Diego Zoo next Thursday, October 13. I will need to have at least 5 drivers to shuttle students to and from the zoo.All students will need to have a sack lunch. While we are at the zoo we will be learning about the food web cycle. Students will be looking for organisms in each of the categories; producers, consumers, decomposers. This activity is in conjunction with our current project "schoolyard ecology." This will fit into a larger project entitled Super cool School. This project will incorporate science standards into a book that the students will create. Our essential question will be "How can our school be a model for ecological/energy sustainability?"
Also, next week we will have no school on the 14th because of a staff development day. This month we are also having our student led conferences on the 19th through the 21st. These days will be half days for the school. Student-led conferences will be a time to reflect on the year so far and make goal for the rest of the year.

So much learning!

2011-09-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

I am so pleased to announce that our classroom culture is well underway of being established. We have begun many of our routines that we will be doing throughout the year. One of our daily routines will be power writing. Students are given a daily writing assignment to be completed in 5 to 10 min. The object of this routine is to establish goals for fluency. During power writing, students are only concerned with words per minute. This enables the student to feel the joy of writing without the stress of making sure that the writing is perfect. Another language arts activity we are doing is learning about powerful sentences. Ask your child about different types of powerful sentences we have studied. These include; travelers, double the who, and triple-decker sentences.
One of our first projects has been to create a school map. The purpose of the map is to identify ecological zones of the school campus and create an emergency evacuation plan. We are learning math skills associated with this activity such as area, perimeter, and scale too.
Learning is so much more meaningful when we see the purpose behind what we are doing! Don't forget to include your child in meaningful learning opportunities like estimating a grocery bill or figuring out the tip at a restaurant. Also, not having mandatory homework assigned means that you can read to your child at night. I am currently reading the Fellowship of the Ring with my son. (I know the title should be underlined but I don't have that feature on my blog)!
Just a reminder, 3-day student paperwork is tomorrow.

Family Night

2011-09-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

It seems that we are off to a wonderful start this year. Don't forget that tomorrow is our family night, September 22nd, from 3:00 to 6:00. It will be an opportunity for you to come in and see our progress so far this year. Our class just finished ratifying our class constitution so please join us tomorrow night.
So far this year we have built a strong sense of class community. This is reflected in both social and academic areas of the classroom. Academically, we are learning the concepts of multiple drafts and the need to receive kind, helpful, and specific feedback from our classmates. Students are learning the value of taking pride in our work and not just finishing for the sake of getting it done. You can see this in the improvement in our many drafts and work presented in the classroom.
Tomorrow we are going to begin a mini-project, mapping the school grounds. This project will incorporate many math skills such as area, perimeter, and scale. The final product will be used for emergency procedures as well as a general map for visitors for the school. I can't wait to share more purposeful learning with you all tomorrow night.

This is going to be a great year!

2011-09-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hello IA families! I hope everyone had an unexpectedly fun 3-day weekend. Last week we had a wonderful time getting to know our classmates and playing a lot of team building activities. We also had our first professional speaker come in. Robin, Jordan's mom, came in to teach us about the wild world of culinary school. We learned that cooking is also; math, science, management, art, carving, sanitation, and even French. Afterwards we carved a 115 lbs. watermelon then added the fruit we brought. During the activity each student added their fruit and said something about themselves. We used the fruit basket as a metaphor of our class community. We we able to feed the entire school with this one fruit basket. Way to go class!
This week we will continue exploration with our class culture and more team building activities. Today we will draft our classroom constitution to establish our code of conduct in the classroom.

School Supply List Open House

2011-08-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,

I would like to first of all say how excited I am about having our very own school site! I can't wait to see all of the new faces as well as returning students of IA. This year is going to be great! Don't forget that next Friday we will be having our Open House from 2:00 to 6:00pm.
Also, I have put together a list of supplies that will be helpful to our learning and growing this year. Please remember that supplies will be shared by the class community. Items marked with an "*" should be labeled with your child's name and will be kept separately. Since we are a free public charter school we may not require you to give us money. If you can afford however, we are asking for a 10-20$ donation that will go into a class fund for future supplies/field trips/books/etc. Please take donations to Donna in the front office.
Thanks,
Bill

USB Flash Drive *
2 boxes of #2 pencils
Calculator *
2 packages of erasers
Choice Independent Reading Book *
Tab dividers
Composition Notebook *
Scissors with 5" point tip
2" 3 ring binder *
Loose leaf filler paper
Ruled index cards
Drawing compass
Colored pencils and markers
3 wide ruled one subject notebooks

Last month of School

2011-06-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that we are almost to the end of the year! I am so pleased by all of the progress each of us had made this year. We just have a few announcements to make this week. Don't forget that we are heading off to the zoo tomorrow. Make sure that your child brings sunscreen, a water bottle, and a nutritious snack lunch. We will be leaving promptly when school begins after I take attendance.
Next Tuesday, June 7th, will be our final family night. It will be from 5:00-7:00 and there will be a pizza fundraiser. I hope to see all of you there.
Also, on the last week of school we will be having a field day on Monday, June 13th, at Allied Gardens Recreation center. We will be needing parent drivers to help shuttle students from school down the road to the recreation center.

Student Led Conferences

2011-05-23T14:43:00.001-07:00

Well it is official, we are moving to Scripps Ranch. We are excited about having our own school site finally. Some teachers have been waiting for years now for this. We will be filling out intent to re-enroll during our students led conferences this week. If you have not signed up for a conference time, please come by after school to pick a time slot. Student led conferences are a time when students can showcase their successes and challenges they faced during the school year.
Also, this week we are going to have our Scholastic Book Fair. Students were given a form to complete to order books. It would be a great way for students to keep up with their reading during the summer months. I recommend that students keep reading this summer. There will be lots of books to choose from, so whatever style books your child is interested in, there will be a book for her/him.
In class we are still working on our American History project. The essential question is "How does early American history relate to me today?" The students have started to present the information in a variety of fun ways. I am especially excited about the play about Jamestown.
Don't forget that next month we are going to the zoo. We will need parent volunteers next week on Thursday June 2nd. I am hoping to get five parents total.

I feel appreciated!

2011-05-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

First of all, I would like to thank all of my parents and students for all the wonderful things that you have done around our school to make teacher appreciation week so special at Innovations Academy.
The staff and I are currently reading An Ethic of Excellence by Ron Berger. The point is to create beautiful work using peer critique and multiple drafts. We have been applying what we have learned so far. Today we critiqued a persuasive essay by James. The class came together to help improve the meaning and functionality of the piece. His essay entitled Lunch at the Park, is very convincing work.
We have recently been reading about early American History. Our essential question for this project is, how does early American History relate to me today? We have been discussing different possibilities for final out comes. Some outcomes included were power point time lines, plays of specific events, and a book complete with illustrations!

Star Testing is here!

2011-04-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

I wanted to send out the announcement that tomorrow, April 21, we will begin the state issued STAR testing. I would like to add that although state testing is used as a benchmark assessment to evaluate schools, it is not the end all and be all of education. Many aspects of education and particularly our social-emotional philosophy are not reflected in these tests. These tests will focus on language arts, math, and science concepts.
In order to do well on these tests, it is important that every student gets plenty of rest the night before, eats a well balanced breakfast, and arrives to school on time. During the last couple of weeks we have been going over test taking tips and strategies to give the students confidence and insight into these test. Many students have expressed concern about the potential outcome of these tests. These tests are really more geared evaluating the school rather than the individual students. Encourage your child to do well, but try not to stress too much about the tests. Remember no test can tell you what you already know about your child!

