Friday, April 26, 2013

Is it Really April 26th?

      I can't believe that it is really April 26th...The weather has not felt like it and there is just too many things left to do with this class for it to be almost the last month of school.  The three of us were out for two days of training on New Tech this week and the students got very good reports for the most part.  It is hard to have one of us gone let alone all three.  We came back very excited for the students who chose to continue learning in a PBL environment.  We spent our training days with the 5th through 8th grade Innovation Academy facilitators and are excited that our students will be working with this great group of people.  We also are so proud of the students and the work they have done this year.  They are really becoming life-long learners and are able to do so many new things. 
     On Thursday we held our College Fair and had most of the students at Riverside come to the gym to see the students projects.  We had very nice compliments from a lot of adults that came through about how our students presented themselves and their excitement to share with those who came by their display.  
     It is hard for us as adults to try new things out but these students have no problem trying things and if they do not work out they quickly try again.  They do not get frustrated they just try something else.  They are great at helping each other and encouraging each other.  These are some of the things that we believe PBL has taught them plus many more.  
   Just a reminder that our LEAD trip is Wednesday, May 1 and our Notre Dame Field trip is Tuesday, May 7.  Also next week is the final round of ISTEP.  Help us and your child out by making sure they have a good breakfast and get good rest.  Please encourage them to take their time and do their very best on each question.  Even though it is timed they should have plenty of time to read each question carefully.  
    Have a great weekend! 
 
College Fair Photos

Here are some photos from our College Fair.  Not all of the kids are in the photos, for some members of the groups, we do not have permission to put photos online.  Sorry if your child is not here. 












After school the gym was transformed into one of the places for Rocket Night!  Over 300 students attended and had a great time hanging out with their friends!




Friday, April 19, 2013

Busy Work Week

This week we have been busy finishing up our latest project.  The students have created tri-fold displays and some sort of advertisement for the college that their group chose.  The displays look great and we love the different commercials, Keynotes, Prezi's and brochures.  We are excited to share these with the rest of the school and any parent who wants to attend.  Next Thursday, April 25th from 1:15-2:45 our students will be hosting a "College Fair" for anyone who wants to attend.  Feel free to join us and check out what we have been working on.
    This week we had Mr. Nelson Chipman come and speak to our students as part of the LEAD program.  He talked to the students about his job a Prosecutor and also about laws and gave some examples for the students.  
     This week in math we have been working on reading and understanding graphs and charts.  We have looked at different examples and talked about where we would use these in the "outside' world.   In language arts, we have continued to work on theme.  We have read several stories and discussed what the possible themes could be.  In social studies we have continued our work with LEAD.  We have been discussing our legal system and how to be a good citizen.  
     Next week, Thursday evening is Rocket Night.  This is from 5:30-7 and it is for Riverside students only.  The student council and PTO sponsor this event.  We could use some small individually wrapped candy for prizes if you could donate any that would be great.  
     FYI---ISTEP round two starts on Tuesday, April 30.  Make sure to encourage your student to work hard and do their very best!  Have a great weekend!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Exploration Week!

     It is always a crazy week when we do Explorations.  The students always enjoy the activities offered and like learning new things.  On top of Explorations we had our first LEAD presenter, Officer Ted Brown, who spoke to the students about his job and about being a law abiding citizen.


     Today we had a speaker, who was a former student of Mr. Hunter and Mrs. Dennie, come and speak to the students about working hard and achieving goals.  This tied in great with our champion project.  Joel came to Mrs. Dennie's class speaking no English twelve years ago and he came back to see her yesterday and thank her for believing in him and helping him all those years ago.  His story is a wonderful story about perseverance and never giving up on your dreams and goals.  Ask your child about his talk.  We hope he helped inspire the students.  Joel said that everyone needs someone that believes in them.  We hope that your child knows that you believe in him/her and also that we believe in him/her.   We hope to inspire kids to keep believing and keep achieving their goals and dreams.








     On Thursday we had some students from the Weidner School of Inquiry come and present tech tools to our students.  They had a Tech Fair for us.  The students did not get to spend a lot of time at each station but they did come back excited and wanting to check out the new tools.  We had several siblings presenting to each other which was pretty neat!

   
      In math this week we worked on variables and expressions.  We working on reading and writing expressions as well as evaluating expressions.  In social studies we began working on learning about LEAD.  Students learn a lot about our legal system and making sure they follow the laws.  In language arts we worked on theme and reviewed answering questions in complete sentences.

     Reminder that the PBL information night is Monday, April 15th beginning at 6;00.  Come out and meet the facilitators for next year and get some questions answered.  This is for students and their parents entering PBL in 5th or 6th grade next fall.

     We will be sending out more information soon but our students will be presenting a college fair and you are more than welcome to attend.  Please know that you are always welcome to come and check out what is going on in our classrooms.

     Have a great weekend!


Friday, April 5, 2013

Start of the Final Grading Period!

     Welcome back after Spring Break!  We hope that you had a nice week with your children at home.  We are in full swing of our College project.  We hope the students are learning about their college and about higher education in general.  We are excited to see what they come up with for their part of the college fair we will be having. 
     This week in our classes we have been working on coordinates and function tables in math.   We have been working on Greek and Latin roots in language arts and finding the themes of a story.  In social studies we have been discussing the French and Indian War. 
     Just a few notes....
     *****May 15th at 6:00 pm we will be having a PBL meeting with all parents of students signed up to attend the Innovation Academy at Riverside next fall.    
     ****LEAD is beginning next week.  LEAD stands for Legal Education to Arrest Delinquency.  During this program we will have guest speakers including a police officer, a probation officer and an attorney.  This program concludes with a trip to the court house and a Mock Trial.  It is a neat experience and the students learn a lot.  Our team will be having these sessions on Wednesday's for the next four weeks.  We will conclude on May 1st with our trip to the court house. 
     *****ISTEP just so everyone knows our final round of ISTEP is the week beginning with April 29th.  This is the online/multiple choice part of the ISTEP. 
     ****Our field trip to Notre Dame will be on May 7th, this is a favorite of all of the kids even those who do not "like" Notre Dame.  We are working on the schedule for the day.  We normally watch a video about ND, have a tour, eat lunch and have a demonstration in the science building.  This year we are not going to be able to have the demonstration for some reason so we are working on another option.  We always allow parents to attend this trip if they want to go.  We fill up the bus and then the rest have to drive themselves.  We will have a cost for this as soon as we get the final cost of the lunch. 
    *****We are encouraging students to not wait to get their AR goal this last grading period as it will be very busy,  We are giving them time every day to work on AR and Achieve so that they can meet these goals.  Please help encourage them at home as well. 

     Have a great weekend!