Exhibition Night was Fantastic!

I would like to first of all thank all of the families who made it out to exhibition night.  I really enjoyed having the students share all of the important work they have been doing. During the exhibition, parents and students filled out a mid-year check in to give us some feedback on how the home learning goals are going that we set during SLCs .  If you did not attend exhibition night, please fill the form out and return it to school as soon as possible.  Many students are still in need of extra practice with math times tables and independent reading at home.

To celebrate how hard we have been working, we have planned some fun field trips next week.  On Tuesday, we are going to Balboa Park for free museums.  The free museums are; The Museum of Art, The Mingei International, The Museum of Man, and The Japanese Friendship Garden. On Thursday we are going ice skating at the San Diego ice arena.  The cost for the ice skating is $8.00 per person. I made a mistake on my previous blog post, we will be leaving for ice skating at 12:00. We will need parent drivers to make these trips possible. Please click on the link to sign up (drivers).

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Exhibition Night!

This week we are going to be having our Exhibition Night. This event is held only twice a year, so participation is mandatory. This Thursday night, from 5:00-8:00 pm, each student will be presenting what they are working on for their service-learning projects.Our current projects involve making big changes in our community.  Our students are changing their worlds in ways that reflect their unique interests and talents.  Students have taken on big jobs for 5th graders. Our Beautification Team has plans of beautifying the school through artwork and gardening efforts.  The Green Team is making our school greener through educating the student body and the immediate community about environmental issues and making green changes on campus.  The Newspaper Crew is creating a school newspaper.  Their current issue is 5th Grade-specific but we look forward to a campus-wide paper!  Our Fundraisers are raising money in a variety of ways for our class to use for project supplies and field trips.  They are also our field trip planners! We also have the Documentary Crew.  They are creating a Documentary about our school because they think we are doing something unique here at I.A. and they want to get the word out.  Our documentary group will be having two show times at 5:30 & 7:30.We are still in need of parent volunteers in the afternoon.  We are currently managing six projects at once and things would definitely run smoother if we had extra parent support during that time.  Ideally, we would like to have one adult per group, that would mean four more adults in addition to me and Alexis.  Our project time is from 2:00-3:00 Tuesday-Thursday.  Please email me or just drop by during this time if you would like to help.  Last week we had an opportunity to go and visit Chicano park.  Prior to going to the park, students wrote research papers about the history of the park and the muralists who created the paintings.  It was so wonderful to hear one of my students, Julia, recount the history of the park to the rest of the class.  It is so awesome to see the fruition of our work here at IA- when the students become the experts. 

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Stepping it up!

I would like to first of all thank all of our parent volunteers who have come in during school hours to help assist with projects and the Friday bake sale!  We really couldn't do it without your continuing support.  We are still looking for parent helpers to come in to class during project time.  We are currently managing six projects at once and things would definitely run smoother if we had extra parent support during that time.  Ideally, we would like to have one adult per group, that would mean four more adults in addition to me and Alexis.  Our project time is from 2:00-3:00 Tuesday-Thursday and Friday 9:30-11:30.  Please email me or just drop by during this time if you would like to help.

In language arts this week, we completed our final drafts for our personal narratives.  Alexis and I have had a blast reading the stories.  You can really hear the students' voice come through the writing.  Remember that if you would like to read your child's work, you can do so at any time via Google drive.  Each student is presently working on a research paper that is tied into their service learning project.  Students were given questions to take research note cards on.  The focus has been to put the content and ideas into their own words before creating a rough draft.  After doing their research rough drafts, students are getting peer feedback before their final drafts. Most students are finished with their research and rough drafts. Once we complete these, each student will be posting their work on to their blogs.

The school beautification group has been researching the significance and impact of the murals at Chicano Park.  Next week we are planning to have a field trip to the park on Thursday, December 6th.  We will be leaving at 9:30 and planning on staying for 1 hour.  Hopefully we will have enough parent drivers to take the entire class.  If we aren't able to get enough drivers, we will at least be taking the beautification group. Please click on the following link to sign up (drivers).

I'm pleased to say that students are really getting into their book clubs.  Each class is roughly half way through their books.  The skills we have been focusing on are using visualization of the text, making text to self connections, reading aloud, and summarizing the key points of the story.  Ask your child what is their favorite part of the story so far.  Also be sure to keep up with the 20 minute nightly reading goal that we set during student led conferences.

