Thursday, April 23, 2015

5V News

Happy vacation!  I hope you enjoy a wonderful week with your families!  It's hard to believe how little school there is left but we have a lot to do with a lot of exciting things happening!

Upcoming: 
After we get back from vacation we will be getting back into American history by watching "The War That Made America" to explore The French and Indian War and then it's on to the American Revolution!  
We will be immersed in the American Revolution in reading, writing and social studies.  It's one of my favorite units of the year and our Boston field trip is a perfect experience to complement this learning!  

Dates:
May 21- Boston field trip with Ms. Hodgdon's class
June 1- Grandparent's lunch
June 8- CMS guidance visits us (notice revised date)
June 11- Field day at Stratham Hill Park
June 12- Field trip to Odiorne
June 14- Visit CMS
June 18- 5th grade celebration/graduation and parent visit during the school day
June 19- last day of school 

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Thank you!

Dear 5V families,
Thank you so much for helping your children throw me a surprise bridal shower!  I was taken aback by the kids' thoughtfulness, attention to detail and careful planning.  It was such a fun time and I truly felt the love from all of them and all of you!  Your children have helped add another whole level of excitement to this time in my life and I appreciate every single one of them.  You have amazing kids!  Thank you so much from both me and Kevin.  

Friday, April 17, 2015

5V News

Happy Friday!  This week we have been busy with Smarter Balanced testing and Jeff Warner.  Thank you to those of you that have returned the Student Work Release Form for my work with Lesley University and Mary Ann Cappiello and Erica Dawes.  It would be great if I could get those back by next week.  Please let know if you need another copy.

Just a reminder that your child's memory book page is due by next Friday, April 24th.

Please join us next Thursday evening in the library at 6:30 for a Jeff Warner sing-along.  It's a fun time every year!

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Friday, April 10, 2015

Research Study

Dear parents,
I am excited to let you know that I am part of a group of teachers at SMS collaborating with Lesley University Graduate School of Education professors Dr. Mary Ann Cappiello and Dr. Erika Thulin Dawes, focusing on the use of text sets, collections of print and digital resources for literacy and content area study.  Dr. Cappiello and Dr. Dawes are writing a book tentatively entitled Teaching Writing with Text Sets. Together, we have been exploring a variety of texts to consider for use in our classroom and designing projects for students. This joint effort not only provides us with direct professional development, but deepens the work that we do with your children.

As part of our collaboration, Dr. Cappiello and Dr. Dawes will be documenting our classroom work. They may record or view recordings of classroom discussions in order to capture student questions, discussions, and knowledge-building; they may also photograph classroom activities and scan student work samples. The evidence of student learning will become an important piece of the work that they will share in their forthcoming book. Dr. Cappiello and Dr. Dawes may also write journal articles and / or do conference presentations about our work together. 

Next week I will send home permission forms requesting your permission to have your child’s work included, under pseudonym, in their book, journal publications, and / or conference presentations. Additionally, the form requests your permission to allow photographs of your child to appear in their book. Your child will not be identified by name in any publication or presentation.

You are not required to grant permission for your child to participate in this classroom based research study. There will be no penalty to you or your child if you choose not to participate. You may also choose to withdraw from participating at any time by notifying me.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you!

5V News

It has been wonderful meeting with all of you during parent conference time!  We have started Smarter Balanced testing and the students have been doing so well working hard during that time.  I've had a lot of questions about end of the year activities and dates because we have so much going on!  I've included a list of important dates that we know so far- I'm sure there will be more to come!

April 15- Early release
April 23- Jeff Warner evening sing-along 6:30 pm in the library
April 27-May 1 Vacation
May 14- CMS guidance counselors visit us
May 21- Boston field trip with Ms. Hodgdon's class
June 12- Field trip to Odiorne 
June 14- Visit CMS 
June 18- 5th grade celebration/graduation and parent visit during the school day 
June 19- last day of school 

Have a great weekend!

Friday, April 3, 2015

5V News

Parent Conferences:
I am looking forward to meeting with you!  You can find the final schedule here:  SPRING CONFERENCES 

Smarter Balanced Testing:
5th grade begins testing next week.  Here is the schedule of testing:

4/8- 9:00 ELA (English Language Arts)
4/10- 9:00 ELA, 1:30 ELA
413- 9:00 ELA
4/14- 9:45 ELA
4/16-8:45 MATH
4/17-8:45 MATH
4/20- 9:30 MATH
4/21- 8:45 MATH

Upcoming dates:

  • Early releases Wednesday 4/8 and Wednesday 4/15
  • Evening Jeff Warner sing-along Thursday 4/23 at 6:30 pm in the library
  • Jump Rope for Heart Friday 4/24
Have a great weekend!