Planner Police

Thank you, families!  Room 100 is buried in school supplies.  

It is just so exciting to unpack new school supplies. Room 100 has spent the first two weeks getting organized.  As students rotate between several classrooms, organization helps them experience success. Students are learning to maintain planners and binders daily. This task will only feel like a mammoth chore if it is neglected over a period of time. 

 You may monitor your child's progress at home by checking the folders in the binder. Assignments are placed in subject folders and every student carries a labeled Take Home folder. Graded papers and school notes are placed in this Take Home folder. These graded papers may come out of the binder at night. We hope you will take time to discuss your child's work and offer encouragement. 

Organization skills are worthwhile life-long skills. The goal for organization is to eliminate tardiness, forgetfulness, and lack of preparedness.   

The Planner Police make frequent visits to Room 100. Their job is to check students' planners, binders, and desks. Students are ticketed and encouraged to get organized before they get the incentive treat.

Today's planner police treated the entire class to donuts. We are off to a great start. It has been such fun getting to know these kiddos.

Thanks again for equipping students with the needed supplies. I think they all agree that the best part of the back-to-school season is getting school supplies.

New coloring supplies will always make me a happy person. I don't care how old I get! 

Soda-lighted to Meet You!

Today is the start of the 2013-2014 school year.  The middle school is a big change for students. Most kids feel excited and maybe a little sad that summer is over. Some kids are nervous or a little scared because of all the new things. For my students it is their first year in a new building, first day with several new teachers, first day with lockers, first day with new classmates. Clearly,  first day jitters rule.  Luckily, these "new" worries only stick around for a little while.  

I wanted to do something fun for each of the students in my room. I hope to encourage them as they start the new school year. I  got their attention (and smiles) with a soda pop theme.  

To help students learn procedures and locate items in their new classroom, they were given a pop quiz. This quiz got students out of their chairs and exploring the layout of the classroom. 

This year there will be three -yes 3 - teachers in Room 100. Mrs. Fehringer is co-teaching language arts with Mrs. Full. Ms. Neuhalfen joins the team as a student teacher from Wayne State College. These additional teachers bring so much creativity and enthusiasm that I need to take notes to keep up.

Mrs. Full   /   Mrs. Fehringer   /    Ms. Neuhalfen

We are soda-lighted to be teaching your child. It is our goal that your child's fifth grade experience is filled with personal growth as a thinker and learner. There are so many fun things to do and learn in the fifth grade. We are looking  forward to the adventure.   

Please know parents are always welcome in Room 100.

Let the adventure begin! 

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Summer is Ending

It's that time of year when my thoughts turn to a classroom that's been packed away for the summer. Preparation is under way for the new school year. After three years in Room 102, I am moving two doors west to Room 100. Supplies have been sorted and transported effortlessly. 

I am now a teacher who has the opportunity and the fun of creating the learning landscape for a group of students where the reading and writing inside these four walls will be engaging. It's a BIG job! 

These guys showed up today to help. They're not here to paint, but they will help us Brush Up On Reading! There is a bulletin board waiting for them.

There's a vision of what this room will become. Students will transform this room into a place filled with their learning and their work.  Over time Room 100 will take shape with student work, student interests, student conversations, and student lives. 

August 15th the doors open for a new class of fantastic fifth grade students. Please click here and read the school's newletter. It's filled with information.

I am super excited to meet each of these kiddos. The adventure is about to begin.

A Grateful Heart

Dear Parents,

It has been an amazing year. It was a privelege and a blessing to have your child in my class. This blogging experience has been fun. The highlights from our year have been recorded. As I sit and reread posts, I am reminded of the learning experiences and the eagerness of these studdents to learn. Their smiles speak volumes. I treasure each one of these kiddos.

I appreciate your support this year. There were so many acts of kindness and I thank each of you. The cards, gifts, and thoughtful words brought a smile.  

      Hugs,

S'more to Learn

Room 102 ended the school year with a S'more party. It was a fun way to celebrate a successful school year. With the whole summer stretching before them, I wanted to remind students that just because it's summer, learning doesn't stop. 

Students were asked to reflect on  what they have accomplished in the school year and make plans to continue learning through the summer months. 

Hopefully this craftivity will hang on the fridge as a "sweet" reminder to weave in math and literacy reinforcers during the summer.  

Room 102's top vote-getters:  

1.  Storybird  I'm anxious to read their summer stories!

2.  DIY challenges

3.  Student Bloggers

4.  Summer Reading at the public library

5.   Aqua Venture - Norfolk's water park 

 * Remember bold, colored font is a link to take you to the site. 

The entertainment for our year-end party was the game Minute to Win It /S'more Marshmallow Toss.  Players had one minute to throw as many marshmallows as possible to a partner who must catch them in the paper bag campfire. The team with the most marshmallows after one minute wins.

Congratulations to the champions. They crushed it!

And congratulations to Room 102's graduates as they head out the door and begin s'more summer fun. I was so fortunate to have such a wonderful group of children this past year.  They touched my life and this school year in very positive and rewarding ways.  

Have a wonderful summer!

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Storybird

Room 102 has been using Storybird to apply what they learned about narrative elements to create their own stories. Storybird helps students bring thoughts to life and adds a digital component to traditional storyboards. 

Students drag and drop characters and images onto a digital storyboard. Their ideas are transformed into magnificent stories inspired by the artwork available on Storybird.

The final story is shared in an online class library.  Students also have the option to purchase their story as a hard cover picture book.  Several students created books for younger siblings.

Here is an example of a student’s Storybird. . .

Another student wrote . . .

Your student may log in at home to share his or her Storybird with family and friends or create a new story.  This is a great site for some summer fun. It will keep your child writing through June, July, and August.  Click the icon to go directly to Storybird.

Genius Hour Projects

Today we completed our first version of Genius Hour! Genius Hour is based upon Google’s 20% policy. This policy says that with 20% of the time, employees can work on whatever project they would like as long as it advances the company in some way.

The question arose, if such amazing things were made during Google’s 20% time, just what could students come up with if given a chance to work on a project that interested them?



For several weeks Room 102 was given time in study hall to explore their interests. The projects ranged anywhere from exploring the art of painting to building a telescope to duct tape art to seeing the world through a bug's eye to applying a chef’s eye to the notion of flavorful cooking.

The results were absolutely incredible! The kids were so excited and student engagement was at its highest. I am so very proud of the work students completed for Genius Hour. Hopefully during the summer, students will continue to explore their project and learn even more new skills.  

Check out our slideshow of Genius Hour projects.

You may read more about the Genius Hour Project in Room 102 by clicking here.