Thursday, September 30, 2010

Homework: Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday, September 29

Wordly Wise C and D

Coti Math: pages 26 and 28 in CM journal

Writing: continue butterfly essays


Thursday, September 30

Wordly Wise E plus study for spelling and vocab tests.

Coti Math: handout plus page 29 in CM journal

Writing: finish personal narrative template. Introduction optional.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Today's Field Trip and Tonight's Homework

Today's field trip to the zoo was fantastic! We toured the invertebrate house and then met with our zoologist friend who tagged our Monarch butterflies with a numbered sticker. We then set them free, hoping they'll survive the trip to Mexico. We will be able to track them via computer through monarchtracker.com. If and when they arrrive in Mexico, a "reader" will let us know that our butterflies are there. We set free two females and a male.

Tonight's homework:

Wordly Wise 2B (those who did not write sentences for 2A need to complete that work as well)

Pages 19 and 24 in CMJ (Coti Math)

Monday, September 27, 2010

Monday's Homework and Tomorrow's Field Trip

Vocabulary: Wordly Wise 2A
Reading: 30 minutes
Math: Review pages 75-86 in reference book for Unit 1 checkup tomorrow (Coti math)
Finish writing summaries of important information from butterfly readings.

Field trip to the Zoo tomorrow! Bring a lunch. Hopefully we'll get to tag our Mlonarchs!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Hispanic Heritage Month at the Smithsonian

Hello Parents!

If you're looking for something to do with the family this weekend, check out "Passport to Argentina," the kick-off of the Smithsonian's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The celebration includes craft and art activites, music, dance performances and storytelling.

The festival begins at 11:30 and goes until 3:00. It takes place in the Kogod Courtyard.

No homework on Fridays.

Have a great weekend!

Susan

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Homework and Field Trips

September 23, 2010


Hello Parents,

We've had a very busy week! Wordly Wise was introduced on Monday, and we've been completing some of the work in class. The first test is tomorrow. There are four field trip forms to be signed and returned as well along with any related costs. Please remember that field trips were not included in the $50 (or whatever you can give) class fund. The Wordly Wise books have already been purchased from the fund and a Time for Kids subscription is on order.

Thursday's Homework:

1. Sign and return field trip forms with a SIGNED Thursday report.
2. Coti math: construct a symetrical design with a compass. Keep practicing until you make perfect circles!
3. Wordly Wise 1E plus study for test
4. Finish the six compare/contrast questions in Lesson 2, Unit 1 in social studies book if you did not finish last night's homework.
5. Pen pal letter drafts should be returned ready for final copies.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Back to School

September 16, 2010



Dear Parents,

Welcome to the Coti Sweets, a moniker the students came up with! I love it. We had plenty of nominations, many names of sports teams. I was happy to see the majority voting for the 'Sweets," because I have to tell you: this class is SWEET!

We've started out with a bang and the momentum is going strong. Already we've accomplished classroom norms that are becoming habits. These norms keep us on the steady, and I'm happy to report that your children are cultivating these habits of mind in a consistent way. For example, they know the bell system down pat and respond with the expected outcome. The big bell means everyone needs to stop what they're doing and listen to a direction. The chime means we need to quiet the volume of voices. The train whistle means it's snack and read-aloud time. I must give credit to the third grade teachers for instilling a desire to reach expectations. This class is stellar!

Right now, we're busy with creating a butterfly museum, an effort that was student created just by their enthusiam for the Monarch butterfly. We're raising them in the classroom, and they're busy preparing for the Grand Opening. It happened today! Murch School paid a visit and so did several Eaton classes. The students who were not involved in the museum worked on building topography maps in preparation for our social studies on migration in conjunction with our World Cultures study of Argentina. They're working on landform identification and will soon discover the similarities between our country and Argentina. All the students, though, participated in the Museum opening, populating stations (scavenger hunts, art activities and games) and keeping the flow going. It was a great day.

We started math groups on Monday. The groups are flexible. We want to meet the students where their abilities are planted in the moment so that we can address their needs. I will address the needs of the students whose math skills are above grade level. Ms. Clark will meet the needs of students who are on grade level, and Ms. Ramsey will work with students who need some review. Mrs. Cahir will address the needs of the students who need some intensive reteaching so they will become proficient on grade level. All is well. We have your precious children on the right paths, and as I've said, these paths are flexible, so you can expect your children to flow from one to another.

I'd like to introduce our student teacher, Candice Roubin. She comes to us from Catholic University and is a wonderful addition to our classroom community. She is bonding with our students and has lots of great ideas to share with us. Welcome, Ms. Roubin! We're so glad to have you with us. She'll be at Eaton until December, and then I'll probably cry when she leaves!

I'm glad to be your child's teacher this year, and I know Ms. Roubin is too. So many new and exciting programs are in place to make this the best year ever!

Again, welcome to Eaton's 2010/11 school year. Together, we'll make great things happen!