All the Big Doings in Class!

Tuesday, September 6th 2016 – THEY WERE WORTH THE WAIT!  (Plus some factoid info for you…)

It’s now Day 3 – the Curtain has lifted and the show has begun!  And let me tell you, these kids were worth the wait.  Despite the ridiculous heat and the necessary droning on by me regarding all the new routines, procedures, etc., the kids have been engaged, are practicing how to listen well the first time, are asking thoughtful questions of me and of each other, and are increasing their stamina for classroom life.  But this week is all about dipping our toes in the pool…

 The school pool, that is. Believe me when I tell you that I will challenge your kids this year.  But the best way to maximize those challenges is to set them up for success and ease into new expectations one item at a time.  Our focus over the next two weeks will be on building a loving, supportive classroom family, learning how to listen well the first time (ask them about “listening with your eyes,” and “ask a friend who listened” strategies), and setting up/using processes and systems for getting work done and staying organized. Finally, a major focus is in asking students to become more reflective about their behaviors and examining how, in order to be respectful, they need to moderate their behavior for the setting and act differently as a member of a community than they would as an individual at home. An example of this you can talk about with your child is The Columns of Respect and Disrespect. In class we talked about how every action we do (or say) can fall into one of two columns:  Respect or Disrespect, and that they should visualize these two columns in their heads.  At fifth grade, it’s time to think more about this and ask yourself which column certain habitual behaviors fall in, and decide, “How can I move that behavior out of the Disrespect Column and into the Respect Column?”

Now to some Factoid Info –

·         The “Homework At a Glance” Page in the pink bar above shows nightly homework.  Just click on the bright green box and it will pop up bigger.

·         The “Parent Place and Student Resource Center” Page (also above) has online copies of many important things the kids will need throughout the year. I do not give out extra copies of these things to kids if they lose them – they can print them from the blog page as needed.  There are also docs for parents, such as my Open House Overview and the 5^th Grade Supply List.

·         Speaking of that, the pre-ordered kits only provide what is common to all classes, but do not include a few things specific to each of us.  In the next week or so (if you haven’t already), please pick up the following:  A 2nd marble hardcover journal; a 2nd spiral notebook; a 3-pack of Pentel (or similar) 0.9mm mechanical pencils.  Thanks!

And so this (almost) ends my post.  Your kids are awesome.  I fall a little bit more in love each day with these Sweetlings, and I look forward to learning and executing all the ways in which I might help them become their best selves going forward.  I have a poster on my door which we discussed as a class that says, “What is Popular is not Always Right…What is Right is not Always Popular.”  And while I may not always be popular when asking them to step it up throughout the year, I know in my heart that I will be doing what is right for each of your children for their future success.

Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow – Cathy