Sunday, March 24th, 2024
Dear Parents and students,
It was great seeing all you parents at conferences!
Immerse is this coming week! I have the students’ t-shirts. Please remember a water bottle, comfortable walking shoes, dress for the weather, a quarter (we take the Rapid back to school), and a sack lunch or a school sack lunch. Please also remember your backpack too!
While we are at the Museum we will be exploring many different exhibits through the lenses of the Museum’s following themes, STEAM, Investigate, Discover, and Connect. We will learn what makes an artifact an artifact. We will also learn everything that goes into making an exhibit. When we come back from spring break students will be able to create their own exhibit for the museum. Most of this project will be done at school. They will then display their exhibit at the Museum during the Immerse School night.
There’s still time if you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Dear Parents and students,
It was great seeing all you parents at conferences!
Immerse is this coming week! I have the students’ t-shirts. Please remember a water bottle, comfortable walking shoes, dress for the weather, a quarter (we take the Rapid back to school), and a sack lunch or a school sack lunch. Please also remember your backpack too!
While we are at the Museum we will be exploring many different exhibits through the lenses of the Museum’s following themes, STEAM, Investigate, Discover, and Connect. We will learn what makes an artifact an artifact. We will also learn everything that goes into making an exhibit. When we come back from spring break students will be able to create their own exhibit for the museum. Most of this project will be done at school. They will then display their exhibit at the Museum during the Immerse School night.
There’s still time if you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Sunday, March 17th, 2024
Dear Parents and students,
It seems winter has made a brief return! We had a great week and I really enjoyed seeing all of you at conferences! Students will be bringing home the at home portion of their conference. If they haven’t already, they will this week.
Up next, we are preparing for Immerse which is where we spend four days at the Grand Rapids Museum. If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Here is a quick update of what we have been doing and also what’s to come.
In Language the students have been able to pick between three different language works. This week they will be picking between prepositions, verbs, and adjectives. In Book Club the 5th graders are continuing with Shine On. I have told them that they may have to take the book home to read for a little homework. We should be finishing the book this week.
In writing students are working on how to write a five paragraph persuasive essay. We have been working on the introduction and conclusion using a four-square graphic organizer (this is just a way to organize your writing). Students have been able to choose their own topic.
In Reader’s Response students will start to reflect on their 3rd quarter reading goals and they will set some goals for the 4th quarter.
Math…..
The 6th graders are working on Powers. The fifth graders are working on measurement. The 4th graders are working on Geometry lines and angles. Your best bet is to ask them to show you what they are working on. We also learned about Pi and the area of a circle.
In Science the ⅘ graders are finishing up researching the four atmospheres and their relationships on each other. The 6th graders are finishing up Air Pressure and will begin to embark on a wonderful journey about the human body. We will be talking about all the systems of the body and how they interact.
In history the ⅘ graders are finishing up their research on two Native American Tribes. After spring break, we will begin learning about Colonial America. The 6th will be finishing up their research in a country in Latin America.
Coming up this month……
Let’s have a super week! Thanks for all the air-dry clay and construction paper!!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
It seems winter has made a brief return! We had a great week and I really enjoyed seeing all of you at conferences! Students will be bringing home the at home portion of their conference. If they haven’t already, they will this week.
Up next, we are preparing for Immerse which is where we spend four days at the Grand Rapids Museum. If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Here is a quick update of what we have been doing and also what’s to come.
In Language the students have been able to pick between three different language works. This week they will be picking between prepositions, verbs, and adjectives. In Book Club the 5th graders are continuing with Shine On. I have told them that they may have to take the book home to read for a little homework. We should be finishing the book this week.
In writing students are working on how to write a five paragraph persuasive essay. We have been working on the introduction and conclusion using a four-square graphic organizer (this is just a way to organize your writing). Students have been able to choose their own topic.
In Reader’s Response students will start to reflect on their 3rd quarter reading goals and they will set some goals for the 4th quarter.
Math…..
The 6th graders are working on Powers. The fifth graders are working on measurement. The 4th graders are working on Geometry lines and angles. Your best bet is to ask them to show you what they are working on. We also learned about Pi and the area of a circle.
In Science the ⅘ graders are finishing up researching the four atmospheres and their relationships on each other. The 6th graders are finishing up Air Pressure and will begin to embark on a wonderful journey about the human body. We will be talking about all the systems of the body and how they interact.
In history the ⅘ graders are finishing up their research on two Native American Tribes. After spring break, we will begin learning about Colonial America. The 6th will be finishing up their research in a country in Latin America.
Coming up this month……
- Starting of the 4th Quarter.
- No school Monday, March 18th.
- Immerse- March 25th-28th!
Let’s have a super week! Thanks for all the air-dry clay and construction paper!!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, March 10th, 2024
Dear Parents and students,
As we spring forward an hour, Michigan decides to have a slight return of winter!
This past week……..
Wow! BizTown was a great success! Students said they enjoyed their jobs, spending money, and eating at BizTown. Students said they felt well prepared, and they would definitely go again. I heard a lot of positive feedback from the business volunteers about the students’ knowledge and attitudes about running their business. Way to go!!
Up next, we are preparing for Immerse which is where we spend four days at the Grand Rapids Museum. If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
This is a reminder to all 6th graders, that these fieldtrips and the work that we do to prepare for them count as grades. BizTown is a social studies grade and Immerse is as well. Immerse also is a Science and Math grade too. That’s why I really like to refer to these field trips as place-based learning. We just like to take our learning on the road!
Conferences are coming up! Please sign up for March 12, 14, or 20th. Here is the link. https://ptcfast.com/schools/North_Park_Montessori
If you are still interested in selling candy bars still, here is a link to the permission slip, Candy Sale Permission to sell.
A couple of weeks ago I started asking students a simple question which was why are we at school? Most students nailed it and said, “we are here to learn.” This started us talking about switching the name of our work plans to learning plans. That way we can ask each other, what are you learning right now? I also have started saving learning plans to show at conferences. This will give parents an idea of what they are learning.
In honor of this upcoming week being Pi Day on 3-14, I was wondering if someone could bring in an actual baked pie? If this is something that you can do, please message me.
Pencils: Students are responsible for their own pencils. They can bring in their own pencil pouch or case. This isn’t a new rule, this has been the same since the beginning of the year. I suggest they keep a couple in their pencil pouch and leave the rest in their locker. If they need pencils during class, they will be able to buy them with Skipptoes.
Class wish list: Model Magic Clay, Lysol Wipes, and Construction Paper.
Thanks for your great children and let’s have an awesome week!
-Skipp
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
As we spring forward an hour, Michigan decides to have a slight return of winter!
This past week……..
Wow! BizTown was a great success! Students said they enjoyed their jobs, spending money, and eating at BizTown. Students said they felt well prepared, and they would definitely go again. I heard a lot of positive feedback from the business volunteers about the students’ knowledge and attitudes about running their business. Way to go!!
Up next, we are preparing for Immerse which is where we spend four days at the Grand Rapids Museum. If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
This is a reminder to all 6th graders, that these fieldtrips and the work that we do to prepare for them count as grades. BizTown is a social studies grade and Immerse is as well. Immerse also is a Science and Math grade too. That’s why I really like to refer to these field trips as place-based learning. We just like to take our learning on the road!
Conferences are coming up! Please sign up for March 12, 14, or 20th. Here is the link. https://ptcfast.com/schools/North_Park_Montessori
If you are still interested in selling candy bars still, here is a link to the permission slip, Candy Sale Permission to sell.
A couple of weeks ago I started asking students a simple question which was why are we at school? Most students nailed it and said, “we are here to learn.” This started us talking about switching the name of our work plans to learning plans. That way we can ask each other, what are you learning right now? I also have started saving learning plans to show at conferences. This will give parents an idea of what they are learning.
In honor of this upcoming week being Pi Day on 3-14, I was wondering if someone could bring in an actual baked pie? If this is something that you can do, please message me.
