Dear Parents,

I hope you are as excited for a 3 day weekend as we all are! I think I might need an extra day of rest to recover from the excitement from this week!

On Tuesday, we were lucky enough to have 2 guests, Sangeetha and Sowmya, parents of Saswathy and Shyam visit our classroom. They taught us about the Hindu harvest holiday of Pongal, brought homemade food and made paper kites! While many of the students in our classroom know of this holiday, it was brand new to a lot of students in the class. What an exciting (and tasty!) way to learn about a different holiday! Thank you both so much for sharing part of your lives with us!

Today, we had children's author Trudy Ludwig come and present to our classes K-5 about bullying and important tools to use if we are ever faced with a bullying situation. Trudy Ludwig writes some great books about a lot of different social emotional issues, and was very engaging. Kudos for our class who was quiet and respectful for the entire assembly!

A few things that went home this week and last week: A science fair form, 5th graders are required to complete a science fair project, however, they don't have to present it in the evening at the PTA science fair, they can present it in class as well/instead. 4th graders are required to do the project too, but are allowed to work with a partner. If you haven't seen the flier that went home, please let me know and I will get you another copy.

5th graders have 2 math tests that went home, the first was the Unit 2 Block 1 test, and the 2nd was the Unit 1 Block 4 retake. Students could choose 3 options for improving their grades:

Option 1) Retake using a different test, the higher score will go in the grade book.

Option 2) Complete a Math Tic-Tac-Toe board of algebra related activities to show understanding of concepts.

Option 3) Come in during some short recesses for individualized/ customized instruction with Mrs. Hart on the concepts that they struggled with on the test.

All students chose Option 1. For some it was clear that they just needed to take their time on their test to score better, for others, they might have benefitted from Option 3. This will not occur every test, but I will always provide opportunities to get some extra help if a student requests some.

Taste of Bear Creek is coming next Friday January 25th from 6:30-8:30, and I heard that they are still looking for some people to host tables! I have offered some extra social studies credit to any families who decide to host a table!

We created and signed computer usage contracts this week as well, you can see a copy in your child's binder!

I know I have more to mention, but it has slipped my mind. Please look at your child's planner for more details on what we have been doing in all of their subjects! Enjoy your 3 day weekend, and if you have any questions, please don'e hesitate to send me an email!

Regards,

Mrs. Hart

New Year, New Routines!

Dear Parents,

Thank you all for your continued patience as I am very slow with my updates! I hope everyone enjoyed their break! Your children have been fantastic after break, and have received glowing reviews from the half day sub I had on Monday!

I have a few important changes that I want to make known to you:

1) The most important one is that your child is now purposefully using their agenda to write down everything that we are doing in class, not just homework. We have been spending about 10 minutes every day to organize our binder and write down in our planner. Students should be bringing their planner and binder home every day. 

2) We have redesigned our PAWS slips to reward good behavior, and the students are really enjoying it! They will be able to "spend" their PAWS slips for rewards from Mrs. Penrod on Fridays, and are entered into a raffle in my classroom for some fun things too.

3) Next week there will be a parent night with Author Trudy Ludwig at Woodinville High School, I HIGHLY encourage you to attend. She will be talking about how to help your child safely navigate things like cyberbullying, internet safety and security etc. Please check the Bear Tracks or school calendar for more information. You may think your child is too young to worry about their safety online, but you aren't! I have had Instagram follow requests from 3rd graders, so the more you know, the more prepared you are!

4) Next Tuesday, January 15th, we will have some wonderful parents coming in to teach us about a harvest festival that starts on that day in India. I am so grateful that you will share something so special with our class. Thank you!  I would LOVE to have more lessons involving the culture and traditions of your family or ancestors, and am happy to work with any schedule. Please let me know if you have something in mind!

Grad School classes start up again this week, thank you again for making my first quarter so much more manageable with your participation! As always, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

All the best,

Mrs. Hart