Conferences

Happy November everyone!
I can't believe that we are almost completely finished with our first quarter already! Time is flying by fast!  Here are some announcements:

1. Conferences

I apologize in advance for the mess that next week is turning into be. I feel awful I have to reschedule a few due to a mandatory meeting that was brought to my attention earlier this week taking place on Wednesday, as well as a banquet on Tuesday night.  I am showing a screen shot of the layout for the week - so for those of you who need to adjust their times, please let me know and I'll make something work! 

Also, if you could fill out this google form quick, that would be awesome! Should only take a few minutes to give some more feedback for how things are going in general.
As always, thank you in advance for you flexibility.

2.  Wonder Field Trip

The kids should have brought home a lime green permission slip to go to the movie "Wonder" which will be out in theaters quite soon! If you have not paid on FEE PAY, please do so asap. If your child needs scholarship assistance, please turn the form in and make sure you check the box! As of right now, I do not need any parent volunteers, but I will let you know if that changes. 

If they lost the form, here is a link to another copy so you can print it off at home and have it returned. Hopefully the link works. 

            Wonder Permission Slip

3.  Report Cards
 With the end of a quarter comes report cards. They should be available on the Parent Portal sometimes towards the end of next week.

The report cards are standards based and based on a 4,3,2,1 scale. Please do NOT associate the 4,3,2,1 with an A ,B,C,D- as that is not the case at all!

For reference:
4 is given if the student is performing consistently better than grade level
3 is given if the student is performing consistently at grade level
2 is given if the student is understands the skill, but not consistent at performing it just yet
1 is given if the student may not understand the skill or still developing the skill.

4. Website updates
I told you it would be a trial and error period the first quarter to see if the HomeworkApp was worth it- and I decided that it's not applicable to 5th grade necessarily. Great for upper grades with more homework and classes, but not so much now.

Instead, I have updated the Homework tab with a direct link to my Planbook online. Every Sunday when I am planning for the week, I will copy my plans online to the site that allows you to see everything that we will be doing for the week. Keep in mind that the plans change frequently (especially math!) as we may not get to everything, however, most of the information is updated.

I will also try to update the homework listed regularly for reference, but I apologize in advance if I forget to.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Cheers to Fall!
Jennifer

P.S. If the kids didn't tell you, Waunakee Volleyball made it to State for the first time in 24 years!

April Showers and May Flowers!

Sorry for the long delay in updating! There has just been so much going on, and time is FLYING!

After conferences, the students have been doing really well with using their own devices so far. I haven't had to remind them to stay on task too much- in fact, I've noticed a huge growth in productivity in many students.  I am looking forward to seeing what more I can do to include devices into the curriculum.
Some Apps that have been proven useful to download for Classroom purposes:

QR Code Reader
Google Drive/Google Docs
Educreations

We also had a great conversation with our book club groups, and discussed what did and did not go well.  We are hoping to help the clubs be more accessible and more relevant for our fantasy clubs, so keep your eyes posted for a contract that will be signed. Also, take a look at the google calendar, as I updated the month of May, and there are a million things on it for amazing events coming to Kromrey!

Love this Class

I can't believe it's February already. I was just thinking about this last night, and my heart dropped a bit when I realized I only have about 15 weeks or so left with this group. We have still a lot of information to cover and learning to gain, but wow, this year is flying by.

The month of February and March are pretty intense, as we had grades due last week, and a lot of activities planned. This is great, as these months are usually the hardest with the dreariness of the weather, so there are a lot of things to look forward to.

Announcements:

Please read the 7 Announcements

0. Valentines Day-

Please no treats or candies for the class, as dietary and heath concerns are a priority, as well as equity. If your child wants to make valentine's however, it's an all or none policy! Let me know if you need a class list! 

1. Fountas and Pinelle Testing:

 I had the pleasure of retesting the kiddos in reading, and I am proud to say that everyone went up at least one level, or stayed at a very good level. This is awesome! The kids are reading so much, and have a passion for reading like I've never seen before.

2. Congratulations to Abby, Aadil and Cam for making it into the math meet!
 Also, an honorable mention to Ian for being an alternate! I am so proud of all of those who attempted to take the test (I don't think I would have had the guts when I was in 5th grade!)

