Week #34: May 13-17, 2013

I hope eveyone have a wonderful weekend and enjoyed their Mother's Day. The students work really hard with Miss Yamamoto, the art teacher, on their California Quails. I was pleased with the outcome, the best Mother's Day projects in my years of teaching.

This week we will be taking the CST in Math. I am confident the students know the standards being assessed on this test. It is a good idea to brush up on our basic facts. We will test on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. 

We will work a lot on our California Era Projects this week. On Monday I am sending home some important information about how much time we have spend in class and how much students should have complete. Please review this sheet and your child's yellow project folder on Monday evening. Each day we have a focus lesson and students then have work time. Many students are doing a terrific job of managing their time, but there are a few that are falling a bit behind. I have talked at length about this in class. I am available for help and questions, or even just time to work on their projects at recess and lunch recess. On Friday students will bring home what they have to assemble their boards. Boards are due on Monday. The goal of the project is to complete everything in class and assemble at home. Students who are serverly behind might be working on some of their required elements if they do not use this week's time wisely. 

Open House is next Tuesday, May 21. This is a time for students to show their families all the work they have completed in this year. I know you will see tremendous growth from the beginning of the year. Open House will be from 6:30-8:00. This is a time for celebration, not conferencing. If you wish to conference I would be happy to set up another time. Open House gets a little busy and noisy.

Here is the Weekly Note Home and also the California Era Project Update Note. These will be sent home on Monday. 

Week #33: May 6-10, 2013

It appears there have been a few website issues in the last few weeks. There are two ways you can email me, one is using the contact form on this website or jamie.scott@fresnounified.org. A few parents have had some issues with the contact form on this site. I am hoping it is fixed. 

This week it is a very late update! I was home Monday-Wednesday with a high fever and a touch of pneumonia. I was very disappointed to miss the first week of CST testing, but the class was in great hands with Mrs. Yin. Mrs. Yin is a retired Manchester teacher and rocks! I think the kids enjoyed their time with her. 

This put us a little behind on our projects, but I promise we will catch up. I told students as longs as it was all right with parents they could bring their laptops to school if they have one. We have 17 mini-books, but they can be a little slow at times. Students will bring everything they need to assemble their boards home on May 16th or 17th depending on their progress. 

Last week we spent 10-12 classroom hours on our projects. This is what students should have so far: note cards, outline corrected by me, draft, 2-3 pictures with captions done in Microsoft Word, and a rough draft of their timeline. Many students have this and MORE. While some students are far behind. Check with your child to see where they are at with their project. Procrastination is not good on a project like this. I am providing tons of time and support. 

For some reason some students did not take their Weekly Note with important information for the week. 

Week #31: April 22-26, 2013

Room 24 is a great place to be! We have been engaged in so much learning the last few weeks and students have been working hard.

Last week we had two Study Trips! We went to the Fresno Bee on Monday to learn how the paper is created, printed, and distributed throughout the Valley. This was an interesting trip, and the students especially enjoyed seeing the giant press! On Friday, we made our way to Monterey and San Juan Bautista. We learned how ships had to unload their cargo to pay duties at the Custom House. We explored California History at the Pacific House. We sat in the room where 48 deligates created the California Constitution proclaiming California as the 31st state. After lunch, we head to San Juan Baustista and toured the Mission and Plaza Hotel.

This week we will continue our Persona Journals, finish up Gold Rush in Social Studies, begin our research for our California Era Project Board, continue reading By the Great Horn Spoon, and work with Geometry in Math! A busy week indeed.

Here is the Weekly Note home for this week.

Week #30: April 15-19, 2013

Catching up! Here is the Weekly Note Home that was sent home during the week of April 15-19, 2013.

Week #29: April 8-12, 2013

I am way behind on the Class Website! Here is the Weekly Note that was sent home that week.