Happy 11th Birthday, Luke N!!

Happy 11th Birthday, Luke L!!

Happy 11th Birthday, Brock!!

5-2 Updates ~ 09/19/17

I have a few more pictures I wanted to share...

I was welcomed back to the classroom yesterday by your absolutely, delightful children in such a warm and loving way ~ they completely blew me away.  They plastered my room with "you are loved" posters, my white board was covered with the sweetest compliments and well wishes, and I was given such thoughtful gifts. Thank you for raising such beautiful children - I am so blessed :) 

5-2 Updates ~ 09/14/17

Hello 5-2 families ~

Mrs. Kusiciel sent me a few more pictures of your children engaged in Personalized Learning and Reading Workshop - I thought you might enjoy looking through these to see what your kiddos are up to in the classroom these days!

5-2 Updates ~ 09/12/17

Hello 5-2 Families :)

My sub reports having a great time in 5-2 continuing to learn routines and settling into the 5th grade curriculum.  She even sent me some pictures of the class today, so I've included them below this post for you :) 

Important Dates and Information:

Morning Announcements - Permissions slips should be coming home soon!!  We've had a great deal of interest from our students this year, but it does take time to set up these programs at the beginning of year.  We will keep your kiddos informed as this opportunities becomes available.  All students are eligible to participate on our Morning Announcements team. We simply place them on a rotating schedule to serve in one week intervals once they sign up.  You will be notified when your child is on the Morning Announcement schedule - they are expected to be here at 8:45am during that entire week. More details to come!

Band ~ Band lesson began this week!!  If your child signed up for band in the spring, they received information from Mrs. Kuzmanoff last week to bring home to you and you should have received an email with the schedule.  If you have your child's instrument at home, please have them bring it to school on their lesson day.  If you rented an instrument, Mrs. Kuzmanoff will have the instruments for them.  Lessons are scheduled for Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursdays, with the whole band lesson at 8:10 on Wednesday mornings.  Your child will be pulled for 30 minute lessons on a rotating schedule so they are not always pulled from the same subject.  It is important that your child understands they are responsible for making up the work they miss while they are at their band lesson at home.  In other words, on band days, they may have additional homework.

Maps Testing ~ Please read the notice below from our assessment team at our district office:

The NWEA Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) will be administered to all new students or those in need of progress monitoring in the fall, winter, and spring. In the winter, all students in grades 3 - 7 will take the reading assessment and math assessment. In the spring, all students grades 2 - 8 will take both the reading and math assessments. The computerized format of MAP, aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards, assesses students in both reading and mathematics and is an adaptive test. The total time for testing in both areas is about two hours. You may find additional information about MAP testing at the Northwest Evaluation Association’s website - http://www.nwea.org/ .

In other words, if your child is new to the school or they are being progressed monitored, they will take an ELA and a Math MAP test sometime this month.  Every 5th grader will take both MAP tests in January for middle school placement, as well as in the spring to monitor annual progress. 


Bike Rodeo ~ Wednesday, 9/13 ~ 3:35-4:45pm.  Please note the Bike Rodeo is mandatory if your child would like to ride their bike to school.  If they have attended the Bike Rodeo in previous years, they do not need to attend it this year.

Room Rep Meeting ~ Thursday, 9/14 ~ 2:50-3:45pm ~ Thank you to Mrs. Fung (Sophia's mom), Mrs. Cecchi (Brock's mom), and Mrs. Jennrich (Chase's mom) for volunteering to be 5-2's Room Reps this year!!  I have already been in touch with our Room Reps about the need for regular copy parents to help us out with the 5th grade copying.  Please let them know if you're interested in helping us out once in a while this year!

Olive PTA Spirit Wear Sale - continues and runs through 09/24.  To place your order, visit the online store at Heads Up Apparel.  Orders will be taken online only and your items will be delivered to your child's classroom early-mid October.  Samples are on display in the Commons.  

School Pictures ~ Monday, 9/18 at 10:40am ~ Say Cheeeeese!  Picture order forms were already sent home.  Please return them to school before picture day!  Thank you!

What's Happening in the Classroom

Edmodo - the students are beginning to use Edmodo with more frequency, and I've started to get concerns about the assignments on Edmodo from some parents.  Please use the assignment notebook to discern what is due for homework.  The stamp at the bottom of the assignment notebook for the day lets you know I (or the sub) have verified the assignments written. Please do not use Edmodo as an assignment notebook.  The assignments listed in Edmodo may be confusing - at times, I will upload assignments at night for the following day - these are not HW assignments.  Sometimes the assignments will be group projects or partner work, when only one student will turn it in for the group.  In this case, it may look like your child didn't do their assignment.  If your child did not complete an assignment, you will be asked to sign a strike form. In the absence of a strike form, your child does not have any missing assignments.  Finally, please email me with your concerns.  Several parents have messaged me under their children's accounts.  I don't mind answering on Edmodo, but I don't always check Edmodo. I just don't want to miss a message from you!  Thank you for understanding.  I apologize for any miscommunications - these are things generally covered in my Curriculum Night.  Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns!