3. Jewel Parker Rhodes.

Author of our current read aloud, Towers Falling, and The Ninth Ward is Skyping with the 5th grade students next Wednesday, the 15th. Towers Falling is a historical fiction novel about the events of 9/11, just for you to be aware of the topics we are discussing in class. 

4. Also, we have moved on from BYOD. 

Most of the students were in favor of being a BYOD classroom in their current letters to me for arguing practice. Because of this, and I have never had experience with this personally, we are going to have a trial period to test it out.  Keep on the look out for a BYOD contract that the kids will be bringing home to read over with you.  I am really excited to try this, as I am a huge fan of the benefits (and I know the kids will like listening to their own music, instead of my mash ups between Vivaldi and Bonnie Taylor!)

This also means that we are starting the real argumentative beast, where the students are picking their own topics that they are passionate about, and writing a clear argument in favor or not in favor for. Some of the topics we discussed today were relating to school environments and standardize testing, to animal rights, athletics, global warming, and current political issues. I asked the students that during the discussions that they remember to be empathetic and sensitive, as not everyone is in agreement with each other on various things.

I told them for homework tonight is to come home and talk to you about the topics they were most passionate about, and see if they could add any more issues to their growing lists. (I think one student had over 35 topics that he wanted to debate!)

3. 5th Grade Dance/ Hat Day is February 17th. 

Student Council is trying to fundraise, so if students want to wear a hat that day, they will need to contribute a dollar to the hat fund.

4. Share the Reading event is taking place February 25th! 

5.  Spirit Week is coming up March 13-17. 

This is an exclusive event that all 5th graders will partake in, in honor of the Spirt Night event held on the 17th for the 6-8th graders. Due to scheduling conflicts, 5th graders are not able to come to the night time event, but will be able to partake in some of those activities on Friday afternoon.  Even more so, the rest of the week will be filled with other spirited activities that celebrate their life as KMS Cougars. For the event, the 5th grade team will be asking for some volunteers possibly, as well as donations, as there is a craft area on Friday for the kids to work on.  If you are interested in donating materials or supplies, or helping out that Friday Afternoon for the 5th graders, more information will soon be arriving.

I have not informed the kids yet of this, as I am still in the planning process, but this year's plans ROCK!

6.  MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR P/T CONFERENCES

Parent Teacher Conferences will be March 2nd and March 9th. Same process as last time- I will be sending out a SignUp Genius link via email to make sure you have time to pick a slot!  As always, please let me know ahead of time if you have any questions or concerns so I can help with answers!

Informational

Finally, today is the day the kids have been waiting for! The Informational Unit is over, and we can move on to...MORE INFORMATION! 

But now it's going to be in the form of an argument. :)

I am so proud of how hard the kids have been working- and you can really see their growth in their final products. They've worked extremely hard this last unit- even with the nice interruptions of the holiday breaks, I am still very proud of their final products! So kudos to them, as I hope they carry on what they have learned towards the future, when they have to do it again in 6th grade. 

Coming up this month, we will be working on a argumentative unit. Currently, they are working in groups on learning to read and focus on the elements of a good argument during reader's workshop. During writer's workshop, we are going to dive into the BYOD policy (Bring Your Own Device) and start a warm up with that argument.Then, I am going to unleash the fury of their own opinions on various topics that interest them, and let them take the reigns once again.  The key to a good argument is good organization and strong sources. So, if you are looking for ways to help your child with writing at home, those are two topics that they can definitely use help with, always. Also, if anyone has professional experience in the art of arguing and would like to come and talk with the kiddos, please let me know, as it's always better to have real life experience than just take my word for it.  

Also, just over the horizon is our first major "field trip." We are headed to the high school to watch the MHS performance of "Seed Folks" on February 1st. Keep your eyes open for a permission slip coming home next week. 

Another permission slip that will be making it's way towards you is the annual, "Share The Reading" event, where KMS students go to the elementary schools and read with the elementary students for an hour and share the love of reading. This will be taking place towards the end of February, and is a really fun event. Mr. Engle, our Dean of Students, usually helps coordinate the event, and tries to get students to go back to their old elementary schools. The kids usually love it. 

Remember, no school on Monday as it is the ever ironic holiday, "Martin Luther King Jr. Day". Enjoy the time off :) See everyone on Tuesday!