This Thursday evening we are asking for parents to come and show support for our charter renewal. The school board will be meeting at 4100 Normal St. 92103 at 5:00.  If you would like to speak to the board about our school please email me and let me know.  It is important for the board to hear why you think our school's charter should be renewed.  Thanks again for all of your continuing support!    

Class Elections and Great Learning

We are excited to announce our newly elected class officials; Aidan/president, Max/vice president, Kai and Mateo/judges, Fallon/secretary, Lizzie/treasurer.  The class elections were much like our national elections, it was a very close race! I would like to thank everyone who participated in our election. One thing that we all learned from the speeches that the students gave was about the branches of government.  This is an important concept to understanding the concepts behind the U.S. constitution and its significance as the foundation of the American republic (standard 5.7).

Last week, we began our new book clubs.  The class is either reading Island of the Blue Dolphins or Holes. We are using these wonderful novels to fulfill the standard of analyzing grade-level-appropriate text (standard 3.0).  Each day, we are reading a chapter or two then we are generating a written response in our reading journals.  Our focus last week was identifying the setting the story and making predictions about what will happen next in the story.  We also began looking at the character traits of the main characters of the story (standard 3.3).

The focus in social studies has been understanding the political, religious, social, and economic institutions that evolved during the colonial era (standard 5.4).  Ask your child what the significance of the Mayflower compact was.  Tell them to explain what The House of Burgesses was or what the difference between a Puritan and Separatist is.  This coming week, students will be acting in the play-"Starving Time."  This is a short skit that clearly illustrates the hardships that the first settlers of Jamestown faced.

We have made great progress last week on our service projects.  The students managed to obtain several highly qualified scientists to come in and speak to the class about environmental issues.  Students are making phone calls, recruiting parent volunteers, and creating plans to manage and budget their projects.  It is wonderful see the level of engagement rise when students are making real word connections and finding their learning purposeful!

School service projects

I would like to thank all of the students and parents who participated in student led conferences they all went really well.  Please remember that to reach some of these goals, we need parent involvement at home.  Practicing multiplication facts and reading aloud to your child is a simple way to get students to excel in class.
Another thing that would be an excellent activity to try at home would be holding weekly family meetings. Each member of the family can have a voice about the household issues and any fun future plans you are making. That way your family can reinforce the positive discipline tools that they are learning in the classroom. These could be a wonderful way for your student to practice leadership and speaking skills by leading the meeting.  Perhaps they could work on writing in the family agenda log by being secretary?  By holding weekly meetings, you can help maintain a consistency between home life and school.

Last week students began on their school service projects.  The students divided into teams based of their interests.  Many of the projects will require outside assistance from parents and the community.  The students    decided that they wanted to form a green outreach team, school beautification crew, newspaper and documentary group, and a fundraising committee.  Students are very excited to be giving back to the community.

The students have been planning a Halloween party this Wednesday.  They decided that they wanted to have a dance party in one room and a movie playing in the other room so students could have an option as to which activity they would like to participate in.  The party will begin right after lunchtime (1:15).  If you would like to help out bringing items to the party please click on the following link. PARTY  We would like to encourage healthy choices for our children so please avoid bringing soda and candy.

Student led conferences

Don't forget that this week we are having our first student led conferences.  If you have not already signed up for them, please click on the following link. SLCs Please remember that SLCs are not parent teacher conferences.  This is an opportunity for your child to reflect on their work so far this year and to make goals for the school year. Students need to be doing a majority of the speaking and showing their work.

This week we are finishing up working on our autobiographical narratives about a time that they solved a problem in their life.  We discussed how excellent writers spend a majority of their time planning and pre-writing their work.  I am truly amazed at the quality of the work produced by our authors.  We have been practicing on getting feedback to improve the quality of our work.  Students are also creating morals and themes to our stories.  Ask your child what the moral of their story is.  You might be surprised by the insight your child has!

Last week we continued to have debates.  Students were very engaged in our topic- Which lifestyle is easier,  the Native Americans or modern life?  It was a great experience to learn how to respectfully disagree with our classmates without taking things personally.  Students learned great public speaking and listening skills through this activity.  I look forward to having more debates about various topics throughout the year.

Just a reminder, this month students are completing their book club reviews.  Depending on how long their book was, I gave them the option to choose when the due date of the review was.  All work must be completed no later than by the end of the month.  As a class, we brainstormed options of how each student could present their work.  Some students are creating power points, book blogs, and dioramas.  There is no shortage of creativity when it comes to these reports.  If your child is taking their book home, please make sure that your child is bringing their book back to school everyday.  I encourage you to read with your child at night and ask questions about what they are reading.

 

Fascinating Field trip Fun

I would like to thank all of the parents who took time out of their busy schedule to drive on our field trip.This week we got to go visit some very rich local history.  We journeyed back in time to the first Mexican land grant estate.  Along the way, we paused to make nature drawings and create poems about nature using figurative language.

I am excited as a hummingbird-Fallon

I am as clam as a waterfall- Morgan

Rivers and swamps splish and splash, I am a wet frog

a croak, a rib-bit 

like an amphibian exhibit- Mila

Beautiful bumblebees buzz busily-James

I was as calm as the river

My mother, my sister,

the giver...

Boys bouncing boisterously

sometimes missing the subtlety 

life is the flower glistening in the sun-Bill

I am as fast a a cheetah chasing its prey-Brecken

The tree was a tall tall tree and looked like a green breeze-Alec

Today told time...

I was as hot as the sun-Alan

One day goats will die,

rise up high

big and small

tall and all,

they can go 

to know

but crows oh no-D

I popped like a berry

I'm as protective as a wolf for its cubs-Kai

When I walked on the lazy rocks they winced

The wind chimes laughed at me

as they flew back and forth-Mateo

Alden's amazing armadillo acts awesome-Alden

I'm as small as a crayfish and as quiet as a butterfly-Gabi

Tree trunks triumphed like a trumpet-Grant

My mother is as sweet as a berry-Max

I am as small as a bumble bee

as quiet as the wind-Heidi

Julius' jewel jumped joyously on Jack's jackrabbit-Julius

The river rushes rapidly by the bridge-Is'haq

Clouds could cough calmly

water waved warmly

people played playfully-Dylan

Cattails were as soft as tiger's fur-Julia

Paige's purple pigs played in the park-Paige

Tahti's tiger thinks that he is a ballerina-Tahti

The weeping willow spoke to me, 

It made me feel like I can breath

the sunlight shines on the morning dew

a flower bloomed for love and truth-Aidan 

Making Change Possible

This week is going to be an exciting week.  We are planning on going on a field trip this Wednesday, October 10.  We will be venturing down the road to Rancho Penisquitos, which is known for its rich local history.  It is the site of one of the first Mexican adobe house ranch estates.  We will need to have parent volunteers shuttle children and help chaperon. Please use the following link to sign up. Field Trip

In humanities this week, we are pre-writing our personal autobiographical narratives.  Our stories are focusing on a time in our lives when we solved a problem.  We are also studying different uses of figurative language.  Students have been creating posters about metaphors, personification, similes, hyperbole, characterization, and alliterations.  We will be using these literary devices to create a poem that will go along   with the collage that the students have already created.

Also this week we are going to create a family survey questionnaire. This fulfills the "Where do I come from?"component of our My Portal project.  Please take some time this week to answer the questions with your child. The students will be compiling this information into a paragraph about what they learned about their family heritage.

I am please to announce that my book, The Cartoon History of the United States, has arrived!  We will be reading the book for guided reading. Students will be generating questions about the reading, finding unknown words, and writing summaries.  I have used the book in the past and found that my students really enjoyed learning about history this way.

Expressing our Dreams

This week has been a very exciting week indeed.  I would like to thank all of the parents who came out to back-to-school night.  It was wonderful to have the opportunity to connect with you on Thursday night.  I look forward to getting to know each and everyone of you more throughout the year.

As part of our social emotional program, we have started down our path on the 8-to Great highway.  Our first highway is "get the picture."  The activity that we did during morning meeting was looking at Dreams vs. goals.  Goals are specific and measurable while dreams are more bold, grand, and imaginative.  I was amazed at how thoughtful  and attentive the students were during this particular share-out.  Ask you child what their dream is, you might be surprised by their answer.

This week in writing, we worked on writing friendly letters to ourselves.  At the end of the year, students will open their letters to see how much they have grown.  Each student measured themselves with yarn and then placed the cut string in the envelope with the letters.  It will be amazing to open these at the end of the year and see our growth.  Also this week we have started "Bill's Bodacious Bookworm Club." Each student will be choosing an appropriate leveled reading book. As a class, we generated a list of possible end products that suit each child's learning style preference.

