What a wonderful turn to the weather!  I hope you are thoroughly enjoying fall and the changing colors with the promise of snow.  With so many exciting eventing on the horizon for the SELS community, the energy of our school and Crew is buzzing.  

 

Design Principle:  Service and Compassion

This month our design principle is Service and Compassion.  In kid-friendly language, “We do excellent things for others.”  Focusing on the importance of kindness and service, students in the Brisbin Crew are looking at individuals who have exhibited extraordinary citizenship to others throughout history and within our community.  Please share with your child moments in your life when you were either touched by someone’s thoughfulness, or when you demonstrated kindness without reward.

 

Language Arts:  Daily 5, CAFE, and Ideas Writing Trait

This week we have been continuing in our work with building an excellent paragraph, complete with one thoughtful idea.  We focus on the impact of a topic sentence, supporting sentence, and closing sentence.  Students finished their first peer reviewed narrative “Nothing Ever Happens in the Brisbin Crew,” and are now working diligently on a small moments booklet that outlines the imporance of narrowing down a large topic, and then expands on a narrowed idea.  This piece is a favorite of mine.

We are continuing our work with leveling note-worthy and award winning books in our classroom library for the Daily 5 work.  Students are conferencing with me, Tiffany, Denise S., and Denise P. on a regular basis, and we are seeing huge gains in our readers.  Students know which strategies they need to work on and set short term goals that help in their progress. Conventions work is happening daily as well, during spelling and word work.   Make sure to ask your child about the book they are reading in class, and also please make sure that your child has a “GOOD PICK” book from home they can read during protected reading time.

 

Math:

Mathletics and Khan Academy are in full swing.  This month we will focus completely on working on these websites at home, and documentation of completion sheets will be sent home to be filled out on a nightly basis. Your child has passwords for both of these programs- if you need more information, email me and I can send you the necessary login info.

5th grade:  Students are continuing their work on multiplication and division of skeletal arrays and have just learned the standard algorithm, as well as it’s purpose.  On top of their exploration in these areas, we are also test prep reviewing prime and composite numbers.  

4th grade: Students are learning about base ten pieces and their work in place value as it relates to multiplication.  By learning how to build mats, strips, strip-mats, and mat-mats, students build a firm understanding of building multi-digit multiplication problems from the inside out.

*Independent study folders for math are going home this week- use them accordingly as snow days or unexpected IS days unfold….

 

Expedition:  Case Study 2 , The Boston Tea Party

Students are completing their first case study’s project- a research-driven map based on 15 battles of the American Revolution and an outline of the 13 original British Colonies.  Alongside this project, we have launched our Discovery simulation, and students are building and establishing their own colonies in their groups.  Most of the groups have successfully sailed 3,500 miles and have landed on a portion of land in the New World they would like to settle on.  Designated jobs for each student in the group allow for careful calculation of Colonial Wealth units, and fate cards for weather, farming, hunting, fishing, and general welfare are drawn each day to determine the next round’s consequences.  Students are REALLY enjoying this game! Coming up, students will develop skills in the personal narrative genre and create a “My Side of the Story” piece that is content-driven.

 

Calendar:

Friday, Nov 9 (this Friday), our students are performing at the
downtown Community Center for Dia de las Meurtas; SELS students need
to be there by 5:45 pm for 6:15-6:45 performances. Ms Rubi has done a
wonderful job preparing the students.  You can get more info from her
website: http://spanishwithmaestrasanchez.blogspot.com/
Monday, Nov 12 is Veteran’s Day – NO SCHOOL
Monday and Tuesday, Nov 19 & 20 SELS is off for Thanksgiving Break
(unlike the other TTUSD schools); there will be NO SCHOOL at SELS from
11/19-11/23.
Friday, Dec 7 is our Gratitude Dinner at the Recreation Center; please
keep the date open as this is one of the only times the entire SELS
community comes together for a shared purpose.

I am so grateful for our school, our Crew, and our SELS parents- thank you for ALL that you do!

Julie