Pencils: Students are responsible for their own pencils. They can bring in their own pencil pouch or case. This isn’t a new rule, this has been the same since the beginning of the year. I suggest they keep a couple in their pencil pouch and leave the rest in their locker. If they need pencils during class, they will be able to buy them with Skipptoes.
Class wish list: Model Magic Clay, Lysol Wipes, and Construction Paper.
Thanks for your great children and let’s have an awesome week!
-Skipp
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, March 3rd, 2024
Dear Parents and students,
Happy weekend everyone! Hopefully everyone is enjoying the warmer weather!
This past week……..
We spent most of our time preparing for BizTown. Each day had its own theme. Our first was Financial Literacy, where we learned how to endorse a paycheck and keep track of money spent. Next, we discussed the community and the economy. Our third was work and career readiness. Our final topic is Business Management. In business management, we are discussing how to run the business and we are currently working on figuring out all the costs of our businesses. Students earlier this week filled out job applications and wrote down their top three choices of jobs. Now, as a teacher this was a little tricky because I had quite a few students who wanted the same job. I tried to get them as close to their job as possible.
We will be wrapping up our BizTown lessons on Monday. Then headed to BizTown on Tuesday. If any parents are willing or interested in Volunteering at BizTown for the day, please message me and I can get you the details. Students will need a sack lunch for Tuesday, either their own or from school. Also, we have been discussing dressing the part for our careers. Students had some pretty good ideas on how to dress. We also talked about behavior on the field trip. Students seemed to understand the importance and focus for this field trip. This whole week they have been working hard and trying to understand how a business works.
After Bizz Town, we are preparing for Immerse which is where we spend four days at the Grand Rapids Museum. If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Conferences are coming up! Please sign up for March 12, 14, or 20th. Here is the link. https://ptcfast.com/schools/North_Park_Montessori
If you are still interested in selling candy bars still, here is a link to the permission slip, Candy Sale Permission to sell
Class wish list: Model Magic Clay, Lysol Wipes, and Construction Paper.
Thanks for your great children and let’s have an awesome week!
-Skipp
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
Happy weekend everyone! Hopefully everyone is enjoying the warmer weather!
This past week……..
We spent most of our time preparing for BizTown. Each day had its own theme. Our first was Financial Literacy, where we learned how to endorse a paycheck and keep track of money spent. Next, we discussed the community and the economy. Our third was work and career readiness. Our final topic is Business Management. In business management, we are discussing how to run the business and we are currently working on figuring out all the costs of our businesses. Students earlier this week filled out job applications and wrote down their top three choices of jobs. Now, as a teacher this was a little tricky because I had quite a few students who wanted the same job. I tried to get them as close to their job as possible.
We will be wrapping up our BizTown lessons on Monday. Then headed to BizTown on Tuesday. If any parents are willing or interested in Volunteering at BizTown for the day, please message me and I can get you the details. Students will need a sack lunch for Tuesday, either their own or from school. Also, we have been discussing dressing the part for our careers. Students had some pretty good ideas on how to dress. We also talked about behavior on the field trip. Students seemed to understand the importance and focus for this field trip. This whole week they have been working hard and trying to understand how a business works.
After Bizz Town, we are preparing for Immerse which is where we spend four days at the Grand Rapids Museum. If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Conferences are coming up! Please sign up for March 12, 14, or 20th. Here is the link. https://ptcfast.com/schools/North_Park_Montessori
If you are still interested in selling candy bars still, here is a link to the permission slip, Candy Sale Permission to sell
Class wish list: Model Magic Clay, Lysol Wipes, and Construction Paper.
Thanks for your great children and let’s have an awesome week!
-Skipp
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, February 25th, 2024
Dear Parents and students,
Bring on the sunshine! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!
This week……..
We’ve moved to having Math Unit Study and MFP due in the morning before lunch/recess. Hopefully this will help students get a little more organized with their day.
Coming in March are a couple of really cool field trips. First, over the next four weeks we will be studying economics. Students will learn how to apply for a job, balance a savings account, and pay for bills. We will wrap up our unit with a field trip to Junior Achievement at BizTown. The field trip does have a cost with it. The cost of the field trip is $15.00.
If you are interested in selling candy bars still, here is a link to the permission slip, Candy Sale Permission to sell
The last week in March, we are headed to the museum for four days! If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Class wish list: Model Magic Clay, Lysol Wipes, and Construction Paper.
Thanks for your great children and let’s have an awesome week!
-Skipp
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
Bring on the sunshine! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!
This week……..
We’ve moved to having Math Unit Study and MFP due in the morning before lunch/recess. Hopefully this will help students get a little more organized with their day.
Coming in March are a couple of really cool field trips. First, over the next four weeks we will be studying economics. Students will learn how to apply for a job, balance a savings account, and pay for bills. We will wrap up our unit with a field trip to Junior Achievement at BizTown. The field trip does have a cost with it. The cost of the field trip is $15.00.
If you are interested in selling candy bars still, here is a link to the permission slip, Candy Sale Permission to sell
The last week in March, we are headed to the museum for four days! If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Class wish list: Model Magic Clay, Lysol Wipes, and Construction Paper.
Thanks for your great children and let’s have an awesome week!
-Skipp
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, February 11th, 2024
Dear Parents and students,
This week kind of felt like spring. We all really appreciated the sunshine!
This week……..
Coming in March are a couple of really cool field trips. First, over the next four weeks we will be studying economics. Students will learn how to apply for a job, balance a savings account, and pay for bills. We will wrap up our unit with a field trip to Junior Achievement at BizTown. The field trip note will go home on Monday. The cost of the field trip is $15.00.
Also, this past week I passed out candy bar sale permission slips. If you didn’t get the paper and would like to sell candy bars, here is the link. Candy Sale Permission to sell.
The last week in March, we are headed to the museum for four days! If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Class wish list: Model Magic Clay, Lysol Wipes, and Construction Paper.
Thanks for your great children and let’s have an awesome week!
-Skipp
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
This week kind of felt like spring. We all really appreciated the sunshine!
This week……..
- Valentines’ Day class party Wednesday (managed by our class party planners)
- Valentines Day E2 Dance is Wednesday from 1:30-3:30. We have been asked to bring salty snacks. Here is the link to sign up. Valentine's Day Dance Snack Signup
Coming in March are a couple of really cool field trips. First, over the next four weeks we will be studying economics. Students will learn how to apply for a job, balance a savings account, and pay for bills. We will wrap up our unit with a field trip to Junior Achievement at BizTown. The field trip note will go home on Monday. The cost of the field trip is $15.00.
Also, this past week I passed out candy bar sale permission slips. If you didn’t get the paper and would like to sell candy bars, here is the link. Candy Sale Permission to sell.
The last week in March, we are headed to the museum for four days! If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Class wish list: Model Magic Clay, Lysol Wipes, and Construction Paper.
Thanks for your great children and let’s have an awesome week!
-Skipp
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, February 4th, 2024
Dear parents and students,
Welcome sunshine! Listed below are just a couple of dates to pay attention too.
Oue Valentine's Dance is just around the corner. Last year we had such a plethora of snacks, so this year we decided to set a limit. Here is a link to sign up for snacks. Valentine's Day Dance Snack Signup
Coming in March are a couple of really cool field trips. First, over the next four weeks we will be studying economics. Students will learn how to apply for a job, balance a savings account, and pay for bills. We will wrap up our unit with a field trip to Junior Achievement at Biztown. Stay tuned for more information.
The last week in March, we are headed to the museum for four days! If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Class wish list: Model Magic Clay, Lysol Wipes, and Construction Paper.
Thanks for your great children and let’s have an awesome week!
-Skipp
Dear parents and students,
Welcome sunshine! Listed below are just a couple of dates to pay attention too.
