Highlights from Week 4!

Fall is here!!  We are definitely feeling the weather change in Room 307... long gone are the days of sweating with no AC in our room and now, they are grabbing their coats whenever we go out (so please make sure students come with a coat)!  This week, we took our first math test on our unit: Place Value.  Students took home their graded tests so please check those to see their scores.  As a class, we worked on a review test together and walked through each problem earlier in the week so that each student could be successful.  For homework this past week, many students forgot the writing portion.  Each week, there will be a writing portion to the homework - every part of the homework is clearly written on the cover of the homework packet.  Please help your child read every part so they do not miss a portion of the homework.  If your child took home a pink "No Homework" slip, please sign and return the next day.  Thank you to the 8 students who turned in every part of the homework!  It was surprising to see the drastic drop from 100% completion/participation to only 1/3 of the class turning it in!

On a lighter note, I have scheduled our first field trip!  We will be going to The Center for Wooden Boats (South Lake Union) on Friday, October 18th.  It will be a fun trip where students will participate in the "What Floats Your Boat" program.  Students will get to make their own toy wooden boats and test them out on the water.  We will also go ON the boats and paddle on South Lake Union.  I am so excited for this field trip coming up - forms will be sent home tomorrow!

Highlights:
-Learned more writing strategies and will begin writing personal narratives next week!
-We started a new math unit on: Addition & Subtraction.  Homework and in-class work will be tailored around this concept.
-Planted our seeds (Brassica rapa plant) and they started growing already!  Check out pictures of our watering system, lamp, and growing plants at the bottom of this post.
-We learned about different genres of literature this week, and we review for the next couple of weeks the different reading comprehension strategies.
-Picture Day is next Friday!  October 4th - picture forms will come home soon, so fill those out quickly and return them ASAP.
-Our first MAP Test will be on that same Friday.  Please make sure your child is not absent and well-rested that day.
-Please fill out the field trip form and return as soon as possible!

Highlights from Week 3!

Room 307 is getting in the groove of the routines and schedules in our class! We have had a very full week of continuing to build our stamina and stretching out our Writers Workshop time, work time, and Readers Workshop. It was also the very first week that homework was due - I am THRILLED to say that we had 100% participation and no homework slips (for late or missing homework) were passed out. I corrected and read through each homework and they were returned to students so that immediate feedback is given to students. I want to take the time to thank and acknowledge parents also for being a part of that success! I know that homework isn't always independent for students and that it is a family effort. I appreciate the time that you took out to either help, go over, or give the space/time for students to do their homework. It is such an important skill to build at an early age!

Highlights:

-We welcomed a new 3rd grader to our classroom, named Ethan! :)
-We started Homework Club this week and had a huge turn out! More than half the class came to finish and work on their homework. With the large turn out, I may need some donations of snack to be passed out at Homework Club. Please donate if your child attends - also, please come up to the room to pick up your child unless you have let me know in advance otherwise (sending to Peppi's on their own or sending to the office). It ends promptly at 3:45. If parents pick up students late often, I will unfortunately have to ask the student not to come to Homework Club. 

-Writers Workshop is starting to pick up with more and more students starting to really invest in their stories! At the time, I am helping them build their stamina and get their creative juices flowing, so I'm not limiting their writing to a specific form/genre. 

-Math Test on "Place Value" will be given Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. The cover of the homework packet has specific concepts that will be covered on the test. Students will also take home a review study guide beforehand. 

-Science has officially started! We are learning about Plant Growth & Development. We studied the inside of a seed and will be planting next week. 

-Readers Workshop at the end of our day is probably the favorite time for most students in our class (including me!). It is a teacher's dream to see students so engaged and enjoying books! Here are some more pictures from this week: enjoy! :)

Highlights from Week 2!

Students in Room 307 are VERY thankful that the AC has returned in our classroom! It has been a hot week with beautiful weather! Thank you to families who came out to Curriculum Night! It was good to see your faces and talk to you more about how the rest of the year will look.

