Email Addresses

I have been introducing the kids to different sites on the computer where we can do activities as a class over the past few months. One site that I really want us to use on a regular basis for individual responses to questions or group collaborations is Wallwisher.

Wallwisher allows each person to make a short "sticky note" type post. I control it, and I control who can access the site.

However, in order to use it properly, each child really needs his or her own email address. So, if your child has an email address (or can use your email address to log in with), please let me know.

If your child doesn't have an email address, I have a couple of options for you. First, you can choose to establish an email address for your child, using your choice of providers. Or, you can set one up through E-pals, which is a safe collaborative technology site. This site allows classrooms all over the world to communicate and learn from each other. We can also participate in large projects with other schools. As a parent, you can establish the email address for your child through www.epals.com, or you can check the Wednesday Packet next week for a permission slip and I can establish an email account for your child. If you would rather your child not have an email address for this project, then your child can submit his or her responses on paper during class. Email addresses will only be used for classroom assignments!

Epals can be found at: www.epals.com

Gratitude Attitude

Since it is the season to give thanks for all the blessings we have in life, I wanted to take this time to thank each one of you for a wonderful school year. I am having an awesome time with this group of kids!

This past month has been like a whirlwind and it is hard to believe that we have three full weeks of school left in 2010 once we go back on Monday!

QUARTER TESTING

QUARTER TESTING WILL TAKE PLACE MONDAY-WEDNESDAY (10/25-10/27). PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR CHILD IS HERE ON TIME! DON'T STAY UP TOO LATE SUNDAY!

YAY BODY!

This past Wednesday the third graders attended the Bodyology and Lighten Up! stage show presented by Slim Goodbody. You may remember his segment as part of Captain Kangaroo back in the day! Years ago, it was the actual Slim Goodbody from Captain Kangaroo on stage, but now we have a younger, taller version. While there, the kids sang along, danced, and had a great time. They learned about the function of the different systems of body, and they especially liked singing about the digestive system. Several Cash kids made it up on stage, but I found many of my students had "marvelous muscle" tricks the next day on the playground. Did you hear about my cartwheel? I hope not!

In class, the kid have been busy creating commercial type spots to record that highlight information learned while on the trip. They are doing a great job and it is fun to listen to them sing the songs from the show while they are getting their parts down. We have had technical difficulties (dead batteries)this week, they are ready to shoot. So, hopefully by the end of next week, we will have our videos posted for you to view!

Beep Beep...Field Trip Time Is Coming!

Don't forget that on Wednesday the 20th, we will be headed to Greensboro to see Bodyology and Lighten Up! Please make sure to have a lunch packed for your child to take with them on the trip. All cafeteria bagged lunches had to be pre-ordered, and that deadline has passed. If you have not paid for the trip, please do so before Wednesday. We must take a check with us to pay for the tickets.

Posting Grades

For those of you who are eagerly awaiting to see new grades posted this weekend, I am sorry to disappoint you! After spending the after school hours completing grading for this week, I went to enter grades and found that from 5pm tonight until Monday the 18th, the system is down for site maintenance. I will get those grades posted as soon as the system is back up and running! Sorry!

1+0=0+2...I don't think so!

This week, the school held a curriculum night for parents to stop in for a brief period of time and learn about what is taking place inside the classroom. At that meeting, a brochure about third grade and a powerpoint handout was distributed. If you did not come to the meeting, your child should have brought the papers home to you on Friday.

One of the items I stressed at the meeting was the need for the children to be fluent with their addition and subtraction facts. So many of the children want to work on multiplication facts, yet they are still struggling to add and subtract correctly. In a few short weeks, we will take our first quarter test. The kids do not have to worry about multiplication on this test, but they will have many addition and subtraction problems. Please practice facts nightly with your child. I do not want to waste class time and paper to do daily practice with math facts. Draw pictures, count fingers and toes, or use tallies! I am not picky about how you get your answer...just get the right one! I promise, 1+0 does not equal 0+2!

The RUNS math strategies are posted on the classroom website!

A Busy Month Ahead

October finally arrived, bringing cooler weather! Hopefully, we will not have to endure anymore 90+ degree days. We are in full swing in the classroom, and everyone seems to have a good understanding of our routines.

There seems to be one item, I feel that I need to discuss a little more in order for everyone to have a better understanding of the notes I write on papers. Many times a child will turn a paper in, and I can quickly tell that if I grade it, the grade will not be a good one. In order to avoid assigning failing grades on first tries, I will write "Correct and Return" or "Redo" across the paper. By the time the paper comes home, the paper has been corrected and returned to me or the child has done the assignment again and a grade has been assigned. This does not mean that anything needs to be corrected and returned to me once it has been placed in the Wednesday Packet.

I pull students individually daily to reteach concepts, help finish assignments, and check for understanding. That is my favorite time of the day. It gives me the opportunity to give each child a little more personal attention. I also have a wonderful lady who comes in to help tutor during this time. If you are intersted in tutoring between 12:00-12:35, please let me know. I can always use extra hands, and hearts!

Curriculum Night 6:00-6:35 10/7

Fall Festival 5:00-8:00 10/14

Field Trip to Carolina Theater 10/20

No School 10/29

Do you know the way to San Jose?

San Jose? Not yet, but yes my kids know the way to San Diego, Vermont, Rhode Island, Colorado, Alaska, Massachusetts, New York, and Missouri! Wait, they also know the way to Scotland, Ireland, and Austria thanks to the postcards that we are receiving almost daily from family and friends of the kids. We are having a blast each day during Social Studies when I open with "You've Got Mail!" After reading the postcards and passing them around, the children are marking their maps to show where the postcards are coming from. Sara's uncle (the international postcards were from him) even included questions for research!

On Friday, the kids held a museum walk to display their compass rose or 3-D map projects. I have posted pictures on the class website! Everyone did a great job and no two projects were alike!

A Heavenly Little Place

How many people do you know that LOVE going to work? They may LOVE the type of work they do, they may LOVE the people they work with, but usually Monday morning comes with that dreaded thought of having to go to work.

I am sure the people that I work with are starting to think I am a little bit bonkers, but I LOVE going to work this year. Strange, I know. My husband even had mentioned that I never complain or grumble. I have always LOVED being a teacher, but I am talking about getting up and having to go to work. There have been some major changes in my life this year, which could have something to do with this renewed energy.

First of all, I finished graduate school over the summer. I am home every night with my family and papers, and reading material do not consume every bit of time I have. My family appreciates this! Secondly, my son is in middle school which means my husband leaves the house with him at 6:55 in the morning. When he walks out the door to go to Walkertown Middle, I am headed to Cash where I can get more done between 7:00 and 7:55 am than I ever imagined. Ok, so there are very few people to talk to for the first thirty minutes which helps. I LOVE to talk.

But the biggest and most important reason that I get up each morning with a smile on my face and an overwhelming happy feeling is because of the class that I have this year. They are the sweetest bunch of dumplings that I have ever had at one time. I am not saying that I haven't had sweet children before, because I could make a list a mile long. It is all about the combination of children this time. The stars must have aligned big time when the administrators were putting classes of children together, but I truly lucked out this year.

September 11, 2010

I remember my mom telling the story of where she was in the classroom when JFK was killed. I can remember sitting in front of the tv at my grandmother's house as the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on my birthday. Nine years ago today marks the anniversary of 9/11, another day that most people alive that day will remember with vivid details of where they were, what they were doing, etc.

On September 11, I was in the classroom (a mobile unit), doing my thing when there was a knock at the door. I found a distressed parent standing there explaining to me that her husband was fine and not in New York and to let her daughter know her dad was ok. Of course, I looked at her like she was strange, and then she realized that in my little neck of the school, everything in the world was still fine. I informed my Primary Reading Teacher, and then I left the room. My parents and grandparents were at home packing for a trip to Las Vegas that was to leave on September 12. After talking to my family, I learned that the airspace was closed and there would be no flights for a while.

Later in the day, I would see the footage of the wreckage for the first time, when the kids were in specials. By this time, teachers had been quietly instructed not to mention anything to the children, so I had to keep my game face on. As days past, the kids built a huge American flag on the outside of our trailer, and red, white, and blue became the unofficial school colors. The most eerie aspect of the days following the attack was the noiseless sky above the school. I remember basically jerking my head up when planes started flying again.

That class will always be a little more special in my heart. It is hard to believe that most of them have or are in the process of getting their drivers license.

Nine years later, images from 9/11 are fresh in my mind. However, I had a new experience yesterday. As we watched a 5 minute program on remembering 9/11, my current third graders had a curious look on their faces. Most of my students were born in late 2001 or early 2002, and had not experienced this event. They watched the tribute with interest, but considering they had not been born yet or were infants, the whole event lacked meaning.