Oue Valentine's Dance is just around the corner. Last year we had such a plethora of snacks, so this year we decided to set a limit. Here is a link to sign up for snacks. Valentine's Day Dance Snack Signup
Coming in March are a couple of really cool field trips. First, over the next four weeks we will be studying economics. Students will learn how to apply for a job, balance a savings account, and pay for bills. We will wrap up our unit with a field trip to Junior Achievement at Biztown. Stay tuned for more information.
The last week in March, we are headed to the museum for four days! If you can chaperone, please click on the link. Immerse Chaperone Signup
Class wish list: Model Magic Clay, Lysol Wipes, and Construction Paper.
Thanks for your great children and let’s have an awesome week!
-Skipp
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Dear Parents,
Finally, the last week of January! It does feel like it’s been a long month! Here is a quick review of our week and what’s to come.
Week in review and a look ahead:
In Language, the 6th graders will finish their book club book The Egypt Game this week. They will have a choice between a standard test and a project to show comprehension of the story.
The following week the 5th graders will be starting their new book club.
In writing everyone is working on elements of poetry. They are learning how most poems have multiple elements in them.
For the reader's response this week, all students are reflecting on their second quarter reading goals, and they are writing goals for the third quarter.
In Social Studies, everyone is learning about the Continent of Africa. This past week their Africa map was due. This map included important landforms of the continent. We will be talking about the Regions and three kingdoms of Africa this week.
In science the 4th and 5th graders will be learning about the four spheres of the Earth and how they interact with each other.
In February……….
Also, the Valentine’s Dance flier will go home this week. The dance is on February 14th. The whole dance is planned out by students from the party committee. They would like us to bring crunchy snacks.
Also, our class is planning a small valentine’s party in our room in the morning before the dance. Students have decided that it is optional to pass out Valentines to the whole class. Hopefully next week I will have more details about the class party.
Reminder: Please make sure students have indoor shoes!
Wish List: Honey for Tea!
Thank-you for taking the time to read our weekly update. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents,
Finally, the last week of January! It does feel like it’s been a long month! Here is a quick review of our week and what’s to come.
Week in review and a look ahead:
In Language, the 6th graders will finish their book club book The Egypt Game this week. They will have a choice between a standard test and a project to show comprehension of the story.
The following week the 5th graders will be starting their new book club.
In writing everyone is working on elements of poetry. They are learning how most poems have multiple elements in them.
For the reader's response this week, all students are reflecting on their second quarter reading goals, and they are writing goals for the third quarter.
In Social Studies, everyone is learning about the Continent of Africa. This past week their Africa map was due. This map included important landforms of the continent. We will be talking about the Regions and three kingdoms of Africa this week.
In science the 4th and 5th graders will be learning about the four spheres of the Earth and how they interact with each other.
In February……….
Also, the Valentine’s Dance flier will go home this week. The dance is on February 14th. The whole dance is planned out by students from the party committee. They would like us to bring crunchy snacks.
Also, our class is planning a small valentine’s party in our room in the morning before the dance. Students have decided that it is optional to pass out Valentines to the whole class. Hopefully next week I will have more details about the class party.
Reminder: Please make sure students have indoor shoes!
Wish List: Honey for Tea!
Thank-you for taking the time to read our weekly update. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, Jan 21, 2024
Dear Parents,
Happy New Year!!! Hopefully, we will have a full week of school! Today will be short and sweet! I just have a few reminders and some acknowledgements.
Reminders:
Acknowledgements:
I just wanted to do a huge shout out to the whole class on how awesome they were at Frederik Meijer Gardens. Students were so attentive, focused, and respectful!
We took the Map Math assessment last Friday and everyone showed some gains from the fall map! Way to go!!
A huge shout out to Esther and Ariadne for participating in the Spelling Bee!
As you know in Montessori we focus on a strong, kind and courteous classroom community. I will say that these children are really trying to support each other in the community. I’m really enjoying seeing your children grow!
Let’s have a great week!
-Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents,
Happy New Year!!! Hopefully, we will have a full week of school! Today will be short and sweet! I just have a few reminders and some acknowledgements.
Reminders:
- Please remember indoor shoes! No boots in the classroom. Hard sole slippers, crocks, indoor anything shoes, but just not boots.
- Please remember to dress appropriately for the weather.
- Students need a backpack to bring back and forth to school.
- Purple folder and beige work folder.
- Map math makeups will be this week.
- Map Reading will be this Friday.
Acknowledgements:
I just wanted to do a huge shout out to the whole class on how awesome they were at Frederik Meijer Gardens. Students were so attentive, focused, and respectful!
We took the Map Math assessment last Friday and everyone showed some gains from the fall map! Way to go!!
A huge shout out to Esther and Ariadne for participating in the Spelling Bee!
As you know in Montessori we focus on a strong, kind and courteous classroom community. I will say that these children are really trying to support each other in the community. I’m really enjoying seeing your children grow!
Let’s have a great week!
-Mrs. Skipp
Sunday, December 17th, 2023
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy December 17th! Welcome to the last school week of the year!
Ice Skating is this Thursday. A reminder to wear thick socks! Thicker and taller socks will help!
This year our classroom would like to celebrate friendship with an activity called Secret Friend! Secret Friend will take place the week of December 18th and run all week. Secret Friend has a theme all week of kind activities students do for each other. The schedule is Monday- Favorite Candy
Tuesday- Draw/Illustrate a picture.
Wednesday- Poem (I will teach this the day before)
Thursday- Small craft or write a letter.
Friday- A small gift $10.00-12.00
Please look for a note to go home about this fun tradition!
We will be cleaning out our lockers and mailboxes this Friday. I talked to students about sharing their work with you. Hopefully they will remember and share!
Reminder, all 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into StudentVUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed.
Have a great winter break with your families. Hopefully it will be relaxing and filled with lots of great memories!
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy December 17th! Welcome to the last school week of the year!
Ice Skating is this Thursday. A reminder to wear thick socks! Thicker and taller socks will help!
This year our classroom would like to celebrate friendship with an activity called Secret Friend! Secret Friend will take place the week of December 18th and run all week. Secret Friend has a theme all week of kind activities students do for each other. The schedule is Monday- Favorite Candy
Tuesday- Draw/Illustrate a picture.
Wednesday- Poem (I will teach this the day before)
Thursday- Small craft or write a letter.
Friday- A small gift $10.00-12.00
Please look for a note to go home about this fun tradition!
We will be cleaning out our lockers and mailboxes this Friday. I talked to students about sharing their work with you. Hopefully they will remember and share!
Reminder, all 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into StudentVUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed.
Have a great winter break with your families. Hopefully it will be relaxing and filled with lots of great memories!
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Sunday, December 10th, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Happy December 10th! Where is the snow?
This week, please look for a field trip note to come home about Ice Skating. We plan on Ice Skating the morning of December 21st. Don’t worry if your child has never ice skated before, we help guide them on the ice (They actually catch on pretty quickly).
If you could help check with your child to see if they have their yellow composition notebook at home. They might have brought it home after our field trip to the museum. Many kids think they might have left it at home.
This year our classroom would like to celebrate friendship with an activity called Secret Friend! Secret Friend will take place the week of December 18th and run all week. Secret Friend has a theme all week of kind activities students do for each other. The schedule is Monday- Favorite Candy
Tuesday- Draw/Illustrate a picture.
Wednesday- Poem (I will teach this the day before)
Thursday- Small craft or write a letter.
Friday- A small gift $10.00-12.00
Please look for a note to go home about this fun tradition!
One of the coolest things about teaching three grade levels is seeing some of the overlapping up subject areas. I love this because then I can teach a lesson to the whole class. In this case it’s social studies. We are currently all learning about the five themes of geography. Once students are finished taking notes then they will be able to research a specific country. Once we wrap up the five themes, we will be headed into the study of Economics. Economics will lead us into a really cool event called Market Day! This will be awesome! I’ll keep you posted.
Please help your child remember to have indoor shoes.
Reminder, all 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into StudentVUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed.
