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The Shakespeare Sonnet

September 9, 2008

Hello all!

My apologies for sending this out so late.  You will typically receive a newsletter on Mondays, but this Monday was especially hectic and yesterdays rain denied me the recess time needed to photocopy. 

Sorry!

I also know that my newsletters, especially at the beginning of the year, are long.  And as always, about half of you love the communication, regardless of the length, and the other half think I’m a lunatic who needs to say significantly less.  I understand both positions and will simply say that there is a reason I am a novelist and not a writer of short stories.  I am long winded on the keyboard and this is unlikely to change.

My apologies to those of you in the “Matt is a lunatic” camp.  And I know you’re out there, because your kids tell me about you all the time.   

Congratulations!

Excellent news!  We have some newly published writers already! 

Congrats to Matthew, who will be reading The Golden Fox in the Writer’s Spotlight on Friday!

Congrats as well to Kaity who was chosen as this week’s PINGO Poet!  She will be reading The Classroom to the entire school on Wednesday!

Way to go, kiddos!

Team Competition

Congratulations to the Dip Sip Munch Cereal, the team that won last week’s team competition.  This team will enjoy DEAR time on blankets and beach chairs on Thursday afternoon.  They can bring in sunglasses, sunscreen, beach umbrellas… the works!  Anything to enjoy their 30 minutes of outdoor reading. 

Congrats as well to the class for reaching the class goal and thus beating me in the first class-wide competition, the first class to ever do so.  They enjoyed popsicles on Monday afternoon while I suffered with none.  Had I won, I would’ve spent the week eating 26 popsicles, one for each student who I defeated. 

Maybe this week will be better for me!     

Important Dates to Remember

In case you haven’t heard, next Thursday is Curriculum Night, but the time has changed a bit.  From 6:00-6:30, teachers in grades K-2 will be meeting with parents. 

This will be followed by a presentation by the essentials teachers (music, art, PE, foreign language) from 6:30-7:00 in the auditorium. 

From 7:00-7:30, we will meet in the classroom to discuss curriculum, and then at 7:30 we will all head back to the auditorium for our meeting regarding Colebrook.  We’ll answer all of your questions at that time and pass on lots of important information. 

Informational packets regarding our Colebrook trip should go home by the end of the week. 

We leave for Camp Jewel on Wednesday morning, September 24 and return Friday, September 26 in the early afternoon. 

Appreciation

Thank you to all the willing and able volunteers who sent in notes about your available times and days to volunteer in the classroom.  I’ll be putting together a schedule this week and will get back to you by Friday as to when you can start coming in.  

Thank you as well for all the old cell phones, ink cartridges, DVDs, walkmans and the like that you have sent in.  We’ll fire off our first shipment by the end of the month and will do so throughout the year whenever the box is filled up. 

Homework

This week your child was assigned four homework assignments.  Two of these assignments are due at the end of the week and two are due at the end of the month.  This is a pattern that I hope to follow throughout the year.  Doing so will allow me to design long term, meaningful assignments that (I hope) challenge your child’s thinking and problem solving skills and force your child to develop good time management strategies. 

And I think it will allow me to create assignments that are more demanding and fun than usual.

I ask that you attempt to allow your children to find their own way in terms of homework this year, if you aren’t doing so already.  Before you know it, your child will be in middle and high school, and keeping up with their homework will be a near impossibility.  While I want you to feel free to check in on your child’s progress throughout the week and offer help when needed, don’t be afraid to allow your child to fail, especially early on.  If it appears that your kiddo will not finish his or her assignments by the end of the week because of poor planning, allow it to happen.  On Friday he or she will “face the music,” and during our meeting, I will offer an honest assessment of his or her work.  If the assignments are not completed, I’ll dole out consequences and behavior will likely change.  Think of this as permission to worry less about your child’s homework life, because I will worry about it enough for both of us.           

I also have not yet gotten a handle on every student’s ability level yet, so if an assignment comes home that is too challenging or too easy for your child, please understand that it will take some time to know your child’s individual capabilities.  But with all homework, I ask the kids to work for the required 45 minutes and then, if the assignment is not done but a good effort was put forth, they can quit.  As much as I want them to complete these assignments, I also want them to have time to enjoy life with their friends and family.        

The assignments are as follows:

Reading

This week the kids will be reading two non-fiction pieces and answering a dozen questions that follow.  We will be clicking these answers in on Friday.

Of course, every child should be reading for at least 30 minutes every night in addition to his or her regular assignments, and this is the most important assignment your child has. 

Math

In conjunction with our unit on populations and samples, the kids will be completing an assignment that deals with some mental math as well as variables and values.  We reviewed this assignment as part of Monday’s math lesson so it should not be too difficult.  

Writing

The Essay of the Month was also assigned yesterday, and I have attached details regarding this assignment to the back of the newsletter. 