We also began looking at the use of figurative language for our writing.  We will be analyzing lyrics of songs the children are interested in and looking for examples of metaphors, personification, alliteration, etc.  It could be a great opportunity to stay connected with what music your child is listening to. Ask your child what one of their favorite songs are and read the lyrics together!

What an amazing class

This week we have really stepped it up into high gear.  One of our power writing topics this week was, "What type of environment do we need to be successful in writing?" It was wonderful watching the students transform their environment by reflecting what works for them during writing.  Some of the shared responses were- "we need a quite space," "the environment needs to be kept clean," "sit next to someone who will not distract you."  Afterwards we conducted an experiment to test what we decided.  I posed the hypothesis, "Will we get more work done if we follow these guidelines?" Sure enough, when students were given the chance to self-regulate, all the students were able to complete the assignment for the day.

The students created a goal setting sheet that we will be used to help make some positive personal changes.  We looked at our particular strengths and weaknesses and specific academic, personal, and social goals.  I created a goal of having more consistent parent communication, so be expecting a phone call from Alexis or me soon!

For social studies, we finished collaboration on our classroom constitution.  For each right that we want, we have a corresponding responsibility.  We also discussed a way for students to self-asses using a scale from "D to A."
D=democratic
C=cooperation
B=bullying/bossing
A=anarchy
If your child comes home telling you they want to be a "D" student, that is a good thing.  In the next few weeks, we are going to be looking at the issues that are facing America today.  The upcoming presidential elections are going to provide a great opportunity to have some debates in the classroom.  We are fortunate to have such a real life connection to humanities.

Building Communities

This past week we have been continuing to work on mastering classroom procedures and routines. Students created classroom jobs and wrote detailed descriptions of the jobs.  When children are included in the decision making process, they tend to take more ownership of their jobs.  We have also been practicing how to give feedback to each other to improve the quality of work.  Our motto is that feedback needs to be kind, helpful, and specific.  This year, we will use feedback to create multiple drafts and beautiful work.
We  have begun to work on our "powerful sentences" and "power writing" to improve writing fluency and content.  We have also started reading and responding to literature.  If you have not done so already, please make sure that your child brings a novel to school that is at their reading level. We are also beginning to look at the American constitution as a basis for creating our classroom constitution.  By analyzing our government, we will come up with a list of rights and responsibilities that we will use as our rules for the classroom.

First Week

I am very excited to have competed our first week of fifth grade. This week our focus has been on team building activities and getting to know each other.  We also have been going over the expectations of the classroom routines.  Next week we will be drafting our classroom constitution and creating the vision of what we want our year to be like.
Remember that we are setting up our portfolios right now, so please make sure that your child has a three inch, three-ringed binder.  Also be sure that your child has 3 spiral notebooks too.  It appears that we have enough tissue and paper towels for now so don't worry about bringing in those items if you have not done so already.  If you have any further questions or concerns feel free to contact me at-bill@innovationsacademy.org.

Supply list for next year

Dear Families,

I am very excited to announce that Alexis Stoner is going to be the new 5th grade math/science teacher!  I hope that everyone has a fun and productive summer.  I can't wait to see all of the new faces as well as returning students of IA next year. This upcoming year is going to be fantastic!
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 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 and Alexis

USB Flash Drive *
4 boxes of #2 pencils (not the cheapest)
Calculator *
Backpack
2 packages of erasers
Choice Independent Reading Book *
Any used books or magazines to donate to the class
3 spiral notebooks *
Scissors with 5" point tip
3" durable three ring-binder *
200 page packs of loose leaf filler paper
Ruled index cards
Glue sticks
Modeling clay
Scotch tape
Drawing compass (high-quality)
2 boxes of Colored pencils
1 package of multicolored sharpie pens
reusable water bottle (stainless steel preferred)

Disinfectant wipes
Hand soap
Kleenex
Paper towels

Final Week!

First of all, I would like to thank all of the families who made it out to family night.  I believe it was our most successful exhibition we have had this year! We couldn't have done it without you.
 Looking back on this year fills my heart with many fond memories.  I am very proud of the community we built together. I will miss you all very much and I hope everyone will have a fun-fulfilled summer!
We are still in need of drivers for field trips on Wednesday and Thursday.  For our waterfall hike on Wednesday, it would be okay if you just wanted to shuttle children but not stay and chaperon. The trail head is only 2 miles away.

