MANY THANKS!!

Our book characters

Thank you all so much for the wonderful birthday cards, presents, treats, and lunch! It was a lovely day and I can't wait to get my venti chai latte tomorrow morning thanks to you! I've already worn my new scarf , which I LOVE, while trick or treating tonight! I feel so fortunate to have such an amazing group of students with equally fantastic parents.
  A BIG HUGE thank you to Michel Hudson for planning an extremely detailed lesson for the students on natural, human, and capital resources complete with homemade applesauce treat! It incorporated literacy, math, social studies and geography! AND thanks to the parents who came to help with lesson. One child said, "These activities are so hard and SUPER fun!" I could not have planned it better myself.

BUN LA LOT from COM....if you haven't been....GO! It's my favorite! 

I didn't open the gifts until late in the day...I told the kids I like knowing I have something to open! :)

Lovely new scarf!

I hope your trick or treating adventure went well. Cole went to about 6 houses and said he had enough candy....then he ate an apple! I felt very proud of him. Now who will eat all this candy? 

Progress Reports!

    

 

           I am working diligently to get your progress reports completed but I am exhausted! Halloween week is not the greatest timing for this much paperwork. I am finished assessing all of the student's projects and it is time to get busy filling in their reports. I will do my best to get all of them out to you by Wednesday but I may not be 100% complete. Please email me if this NOT ok with you and I will put your child at the top of my pile! :)  

     This process has proved to be a learning curve for me. The bad news is that I am working harder not smarter and the good news is that I now know exactly how to plan and assess for the next batch of reports 9 weeks from now! 

       I will post an explanation of how to 'read' the progress reports in the next few days so that you have a better idea of how I assessed your child. 

   

Hope you had a nice weekend! See you with my CRAZY HAIR tomorrow! :)

  

So it's not so early in the week!!!!

This week has flown by....I really loathe testing time because our routines are so out of whack! The good news is that we will be back to normal tomorrow! YAY!

TESTING: ITBS is over with the exception of a few make-up tests. We will packing the materials away and sending them back to the Dekalb on Monday.

FRENCH:  I thought I'd share some photos of the children's Cahiers Francais so you can see that your children are actually learning French! :) I learned during conferences that many of your children are not telling you about what they are doing during French instruction! So, this tells me that when my 5 year old gets older, he will still tell me nothing about his day! :)

In my class.......

The students are writing French-Mandarin Books about their families!

Le Coleurs

Sentences in French about our family! These sentences are individual, not dictated! One student wrote about her mom being tres jolie! 

Directional Phrases

Mademoiselle Buntin  has created a website of her own if you'd like to take a look click HERE!  I have video-taped some of the kids speaking and I will send the videos to you individually! :)

PENCILS:
  The children go through pencils like crazy! I am down to 1 box! I had 2 large bags full of pencils at the start of the year.....SO....if you are out and you see a package of pencils pick one up and share please! I will do the same. (please and thank you)

SPIRIT WEEK:
  You should have seen a flyer come home detailing Spirit Week next week!
Monday: Crazy Hair Day
Tuesday: Crazy Socks and Hat Day
Wednesday: GLOBE T-Shirt Day (if you don't have one, improvise)
Thursday: Dress Up like your favorite book character
Friday: PAJAMA DAY!!

There will be times for you to come and hang with us on Thursday and Friday between 12 & 3....more to come on that after I meet with our wonderful Room Parent Michel Hudson!

PROGRESS REPORTS:
 Look for them in your child's book bag on October 30th. I will post an explanation of what we've done and how I am assessing so that you have a good idea about what you are looking at. Please feel free to email me with ?'s if you have any!

REQUESTS:
 1.  If there is something you'd like clarified or that you'd like to see on the blog, let me know.
 2.  If you are interested in visiting the classroom to help out with centers etc...I will be posting a sign-up in November.
  3. I'd like to try and schedule some 3rd grade field trips and I'd love to get your input and help with this as I just can't seem to get to it on my list of things to do. I'd like to choose a few science and ss standards that can be introduced or enriched with a field trip. I know that you all have great ideas so please share your thoughts!

WHEN THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON:

  We will be starting a read aloud of the book very soon. Wu Laoshi will be working with me to design some fun cultural activities around it.










