Hip Hip Hooray!

We've been working on goal-setting both as a class and as individuals since the beginning of the school year.  Two weeks ago we set a goal to achieve at least 550 points as a class by today.  A free period outside would be the reward for all our hard work.  We got points for being proactive, being on task, helping others, working together, using the right volume in class, and getting our homework done and in.  It is amazing to see what we are able to do when we are motivated...students started adding the totals in their heads with every ding of ClassDojo! How is that for math in your life!!?   I am happy to report that the last period of the day we were out enjoying the sunshine with 12 extra points to boot!  And you guessed it...next week we hit the reset button and set some new goals.  :)

In Math we're going to be turning our attention to decimal numbers and fractions in the next week, but we'll need to keep our adding and subtracting skills dusted off because it all gets mixed into the pot and stirred up.  As much as you can talk about parts of a whole in our world around us the better as it is always a benefit if students see that what they're learning in school has a connection to what happens in life.

Wow!  Almost all of you are signed up to come in to parent teacher interviews!  Wonderful :)  Looking forward to seeing all of you then.  There are still a few spots open on both days if you haven't had a chance to book a time.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to make a homework plan with your child!  This is a great step towards each student beginning with the end in mind and becoming more responsible.

Have a great weekend all!

A note about homework

So far this year, we haven't had a lot of homework so we haven't worried too much about the hows and the whys of homework in our class discussions.  In grade 4/5R there are two main categories of homework so far: 1) work that needs to be finished up at home and 2) a small task that needs to be done by everyone (usually something that takes no more than 10 minutes).  We will have bigger project and week-long tasks that will likely be added into the mix when the time is right, but for now we don't have those types of homework.

Homework of the first type is usually a result of mismanaged time, but could also just be that the student needs a little more time to complete the work.  This could also be catch-up work in the case of an absence.  The timelines for this type of work can generally be negotiated unless the success of the next day depends on it being completed.  Generally if this is the case, I try to notify the specific parents, especially if the student expresses concern about his extra-curricular engagements getting in the way that day.

Homework of the second type is generally related to the instruction of the next day and is necessary to be completed in order to further the work at school.  Usually this type of "unplanned universal task" is not very long and can be quite flexible as to when and maybe in what way, or with what materials it is completed.  For example, yesterday's task was to write down 5 topics that would be good writing subjects for their writing time and to bring it to school.  We could have done this at school, but sometimes being in our own environment sparks a different type of creativity.

As there were a considerable number of people who did not finish this task last night, tonight everyone has another "universal task".  This is to sit down with their respective parent(s) and map out a plan in the case of homework.  Maybe homework is done in a special spot.  Or maybe there is a little homework bag in the car (with a pad of paper and a couple pencils).  Maybe it is done before dinner or maybe it is on the way to piano lessons.  Or in between dance classes.  Each person's schedule dictates how that is going to look and it needs to be something that both the parents and the student are aware of.   Please do have this conversation.  Students have been asked to bring their agendas signed to show that they have indeed made this plan with their parents.

If homework is not mentioned in the blog, it will be written in the agenda.  Remember that homework is specific to each person and the agendas are their place to record things to do, goals, plans and events.  While they do get help with this, they are also expected to become increasingly independent as time goes on :)

Hope this clarifies this aspect of school life.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do contact me!  I have found that students often need some help from the "home front" to identify "openings" in their after-school schedule which could be used for homework.  Part of becoming older and more responsible is putting first things first and planning with the end in mind.  Yep, you saw it coming...Habit 2 and 3 of the 7 Habits!

Le jour de l'Action de Grâce

It's already Thanksgiving!  Today we took a little minute to think about things we were thankful for and write them down.  While we are thankful for many things, sometimes we forget to think about them.  For some of us we had to think quite a while to find 5 different ones, but we did it!  The result is rather festive and now hanging outside our door in the hall if you'd like to come admire it.

We're working on building our stamina when writing and reading independently, getting ready to move into Daily 5 in our Literacy Block.  The minutes on the graph are increasing with each practice so we're moving in the right direction!  It is very exciting to see students taking their learning seriously!

Have you noticed that from time to time students are writing their goals in their agendas?  These goals are related to our class mission statement and remind us to keep working on being the best that we can be in the area that we might need to work on.  These are always great conversation starters.  This month we are working especially on the habit of being "Proactive" and we make really good decisions when keeping this habit in mind.

Have a great weekend everyone!  Looking forward to seeing you back on Tuesday!

Our class mission statement

In the last few days we've been thinking about the 7 Habits that make us great leaders in our school and our world.  We've especially been thinking about how that applies to our classroom community and it has been great to see how it has become a little easier to talk about being proactive or putting first things first or even beginning with the end in mind.  Perhaps the one we keep coming back to the most is "synergy".  We're working together to create lots of new things: class climate, science projects, a way to organize our activities and our classroom.  It takes a lot of energy and a lot of reflecting.

Then yesterday we set to work creating our class mission statement.  We had a lot of ideas so it is very long.  It will give us lots to talk about and consider as the year goes on.  It will also a good jumping-off point as we start to set personal goals each day.

This afternoon there was a lot of synergy flowing (not to mention paint!) as we created the poster to put up in the classroom.  But true to our mission, we also did an excellent job of cleaning up afterward!

Grade 5 patrollers: this work is our gift to you as you were working on another way to be a great leader in our school this afternoon.

Our finished work is still drying, but here are a couple snapshots:

And because you're all going to wonder what it means, here's a loose translation:

Our class will take care of others, encouraging them and helping them

both inside and outside our school.

We will listen to the person who is speaking

and be proactive, being prepared and keeping our classroom neat.

We will speak French

synergizing with others in our activities.

We will do the right thing even if no one's watching

 and remember to take time for ourselves.

We will begin with the end in mind.

P.S. It would probably be a great idea to send a paint shirt to school for this year.  We could be getting our fingers colourful pretty often :)