Presentation of Learning

Next week we will begin our POLs.  This is the time of year when we reflect on our learning.  We definitely have had our share of growth and struggles too! This is a fantastic opportunity to hear students share about their experiences here this year. Please use the sign up page link "POLs" to sign up for a time to observe your child presenting all that they have learned.  Presentations will begin on Tuesday, June 5th, right after lunch.  Please come and show support for your child taking ownership of their education.

3 more weeks!

I honestly can't believe how quickly the year has gone by.  Although when you look at how much our fifth graders have grown, they do seem to have changed dramatically since the beginning of the year.  I am so proud of them.
I wanted to thank all of the parents who drove and chaperoned on our field trip to the Ruben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center.  The students were very excited about all that they learned and discovered there.

Please remember that this week we have a four day weekend. There will be no school on Friday or Monday.
Also make a note that on June 6th, we will have our final family night.  Students will be presenting their "Is it Food?" projects that night. Part of the requirement for this project is presenting their work to the community.  Please try to come and support your student.  There will be food and some fun activities planned, so stay tuned.  On the last week of school we will have the following schedule. We are planning on having a beach clean-up/party day on the 14th. If you are able to drive,  please click on the link "drivers."  I apologize for the trouble that some of you encountered last time trying to sign up on my documents page.  I think that I clicked the view only option!

Monday-6/ 11 Make tie-dyes

Tuesday-6/12 Chick-filet providing lunch and games, sign t-shirts

Wednesday-nothing scheduled

Thursday-6/14 Coronado Beach Party (need drivers, lunch will be provided)

Friday-6/15 Promotion Ceremony 10:30 (Parents will bring fruit, cookies,etc.)

Upcoming Field Trip 5-22-12

Tuesday of next week we are going on a field trip to the Ruben H. Fleet space theater and science center.  The cost will be $10.00 for students and $12.50 for adults.  If you are able to drive and chaperon, please click on the link "drivers. " We will be leaving after morning meeting at 9:30.  Make sure that your child brings a sack lunch and a water bottle.

Student Led Conferences

I can't believe how quickly the year has gone by! It is already time for student led conferences next week.  This is an opportunity for your child to reflect on how the year went and look at their work portfolios.  Please take a moment and sign up your child on the following document student conferences. Remember this is not a parent/teacher conference.  Please arrive early so you can look over portfolios prior to the conference.

Cool Science Fun

The perfect activity for 4,5,6 th grade families to do in lieu of homework. The non-profit Synopsys Foundation’s i3 Science Program is for any of your 4, 5 and 6 grade students who have shown a special interest in science. The objective: fuel that interest and step it up to the next level. Participants receive a certificate of achievement and a $ 15Amazon.com gift certificate upon completion. It’s easy. Parents submit a consent form and receive a link to register via email. Then, with parental supervision, the student performs or participates in science activities outside the classroom. Each activity is worth points. The points add up and the student earns the certificates.
Please take a moment to review the i3 website at  http://i3science.org/

Is it food?

Today we have begun our final project for the year, "Is it Food?" We will be looking at all aspects of our food, from nutritional labels to best agricultural practices.  Our first assignment will be to create a week-long food journal complete with 5 photos.  This will be used to determine whether we are eating a balanced, well nutritious diet. I am also sending home a permission slip for the movie Food, Inc. It is a PG movie but it does contain some graphic images of animals in feed lots.  Please sign and return the permission slip as soon as possible.  We are planning on watching the movie as soon as we get permission slips signed.
In addition to our food project, we are still in the midst of STAR testing.  We will continue to prepare for our math test next week.  We will finish up the language arts test this Thursday.  If your child feels nervous about the test, discuss with them their feelings. Having test anxiety is a sure way do not do as well! Sometimes simply talking with your child can help alleviate worry.   

STAR testing

It is that time of year again! Tomorrow, April 19th, we are going to be taking the California STAR test for science. The following Tuesday and Thursday we will be taking the English and Math portions of the test. During class council today, we discussed possible fears or nervousness that the children might be experiencing as a result of the upcoming test. We agreed that the test is only one way to measure learning. We talked about all of the different ways that we have learned and grown this year. Innovations Academy is working towards portfolio assessments where both child and teacher have input into the evaluation process. So many subjects and types of intelligence are not measured on the state test. Musical and artistic ability are just two examples that are not covered on the test. That being said, it is still important that we encourage our children to get plenty of food and rest the night before the test. IA at this time still working under the paradigm of being measured by the state testing.

