May Assignments, Resources, and Updates!

Dear Parents,

It is both hard to believe and painfully clear that it is May. I feel like I have been sitting in front of this computer with your children for so long, that I am starting to grow roots into the floor!

I know that this is hard for them, for me, for you, and for everyone in our homes right now. The disappointment of lost opportunities and the pain of not being able to celebrate all of their accomplishments this year is weighing us all down.

I will be sending out a form/survey later this week and hope you will keep your eye out for it in your emails. I hear from most of you so infrequently, I feel like it is important that we touch base with how learning is going at home, and how you are all feeling.

Another quick announcement, if you haven't heard from your child or seen in an email, the class voted to push our Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Zoom meetings to 9:30 instead of 9:00. This will allow siblings to get settled into their own meetings and hopefully won't create as much chaos if someone needs some support. We started this week, but I still have been arriving at 9:00 just to make sure that students who forget are reminded of the change.

I have tried to make things a bit fun and interactive for student assignments and projects, I hope they are enjoying them as much as I am in seeing the products of their efforts!

Our biggest project right now is incorporating all subjects: Country Reports and Vacations

Students have spent a lot of time researching a country of their choice, learning all about it and creating some really interesting presentations.

I believe you can find them all on SeeSaw, not just your own child's! (the ones that are turned in anyways) Though I know that some of the slideshows were too long to fit, and had to link to the document externally, which might make it difficult to see other students' work.

As students are finishing this part of the project, we are transitioning into groups to plan a vacation together! Students have to stop and spend a few days in each members' countries, but they get to use the internet, their math skills, and their researched knowledge to come up with a specific plan (and budget) for their trip!

Reading Assignments and Big Ideas:

Non-Fiction Reading, or Reading to Learn: Along with the country report research, students have had a few shorter assignments involving informative text! One article posted last Friday (because there was also writing involved) was about how fasting is built into different religions. I felt like this was a timely article while our Muslim students and friends are participating in the month of Ramadan.

In other Non-Fiction reading, on Monday I challenged your children to cook or bake something following a recipe! I know that some students have more experience in the kitchen than others, so I left it open to exactly how challenging it should be. I repeated many times that they need to discuss it with you and have your approval first! As all of these assignments are ungraded, I told students if you didn't want them to make something independently, they could instead watch a parent or adult make something, and share the recipe and a picture of it in SeeSaw. (Either way is fine, though I was secretly hoping that they might be able to make a Mother's Day treat!)

Fiction Reading: We have been so fortunate to have Mrs. Draper recording a read aloud of the book "Dogsbody" by Diane Wynne Jones. She has been contributing videos of each chapter in parts, and has currently just finished Chapter 4. These videos are posted at the top of our Google Classroom!

Reading Resource:
In Harry Potter news, Daniel Radcliffe has started a "Harry Potter at Home" read aloud of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone! You can find the recording here: https://www.wizardingworld.com/collections/harry-potter-at-home

Writing Assignments and Big Ideas:

Non-Fiction Expository Writing: Students are working on a lot of writing for their Country Reports and Vacation Planning, teaching us about everything that they have learned, however I am still reminding them to continue their journal entries at least once per week!

Math Assignments and Big Ideas:

Block 4: Probability and Random Sampling

Last week's assignments finished up Block 4. Some of those skills were already touched on before Winter Break with the 6th grade statistics unit that we taught (like finding measures of center, Mean, Median, Mode, Range, Interquartile Range, etc.).

I have assigned a check for understanding on this week's Math Checklist, just to see that we are able to grasp some of the concepts.

Block 5: Direct Variation

Direct Variation, also known as "Constants of Proportionality," has been identified by one of our district's Algebra teachers as one of the Most Important units for students who are going into Algebra next year. This means that it is important that students who are planning on taking Algebra 1 spend some time with these concepts.

I always try to add external resources for students to get some extra practice and instruction, these include Khan Academy and IXL. I have mentioned several times in our Zoom Meetings, that our curriculum does a great job of linking skills on IXL for each lesson! This means that students who want some extra practice simply go into the Core Focus website, navigate to the lesson they are working on, and click on a link! If they are already signed in to IXL, they will be able to get credit for the practice too!

Celebrations: 

• I am happy to report that our class has already completed almost 4,500 problems on IXL! WoW! While IXL doesn't provide instruction on skills, it does have a variety of practice problems that can give students some variety in what they are working on. 
• (FYI: IXL also has Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science!)
• I want to congratulate the bravery of Miki and Shrita for submitting their poems to the Northshore Speaks event, and to commend Miki's wonderful live performance of her poem "Bravery." I am so proud of both of you for your creativity and passion, your lovely poems are a light for me during this time. 
• FYI: If you want to read some more of Miki's poems, there have been one in each of Mr. Keeler's most recent Friday Updates! 
• Birthdays: While in my classroom I normally don't have time to celebrate birthdays, I wanted to recognize students whose birthdays have been celebrated (or will be) at home during this time. Having experienced this first hand a couple weeks ago, I recognize how this virus has affected the celebration of what should be a fun and exciting time. I have set up a Birthday Board on SeeSaw for students to post birthday messages to students, and thought it might be nice if they are reminded by you to care for their friends by acknowledging their birthdays, even if it is only online. (Note: I recognize that some of these are summer birthdays and aren't usually celebrated at school anyways, but from the way things are going, it is still unlikely they will get as social of a celebration as in years past)

• Aayush 3/12
• Jake 4/3
• Riley 5/23
• Lucas 6/6
• Bob 6/9
• Adah 7/3
• Finn 7/13
• Laasya 8/3

I hope you are all doing well, are staying healthy, and finding ways to connect even more closely with your family during this time. Please don't hesitate to ask me questions or send me an email if you need anything. Remember to keep an eye out for that survey later this week or early next week!

