Thursday, April 12, 2018
Thursday, March 03, 2016
Fwd: 302 Newsletter February 29, 2016
Dear Families,
The Valentine Party was perfect. I always love seeing the dedication and personalization students put into their cards. It's a perfect way to use the writing skills we're trying to teach. Thank you to all who sent snacks and things.
Here are some other updates:
Traveling Farm Volunteer We have a group called Traveling Farm coming on Monday, March 7. In order to receive the Traveling Farm at no cost, one of the requirements is that we provide the volunteers. Each class is asked to provide one. So if you are willing and able, please send me your contact information so I can tell Mrs. Evans. For more information, see the attached letter. On Monday March 7th the volunteer(s) will need to be here from 8:45-11:15. | Picture Day Class picture day is March 4. I've been asked to "send out a friendly reminder [for students] not to wear Green or Solid white on Picture Day….wearing Green on a Green Screen makes you invisible". This will be our class picture, but I think they can do individual ones as well. |
Book Orders I have not been able to send out paper book orders. But our class site is still available. Go to https://clubs2.scholastic.com and use our Class Activation Code:HJHTW. You can pay online. Scholastic will notify me when the order is ready and I will submit it for you. | Class Contact Reminder If you would like to see contact information for the families in our class, as well as add your own, remember the link I set up at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Wg-RFuIvnBdvAxomlVSVPCrk2-ZdKyYNwDN53L8U65Q/edit?usp=sharing. This is voluntary, but I thought it might be useful. |
Finally, I hope families will be able to join us at school on Thursday evening for our Literacy Night. The sheet we sent home today has all the details. I think it will be fun for all, and a night well spent.
As always, let me know if you have questions.
Thank you.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Room 302 News
Dear Families,
Last week our third graders explored an online math program called Khan Academy. They learned how to log in using their new district Google Account, took a quick test, and practiced some skills.
Khan Academy has some really great features:
It determines their skill level and gives them tasks according to their individual needs.
It gives them Mastery Challenges to determine if they mastered specific skills.
It allows them to assign a math coach (me) so I can make recommendations for them, and so I can track their progress.
It gives them hints when they are learning a new skill.
It shows videos to help teach new skills.
It gives them immediate feedback so they know if they did a problem correctly.
It allows them to review math concepts, and to explore beyond what we teach in third grade.
Our class was buzzing with enthusiasm as they learned how to use Khan Academy to enrich their math learning. We assigned it for homework that first day, and most kids who tried it were successful. If you have tried it at home with their new Google Accounts I'd appreciate your feedback. For those students who forget, they have to choose "sign in with Google".
Also on Friday, I took few minutes to show them around their new email accounts, and things they could do. They were quite excited to see the few things I explained. More information is here.
The one thing I was very clear on was reminding them to always get permission before using these sites, or any of our other sites.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Good luck and have fun!
Best Regards,
302 Newsletter
We're very low on snack. For those who send snack to share.
Mrs. Smith asks that we remind everyone " to have kiddos wear appropriate gym shoes on PE days. They can also bring shoes to change into. Boots and shoes with heels are not safe to move around in the gym, hard on their feet when we jog for several minutes and they can't go on the climbing wall with these. It's really a tool to do their best work safely :)
We finished Volume One of our math workbooks. I'm sending them home. They still contain pages and pages of resources the student may use to practice multiplication and division, as well as other things. Please keep them at home and use as you see fit.
From our technology department: Students in the Enumclaw School District now possess an Enumclaw School District Google Apps for Education Account, which includes access to a variety of Google tools for learning and work, as well as their own business email (Gmail) account. More information here.
Any questions? Just let me know.
Fwd: Conference Reminder
Dear Families,
Just a reminder that conferences are coming up in the next few days before Thanksgiving. Please plan to bring your child with you. I'm planning for 20-25 minutes. We will start with any questions you may have, and then show you some of the work we've been doing. If you need a reminder of the time, just let your child know and he or she can write it down and bring it home. If you have siblings with you, that's absolutely fine. We can find something for them to do while we conference.
