.

The Shakespearean Sonnet

October 7, 2008

I hope you all enjoyed a restful and relaxing weekend.  Our first month of school is behind us, and in thinking about what we have accomplished so far this year and reflecting on the progress of the kids, I can’t tell you how impressed I have been with their effort, the quality of their work, and their willingness to accept my challenges on a daily basis.  For most of my students, fifth grade has been a taxing and demanding adjustment, but they have handled the transition with an excellent attitude and an enthusiastic spirit.  Think of this as a State of the Union address for the first month of school.    

I know that for many students, the changes of fifth grade have been surprising and demanding.  Suddenly they are dealing with rubrics and letter grades, and for most, this has meant tempering the celebration of their successes with stoicism and reflection for their less than triumphant efforts.  I have been so impressed with the dramatic improvements that I have seen in this short period of time, as well as the kids’ willingness to embrace the role of active learners.  “Ah ha!” moments seem to occur on a daily basis as kids put together the puzzle pieces and uncover understanding with the help of a peer and a little feedback from myself.  As a teacher, it’s been a joy to witness. 

I’ve also watched the kids adopt my classroom philosophy, which is encompassed in three simple rules:

Waste no time. 

Put your best effort forth in all that you do.  

Be kind. 

For some, the high standards that I set have been a bit of a wakeup call, but this is good.  The process is certainly not over for most, but everyone seems to be on the path to success, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Most important, I’ve come to realize that I have been blessed with an extraordinary group of students this year.  There may be a bunch of them, but they are a wonderful mix of personalities, and I have come to respect and adore each one.  They may complain that I am tough at times, but I think they have all come to understand that I demand the best from them because I care. 

And the results have been more than I could have ever asked for.  The essays that were turned in on Friday represent a wide variety of thoughts and opinions on a remarkable range of subjects, dealing with everything from a request for a later bedtime to a call to pull the troops out of Iraq.  They were inspiring, amusing, and entertaining to read, and they represent a remarkable level of thought and effort from the kids.     

I have high hopes for the coming months and will be certain to keep you updated on all that we do.  Thanks again for all of the support that you have offered this year.  Whether it has been to volunteer in the classroom, offer a kind word of encouragement, or to simply send a happy and healthy child to school each day, I appreciate all that you do. 

 Now onto more good news!

Stone Garden

With Colebrook behind us, I’d like to start planning for the installation of the stone garden outside our classroom.  I’ve had a few parents volunteer their ideas and input, and I’d like to have a brief meeting to chat and make a plan.  If you would like to help out and can attend a brief meeting on Thursday, October 16^th at 8:00 AM, please let me know.  If you’d like to help out but cannot make the meeting, let me know as well and we’ll pass on the info to you. 

Many thanks!

Newly Published Author!

Congratulations to Hector, who read during Harambe on Monday morning.  He did a terrific job and we were all impressed with his words and his poise.  Bravo Hector!

Student of the Month

Congratulations to September’s Student of the Month, Zachary!  It’s been an excellent month for Zach, filled with many successes.  Zach is the type of student who thrives on honest feedback.  He listens carefully to my suggestions, analyzes his graded assignments carefully, and utilizes this information to improve his performance.  He challenges himself to always do better yet he manages to handle setbacks in stride.  Add to this that he is well liked and respected by his peers and always ready to lend a hand and it was easy to see why Zach was deserving of Student of the Month. 

Way to go, Zach!

Congratulations!

Congrats to Team 1, the Dip Sip Much kids for their victory in the team competition for last week!  On Wednesday they will have the privilege of enjoying lunch in the classroom.

Congrats to the class as well, for defeating me again in the class-wide competition.  As a result of their win, they will enjoy DEAR time outdoors tomorrow while I serve lemonade.  The kids can feel free to bring in blankets, chairs, sunglasses, etc.  It should be fun for them and lousy for me.

And this week the kids switched teams.  New teammates, new interpersonal dynamics, and new opportunities for friendship.  The kids seemed pleased with their new locations in the classroom.      

Charlie Award winners!

