Thursday, September 12

I want to start with an apology for this post being so late.  It seems like my own children have had something every evening this week.  Tonight was an awards banquet where both of my children were recognized.  Yep, I'm a proud mamma.

You also have every reason to be proud.  Students have pulled together their resources and raised over $300 JUST TODAY to help Liam.  Obviously the Lollipops for Liam campaign has been a big success and your 4th grade students have been leading the charge.  They have also inspired other students to join them.  One student donated $100 and another emptied her ENTIRE piggy bank and didn't even want a sucker. They just want to buy Liam a new heart.  There is so much to be thankful for when it comes to Needham students!!

Today I also sent home a Packing List for the Flat Rock field trip so everyone can get a head start on packing this weekend.

One more request for over the weekend:  Many of the students prefer to take from the classroom snack instead of bringing their own.  THAT IS GREAT! But we are running short on snacks, so if you grocery shop this weekend and would not mind picking up an extra box of crackers, dry cereal, pretzels or other snack - it would be greatly appreciated.

Tuesday, September 10

Today students raised $60 to help Liam!  Way to go! Students will continue selling 25 cent Lollipops for Liam the rest of the week.  Any additional donations are greatly appreciated.

We have run into a few glitches this week.  We have been working very hard, but we are all still learning the new reading series and we just haven't gotten as far as we would like this week.  I know that several students have voiced concern with accessing the book online from home.  If at all possible, I would like parents to sit with the students and see if you can help them access the materials.  I would also like you to reply to this message with any complications or success stories.  If we can work together to figure this out, I believe it will be a beneficial and engaging program for students.  Here is a link to a quick tutorial for accessing the material: http://youtu.be/tYIg_orLYvA

With the difficulty in accessing the materials this week, the homework has been extended.  We will work together to complete the mini book in class, and students can continue reading the assignment at home.  Remember, for anyone unable to access the online version, students are able to check out printed books from the classroom.  Keeping this in mind, the week 6 assessment will be postponed until Tuesday.  This will give us more time to go a little deeper with our learning objectives in the classroom too.  I think it is a win, win decision :)  Students should be studying their SPELLING though. The Homework page has been updated to reflect the new expectation.

Monday, August 9

What an amazing Monday. At the beginning of the day, I wasn't sure how we would get through everything we needed to do today.  By the end of the day, I was amazed at the way the students just make it happen.  They work hard!

Few Important Reminders:

• Data Binders come home today - please review them with your student and complete the reflection sheet together.  Reflection sheets are due tomorrow.
• Flat Rock Field Trip Permission Slips are due Wednesday. Please contact me if you have any questions.  We are also looking for additional adult chaperons, so if you are up for two days of pure fun, let me know and I will get you the form.
• September Dinner Date is at Incredible Pizza Place on Thursday, September 26.  It is part of a Needham fundraiser that runs from 4-8.  I plan on being there from 6-7:30.  I hope to see you and your family there.
• Lollipops for Liam - students can bring in 25 cents starting tomorrow to purchase lollipops during lunch.  All the money will go to help bring 3 year old Liam Sprague home.  We learned about Liam through one of our students. Kayden had heard about Liam's trouble and it touched his heart.  He has decided to take action and is asking us for help.  If you would like to help bring Liam home, please support the cause by purchasing Lollipops for Liam all this week. If you would like to know more about Liam you can read Liam's Story or read an article and watch a news cast. 

Friday, September 6

 4th grade students are awesome!

          I am overwhelmed by the incredible homework projects that were turned in today.  I know that these projects took a lot of home support, and I want you to know it is appreciated.

           This morning we gave our created books to the kindergarten students who were so excited and amazed at the 4th grader's talents. (See pictures posted on Facebook)  Later this weekend I will also post the AMAZING videos that were created to encourage students to use the five reading comprehension strategies and as AWESOME book reviews.

After visiting with the kindergartners, we took the Week 5 assessment on ExamView.  I am so impressed with all the students showing their educational growth!

I LOVE MY JOB!  And it is really all because of your children.  Thank you for the opportunity to work with such wonderful students!

Thursday, September 5

This week is flying by.  I can not believe that tomorrow is already Friday.  We will take the week 5 assessment tomorrow.  The test will include the following learning objectives:

• Identify Main Idea and Supporting Ideas in text.
• Apply all Reading Comprehension Strategies: Predict, Question, Clarify, Summarize, and Connect.  
• Identify and classify compound words (hyphenated and not) as nouns, adjectives or adverbs.
• Increase vocabulary skills through the study of prefixes, suffixes, and root words.

If you would like to review with your child at home, here are some questions you could ask:

If the main idea of a story is, Snow days are fun, what supporting ideas could prove it?

     Example answers: building snowmen, sledding, drinking hot cocoa.

Name five reading comprehension strategies that good readers use?

     Answer: Predict, Question, Clarify, Summarize, and Connect. 

What is a compound word? 

     Answer: Two small words set together.

Name two types of compound words. 

     Answer: Hyphenated (fifty-fifty)and regular (baseball)

Then have them sing their Language Arts Jingles

REMINDER: The 3 Home Connection Choices are due tomorrow.  I am so impressed with the projects I have seen so far, I can't wait to see the rest!

Wednesday, September 4

PARENT MEETING TONIGHT!

Come get all your questions about FlatRock answered tonight from 6-7 in the Needham media center.  We will also be discussing chaperones - so if you are interested in chaperoning, please come to the meeting.

Tuesday, September 3

Welcome to September!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.  I want to give a quick remionder about our Flat Rock parent meeting tomorrow from 6-7 at Needham.  Please come with all your questions.

Today students have been working on gathering resources for our How-To Research project.  Be sure to check out the kidblog pages to see how we are progressing: Team33Kidblog and TeamShoultzKidblog.

We also worked on adding information to our Feedback and Data Binders.  This week we are graphing our midterm grades for Reading and Language. (Yep, we are already half way through our 1st 9 weeks.)  Please be sure to review all materials in the Feedback and Data Binder fill out a reflection page with your student.  They should be returned on Wednesday.

Did you know that you can check grades from home?  You can log in as a parent, or just have your student log in with their id.  We even have an easily accessible Grade Check link on the navbar of our website: http://goo.gl/FX5ak

This week's Literacy Link and Homework are also now available on the website. Please take note that we will begin Lesson 1 of Vocabulary and Spelling this week. Each week we will work with a list of word-parts: prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Each list will have a two week rotation. The first week we will focus on VOCABULARY. We will study the meaning of each word part and how the parts can be combined to make new words. The second week we will focus on SPELLING. The students will have some time to practice spelling with the word-parts in class but will be expected to practice the words at home.

A lesson packet will be provided to students at the beginning of the each two week rotation. During the first week, students will use the packet to collaborate in class. At the end of the first week the packet will be sent home. It should be used to practice spelling skills and review word meanings. At the beginning of each rotation, a copy of the lesson packet will also be available on the Homework page of the website. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have question along the way.