Viewing: October, 2009
October 8, 2009
Three reminders!
- The office will accept orders for the fourth grade math Student Reference Book until tomorrow. I recommend this book as a good supportive resource for home use.
- I’m accepting Scholastic book orders until tomorrow. I’ve gotten several in already. If you don’t choose to order this time, there will be plenty of other opportunities throughout the school year.
- In case you forgot, let me remind you that OUR CLASS HAD 100% PARTICIPATION IN THE GOVERNOR’S SUMMER READING CHALLENGE! As one of the classes to have every student participate, our kids earned an ice cream party from Mrs. McCabe. She has arranged for the kids to get their ice cream tomorrow during lunch. Please bear this in mind when you pack your child’s lunch.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
October 7, 2009
Change to Late Homework Policy
This year, I’m trying something new with homework, and I’ve been very pleased by how well it has worked so far. Instead of collecting homework from kids by having them put it in a turn-in bin, I now go around the room while kids have their homework on their desk, and I check to see who has come to school prepared with their assignments. This lets me check in homework more efficiently, which leaves more time for us to correct assignments together, giving kids more of an opportunity to review skills and ask questions.
However, it takes a lot of time for me to back up and fill out missing homework slips (especially since we have had a lot of missing assignments lately, unfortunately). Because a big focus in fourth grade is helping students to develop a sense of academic responsibility, I have started a new system of Homework Alerts. If a student is not prepared when he or she comes to school, I will ask him or her to fill out a Homework Alert and to explain on it the reason why they were not prepared with their homework. I will sign it, the student will sign it, and he or she must bring it home and have a parent/guardian sign it that night. If it does not come back signed the next school day, he or she may lose recess time, particularly if it becomes an ongoing issue.
Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement as your child matures into an increasingly responsible fourth grader!
Here is a sample Homework Alert for you to review, if you are interested: HOMEWORK ALERT
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
October 7, 2009
Teacher Team 209
The kids are fortunate to be working with several different teachers in our classroom! Besides me, here are a few other grown-ups who come into our class throughout the week.
Miss Laura Herold has been a paraprofessional at Pine Grove School since early 2009. She is currently taking graduate courses at Central Connecticut State University in the field of TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language). Miss Herold is in our class several times each week and works with many different students on various activities. As the year goes on, she may work with small groups of students on reading, writing, and math activities.
Mrs. Ann McCarthy is a veteran special education teacher at PGS. A few times each week (usually on Tuesday and Wednesday), Mrs. McCarthy will team-teach with me in class and will also work with ALL students in small groups or one-on-one. She brings a lot of ideas and expertise with her, and she’s been a great asset to our classroom. Mrs. McCarthy works with the whole fourth grade team and is someone we normally consult with if we have concerns regarding a student’s performance.
Mrs. Michelle Lenihan is a Speech and Language Pathologist at PGS, which means that she works with students on understanding language, using language to communicate, comprehension, etc. Mrs. Lenihan will work with the fourth grade team throughout the year on a variety of issues, and she will often be consulted when teachers have a concern about a student’s academic performance. She will be in our classroom on Tuesdays, right before lunch.
Mrs. Sherri Poi is a teacher of English as a Second Language. She works with students who speak different languages and helps them to develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills in English. Having lived in Japan for many years as an English teacher, Mrs. Poi understands the challenges that English Language Learners face as they work to learn how to communicate in English. Mrs. Poi works with students at PGS, Thompson Brook, and (I think) at Avon Middle School. She will be in and out throughout the school year, depending on what activities we are working on.
Mrs. Carrie Dybinski is the permanent substitute at PGS. She is in the building each day and works in all grade levels. Because I will be out periodically for district educational technology meetings, Mrs. Dybinski will have an on-going presence in the classroom. She is very familiar with my expectations in class, and she knows our class routines very well. She is a certified elementary school teacher and formerly worked here as a paraprofessional before student teaching at PGS in second grade.
Mr. Severus Snape is a former teacher from the Harry Potter world. Described as a “horrible teacher” by J.K. Rowling, Mr. Snape works at PGS with students who anger their classroom teacher by not laughing at his jokes. (Kidding! Just checking to see who is still reading!)
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
October 1, 2009
Breakfast of Champions and Book Orders
Two quick news bullets:
- Today we started working on our first long-term project of the year, the Breakfast of Champions project. The kids can fill you in, but I didn’t have a chance to explain the assignment packet to the kids. Don’t worry, a detailed description of the project will be making its way home to you. Tonight, kids should choose their “champion” (role model) from all those listed on the website www.achievement.org.
Book order forms went home today. Participation is optional, but the bargains in the catalogs are MUCH better than the prices in the bookstore on on Amazon.com. If you are interested in ordering, please return your orders by NEXT Friday. Interested in having the option to place your orders online with a credit card? If so, email me. If there’s enough interest, I’ll look into offering that option. Remember, when you order from the Scholastic catalogs, you’re helping our class to earn bonus points that I use to buy more books for the library and other valuable resources.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss