Hi Everyone,
We've had another great week at CRMS and are beginning to settle into our routine. We started band lessons, a very exciting part of 5th grade. If your child wants to join band, but doesn't have an instrument, let me or Mr. Ouellette, the band director, know. We also had a great time during coastal clean-up week. Many thanks go to the parents who were able to volunteer. Pictures are below!
Another thing I wanted to explain to parents, in case there was any confusion, was the retest procedure. Hopefully, your child brought home the white retest slip with their recent math test to be signed. If not, it should be coming home this weekend. The wonderful thing about our grading system is that students always have the chance to re-do an assessment if they scored below a three. In fact, I encourage a re-do and really did not pose it as an option to the students. We are trying to create a culture at CRMS where students are responsible for their learning when they do not meet the standard.
In order to take a retest, students have to fill out a retest request, a reflection sheet about what they missed, why the missed it (lack of studying, rushing through, confusing questions, etc.) and then do three activities that prove that they are working on improving that standard. As a class, we brainstormed activities that they could do as follows:
When a parent has signed off and I have seen the reflection, a retest of just the problems the student missed, will be given, usually during Schooner. Occasionally, a retest will need to be planned for after school. Hopefully, this information helps clear up this process.
Here's what's been going on:
Math: We finished up our Unit 1 Assessment, the resets will be given next Wednesday. We spent time learning Learnzillion.com and our new favorite math game website, Sumdog.com. Students can access both of these at home if they'd like! Unit 2 will begin on Monday!
Reading: Along with continuing The City of Ember, we have been working on writing Reading Responses. Next week we will write a response based on our own independent reading books and talk about book talks, which everyone will be presenting to the class in the coming weeks!
Writing: We are working on revising our narratives. Each time that the students learn something new, we begin a whole new draft of our story. This has been a new process that many are not used to, but it really seems to be helping our writing! We will continue this process next week!
Social Studies: We have been reading A Long Walk to Water. It has certainly opened our eyes to the hardships that others face, especially in Sudan. Salva's journey to freedom from the war-ridden Sudan in 1985 was very difficult, and we've talked about how much he has overcome in his life. However, the book has gotten more optimistic as Salva is about to make the journey to America! Nya, the girl in the book, has had a difficult life as well, walking all day for water, every single day. At this point in the book, her village is getting a new well, and a new sense of hope. It has been surprisingly wonderful to read the book together as a class. The students have been begging me to keep reading, and we've taken entire periods to do so! I'm so impressed that they want to hear this book over a fantasy book we are reading during reading class!
In other news, our coastal clean-up trip last Friday was a success! The beach was pretty clean already (which is a great thing!) Here are a few pictures:
We've had another great week at CRMS and are beginning to settle into our routine. We started band lessons, a very exciting part of 5th grade. If your child wants to join band, but doesn't have an instrument, let me or Mr. Ouellette, the band director, know. We also had a great time during coastal clean-up week. Many thanks go to the parents who were able to volunteer. Pictures are below!
Another thing I wanted to explain to parents, in case there was any confusion, was the retest procedure. Hopefully, your child brought home the white retest slip with their recent math test to be signed. If not, it should be coming home this weekend. The wonderful thing about our grading system is that students always have the chance to re-do an assessment if they scored below a three. In fact, I encourage a re-do and really did not pose it as an option to the students. We are trying to create a culture at CRMS where students are responsible for their learning when they do not meet the standard.
In order to take a retest, students have to fill out a retest request, a reflection sheet about what they missed, why the missed it (lack of studying, rushing through, confusing questions, etc.) and then do three activities that prove that they are working on improving that standard. As a class, we brainstormed activities that they could do as follows:
- Study/review test with a parent/family member
- Work with Ms. M during Schooner or after-school (I told the kids this was a GREAT option, because I know what's been going on in class and how they are doing!)
- Use Khan Academy videos online that relate to the topics (link on our Math page above)
- Use the Student Reference Book to study a topic and answer the check your understanding questions (on paper)
- Re-do the questions on the test correctly (on a separate piece of paper)
- Make your own practice problems to do (show on paper)
- Log on to learnzillion.com where there are lessons related to the topics to watch and try (info on our Math page above)
When a parent has signed off and I have seen the reflection, a retest of just the problems the student missed, will be given, usually during Schooner. Occasionally, a retest will need to be planned for after school. Hopefully, this information helps clear up this process.
Here's what's been going on:
Math: We finished up our Unit 1 Assessment, the resets will be given next Wednesday. We spent time learning Learnzillion.com and our new favorite math game website, Sumdog.com. Students can access both of these at home if they'd like! Unit 2 will begin on Monday!
Reading: Along with continuing The City of Ember, we have been working on writing Reading Responses. Next week we will write a response based on our own independent reading books and talk about book talks, which everyone will be presenting to the class in the coming weeks!
Writing: We are working on revising our narratives. Each time that the students learn something new, we begin a whole new draft of our story. This has been a new process that many are not used to, but it really seems to be helping our writing! We will continue this process next week!
Social Studies: We have been reading A Long Walk to Water. It has certainly opened our eyes to the hardships that others face, especially in Sudan. Salva's journey to freedom from the war-ridden Sudan in 1985 was very difficult, and we've talked about how much he has overcome in his life. However, the book has gotten more optimistic as Salva is about to make the journey to America! Nya, the girl in the book, has had a difficult life as well, walking all day for water, every single day. At this point in the book, her village is getting a new well, and a new sense of hope. It has been surprisingly wonderful to read the book together as a class. The students have been begging me to keep reading, and we've taken entire periods to do so! I'm so impressed that they want to hear this book over a fantasy book we are reading during reading class!
In other news, our coastal clean-up trip last Friday was a success! The beach was pretty clean already (which is a great thing!) Here are a few pictures: