I stopped in school yesterday for a bit. The report from Mr. Brown was excellent. He did mention though that many kids seemed to rush through their math quiz and not show all their steps on how to change to a common denominator. I agreed when looking at them. This seems to be the case for a couple of kids all the time. The lack of effort is causing some kid's grades to go down, down, down. It is not that they don't know it, it is that they don't show it. An assignment is a piece of paper that will eventually get tossed in the garbage can. It is the learning behind the assignment that matters. It is what they take away from the assignment and apply it to new learning that counts. They miss out on that when they skip problems, guess, or just simply rush on their work. That, to me, is one of the most frustrating things about kiddos. It is sooooo difficult for them to see the connection between now and future. I would care to bet that you have similar frustrations at home when asking kids to do tasks and to do them well. May I ask you to have a discussion about this with your kids and really talk about how doing our best the first time is the most beneficial to our future lives. Guessing or doing jobs with little or half effort is just a waste of all our time. Mr. Brown suggested that I have kids do it over, and I may. However, the grade earned the first time is the one that will stand in the grade book. I am a big believer in, when you turn it in the bin you are saying to me that you have done your very best work. I trust kids to not sway from that thought, and I think that it is important they are accountable for those actions. Now, if they didn't get it that is different, however he also mentioned that kids did not ask him for help, so I don't think that is the case here. We will discuss this further at tomorrow's CC meeting. If you discuss it at home, please write BEST in the planner for $20 bonus money.
The time has come for us to switch out money colors again. The kids have done a great job earning and saving it this quarter. I will be offering the reward coupons for them to buy this week. They love those, and I enjoy seeing them get to do things that are fun. I also believe that all kids will be able to buy into the Valentine's Day party. The love monster bags they created were adorable. They are in the hall on display until we need them on Wednesday for the party. The new money will need to be saved for our many field trips at the end of the year. We also participate in a Wiffle Ball Tournament that kids need to buy into as well. There are many, many other fun things we do that will require kids to buy in. Their choices will be crucial to make sure they get to join into the fun. I BELIEVE every single student is capable of making positive choices. Again, effort comes into play here. Homework needs to be done without excuses, planners need to be signed daily, classroom expectations need to be followed, and positive behavior choices need to be made. Those that do this regularly, won't have an issue. Those that find these things difficult or even a habit, will probably find themselves on the sidelines thinking about how they should and could have done things differently. It is third quarter now. We are in the homestretch of the 4th grade. We need to shift into future fifth grader mode. I am excited to see them grow even more!
This week is a short week. We have school Monday and Tuesday all day. Wednesday is a half day, pick up is at noon. We are off Thursday, Friday, and the following Monday! Enjoy that time together. Wednesday is our Valentine's Day party. We will go to gym/health class first thing and then come back and celebrate this great day together. The committees have done a great job of planning a really fun day for us all. Remember, the decoration committee needs to come to school by 7:45 that day to start decorating. They know who they are. :0)
I am not sure how the pledge money envelopes went on Friday for the Read A Thon, but they are due back tomorrow at the latest. Please collect that money today and send it in all ready to go tomorrow. Thanks so much for supporting Bitterroot!
Academically, this week will be a wrap up week. We will not have spelling this week due to the short week. Our math and language lessons will revolve around a Valentine Day theme that fits right in with what we have been working on. Homework will as well. We will finish the Lewis and Clark Expedition Trail and story we have been working on in MT History. We will be taking a look at fossils next in science. I will gather information that kids already know this week, and build the lessons from there. They are going to love this unit! It is not so much dinosaur fossils as it is a study of fossils and how they came to be about. Interesting stuff! After the break, we will be getting into our next region in SS. It consists of only four states so the the states and capital's test should be easy-cheasy!
New parent videos are up from Rusty. Here is a message he wanted me to share with all of you.
Dear Parents:
My name is Rusty May and your child watches my SchoolToolsTv videos everyday with their classmates at school. I'm now doing 3 weekly videos for parents to watch with their children at home.
The Parenting Page videos mirror the videos your child is watching that week at school so you know exactly what we're talking about and have an opportunity to build on our discussion within the context of your family values.
The 3 shows focus on:
- EQ, or Emotional Quotient, which helps build your child's emotional intelligence.
- Bully Byte which talks about all aspects of bullying and how to prevent it.
- Life Lesson which is a common sense tool they can use to help them achieve their goals and dreams.
You can see the free shows starting Monday of each week at http://www.schooltoolstv.com/
If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me at rusty@schooltoolstv.com
Thanks and have a fantastic day.
