Dear Room 139 Families,
We have now entered the WASL testing window. We will be operating under a modified schedule until testing is completed, this includes modified homework and academics as most of our class time is devoted to testing during these two weeks. Please read on for more specific information.
WASL testing Schedule this week:
Tuesday: Reading I for all
Wednesday: Math I for all
Thursday: Expository writing for 4th, Science I for 5th
During the days of WASL testing, only certified WASL proctors (that’s me) are allowed in the classroom, so volunteers, thank you for your help and I’ll see you in two weeks!
Homework this week:
To keep students relaxed and energized for testing, there will be minimal homework for the next two weeks. There will be no vocabulary or math assignments and minimal (if any) paragraphs. Students are expected to continue work on their Puget Sound Report and there will be a literature circle assignment handed out on Wednesday. Students will be encouraged to work on these larger projects after they have finished testing to minimize their homework even more.
One additional standing homework assignment this week is as follows:
- Get to bed early and get a good night’s sleep
- Get up in time to have a good, healthy breakfast
- Stay relaxed so you can show what you know
Please feel free to help your child with this assignment in any way you see fit.
The Math Competition! It’s finally here!
Some of our students have been working hard, over their lunches and some of their Saturdays to prepare for the upcoming Math Competition and the date is looming on the horizon. This Saturday, April 18th, our teams will be off the races, to strut their stuff in the math playing field up in Blaine, Washington.
Good luck luck to Corey Chandler, Vaibhav Vijay, Christian Aksama, Bryan McClintic, Hannah Nesbit, Wesley Trader, Coulson Darrington, Cameron Hammontree, Thomas Fischer, Nathan Hunt and Jake Fletcher. We’ll all be cheering for you and remember, this is about math and fun. If you do some math and enjoy it, then nothing else matters.
The Orca Adoption – In progress!
I want to publicly acknowledge the great work done by our Orca adoption team – Hannah, Jaime and Susanna. They have taken out Puget Sound unit to the level of advocacy by doing all the work to help our classroom adopt an orca and contribute to whale research in the Puget Sound area. And I mean all they work – they’ve presented to the class, written the notes home and worked with Joyce on how to actually send the money. I’ve been quite impressed by these ladies. As soon as we’ve officially adopted our Ocra, we’ll be letting you know.
Blog Notes:
I am still in the process of figuring out how to best use this new electronic tool to enhance learning and communication. This week, students had some time in the computer lab to give evidence of how they’ve met particular learning targets by commenting on the blog. For me, it’s fascinating reading to see how different students understood what was done in the classroom. I encourage you, if you have the time, to read through the comments (click at the bottom right of each post where it says “comments”) and see what your student has to say about our work in the classroom. And feel free to comment; they would love for you to weigh in on the discussion!
Mark Your Calendars:
Be First to Comment