Next Wednesday we will be starting Geometry, so hopefully everyone has a protractor at home! If not, please let me know as soon as possible!

With Love,

Mrs. Hart

Updates!

Dear Parents,

I am grateful for the sweet birthday wishes on Monday from your children! Covid birthdays aren't terribly exciting, but it helps to have such kind people in your life to remember it! :)

This week's language arts lessons are still focused on doing research for our country reports as I try to create groups for the next part of our work: planning a vacation!

Though I know students are excited to go on a vacation, the group work and planning will start after students finish reporting on their countries! I am hoping to give them a template for their report tomorrow.

In math last week and this week I have assigned some Core Focus lessons with Khan Academy options to go along with them. These assignments cover Lessons 4.1-4.5 in our Proportions and Probability book. 

In order to check for understanding, I assigned a "quiz" on Khan Academy. If your child has not completed this quiz, you (and your child) should have already received an email from me.

I currently have 17/23 students who have taken the quiz, and all have done well on it! None of the grades go into the grade book, but some assessing of skills has to happen so that I know how everyone is doing.

Having just recently talked with my colleagues, 17/23 is a reasonably high participation rate! Good job class!

I have recorded a few math instructional videos that are uploaded onto google classroom as well as a "challenge" video (that isn't really a challenge if they have completed lesson 4.5.) I hope students find them entertaining!

Until next time, please feel free to send me an email if you have any questions, and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Cheers,

Mrs. Hart

Resources and Information

Happy Friday Families! (It's Friday... right?)

I have been reading many journal entries from students saying how their days seem to be more and more monotonous and they have trouble keeping track of what day it is.

It got me to thinking about finding some resources to "shake things up" a little bit! I know the Northshore Learns website has a lot of information and links, here are some more that I found.

Coding classes! 

Code.org has weekly interactive lessons on Wednesdays at 10am PST. I recognize that may get in the way of our classroom meetings, but I totally understand if kids leave early to take another class!

This coming Wednesday, April, 22, the coding class will feature Bill Gates as a special guest! 

Science projects!

This is a link to some engineering activities that could be done at home.

Or you could do some Science Experiments! 

Or more Science Experiments!

This site has ads, but also lists of a lot of experiments too!

Read a Good Book!

Excellent News, Audible has FREE audio book subscriptions for kids! 

Write something! 

The New York Times has free accounts for students and teachers, and this part of their website has activities, lessons, and webinars.  (some of this site seems to be geared more for high school students, so you may want to look through it a bit more)

Art is always fun!

Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems! 

This post has 12 Art Channels on YouTube that have a variety of mediums. (Sorry for all the ads on their website!)

This channel is more geared towards adult artists. Its website has a subscription box for materials etc. but if you have a lot of art supplies and child who is really interested in using them, their tutorial videos are free, so it might be a place to go!

Quality Time...

Finally, this time is stressful, and your children feel it from you and from the world around them. They miss "normal" and want to do all the things that they used to do, even if they know they can't. 

Spending time doing something fun with them, whether it is board games or video games, a nature walk or a book club. If it is something you never get a chance to do together, you can create experiences that make "abnormal" fun instead of stressful. (For example, here is a video my friend posted of a Rube Goldberg machine he made with his son.)

Children all over the world are missing school, their friends, and all of their extra curricular activities. They will never forget this time. Don't be afraid to make it memorable for good reasons as well. 

Sending my love to all of you.

Mrs. Hart

Day 4 of Online Learning! Updates!

Dear Parents,

I have been posting updates to Class Dojo of most of the daily assignments, so if you need log in instructions, you are welcome to email me.

Please scroll all the way past my photo for messages for Timbercrest families!

Another important message regarding Algebra Readiness Testing, students were scheduled to take this test last week, but were unable to because of the school closure. I spoke with Derek Tucci in the assessment department, and he said that students will be fine taking the test after we all get back to school, and that if they qualify, the delayed results will not affect their enrollment into Algebra 1 next year.

Today, students tried out BrainPOP with a video and some activities about gravity! They were able to ask me questions about the 3.5 math worksheet and skills, and have started a "long" (according to them) SeeSaw activity with the word problems they all made on Monday! I am hoping this will help support them to be ready for some sort of Math assessment next week on Block 3!

I say some sort, because the 5th grade team is still trying to figure out how to make our assessments useful and authentic with these different online environments!

In other news, starting on Monday, Mrs. Stockdale and/or Mrs. Foran, our recess para educators, are going to help me hold students accountable for turning in their work and reading their questions in the comments. They may even "monitor" a "zoom recess" time where kids can socialize and spend time with each other.

They are going to do this so that I can make this new "role" more sustainable for myself and my home life.

It takes a village! SO grateful for all of you, and for everyone's support during all of this chaos.

We had a staff zoom meeting today and everyone was definitely feeling like the "honeymoon" period is wearing off for the kiddos, and the teachers! It is going to take a lot of work to keep students to a schedule, set boundaries, etc.

Cheers,

Mrs. Hart

P.S. Here is my 'do for student conferences yesterday, I have to keep things interesting! :)

For Timbercrest Families:

Dear Future Timbercrest Families,

As we continue to plan and thoughtfully respond to the challenges the COVID-19 virus is presenting for our community, schools, and our district this week, we are making some changes to our typical 5th grade registration process.

Changes:

• Students will not be traveling to the middle school for our welcome event.  We will reschedule this experience later on in the spring.

• Counselors will not be going down to the elementary schools to do registration.  This will be done remotely. Stay tuned for more information on how we will conduct the process.

• We will also postpone our upcoming 5th grade parent night that was planned for March 10.  This event is one that is key to supporting the transition from elementary to middle school so we look forward to rescheduling in the near future.

Thanks for your grace during this time.  We recognize that there are feelings and anxiety and uncertainty out there, and that the changes we are making may add to that feeling of uncertainty.  Please know that we will take good care of your student’s needs and we will get all of the registration process sorted out with students placed where they should be.

We will get through this together!  Grace abounds!

Best,

Kristi Hannigan, Principal

Timbercrest Middle School

khannigan@nsd.org

425-408-6905

February Updates and Health Information

Dear Parents,

First, thank you for regularly checking the emails that you receive from google classroom. I have yet to put in the January book report grades, so it will still show as "missing" until either your child goes into google classroom and clicks on "submit" for the assignment, or I put your child's grade into the system.

Please note that you will not be able to view assignment attachments etc. unless you log into google classroom with your child's account. This means that your weekly email is basically just a "check up" to remind them to do the work that they are supposed to be doing.

Second, our Valentine's Day "festivities" this Friday will be a lot more subdued than our October party.

Students are encouraged to:

- bring a box or a bag (I can supply some easy materials for the bag) for any cards that are handed out.
- bring valentines for all of their classmates, please make sure you are giving one to each classmate.
- wear comfortable clothes (like pajamas) and
- bring a book that they "love" if they don't have a favorite already at school.

We will be having quiet reading time, doughnuts, and hot chocolate/cider in the morning with some small decorations around the classroom, and will exchange valentines in the afternoon.

I appreciate the interest in volunteering, but this is hopefully going to be a more relaxing affair that will take place throughout different times of the day, instead an official "party" of sorts.

Third, last week we covered sexual exploitation and our first day of our puberty lessons. 

We went over the following definitions:
Exploitation - one person using another person to make themselves feel good or to get something from the other person no matter how the other person feels.
Sexual Exploitation - when someone tricks or pressures someone into "secret touching."
- Adults can also be sexually exploited, as well as children can be exploited by other children, but when a child is sexually exploited by an adult or older child, that is called "Sexual Abuse."
Private Parts - the parts of the body covered by a bathing suit: the bottom, a boy's or man's penis and scrotum, a girl's or woman's labia and vagina, and girls' chests, even if they are too young to have breasts.

A student asked about the term "rape" which was defined as a violent form of sexual exploitation in which someone is forced to do things that they do not want to do.

We covered Safe/Healthy, Unsafe/Unhealthy, and Confusing Touch. You can find more information on these two lessons Here (day 1)  and Here (day 2)

On Day 2 of this lesson, we covered how we can help someone who has been (or is being) sexually exploited. We went over a poster that consisted of

5 things a friend can do:
1) Listen.
2) Believe them.
3) Show you care.
4) Don't blame them.
5) Tell an adult, not other classmates.

These were very tough lessons for students, and it is my hope that they have been talking and processing with you about these topics at home afterwords.

On Friday we covered the first day of Puberty by making a chart of changes that Boys, Both, and Girls go through. A complete list of those changes is provided Here (Day 1)

Students noticed how many items were in the "Both" category, and we finished the week with some really good understanding between everyone.

This week we will cover the 2nd day of our Puberty lesson, Reproductive System (Day 1 and 2), as well as HIV/AIDs (Day 1 and 2). We will be using the OSPI KNOW curriculum for our HIV/AIDs lessons, which were included in the binder in the nurses office for you to preview.

Finally, in Math we are finishing up a unit on Proportions, and will most likely be taking a test on Thursday or Friday. 

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Regards,

Mrs. Hart

January Updates!

Good Afternoon Parents,

I am sorry that I am so delayed in writing my new blog post, the district has put some tighter security around this website (even though they recommended that I use it...) so I can't access it at school.

I wanted to give some important updates from the work we have been doing these last few weeks, as well as looking ahead.

Students spent this week finishing their final (yay!) iReady reading assessments, and most will be finishing the Math assessment next week (if they haven't already.) I am happy to see all of the growth in their scores!

In Language Arts we are trying to finish our Sci Fi unit with 2 different writing activities, a comparative analysis of two sci fi books, one of them our class read aloud, and the other an independent sci fi book, analyzing themes that each have in common. So far I am seeing some really good thinking from students, and I look forward to seeing their work!

We are also working on developing our story for students' own Science Fiction picture books. We have worked really hard the last two weeks to develop a character with some depth and background, and will most likely move on to the setting of our stories next week.

We have started a read aloud by Malala Yousafzai called "We are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World" to transition us back into non-fiction reading.

Another activity that we worked on these last two weeks related to non-fiction was our Time for Kids magazines, sponsored by our PTA! This week students were asked to create a small brochure of a place in their community that is cool or special to them. I can't wait to see what everyone came up with!

In Math, our schedule has been a little out of sync with the other 5th grade classes with the snow days and winter break. Luckily, we are the ones ahead! Way to go hard workers! As a result, we have spent some more time reviewing the concepts in this first Block of our Proportions and Probability Unit. We will most likely take the Block 1 test on Wednesday of next week.

In Science, we have had several Nature Vision visits into our classroom, one covering soil and decomposers (today!) and another talking about space and our solar system (last week!). These are both finishing up our first science unit (Ecosystems), and starting our second one (Earth, Moon, Stars.)

As you are aware, we will be starting our Health unit next week as well. Lessons that we will cover next week include:

1) Introduction - setting expectations and rules for how we behave during this unit.
2) Family - "what families are for and how they (students) can contribute to their own families."
3) Self-Esteem - helping students learn to like themselves and the benefits of doing so.
4) Gender Roles - discussing the "similarities and differences between the expectations of each gender."

