Updates from the Classroom

POETRY

As we continue to muddle through the snow that never seems to let up outside, the students have been busy inside. We are completing our Haikus—they will be appearing on lockers next week. Each student was given a January topic for his or her poem and asked to create something dynamic around that theme. During the week of January 19^th, all students will be asked to read books of poetry and find an interesting Haiku to share with the class.

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

Within the next two weeks, students will be completing a classroom self-assessment document as they prepare for their "performance reviews." Students have the potential of receiving a pay raise; pay raises will be based on their consistent following of the 3-R's (respect, responsibility, ready to learn). Students will each have a one-on-one meeting with Mrs. Perrien to discuss their review document and together we will determine a possible pay raise.

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

I am interested in running student/parent/teacher conferences for this February's conferences. These conferences would involve the students in the planning and execution of the conference. I have used this format in the past with excellent results! Students will be able to present and answer questions about their classroom work. They will also be able to discuss their performance of the 3 R's. Past parents that were at first reluctant about this format were surprised by how much more meaningful these conferences turned out to be for both parents and child. I will send more information home to parents in the next few weeks. As always, I am available for discussions outside of the regular conference times.

SCIENCE

Students are busy wrapping up their study of the Human Body. This week we will learn more about our senses and even experiment with our sense of taste. The week of January 19^th is the last week we will be actively studying the Human Body. However, students may always do independent studies of something that still catches their interest about this area in science! Beginning the week of January 26^th, we will study matter—this unit will initially be connected to the Human Body but will quickly separate into its own area of study.

WINTER FESTIVAL    

See Cara and Jamesohn's recent posting about the winter festival. It is coming up next week!