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents and students,
Happy December 10th! Where is the snow?
This week, please look for a field trip note to come home about Ice Skating. We plan on Ice Skating the morning of December 21st. Don’t worry if your child has never ice skated before, we help guide them on the ice (They actually catch on pretty quickly).
If you could help check with your child to see if they have their yellow composition notebook at home. They might have brought it home after our field trip to the museum. Many kids think they might have left it at home.
This year our classroom would like to celebrate friendship with an activity called Secret Friend! Secret Friend will take place the week of December 18th and run all week. Secret Friend has a theme all week of kind activities students do for each other. The schedule is Monday- Favorite Candy
Tuesday- Draw/Illustrate a picture.
Wednesday- Poem (I will teach this the day before)
Thursday- Small craft or write a letter.
Friday- A small gift $10.00-12.00
Please look for a note to go home about this fun tradition!
One of the coolest things about teaching three grade levels is seeing some of the overlapping up subject areas. I love this because then I can teach a lesson to the whole class. In this case it’s social studies. We are currently all learning about the five themes of geography. Once students are finished taking notes then they will be able to research a specific country. Once we wrap up the five themes, we will be headed into the study of Economics. Economics will lead us into a really cool event called Market Day! This will be awesome! I’ll keep you posted.
Please help your child remember to have indoor shoes.
Reminder, all 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into StudentVUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed.
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Sunday, December 3rd, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to December! Thank-you to all who could help chaperone for Immerse. It was truly a great day! If you would like to help in March, please click on this link. Immerse Parent Chaperone Sign-up link.
Thank-you for joining me at conferences. We had some great conversations. Please feel free to reach out if you have more questions.
This week, please look for a field trip note to come home about Ice Skating. We plan on Ice Skating the morning of December 21st. Don’t worry if your child has never ice skated before, we help guide them on the ice (They actually catch on pretty quickly).
Reminder, all 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into Student VUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed.
In class over the next few weeks the students and I will be talking about how to handle situations with friends in a positive way. We will be discussing many types of coping strategies that students can use. I believe that this will help build a better classroom community in and outside the classroom. I will share more tools with you next week.
Holiday house is this Wednesday at 1:15pm. The students are pumped!
This year our classroom would like to celebrate friendship with an activity called Secret Friend! Secret Friend will take place the week of December 18th and run all week. Secret Friend has a theme all week of kind activities students do for each other. The schedule is Monday- Favorite Candy
Tuesday- Draw/Illustrate a picture.
Wednesday- Poem (I will teach this the day before)
Thursday- Small craft or write a letter.
Friday- A small gift $10.00-12.00
Please look for a note to go home about this fun tradition!
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to December! Thank-you to all who could help chaperone for Immerse. It was truly a great day! If you would like to help in March, please click on this link. Immerse Parent Chaperone Sign-up link.
Thank-you for joining me at conferences. We had some great conversations. Please feel free to reach out if you have more questions.
This week, please look for a field trip note to come home about Ice Skating. We plan on Ice Skating the morning of December 21st. Don’t worry if your child has never ice skated before, we help guide them on the ice (They actually catch on pretty quickly).
Reminder, all 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into Student VUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed.
In class over the next few weeks the students and I will be talking about how to handle situations with friends in a positive way. We will be discussing many types of coping strategies that students can use. I believe that this will help build a better classroom community in and outside the classroom. I will share more tools with you next week.
Holiday house is this Wednesday at 1:15pm. The students are pumped!
This year our classroom would like to celebrate friendship with an activity called Secret Friend! Secret Friend will take place the week of December 18th and run all week. Secret Friend has a theme all week of kind activities students do for each other. The schedule is Monday- Favorite Candy
Tuesday- Draw/Illustrate a picture.
Wednesday- Poem (I will teach this the day before)
Thursday- Small craft or write a letter.
Friday- A small gift $10.00-12.00
Please look for a note to go home about this fun tradition!
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Sunday, November 12th, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to November! I have a few quick messages for you.
First, we have our Immerse Field trip to the Grand Rapids Museum coming up. We are headed to the museum Monday, November 20th. If you would like to chaperone, please click on this link and sign up for the 20th. Immerse Parent Chaperone Sign-up link. You can sign-up for a couple of hours or stay for the whole day. We need about three chaperones per time slot. This is because we move around the museum in small groups. Also, please look for the Field Trip note, it came home last week.
Second, conferences started this past week. Here’s the link if you still need to sign up. Conference sign-up link. I’m excited to say I’m changing our conference format this year. This year there will be two conferences. The first one is held by your child at home. They will be bringing home all their notebooks and sharing with you at home. Please allow for about 15-20 minutes for this. The second “conference” will be our regular at school conference, where you and I can talk about your child. In Montessori we teach the whole child, and we reflect on the impact your child has on the whole classroom community.
I’m really looking forward to meeting with all of you.
Also, I use the Homeroom app to share pictures with you. If you would like to join, please click on this link. Homeroom
Reminder, all 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into StudentVUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed.
Starting next week, we are beginning a new format to our work cycle! I’m really excited for this because I believe it will really help students focus better during the work cycle. During the morning work cycle, we will be focusing on math. Basically, that means students will be working on their MFP and Math Unit of Study. Once students finish this work then they have the opportunity to choose other work.
Also, thank-you for the extra rulers!!!
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to November! I have a few quick messages for you.
First, we have our Immerse Field trip to the Grand Rapids Museum coming up. We are headed to the museum Monday, November 20th. If you would like to chaperone, please click on this link and sign up for the 20th. Immerse Parent Chaperone Sign-up link. You can sign-up for a couple of hours or stay for the whole day. We need about three chaperones per time slot. This is because we move around the museum in small groups. Also, please look for the Field Trip note, it came home last week.
Second, conferences started this past week. Here’s the link if you still need to sign up. Conference sign-up link. I’m excited to say I’m changing our conference format this year. This year there will be two conferences. The first one is held by your child at home. They will be bringing home all their notebooks and sharing with you at home. Please allow for about 15-20 minutes for this. The second “conference” will be our regular at school conference, where you and I can talk about your child. In Montessori we teach the whole child, and we reflect on the impact your child has on the whole classroom community.
I’m really looking forward to meeting with all of you.
Also, I use the Homeroom app to share pictures with you. If you would like to join, please click on this link. Homeroom
Reminder, all 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into StudentVUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed.
Starting next week, we are beginning a new format to our work cycle! I’m really excited for this because I believe it will really help students focus better during the work cycle. During the morning work cycle, we will be focusing on math. Basically, that means students will be working on their MFP and Math Unit of Study. Once students finish this work then they have the opportunity to choose other work.
Also, thank-you for the extra rulers!!!
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Sunday, November 5th, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to November! I have a few quick messages for you.
First, we have our Immerse Field trip to the Grand Rapids Museum coming up. We are headed to the museum Monday, November 20th. If you would like to chaperone, please click on this link and sign up for the 20th. Immerse Parent Chaperone Sign-up link. You can sign-up for a couple of hours or stay for the whole day. We need about three chaperones per time slot. This is because we move around the museum in small groups. Also, please look for the Field Trip note to come home this week.
Second, conferences start this week. Here’s the link if you still need to sign up. Conference sign-up link. I’m excited to say I’m changing our conference format this year. This year there will be two conferences. The first one is held by your child at home. They will be bringing home all their notebooks and sharing with you at home. Please allow for about 15-20 minutes for this. The second “conference” will be our regular at school conference, where you and I can talk about your child. In Montessori we teach the whole child, and we reflect on the impact your child has on the whole classroom community.
I’m really looking forward to meeting with all of you.