When they are my age, those children will be able to recite the whereabouts of their parents on 9/11, just as I can tell you where my parents were when JFK died. Let's hope they will be able to live their lives and never utter the words "I remember exactly where I was the day ___________ happened."

First Day 2010

If you could see me now, you would see me jumping for joy! Today was absolutely wonderful! Normally first days are chaotic and stress filled, but for the first day of 2010 it was almost heavenly! I look forward to 179 more heavenly days over the course of this school year!

Summer Fun

I spent one hour this morning creating a video for an online techonology class. It shows photos from our science unit on the Muscular and Skeletal system. Pretty cool! Click on Summer Fun to view it!

Testing Time!

It is the time of year that we all have been preparing for...the End of Grade Tests. I have one last bit of advice before I turn into a teacher robot on Tuesday morning. DO NOT STRESS OUT ABOUT THE TEST! Remember, you have been working all year for these tests. Keep your chin up, think positive thoughts, and use everything you have been taught!

Say It Isn't So...MORE SNOW? NOOOOOO!

This past week culminated with presentations that the children did on biographies. We had Benjamin Franklin and Martin Luther King, Jr. present, as well as Britney Spears and Miranda Cosgrove. The students had a choice of five different projects to complete, which they did in grand style. Pictures coming sometime soon, I promise! I just have a five to ten page paper to write by Monday! Oops, better get busy!

Special News

Congratulations goes out to Elizabeth Smith for placing 2nd in Literature in the Cash Elementary Reflections contest. Elizabeth was interviewed today by the Kernersville News. I can't wait to read the article.

Emma Fagerburg's dad, Scott, came as a Mystery Reader today. This was a special time for Emma, since her dad will soon deploy to Iraq. Please keep the Fagerburg family and all of our soldiers in your thoughts!

George Knezevic, Blake Mitchell, Kyle Tedder, Layne Mushinski and Kayla Walter are finishing up the Upward Basketball season over the next few weeks. They will have a celebration the first weekend in March, where they will be given trophies for their participation. As the cheerleading coach for my daughter's team, I have enjoyed being able to watch so many of the kids play this season.

Did I mention that CJ Harris, the awesome WFU freshman basketball player, was in my third grade class many years ago at Cash? I am like a proud Mama Hen!

I will be posting pictures in the next few days!

Busy Week Ahead

Please remember to attend Curriculum Night at 6pm Tuesday to hear Gateway Information and classroom information. If you have specific questions you want answered, feel free to email them ahead of time, so I can have the information you need available. I have another meeting to attend at another school after ours is over, so I apologize if it seems that I am moving too fast. Curriculum Night is not intended to be a parent conference time, but I am always willing to meet with you at another time that is mutually convenient.

ENOUGH SNOW ALREADY!

While everyone was excitedly watching the news last week in anticipation for snow over the weekend, I do not believe anyone expected for our kids to actually go to school for a four and a half hour period in one week. Of course, now we get out later, and have less of a spring break to enjoy. Maybe it will rain during those days were are in school to make up at Spring Break, so that we won't be upset having to be indoors. Who knows...this is NC and March tends to bring some interesting weather around here. I just hope the groundhog got it wrong!

Needless to say, due to the lack of time in school this week, report cards will come home on Monday, February 8th. Let's hope this talk of wintery precip next Tuesday goes away very quickly!

Report Cards are Coming!

Report cards will come home on February 3rd,inside the Wednesday Packet. Additionally, I will be sending home your child's quarter test results! Please let me know if you have any questions after reviewing the information in the envelope!

Science Fair Is Coming!

Please do not foget that the Science Fair projects or research papers are due on February 1st. Students received packets the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I have extras if you need another one!

Testing Information

This week we are busy working on Quarter Testing. Along the way, we have worked on learning strategies to help answer questions and solve problems. Please review the packets of information sent home earlier in the fall with your children throughout the year. Last week they each received an additional vocabulary match game that you can play at home.

Teaching Struggling Readers

Reading Rockets is one of my favorite site to visit. There is a lot of helpful strategies, videos, and articles to view.

Reading Rockets - Resources for Parents

I did it!

Ok, everybody. I did it. I finally created a blog. Of course, I did it because I needed technology credit, but I also have a feeling that I can make this beneficial in other ways.