Presentations this Friday

All parents are welcome to come to our class this Friday when we present our disaster projects to our school community. Starting at 11:00, classes will be stopping by to celebrate our hard work and learn about natural disasters that could potentially happen here. Along with informative student work on display, we will have our disaster preparedness kit too. If you don't already have one, now is your chance to win one in our raffle. The cost of a ticket will be $2.00 each or 3 tickets for $5.00. The value of our kit exceeds $50.00 so you could end up saving quite a bit of money and time it would otherwise take to assemble the kit. Some of the items included are; food and water, a first aid kit, a gas shut-off tool, and an emergency radio just to name a few.

Almost Spring Break!

I would like to thank all of the families who came to family night and donated materials to our disaster kits. Our disaster kit is almost complete for auction! Today we made models of volcanoes to show when we present our projects.

Yesterday we assembled our raised planter boxes. In addition to having raised beds, we are digging up the soil in the back so we can amend it with gypsum. We are finding the work to be very difficult due to the very rocky, clay-soil we are dealing with. If any families have a pickax, we could surely use one!

In writing, we are drafting our persuasive essay about making a change at our school. Right now we are looking for evidence to support our reasons. Don't be surprised if your child starts coming up with some convincing arguments for what they want! We have been practicing doing just that. Ask your child what issue they are writing about. They have so many great ideas on ways to make our school better.

In math this week we made fraction kits. Fraction kits are a great way to see the relationships that exist between equivalent fractions. We played a game called "cover up" where we rolled fraction dice and added the number we rolled to our one whole. The object of the game was to see that one whole can be made up of many different sized fractions.

Happy Spring!

Dear IA families,

This Wednesday, we are having a our family night 4:30-7:30. Please stop by our classroom to see classwork, sign in, and take a look at our Scholastic Book Fair. One of our Charter School goals is to have 100% parent participation every semester. Family night is a great way to help us meet our goal of parent participation.

In class, we are continuing with our disaster preparedness kits. I will be sending home a handout with a list of items that you need for your home disaster kit. Each student will be responsible for contributing an item to our class kit that we will sell for a class raffle/fundraiser. In addition to the kit, each family will be completing a disaster plan.

In our Writers' workshop, we have begun drafting our persuasive essays. Each student is picking a topic that has to do with making a change at our school. We are looking at the pros and cons of each issue and deciding how to best make our argument. Some of the topics that the students have come up with are; more P.E. at school, healthier snack foods in the office, appropriate dress code, school uniforms, being a "green school" model, and having choice for our exploration classes.

In math this week, we are comparing different methods multiplication that we have learned. So far we have studied the lattice method, traditional algorithmic, chunking, and foil methods. Ask your child to explain the various ways of doing multiplication. You might learn an easier method than the one you learned in school! This week we are learning how to do the partial quotients method for division. I really like this method because it allows students to use their number sense to help them with division problems.

March update

I want to first of all thank all of the families who bought tickets to our family dance! It is a great way to show your support for our school and have fun at the same time.

In class, we have started a new science project. It began as a simple real-life math problem. I recently purchased three 30 gallon tanks for emergency water. The class figured out that my family and I have approximately 30 days of water stored. One of our classmates, Chris, asked, "What about my family's emergency water supply?" Afterwards, we started discussing different types of natural disasters and their impact on people. Rather than be frightened, we decided it would be most powerful to change our worry into action. We decided that we are each going to research a natural disaster and report to our community what to do in each event and what to have prepared in our disaster kits. In addition to our research reports and presentations, each student will be writing a disaster plan that will need some parent input. Students will contribute some items to a disaster kit that we are making together. Once we have assembled the kit, we will be auctioning off the kit to one lucky family.

This week in our math we are learning about prime factorization and factor trees. Ask your child about the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. We are also comparing the different methods we are using for multiplication.

This week we celebrated our writing that we have published this week. I had so much fun listening to all of the wonderful stories that the children have written. I especially enjoyed Kyle's story about the zombie on the playground. I am amazed at how wonderful our stories are and how far we have evolved as writers. The students are using figurative language and learning how to give positive feedback to their peers. Keep up the great work class!

