Sunday, March 8, 2015
Dear Parents,
Spring is just around the corner, or so they say as we just
moved our clocks forward. The mornings
are dark for the time being, but the nights will have a bit more light, which
is always a nice feeling after a long day of school. I do hope that each of you and your student
is adjusting to the time change.
I want to update you on our curriculum activities in Room
Echo. We continue to work on Long
Division with and without Remainders. I
strongly encourage that you work with your student on their multiplication facts as they are still
struggling with them and having difficulties with division. Students will be tested the end of this week
or early next week on Multiplication and Long Division as we will begin our
next math unit which is Geometry.
The students continue to work in their Literature Circles
and are learning how to analyze the book they are reading and starting to have
meaningful conversations about what they have read. They continue to work on
their reading, writing and grammar skills.
Working in small groups the students are designing and then
will build a solar house that can reduce or maintain the internal temperature
of the house. They are focusing on the
placement of doors, windows and other design features to achieve their overall
goal.
As we move into the study of California’s history and the
Missions the students are learning about longitude, latitude and cardinal
direction. They are designing their own
Compass Rose and will be making a needle compass. We have been having a lot of fun using the
playground to become familiar with direction.
Upcoming Dates,
Events and Announcements:
·
Monday, March 9th – Traveling Lantern Theatre Company
presenting a Greek Mythology for Kids assembly
·
Thursday, March 12th – Fire Pals
·
March 16th, 17th and 18th
– Early dismissal at 2:00 for As Needed
Conferences. Not all students
will be having a conference. A sign up
sheet will be coming home this week only
for those students and parents that I will need to meet with. Please understand that this time has been set
aside for these specific conferences only.
If you do not receive a sign up sheet we will not be scheduled for a conference.
·
March 19th and 20th – No School. Staff Development
Conference.
·
March 30th through April 6th
– Spring Break. Students return to school on Tuesday, April 7th.
·
We are in need for Kleenex for our classroom.
Donations would be greatly appreciated.
·
Classroom
Garden. Work is starting on the dirt
patch outside our classroom door. The
students will be turning this into their garden with some pretty exciting features. We are in the need of potting soil now.
Additional information and needs will follow as the project develops.
·
Hand Outs
Application. In taking every
advantage in the use of our iPads; working to reduce the use of paper; and
providing parents with an easy method to stay aware of what their student is
doing in class we are piloting a new Application titled Hand Outs. I have been
working with the developers who have asked STREAM to pilot their application. This program is still in the development
stages and our feedback is helping to improve their project. What use to require photo-copying 30 pieces
of paper for an assignment now just requires a simple scan and it is routed to
the student’s iPad. They do their work
on the iPad then return it to me electronically for grading, editing and
comments. This project is in its infancy
stages, but we are excited to be a part of this project, which is definitely
the way of the future.
This is what is happening in Room Echo. Please continue to check out the blog for
additional updates and pictures!
Mr. Williams
Honor Role
Classroom Garden
(Before)
Playground Swings
February Student of the Month
