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!