Also, I use the Homeroom app to share pictures with you. If you would like to join, please click on this link. Homeroom
Reminder, all 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into Student VUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed. Grades are new to 6th grade, and I would recommend using this first quarter as a learning opportunity. Grades in Montessori really reflect the students’ work ethic. I think it’s fair to ask your 6th grader what work did you complete today? Each morning we review what work is due that day and other work options. We also have an assignment board where we update the work for the week. Students either create their own list of works or they use the prefilled work plan. The prefilled work plan guides them into understanding what work needs to be done. Each day students have about a 3-hour work cycle to complete their work. We try to keep it pretty quiet in the room to help kids focus. If the first quarter didn’t go really well for your child, I would encourage you to have a conversation with your child that is encouraging and uplifting to their confidence. They can do this! They have to believe in themselves first and we as their adults should be their cheerleaders! My suggestion would be to find one time during the week to check grades together. They really just need our positive support. Okay, I’m off my soap box.
We have started our baking team building. Over the next few weeks students will come up with a fall baking recipe. I’m coaching through this. Their team is responsible for bringing in the ingredients and the utensils. I provide the oven. This will be awesome!
Finally, the most important probably of the week, the guinea pigs have arrived! We are happy to welcome our new members!
Remember, Tuesday is no school. Work folders are sent home Tuesday and are brought back on Wednesday with a parent signature.
Also, we are in need of extra rulers (centimeters/inches).
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to November! I have a few quick messages for you.
First, we have our Immerse Field trip to the Grand Rapids Museum coming up. We are headed to the museum Monday, November 20th. If you would like to chaperone, please click on this link and sign up for the 20th. Immerse Parent Chaperone Sign-up link. You can sign-up for a couple of hours or stay for the whole day. We need about three chaperones per time slot. This is because we move around the museum in small groups. Also, please look for the Field Trip note to come home this week.
Second, conferences start this week. Here’s the link if you still need to sign up. Conference sign-up link. I’m excited to say I’m changing our conference format this year. This year there will be two conferences. The first one is held by your child at home. They will be bringing home all their notebooks and sharing with you at home. Please allow for about 15-20 minutes for this. The second “conference” will be our regular at school conference, where you and I can talk about your child. In Montessori we teach the whole child, and we reflect on the impact your child has on the whole classroom community.
I’m really looking forward to meeting with all of you.
Also, I use the Homeroom app to share pictures with you. If you would like to join, please click on this link. Homeroom
Reminder, all 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into Student VUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed. Grades are new to 6th grade, and I would recommend using this first quarter as a learning opportunity. Grades in Montessori really reflect the students’ work ethic. I think it’s fair to ask your 6th grader what work did you complete today? Each morning we review what work is due that day and other work options. We also have an assignment board where we update the work for the week. Students either create their own list of works or they use the prefilled work plan. The prefilled work plan guides them into understanding what work needs to be done. Each day students have about a 3-hour work cycle to complete their work. We try to keep it pretty quiet in the room to help kids focus. If the first quarter didn’t go really well for your child, I would encourage you to have a conversation with your child that is encouraging and uplifting to their confidence. They can do this! They have to believe in themselves first and we as their adults should be their cheerleaders! My suggestion would be to find one time during the week to check grades together. They really just need our positive support. Okay, I’m off my soap box.
We have started our baking team building. Over the next few weeks students will come up with a fall baking recipe. I’m coaching through this. Their team is responsible for bringing in the ingredients and the utensils. I provide the oven. This will be awesome!
Finally, the most important probably of the week, the guinea pigs have arrived! We are happy to welcome our new members!
Remember, Tuesday is no school. Work folders are sent home Tuesday and are brought back on Wednesday with a parent signature.
Also, we are in need of extra rulers (centimeters/inches).
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Sunday, October 29th, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Fall Sunday! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.
Conferences are next month. Please head to Conference sign-up link
I’m looking forward to meeting with all of you!
Also, I use the Homeroom app to share pictures with you. If you would like to join, please click on this link. Homeroom
We wrapped up first quarter grades last Friday. 6th graders were given the opportunity to turn in any missing assignments. All 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into StudentVUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed. Grades are new to 6th grade and I would recommend using this first quarter as a learning opportunity. Grades in Montessori really reflect the students’ work ethic. I think it’s fair to ask your 6th grader what work did you complete today? Each morning we review what work is due that day and other work options. We also have an assignment board where we update the work for the week. Students either create their own list of works or they use the prefilled work plan. The prefilled work plan guides them into understanding what work needs to be done. Each day students have about a 3-hour work cycle to complete their work. We try to keep it pretty quiet in the room to help kids focus. If the first quarter didn’t go really well for your child, I would encourage you to have a conversation with your child that is encouraging and uplifting to their confidence. They can do this! They have to believe in themselves first and we as their adults should be their cheerleaders! My suggestion would be to find one time during the week to check grades together. They really just need our positive support. They cannot do this alone; they need our positive support! Okay, I’m off my soap box.
We have started our baking team building. Over the next few weeks students will come up with a fall baking recipe. I’m coaching through this. Their team is responsible for bringing in the ingredients and the utensils. I provide the oven. This will be awesome!
Finally, the most important probably of the week, the guinea pigs have arrived! We are happy to welcome our new members!
Remember Tuesday is a half day. Also, purple folders come back and forth every day. Work folders are sent home Tuesday and are brought back on Wednesday with a parent signature.
Also, we are in need of extra rulers (centimeters/inches).
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Fall Sunday! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.
Conferences are next month. Please head to Conference sign-up link
I’m looking forward to meeting with all of you!
Also, I use the Homeroom app to share pictures with you. If you would like to join, please click on this link. Homeroom
We wrapped up first quarter grades last Friday. 6th graders were given the opportunity to turn in any missing assignments. All 6th graders and their parents are able to check their grades. If the students log into StudentVUE (grps.org), they can check their grades and see what assignments they have missed. Grades are new to 6th grade and I would recommend using this first quarter as a learning opportunity. Grades in Montessori really reflect the students’ work ethic. I think it’s fair to ask your 6th grader what work did you complete today? Each morning we review what work is due that day and other work options. We also have an assignment board where we update the work for the week. Students either create their own list of works or they use the prefilled work plan. The prefilled work plan guides them into understanding what work needs to be done. Each day students have about a 3-hour work cycle to complete their work. We try to keep it pretty quiet in the room to help kids focus. If the first quarter didn’t go really well for your child, I would encourage you to have a conversation with your child that is encouraging and uplifting to their confidence. They can do this! They have to believe in themselves first and we as their adults should be their cheerleaders! My suggestion would be to find one time during the week to check grades together. They really just need our positive support. They cannot do this alone; they need our positive support! Okay, I’m off my soap box.
We have started our baking team building. Over the next few weeks students will come up with a fall baking recipe. I’m coaching through this. Their team is responsible for bringing in the ingredients and the utensils. I provide the oven. This will be awesome!
Finally, the most important probably of the week, the guinea pigs have arrived! We are happy to welcome our new members!
Remember Tuesday is a half day. Also, purple folders come back and forth every day. Work folders are sent home Tuesday and are brought back on Wednesday with a parent signature.
Also, we are in need of extra rulers (centimeters/inches).
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks, and let’s have a great week!
Sunday, October 22nd, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Fall Sunday! Hopefully everyone is rested from camp. It was a joy to bring your children to camp and many thanks to all the parents that could spend the night, this was a big help.
I use the Homeroom app to share pictures with you. If you would like to join, please click on this link. Homeroom
In the classroom this year, we have been spending a lot of time on how to solve conflicts in a respectful way. I will be the first to say that this has been difficult for many students. We will continue to use restorative practices to help students use proper problem solving skills with each other. There are many students who are struggling to manage their emotions when things don’t seem to go their way. This is why we use restorative practices to teach them coping skills. If restorative practices don’t seem to work for a situation, then we move to more disciplinary practices.
Conferences are next month. Please head to Conference sign-up link
I’m looking forward to meeting with all of you!
Remember, Monday there is no school. See you Tuesday!
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks and let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Fall Sunday! Hopefully everyone is rested from camp. It was a joy to bring your children to camp and many thanks to all the parents that could spend the night, this was a big help.
