December
This Week
Monday
* 7:30 EPR help session in the Gold Mine room
Tuesday
Wednesday
* 7:30 Book Study
* Jenny feedback on goals
Thursday
* 3rd grade plan day
* Jenny admin meeting
Friday
Reminders:
CMAS (Formally PARCC)
* Teachers in grades 3-5, please begin documenting accommodations for CMAS testing. A google form was shared with you to track these accommodations. Please see Libby if you have any questions.
EPRs
* Click here for expectations for comments and basic navigation strategies. All students should receive a personal comment and comments when they are not meeting standards. Please remember that report cards should not be surprises.
* A help session will be held on Monday, December 4, in the Gold Mine Room at 7:45.
* Report cards need to be shared with specials, sped, admin, Kristi and Jamie and Stephanie Brown.
* Report cards should be completed and submitted by the end of the day on December 21st.
* Kristi will host an EPR help session on Monday morning at 7:30 in the Gold Mine room.
IStation
* Administer to all students 12/4-12/15 for the middle of the year window
Blog
* Please post your December blog post. Please include upcoming learning and ways parents can help at home. If you can highlight math videos that showcase how students solve problems that would be great! See Jenny's parent blog post below. You can cute and paste this exact post if you'd like.
HELPING YOUR CHILD WITH MATH HOMEWORK
Math homework can often be a frustrating experience for children and parents. Parents were often taught traditional algorithms and do not know the strategies students are learning today. While these strategies promote a deeper conceptual understanding of key math concepts, it is difficult for parents to see the benefits when they are unaware of them themselves.
We have a great resource that will help! The Math Words and Ideas site from the Investigations Math Series has links to math videos that explain how all concepts are taught at each grade level.
Click here to access this site.
Simply click on your child's grade level at the left-hand side of the screen. When you click on a math concept additional subtopics appear. Each subtopic includes a short video explaining strategies taught at school. In the example below, third grade was selected on left and arrays was chosen under the concept of multiplication.
Watching these short videos are a great way to review how and why concepts were taught a certain way. You may even consider watching with your child. The presentation below provides a few additional tips to promote a love of math at home.
Click here for the presentation.
Misc.
* On December 13 during staff development please plan on meeting in the Gold Mine. This time will be decidicated to collaborating on RtI and Sped students.
* Our holiday party will be on December 15th after school at Stacie Martino's home. More details will follow, but put it on your calendar. You won't want to miss it?
Technology CoTeaching in Kindie
This week our kindergartners began studying the Sun. In order to digitally keep track of schema and new learning they learned the ever important skill of taking a screenshot in different iPad apps. Drawing Pad was used first to illustrate what they thought their schema was about the Sun. Then they took screenshots of their drawings, uploaded them to Seesaw, labeled the different parts of their schema drawing, and recorded their voice to describe their schema. Next as nonfiction readers they researched the Sun using Pebble Go and took a screenshot of a page that gave them new learning. After uploading their Pebble Go screenshot on Seesaw, students explained their new learning by labeling, drawing pictures, and recording their voice.
Please look at the examples below:
Schema Reflections:
New Learning Reflections:
*Conferring with Readers and Writers
*Strategies That Work
* The Next Steps in Guided Reading
Happy Birthday
Christy Schwalick - December 5th
Go For the Gold
* Thank you Christy Dismang and Anita Rudman for participating in our open enrollment open house Tuesday night!
* Thank you Jenny Brown for filling in for feedback meetings!
Golden Nuggets
Morning Announcements: Hawk
Lounge Duty: Petty/Simpson
