Happy Fall.
It is a short week. No school on Wednesday. Enjoy the mid week break!
Second Harvest Food Bank Food drive begins Monday.
I hope everyone survived this weekend. I know that the extra hour sleep helped me recover from a night of hitting the doors of our neighborhood. I hope you all had a lovely Halloween. Special thanks to all of the parents who aided in the celebration this last Friday in our classroom. The students had a wonderful time! Thank you Jen for organizing this event!
Bizworld will be wrapping up this week. We will continue on Monday with our Marketing day. Students will be designing company logos and create a commercial to sell their bracelets. Finally, on Wednesday we will have our Sales Bazaar. Mrs. Rumwell and I will be having the our sales Bazaar together. It will begin at 10:30 with the commercials and then the selling will begin! We have invited and prepped 2 Fourth grade classes to be “smart” shoppers at the Bazaar. They will be looking at the commercials, the product ,and compare the prices to get the best deal. If parents come, I can also give you some BizBucks to shop the Bazaar as well. Please email me if you plan to attend so I can give you more information.
In review, last Tuesday, Bizworld had the students form companies, secure funds from “pitching” their business plan to the Venture Capitalist, purchase supplies, and design a prototype. The next day, on Friday, students had to visit the local bank for a loan, decide on the type of manufacturing styles, purchase additional supplies and begin making bracelets. More importantly, the students must plan ahead in the expenses of rent and salaries at the end of the day- real life!
***The Mystery Book report Briefcases look amazing- please congratulate your son or daughter on a job well done! I look forward to reading them this week.
Pet Essay final published draft is due on Wednesday. Most students are in the final stages of publishing their final draft.
Parent Conferences on Tuesday. Please find your name below to confirm the time.
Tuesday, November 3rd
8:00-8:30- G. Candes
8:30-9:00- M. Lincoln
9:00-9:30- A. Tsalenko
9:30-10:00- R. Kamb
10:30-11:00- G. Blum
11:00-11:30- S. Otani
12:30-1:00- L. Levi
2:00-2:30- J.Pleasants
Thank you to Patty for volunteering to be a chaperone and to Annie for being willing to drive our lunches back and forth!
We are all set for the Museum now.
Nikole
Hello B-2 families,
This will be a short update.
Homework will be very light this week in order to help the students prepare for the Mystery Book Report due on Friday, October 30th. According to our class calendar, the students should have completed the book (last Monday), found the 6 clues or hints that helped them solve the mystery (due last Wednesday- and I did check), and grabbed the file folder to begin making the briefcase. Most students who are keeping up with the time management goals are having an easy weekend resting and playing, knowing that they are almost done!
FIELD TRIP THIS THURSDAY!!! We are walking to the Cantor Museum for a docent led tour. We will be eating a bag lunch in the garden. Here are some of the needs—
I have 3 parents signed up to chaperone- I need 1 more. Thank you Liz F, Suzie L. and Gioia A. for coming with us. Please let me know if I missed you and you sent in the form to attend this field trip. Anyone else interested? It is a great day. Please email me if you have questions. **** I also need one parent willing to drive the lunches over to the Museum. If you are unable to attend for the entire time, this might be for you. We need the lunches dropped off by 10:00 and we can store them in the museum. Then we need a pick-up by 12 to take back to Nixon. The bins can be dropped off by my room.
Finally- no Wordly WIse or Math packet this week- yes, for some that is a big sigh of relief. For other students, they will be itching to find work. We do have an enrichment file bin they can check out. The homework is to be ready for BizWorld this week as well as the beginning of Galleons. Both are simulations for learning. Bizworld requires the students to become entrepreneurs and start a company. They will start from ground up by learning how to take loans from banks or “sell” their idea to a Venture Capitalist. More importantly, they learn to work and function as a company and share in the daily expenses of business and life. More information will come at the end of the week when our first student reporters will write in the weblog.
We will also begin Galleons, a Social Studies simulation, where students become crew members on Galleon Explorer ships. This a an incredible activity and we have weeks of fun.
Lastly, Halloween. By now you should have received an email from Jen Pleasants, the classes party coordinator. With your help, we can provide a memorable day. Please email me or Jen for questions or to sign up to help us.
The party will be after lunch, following the school parade from 1:20-end of the day. Please send your student with his/her costume in a bag. We will have a regular morning, and change at lunchtime. I will be around to help.
Have a great week!
I hope everyone had a restful weekend. I know I did as my family and I worked around the house and then celebrated our hard work by going to the movies this weekend. We all watched “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”. Wow! 3-D pictures have really improved since I saw one last- I think that might have been 20 years ago–aahh!
The most important event occurring this weekend is Parent Fall Conferences. This Thursday, October 22nd, I will be out seeing most of you! Please think about some goals you would like to discuss for the year. I will be sending out a reminder email this weekend that will also include you time and where the meeting will be held.
This week the class will begin the new Literature Group Novels- “Sign of the Beaver” and “The Ransom of Mercy Carter”. These books are both historical fiction and center around the early encounters of Colonists and Native Americans. The district core book, “The Sign of the Beaver” is a just right reading level- 5th grade. There will be weekly questions, activities and discussions. This a fabulous book by Elizabeth George Speare with an exciting culminating activity. The second novel, “The Ransom of Mercy Carter ” is a challenging reading level. This book will also have weekly questions, activities, and discussions following each reading assignment. The culmination activity is a written essay regarding personal choice. I encourage students who enjoy a challenging read with higher level vocabulary to read this book.I am going to go over each book on Monday and let the students choose which book is of interest to them. Please look for this book to come home this weekend.
Book Report News: According to the student class calendar, the Mystery book should be completely read by Monday, October 19th. I will be checking to make sure each student is keeping up with the mini goals. They should be looking and thinking about events or clues that led them of the main character to solve the mystery.
NEEDS!!! The upcoming field trip to the Cantor Museum. I need to have 3 more chaperones. Gioia A. has responded and will be joining our class. Please email me if you can also take the day to walk the beautiful campus, look a the bright colorful trees, enjoy amazing art and picnic in the garden- yes, that is the day! I also need some back-up drivers in case rain is in the forecast. Please email me if you might be able to drop us off and then pick us up- or stay and join us. The Museum does not limit the number of parents.
I will be out on Tuesday and Thursday of this week. Katie Bramlett will be subbing for me on both days.
Have a wonderful week!
Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us on Thursday when we visited the Monterey Aquarium. It was a lovely day and the students loved the trip. I hope you all had a nice time as well. Thank you again!
On that note- we have another field trip coming around the corner- Thursday, October 29th is the Cantor Museum walking field trip. We will leave Nixon around 9:00, walk to Cantor across Campus, where the students will meet up with a Museum Docent for a guided tour. During our time, we will eat lunch in the Rodin garden and re-visit the museum for last minute viewing before we walk back to school. We will return to Nixon well before school dismissal. I need at least 4 parents to supervise small groups in the museum. If you can attend, please email me!
Mystery book report is due on Friday, October 30th. The students and I have already made small mini goals for this long term assignment to help manage the time and avoid stress. Please look over your child’s class calendar to know the dates.
Finally, I will be out on Thursday, October 15th to attend the Nueva Gifted Conference. I am looking forward to the workshops and hope to bring some new ideas back to try with the students in the classroom.
Here is the parent Conference information one more time. Please look for your date and time and email me if there is an error.