I use the Homeroom app to share pictures with you. If you would like to join, please click on this link. Homeroom
In the classroom this year, we have been spending a lot of time on how to solve conflicts in a respectful way. I will be the first to say that this has been difficult for many students. We will continue to use restorative practices to help students use proper problem solving skills with each other. There are many students who are struggling to manage their emotions when things don’t seem to go their way. This is why we use restorative practices to teach them coping skills. If restorative practices don’t seem to work for a situation, then we move to more disciplinary practices.
Conferences are next month. Please head to Conference sign-up link
I’m looking forward to meeting with all of you!
Remember, Monday there is no school. See you Tuesday!
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks and let’s have a great week!
Sunday, October 15th, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
This is a short work week with camp! I’m super excited to grow deeper with your children this week! Thanks to parents who can spend the night!
Please see the link to the camp packing list. camp packing list
Also, a couple things to add. First, please pack two trash bags. With one of the trash bags, please put your child’s name on it and pack it with their pillow and sleeping bag. Place the other trash bag within their duffle bag for dirty or wet clothes. No need to pack food or electronics. Small board games, cards, coloring supplies, bead making, or books are all great things for the cabins!
Students are able to bring digital or disposable cameras (from the 1990s), please do not send phones. I use the Homeroom app to share pictures with you. If you would like to join, please click on this link. Homeroom
We have started reading buddies with Mrs. Keiler’s class. All I can say is that it is so adorable to see your children read and with the younger students. They are soooooo patient and kind with these little kids.
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks and let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents and students,
This is a short work week with camp! I’m super excited to grow deeper with your children this week! Thanks to parents who can spend the night!
Please see the link to the camp packing list. camp packing list
Also, a couple things to add. First, please pack two trash bags. With one of the trash bags, please put your child’s name on it and pack it with their pillow and sleeping bag. Place the other trash bag within their duffle bag for dirty or wet clothes. No need to pack food or electronics. Small board games, cards, coloring supplies, bead making, or books are all great things for the cabins!
Students are able to bring digital or disposable cameras (from the 1990s), please do not send phones. I use the Homeroom app to share pictures with you. If you would like to join, please click on this link. Homeroom
We have started reading buddies with Mrs. Keiler’s class. All I can say is that it is so adorable to see your children read and with the younger students. They are soooooo patient and kind with these little kids.
Please reach out with any questions. Thanks and let’s have a great week!
Sunday, October 8th, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Yes! It feels like fall, finally!! We had a great week getting adjusted to our almost full schedule.
We started our full class book club with the book, George’s Secret Key to the Universe. This is a science fiction story about a boy who lives next door to a talking computer. We are spending time analyzing characters and depicting their similarities and differences. Students are learning how to cite these differences straight from the text. This is my first time doing a whole class book club. I thought this would be a good way to start with having fifteen new students to my class.
Big shout out to the 6th graders this week on their retreat. It was great to see their work together through challenges. They all did such a great job!
Camp! It’s right around the corner! We are still in need of chaperones to spend the night with us!! You would join us at camp in our heated cabins after 6:00pm and you can leave as soon as you wake up. Please message me if you would like to join us. I only have one chaperone for one night so far. GRPS requires me to have two adults per night.
Let’s dress a little warmer and have a super week!
Dear Parents and students,
Yes! It feels like fall, finally!! We had a great week getting adjusted to our almost full schedule.
We started our full class book club with the book, George’s Secret Key to the Universe. This is a science fiction story about a boy who lives next door to a talking computer. We are spending time analyzing characters and depicting their similarities and differences. Students are learning how to cite these differences straight from the text. This is my first time doing a whole class book club. I thought this would be a good way to start with having fifteen new students to my class.
Big shout out to the 6th graders this week on their retreat. It was great to see their work together through challenges. They all did such a great job!
Camp! It’s right around the corner! We are still in need of chaperones to spend the night with us!! You would join us at camp in our heated cabins after 6:00pm and you can leave as soon as you wake up. Please message me if you would like to join us. I only have one chaperone for one night so far. GRPS requires me to have two adults per night.
Let’s dress a little warmer and have a super week!
Sunday, October 1st, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Wow! It’s October and it’s still 80 degrees out! First of all, a huge thank you goes out to all the chaperones for ArtPrize. Having all the chaperones that we had made it much easier to split up into smaller groups.
This week is our 6th grade leadership retreat on Thursday. Pick up for 6th graders only will be after 3:30 at GRPS University at 1400 Fuller Ave NE, Grand Rapids. The 4th and 5th graders will have a normal day at school with a substitute teacher.
Thank-you if you made it to the Upper Elementary Curriculum Night/ Camp Meeting. As of Friday, all students have their Camp Field Trip information.
This past week, we finished up the Second Great Lesson in Montessori. We will be starting the Third Great Lesson which is my favorite!
During our work cycle, 4th and 5th graders are getting used to works that are due weekly. For example, spelling, grammar, MFP, and word problems. Some students have chosen to take some of these works home to get caught up. This is fine. This shows some great time management skills. Many students have requested a daily prefilled work plan in order to help guide them into healthy time management routines. I will introduce students to this prefilled work plan this week.
As we enter our sixth week of school, students will be introduced to our full schedule for the most part. Here is a link to our weekly schedule. Class Schedule 2023-24
Thank-you for all your wonderful children! It was a joy to take them to the Art Prize. Let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents and students,
Wow! It’s October and it’s still 80 degrees out! First of all, a huge thank you goes out to all the chaperones for ArtPrize. Having all the chaperones that we had made it much easier to split up into smaller groups.
This week is our 6th grade leadership retreat on Thursday. Pick up for 6th graders only will be after 3:30 at GRPS University at 1400 Fuller Ave NE, Grand Rapids. The 4th and 5th graders will have a normal day at school with a substitute teacher.
Thank-you if you made it to the Upper Elementary Curriculum Night/ Camp Meeting. As of Friday, all students have their Camp Field Trip information.
This past week, we finished up the Second Great Lesson in Montessori. We will be starting the Third Great Lesson which is my favorite!
During our work cycle, 4th and 5th graders are getting used to works that are due weekly. For example, spelling, grammar, MFP, and word problems. Some students have chosen to take some of these works home to get caught up. This is fine. This shows some great time management skills. Many students have requested a daily prefilled work plan in order to help guide them into healthy time management routines. I will introduce students to this prefilled work plan this week.
As we enter our sixth week of school, students will be introduced to our full schedule for the most part. Here is a link to our weekly schedule. Class Schedule 2023-24
Thank-you for all your wonderful children! It was a joy to take them to the Art Prize. Let’s have a great week!
Sunday, Sep 24, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Fall to everyone! This will be short and sweet. I just want to remind parents and students about the big events happening this week.
Something that you won’t want to miss is Camp/Curriculum night. This is being held Thursday, September 28th from 6-8pm. For the first part of the meeting, we will divide up between 4th/5th grade parents and 6th grade parents. We are meeting this way so we can spend time showing the 6th grade families how to check grades. The 4th/5th grade families will be shown the overall upper elementary Montessori experience. After the meetings wrap up, we will head to the gym to have our camp meeting. We will be discussing what camp will be like and what to bring.
Also, this Thursday we will be headed to ArtPrize. The field trip note went home Friday. We are in a HUGE need of at least three chaperones. Having at least five adults will allow us to break up into groups of four. In each group a Sixth grader will be leading the field trip. The sixth grader leads the group. The chaperone would be there to make sure students stay together and are safe. I have ordered school sack lunches or students are welcome to bring their own lunch. We will not be getting lunch downtown so please don’t plan on that. If your badge has expired or you would like to apply for one, I’ve been told that the turnaround time is pretty quick. Click on this link to apply Volunteer - Community & Student Services - Departments - Grand Rapids Public Schools (grps.org)
That’s it for this week, hopefully I will see all of you Thursday night.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Fall to everyone! This will be short and sweet. I just want to remind parents and students about the big events happening this week.
