(But who’s counting, right?)

I hope that spring break was relaxing and restorative for you all.  I did get some much needed R & R, but am finding myself once again trying to pull the upcoming school week together at 10 pm on a Sunday evening.  In all honesty, I am hoping to weather the remainder of the school year so that I can not only show up for your students each day, but also myself and my family. I would like for us to finish the year strong, and to me that means learning, but also finding joy and enjoyment for all.  Here’s what I have planned out so far.

Cheers,

Ms. I

This week:

This week students are finishing up the written argument that they drafted before break. Students will be turning in their final drafts on Wednesday.  While we will have one more argument writing piece, we will not be starting that this week.  We are also taking a break from formal reading this week and will be starting a different kind of book wheel next week, which will begin with some historical fiction literature circles. We will work on setting those up this week.

Two of our math groups are starting new math topics this week (Pythons and Ogopogos). Please check in with your student to see what topic they are currently studying.

This week we are also moving forward in social studies to compare and contrast the three regions of the original 13 colonies.

Finally, we are returning to vocabulary study for the next few weeks, so get ready to review those roots, prefixes and suffixes at the dinner table.

Dates & Reminders:

• Take home folders: Students will continue to bring home green “Tuesday Folders” each week with communications from the school and returned work from me.  Please view and return the folder with your child by Thursday of each week.  That’s it. I’m not adding a signature log or any other level of detail, I just ask that you communicate with your student sometime between Tuesday and Thursday morning to review and remove the work in their folder so that it can be returned to me.  Thank you!
• In Class vs At Home: Even though there is a sense to normalcy returning to our routines, it is still important to remember that students are completing half of their school day (and work) at home and my need support from you.  This week, I have tried to indicate what tasks should be completed at home inside each activity node.  Please find time to check in with your child and have them show you (not tell you, ask them to SHOW you) the work that they need to complete at home. Thank you!

Ways you can support your student (and your teacher!):

• Keep doing that daily wellness check! You guys are doing great with that and it makes things so much easier for us!
• Ensure that your child is coming to class with their math book, a fully charged laptop and power cord (just in case), as well as the other items in the “What’s in your Backpack list” (You’ll find this in your student’s weekly loop).
• Talk through the daily loop with your child to offer support or simply help them process what needs to be completed.
• Set up a daily check in time for your child to share one aspect of their learning with you by showing you their work.  Let your student choose what they want to share and celebrate their efforts.  Ask questions to redirect or nudge them in a different direction if something looks amiss.
• Encourage your student to use the solutions node in the Math loop to correct their problem sets OR you can offer to correct it with them. This gives both you and your student immediate feedback on their understanding.