Thursday, October 22nd
7:30-8:00- W. Weber
8:00-8:30- C. Zook
8:30-9:00- L. Cheng
9:30-10:00- K. Fendorf
10:30-11:00- S. Gill
12:30pm-1:00-A. Mai
1:00pm-1:30- E Lewis
1:30pm-2:00-I. Montejo
2:00pm-2:30-V. Hurtado
2:30pm-3:00- G. Rubin
3:00-3:30- W. Reister
3:30-4:00- N. Basit
Tuesday, November 3rd
8:00-8:30- G. Candes
8:30-9:00- M. Lincoln
9:00-9:30- A. Tsalenko
9:30-10:00- R. Kamb
10:30-11:00- G. Blum
11:00-11:30- S. Otani
12:30-1:00- L. Levi
Here are the parent conference sign-ups. Please check to make sure I have the correct date and time. I was negotiating multiple ways to sign-ups and I could have made a mistake- please let me know if I need to correct an error. Thank you!!
Thursday, October 22nd
7:30-8:00- W. Weber
8:00-8:30- C. Zook
8:30-9:00- L. Cheng
10:30-11:00- S. Gill
12:30pm-1:00-A. Mai
1:00pm-1:30- E Lewis
1:30pm-2:00-I. Montejo
2:00pm-2:30-V. Hurtado
2:30pm-3:00- G. Rubin
3:00-3:30- W. Reister
3:30-4:00- N. Basit
Tuesday, November 3rd
8:00-8:30- G. Candes
8:30-9:00- M. Lincoln
9:00-9:30- A. Tsalenko
11:00-11:30- S. Otani
12:30-1:00- L. Levi
Happy Autumn! We have a pretty calm week planned with one big event- the Monterey Bay Aquarium Field trip= yeah!
The Monterey Bay Field trip on Thursday, October 8th. Here are the parent volunteers I have down as coming with us next week: Rhesa Rubin, Liz Fendorf, Suzie Lincoln, Nitay Gill, Anya T. and Olga Maria. Please remember to have you child at school NO LATER THAN 8:00 AM- we are boarding the bus at 8:05- no tardies that day. Bring a lunch, a light jacket and comfy shoes. We will return to Nixon by 3:30PM. Please ensure you have pick-up arranged for you child.
The students will be completing the October calendar this week- please check it to see upcoming class events/assignments.
HI B2 Families,
I am sorry that I did not get a chance to create a new post earlier-Thank you for being patient.
Most importantly is the Monterey Bay Field trip on Thursday, October 8th. Permission slips were sent home last Thursday. Here are the parent volunteers I have down as coming with us next week: Rhesa Rubin, Liz Fendorf, Suzie Lincoln, Nitay Gill, Anya T. and Olga Maria. Please, please let me know if you signed up and I did not include you in this list! Also, if you have a membership that our lovely volunteers can use, that would help cut the cost for the schools. So far, they allow free entrance for each volunteer per student group. As we have more parents sign up, then the Aquaruim begins to charge. Free passes always help!
This is another short week and we will be investigating the phases of the moon with Dr. Roy on Friday. Dr. Roy has mentioned several times that he enjoys our students immensely. The ask wonderful questions and are very engaged- I know, I am so proud too! Dr. Roy has 3 more visits on the Solar SYstem before he breaks with us until January. He loves to travel and has an exciting adventure planned with his friends. When he returns, we will be working on the Chemistry Unit we have designed together. It is really so cool.
Reader’s workshop is still in the mini lesson phase. Yesterday, the “Chagall” group and I demsonstrated how the “buzz” with others about the current books we are reading. The students themselves designed the guidelines for how they would like to see “buzz” time work and be successful. The reading groups sit in a circle facing each other and they each share about a book they have/are reading. Some on the guidelines are:
**Everyone listens- no talking if it is not your turn.*** Be prepared during “buzz” time. ****Each person has a number which gives them the order to share. Number 1 is the time keeper and the last number is the facilitator.
Lastly, this week is a time for completion and wrap up of the first project. The Travel Brochure is due on Thursday. Throughout the month, I have worked with the students on time management and setting reasonable goals. We had a calendar that we visited 1 to 2 times per week where we would discuss upcoming assignments. Together, we broke down the travel brochure into mini assignments. This helps with pacing and time management. Yesterday, I sat with each student to find out how much was left of the travel brochure before completion, and most seem to be right on track needing only to cut and paste. Take a breath!! There is not big project coming up for a while. The mystery book report is due on October 29th- and is is simple, yet fun!