Back From Break

2011-04-14T12:41:00.001-07:00

I hope that everyone had a fun and relaxing week off. I was looking at the calendar and I realized that we only have about two months left of school! I can't believe that the school year is coming to a close so soon.
Next week is an important time because we are going to start the state STAR testing. Our students will begin testing on April 26Th. Make sure that your child get plenty of rest the night before testing. Also, please be sure to provide your child with a nutritious breakfast and lunch. Remember to bring a water bottle and drink plenty of water. We have been working on test taking strategies during class this week to minimize any test anxiety the students might feel.
We are currently finishing up our "What's the Matter?" projects. I extended the due date per request of the class to next Monday, the 18th. I will not be accepting projects past that date.
We have also begun our new writing assignment. We are each picking an issuse at school and writing a persuasive essay to our school board. Ask your student what are the pros and cons of their issue.
We have started another math project called "Shape-up." Students will be exploring geometry concepts, building, and teaching concepts to the third graders.
In social studies we are going to be reading "The cartoon History of the United States." After reading, we are going to be forming groups and acting it out.
I am really excited about how far we have come in our ability to create quality work. Thank you for all of your support.

Spring Break

2011-03-31T12:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe that the month of March has come to a close! There are just a few quick announcements to make this time around. First of all, there will be no school Friday, April 1st. This is going to be a staff development day for us. School will resume April 11th, after spring break. Also,tonight is going to be our family night at Innovations, we will be discussing some changes that will occur next year. It will begin at 5:30 and run until about 7:30. If I don't see you tonight, I wish you all a happy spring break. Have fun!

Marching Along

2011-03-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank all of our volunteers who came to Biz Town to help out running the businesses. Without you help, there is no way we would have been able to run all the shops as efficiently.
Our class has just finished publishing our writers' workshop. Most of the students have shared their final drafts with me on Google Documents. Since there is no printer in our room, it is necessary to have the student work on Google Documents so I can print up their stories in the other building. It is also fun to log on with your child at home and look at the stories your children are working on. We are now making the creation of a Gmail account mandatory. Each year at Innovations, students will be accessing their accounts to write papers and create power point presentations. The accounts will be monitored for safety. If you are opposed to creating a Gmail account, please email or speak directly with our director.
Now that Biz Town is completed, we are going to be finishing up with our What's the Matter? project. It had to be put on the back burner for the last few weeks.
In math we begun a new project called "Shape up!" We will be studying aspects of geometry and teaching these concepts to the third grade. An extension to the project will be to ether take photos or bring in magazines of different geometric shapes that they find outside of school.
On a side note, I know that many students like to play computers games on the Internet. I recently came across a website called whyville. It has educational games and at the same time teaches children about Internet safety. Have fun!

Busy Biz Town

2011-03-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

This week and next are going to be very busy times. Right now we are finishing up preparing for Biz Town. All of the students are currently in their assigned business groups. We are having fun making advertisements, setting prices, paying taxes, and figuring out the cost of doing business. Make sure that you send 20 dollars to school to cover the cost of Biz Town. If you are unable to pay please come and speak with me. Next Thursday we will be walking over to the Biz Town at 9:00, so be sure to arrive early that day 8:30-8:45. Parent volunteers need to arrive at the JA Biz Town facility at 8:00. You can drop off your student that day at before care for no extra charge. The Biz town facility is located at 4756 Mission Gorge Place, SD
92120. Thank you for all of your help, opportunities like these would not be possible without your support.

Urgent Update!

2011-02-28T10:14:00.000-08:00

For three years now we have been searching for the perfect home for Innovations Academy. Moving year after year has been difficult on both staff and families alike. The time has come for the district to provide an adequate school facility. Tomorrow night, we will be speaking out at the San Diego Unified School Board meeting on this issue. We need as many families and students to come out and show support. This is perhaps the most important event that you could attend this year. We cannot afford to continue to pay high rent for office spaces any more! Please come tomorrow night (Tuesday the 1st), at 5:00 to 4100 Normal street, San Diego, CA 92103. Your presence there will influence the decision. Today the students were busy making signs, so we need them to come and hold them up for all to see their needs.
Also, if you signed up to interview students for Biz Town, we are going to be conducting them starting tomorrow. There is no set time to do this. Whenever you can come would be great. Just remember that we break for lunch at 11:30. It would be great if each volunteer for 5-7 students. Today we will be filling out our job applications.

Biz town prep

2011-02-23T14:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was so much fun going to the Microsoft store. I could not have done it without the help of all of the parent volunteers. When we got back everyone was so excited that we continued making more power point presentations. We talked about the possibility of presenting our POL's (presentations of learning) on power point. Students will be picking one project and one content area to present to the class. We decided that power point might be a fun way to do that.
Next week we are going to be interviewing for jobs at Biz Town. If you signed up at family night to interview students, you may do it anytime during school hours that are convienent for you. We begin interviews on March 1st through the 3rd. If all goes well, children should know what their jobs are the following week. I am currently going to be collecting money for Biz town. The cost is twenty dollars per child. Thanks for all of your continuing support!
Also, Elyssa has requested that parents call to RSVP for her birthday this Saturday. So far she has not gotten any responses back.

Thanks for your support!

2011-02-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

I would like to start off by saying thanks to all of the parents who came to family night last Thursday. We went over some important stuff which I will reiterate. Item 1, it looks as if we have enough volunteers for the field trip to the Microsoft store. Each child needs to have 5 dollars to pay for transportation. I am hoping to collect the money be this Friday. Next Tuesday, the 22nd, we will be leaving promptly at 9:00a.m. to walk to the trolley station, so be sure to be on time to school. We will then proceed to Fashion Valley mall and head over to the Microsoft store. Once there, we will learn about Power Point and Word programs. At 12:00 the class decided that they would like to eat at the food court before heading back to school. If you would like to send additional money to eat at one of the restaurants, that is fine. If not, please send your child to school with a sack lunch.
Also, I need your permission to set up a gmail account because the minimum age is 13. We only will be using the account to access Google documents. This will enable the students to save automatically online. It will also allow me to share their files directly with me. Don't forget that Biz town in coming up in March and we will be needing to collect 20 dollars to cover the cost. Let me know if you are unable to pay for any on the upcoming events. The children had a fundraiser for field trips and there is some money there that we could use.

Important Updates

2011-02-07T11:48:00.000-08:00

This week we have some important updates that I would like to discuss. We are currently through our first unit of Biz Town. The children have learned about the circular flow of economies, philanthropy, free-markets, and scarcity. We will need to have parent volunteers to help with making each company run smoothly. We also need volunteers to interview students for their jobs. Parents will go to Biz town on March 17th at 7:30 to go to the training for an 1 1/2 hours. I will present the information at this week's family night, this Thursday, from 5 to 6pm. I will also be having parents set up a GMail accounts in order to facilitate our writers' workshop. This will allow all of the student work to be viewed by me at any time on Google documents.
In science we are continuing to explore "What's the matter?" I am moving back the original due date of February 14tt in order to complete Biz town lessons on time for our field trip. Speaking of field trips, we are going to be headed out to the Microsoft store on February 22nd, to learn about how to use Microsoft word and PowerPoint. Permission slips will be going out this week so be looking for them.
Also, don't forget that there will be no school this Friday and Monday due to the observation of Presidents' day. We combined the holidays so we could have the four consecutive days in a row. Please also remember to send a reusable water container for your child to use during the day.

End of January

2011-01-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that we are already almost finished with the month of January? It is amazing how time flies. I have noticed that the overall level of maturity of the classroom has risen. The class is able to work for longer periods of sustained focused time. I am impressed with how students are independently taking on their learning. Students are even approaching me asking if they can stay after school to work on their writing. Students are peer editing each others' work right now and teaching each other to excel in their writing. Our writers' workshop due date will be on Feb 4th.
In our math this week we are going to be changing mixed numbers back into improper fractions. I am also pulling students aside who need additional practice with their basic multiplication facts(1-9). Fifth grade level math assumes that these basic facts are memorized so if your child is still struggling with these I recommend drilling with flash cards. They can be purchased inexpensively at many stores. I also am tutoring students on Thursday afternoon.
In science we are continuing to work on our "What's the matter?" projects. We are also beginning our preparations for Junior Achievement Biz Town. This will most likely push our matter project due date back to sometime in March. I am finding that there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done all at once.
Also, be looking for report cards that will be handed out this Friday after school.

January Update

2011-01-20T22:15:00.000-08:00

This week has been a very exciting week for our class. We started working on our math instructional videos. I am going to upload them to the blog so be looking for them in the near future. In addition to reviewing basic math skills, we are continuing to work on simplifying fractions and changing improper fractions to mixed numbers.

Our personal narratives are in the peer editing phase and we will start working on the second drafts. New writing "norms" have been established in the classroom. Ask your child explain to you what they are.

In science today, we did an experiment testing electrical conductivity. The picture to the right is an experiment with density that we did last week. Next week we will choose our element to research for our what's the matter. Students are expressing interest in creating their own experiments. If you can think of any experiments that are low cost and fun let me know.

January 10-14th

2011-01-12T15:58:00.000-08:00

This week I am excited to say that we have started our science project "What's the matter?" I have sent the project syllabus home with each student. Please look over the assignment and sign and return it so you can be aware of what we are doing for this particular project. Yesterday we started talking about what matter is comprised of and how to classify it. We completed yesterday's class with an experiment on density. We also reviewed the six stages of the scientific method. Ask your child if they can recall any of the steps. The final product will be in February. I am not setting an official due date because I want to see if the students will want to expand on any of the concepts covered. I will give you at least a couple of week heads up before it is due.

In math this week we are continuing to simplify fractions, average numbers, and divide. Tomorrow we are going to log on to a wonderful website called Khan academy and watch math instructional videos. Afterwards, each student will form a group and create their own instructional video of their own.

Our language arts program is doing excellent. The students have been very focused during our writing time. We have established new writing norms such as only talk when absolutely necessary. The class is really taking it on. I even had one student Landon exclaim, "Can I keep writing instead of going to lunch?"

Also, don't forget that next Monday we have no school due to the observation of Martin Luther King day. We have started doing brain gyms to get our bodies ready for learning. One of the key components to this program is drinking enough water so every child needs to have a water bottle that they remember to bring every day.

Welcome Back

2011-01-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

I hope that all of you had a wonderful winter break. I want to especially thank everyone who contributed to the great gifts that I received for the holidays. This Monday we had a staff development day and one of our goals was to improve our communication with our blogs. I will try to be more specific in upcoming goals and assignments.

In language arts we are studying our first 10 Wordly Wise lessons and we will be having our midterm vocabulary test. All missing assignments need to be completed and students need to study previous lessons. For writers' workshop we have started a new program that I learned from a teacher at High Tech Middle School. We will be setting new "norms" and discussing the five stages of the writing process. Our publishing date for the next assignment will be in five weeks on February 4th.

For math this week we are working on simplifying fractions. We are also reviewing division and averaging numbers. Starting this year, every week students will be required to complete 2 math basic skills review sheets.

Since we were unable to present our explorer project before the break we will be doing that this week. Next week we will start our new science project "What's the Matter?" I will give more specific details next week when we begin the project. Each student will be given a syllabus that will need to be signed to keep everyone in the loop.

Also, we will change our lunch time to 11:30 on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. This will make the bay less crowded for our class. Mondays will remain the same time due to Camps.

Last week until break!

2010-12-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce that the class has been working extra hard to complete all of the projects that were due before the break. We are working on a new work ethic in the classroom and it seems to be working. I have been really impressed with the quality of work that the students have presented. The books report presentations have been a real pleasure to hear. I was especially impressed with the wonderful artistic abilities of the class. Over the break I am requiring that each student choose a fifth grade leveled book for their next reading assignment. There is a great list of books that are appropriate at
http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/showarticle/678. Copy and paste link
I like this web site because it has many different genres to choose from.

In math this week we are working on averages and when we return from break we will be exploring different approaches to learn math. These activities will be student generated activities. I will be giving sufficient time in class to complete weekly math drills. If the work is not completed in class it will be sent home.

This week we are going to be doing an art project that we will need recycled wide-mouthed jars and tissue paper. Also, if you have any old paint brushes that you don't mind donating, we could use them as well.

Additionally, I would like to thank everyone who came out to support the fundraiser at Fresh and Easy. It looks like we raised close to a thousand dollars! I hope that everyone has a happy and restful winter break.

Sincerely,
Bill

Finishing projects

2010-12-09T16:32:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that it is almost the end of a new year. We have accomplished so much this year. I would like to thank all of the parents who came out to our last family night to see all of the work that we have done. It helps the children with their quality of work when they know that it is going to be on display at parent night. Also, it was just plain fun having dinner together and seeing the children not want to leave at the end of the night. We discussed the possibility of moving into a school facility that night because we have been offered a prop. 39 school site. Thanks for filling out the survey and letting us know what your opinions were on the matter.
On the academic side of things, we are going to try a new writers' workshop program that I was introduced to at High Tech Middle School yesterday. It places an emphasis on student centered creativity and editing. My role will shift to more of a writing "coach." In math we are finished with our project and are currently working on averaging and dividing as well as review of basic skills. Our book reports will be evaluated this Friday and our Social Studies projects will be due next Thursday. Hope that you have a wonderful weekend.

December is here

2010-11-29T15:39:00.001-08:00

I hope that you all had a wonderful week off. Can you believe that we are almost done with the 2010 year? Only one more month to go. We have been very busy these past few weeks and I can't wait to share with you all of the wonderful projects that we have completed. This Thursday we are having our family night. We are hoping for full participation. I have sent home a reminder and a list of who is going to bring what dish to our potluck dinner. Christine will be speaking from 5 to 6pm. Afterwards we are going to be eating dinner in the classroom and sharing our work. This Friday there will be no school due to our staff development day. I can't wait to see you there!

November countdown

2010-11-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

This week is an exciting week for our class. We are completing our "nimble with numbers" projects and we have begun typing and editing our personal narratives. I can't wait to share the stories that the children have worked so diligently on. We are still trucking along with our wordly wise so have your children be on the lookout for all those new words we have been working on. We have also begun a new read aloud book called "The Number Devil, a Mathematical Adventure." It is about a boy who discovers the magical properties of the numerical world.
I am very pleased to announce that we have obtained Internet and all of our laptops are fired up and are ready to go. We are using them to do research on our explorers and Native American. We are also working on our book report posters which are due the week after we return from break. Some of the students still are complaining that they don't like the books in my personal library. If there is a book that you child is interested in at home please have them bring it in.

