April 12, 2015 Update

Good Morning Everyone

I wanted to give everyone a little update regarding out classroom garden we have been working on for the class. We have finished the building and painting of the new planter box. The students have moved some soil that was donated to the classroom and have moved rock to help with the drainage and design. This week the students will design their pickets, which will be used to protect the garden and give it a nice finished look. The students have worked really hard and are excited to see this project come together. At this point we are in need of bags of planting soil. Once we have completed the pickets and have our soil we will be looking at plants and talking about what plants will work in our environment. Also if you or you know someone who can put up the pickets for our fence and would not mind donating this can you please email me. On the website, www.schooldaystoday.com, under the blogger tab you can see a slide show of all the hard work the students have been doing.

January 14 - Update

Dear Parents,

We have had a successful start to the year 2015. The students have returned excited, enthusiastic, engaged and ready to learn.

Students are reviewing and familiarizing themselves with multiplication and division facts.  They are working on multiplying large numbers (100s and 1,000s) looking for patterns in their problem solving.  They are also learning to use different strategies to solve word problems ie: working backwards to find the solution.

We will be starting Literature Circles within the next week.  Students will be grouped and focused on analyzing the different text features of the book they are reading.

Your student is also learning that Legos are not just for play but to learn.  We are focused on science and engineering as they learn about the different types of gears and how they “mesh” together to make an object move.  They are also are learning how weight controls velocity.  During Tech Time your student has been building a “puff mobile” in which they must construct a vehicle that will go the furthest distance by just a puff of air.  Here again they are learning about weight distribution and aerodynamics.  Their creativity is definitely helping them to think about the possible designs to develop the automobiles of the future.

Within the next month we will begin the study of the California Regions and Missions.  Students will begin to research their projects looking at it from the eye of an architect and developer.  They will create drawings, a 3D model and provide information to persuade other students why they should visit their selected mission.  They will create a power point presentation and/or a visual display to convince others why they should visit their historical mission with an emphasis on the specific California Region in which their mission was built.  Parents will be invited to view the presentations.

Upcoming happenings and events:

January 12^th – February 6^th   Playground Coin Drive

January 19^th                           No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 20^th                           Blueberry Twist Lunch and Benefit Dinner

January 27^th                           Windsync Contemporary Musical Group Performance Field Trip

February 13^th                         No School – Lincoln’s Birthday

February 16^th –  20^th             No School – Mid Year Break          

Debrief of Week One

Dear Parents,

Now that the excitement of the first week of school is behind us and we have all had a chance to catch our breath I wanted to give you a few updates of how our first week went.  It has been fun getting to know the students and observing how they learn. The first two days we worked on a group project where the students needed to use teamwork to build a structure that could withstand wind. It was great to see them work through their struggles, come up with some interesting structures using their own problem solving strategies and most importantly working together as a team. I did take a few photos that will be posted on the website soon.  Later in the week we worked on the creative side as the students wrote stories encouraging them to use their imaginations. I have to admit we have some very creative thinkers in our class.

As expected in the beginning of any school year there will be a few minor classroom changes. These changes are being made to help students focus more and be less distracted during classroom time. The first change is regarding individual pencil sharpeners. These little items are creating major distractions and I have asked all students to leave them at home. Sharpened pencils will always be available to the students.  All they need to do is trade in their dull or broken pencil for a sharpened one. The second change is in regard to the class bathroom. The students are thrilled at the uniqueness of having a bathroom in the classroom. They are so thrilled that they like to spend much of their day in there at the most inopportune times.  As a result we will be starting a “bathroom pass system”. Students will be given an equal number of passes for the week. Once they have used all their passes for the week they will not have the opportunity to use the bathroom during class time.  Please remind and encourage your student that the bathroom is accessible to them before school, during both recesses and lunch without having to use a pass. Of course, if there is an emergency they will be allowed to use the bathroom. The final change is regarding water bottles.  We have already had several spills on our carpet from milk and juice that has required carpet cleaning.  Students are asked to bring water to drink during class time to keep hydrated and they can easily refill their bottles during the day.  Milk and juice is only acceptable during lunch. Thank you for your understanding.

It was a pleasure to meet many of you during Back to School Night and the School Dedication. As you are aware our TV monitor was not yet hooked up and I do want to bring your attention to the following link (click here) which is a video I created to give you a tour of the class website. The website will be your greatest source of online information about what is happening in class. Please enjoy and refer to the site often.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at the address below.

Mr. Williams

jwilliams@streamcharter.net