March update

I want to first of all thank all of the families who bought tickets to our family dance! It is a great way to show your support for our school and have fun at the same time.

In class, we have started a new science project. It began as a simple real-life math problem. I recently purchased three 30 gallon tanks for emergency water. The class figured out that my family and I have approximately 30 days of water stored. One of our classmates, Chris, asked, "What about my family's emergency water supply?" Afterwards, we started discussing different types of natural disasters and their impact on people. Rather than be frightened, we decided it would be most powerful to change our worry into action. We decided that we are each going to research a natural disaster and report to our community what to do in each event and what to have prepared in our disaster kits. In addition to our research and presentation, each student will be writing a disaster plan that will need parent input. Each student will contribute some items to a disaster kit that we are making together. Once we have assembled the kit, we will be auctioning off the kit to one lucky family.

This week in our math we are learning about prime factorization and factor trees. Ask your child about the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. We are also comparing the different methods we are using for multiplication.

This week we celebrated our writing that we have published this week. I had so much fun listening to all of the wonderful stories that the children have written. I especially enjoyed Kyle's story about the zombie on the playground. I am amazed at how wonderful our stories are and how far we have evolved as writers. The students are using figurative language and learning how to give positive feedback to their peers. Keep up the great work class!

Awesome Learners!

I would like to thank all of the parents who volunteered for our field trip last week to City Farmers. We have begun our preparations for our raised planter boxes. The students are making scale drawings of the plot of land in our backyard space. It sure is handy knowing how to calculate the perimeter so we can figure out how much wood we will need. We are planning on having at least 5 planter boxes in our space. Each bed is going to be approximately 3ft by 5ft. According to Bill Hall, from City Farmers, the height should be 1ft tall. The boards are going to be 2x6in in dimension. Ask your child how much wood we are going to need in all. We are going to be building them as soon as we get the wood. If you would like to donate 2x6in pieces of wood let me know. We don't mind using recycled wood, as long as it is in good condition.

Last week we held our History exhibition night and community outreach. The children worked very hard on their presentations. I was surprised that only small percentage of parents stopped by to see our displays. I know that many of us have busy lives so if there are other times than right after school to view student exhibitions, please let me know so I can set up an alternative time for people to come in. Even just 15 minutes of your time would mean a lot to us!

Our next project that we are beginning, we will be looking at our physical science standards though the lens of the foods we eat. I will be asking students to bring in food labels so we can begin analyzing what elements our foods are made up of.

We also need donations of disinfectant wipes (we are out).

Happy Valentine's Day

This week we have been presenting our History projects and I am impressed with the quality of work that I am seeing. Next week, as part of our project, we are going to be showcasing our projects for our community outreach night. This is happening from 3:00 to 6:00 on Thursday, February 23rd. I am asking that students stay after school to present their work to the community and parents too. Please make an effort to stop by so we can show off all our hard work to you. Afterwards, we will be showing a movie, Race to Nowhere, a movie about our current education paradigm. Don't forget that we have a four day weekend this week. There will be no school this Friday or Monday.

Spring Semester

I am excited to announce that we will be taking a field trip to one of my favorite nurseries, City Farmers. We will be looking at ways to study plants and beautify the school grounds by adding some "green features." We will have the chance to contribute to the backyard project that Michael's class is spearheading. The plan is to have parents carpool the students to the nursery and have a short guided tour. We are planning on going on Wednesday, the 22nd of this month. Please let me know if you are able to drive and chaperon once we arrive. As a class, we will decide if there is any items we wish to purchase and possibly have donated. Bill, the owner, has often been generous with schools in the past.

Academically, we are continuing to work on our personal narratives. Our focus has been concentrated on adding figurative language to our writing. We have discussed the different ways of doing this such as; hyperbole, simile, metaphor, alteration, and personification. For math, we have begun a new unit on algebraic thinking and reasoning. Students have been challenged to use variables to represent unknown numbers. Linear function equations are then used to plot points on coordinate (x,y) graphs. We had fun today playing tic-tac-toe, using these coordinate graphs. We have also had conversations about how we can speak and write like mathematicians. Ask your child what they accomplished in math today, the answer might surprise you!

Next week is the due date for our historical narratives. Many students are finishing these up right now. Eventually we will be presenting them in various ways, including skits, living museums, and power-points.

Updated POL Schedule

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

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.