Highlights:

-We began Writers Workshop! Students are getting used to writing again and building their writing stamina

-Launched our first math unit on: Place Value - we will continue this unit for another couple weeks

-Begin work time: I am assessing and getting to know how students work during this independent time

-Begin Rocket Math, our daily math facts practice

-Started up on a new year of JiJi! Students should have the same password as previous years

-Met our "Little Buddies" from Ms. Chin's K/1 class :)

Here are a couple pictures of students reading and writing... Enjoy!

Our First Week!

What an awesome first week of school we had! I have been really enjoying getting to know and reconnecting with each student. We have been playing games to get to know each other and learning the culture of the 3rd floor at Leschi! It was been a whirlwind of a week and here are some of the things we have done:
-Begin Readers Workshop
-Tell stories every day in preparation for our Writers Workshop launch next week
-Take our writing and spelling assessments
-Take a math placement test
-Introduce a short work time
-Decorate journals, and watercolor covers
-Introduce the STAR Binders!

THANK YOU to the families who have turned in all of the forms that needed to be completed. I know it was a lot of reading and information to take in, but it is very helpful to me to get those during the first week of school! If you have not done so, please fill the forms out as soon as possible and return them to me. The pink form about this blog and giving permission to have students post is a very important one, so please make sure that is signed and turned in!

I am excited and looking forward to the rest of this school year - it will be a good one! :)

P.S. Sign up for Remind101, please!

Wish List!

Thank you to all the families who came out to our "Meet the Teacher" or "Popsicles in the Park" event! It was so great to see all of the new and old faces that will be a part of Room 307 this year. I loved hearing all of the summer adventures and seeing pictures of the fun events - I can't wait to hear more as the school year begins. 

I wanted to also share with you a way that you can help add to our classroom! I am always looking for ways to make school more fun and exciting for students, and new books/classroom materials is definitely on my priority list. I have added many new things this summer and I decided to create an Amazon Wish List. If you are wanting to help in this way, please take a look at our classroom's wish list. You can search for my name: Sunny Staab in Seattle, Washington. Most of the supplies are science materials and books. Thank you for your continued support! :)

Our new room...

Summer is flying by!  I am in a bit of shock that it is August 1st... what?!  Tomorrow is my last day of teaching summer school and soon, I will be starting our new classroom set up!  I took a peek inside when I went to help get our school ready for T-Mobile to paint our school (which looks great, by the way).  I will give you a sneak peek of what it looks like currently... like the paint color?  I love it!  It was a lot of work, but so worth it :) 

Supply List

I have been school supply shopping (I know, already!) because I know myself well... and I have the tendency to wait until the week before school starts!  By then, there are only mismatched sets of folders with Hello Kitty or Superman all over them :)  So this year, instead of sending out the supply list for our "Meet the Teacher" Night a few days before school starts, I decided to allow parents to get an early start on their shopping.  Here is a preliminary list for students to bring on the first day of school.  It is NOT a mandatory list - I always have extra supplies for students who don't bring items:

Shared supplies - please do not label them:

• 2 Boxes of Kleenex tissue
• 2-3 containers of Clorox wipes (no baby wipes, please)
• 1 box gallon-sized Ziploc bags
• 2-3 jumbo-sized glue sticks
• 2 black Flair pens (by Papermate - I provided a link, because many families did not find them.  They have them at most school supply stories including: Target, Walmart, Staples, etc.)
• 1 package of 0.7 mechanical pencils
• 0.7 lead

Personal supplies:

• 1 three-ring binder (1.5 inch - any design/type)
• 2 packages of 5 tab dividers
• USB Memory Stick (any size)
• 3-ring pouch to clip in your binder
• 1 take-home folder of your choice
• 2-3 mechanical pencils (0.7) of your choice

*If you are able, consider donating $5 to other classroom supplies which have been purchased and will be used by students including (math binders, STAR binder, notebooks, folders, pencil pouches, etc).

Hope this early supply list helps you get a head start on your shopping!  Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns about purchasing supplies.  I will help any families who need support :)  Oh!  Also, comment on the post if you have a question that you think others may be wondering also!