Something that you won’t want to miss is Camp/Curriculum night. This is being held Thursday, September 28th from 6-8pm. For the first part of the meeting, we will divide up between 4th/5th grade parents and 6th grade parents. We are meeting this way so we can spend time showing the 6th grade families how to check grades. The 4th/5th grade families will be shown the overall upper elementary Montessori experience. After the meetings wrap up, we will head to the gym to have our camp meeting. We will be discussing what camp will be like and what to bring.
Also, this Thursday we will be headed to ArtPrize. The field trip note went home Friday. We are in a HUGE need of at least three chaperones. Having at least five adults will allow us to break up into groups of four. In each group a Sixth grader will be leading the field trip. The sixth grader leads the group. The chaperone would be there to make sure students stay together and are safe. I have ordered school sack lunches or students are welcome to bring their own lunch. We will not be getting lunch downtown so please don’t plan on that. If your badge has expired or you would like to apply for one, I’ve been told that the turnaround time is pretty quick. Click on this link to apply Volunteer - Community & Student Services - Departments - Grand Rapids Public Schools (grps.org)
That’s it for this week, hopefully I will see all of you Thursday night.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, September 17th, 2023
Dear parents and students,
Wow! We did a great job finishing the very first full week of school! Great news, we are going to fall camp at Manitoulin! We are leaving for camp on October 18th and returning on October 20th. I am in need of chaperones to just spend the night. I need at least two males and one female. There is no cost to chaperone, and you merely just spend the night. If this is something that you are interested in please send me a message. You will also need to make sure your volunteer badge is up to date.
Something that you won’t want to miss is Camp/Curriculum night. This is being held Thursday, September 28th from 6-8pm. For the first part of the meeting, we will divide up between 4th/5th grade parents and 6th grade parents. We are meeting this way so we can spend time showing the 6th grade families how to check grades. The 4th/5th grade families will be shown the overall upper elementary Montessori experience. After the meetings wrap up, we will head to the gym to have our camp meeting. We will be discussing what camp will be like and what to bring.
In our classroom this week we continue to mold our classroom work cycle. Each week we have been making progress in creating a stronger work cycle.
We finished up Peaceful Cities and students will present this week. We will be spending a good chunk of time researching and making our Great Lesson Project. Click here for the link of suggestions. The First Great Lesson (Universe) Students will be given quite a bit of time to work on this project this week. Some have said they wanted to work on some of it at home and that’s fine.
Hey, we did pretty good remembering our Tuesday vanilla work folders. I know this will become an easier routine as time goes on. Your children are really excited to show you their work.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out. Let’s have a great week!
Classroom wish list: Air Dry Clay and Acrylic paint (all colors)
Dear parents and students,
Wow! We did a great job finishing the very first full week of school! Great news, we are going to fall camp at Manitoulin! We are leaving for camp on October 18th and returning on October 20th. I am in need of chaperones to just spend the night. I need at least two males and one female. There is no cost to chaperone, and you merely just spend the night. If this is something that you are interested in please send me a message. You will also need to make sure your volunteer badge is up to date.
Something that you won’t want to miss is Camp/Curriculum night. This is being held Thursday, September 28th from 6-8pm. For the first part of the meeting, we will divide up between 4th/5th grade parents and 6th grade parents. We are meeting this way so we can spend time showing the 6th grade families how to check grades. The 4th/5th grade families will be shown the overall upper elementary Montessori experience. After the meetings wrap up, we will head to the gym to have our camp meeting. We will be discussing what camp will be like and what to bring.
In our classroom this week we continue to mold our classroom work cycle. Each week we have been making progress in creating a stronger work cycle.
We finished up Peaceful Cities and students will present this week. We will be spending a good chunk of time researching and making our Great Lesson Project. Click here for the link of suggestions. The First Great Lesson (Universe) Students will be given quite a bit of time to work on this project this week. Some have said they wanted to work on some of it at home and that’s fine.
Hey, we did pretty good remembering our Tuesday vanilla work folders. I know this will become an easier routine as time goes on. Your children are really excited to show you their work.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out. Let’s have a great week!
Classroom wish list: Air Dry Clay and Acrylic paint (all colors)
Sunday, September 10th, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday! This will be quick and to the point!
We are going to fall camp at Manitoulin! We are leaving for camp on October 18th and returning on October 20th. I am in need of chaperones to just spend the night. I need at least two males and one female. There is no cost to chaperone, and you merely just spend the night. If this is something that you are interested in please send me a message. You will also need to make sure your volunteer badge is up to date.
Also, starting this Tuesday work folders will be coming home. There will be lots of goodies in there like graded work and other fun things they have been doing. There is a spot for you to sign and date. They can then keep the work at home and return the folder. This is a new thing I’m starting this year because I want to build a strong communication bond with home and school.
What we have been working on…………….
We have started a little bit longer work cycles where we work on math fact practice, writing, and reader’s response.
We finished up learning style surveys and nearing the end for all to share their memory homework.
This week we will finish peaceful cities and they will present.
We have started our First Great Lesson Project. Students can choose to work with a partner or by themselves for this. Here is a link to the Project. The First Great Lesson (Universe) The projects are not limited to this list. This is what the students and I have brainstormed over the last two years. I am bringing in the small oven for students if they need it on Tuesday. Students were pretty excited about this project. We came up with the due date of Friday, September 22nd. I will give them about four to five hours of class time to work on it. Yes, students can work at home. I love doing this project because I can teach them different ways to take notes.
Okay, there is one other big thing that I can tell you about this week. At this age level, students learn that there are consequences for unfinished work as well as consequences for finished work. These are just simply called natural consequences. We spend a lot of time talking about what to do during a work cycle. This week I will introduce the work plan and teach them how to use it. This definitely helps them manage their time. I will keep you posted on our progress.
Please help your child to remember their purple PCF folder every day.
Thank-you and let's have a great full week!!!
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday! This will be quick and to the point!
We are going to fall camp at Manitoulin! We are leaving for camp on October 18th and returning on October 20th. I am in need of chaperones to just spend the night. I need at least two males and one female. There is no cost to chaperone, and you merely just spend the night. If this is something that you are interested in please send me a message. You will also need to make sure your volunteer badge is up to date.
Also, starting this Tuesday work folders will be coming home. There will be lots of goodies in there like graded work and other fun things they have been doing. There is a spot for you to sign and date. They can then keep the work at home and return the folder. This is a new thing I’m starting this year because I want to build a strong communication bond with home and school.
What we have been working on…………….
We have started a little bit longer work cycles where we work on math fact practice, writing, and reader’s response.
We finished up learning style surveys and nearing the end for all to share their memory homework.
This week we will finish peaceful cities and they will present.
We have started our First Great Lesson Project. Students can choose to work with a partner or by themselves for this. Here is a link to the Project. The First Great Lesson (Universe) The projects are not limited to this list. This is what the students and I have brainstormed over the last two years. I am bringing in the small oven for students if they need it on Tuesday. Students were pretty excited about this project. We came up with the due date of Friday, September 22nd. I will give them about four to five hours of class time to work on it. Yes, students can work at home. I love doing this project because I can teach them different ways to take notes.
Okay, there is one other big thing that I can tell you about this week. At this age level, students learn that there are consequences for unfinished work as well as consequences for finished work. These are just simply called natural consequences. We spend a lot of time talking about what to do during a work cycle. This week I will introduce the work plan and teach them how to use it. This definitely helps them manage their time. I will keep you posted on our progress.
Please help your child to remember their purple PCF folder every day.
Thank-you and let's have a great full week!!!
Sunday, Sep 3, 2023
Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome and happy start to a new school year! This is our classroom website where I give you a recap of the week and let you know what is to come. I generally post every week. However, I might skip weeks here and there.
