Lesson 2 Focus Areas and Spelling Words have been updated...just a reminder that we have our Parent Meeting from 8:15-9:00 AM on Tuesday, Sept. 20 in Mrs. Oberski's room.
Another important reminder is that 3rd grade students will be doing their NWEA testing next week. This includes Math, Reading, and Language Usage. It is important to get plenty of rest and water as well as a healthy breakfast. These assessments give us a wonderful baseline and provide very useful data for where the students are performing early in the school year. We set individual goals based on the results and work toward achieving those goals throughout the year, taking two more attempts at the NWEA in late January and late April or early May. Parents,
Check this website on a weekly basis to receive updates on what we're doing in the classroom. I update the Math and Reading pages with current focus areas so you'll know what support to provide at home. I also include the spelling words for the week, just in case your student misplaces the sheet that goes home on Mondays. Here's to an exciting year of 3rd grade! Change is scary. Change is necessary to move forward. Bumping the status quo can be a life-changing experience. That's exactly what's going on.
Late in the summer, I moved from a position and a job I loved back to Frankfort. This is where I grew up, where I went to elementary and high school, and where I was raised my entire life. Instead of teaching 5th or 6th grade Math and Science, my comfort zone for the past eight years, I am now teaching self-contained 3rd grade. With this change comes the additional task of updating this site to make it accommodating for 3rd grade students and their parents. I must say that this has been a smooth transition and jumpstarted a new chapter in my life. I apologize for letting this slide over the past several months. Between teaching, coaching football, and graduate work, it has been constant work, work, work. I mean that wholeheartedly. I could count the days I did nothing on my two hands, and updating this site was certainly not on the list of top things to accomplish.
That being said, I submitted my final graduate assignment last Monday and finished participation posts last night. Once the final grade has posted, I will have a Master's Degree in Administration and Supervision. It was the hardest 20 months of my life, submitting nearly 250 assignments on top of weekly participation to the tune of another five typed pages per week. Now I just have to look into the very near future to better my financial position because college loans begin repayment very soon...yikes! Another school year is upon us! Open House is tonight from 5-7 and the kids come in Tuesday, September 2 to start their 2014-2015 school year. I am really excited about both groups this year and hope to make this site an integral part of their success.
Mr. J The kids, the weather, the stuff I accomplished...Kids were phenomenal today to match the weather. I uploaded a new video this evening after mowing the lawn and taking the dog for a walk, and of course, some Big Boy for dinner. Looking forward to a long weekend with family and friends back home.
Uploaded FIVE new videos this evening, including some Brainetics math tricks, multiplication and division strategies, and why multiplying and dividing with negative numbers works the way it does.
Student behavior as a whole has taken quite the downward spiral in the two days this week. It truly needs to change for the better...students need to buckle down for the last 14 1/2 days and behave in such a way that it tells us they want to learn, they have good character and integrity, and they don't want to lose any number of fun things we have planned in the next several days. Behavior is a choice, and with choices come consequences...for the good and for otherwise. Let's make the last few school days as successful as the first 170. Jane and Nate, thank you for the comments and questions! I accidentally left my iPad at school so I will be more than happy to add a video on multiplying and dividing with negative integers tomorrow night. I may do a separate video on strategies for dividing greater numbers other than basic facts.
Got a lot of suggestions for updates from 5th and 6th grade students. I have plenty of sticky notes of things they want to see on the site so I'll work on those this weekend. They have better minds and memories than they get credit for.
I also talked with current 4th graders about this site and gave them the necessary information to make 5th grade successful. Parents and 4th grade students...this site is just as much for you as it is anybody else so please give any feedback you want! Had the most awesome discussion today with a 5th grade student. It took all I had to not crack up laughing because it was so funny and it cannot be shared over a keyboard. It was a series of one-liners I will never forget. Since the upstairs of my house is vacant, I think I'm going to put up a whiteboard and shelf to hold the iPad so I can record "How-To" videos quite easily. Also got a lot of grad work done tonight and some lawn care accomplished. How about a Mr. Jackson/Hummer vet clinic selfie from yesterday to brighten up the start to the weekend? Awesome new stuff added! I added a Strategies and Math Rules page so parents and students can keep up with the terminology and methods I use in the classroom. It includes problem-solving strategies and little math rules we use in the classroom throughout the year. Another new page is the How-To page where I can easily upload YouTube videos. I even started a YouTube channel of my own and posted a couple things for practice. The link to the channel is on the "Links" tab. Finally, I added a Communication Forum page for further discussion between me, my students, and their parents. I'm excited to see how this all works out. Between working full time this summer, football season just around the corner, and still a little less than a year away from finishing my graduate work, I'm already extremely busy. All that's left to do is the "About Mr. J." page, and the site will be finished. I will do that after the 6th Grade Camp Information with parents tonight. I hope to keep it updated regularly as this year finishes, and make it a priority for next school year.
I would like to get current 5th grade students (my 6th graders for next year) and upcoming 5th graders currently in 4th grade familiar with this site so that they can use it this summer and hit the ground running in September. Under construction!
Look for this site to be properly maintained as we begin the 2014-2015 school year. |
Life of a Teacher, Coach, and StudentIt's tough. It's busy. It's fun. It's stressful. I wouldn't change it for the world. Archives
October 2017
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