Please, please sign up for parent conferences. I am pasting the open times again. If you have not yet signed up, please see if any of those times work.
Thursday, October 22nd
7:30-8:00- William W
9:00am-9:30
12:30pm-1:00=An M
1:00pm-1:30- Eleanor L
1:30pm-2:00=Ina M
2:00pm-2:30-Vanessa H
2:30pm-3:00- Griffin R
Tuesday, November 3rd
9:30am-10:00
10:30am-11:00
1:00pm-1:30
1:30pm-2:00
Please email me to reserve a time if the Jooners email did not open the link for you.
Hello B-2 Families,
This post will be brief as I try to get the conferences arranged for everyone. At the bottom of this post, I will paste the open time slots for the conferences. Just email me and then I will update it with your name with the reserved time.
This is a short, but busy week. I will be out on Thursday to grade and assess all of the Diagnostic Reading Assessments. These past weeks, I have been sitting down with each child as I take a running record of their reading ability. Next, students must complete the reading of a short story and answer various comprehension, inference questions as well as write a short summary the story. This took many days, and the students were so wonderful and patient. Now comes the time for me to sit down and read through each completed assessment. All fifth grade teachers will be taking Thursday to sit and discuss each assessment.
In addition, the ERB will be given this week over a 2 day period. The ERB is a writing assessment that Palo Alto uses to help teachers pinpoint areas of strength and those challenges in writing. This helps us set writing goals for each student. Yes, it seems very early, but I look at this as a great tool for me to use to guide their writing for the rest of the year. We will administer the first session on Wednesday after recess until lunch. During this time, students will be given the writing prompt and allowed the full period to brainstorm and begin the first draft. At then end of the session, I will collect all of the writing for the next day. They may go home and ponder, think of more ideas, discuss, practice for the next day, but they may NOT bring any papers to the second session. The final session will also be after recess until lunch on Thursday. During this time, they will go back to finish the writing, edit and write the final draft. Please, let us keep it low-key and without stress for the students Let them relax and do the best job they can. It is really just a tool to help me help them this year.
Upcoming curriculum events.
Literature- we are still working on the Independent Reader’s Notebook process. We will continue for 2 more weeks looking at how to write letters to me about what the are reading and how to have a “book talk” with peers regarding current books. In early October, we will stop to read the Core Literature novel “Sign of the Beaver”. This historical fiction supports our investigation of Native American and Colonial LIfe in early America. This study will go deeper into comprehension and vocabulary strategies as we read together and discuss each chapter.
Math- Everyday Math is coming along. We are getting use to the daily routine and are enjoying using the Smart Board to share our answers. The first unit will be assessed on Tuesday. Each Thursday we take a break from Everyday Math, and we have differentiated centers. I am so fortunate to have 4 adults leading math centers each Thursday for 1.5 hours. In the centers, we work on Math Olympiad strategies, Algebra concepts and math games. Last week, we worked on Square Roots. We all LOVE our math centers.
Thank you to all of the parents who are able to volunteer and help me and the students!
See you at the Back to School Picnic on Tuesday—-also Picture Day
Conference times that are open: I will continue to add names to this list as I get email request. If you reserved on Jooners, your time is reserved on that site. Please double check Jooners if you need to make sure you reserved the correct time. Complicated? I know. I am not sure why some people are able to open the site and others cannot? I will speak with the Jooners representative- her child attends Nixon!
Thursday, October 22nd
7:30-8:00- William Weber
9:00am-9:30
12:30pm-1:00
1:00pm-1:30
1:30pm-2:00
2:00pm-2:30-Vanessa Hurtado
2:30pm-3:00- Griffin Rubin
Tuesday, November 3rd
9:30am-10:00
10:30am-11:00
1:00pm-1:30
1:30pm-2:00
Please email me to reserve a time if the Jooners email did not open the link for you.
