Week 4 Update

This week was so jam-packed with learning and thinking, we didn't even have time for the Bloggers of the Week to write a post! Mrs. Parkin will try to recap it for you-- please ask your child for details!

• We read several chapters in our read-aloud, Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. Students worked on using sticky notes to track their thinking, and this week they wrote their first reading response in their Reader's Notebooks based on the book. We have 23 amazing thinkers in our class! Watch a video of students working together to try to crack the pentomino code on The Parkin Space, our Gallery of Student Learning and Thinking.

• Students took the Unit 1 math assessment and they rocked it! I will be sending it home soon. Kids should continue to practice their math facts at home. Click on the Student Resources page for games and practice quizzes on ThatQuiz.org. Our goal is to accurately answer 50 facts in three minutes (for addition, subtraction, and multiplication fact families up to 10).

• We spent time practicing our test-taking strategies ninja superpowers for the upcoming NECAP test. As a reminder, test days are Oct. 2nd-4th (Tues.-Thu.) for reading and Oct. 9th-11th (also Tues.-Thu.) for math. Testing runs from 8:30-10:00 a.m. each of those days. Please make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the night before each test and eats a healthy breakfast on the day of. These little things make a big difference! Also, students should complete the packet of 2009 released items for homework over the weekend (due Monday). They should be utilizing the strategies we learned in class, which are outlined on the pink sheet they've also brought home. Watch this video to see our test-taking strategies ninja superpowers in action! (Thanks to NECAP Ninjas Odin and Madison, and Parker and Ellie!)

•  We got some exciting news the other day-- on Oct. 11th, we will have an author Skype visit! Stephen McCranie, author of the graphic novel series Mal and Chad, will virtually visit our classroom and teach us how he creates his books. I just bought the first Mal and Chad book and already it's getting rave reviews by the students! I would love for as many kids as possible to read these books before our Skype visit, so I've added them to my Amazon wishlist. 

• Speaking of wish lists, I've updated the Wish List page. Thanks so much to those of you who have purchased books, contact paper, and stickies, and thanks too for the socks so we can erase our math slates! Your generosity of time and treasure is much appreciated. Also, thanks for filling out the volunteering form. If you still want to let me know of your availability, it's not too late! I hope to get an email out about a volunteering schedule this weekend.

Thank you for your ongoing support! 

- Mrs. Parkin

Week 3 Update

Written by: Kate
Edited by: Parker

We’ve had a fun exciting wonderful  week in Parkinville.
I hope everyone enjoyed open house. We worked really hard on our Where I’m From poems. We had all lot of fun with the Classroom Economy but we have also learned about taxes
and fines and the joy of having money. Auctions have been the number one thing on are list along with spending money. In math we are learning how to use compasses (the math kind)And we are also learning about geography. We’re working very hard at finishing the books that we start. Right now as a class we’re reading Chasing Vermeer which is about a century old mystery, we’ve been using sticky notes to experience writing are thoughts down. We’re learning the joy of having a courtyard and being outside.

I hope you liked our blog post.

Google Docs Log-in Info

Today in class, students started typing their "Where I'm From" poems. However, many students need more time to finish typing, so your child may choose to continue this weekend at home, if possible.

Students can log into their YES Google account from any computer, anywhere. They can access the Google log-in page via the YES homepage. Please email Mrs. Parkin if your child has forgotten his or her log-in and password.

I hope this helps! Feel free to email with any snaffoos. I am loving reading the kids' poems!

Happy Friday!

Week 2

[This post was written by our Blog Editor, Parker. Stay tuned for next week's update which will be written by our Bloggers of the Week! Also, please ask your child about our first payday in our classroom economy-- it was action-packed! Unfortunately, we didn't get to our auction, but we plan to catch up next week.]

Here you will find each students opinion on what we learned and did this week in school and what we are excited  about for the upcoming year.
  

- Olivia learned how to write a long poem, she did the M.A.P math testing and she is excited about band.

- Kiarah learned that it doesn’t matter if you are different, Kiarah also did the M.A.P testing and she is also excited about band.

- Emma learned how to be a better mathematician, she also did the M.A.P testing this week and she also is very excited about band

- Ellie learned about line segments, she made a Where I’m from poem and she is excited about band.

- Parker learned how to right a name for an angle with the angle sign, she wrote down lots of notes about the read aloud book Chasing Vermeer and shes very excited about reading 40 books this year.

- Madison W. learned how to be a better mathematician with patterns, she did orff with Mrs. Renton, and she is excited about band.

- Camden learned that we are going to get paid for our jobs this week, he did line segments in math and he is excited about band.

- Margaret learned about geometry, she did lots of reading and writing and she is excited about the classroom economy.

- Ned learned about vertices, he wrote poems, and he is excited about the classroom economy.

- Austin learned about geometry, and he read across Amika.

- Chase learned what right angles are, he did lots of writing and he is excited about his birthday.

- Odin learned about right angles, he wrote in his readers notebook.

- Ruben learned how to be respectful, he read lots of books and he is excited about trying new things.

-Maddy .L. learned about geometry, she listened to the book Chasing Vermeer and she is excited about the upcoming auctions.

- Lilly learned about geometry, she listened to Chasing Vermeer and she is excited about our jobs.

- Carter learned about vertices he played 4-square.

- Alex learned about line segments, he played with his friends and he is excited about his new job.

Week 1

This post was written by the students of Parkinville. Mrs. Parkin was the secretary. :)

This was a wonderful, fun, creative, exciting first week in Parkinville! It was sort of difficult to get back into the routine of school, but once we were here we were happy and excited to reconnect.

We learned how to use our Student Reference Books in math. We also learned the procedures for our new classroom, for example using our new book bins with their blue stabilizer wings. 

We did several things this week. We started a new routine of Math Workshop, where students rotated to different stations in small groups. We also learned a new song ("Ground Squirrel," a.k.a "Brown Squirrel") which we sing when we need to take a wiggle break. We wrote about superpowers we wished we had. We read some books together-- especially serious ones like Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems. We watched an inspirational movie called "Caine's Arcade." We took a walk around the school and played Follow the Leader. We wrote about our hopes and dreams (on an outline of our hands), because we hope this will be the best year ever!

We are very excited about our classroom economy which will start next week! We will have jobs and earn money. However, we also have to pay expenses, like rent for our desks.  We are also excited for band and chorus. [Mrs. Parkin says, if you want to learn more about our classroom economy system, check out this link.]

It was a wonderful week in Parkinville!