Many students seem nervous about this unit, and will be taking worksheets etc. home with them to discuss what they learned each day with you. Please, if possible, try to be open and available to discuss and help students process some of what they will be learning.

In Social Studies, we will be starting our unit on Discovery and Colonization most likely after mid-winter break. We just have too much going on to fit it in right now!

Extra stuff that we have been doing:
1) We had a Domino presentation and exploration from a parent from Sunrise Elementary that introduced the domino activities that are now available on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Library.
2) We have done some AWESOME art most recently with sewing and water colors!
3) We had a VERY important/impactful social emotional lesson today about empathy by practicing putting ourselves into other people's shoes using comments that my students from 2 years ago, as well as some from last year, wrote down and reading them while imagining what it would be like to live in their shoes. I am having students do something similar for homework this weekend for next year.

I am sure that there is a lot more that I wanted to talk about, but my head is currently full of report card thoughts! Don't forget that Monday is a teacher work day so there is no school!

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Warmest Regards,

Mrs. Hart

Some Trends from our Conferences, Some Information.

Dear Parents,

Thank you all for your flexibility over the last two weeks with half day, conferences, and progress reports! November is such a busy month! We have been very busy in class as well, however, based on the majority of conversations that I have had with you all over the last two weeks, some of your children have not been as busy at home as you would like, or as you feel they should be.

First, let me state that all lessons, work, homework, and projects, are supposed to be written down in their planner every day. I reserve 15 minutes of every afternoon to write these things down.  It would take me 15+ minutes to also check every assignment written down by every student, and many days I simply do not have the time. I will attempt to hold students accountable better at school, however, it is important that your child know that you also expect them to come home with this information.

In order to help you and your students keep track of assignments, I am looking into a few options:

1- adding "guardian email addresses" to your child's google classroom account. This will send periodic emails with work and grades that your child has been given on assignments. It will also notify if your child has not turned in an assignment. I have to enter these in individually, so I will work on doing that next week.

2- researching a way to post or display the lessons and assignments online, every day. I have to confirm with our Technology department, on whether I am allowed to set up a twitter feed or something that parents can choose to follow, where I can post images of our planner and/or notifications of assignments every day.

3- I will be emailing all of you with the login credentials for the student login for our math curriculum. If your child is not bringing math homework home, even if it is finished, you can easily access the worksheets that I assign online and print out another copy. There are also practice pages in each of the lessons in the student textbook, which is in PDF format for students to view as well as videos and power point slides of each of the lessons.

One of the reasons that kept me from making all of this information available earlier, is because I do not hear from many of you. While my last blog post had 48 views, the rest of my posts have only been viewed by about half of my families.

Just like students, I put my energy into what seems important to all of you. If families are not interested in keeping up with the goings on in the classroom, then I will divert my efforts to other tasks to help your children be as successful as possible.

A majority of you have indicated over the last two weeks that a communication of assignments and due dates is important to you. Therefore, I will do my best to keep you all as updated as possible.

One important due date coming up is your child's November Book Project. This assignment is due This Monday, December 2nd. Your child was assigned a "free choice" to show the underlying themes or lessons in a Realistic Fiction book. Themes can include: the author's message, a lesson learned by the character, problems or the solutions to a character's problems that are apparent in the book. Students can show this understanding in any way that fits them, there are several suggestions in the assignment packet in the reading section of your child's binder.

I have said many times this year: I would rather your child turn in a quality project late, than a sloppy project on time. If this book report was "news," then I recognize that they may not have a book read and a project done by Monday. I do expect that these projects show care and effort. It is highly recommended that these projects be worked on in little pieces at home throughout the month.

As always, please feel free to contact me with questions.

Regards,

Mrs. Hart

Important Information for BizTown, and Classroom Procedures

Good Afternoon Parents!

First, let me thank our team of party planners for such a fun Harry Potter Harvest Party last Thursday! This was the 4th year that I have had a Harry Potter party in my classroom, and every year they are just as exciting and fun for all involved. Thank you for all of your contributions and for everyone who volunteered their time to help out!

I have a lot of important pieces of information and reminders:

1) BizTown is THIS MONDAY. 
      a) Please have your child to school starting at 8:05, but no later than 8:30am. (If you are chaperoning this trip, some of our 5th grade teachers (myself included) will be at school early enough to supervise those students so that you can carpool down to Auburn ahead of time.)
     b) There is a chance that our coaches will arrive back to Bear Creek after the school buses depart, in which case please have a backup plan to get your child from Bear Creek to home if your child misses the bus. Please also make sure your child knows of this backup plan, so that they are not worried about being able to get home. You will not be able to pick up your child from BizTown unless you are a chaperon and decided not to carpool.
     c) Please send your child to school with a disposable lunch, and water bottle with their names on them. This way your child does not have to bring their backpack and can leave it at school. There is no secure backpack storage at BizTown. Student backpacks will be on a table outside of the general area, which means that it is highly discouraged that they bring any electronic devices or other valuables on the trip with them.

Please contact me if you have any concerns about providing a disposable lunch for your child. 

2) Halloween Candy in the Classroom.
    While I recognize the excitement of all of that candy for those who celebrate Halloween, I do not share in the excitement of having 23 hyper children full of sugar and stomachaches from eating all of their candy in my classroom all day.
My policy is as follows:
     a) Candy is not a snack. 
     b) Candy is not a meal.
     c) If students want one piece of candy as a treat with their lunch, that is fine.
     d) We have severe nut allergies in this classroom. For the safety of these students, please refrain from bringing candy with nuts.  
     e) Because of these food allergies, I also do not allow students to share candy, snacks, or lunch with other students.