See you soon.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Newsletter, October, 2015
Room 302
Newsletter 10/25/15
Dear Families,
I hope things are going well. Here are 3 things I need to share with you:
I try for conferences to be about 20 minutes. That way I don't go over and mess up the times for all the people that follow. (And I don't mess up the times for all the teachers waiting for the parents who come to them after me.) Please bring the students to the conferences with you. They will be the ones sharing their work. It's a great chance for them to demonstrate their learning.
The log-in name is their school log-in, with "@paleblue.in" at the end. The password is their school number, followed by the first initial. For example, imaginary student Bill Smith might use 25bsmith@paleblue.in for his log-in and 0619898b.
As always, please let me know if you have questions about any of this.
Jeff
Wednesday, September 09, 2015
Newsletter 3.....follow up.....math
The exit slips are a quick way to practice/review the main math skill taught that day. If your child can't do the work, please help if you can. If you teach it differently than I do, great. Now the child has two ways to look at a problem. If neither of you know what to do, that's fine too. That happens in real life all the time. What I want at that point is for the child to come to school, ask me about it, learn it, and then go back home and teach the parent.
The back of the exit slip will have a skill taught/learned previously at some point...and which the child still needs to know. Math is builds upon itself, so they need to remember and use it all.
Newsletter 3, 15-16
Dear Families,
I like the four-day weeks to start. It lets us build stamina slowly. We are spending time getting used to each other and getting used to our 3rd grade routines. This letter has some of the same information as the last, just in case you missed it.
Snack
We eat lunch at 1:00; that's four hours after school starts. It's a long time to go without food, so please consider sending snack—either daily just for your child, or once in awhile to share with others who would rather do it that way. I'll get a rough count on who prefers what once we start.
The best things to send are healthy, and easy to distribute evenly. No peanuts please.
Music and P.E.
We have Physical Education with Mrs. Smith and Music Education with Miss Olds on Mondays and Fridays.
Homework
We want homework to be accessible to all kids at their learning level. And, we want it to focus on what we consider the most important skills to learn in elementary school: enjoying reading and becoming a fluent reader with strong comprehension!
So, our policy is as follows:
1. Four days/week (Monday-Thursday) the students will bring home a math exit slip. It is a two-sided half sheet that allows them to practice the skill we targeted in class that day, and to review a skill that was already taught. Students should return it to school the next day.
2. Each day they will practice their multiplication and division math facts for 5 minutes. This can be done independently and sometimes they can have a partner test them.
3. Each day they will read to themselves. Each day they will have an adult read to them! This includes the weekends!
4. They will be given a reading and math log each month to keep track of their math fact practice and reading. Both student and adult initial the boxes to show what they did each day. They keep the log in the back of their red folder.
5. We will use the monthly logs and the exit slip returns for the homework grade on the report card as follows: 6-7 times per week=Meets Expectations; 5 times per week=Approaches Expectations; less than 5 times per week=below expectations.
Please email or call if you have any questions!
--
Tuesday, September 08, 2015
Newsletter 2 2015
Sincerely,
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
15-16 News
- 1 box 24 ct Crayola crayons
- 5 large glue sticks
- 3 dozen #2 pencils (Ticonderoga preferred, available in bulk at Costco)
- 2 black sharpies (fine tip and regular tip)
- Pencil top erasers
- 2 dry erase markers
- 5 wide-ruled spiral notebooks (70 sheets is enough)
- 2 folders with 3 hole fasteners
- 1 pair Fiskar scissors
- 1 pencil sharpener with shavings box
- 2 blue or red ball point pens
- 1 pack sticky notes
- Earphones (in a Ziploc with name)
- 1 water bottle
- Tissues
- 1 box Ziploc bags (any size)
- 1 super star kid, ready to have fun and learn!
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Newsletter 13
Newsletter 13 2014-2015 5/26/2015
Dear Families,
State computer testing is done.
