We made it through our first full week of school and what fantastic week we have had. We completed many projects and are well into our first units of discovery. We also welcomed our newest class member Eric Watson.
I want to thank everyone who attended Back to School Night last night. I hope it was informative. If you were not able to make it, I am going to put up both the slide show I used, and the Seesaw slide show for you to view at your leisure. Please remember that I am here for your scholar all the time. Please let me know if we need to meet.
Computers are all now set up for use at school. Starting on Monday I would like to see students bring them with them every day. They can store them in the locked cabinet overnight if they want except over the weekend when they must go home. This is a choice I leave up to you and your scholar. Be on the look out for much more coming your way digitally.
Grade 5 retreat is September 5-6. This is coming very rapidly. Permission slips and packing lists went home on Friday. The permission slip is due in to me by Wednesday August 28th please. Be accurate with the information on it as that is what I will take out with me to camp. We will arrive home on Friday at 4:30 pm so please start immediately to make arrangements to pick up your son/daughter from school or to take the 5:00 late busses. While I do not know who to call, starting with the transportation office will likely get you what you need.
Next week in math we continue with our look at whole numbers and I predict that the final assessment for this unit will be towards the end of the week. It is a fairly short unit and I am please with what I am seeing in the way of student learning.
Our writing unit on the Personal Narrative continues. We have been busy writing small moments from our lives and will continue with this through next week when I expect that each student will have up to five or six small moment pieces. From there we will look at expanding one into a complete story and then publish it later in the unit.
Our reading unit is taking the time to write well about what we read. This is something that I feel the class needs a lot of work in, so I am teaching it with repeated ideas and using many examples from students I have taught in the past and also from professional readers. Our first library period is next Wednesday so students will finally get to sign out books and bring them home. I expect that we will visit the library about twice a week for book exchange. Please remember that after home learning is complete, students should use the rest of their time, up to 50 minutes, to read. On the weekend I would like them to find 15-20 minutes per day to do the same. I know this is not always possible, but since reading is such an important life skill, it is a worthwhile endeavor.
Our migration simulation on Tuesday went very well. The objectives were met and the students really got a feel for what it is like to be an immigrant arriving for the first time to a new country. We have reflected on the simulation and will continue with the learning next week. I will give you a heads up that if you have anyone in your family that has migrated to another country, your student would love to talk with them and hear their story. It is something that really adds strength to the learning.
That is all for now. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know and I will gladly set up a time for us to meet. Have a great weekend.
Harold Daw