3) Snacks/Food in the Classroom.
     a) Recognizing that there are times that students forget to bring a snack, I have started to provide snack in the classroom. If you would like to donate snack for students who forgot to bring some, please send me an email.  
      b) Please remember that your children are growing and might be needing more food to support this growth. While candy and sugar-induced stomachaches are probably the most distracting, trying to learn an empty stomach is a close second!
      c) On a related note, if your child is packing their own lunch (as I know several in my classroom are) please check what they are bringing each day. While I am all for giving students more responsibility at home and at school, they still need some support from you in taking on some of these responsibilities. I say this because I have seen several students consider something small like a string cheese and an apple as a "lunch" when they wonder why they are still hungry.

4) Language Arts Assignments Due!
     We have 2 assignments due next week:
     a) Folk Tale Comic Strip - This was assigned at the beginning of the year, and while the date says it is due on Monday, once we knew about the field trip, I changed it to Tuesday, Nov. 5th. Information about this assignment should be in a packet inside your child's "Language Arts" or "Reading" section of their binder.
      b) Reading About a Ballot Measure - Students have an assignment on their Google Classroom page, where they will read on this website about 3 initiatives on the ballot: Referendum No. 88 and No. 976, as well as Senate Join Resolution No. 8200. These are not easy to understand and students would benefit from your assistance in understanding them. Students should read any arguments for and against for these issues, as well as the fiscal impact and the background of the laws. We will vote in our mock election on Tuesday, Election Day.
     c)  Persuasive Writing about a Ballot Measure - Students' persuasive writing essays on a ballot measure of their choice are due by Friday, Nov. 8th. Students will choose a side on one of the ballot measures, and using their informed opinion, will write a persuasive essay, with evidence, on why they think this measure should pass or fail. While essay length mostly depends on the measure chosen and how much information they are able to get from their research. It should be at least 2 paragraphs long.

In other news:

- We are finishing up our first of 2 literacy pilots! I am sad that we weren't able to get another book club in before we have to give back the curriculum. If you and your child have had some discussions about the book club activities that we have done in school, and you have an opinion on the curriculum, please take a moment to take the survey linked here.

- We were fortunate enough to have Beecher's Pure Foods Program come to our school on Friday and teach everyone about healthy nutrition! Students learned about additives and processed foods, and how delicious something can taste when it is made with whole, unprocessed ingredients. We also learned about how nutrition labels can distort or mislead the consumer (us) into thinking they are healthier than they really are. Many students were shocked to learn how much added sugar is in so much of their food!

- We wrapped up our third block in our Math curriculum, and will be starting our unit on basic algebra starting next week. This was a very difficult unit for a lot of my students last year. I highly recommend spending some extra time talking with students about these concepts, especially if they are hoping to make another math jump into Algebra I next year.

I can't think of anything else at the moment, but please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Warmest Regards,

Mrs. Hart

October Fun!

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your patience through the district's "cyber attack" and all of the side effects of it! We have been very busy in class and I wanted to give you an update!

1) Reading: We have finished our first round of book clubs! Students were put into groups based on their book preferences, they read independently while taking notes on important parts, and met to talk about their books in their groups with me over the last two weeks. The books that we read were all related to the theme "Caring and Compassion for Others." While the books were on the shorter side, they had highly thought-provoking topics. Here are some abbreviated summaries:

The Harmonica - This picture book is inspired by a true story of a young Jewish boy in Poland in 1939 during the Nazi invasion.

Kids at Work - Lewis Hine was a New York City schoolteacher who later became a pioneer and investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC). Because of his photographs, he was able to help enact legislation that changed modern working conditions for adults and children as well as enlighten the American people about a troubling reality most had never seen before.

Half a Man - In post-war London, young Michael dreaded visits from his semi-estranged grandfather. Michael’s parents cautioned him not to stare at his grandfather’s scars, but Michael couldn’t help stealing a glance and wondering what happened. By learning his grandfather’s story about the war and its aftermath, Michael forms a special bond with him.

Iqbal - This book is a fictionalized account of the real Pakistani boy, Iqbal, who is sold into bonded slavery by his parents and forced to work in deplorable conditions at a carpet factory. He inspires his friends to dream of a different future and helps break the cycle of generational poverty and child slavery.

We will be doing a second round of these books before moving on, allowing comparing and contrasting between two books and how they relate to the theme of the book club.

This week we also started our "Global Read Aloud" book, Front Desk. Thanks to Mr. Parker, our librarian, for arranging for this program for us!

Yesterday was our first official trip to our little buddies' first grade classroom. We were supposed to read with them last week, but the "bearpocalypse" kept us from going. I couldn't have been more proud of all of my students. They were patient, helpful, and friendly to all of these very excited little ones. They listened to their little buddies proudly read their books, and helped them when needed. I loved seeing the "big brothers" and "big sisters" come out in many of them, and I know that Ms. Vandebeld's class was over the moon to have all of the attention.

2) Writing: We have started our persuasive writing using a middle school curriculum from iCivics. Students are currently learning how to construct an argument, based on facts and evidence, using a scenario that may (or may not) violate children's freedom of expression in schools. Students are working on both sides of this argument, showing the importance of being able to see multiple perspectives on an issue. Later this month, students will be using these skills to write a persuasive essay on an item on this November's election ballot.

3) Social Studies: Related to this writing activity, we are also spending time learning about our federal government, the constitution, and the separation of powers. By learning about our federal government, I am hoping to set the stage to review about our state government in time for our trip to Olympia in February.

