Saturday, August 31, 2013

News and Notes 8/29


News and Notes
From Fourth Grade

Pancakes
The first week of school at Simonds began with the annual First Day Pancake Breakfast.  What a great time of reconnecting and meeting new friends!  After a long summer full of adventures, it was great to have some time to ease into the school routine once again.  Thank you to all the families who took time out of their busy schedules to join us for the breakfast.  Your participation in these school activities helps demonstrate that we are all on the same team.  It is so essential for students to know that families and teachers are working together toward the common goal of helping each child receive a quality education.  What a great way to start our year together!

Routines and Expectations
The first week of school was completely filled!  We spent much of our time this week learning about what life will be like in fourth grade.  The students did a tremendous job of listening to directions, practicing routines, and asking questions about expectations.  It is essential for our success in fourth grade that we all start out with clear lines of communication and a vivid understanding of what is expected in fourth grade.  From walking in the hallway to using materials and books to sharing ideas in class, the fourth graders did a great job of picking up the routines for fourth grade!  As we are officially part of the intermediate group and have left behind the days of primary school, it is even more important that the fourth graders are willing to take on their roles of responsibility.  This class seemed particularly eager to step up to the plate and set an example to the younger students in the school.  It seems that if we continue to demonstrate the safety, respect, and responsibility we have shown this week, it will be an excellent year in fourth grade!

Classroom Contract
Signed, sealed, and delivered!  This week the fourth graders created a classroom contract.  On this contract are all the things we expect of each other this year.  The students took turns sharing their ideas and discussing whether or not these should be put onto the contract.  In the end we had a great list of expectations including, be safe/respectful/responsible (our Simonds School rules), be kind to each other, have a “can do” attitude, raise your hand, listen to others, and “remember the golden rule.”  It is always exciting to see what things the students will put on their contract, and this year’s class did a great job of creating a document that we can all try to live by.  In the end we each signed our names as a sign that we would do our best to follow the contract.  This document is an important piece of our developing classroom community, and the fourth graders were proud to have it posted in our classroom.

Monday, August 26, 2013

First Day of School

The first day is here!  The fourth graders and their families joined with the rest of the Simonds School families for the annual First Day Pancake Breakfast.  What a great way to reconnect with our friends after a long summer away!

The first day went very smoothly for the new group of fourth graders.  They learned a bunch of different classroom routines and were very attentive while instructions were being given.  We took some time to create our fourth grade journey "maps."  These creative documents show what we expect fourth grade to be like- they turned out so great! We will be displaying them in the hallway for a bit!

The afternoon went by quickly with a whole school fire drill and walk around the school grounds.  There have been some significant changes over the summer, and the students were all excited to see the updates made to their school!

We ended the day with a look at classroom jobs and homework routines.  The students and families both have homework this week.  The students are to decorate and personalize their school to home folders.  The families are to complete all the registration paperwork enclosed in the folders.  Thanks in advance for your help with all this tedious but necessary paperwork!  

If the rest of the year goes as smoothly as the first day of school, it seems like this is going to be an excellent year in fourth grade!

Here are a few pictures of the fourth graders completing the "human knot" challenge...