November Nights

2010-11-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of important updates this week so please pay careful attention to this week's blog. The 7th and 8th graders are having a garage sale this Saturday so if you have any household items that someone might want please bring them in by this Friday. We are having another fundraiser next Tuesday, November 9th, at the Soup Plantation. 20% of all the sales that night will go to IA. Support your school and feed your family all in the same evening. Also, please remember to bring in your picture order forms by Friday the 12th. You may purchase and view photos online as well. Don't forget that next Thursday, the 11th will be Veterans' day and there will be no school.

In class we are busy building tipis and learning about Explorers and Native Americans. We are currently choosing specific people or tribes to do our research on. I am very pleased to add that we have received a lap top for every two students. We have begun typing up our personal narratives on the computers. We can't wait until we publish them and share them with you.

In math we are still working on our nimble with numbers project. We are making books that are filled with vocabulary terms that we will be using throughout the coming year. Next we will be creating time lines of our lives using positive and negative integers. If you can help think of important event that proceeded your child's life please let your child know about it so they can include it in their timeline.

Keeping up with the good work

2010-10-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

This week has been an interesting week with the weather being what is was. I hope that this weekend we will have some sunshine. I know that for me it makes it hard to get out of bed in the mornings sometimes. Even though it is hard to get up, please try to make sure your child arrives on time. If your child is going to be absent, make sure to get an independent work study contract so our school does not lose funding for the day.
This week we have been continuing our personal narrative essays. The children are coming up with some really great stories that we are eventually going to publish. We just finished our fifth Wordly Wise. I can't believe that we are already one fourth finished with the book. The class is starting to recognize that these high level words are all around us. We finished our read aloud book Holes and watched part of the movie today for "Friday Free time."
This week in math we worked on subtraction with decimals. We also continued working on our "Nimble with Numbers" project. We made practice sheets that explained area and perimeter too. I was especially impressed with how artistic the students made the work. They were so well done that I will use them to teach my class next year!
If you still have not had a conference and would like to have one, I have been having conferences before school. Let me know if that is something that you are needing.

Student Conferences

2010-10-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank all of the students and parents who came in for our conferences this week. I was impressed with how well each student was able to express what they were learning. If your child did not attend the meeting we still to go over with them together about what they are doing in class. The purpose of these conferences is to let the students demonstrate what they are doing in class. Our goal at Innovations is to empower students to take an active participant in their education. If you would like to meet me to discuss issues without your child present, we can talk on the phone or set up a time to meet before School on Thursdays. I am keeping that day open for office hours by appointment only.

Since we had half days this week we focused academically on language arts and math. We are beginning to draft and edit our autobiographical narrative. We have learned that good writers spend 85% prewriting. So far everyone has got of to a great start with their stories. I can't wait to publish these stories in a book complete with illustrations. If anyone knows of a great online publishing site please let me know.

In math we will be beginning our "Nimble with Numbers" project. In this project we will be continuing our personal connection with math while exploring key math vocabulary words. We are working daily on our basic math facts. If you child needs help in this area we will be using flash cards with the answer stated. For example
4x8=32 and 8x8=64. The facts are read aloud and the object becomes more a game of speed rather than memorization. It works really well if you would like to try it for just a minute a day.

October News

2010-10-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

I would like to remind everyone that next week we will be having half days starting Tuesday for our goal setting conferences. Please double check with me about the times if can't remember when we were to meet. I will post the schedule on the wall so you can see it when you walk in. On Thursday night, we will be having our family night so you can get an idea of what is happening in the class and see all of the great work we have done. Next Friday there is not going to be any school because we are having a staff development day.

For our language arts we are using graphic organizers to help us with our autobiographical narratives. We are continuing with our power write and wordly wise as well. We have come up with some really clever stories so far. We have some very creative writers in class. I can't wait to see our published finished products. We are learning that authors need to spend most of the time in the "pre-write" phase of writing. This is the planning and preparing stage of writing.

In math I am pleased to announce that we have finished our mathematician projects. The work is displayed on the wall of our classroom if you want to see it. We are also learning how to add and subtract using decimals. I am also giving multiplication tests to make sure that we are mastering these basic skills too. If students miss problems we will be making flash cards and playing games to help learn them.

Where did September Go?

2010-09-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

It seems like time is really starting to march along. Can you believe that we are now going into October? You would hardly know it by how the weather has been. I guess time flies when you are having fun.
This week we took our first Wordly Wise assessment and started our week two lessons. We started brainstorms on our personal narratives. The topic is about a time when you solved a problem. If you remember a time when you child solved a problem, let them know. Some students told me that they have never solved a problem. I know that our class is too smart to have never solved problems! We will be using graphic organizers to scaffold the writing into smaller components.
This week we will continue with our math open-ended questions. Today's question was, How can you cut a cake into 8 pieces using only 3 cuts?" Ask your child the answer if you can't figure it out. By Friday we will present our mathematician project. We will focus on beautiful work.
In science we are learning about different rock types and the food chain. We are looking for correlations between different habitats Native American communities.
If you have not signed up for a goal setting conference please do so before or after school. I am also available for conferences on Wednesday mornings. Please notify me ahead of time if you wish to have a conference. I don't always have access to internet right now so the phone is the best way to get a hold of me. 619-972-6032
Thanks

Fall is here!

2010-09-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank all of the parents who made it to our open house and our beach potluck last week. I really enjoyed getting to meet all of you and learning more about you and your student. Don't forget if you did not sign up for a goal setting conference please come by before of after school to do this. Conferences are beginning on October 11th through the 14th. The 15th is a day off for teacher professional development.

In class we have completed our exploration of the Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. We will be comparing these needs to the needs of Native American societies. We will be exploring how different ecosystems influenced the development of Native American tribes. Our science standards will focus on the water cycle, food cycle, and other earth sciences.

For language arts we have begun our learning headquarters writing program. Ask you child to tell you to explain what makes "powerful sentences." We will be reviewing our fifth grade writing standards and creating a poster of what our expectations will be. Also, everyday we are practicing our power writing to improve fluency.

For math we have been focusing on how to post answers in our math journals. We are exploring how to express our mathematical thinking via open-ended math question. We are also exploring our math experiences in our mathematician project.

If you have any questions feel free to call 619-972-6032 or see me before or after school.

Week Three

2010-09-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

Well it is now Tuesday of week three. I would just like to say that I am very happy with the community that we are creating with each other. Thank you for turning in all of the paper work. I know that there was a lot to fill out.

Don't forget that this Thursday we will be having our mandatory open house starting at 5:00 for dinner at a cost of $5.00. Starting at 6:00 and 6:30 (half hour each) we will be having conversations about our policies and philosophies. I can't wait to see you then! Don't forget about our pot luck on Saturday. It is posted on my web site with directions.

Thanks,
Bill

2nd Week

2010-09-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

I pleased to announce that we have safely arrived at week two. The class is adjusting to the expectations that we all have set. During the next few weeks we will be continuing with our team building and reviewing procedures. We have begun working on our writing journals and our power writing. We will also discuss what our hopes and dreams are for the coming year.

Please remember that if you have not filled out this years registration packet, please do so asap. You can get one from Donna or me if you need an extra copy. Also, remember that each child needs to eat breakfast before coming to school. Many of the students are complaining that they are hungry due to lack of breakfast. As a parent I know it can be difficult sometimes to get everyone feed. Children can't concentrate as well when they are hungry. It makes their job of learning more difficult.

I have a web site up that you can access for additional support links and information. www.billthomas.webs.com

September is Here!

2010-09-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today we had our first day of class and I am very excited to announce that all went very well. I look forward to getting to know all the students in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to fill out the enrollment form and turn it in to either Donna or me. This has to be done for all students, even returning ones. I need the permission slips filled out so we can utilize the local park and get some exercise.
I have also purchased Wordly Wise vocabulary books for each student so I will need 15 dollars reimbursement to cover my cost. Please let me know if you are not able to cover this cost. Also, I have also changed the day of our beach day. I CANNOT MAKE the original September 11th day. I will be performing at the OB Jazz festival that day. I would like to schedule it for the 18th from 2:00 to 5:00pm. Please continue to pick up your students from the room so we can chat each day. I look forward to sharing all that we have learned from each other.

School Update

2010-08-23T01:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,

I just wanted to update you on the coming school year and give you a few updates. First of all I am very excited to meet all of you at our open house on August 30th from 3 to 6 p.m. Our new location is at 6154 Mission Gorge, just off the 8 freeway. Remember that school starts on Sept 1.

I am attaching a school supply list to this along with a wish list of classroom supplies. Also if you don’t mind please put these supplies in a box for easy storage. If you need to contact me for any reason please feel free to contact me at my email bill@innovationsacademy.org. I am also planning an informal get together/ potluck at the OB pier on September 11, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.

The following is a list of supplies each student must bring to class:

An appropriate leveled book of interest for independent reading time
For some suggestions paste this link in you browser-
http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/showarticle/678

1 Box of Copy Paper

Pencil box

Pencils #2 - 24

Eraser - (Pink Wedge) - 3

Pen (red) - 2

Highlighters - 5 assorted colors (pink, yellow, green, orange, blue)

Children's Markers - Crayola/12 Ct. box

Colored Pencils - Crayola/24 Ct. box

Glue Stick(s) - 4

12" Ruler - 1 with centimeter and millimeter markings

7" Scissors - 1

Package of Index cards (3x5) - 1 pack of 100

POST-IT® NOTES - 2"x 2" pack of 3

Pocket Folders - 6 any color or style

Single-subject Spiral Notebooks - 6 (wide-ruled if possible)

Loose leaf ruled 3 hole filler paper - 1 pack of 150 wide-ruled

Tabbed Dividers - 8-tab multi-color

USB Flash Drives

3-Ring Binder - 3-inch

Sheet Protectors for Portfolio

Compass

I am requiring that students bring a stainless steel water bottle for drinking. Also, talk to me about our partnership with a company that makes reusable lunch kits with stainless steel bottle included. It is one of my personal goals to lower our School ecological footprint.

The following is a wish list and items I would like donated to the classroom, if possible:

Chart Paper, Tissue Paper (all colors), Pencil Top Erasures, Tape, Dry-erase markers, Kleenex, Binder clips, Paper Towels, Clipboards, Construction Paper, Paint and Paint Brushes, Pastels, Glue Guns and Glue Sticks.

Thank you!

Bill

Time to wrap it up

2010-06-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank everyone for getting the permission slips and money turned in for the upcoming events. To recap, we are having our field day next Monday the 7th, and beach clean-up on the 11th which is a Friday. The week after next we will be having our feed the homeless day on the Thursday, the 17th and our pool party the following day. Thank you for making the end of the year a very memorable time. In class we are continuing to have our spirit days and regular academic schedule.
We are finishing up our persuasive essays and we are reading The Island of the Blue Dolphins as an entire class. For our project time we are continuing to work on our passion project. They are coming along quite nicely now. After school gets out we will be moving to our new location so we will need parent volunteers to help with that as well. The more people that we can get to help, the easier it will be on all of us. I will keep you up dated about our upcoming trips and events

STAR Testing

2010-05-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,
Starting on Tuesday our class will begin participation in the statewide standardized testing. This test is being taken by all students grades 2-8. In fifth grade the focus will be on Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. We have spent some time preparing for this in the past few weeks, so they will be familiar with what they will be seeing.

Make sure that you get to school on time. Be sure that your child gets plenty of rest the night before. Also make sure your child is eating breakfast in the morning. Many of my students complain of being hungry in the morning because they are not eating breakfast. It makes it real difficult to learn on an empty stomach!

Busy at Biz Town

2010-04-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

Just a friendly reminder that we are still trying to find out how many parents are going to volunteer for Biz Town next week, April 22, at 8:00. Right now we have just over half the handouts returned. Please ask your child for this form and mark either yes or no as to whether or not you can volunteer. It is not going to work unless we have your support.

This week we are learning about what makes buisnesses successful. We are going to be holding interviews after students fill out their job applications. My favorite lesson is where we teach the children about taxes. Welcome to the real world!

For language arts we are finishing up our personal narratives. They are to be completed this Friday unless other arrangments have been made. We will also be completing The Mixed-Up Files this week as well.

In math this week we are working with different approaches to multiplication. We are doing the lattice method as well as the partial products method.

In Science we have begun an alien project using the information about our planets. Ask you child to explain what MY VERY EDUCATED MOTHER JUST SHOWED US NINE PLANETS means.

Student generated blogs

2010-03-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

This week we are going to have students begin to generate the blogs from time to time. We still need parent volunteers for Biz Town. For the next five weeks we are learning about what jobs we are going to have. Also how to write checks and run a business. We have recently played a game were we had to find someone with the same responsibility card as our. We are learning about what our rights and responsibilities are.
For math we are working on division. Also we are coming up with ideas to help to help the people who don't know or need help with multiplication. We are making flashcards too. Also we are studying test taking strategies for Star Testings.
We finished up working on our explorer history project. Everyone did a great job! Some people had diorama, speech, play an etc.
We are working on our personal narratives. They are about mystery. They are coming along great! :) We also have been doing spelling words and we have been working on our worldy wise.
We are still working on our play house for the kindergarten. We are almost done. We are done with three sides. By the next two weeks or so it should be completed and painted! :)

Don't forget that spring break starts March 26 to April 5. Also Bill's 36th birthday is tomorrow. Have a GREAT vacation!!!!!!!! :) :)

Blog written by: Amanda with the help of Aolani! :)

March Forth

2010-03-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

I would like to make some quick announcements of some upcoming events. I would like to first of all thank Skip for donating his time and knowledge to help build our play structure. We have the first stage of framing done. Yay! I would also like to thank all the parents who brought in building supplies. We still need a couple of 4x8ft 1/2in ply wood for the roof.
I am also excited to say that Justin and I went to training for Biz town. It is a program that allows children to learn real life job skills and act them out in a miniature town. I am really excited, we are going to learn how to balance check books, write resumes, and interview for jobs. The event will be held on April 22 off Mission Gorge Rd. We will need 26 parent volunteers. Parents need to attend an hour and a half training the day of the event. I will have a sign up sheet ready for this available at our Thursday mandatory parent meeting night. Also this upcoming Thursday night the fifth graders will be presenting their explorer projects. Be sure to attend that night so you can see all of the hard work our class has completed.
For language art we are continuing to read The Mixed-up Files. We are also starting an independent reading challenge. If a student can read 500 pages of grade appropriate text they will receive a free ticket to Six Flags Magic Mountain. The contest must be completed by the end of the month. Pages must be documented in a log that is to be signed by the parents. We are going to be also finishing up our first drafts of our mystery personal narratives.
In math we are continuing to work with fractions. We are changing mixed-numbers to improper numbers. This week we will begin multiplying fractions.