4) Science: I am so grateful to have one of my fabulous parent volunteers helping me prepare to start our science unit next week on Ecosystems!

One way that we will be enriching this unit is through the field trip permission slip that was sent home on either Thursday or Friday. This will be a **free** walking field trip to cottage lake park to learn about watersheds and the aquatic life that lives in them. Students must return this permission slip before our trip on Oct. 18th. If you need an extra copy of this paper, please email me!

We also did 2 STEM/Teamwork challenges this week! On Wednesday, groups worked together to move a platform with a "radioactive" 2 liter bottle (of seltzer water) from one place to another.

On Thursday and Friday, students were given a very limited amount of supplies to design a tool that could help scientists deliver a small machine (ping pong ball) into the middle of a volcano (a circle of tape with a 6ft diameter with a paper cup in the middle) without endangering themselves by getting too close.

The ingenuity and teamwork shown for both of these tasks was highly commendable! Almost all of the teams were successful, and those that weren't were so close! I have to give kudos to all for being good sports through it all by staying kind and supportive to everyone inside and out of their own teams.

5) Math: In math we finished up our unit on computation of fractions and decimals, and have started learning about adding and subtracting negative numbers.

Their Block 1 tests are not yet fully graded, and will be sent home as soon as they are. I try to be prompt on returning math tests, however, my substitute on Monday (though trying to be helpful!) took in upon themselves to partially grade the tests, and it has made my own grading of them rather slow-going.

A few things I did not get to go over during curriculum night regarding math tests:
- Once tests are graded, they will have a cover sheet attached to them with your child's score and space for you to write any comments you might have.
- These tests and cover sheets need to be returned by the following Monday, signed by the reviewing parent.  I reference these tests in order to be as accurate as possible on my report cards. If I do not get the tests back, then I am forced to generalize based on their overall grade, instead of their performance on each standard.
- I do not usually do test corrections. I feel it is important for students to work with accuracy from the start, and not rely on a second chance later.
- I do not usually do open book or open notebook tests. I want to encourage students to study and ask questions, instead of relying on looking up the information during the test.

All of that said, these guidelines are subject to change based on the unit and overall student performance on the skills.

6) Finally, we have also started our BizTown Financial Literacy curriculum in preparation for our trip on November 4th. These permission slips will be going home soon, and I will send out an email when they do.

If you signed up as interested in going with us as a volunteer:
- I will be sending you an email next week to make sure you are still interested.
- This email will also ask you if you are willing to drive a carpool of other volunteers, and if so, how many seats you have available.
- BizTown relies on parent volunteers to help set up the businesses before the students arrive, which means it is an early day for all of us. Last year I was happy to provide a classroom for all carpooling parents to drop their (5th grade) children off early while they make their way down to Auburn.
- Children not going on the field trip would have to get to school in another way, as we will also be leaving the school before the day begins.

If you are interested in going and didn't sign up on Curriculum Night:
Our portion of the list is currently full, but please send me an email and I will put you on the wait list for when the other 5th grade classrooms are finished compiling their own volunteers. If one of our parents is unable to go, or another classroom is unable to find volunteers, you will be in line to get a spot!

I think that is enough for one blog post! Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

Welcome to the first full week of the 2019-2020 School Year!

Dear Parents,

Happy Friday!

Your children looked about as tired as I felt by the end of the day today!

Our first full week of school was very busy!

We took our pre-test for our first unit in math, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well everyone did on their first pre-test of the year. The results of the pretest give me information about what students already know coming into a unit, which can help inform how fast or slow I teach the lessons.  Our first math unit is a review of computation skills with fractions and decimals, and will be important for the rest of the year.

Students also participated in a week of high interest math activities thanks to the website YouCubed.com. The picture below is of our class's work in a game called Four 4's. Students must figure out how to create equations using only the number 4, and must use that digit four times to equal numbers 1-20. Here is what they figured out!

Students has a lot of fun and learned new and exciting ways to do math from their peers.

In reading, we are starting our year with a few lessons that promote inquiry and discussion in shared readings. Each lesson contains a very short, high interest, story that we discuss in a variety of depths.

We watched some inspirational speeches by child activist Greta Thunberg, which is starting our discussion around persuasive and argumentative writing.

We started our Social Emotional curriculum, Second Step, this week as well. Students will be (if they haven't already) taking home a worksheet that requires an adult's participation and signature before it is due on Monday.

During our daily Morning Meetings, we discussed brain science, people that we can trust in our lives, how we are feeling that day, and interpreted a quotation about how important our mindset is for dealing with failures as well as successes.

All of these activities are helping me get to know my new and returning students even better.

One activity that took a lot of time this week were our new adaptive diagnostic iReady tests. The deadline to finish the iReady math assessment is next Wednesday so that we can discuss the results during our afternoon meetings. The reading assessment isn't due for another week after that. These assessments, whether because they are new or because students are cautious and careful, took much longer than anticipated, but are almost complete. Once all of our data gathering is completed, we will have some more time to spend doing the things we love, like science, social studies, and art! 

A few things that I need from parents right now, as the year is starting:

1) Please take a moment to fill out this survey about your child. If a student's parents live in separate homes, I would appreciate both parents filling out the survey so that I may get to know you all (and your child) even better.

2) If you haven't read and approved your child's Technology Contract,  please do so and send back to school with your child. This allows for common technology expectations for all students, and I will not allow any children who haven't returned signed contracts to use the computer for more purposes than testing.

3) Please mark your calendars for Curriculum Night right here in our classroom next Tuesday, September 17th from 6:45-7:30!

I look forward to seeing you all, presenting on our year together this year, and answering your questions. If you have any burning questions about what we are doing right now in class, please don't hesitate to email me!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Regards,

Mrs. Hart

Camp, 5th Grade Baby Photos, Testing, and Events!