Math ~ We started Unit 1 this week in math!  In this unit, students will learn to represent numbers in different forms, and they learn to extend place value to 6 and 7 digit numbers. This chapter also delves into comparing and ordering numbers, negative numbers, and estimation as a way of verifying reasonableness of responses.  It's a quick unit only covering 3 lessons, so I anticipate the Unit 1 Assessment to be on Tuesday, 9/19.  To help your child prepare for the assessments, please look at the chapter assessment at the end of Unit 1 in their student book.

I pre-test the students for every unit.  This allows me to differentiate instruction for each lesson based on the results of the pre-test.  I teach math in a workshop model, so students rotate stations.  In the rotation, they will meet with me for instruction, spend time in their journals, and practice skills on Khan Academy or Everyday Math Online.  If they demonstrate mastery on the pre-test, they will work on enrichment and advanced content; if they demonstrate a need for additional support, I will spend more time in instruction with them.  

Please be aware that homework is not graded because it is practice, but it is checked every day.  If students do not demonstrate an understanding of the skills covered on their homework, they will be asked to re-do the assignment.  Encourage your child to work through their homework each night - even if it is a struggle, they should do their best to complete as much of the homework as they can, but not to worry if they cannot finish it.  We do review the homework every morning, so if they do not understand a concept, they will have a chance to discuss it with me.

Most nights, they will be assigned approximately two pages of work for homework - sometimes these assignments will be out of their student book and sometimes they will be out of their work book.  These assignments should take them approximately 20-30 minutes of their nightly 60 minutes of homework.  If you find that your child consistently takes longer than 30 minutes to complete their math homework, please let me know!

Social Studies - We began our unit on the Rising Tensions in the Colonies last week with a "letter" from the PTA limiting all classroom celebrations and field trips for the students. (We took away Camp Edwards!) They were angered and immediately began to organize protests and petitions.  Students were writing speeches to present to the PTA Board, and creating signs to protest the restrictions.  Their reactions were priceless!  I almost didn't want to tell them I had tricked them for fear they would revolt on me!  In the end, it was an excellent introduction to the tensions between Britain and the colonies prior to the Revolutionary War as we made connections between the colonists and the students, and the PTA and Britain.  We will continue to study 6 of the major events that led to the Revolutionary War this week as students create posters about the events.  The chapter 10 test will be on Wednesday, 9/20.  Your child can prepare by re-reading the chapter, reviewing the vocabulary, and the chapter 10 reading questions.  I typically post the key after students have completed the assignment to help them prepare for the test.

Reading - We began our new Schoolwide Literacy Program last week by learning about the Reading Workshop Model, and establishing routines and expectations.  One of the focuses of our Launch unit is how to share our thinking as we're reading in a discussion format.  Your children are thinking during our read alouds, and they are learning to be respectful and thoughtful while sharing their thoughts.  They have been encouraged to share without raising their hands, but to offer their thoughts more naturally in a discussion as a whole group.  This requires they pay close attention to one another in the discussion, waiting for an appropriate time to speak and respond to each other.  

We set up our Reading Baskets and our Reading Notebooks this week.  Our Reading Baskets are where they keep their Reading Notebooks, Reading Folders, several texts, and a few other supplies while at school.  They are encouraged to keep both fiction and non-fiction books in their baskets, and to include both books they are currently reading and books they would like to read.  Their Reading Notebooks are where they will record notes and information about what they are reading.  The Reading Notebook is divided into 4 sections:  Whole Group, Small Group/Partner, Independent Reading, and Reading Log.  They will be expected to complete a response in their notebook every night, but they do not need to bring the binder home.  They simply need to complete the response and put it in their notebook when the return to school.  Please be sure they are reading every night for at least 20 minutes!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns at all.  

Cheers ~

“Children see magic because they look for it.” 

― Christopher Moore


Mrs. Kusiciel and the happy crew in 5-2!

5-2 Updates ~ 09/04/17

Hello 5-2 Families ~

I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend - how nice to have a 3 day weekend to enjoy it :) 

Important Dates:

Parent Night ~ Wednesday, 09/06 6:00-8:00 ~ Please join us on Wednesday night to learn about curriculum and classroom expectations. As mentioned in my previous email, Mrs. Tranter will present to both 5-2 and 5-3 in the LMC, from 6:00-6:30pm.  Following the presentation, our classroom will be open for you to take a peek at some of the work we've been doing for the first few days in 5th grade!

5th Grade Annual Egg Drop ~ Thursday, 08/31 ~ Thank you for keeping our secret!  The students were so excited when the walked in to discover it was our Annual Egg Drop Day!  We don't let them know ahead of time because we don't want any research or planning to be done before the big day - it's more authentic when students have to brainstorm in the moment, and don't have any hints from older siblings ;)  So, we've reminded them all to help us keep the secret as well.  They were all given the same supplies and worked in teams to build Egg Carriers that would safely land a raw egg when dropped.  We started by dropping them off the 5th grade ledge, then the lucky winners will had their Egg Carriers taken to the roof for a drop!!  5-2 proudly had two contestants make it to the roof - congratulations to #12 and #16!!  I apologize for the final pictures never making it to post!  I did post them from my phone and typically do not have problems, but when I logged on to write this blog post, I noticed they were not there!  I've uploaded them below this post so you can view them :)

Bike Rodeo ~ Wednesday, 09/13 3:45-4:45pm ~ If your child would like to ride their bikes to school, it is mandatory they attend a Bike Rodeo at least once!  If they have attended a Bike Rodeo in the past, they do not need to attend one this one.

