Greetings Sixer's Families!
We have all been incredibly busy in Room 6 the past 3 weeks. The benefits of a strong existing community and the advantage of returning students make me so pleased to be a teacher here.
Our 5th graders have stepped up to the great responsibilities of being the "elders" and experts. They have all been a great help with the newbies, both in direct instruction and through modeling.
I will continue to expect this kind of behavior throughout the year even as the grade level distinction becomes less important.
I thank everyone who came into the classroom during our RSG conferences. We all hope that by next year the funds for the additional compensation will again be available so that all teachers in the school can find time for this important first meeting.
If we haven't met yet and you would still like to, please call me directly to set up a time.
In addition to goal setting and conferences, Leah and I have been very busy guiding students through a series of assessments: spelling, reading, math, writing samples, etc.
These assessments do take time and are not often a favorite activity for students.
However, the information provided will help us make informed decisions about instruction and grouping. I know most students' abilities so well, but this base leveling will be important for showing progress and development of skills.
The student-initiated and led bake sale to raise money for the Katrina victims was a great experience and huge success.
We raised about $145 in relief aid. This money will be forwarded to an appropriate organization to help the people that were most affected by the hurricane.
In discussing the hurricane and subsequent aid/relief, Julian reminded us of the great need for donations of food and money needed right here for our own local community.
In exploring this need, some students decided to ask our great OC families for a donation of non-perishable food items that could be taken over to the local food pantry.
As you may (or may not) know, the local pantries are incredibly low in stock this time of year.
The St. Vincent DePaul food panty has recently increased in size to better serve and provide a selection to families.
We will be accepting donations of food items all week. We will deliver the donations to the pantry on Friday.
With the student ideas and activities that I have seen in these couple weeks (all I can say is WOW) there is plenty you can do to be sure we are able to make these things happen.
Encourage your kids to explore these community ideas. (I know you do.) It will feed into the Terrace Town ideas nicely.
I will support most good ideas, but I sure could use some help. Even a "student-run" bake sale can use extra hands. (Thank you Nicki--Austin's mom--for helping out.)
If you can deliver goods to the pantry, for example, please let me know. Call me...it is sometimes hard for me to call all of you.
Can you:
Collate and organize student work to be sent home on Friday?
Copy/organize group work any one day of the week or once in a month?
Assist students in writing an "article" for web page, newsletters, Backpack News, or MMSD Staff news?
Come in once a week to run a games station at our afternoon math block?
Donations are being accepted for the Oct. 21 (6:00-7:30 p.m.) Silent Auction. This is one of the PTA's few fundraisers. Please email Lisa Cutting llcutting@charter.net
Further notice and clarification will be sent home soon. Volunteers are also being sought. It would be great to have an OC volunteer for each of these major fundraisers. PTA has already donated funds to each classroom and I expect I will apply for more for the OC.
The OCCC (Open Classroom Community Council) meeting was great on Tuesday. Many parents came out for our first "official" parent meeting.
We continue to organize this event to accommodate everyone and to be sure all voices are heard. Please look for the minutes of this meeting to be sent home very soon.
Linda Levi has agreed to be one of the two parent reps from Room 6 on the OCCC. Thank you Linda.
Language Arts in Room 6
Writing the Sixers have done in the past 2 weeks is very impressive-and expressive! We have been working on writing to show our thoughts, feelings, ideas, and experiences.
Fiction writing is wonderful too, but 4th and 5th graders must learn to communicate their ideas effectively.
We will begin essay writing as a weekly homework task this week with the first emphasis being organizational.
Students are also involved in free writing, (some have written) poetry, (some) letter writing, daily reflections (that should not be taken lightly), reading responses, and note-taking.
Spelling groups will begin this week. Spelling study at home should also be a homework task.
Much has been learned and reviewed about geometry. Students are great with their developing spatial sense--a very different approach to mathematics than the usual calculation. We also work on number sense and operations throughout the year.
Fact knowledge will be assessed this week and we will begin our routines for becoming automatic. This should be a homework task too. I will send home some ideas and activities for weekly study at home.
We are planning an overnight trip to the Oneida Reservation for October 6-7. Please mark your calendars for this event.
This has been an awesome trip for Sixers in the past learning about communities/culture, Wisconsin, and food growth/storage on a community farm.
We will be traveling by bus with Marc Kornblatt's 5th grade classroom. We have already secured some funds to make this trip great.
If you can help out (organize, make calls, shop, or volunteer to participate) please call me immediately. I am in desperate need of some assistance.
Thurs, Sept. 22: Neighborhood walk at 2:00 p.m.
Tues., Sept. 27: No School-Staff Dev.
Fri., Sept. 30: Evening Program at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center-check it out!
Oct. 6-7: Oneida Nation Trip
Oct. 11: Lincoln Book Fair/Open House
Oct. 13: Picture Day
Oct. 14: OC School Forest hike/lunch
Oct. 26: Overture Center - all OC
Oct. 27-28: No School - WEAC
Letter of thanks and letter of request from the Sixers
Permission for neighborhood walk on Thurs.
Usual Daily schedule for Room 6 w/specials
Last update: September 19, 2005
Editor/publisher: Eileen Potts Dawson epottsdawson@madison.k12.wi.us
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