Dear Parents,

First of all, I want to thank Heather Dean for joining us at 5th grade camp this year, our 5th graders had such a great time! I am so proud of the good behavior and hard work everyone put into these 3 days, whether they were at school or at camp!

I am so glad, however, to be back in the classroom with all of my students!

5th Grade Parents, I will be sending you a link to a folder for you to upload your child's baby/toddler pictures to for the end of the year assembly! Please keep an eye out for that in your inbox, I have 2 of 10 so far!

I want to give more compliments to the hard work that students have put into their SBA tests so far. Everyone should feel good about their work!

Next week we have our Math SBA tests on Wednesday the 21st and Thursday the 22nd, with Science WCAS on the following week, May 30th.

We have been covering Matter and its Properties in Science, and completed a pretty intense day of experiments yesterday! Students were testing several different powders to determine their characteristics/attributes so that they could correctly identify the "mystery substance." So much messy science fun!

In Social Studies, we are kicking off our Revolutionary War unit with some role-playing and research. Students are broken up into families, and while they will be learning about the Revolutionary War from a predominantly European perspective, we will be making some connections with indigenous tribes as well as discuss some parallels with British colonization and the libration of former colonies around the world.

Finally, I want to share with you a family event that is coming on Saturday, June 1st that I am SO excited about. Erin Jones, a former teacher who ran for superintendent of public instruction a couple years ago, is going to be coming and speaking with Delbert Richardson’s traveling museum, The Unspoken Truths in American History at our very own North Creek High School! You can register for this free event here. I met Erin Jones at WAETAG last fall and find her a wonderful public speaker and an all-around inspiring individual.

I hope you will join me!

Warmest Regards,

Mrs. Hart

SBA #1 Monday! Some Reminders:

Dear Parents,

Just some quick reminders for Monday's ELA Computer Adaptive Test (CAT):

1) Students have headphones to use, but if they have their own that they would like to use instead, they have always been welcome to bring some to school.

2) Please make sure that your child gets plenty of sleep on Sunday Night!

3) Students WILL have P.E., Lunch, all regular Recesses, and may have Science and Social Studies rotations as well. (Still coordinating the last one)

4) Please send your child to school with plenty of healthy snacks to eat. High sugar candies and snacks cause crashes and tiredness within minutes, whereas healthy snacks like fruits, veggies, and protein can be much more beneficial.

5) Your confidence in them is one of the most valuable gifts they can receive. I have told my students several times that no test score determines someone's worth or value. I have amazing students in my classroom, and that isn't because they score well on tests, it is because they are wonderful, kind, and caring people.

All the best for a restful weekend!

Regards,

Mrs. Hart

Updates, SBA Schedule and Yearbook Info!

Dear Parents,

Let me start out with a big thank you to all of you for your patience as these blog posts are so few and far between.

I also want to thank so many of the 5th grade parents who volunteered to come to BizTown with us last week. The students had such a good time, and learned so much thanks to your participation. With only ten 5th grade students, having 5 parent volunteers is pretty huge! I am so grateful for all of you. Should any of you also be interested, (or anyone else who is sad they missed out on our fun at BizTown!) we are also very short on volunteers for camp! Please email me if you are interested!

Important: As you may have seen in your child's Friday folder, yearbook order forms have gone out! A correction needs to be made, however: Checks should be made payable to Bear Creek Elementary, and not O'Connor Photography. 

We had some other fun events happening at Bear Creek these last few weeks!

1) Author Patrick Carmen came to speak to our 3rd - 5th graders! He talked to them all about writing stories and about his new book called "Towervale." This book combines reading with a free online arcade-style game, that kids have to complete a level before they know what page to go to in order to continue reading in the story. Fun!

He had some copies for sale after his visit, but there were so many students interested in ordering a book, he has to come back to deliver more copies of it!

He will be in on Tuesday, so if anyone is interested in getting a copy, they need to bring in a check made out to PC Studio Inc. by Tuesday morning for $15.00.

2) We had a small lesson last week, where students taught us about the Hindu holiday of Holi. We celebrated the "Festival of Colors" by doing some beautiful rangoli-inspired sidewalk chalk art on the playground. Students also practiced and showed off their writing in multiple different languages! Here are some images of our beautiful work!

3) In Language Arts, we started our Non-Fiction/Informative Reading and Writing unit with biographies of young activists around the world. Students picked issues and topics they were curious about and practiced researching and taking notes on the information they found. It is amazing to me the variety of topics that students chose, we have topics like poverty and homelessness, global warming, plastic pollution, racism, police brutality, homeless pets, gun violence, children's rights,  child trafficking, ivory poaching, and transgender rights. As you can tell from our list (which was 100% student created,) some of these topics can be sensitive and may require some additional support in finding sources that are appropriate for younger students. I have worked with several students to find some sources of information, however, checking in with your child about the topic that they have chosen is definitely recommended! 

4) I want to congratulate our Math Olympiad participants on their hard work last weekend! While we are all especially proud of our team that is bringing a trophy to Bear Creek for the first time (!), I want to also say how proud I am of everyone's hard work. The fact that so many teams could do so well, (with many who didn't even use a calculator!!) just shows how strong of a work ethic and how much dedication they have to a subject that they enjoy. Bravo!

5) Our 5th graders have wrapped up their social studies and science units! They are working on a science assessment this weekend and the beginning of next week. Their next unit in Social Studies will start next week as well focusing on colonialism leading up to the Revolutionary War. 