2010-02-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a restful 4 day weekend last week. Just a quick reminder that we are petitioning for prop 39 school sites. The school site that was given to us is in an undesirable location and is virtually unusable for our current needs. We are encouraging all staff, parents, and students to sign a form letter stating our wish to be offered a more suitable site. We are also going to encourage parents and students to be present at the official board meeting on Tuesday, March 23. It will be held sometime in the evening. I am not sure of the exact time as of yet.
I would like to congratulate all the hard work our class did on finishing up our "What's the Matter?" I would like to also thank all of you who came out on family night to see our presentations. I would like to see more participation on these nights. The students worked very hard getting things ready for the event and unfortunately, we had very little parent turnout. So be sure next time to support you child and his or her classmates.
For language arts we are continuing with our personal narratives and our weekly wordly wise. You can visit worldywise.com for more games and activities to support the weekly activities. We are also continuing to read the Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil.
For math we are dividing and working with fractions with unlike denominators. We have even created a song about adding fractions. Ask you child to sing the song for you.
For our next project we are going to be looking at early explorers. The project will be called "Enterprizing Entrepenures."

2010-01-28T15:18:00.001-08:00

It has been quite a wet month so far. Let's hope that the clear weather keeps up. I think that we are in for better weather ahead. Report cards are coming out this week so be looking for them being sent home with your child this Friday. There is also some cooking utensils that are left over from our spaghetti dinner, so if you have stuff missing please come and get it.
In Language arts we are continuing with our wordly wise study. Today we played who wants to be a millionaire with the words. We have a test each Friday so make sure to study on Thursday. We are starting our next narrative, a detective story about locating a missing object. For our read aloud we are still reading From the Mixed-up Files.
In math we are working with the coordinate system, plotting points using positive and negative integers. Today we played tic-tac toe using the coordinate system. We will hopefully begin construction on the playhouse sometime next week.
In science we are working on the History and discovery of our elements. We will be creating poster boards of the elements we are studying. Start bringing in information and the poster boards for our displays.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T11:25:00.003-08:00

I hope that everyone had a very restful and enjoyable time over the winter break. I think that the upcoming year will be even better than the last one! This month our fifth grade class is hosting the fundraiser to help pay for our Biz town field trip. The class decided that it would be fun and easy to serve spaghetti dinner, bread sticks, and salad. We asking parents to bring in two boxes of noodles each. We also want to sell desserts for extra money. Please bring in the pasta as soon as possible so we don't wait until the last moment. The event will be held on January 14. This is going to be held not this week but the following Thursday and yes, it is a mandatory meeting. I will be sending home a news letter so be sure to ask your child about it.

I would like to also let you know that we have recently added two new students to our classroom, Jared and Luis. We still have a few more seats, but good job a helping to spread the word about IA. Keep up the good work!

For our academics in class we are starting a new book called The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It is a cool book about two children who run away to the Metropolitan museum. We are continuing to work on grammar and Wordly wise. These will be due at the end of each week. Our final drafts of our personal narrative are due this Friday as well.

In math we our continuing to work on geometry and shapes. We are going to be creating models of houses made out of cardboard using the shapes that we have been working on. Students will be required to draw scale drawings and find the perimeter and area of their models. We will be making a play structure for the kindergartners so we will need wood donated when we are ready to start.

In science we are going to be starting a project "What is the Matter?" We are going to be studying the periodic table and exploring how Humans have used their knowledge of the elements to shape our world.

2009-12-13T16:27:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that we are nearing the end of another year at Innovations Academy? It has really gone by much to quickly. I would like to thank all of the parents, faculty, and students who attended the parent night at Barnes and Noble last week it was a huge success! I look forward to more fun events like this in the future.

We are finally coming to a close on our Revolutionary War projects. We just got through reading the Historical fiction novel My Brother Sam is Dead. The students were really excited to read the novel due to its suspense and relevancy to history. It had a very ironic twist in the end which led us to believe that war is both cruel and harsh. Tomorrow we will be writing a compare and contrast essay about the two main characters in the story.

In math we have begun exploring geometric figures. We have been designing different types of triangles. We are also studying different types of angles, parallel, perpendicular, and intersecting lines. We are looking at the types of angles as well. These include obtuse, acute, and right angles.

In language arts we are going to be starting to read a new book called The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It is a story about a child who runs away to a museum to solve a mystery. We are continuing to work on our grammar and wordly wise. If any work is not being completed in class when sufficient time is being given, I will start sending the work home to be completed.

December is here!

2009-12-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

Remember that next week we are having our family night manditory meeting will be held at Barnes and Noble on December the 10th. Don't forget to do your holiday shopping there to support IA through a special fundraiser we have arranged. In addition to the meeting we will be having performances and artwork displayed from some of our classes. Also that night we will have another fundraiser at Applebee's located in the Hazard center.

In class we are continuing to work on our History projects. We are almost finished with our Historical fiction novel, My Brother Sam is Dead. We are just about to begin filming the Revolutionary war video.

For science we are using paper airplanes to study the scientific method. We are making the planes and researching plane aerodynamics. We are forming our hypothesis as to which type of plane will fly father. Next week we will send the planes off the balcony and record the distance that each one flew and record the results and draw conclusions.

For math we have been working with rounding decimals and multiplying decimals. We are continuing to have daily multiplication drills and just about everyone has got the basic facts down so far.

In language arts we are reviewing capitalization rules, wordly wise, and are working on our rough drafts for our personal narratives. We have also been working on similes and metaphores.

2009-11-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

Hello out there in cyberspace!

Thank you all who attended the fair last Sunday. It was a lot of fun! We had Mad science activities, a jumper house, face painting, and treats for children and dogs.
Tony's class is having robot night on Friday November 20. They are going to be showing Transformers 2 and Wallie. This will be happening after school at 3:30. Snacks will be provided for, but will cost money. If you wish to see Transformers 2 you will need to obtain written permission from your parent. Also remember that next week is Thanksgiving break. Don't forget that we come back on Tuesday, since Monday is a staff development day.

For math we have been working on adding and subtraction with estimation and rounding to check. I will be sending all incomplete work home with your child. This is not homework but class work that is not finished. We finished our math assessment today I have graded some of them but not all yet.

We took a wordly wise test which I will be sending home as well. We also worked on capitalization and on our personal narratives. We came up with the theme of our stories today. Some of the themes were "do what you want to do not what your friends tell you to do, and always think before you act."

For our History projects we have been discussing The Boston Massacre, the Intolerable acts, and the Boston Tea party. Our book My Brother Sam is Dead is really getting suspenseful. We are having a hard time stopping the story each day.

2009-11-12T15:04:00.001-08:00

Hola,
Some upcoming announcements are as follows- Tonight we are having a family night to present our "Me projects." You can purchase a meal from Pat and Oscars for five dollars if you like. This Sunday we are having a carnival to raise money for the sixth grade camp and get students to come to our wonderful, tremendously awesome school.