Congratulations to Camryn, the Charlie Award winner from last week.  In case your little one didn’t tell you, I inspect desks each week for neatness and organization, using the time to teach mini-lessons on strategies that the kids can use to stay organized and be prepared for the day.  The kids receive points for their team based upon the cleanliness and organization of their desks, and last week I decided to reward the student with the most improved desk with the Charlie Award. 

Effort in any and all areas.  Right?

Camryn’s desk went from resembling a black hole to one that was organized, neat, and wisely planned.  His materials were easy to find, quick to access, and unlike previous weeks, his desk actually closed.  This has been an enormous improvement for Camryn and has helped him be better prepared for lessons throughout the day.  Congratulations Camryn on a job well done!

Mr. Dicks Writing Contest Winner!

Congratulations to Hector, the winner of the second Mr. Dicks Writing Contest of the year!  In this shortened, weeklong deadline, Hector wrote a beautiful poem about his experiences at Colebrook.  The poem reflects the fun, the excitement and the joy that he felt being in nature.  One of the judges reported that she shed a tear upon reading his poem, realizing how much he loved this magical place.  Congrats, Hector, on a job very well done.

I also wanted to congratulate Amanda and Riley for making the time to enter the contest.  These two students, plus Hector, took a chance, wrote an entry, and took the first and most important step in getting published:  Writing!

Kaity brought in a message from a fortune cookie last week that she knew that I would like a lot, and I think it captures the spirit of these three outstanding students:

The best way to get to the top is to get off your bottom. 

Congrats to all three writers on their willingness to get off their bottoms and put in the effort required for success!

The newest Mr. Dicks Writing Contest is out today, with a due date of next Friday.  Good luck to all the writers!

Digital Copy Request

Yesterday I asked the kids to bring in another copy of their September Essay of the Month, since I foolishly marked up the copy that they gave me before photocopying it.  We’d like to begin submitting some of this work to the Magical Mailbox and other possible publishing outlets, so a clean copy is needed. 

If it’s possible for you to email me a digital copy or send it in on a flash drive, that would be even better.  I have flash drives here at school that the kids can borrow for the evening if needed, and the price of even a 1-GB flash drive (more than your child would ever need) is now under $10 if you’re looking for a good gift idea for your kiddo. 

Ideally, we’d like to edit and revise the essays a little more before sending them out to newspapers, contests, etc. so a digital copy would be ideal, and if you or your child could do this with every writing assignment for the remainder of the year, it will save us from retyping a great deal of work.

Many thanks!
      

The Egg Drop

As I may have mentioned before, Paul Scheid has been kind enough to offer the use of a device that measures G-forces for our egg drop.  With this device, we will be able to accurately assess the best design by measuring the amount of G-forces sustained by each egg upon impact with the ground. 

Neat, huh?

Paul’s mean old bosses wouldn’t let him out of work this week, so the egg drop has been postponed until next week.  Friday at 9:00.  It’ll probably take a couple hours to drop them all, and you’re all welcome to come and watch the excitement with us!

Homework

With just three days in the school week (Yom Kippur on Thursday), I’ve assigned your child a math assignment to go along with his or her Essay of the Month and Science Project of the Month.  The math relates to our newest math unit on big number and expanded notation, and the kids should be well prepared to complete the assignment without much trouble.     

Both of the month-long assignments are due on Friday, October 31, and detailed instructions went home with your kiddo today.   I have once again stressed to the children how high my expectations of the work are considering the amount of time that I have given them to complete these assignments.  I have already scored and returned last month’s essays, and we will be spending this week and next reviewing their science journals, discussing data gathering,  and conducting our egg drops.  These experiences should help guide the kids to improving their science journals and experimentation methods this month.  While I was extremely impressed with the kids’ Essays of the Month, I was less impressed with their science journals.  Many lacked the detailed descriptions of the experiments that were conducted, the thought process of the scientists, and the diagrams of their various designs.  I also noted that many students settled on one design concept early and did not experiment with a variety of possibilities.  These are things that we will discuss this month as we review last month’s journals.        

I also sent your child home with week 2 of the district’s HEART program, which promotes a healthy diet amongst our students.  A letter attached to this newsletter explains what needs to be done during the second week of this five week unit.  These worksheets do not need to be returned to school.     

That’s it for today!  Have a great holiday for those of you who are celebrating.

Warmly,