6) While our 5th graders were at BizTown, our 4th graders started a health unit that helped them start to think about the food they eat. While our nutrition curriculum has not changed as much as nutrition science has over the last few years, the core principle is still relevant: limiting sugars and heavily processed carbohydrates, and instead choosing less processed foods like meats and vegetables. 

7) Finally, we have a finalized SBA testing schedule! For our SBA tests, both 4th and 5th graders will be taking tests together in my classroom. The only exception to this is the 5th grade Washington Comprehensive Assessment in Science (WCAS), which will have the 4th graders stay in their math rotations until the test is completed.  

As a reminder, "CAT" stands for "Computer Adaptive Test" which must be taken before they can do the Performance Task, or "PT," in a subject. Because of the long writing component, ELA Performance Tasks tend to take 2+ days, while Math Performance Tasks usually don't take even an entire day. 

Days indicated as "4th grade EAP testing" are for the other 4th grade EAP classes, not for our class. I am only adding this to indicate that there won't be any math rotations during those days. 

Specialist, Lunch, and Recess will stay as scheduled, but please see the other notes for each testing day.

Please update your calendars with the dates and information below:

Monday, 4/22 - ELA CAT - No 4th Grade Math Rotations.

Tuesday, 4/30 - 4th Grade EAP testing, extension math for whole class. 

Wednesday, 5/1 - ELA PT1 - Day 1 of Performance task will be conducted around math rotations. 

Thursday, 5/2 - ELA PT2 - Day 2 of Performance task, no math rotations.

Tuesday, 5/7 - 4th Grade EAP testing, extension math for whole class.

May 8-10 - 5th Grade - Camp Cedar Springs

Monday, 5/13 - 4th Grade EAP testing, extension math for whole class.

Friday, 5/17 - 4th Grade EAP testing, extension math for whole class.

Tuesday, 5/21 - Math CAT - No 4th Grade Math Rotations

Wednesday, 5/22 - Math PT - No 4th Grade Math Rotations

Thursday, 5/30 - 5th Grade WCAS - 4th Graders will spend this time in math classrooms.

As always, I am here if you have any questions! 

Warmest Regards,

Mrs. Hart

Snowpocalypse 2019 HOMEWORK?!? Mrs. Hart's Snow Day Blog Post

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your patience, as the time between blog posts seems to grow exponentially as the year progresses.

Some announcements and 'fun' things for your children to do on this cold snowy day: 

A Valentine's Day party is planned for Thursday afternoon, if we have school. In the email I am going to send out to all of you to announce this blog post, I will attach a list of names for all of the students in class, so that if your child chooses to participate in giving valentines, they may give them to the whole class. Please limit the sweets in the valentines. We have allergies, and dietary restrictions in the classroom that might limit the enjoyment of some of those sugary candies that always seem to be stuck to valentines.

This fall I had 2 wonderful former students volunteering in my classroom. I gave them a task to think of some of their favorite educational resources to add to my webpage. They did a great job of finding a lot of information, though I haven't had a chance to navigate through every piece of these websites. If you are interested, you and your child can access them here: Click Here to Go To Mrs. Hart's Resources Page!

We have started our second assessment pilot called "iReady" this month. Your child has already taken assessments on it in reading and math. I stressed to them, and now to you, that the iReady assessment is a little different, in that it is looking for possible gaps in understanding, and creating lessons based on those gaps. This means that during the assessment, if the program was not confident in your child's answers to a certain skill, it will most likely have them work on lessons in those skills for practice. This doesn't mean that they aren't capable of doing higher level math problems, it only means that the algorithm has decided that a certain skill is a good starting point. This was a little distressing for some of the students when they went online to try out some of the lessons. Also take note, that the iReady lessons will not progress into more difficult skills unless the student shows master in the skill it decides to start with. This means, that if your child isn't showing proficiency in the skill they are working on, they don't keep going. 

All of that said, they are welcome to work on those skills here:
login.i-ready.com 
Their username: Student ID Number
Their password: Birthdate in this order: (year)(month)(day)
** the month and day both have to contain 2 digits, and the year is 4 digits.**

For other math and grammar practice, I have made several assignments on Khan Academy These assignments include a lot of math concepts, as well as a "Mastery Challenge" in Grammar! 

I will be creating an assignment in Google Classroom where students can respond to the assignment with what they worked on, learned, for how long. Students do NOT have to work on iReady or Khan Academy only, they can learn something new, do some research on a topic they are interested in, do an experiment or project offline and tell me about what they did/learned as well.

Students who complete this assignment will receive between 1 and 5 PAWS slip(s) depending on the amount of work that they completed! 

PAWS slips are a new "currency" at Bear Creek. Students get PAWS slips for: "Practicing Safety, Acting Responsibly, Working towards their very best, and Showing Respect." Every Friday, Mrs. Penrod comes around with a "menu" for students to spend their PAWS slips on. In addition, I give my own classroom "raffle" tickets for every PAWS slip earned, and students who are chosen in the raffle get to choose a toy from my "prize box."

Finally, Parent Conferences and Report Cards. I appreciate the emails with questions regarding some of the "missing assignments" listed on your child's report card. While I accept late work, I will not print out another copy of the second step worksheets for them to complete. They will just start fresh this semester, and can turn in the worksheets from our new lessons. (We did Lesson 15 last week! They can do that one!)

As for the language arts choice boards, these can be completed and turned in any time. If your child has completed 1 of the 2, I will advise them to work on our current board: Setting, or they will be spending the rest of the year on only those choices.

If you would like to schedule a parent conference to discuss your child's report card, and/or their performance in school, please email me so we can arrange a day and time (weather depending, of course.) 

That was a lot of information for you, so please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Stay warm!

Mrs. Hart

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