Week of September 10-15

We are off and running. I'm hoping your kids are coming home excited about school (hopefully not too sore) and sharing their planners with you.

I'm sure some of you may be wondering why I choose to do 3-5 minutes of fitness everyday in my core classes. This is something I have done for years, not only is it highly motivating, it relieves stress/anxiety as well as gives me an opportunity to emphasize that importance of goals and we are all striving to be better. Unfortunately, some of your children may have me for more than one period and they may get a little sore. Believe or not in three minutes you can get an effective workout, especially if your body isn't accustomed to it. Encourage them to continue to stretch at home. I always promote safety in class, but often it the soreness doesn't come until the next day. I will be sending home a list of stretches that can be done home this week.

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE- We can finally access our class blog from school, but we are still experiencing some difficulty linking our class grades to it. I will keep you posted of any changes. Remember, this blog is constantly evolving, so please be patient.

In Literature this week, we will be covering story elements. Also, I will be introducing read- alouds (I read a variety of literature to the class) and the students will be expected to use HOT (Hierarchy of Talk) as a way to clarify the reading. In addition, students need to have a library book everyday. They will be independently reading (IR) on a regular basis while I conference with every student once a week. This is an opportunity for me to assess their fluency, readability level, and their reading strategies they rely on.

Writing classes will continue to work on strong opening paragraphs, with emphasize on their first sentence.

The Study Skills class will finish their resumes and look at preparing for an interview. I have several eigth grade students who are interested in getting a job so I will be bringing in actual applications from local businesses who are hiring.

Have a wonderful week and thank you to those parents who introduced themselves to me via email. I would love to hear from all of you.