And that is that.
My advice to everyone involved would be to minimize the importance—no matter what the results. I think it's what we see each and every day that really matters. If I gave my three kids a written test on manners, they'd probably all pass. But what I really care about is how they conduct themselves each and every day. The test cannot measure or predict that.
Similarly, I can give the students all kinds of reading tests. But the real test for me is whether they want to read away from school. Kids who want to read, will read. They don't need to be told or reminded. That's my goal. (Of course, it never hurts to stack the deck a bit: regular trips to the library, interesting read-alouds, magazine subscriptions, and sharing your reading with them are all things that nudge them in the right direction.) I hope you're seeing voluntary reading. If not, I'd be happy to talk about ways to encourage this over the summer.
Fact Practice
Our final timed test is at the end of May. My goal is for every third grader to start fourth grade with facts memorized. Keep the practice going.
Art Show
The third grade classes have their papier-mâché animal sculptures on display at the high school art show. It's open to the public this Thursday from 5:00-8:00. It is in the high school commons and down a hall. Look for the signs. I hope you can make it.
Upcoming Academics
The year is winding down. We are not. We have lots left, including 3 field trips; finishing our study of area, perimeter, and fractions; and writing fairy tales and informational reports about Black Diamond (two separate things J). I'll be sending more information about the field trips at a later date, but I wanted to remind everyone that there is volunteer paperwork to fill out if you want to join us.
Please email or call if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Jeff
BoletÃn 13 2014-2015 12/05/2015
Estimadas familias,
Pruebas de equipo Estado se hace.
Y es eso.
Mi consejo para todos los involucrados serÃa minimizar la importancia, no importa lo que los resultados. Creo que es lo que vemos todos los dÃas que realmente importa. Si yo di mis tres hijos una prueba escrita de modales, que habÃa probablemente todo pase. Pero lo que realmente importa es cómo se comportan cada uno y todos los dÃas. La prueba no puede medir o predecir eso.
Del mismo modo, puedo dar a los estudiantes todo tipo de pruebas de lectura. Pero la verdadera prueba para mà es si quieren leer fuera de la escuela. Los niños que quieren leer, se lee. Ellos no necesitan que se les diga o recordado. Ese es mi objetivo. (Por supuesto, nunca está de apilar la cubierta un poco: viajes regulares a la biblioteca e interesantes de lectura en voz alta, suscripciones a revistas, y compartiendo su lectura con ellos son todas las cosas que les empujón en la dirección correcta.) Espero que 're viendo la lectura voluntaria. Si no es asÃ, yo estarÃa encantado de hablar sobre maneras de fomentar este durante el verano.
Hecho Práctica
Nuestra prueba cronometrada final es a finales de mayo. Mi meta es que cada estudiante de tercer grado para iniciar el cuarto grado con hechos memorizados. Mantener la práctica de ir.
Muestra de Arte
Las clases de tercer grado tienen sus esculturas de animales de cartón piedra que se exhiben en la feria de arte de la escuela secundaria. Está abierto al público este jueves de 5:00-8:00. Es en los bienes comunes de la escuela secundaria y por un pasillo. Busque las señales. Espero que pueda hacerlo.
Próximos Académicos
El año está por terminar. No somos. Tenemos un montón de izquierda, incluyendo 3 viajes de estudio; terminando nuestro estudio de área, perÃmetro, y las fracciones; y escritura de cuentos de hadas y los informes informativos sobre Diamante Negro (dos cosas separadas ). Voy a enviar más información acerca de los viajes de estudio en una fecha posterior, pero querÃa recordar a todos que hay papeleo de voluntarios para llenar si desea unirse a nosotros.
Este es mi primer intento de utilizar Google Translator para toda mi boletÃn de noticias. Por favor, hágamelo saber si le resulta útil. También me gustarÃa saber si no tiene sentido. Gracias.
Por favor, correo electrónico o llamar si tiene alguna pregunta.
Sincerely,
Jeff