Science

The Science Project of the Month was also assigned yesterday, and details regarding this assignment are also attached to this newsletter. 

Charlie Award

Several years ago I instituted an award in our classroom, based upon a Charlie-Chucky story that I told the kids today.  I’m not going to tell you the story here (ask your child to recount it for you), but the gist of the story is that Charlie is a child who puts in his best effort every day and succeeds in fulfilling all his lifelong dreams, while Chucky does not put in his best effort always, and unfortunately doesn’t realize very many of his dreams.  Therefore, you may hear me ask the kids on occasion, “Are you being a Charlie or a Chucky today?”  I tell the kids that they know in their hearts if they are a Charlie or a Chucky, and so I never directly tell them, but they do in fact know, and you probably do as well.  The concept has truly come to mean a lot to many of my kids in previous years and served as a remarkable motivator, so this award naturally spawned from the idea. 

On Monday each week, I designate one assignment from the upcoming week to be judged for the Charlie Award.  It could be anything from an in-class assignment to a homework assignment.  The kids are never told which assignment it will be.  On Friday, after I’ve collected and graded the assignments, I decide which child demonstrated the greatest effort and then reveal which assignment it was and announce the winner.  Winners of the Charlie Award receive a certificate indicating their achievement, a Choose Your Own Pass, allowing them to turn it into almost any privilege that I offer in the classroom and (most important) their name will go on a list that is posted in my classroom and will remain posted in my classroom until the day I retire or die (whichever comes first J).  I told the kids that they can bring their own children kids back to my room 20 years from now to show them their name, still up on the list from when they were in third grade.

This has become by far the most coveted award in my classroom (the kids just love the story), which makes me happy since the level of effort from many of the kids has gone up since its conception.

Last week’s winner was Meghan!  I used the letters that the kids wrote for classroom jobs to judge the contest, and Megan wrote four remarkable letters, one of which I will be using as part of my lesson on essay format later this week.  It was clear that she spent a great deal of time and effort on this work and therefore she was an excellent choice for the first Charlie Award of the year!  Bravo Meghan! 

The First Mr. Dicks Writing Contest!

In addition to the many writing contests that your child will enter this year, I also sponsor a contest every two weeks in class.  I choose a topic and the requirements, but the pieces themselves are judged by three independent, anonymous judges that change for each contest.  These can be teachers throughout the school, friends of mine, and even former students. 

Details about the first contest are attached to the newsletter. 

Our Stone Garden

It seems that I’ve gotten quite lucky this year.  Since sending out a note about the

$1,000 grant for the construction of a geology garden outside our classroom, I’ve learned that one of our parents have a degree in horticulture and garden design and that another knows a trusted “stone guy” who might be able to help us out.  A couple other parents have offered to help, so if you’d like to join our little band of garden planners, please let me know.  I’ll be arranging a meeting as soon as we return from Colebrook to discuss design and implementation of the space. 

Thanks!

Now Hiring!

Though I’ve finally managed to hire students for most of the positions in the classroom, several remain unfilled, so I have invited interested students to apply for these jobs by writing a letter to me by the end of the week, explain why they are perfect for the job.

Mrs. Dicks is also looking for six fifth grade assistants to surrender one recess every three weeks to help with correcting and preparing lessons for her third grade students.  Students can apply for these positions just like they did for classroom jobs, by writing her a letter describing their skills and qualifications.  These letters are also due by Friday. 
 

Dr. K is also looking for Town Meeting employees, and letters to him are due on Friday, September 19^.  See the attachment for details about this. 

The jobs still available in our classroom include:

Chess Master

Docent

Hydrologist

Librarian

Party Coordinator

Security Specialist

Sharpening Specialist

Our recently hired employees include:

Librarian:  Jessica B.

Horticulturist:  Michael D.

Art Directors: Laura and Emma D.

Sherpa: Michael S. and Emma T.

Feng Sui Specialist: Riley

Substitute: Jessica B.

Hermes: Kiera

Payroll Manager: Meghan

Personal Secretary: Kaity

Recycling Manager: Ryan

Mailroom Manager: Hector

Audio Tech: Matt

IT Specialists: Colton and Will

Smart board Tech: Lauren

Showcase Librarians: Emma and Emma

Personal Assistant: Meghan

Student Senate Elections

Next week is election week.  On Monday and Tuesday, the 5^th grade will elect our two Student Council Senators and on Wednesday and Thursday our class will elect our three Representatives.  It’s an expedited process this year, so there will be no posters hanging in the halls.  Students will be nominated on the first day and will deliver speeches on the second.  Fast and furious, unlike traditional government!

Student Council meetings will be held on Friday mornings before school, so your child will need to be available at this time in order to be elected. 

Art Request

Our art teacher, Ms. Knight, has requested that each student bring in an art smock for class.  Oversized tee shirts work best. 

That’s it!  Have a wonderful afternoon with your little one!

 Warmly,