Rock Star Update 12/3/17

Good Evening,​

The newsletter has been posted, and sent home with your children for this week.  This week I will begin the second round of BAS testing, I love sitting with your children and seeing how much they have grown, but it tends to take away from teaching, so bear with me as the next couple of weeks may not be as exciting as usual. :)  I really am looking forward to sharing their growth with you upon the completion of the second round of BAS.  

This past week we were scheduled to connect with a school in Ghana, but unfortunately the internet would not connect. Regardless we did learn a lot about how the students over there learn, and we were able to take a look at their village and learn about their lives.  The teachers can have up to 50 students in a typical first grade class and they range in ages from six-ten years old. It was quite interesting, and because of this connection, I am now mentoring a group of teachers in literacy instruction.  The teachers there are quite different from here, they want scripted lesson plans, whereas we appreciate that we can make autonomous decisions about how to teach our students. Some of the charter schools I worked for made us follow scripted lesson plans, it's the worst!

We received letters from our pen pals this week!  The students will receive them this week and write back. I am holding on to all of the letters, so I can give them to you at the end of the year.  This week we are also scheduled to connect to a school in North Carolina and a school in Canada next week.  We love meeting new students and sharing!

A quick note about spelling quizzes.  If your child is in reading groups 3 or 4, they take the advanced spelling word tests. These words used to go home on a half sheet of paper, they are now on the weekly newsletter.  If your child is in reading groups 1 and 2, but would like to try and take the advanced test, let me know.  I know all of my students could do the advanced words, they are rock stars. :) 

This is always a busy and exciting time of year for the kids, perhaps a bit stressful for us!  There are many activities planned for this month.  Here is what is scheduled.

Wednesday, December 6th (6:00p.m.-8:00p.m.) Book Fair Family Night
I hope to see you there!

Monday, December 18th (8:30 a.m.) – Field Day 
Our color is Light Blue.  Karen, David's mom, will be working on tie-dying the shirts the next couple of weeks, thanks Karen! Please make sure your child is wearing comfortable shorts and sneakers.  You may want to put sunscreen on before school.  If your child would like to wear a hat that is fine, too.    If you would like to volunteer for Field Day, please make sure that you sign in at the office after drop off and walk across the street to Seminole Park. Coach Cameron can use all the help she can get!

Wednesday, December 20th (8:30 a.m.) - Winter Poetry Theater Show
Please dress your child in black and white.  We can't tell you what we are doing, but we guarantee that you will LOVE it! We will see you at the show! Plan to arrive early to grab the best seats!  I will record the show and put in on YouTube for those of you unable to attend. 

Thursday, December 21st  (11:30 a.m.) – Winter Party 
We will have pizza for lunch.  We will also have snacks and drinks.  You will not need to send lunch with your child on Thursday! No volunteers will be needed.

Friday, December 22nd (all day) - Polar Express/Pajama Day! 
We will have a surprise reading of The Polar Express by our Literacy Coach, Mrs. Chrystie.  We will also be watching The Polar Express.  Your child may wear pajamas and slippers to school, and bring a pillow, blanket and/or a stuffed toy.  If your child goes to an after-school program, you may want to send a change of clothes and sneakers.