For language arts we are prewriting our personal narratives. These are autobiographical narrative that tell about a conflict in our lives and how it was resolved. We have been adding synonym tools and voice boxes and thinking bubbles to add quotations and dialogue to our stories. We are just about to start writing our rough drafts. For vocabulary we are continuing to use our Wordly Wise. We acted out the words and completed the packets.

In math we are doing division with decimals and remainders. Multiplication and division are fact families so it really helps to know all the basic facts. We also worked on estimation also known as "rounding numbers.."

For our read aloud we just finished reading Holes. Now we are reading a book about the American Revolutionary War. The book is called My Brother Sam is Dead. We are currently on chapter 6. Sam has run off to war to fight the British soldiers with the American militia army.

For our History projects we are creating a timeline of the events leading up to the war. Each student is responsible for completing their paragraph on the event that they were assigned to. They also need to come up with a test question for our assessment. For our final project we are going to be acting out the events of the war. Be looking our you tube video of our production.

2009-11-01T12:44:00.000-08:00

This week we are going to be having our student led parent teacher conferences. These will be taking place during the afternoon on Wednesday November 4. If you have not already signed up for a time slot please contact me so we can scheduled a time to meet with you and your child. I still have some time slots available from 2:30 to 4:00. This meeting will give you the opportunity to discuss your child's progress as well as future goals you wish to make.

In our language arts curriculum we have continued to make progress in our writing fluency with our "power writes". The children have really been able to see the tremendous growth in their sustained writing. We have also begun to create our personal narratives. These stories are about some type of conflict we have had and how it was resolved. With the use of direct instruction and graphic organizers, I am confident that the stories will be great.

In math we are continuing to work with place value of decimals. We are ordering, adding, subtracting, and comparing them. As a warm up each day we are taking multiplication tests to make sure we understand our basic facts. I am pleased to discover that most of the students are pretty comfortable with them. This will allow for us to move on to more complicated math procedures such as division.

In our social studies project we are focusing on the American Revolution. We are currently putting science on hold so we can focus exclusively on this project. We are using time lines, creating books, and acting out these historic events. It has been a lot of fun so far.
Keep checking up with the blog and stay tuned for future announcements.

Sincerely,
Bill

2009-10-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of exciting things happening in our class room these days and a few important upcoming announcements. Next week our class will be attending a field trip to Mission Trails Regional Park. There we will learn about 4 distinct ecosystems. We will be leaving on the morning of Wednesday, October 28th. We will return by early dismissal that day so we will not be eating lunch there. I imagine that we will need a snack and water at the very least so be sure to pack something to munch on. Also don’t forget to wear closed toe shoes and bring plenty of sunscreen and perhaps a hat.
Our class has begun working on our writing program that I went to training for a few weeks ago. I can already see that writing fluency has increased dramatically in the short time that the program has been implemented. We are working on creating powerful sentences and identifying key writing standards for fifth grade narratives. Ask your child about sentence “travelers, double whos”, and “triple deckers.”
For math we are continuing to work on place value for decimals and comparing them to percentages. We do this in a variety of different ways. Sometimes we play games to learn at other times we use independent skill sheets. We are also having daily multiplication skills to make sure that we have our basic facts in order to move on to more difficult concepts.
For our project right now we a focusing on the History of the American Revolutionary War. I decided that we are going to focus on social studies for our project time. After this project we will then switch to our ecosystems project.

2009-10-08T14:14:00.001-07:00

Greetings from Bill’s class,
This week we continued to progress on our “Me projects.” We toiled over our family trees and learned about our family history. We set some due dates so we could be motivated to finish up the project. There are a few of us that are almost done, congratulations! This week on Wednesday we had our first substitute, Amy. Bill was diligently working at a conference learning how to better teach writing. Kim has taken the class and has had great results.
Don’t forget that tonight Justin’s class is hosting the breakfast for dinner. This is all going down at 5:30. The cost is 3 dollars for a single serving of 1 pancake, 1 sausage, 1 fruit, and o.j. After parents are welcome to come in to the classrooms and see their child’s work. Also, don’t forget that Friday is pizza day, so don’t forget your $3.75.

2009-10-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

This week was a blast! We have been continuing to work on our “me projects”. We are almost finished with our personal artifacts essays. Today we made a pie graph representing ourselves with percentages and decimals. It was 100% fun, so much in fact, that we did not want to stop the activity. For math this week we learned expanded form, word form, and standard form. We also learned about place value. We practiced these skills by playing a memory game. We learned greater than and less than by rolling the dice.
This week we started our first class council to discuss issues that arise during the day. We have discussed whether or not to allow ipods during independent work time and if we want a class pet.
This week we started puppetry and breathing classes. We started making our own shadow puppets with different types of animals and people. During breathing and relaxation we had to relax and focus on our breath. We also did spider movements.
We finished our first read aloud, The Rats of Nimh. We are going to watch the movie and compare it to the book. We are going to start reading Because of Winn-Dixie next.
Just a reminder Chinese classes are starting next Wednesday after school, so if you would like to enroll talk to Donna. Also don’t forget that picture day is on Tuesday so please bring in your forms as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Bill’s class

2009-09-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

This week was a lot of fun. We did lots of new and exciting things. The highlight of the week was when we went to the Wild Animal Park. We saw a Golden eagle and learned how they can actually slow down time when catching prey. Did you know that golden eagles have 36 vertebrae in their neck alone? We learned all about the endangered California condor that has over a 9 foot wingspan. We learned that the conservation efforts at the Beckman center have led to the release of one condor into the wild each year. This has led to the wild numbers going from 25 to more than 300.
We continued to write and work on our “me projects”. We would like to thank all of the parents who helped us with our surveys. We also completed our personal timelines and started our personal artifacts that we brought in. Martin brought in a picture of his first surfboard, Aolani brought in her poi balls, and Jon brought in a gold coin.
We had our first spirit day “hat day” and game night which went real well. We would like to thank all of the parents who made it possible!
Everyone seems to be getting along real well and we are a happy to announce that we have a new student in our class, Claudio. Keep checking back with us for future announcements.
Sincerely,
Bill’s rock’n’ roll class
P.S. Don’t forget to see Bill’s band (The Styletones) at Adams ave street fair!

2009-09-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

Bill’s awesome class Blog
September 17, 2009
Welcome to the best class at Innovations Academy! Today we are writing our blog as a whole class project. This week we have had a lot of fun playing games and getting to know each other. Look forward to hearing about our class in our weekly blog.
Since school has started we have established classroom rules and daily jobs. One of our rules is to be prepared each day. We can do this by eating breakfast, drinking plenty of water, and getting plenty of sleep. We have agreed to keep our class clean and respect one another.
We have begun our “Me project” this week as well. We started off by discussing our “hopes and dreams” and making maps of our last year’s classrooms that included a key. This key told about what our difficulties and joys were last year. We also finished our “I am” poems and personal timelines. We also brainstormed some ideas about the project together.
We have also celebrated Aolani’s and Amanda’s birthdays. We celebrated them by parents bringing in healthy muffins and juice. Remember to avoid bringing in all types of tree nuts since one of our students is highly allergic to them! When we celebrate birthdays this year let’s make sure we bring in healthy snacks. This means no soda and refined sugars please.
We also have an upcoming field trip to the wild animal park on Thursday, September 24. Remember to arrive at school by no later than 8:00. Our first spirit day “hat day” is next Wednesday, so be sure to wear your hat that day.