What's Happening in 5-2

We spent the first week in 5-2 getting to know each other, learning routines and exploring classroom organization - they were all excited to explore our classroom library and many checked out a book today during LMC orientation.  We will be establishing more reading expectations and routines when we begin our reading curriculum on Tuesday, but hopefully many of your children are already reading every night for 20 minutes.  The single greatest activity that improves a child's reading comprehension and increases test scores is simply reading - your child needs to be reading every single day!

What's in the Sack? ~ It has been so much fun getting to know many of your children as they shared their 5 treasures with the class.  I just love seeing pictures of families and dogs, hearing stories of favorite vacation spots, seeing medals and trophies, and learning about their favorite hobbies.  And they all seem to take great pride in sharing who they are with their classmates and with me :)  

5th Grade Goals ~ We've spent some time discussing our goals for 5th grade yesterday.  We talked about the importance of reflecting on our past and using that to guide our decisions for the future.  Not only did we set up and post our goals for the year, but we discussed the specific ways we can achieve our goals.  It's difficult to accomplish anything if you don't know how you're going to get there!  I was so impressed with the maturity of your students as they committed to specific ways they will improve themselves this year!  Look for their goals and commitments on our Putting Our Best Foot Forward bulletin board when you visit our classroom next week!

Team Building ~ Your kiddos had a great time this as they engaged in a team building exercises, but I think their favorite by far was called "Build a Robot."  One team had a robot made out of Duplo Blocks, and the other team had a pile of blocks. The communication between the two teams was made by one student with only one direction at a time.  Students rotated communication roles until the robot was built.  They chose to play boys against girls - ask your child how the robots turned out and what they learned about communication and working as a team :)

Edmodo ~ Your kiddos have already spent plenty of time on technology, learning how to download and complete a couple of assignments on Edmodo, then turn them back in.  I have not only been impressed with their competence using technology, but also the leadership so many of your children demonstrated as they learned, then turned around and helped each other!  They had fun filling out the Interest Surveys and sharing some information to help me get to know them a little better.  Have them show you around Edmodo a little - they should be able to show you the documents they have completed and turned in.  You can even read their assignments. As assignments are graded, you can view scores and any feedback I provide as well.

FLIPS & FLOPS ~ Your children demonstrated their writing skill in an exercise about the BEST moment of their summer, and the WORST - our FLIPS and FLOPS of summer.  The students worked on these independently, and I will be using them as a baseline for their writing skills.  Look for them when you visit our classroom for Parent Night :)

What's in a Name? ~ We spent the latter part of the week working on a project that allowed your child to creatively share their interests in their letters of their names.  I was blown away by the creativity your children demonstrated this afternoon! They were able to research the meaning of their names and shared this information for the written portion of the project.  I can't wait for you to see their hard work when you visit our classroom next week!

Patrol Training ~ On Friday afternoon, students received their Patrol Training and chose their positions.  It was refreshing to see how excited all of your children are to serve as good role models this year!  With the bigger building and changes in routines this year, it is especially important that we have Patrols on duty around the building keeping our community safe.  Safety Patrol positions begin this week - your child has been assigned a Wednesday or Thursday position.  Please help to support our patrols by helping them to arrive promptly at 8:50am.  Thank you! A Safety Patrol letter was sent home via backpack earlier in the week to explain our Safety Patrol program and expectations.  Please let me know if you would like an electronic copy to you, or if you have any questions about Safety Patrol!

You should have received our Homework Policy and our Re-take Policy this week as well - please let me know if you would like an electronic copy of either of these.  As the year begins, please know your child should never being working for more than an hour on homework.  If they are, please contact me.  Students can feel overwhelmed as they transition to the quicker pace and higher expectations in 5th grade, and many need to learn organizational skills and time management skills that come naturally to others.  We have discussed this in the classroom, and I have encouraged them to come to me if they feel they have more than an hour worth of homework. During this transition year, we encourage independence in our students, so we allow them to make choices during their independent work time.  I typically give the students at least 30 minutes of work time in class to get started on their homework.  If they are using this time wisely, they should never have more than 30 minutes of homework. Typically, I've found that spending a little additional time with the students who struggle at the beginning of the year will solve any of the problems they may be experiencing at home.

Whew!  What a full first we've had!  I just love the energy and sense of community in our classroom this year.  The students are excited for the year ahead, and look forward to taking on the challenges of 5th grade.  I will share more about the upcoming year via email this week in lieu of my presentation at Curriculum Night.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns at all, please do not hesitate to send me an email or set up a time to meet.  Have a fantastic weekend!

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”  Aristotle