While scrolling through my blog photos I came across the first "mock up" for my blog header before I decided to change it. It reminds me of how nervous and excited I was this summer when I was hired for this job!  Here it is.

Once Upon A Full MOON During Testing Time!

   

        Once upon a time there was a very full moon and an ITBS test. This is a lethal combination for parents and teachers alike! I have been through testing many many times and it is never very pretty but these last two weeks have been downright ROUGH! :) I was wondering why this change was so much more difficult for me than usual...and then I looked into the night sky...yep it's a full moon.  I know it sounds silly like an old wive's tale, but it is for real. The full moon messes with us. Our bodies are made up of mostly water which is why the moon can really mess with our ability to 'go with the flow'! I know your children may be bouncing off the walls at home..they are certainly a bit off here in the classroom as well. Do not fear, there is an end in sight!

   We have 3 more days of testing....tomorrow and then next week on Wednesday and Thursday.
*note this is changed from the original T-W schedule I posted last week.
 

SPIRIT WEEK:
 In order to celebrate the end of testing and thank the students for a job well done, we will be implementing a spirit week the last week of October. Look for more info soon.

SPECIAL THANKS:
   THANKS SO MUCH FOR DONATING FOR THE WHITE BOARDS!! WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO OUTFIT OUR CLASSROOM WITH TWO BOARDS! I really appreciate you all so much and I feel super lucky to have your support in every way! Mr. Hearn, I want to thank you so very much for organizing the fundraiser for our boards. They really will be a huge game changer in the daily operations of the classroom. I have already re-arranged the classroom so that the kids will be able to sit in front of the boards for mini-lessons!  (photos coming soon)


Have a great weekend....I'll have photos and another post early next week....due to testing I haven't really been able to spend much time with my students/your kids. I kinda miss them!

Without Change ..We Cannot Grow...Ohmmmmmmmmm

Change  EQUALS Growth

 Wow! What a week it has been. First I'd like to say thank you so much to all of you for the cards, emails, breakfast today and Pumpkin Bread!

Mr. Cole LOVES the pumpkin bread! 

I really appreciate your kind words and encouragement. Please know that the goings on of our Board have actually not had a whole lot of impact on me. I have been very busy with testing and parent teacher conferences. I am also not coming from the best situation so I am very accustomed to hiccups as well as change! We cannot grow as a school without going through some challenges. I learned from the first months working at GLOBE that growing and developing our amazing school would be challenging. The fact that we started a school year without a CO for our building, and pulled classrooms together in a matter of hours, is proof enough that GLOBE is a magical school with an amazing community of support!
      Having said that, we met with our leaders and our partners at the Georgia Charter School Association yesterday and it was a very productive and clarifying meeting. All of our daily lives at GLOBE will go on, business as usual, and the Board will continue on its path to create a new Governing Board.

EXCITING NEWS:
     In the spirit of embracing change and growth we can also learn to embrace it with acceptance! We are lucky enough to have Richard Moore visit our school tomorrow! He travels with the Dalai Lama and tells his amazing STORY. We will get to meet him and have a little chat with him! I myself am thrilled about this! :)
    Also, we began our weekly series of Positive Discipline Training today with Felissa Covin. I learned so many valuable things today alone that I can utilize both in the classroom and at home with Cole! The PD model is based on the philosophies of Alfred Adler and Rudolf Dreikurs.

"A child needs encouragement like a plant needs water" R.D.   I AGREE!!!

   One more thing! Not only have we received our reading and writing workshop units, but we are also registered for a training conference with  LUCY CALKINS on November 15th! She is the guru of reading & writing workshop and I am extremely excited to learn from her first hand!

Last but not least, I am officially a cool kid with the addition of my new jewelry!

 COGAT TESTING went well. Mr. Sanders is testing our class and I am testing in 1st grade. I have learned that 1st graders are exhausting! I am super glad I am a 3rd grade teacher!

WORKDAYS &  ITBS:
      We will be getting our progress reports ready and doing some training next week on Monday & Tuesday. I hope y'all will get a little break or getaway while we're off!  ITBS will be administered on Wedneday, Thursday and Friday next week as well as Tuesday and Wednesday the following week.

EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS....to those of you who have donated to the fund for the magnetic white boards in the classroom! We have enough for one board and I am thrilled to say goodbye to this hunk a junk! Au Revoir!

CHINESE CULTURE:
  Wu Laoshi delved into the art of calligraphy this week. The kids did a great job and seemed to really enjoy it! They really love their new teacher and she is now part of the family!

FRENCH:
 We had one impromptu lesson in French today since Madame Buntin offered to stay past her regular hours to work on a lesson with the kids. I will be sending you a video via email! The students also practiced their use of feminine and masculine! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

RHAME Family Foundation

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE RHAME FAMILY FOUNDATION!!!

One month ago we received TWO brand new computers for our classroom through The Rhame Family Foundation Grant Program. We couldn't be happier to have these resources in the classroom. The grant was written with the focus on project based learning. The computers serve as a resource for gathering information for our Social Studies and Science curriculum. We also use the computers during math centers and for typing our writing. So far 6 children have drafted, edited, revised, and published a personal narrative piece using the computers to type their finished product. We have a list of students waiting to type their narratives as well. Having the computers in our classroom has changed our daily routines and enhanced our learning. We couldn't be more grateful! The Rhame Family Foundation has also equipped other classrooms with computers and provided the music and art teachers with supplies and instruments as well! Thank you Rhame Family Foundation!

The first project we have completed aligns with our Social Studies Standards:

SS3H2 The student will discuss the lives of Americans who expanded people’s 
rights and freedoms in a democracy. 
a. Paul Revere (independence), Frederick Douglass (civil rights), Susan B. Anthony 
(women’s rights), Mary McLeod Bethune (education), Franklin D. Roosevelt 
(New Deal and World War II), Eleanor Roosevelt (United Nations and human 
rights), Thurgood Marshall (civil rights), Lyndon B. Johnson (Great Society and 
voting rights), and César Chávez (workers’ rights). 
b. Explain social barriers, restrictions, and obstacles that these historical figures had 
to overcome and describe how they overcame them. 

It's going to be a great year! Thanks Again Rhame Family Foundation :)

Testing...Testing....Testing

It's TEST time!

  We will be taking the COGAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) next week on Oct 8-10th. This test basically asks your child to visually manipulate shapes and  patterns to manipulate them according to a set of directions. You can read THIS article for more clarification. You can also look at this VIDEO if you'd like to see a sample of the types of question they will be asked.
   We will also be taking ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Achievement Test) the following week from October 16th thru the 25th. The students will not test all of these days, however, this is the window for testing and make-up testing for absent students. The ITBS will test Math, S. Studies, Science, Reading and Language.
  These tests are norm referenced tests that compare your child's abilities nationwide. They are used as  indicators and data tools for the Gifted Program and tell us whether or not our children are knowledgable in each subject area in comparison with other children their age.
  Please make sure your child is on time for school each day. We will begin testing promptly at 8:30 a.m. If your child is late he/she may be directed to sit in the Village Plaza while the class tests and then your child will have to make-up that particular section of the test. We cannot allow children into the classroom after a section of testing has begun. Once one section ends we can allow them in to take section 2. This is not the best scenario for your child since he/she will have been hanging out in the Village Plaza for 30 mins to an hour depending upon the test/test day.
   Also, our children are very accustomed to having a snack around 9:30 am. We will not be able to eat snack at our regular time or even during breaks. Please make sure the kids have had a nice big healthy breakfast each morning. We don't want them to have growling tummies!

Science Experiment

  We had fun transforming crayon shavings into the three types of rocks (Sedimentary, Metamorphic, and Igneous) on Friday. Thank you to the four parents who came to assist and enjoy the beautiful chaos that is Science with kids! I really appreciate the help and the clean up! :) Thanks to you all for sending in materials for the experiments. I am going to attempt the second experiment on Monday!  Our little scientists were very creative in their quest to manufacture pressure and heat from their bodies. I'm definitely taking the Science instruction by the horns....and I actually really like it. Who knew?

New Friends
 We have added two new friends to our class this week and we are so excited for them to be here! This means there are 21 students now!

I'll be posting in the next few days to update you on Progress Reports and Curriculum for the next few weeks.

:)