The First Full Week of School!

Dear Parents of Room 10,

Our year together is off to a great start.  I have been really impressed by how well your children have settled into our routine.  Overall, it has been a very smooth transition into fifth grade.  My focus right now is to help them transition without talking. As I mentioned last evening, this is a particularly chatty group. But they are sweet, hardworking and very bright!

It was really nice to have the opportunity to meet many of you last evening at our Open House.  I always feel a tad rushed and tend to talk really fast, so if there is anything you need clarified, please let me know.  Your children worked really hard this week as we prepared to “dazzle” you last night with their self-portraits, crossword puzzles and letters.

            At this point, all of your children have been tested in reading fluency, and a base-line score has been established.  I will begin reading comprehension assessments shortly.  I also plan to administer an assessment to identify specific reading skills that need to be re-taught.  This particular assessment, which I have been using for quite some time, is fairly quick and painless. Hopefully we will begin small-group instruction very soon.

            On the science front, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our crayfish.  The children are very excited to learn about these creatures.  Until they arrive, we are focusing on ecosystems, and the children have enjoyed getting outside to observe nature during science class.

            Here are some photos that I took this week of the kids working on Open House projects and during science class.