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.