Happy Hanukkah!

Greetings from Room 10,

This week we found ourselves finalizing our government unit as well as our memoir unit.  At the same time we began the respiratory unit in health and began to brainstorm ideas for our ABC book.  The children are really excited about writing an ABC book, and they have found it to be a bit more challenging than they initially thought.  I suspect they thought it would be an easy project, until I sprung the requirements on them.  We are using Yankee Doodle America as our mentor text.

Now that we are through the first marking period, I plan to focus our reading instruction on small groups as opposed to whole-class instruction.  The children have been "close reading" non-fiction articles including an article on the Electoral College, childhood obesity and sports figures as role models.  Main idea has been the first skill we tackled.  We will move onto inferring beginning next Monday.  I love reading with the children in a small group setting.

Has your 5th grader told you about the holiday songs we have been singing?  I have been accompanying Mrs. Platek for our yearly sing-a-long for the last 12 years, so my students get to practice with me before the big extravaganza on December 21st.  It's a lot of fun, especially when they sing Felice Navidad! 

Have a relaxing weekend!  And for those families celebrating Hanukkah, I wish you much joy and happiness during this holiday season!

Pajama Day Photos!

Greetings from Room 10,

            In honor of Veteran’s Day, the children participated in a Veteran’s Day assembly last  Friday afternoon.  With Mrs. Bacher’s class taking the lead, the children performed a Veteran’s Day chant.  The assembly was attended by the entire school community and it was a beautiful tribute to our veterans.

            Conferences begin next week.  Tuesday, November 20^th is a ½ day for the children.  I have allotted 25 minutes for each conference.  Your child’s report card will be available through BC@home the day before your scheduled conference.  A separate math report card will be on-line for those students who do not have me as their math teacher.  I look forward to meeting with you all to discuss your child’s progress.

            This week the children completed eight literacy stations that included reading Time for Kids, National Geographics and writing from the perspective of a falling leaf.  Speaking of writing, the children have completed their memoir and hopefully (I am keeping my fingers crossed) the editing process will be complete by lunchtime tomorrow morning.  This could NOT be possible without the help of our class editors: Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Kee and Mrs. Taranto.  The children wrote pretty long pieces so we were only able to complete about 15 of the 25 kids Thursday afternoon.  Next week we will TYPE them.   Wish us luck!

            Speaking of next week, the vocabulary unit ends on Wednesday with a 50-word spelling test and vocabulary test.  The children should have been keeping their spelling/vocabulary words for the last several weeks, and you should begin to see them study for this test.  I know some of you are heading out for the  Thanksgiving holiday a bit early, so I hope to give the test first thing Wednesday morning.  If your child will not be in school on Wednesday, they should tell me so I can give him or her the test on Tuesday.

            Pajama day and a popcorn party made our week extra special!             Lester Betor & class

Calling All Editors!!

Greetings from 5B!
     The children have completed writing their memoirs and I am looking for your help.  I would love for 4-5 parents to join me on Thursday, November 15th at 1:45.  I bet​ 5 of us could edit the whole class's memoirs in about an hour.  If you can help, drop me an email to confirm at betolsli@bcsd.neric.org.  Thank you in advance for your help!  Lester B.

Halloween Party Photos

Greetings from Room 10,

         It was great getting back to school on Monday, after having been out last Friday.  I attended a BOCES workshop on the Common Core that I found to be quite helpful.  I am beginning to implement a few of the strategies I learned in reading.  We had a terrific Halloween party Wednesday afternoon.  In addition to a rousing game of charades and pumpkin decorating (compliments of Colleen Carroll-Barbuto), the children enjoyed the wonderful treats provided by some families of Room 10.  Special thanks to our room parents who kindly set up the delicious treats and tidied up the mess.  It was a treat for the kids to celebrate their final elementary school Halloween with flair.

          The crayfish unit has drawn to a close, culminating with a unit test on which most children excelled.  Science tends to be one of the children’s favorite subjects because it offers an opportunity for hands on learning.  Today the children wanted one more chance to hold the crayfish and to say goodbye.        We will continue to focus on government and elections for the foreseeable future.  They ask some great questions.

            You should have received an invitation to visit our classroom during American Education Week.  Just in case it didn’t make it home, please join us in the classroom on Friday, November 9^th from 10:00am – 11:00am. You are also invited to join your child for recess and lunch that begins at 11:05am.  If you plan to have lunch with your child, please be sure to bring your own lunch.

            Our memoir unit is well underway.  The children have completed their first draft, we have added “sparkling words”, “bold beginnings,” and voice.  I will be enlisting the help of some parent volunteers to help me with the editing process.  If you might like to help, just drop me an email.  I will firm up times as we move into next week.            

Thank you to Margaret Taranto for arranging parent help at the school store.  We have a few more days this Fall, and we will turn it over to Mrs. Ward’s class.

As a reminder, the weekly reflection needs to be signed and returned each Monday.  It’s important that they consistently have it signed and returned timely.

Don’t forget we have a half-day on Tuesday!           Have a great weekend, Lester & class