Personal Math Trainer
     On Monday, I sent home a page detailing how to access the Personal Math Trainer at the ThinkCentral website.
     Mrs. Quitt's Cool Kids are allowed the option of doing an assigned lesson in the Personal Math Trainer in place of any regular homework paper from the Homework and Remembering book.  The assigned lessons may be done in any order, BUT a student should complete and "turn in" a lesson before proceeding to another lesson.
     One advantage of using the Personal Math Trainer is that it gives students CHOICE. Choice is great for promoting student enthusiasm and scholarly approach to academics. However, it is up to parents to decide if they want to allow students this particular choice. Some students do better with the paper/pencil version, and some do better with the computer version. You will want to provide scratch paper if your student chooses to work in Personal Math Trainer. 
     Another advantage of the Personal Math Trainer is that it is ADAPTIVE. That means that if students show mastery of the lesson, they can then choose to complete an enrichment lesson that is just a step or two more challenging than the regular lesson. If students have struggled with the lesson, they can choose a more basic version to help their understanding.
     A third advantage of Personal Math Trainer is that, during a lesson, students can choose to view an example of the type of problem they are working on, OR can even solve a given problem "step-by-step." Students can check their answers as they go, so that they can check their comprehension of the lesson. It's almost as good as having a teacher sitting right by their side!
     Personal Math Trainer will even read each problem aloud if the student clicks the "speaker" icon.
     Don't forget to click on the "Turn It In" button when you finish a lesson. Also, if you need to leave in the middle of a lesson, don't forget to click on the "Save and Close" button.
​     I hope you enjoy the Personal Math Trainer.

Scholastic Book Orders
     On Monday, I also sent home another Scholastic Book Order packet. If you missed ordering last time, or want to stock up on great holiday gifts, now is your chance! Remember that you can order online any time at www.scholastic.com/parents. Your online order will be submitted along with my next class order. I will be submitting the next order on November 4.

Red Ribbon Week
     This week, the PTA and our school participate in Red Ribbon Week. The theme this year is "Respect Yourself. Be Drug Free." See redribbon.org for more information about this event.

     In honor of Red Ribbon Week, the PTA has planned events for each day.

On MONDAY, wear a hat to "put a cap on drugs."
On TUESDAY, wear a tie, "Don't get tied up with drugs."
On WEDNESDAY, wear RED to show you love yourself too much to do drugs.
On THURSDAY, wear a costume (no masks or props, please), "Don't disguise your dreams."

Fall Festival
     Our annual Fall Festival is on Thursday, October 29th. Flyers to pre-purchase tickets and wristbands went home last week. Bring the whole family for a great time! Wear a costume!
     Parents, we really need some of you to spend 30 minutes to work at our class game booth.  If you can volunteer, please contact me via email or classdojo as soon as possible.

Art
     Our latest art project uses the techniques of a watercolor wash and wax resist. First, we drew spider webs on white watercolor paper using crayons. Next, we painted with watery watercolors over the webs to create a "wash," which is a light coating of paint. The watercolor does not adhere to the places we decorated with crayon due to the wax content of the crayon, hence "wax resist." We used the same techniques to create a spider to hang from the web.
     They look terrific on the wall, especially because the little spiders appear to move about a little bit when the fan blows on them.
     We did this project to accompany last week's informational passage about spiders. We also created written reports about spiders, incorporating facts from our reading and from a collection of books in the classroom.

Parent Conferences
     Our first Parent Conferences of the year will be here before you know it. They will be November 19 in the afternoon and November 20 all day (until about 3:30). In addition, I will make available times on Tuesday afternoon and before school each day that week. Once again, we will be using the SignUp Genius website to make scheduling an appointment easier. Keep an eye out for more information as we get closer. If you have read this far, please send in a scrap of paper with your child's name and their favorite author to get a sticker.

Accelerated Reader Progress
     Congratulations to Zoe, Sebastian, Brian, Luke, Sidney, Zachary, Holly, Jayden, Sonia, Jason, Bridget, Benson, Aimee, Helen, Dionna, Grace, and Darin for making their first trimester goals early!
     The following students have earned over 200% of their point goal: Luke, Sidney, and Sonia. Amazing!

Perfect Attendance
     Congratulations to the Cool Kids who had perfect attendance in September: Zoe, Gerry, Sebastian, Brian, Sidney, Zachary, Holly, William, Jayden, Sonia, Douglas, Jason, Kyle, Najeeull, Benson, Aimee, Carissa, Leena, Helen, and Darin! 
     Research has shown that students with excellent attendance make much more progress than those who have absences. Naturally, we all should stay home when we are sick; but, we should make an extra effort to be at school every day, on time. See this site for more information about the research.

PTA Reflections
​     If you wish to enter the PTA Reflections contest, entries are due by Friday, October 23.

Accelerated Reader
     Most of you have either already made your AR goals or are getting close. The following students have made their AR goals for the first trimester: Zoe, Sebastian, Brian, Luke, Sidney, Zachary, Holly, Sonia, Jason, Bridget, Benson, Aimee, Helen, Dionna, Grace, Darin.
     If you don't see your name on this list, you need to get going! You have until November 6 to make your goals.  Please email me or see me for more information if your student has not yet met their goals.

Awards Assembly
​     Our next awards assembly is on Friday, October 23 at 8:55 in the MPR. Congratulations to Luke, Jayden, and Carissa for earning an award this month.

Red Ribbon Week
     As always, next week is a week we use to promote healthy life choices and "say NO to drugs." Please see the schedule in the Upcoming Events section to know what is happening each day.

Science Unit
     Our current science unit is about forces that change Earth's surface. We will be focusing on causes and effects of volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion and weathering, glaciers, and wind. During our study, we will explore the layers of the Earth (crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core), tectonic plates, and landforms such as valleys, mountains, canyons, oceans, lakes, rivers, islands, plains and so forth. We will be studying about different kinds of rocks, including fossils, in the context of volcanoes and weathering. If you have read this far, please send in a scrap of paper with your student's name and their favorite dessert to get a sticker. ​

Social Studies
     This week we are reading about Fire Prevention Week. Have a plan for your family in case of a fire.  Do you know what to do?

More AR Progress
     Congratulations to those students who made their Accelerated Reader goals!  This week, we add Zoe, Luke, Zachary, Holly, Noah, and Jason to the list. 
     Keep working on it, everyone--remember, your goals are YOURS--you CAN do it! Some of you are very, very close, so keep reading and quizzing!
     We also have students earning and working towards certifications. Those who have earned the Ready Reader certification include: Zoe, Sebastian, Brian, Luke, Sidney, Zachary, William, Sonia, Benson, Aimee, Helen, and Grace. The Ready Reader certification means that you have earned at least five points.

"How To Solve It" Videos
     My efforts towards "flipping" at least part of our math instruction are going well, albeit slowly. I have a LOT to learn.
     So far, I have created, trimmed, and posted two videos for your viewing pleasure. One is on solving comparison type story problems, and the other is on solving two-step problems. You can access these videos on my YouTube channel playlist here.
     The first one is way too long--sorry about that.  I got a little carried away with myself. I will be working on keeping the videos short and to the point, so you and your student can better understand how we do this "common core" stuff. It's almost like being right here in the classroom to see the instruction!

Fall Art
     Super important to me this year is being sure to include plenty of meaningful visual art instruction. I am trying to bring in a variety of media (water colors, tempera, oil pastels, etc.) as well as techniques (collage, painting, torn paper, decoupage, wax resist, etc.) and language of the discipline (primary colors, secondary colors, warm and cool colors, foreground, middle ground, background, perspective, horizon line, depth, and so on).
     Our first project was about warm (reds, oranges, yellows) and cool (blues, greens, purples) colors. If you have read this far, please send in a scrap of paper with your child's name and their favorite vegetable.
     Our most recent project involved using the secondary colors orange, purple, and green, which are derived by mixing the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow.
     All of your student's art projects will be saved in an art portfolio for you to take home and enjoy at the end of the school year.
     Visual art helps deepen reasoning skills, communication, critical thinking, visual perception, and, of course, creativity.

Fall Fundraising
     Thank you so much for your participation in the PTA's Fall Fundraising project. Your participation means so much to our entire student body. Remember, the PTA brings us things like our weekly enrichment blocks in art, music, movement, and drama.
     Your orders and money are due on Friday, October 16.

Scholastic Book Orders
     I hope you are enjoying browsing and shopping through the Scholastic catalogs that I sent home before the break. This is a great way to add to your home reading library. Books make great rewards for making AR goals, good behavior at home or at school, etc.  They also make terrific birthday and holiday gifts. Orders are due by Wednesday, October 13.
     Side note:  I clearly remember getting the Scholastic book catalogs fifty years ago, when I was in second grade. I didn't get many treats, but my mother always let me order a few books.  I remember reading Gentle Ben, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and many others. I still have some of them, and I discovered some of my favorite books and authors this way. Fifty years ago! That is amazing.