History Project

2009-03-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

I am excited to announce that we are going to have a new teacher Tommaso Grimaldi. He will be working with me for our 6th grade history projects. Tom has extensive knowledge with project based learning. I am pleased to be working with him on this current project, “How does ancient civilization connect to my life?” Posted below are the computer links that we will be researching to answer questions that we come up with. This project will be very student centered and driven.
Ancient Civilization PBL Links:
( Please note that some links will require you to “join.” I have done so with respect to all of the free sites, but thought to include the “pay” memberships just in case anyone wanted that option) Some of the 28 links are direct source links to information while others are indirect.

Here’s to “Pubble” Power…”P.B.L.” that is. J : t.g.

http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsnpr/

http://www.netc.org/classrooms@work/references/howto.html

http://www.pblnet.org/

http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/index.html

http://www.jason.org/gated/

http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsnpr/index.cfm

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/stepzero.html

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/index_MVT.html

http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/pbl.html

http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/

http://ztomy.com/

http://innovationsacademy.org/teachers.php

http://www.google.com/educators/index.html

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ericwebportal/

http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html

http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/kushan/kushan.html

http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/uck/index.html

http://www.kushan.org/contents.htm
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/

http://rome.mrdonn.org/

http://mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/westasia/history/earlydynastic.htm

http://cybersleuth-kids.com/sleuth/History/Ancient_Civilizations/Ancient_Middle_East/Mesopotamia/index.htm

http://www.kidsdiscover.com/default.aspx

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudPage.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=babylonian+talmud&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.google.com/search?q=babylonian+mathematics&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.google.com/search?q=babylonian+art&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

2008-11-17T17:30:00.000-08:00

This week we will be having our student led parent conferences. Today we will be sending home a parent survey to be completed and signed. I would like to hear from you some honest feedback. I am very pleased with how this year is moving along. We are very busy with our History projects right now. Your child has a hand out on the requirements and details for this project. Please make sure to sign this paper and return it with your child to class. We are devoting many hours of class time to the completion of this project. This project will most likely require the students to complete some of the work at home.
In my language arts group we are beginning a story written by O. Henery. The Children seem to be rapidly progressing in language arts. I can’t believe that the students have come this far in only three months! The direct instruction is really working. It can be intense for the children at times but you can see that the children making tremendous growth in both comprehension and fluency. For the writing component we are focusing on the story details, character traits, sequencing, vocabulary, and inference. We are about to complete our third mastery test. Wow!
For my math class we are working on long division and multiplication facts. We are also constructing word problem families. We are also converting fractions to decimals. There might be additional work available to students who feel they need extra help on some of the math components. Practice after all does make perfect.
I am sure that you have heard what a wonderful time we are having at the skateboard park. I am so impressed with the ability of my students. I am going to take some pictures of them because I am very proud of them. I am especially amazed at the students who have never ridden a skateboard before. I wouldn’t have guessed that they were new to skateboarding.
See you soon!

Other learning options

2008-10-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

Let the Learning Continue:
“No Homework” Policy does not mean that the learning stops when the students leave Innovations Academy for the day. Instead, I.A. wants to encourage the students to develop a “thirst” for further knowledge, and to use their creative abilities to do further learning exploration. The entire family can participate in this quest for further knowledge. There is no one path that is best; any path that results in furthering a student's knowledge is a good path.

Here are some ways that the school and the students’ families can help the students have fun expanding their horizons:

Language Arts:

1) READ READ READ!
A) Home: Encourage reading instead of TV Watching or Video games. Doesn't matter what the reading material is. Let the student pick his/her own books. Plan a weekly visit to the public library to pick out books. Read the newspaper together and discuss the day's topics at dinner. Read an interesting article in a magazine. Complete a reading log to map progress and show how many books have been read. Make this a family project and set a goal for each month. Reward as the family sees fit when the goals are reached.
B) School: Encourage the student to share his reading experience once a month with his
classmates by selecting any of the following:
− doing an oral book report
− writing a book review
− creating a diorama of a scene from the book
− creating a “read this book” poster
− creating a hanging mobile with characters from the book
− any other creative idea for sharing
Create a reading chart where students graph out the books they have read in order to reach a class goal.

Class Ideas:
-Book reports can be tied into state writing & reading comprehension objectives. For example, the book report might be centered around the topic of theme. The student writes about the theme and gives examples throughout the story that support the theme.
-The diorama can be centered around the concept of setting
-The mobile could focus on theme at the top center, followed by the second tier covering key characters: the antagonist, protangonist.
-A reading chart/graph could be tied into the appropriate Social Studies topic. For example, in 3rd, each book the student reads moves their selected explorer’s boat 1 week in time on his voyage. The cutout boat could be placed on a map and move along the route that the explorer took. The student achieves some reward for reading enough to get his explorer to land. The 4th grader moves from CA landmark (many different missions, the state capital, national parks) to landmark with each book he reads. “Visiting” each landmark in CA earns the reader a reward.

2) Increase the student's vocabulary.
A) Home: Play word games like Scrabble, Pictionary, Boggle, and Password to help
increase vocabulary skills. Have the student create his own vocabulary list from class or personal reading. Play word games using the class vocabulary list to reinforce the learning.
B) School: Help the student increase his vocabulary by having a weekly vocabulary list:
-either have student groups create vocabulary lists from class lessons
- or use the appropriate level vocabulary list from www.sadlier-oxford.com
Print out the word list or the flash cards. Have students complete the exercises or create
learning games (cross words, hangman, cryptograms) using the word lists to help grow
the student’s vocabulary.

Class Ideas:
-Either committees of students or the teacher picks/creates a weekly word list.
-Students are responsible to pick out whichever exercise from an approved list that will
help them to learn the words: creating flash cards, writing sentences, writing the definition,
creating a crossword puzzle

3) Help the student to develop his writing skills
A) Home: Encourage the student to write daily: either in a journal or by supplementing class assignments.
B) School: Have the student keep a journal to track his daily writing progress. Encourage the student to select written reports/analyses as options for book reports, social studies reports, etc.
Class Ideas:
-Have the students bring in an outside writing sample once a month to place in their files:
a thank you letter to a family member, an essay for a local contest. These samples could be
tied into the state standards.

Math:
4) Improve the student’s understanding of math concepts
A) Home: Continually practice math facts: addition (know facts up to 10 + 20) , subtraction, multiplication (know tables up to 12 x 12), division. Play math-based games: Tribulation, Multiplication Bingo, Math Trivia. Utilize internet websites for supplemental learning to reinforce class lessons: www.algebra.com; www.funbrain.com; www.math4kids.com; (google “math games” for more). Check with the teacher for supplemental learning exercises to help reinforce the math concepts taught in school.
B) School: Keep reinforcing the math concepts learned by sending home a summary sheet with sample exercises for the student to use for optional practice. Work with the student to cite real world examples where math lesson topics are utilized.

Social Studies:

5) Supplement the social studies/history lessons presented during class
A) Home: Visit museums (watch for special exhibits), re-enactments, monuments, special sites. Watch History Channel programs that complement the lessons taught in class. Check out videos of historical documentaries or travel logs at the video store or local library. Have the student write to tourist centers, educational foundations, state capital information centers requesting information.
B) School: Sponsor a learning event: “Egypt/Greece Fair” “Pioneer Days” “State Fairs” “Explorer Days”. The students research, plan and execute the event. Students display supplementary projects during the event: dioramas, 3d models,