We have definitely started off quite slow with the heat and power outages. I’ve enjoyed this slow start because I’ve been able to get to know your children. Your children are friendly and quite loving! I’m really enjoying the positive energy that we are creating. This year over half of my class is new to the room so I definitely don’t mind slowing down and easing into routines.
Before I jump into routines and a recap, I want to explain the homework that went home on Wednesday. I read them a book called Wilfrid Gordan McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox. The story is about a young boy who helps an elderly lady gain her memory back. He does this by gathering five items which are something from long ago, something that makes you laugh, something that makes you cry, something as precious as gold, and something that keeps you warm. Then I shared my five items. Students are to bring in their own five items to share. There is a writing piece to this as well. I have given them in class time to work on the writing piece, but some students have chosen to bring it home to work on. Here is a link to the assignment. Memory Homework I’m super excited to see what they bring in and share.
We started off our week talking about what a Montessori environment looks and sounds like during the different work cycles. There are a few different types of work cycles. First, there is the silent individual work cycle (this is usually when I’m giving a lesson to ⅓ of the class). Second, there is a group work cycle (where students work together on the same work). Finally, there is the getting to know your classmates' work cycle. We have spent most of our time this week in the getting to know you work cycle.
During the week, we spent time talking about how to eat snacks and pick up after yourself (yes, this age group needs this). We’ve talked about what to get from our lockers each morning and afternoon. We organized almost all of our notebooks. We have reviewed PBIS (positive behavior in School).
We have started a group project called Peaceful Cities. Students chose partners to draw out a city of their dreams.
Some of the individual work the students have been working on is discovering their own learning style.
Last week, we slowly started getting used to our weekly routines. I introduced students to spelling and the different ways they can practice their words. Spelling will happen every other week. Now this week I will introduce them to Vocabulary. They will have a week to practice vocabulary. Another big lesson students received this week was the 40-book challenge lesson. The 40-book challenge is our reading curriculum per say. I changed it up a little this year. They have an option of choosing their own books and choosing between 20-40 books for the school year. Students can still choose from a variety of genres to read throughout the year. Here is the link to the document in case they want one for home. 40 Book Challenge 4th and 5th grade. If reading isn’t something your child enjoys, I would just start with a conversation about how many pages they are reading at school. I do give them about 25 minutes to read at school almost every morning. However, we are all reading at different paces and levels. I’ve been encouraging students to start keeping track of the number of pages they read during school. This will kind of put reading into a focus more for home. I check in with students about once a week to see how their reading is going.
Another part of our daily routines is Math Fact Practice (MFP). Students complete five problems per day on a previously mastered math skill.
This week there is Reading Map testing on Thursday.
Wow! This was really long! Sorry, I just want to keep you informed.
Thank-you so much for your time and your children.
Let’s have a great week!
-Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome and happy start to a new school year! This is our classroom website where I give you a recap of the week and let you know what is to come. I generally post every week. However, I might skip weeks here and there.
We have definitely started off quite slow with the heat and power outages. I’ve enjoyed this slow start because I’ve been able to get to know your children. Your children are friendly and quite loving! I’m really enjoying the positive energy that we are creating. This year over half of my class is new to the room so I definitely don’t mind slowing down and easing into routines.
Before I jump into routines and a recap, I want to explain the homework that went home on Wednesday. I read them a book called Wilfrid Gordan McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox. The story is about a young boy who helps an elderly lady gain her memory back. He does this by gathering five items which are something from long ago, something that makes you laugh, something that makes you cry, something as precious as gold, and something that keeps you warm. Then I shared my five items. Students are to bring in their own five items to share. There is a writing piece to this as well. I have given them in class time to work on the writing piece, but some students have chosen to bring it home to work on. Here is a link to the assignment. Memory Homework I’m super excited to see what they bring in and share.
We started off our week talking about what a Montessori environment looks and sounds like during the different work cycles. There are a few different types of work cycles. First, there is the silent individual work cycle (this is usually when I’m giving a lesson to ⅓ of the class). Second, there is a group work cycle (where students work together on the same work). Finally, there is the getting to know your classmates' work cycle. We have spent most of our time this week in the getting to know you work cycle.
During the week, we spent time talking about how to eat snacks and pick up after yourself (yes, this age group needs this). We’ve talked about what to get from our lockers each morning and afternoon. We organized almost all of our notebooks. We have reviewed PBIS (positive behavior in School).
We have started a group project called Peaceful Cities. Students chose partners to draw out a city of their dreams.
Some of the individual work the students have been working on is discovering their own learning style.
Last week, we slowly started getting used to our weekly routines. I introduced students to spelling and the different ways they can practice their words. Spelling will happen every other week. Now this week I will introduce them to Vocabulary. They will have a week to practice vocabulary. Another big lesson students received this week was the 40-book challenge lesson. The 40-book challenge is our reading curriculum per say. I changed it up a little this year. They have an option of choosing their own books and choosing between 20-40 books for the school year. Students can still choose from a variety of genres to read throughout the year. Here is the link to the document in case they want one for home. 40 Book Challenge 4th and 5th grade. If reading isn’t something your child enjoys, I would just start with a conversation about how many pages they are reading at school. I do give them about 25 minutes to read at school almost every morning. However, we are all reading at different paces and levels. I’ve been encouraging students to start keeping track of the number of pages they read during school. This will kind of put reading into a focus more for home. I check in with students about once a week to see how their reading is going.
Another part of our daily routines is Math Fact Practice (MFP). Students complete five problems per day on a previously mastered math skill.
This week there is Reading Map testing on Thursday.
Wow! This was really long! Sorry, I just want to keep you informed.
Thank-you so much for your time and your children.
Let’s have a great week!
-Theresa Skipp
Thursday August 17th, 2023
Welcome parents and students,
Wow, it’s hard to believe we are almost back together again! I’m so excited to work with you this year! Welcome new families and students, we are happy to have you.
My name is Theresa Skipp and I will be your child's teacher this year.
I communicate mostly through the Remind App. Here is the link to sign up. https://www.remind.com/join/c47f3 It is the same Remind link as last year.
Next, I send out weekly communication through our class Weebly. Here is the link. www.skipp456.weebly.com I usually send it out by Sunday at 11:00 am.
Thirdly, I have an app where I take pictures of students working throughout the day. If you are interested in down loading the app. I've created a classroom album called “Skipp 456 2023/24 Classroom” where I'll be posting photos, videos and more. To join the album and get updates when new things are posted, click on this link: https://gethomeroom.com/i/QQX2QVWN I'm looking forward to giving you a window into the classroom!
Finally, here is a link to the class supply list https://docs.google.com/document/d/118r06GPBkdDAGZQ2TBdaRiVfw-dem1QJrRYlR_kXw58/edit?usp=sharing
Hope to see you and your children all at open house!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, June 11th, 2023
Dear parents and students,
We made it to summer break!!! Congratulations to all of us for hanging in there the last couple of weeks. It always seems to get pretty hectic after Memorial Day.
I’d like to thank all the parents for your help and support. It truly takes a village to nurture a great classroom community.
I have some suggestions for over the summer. IXL is available for all students to work on. I’d suggest 30-60 minutes of math and language per week. Also, I have a summer reading and writing challenge over the summer. You will find this challenge under the Summer Work Challenge tab at the top of this page. The Challenge is due the first Friday of School which is August 25th. Yes, there is an award for this!
I also encourage students to get out there and stay active. There’s lots to be explored!
Report cards will be mailed out towards the end of June. If you have any questions about your child's scores, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me through Remind.
Attention 5th grade parents!: Grades are coming next year for your child. Please consider talking with them about the change. This means paying attention to when work is due and also thinking about taking work home to make sure they finish work. What you need to know is that I tailor work to their ability, but never the amount. The amount stays the same with all 6th graders. I do give them the opportunity to use a prefilled-out work plan to better help manage their time. Time management is probably one of the most important skills 6th graders work on. These 5th graders are ready to take on the challenge of 6th grade. I know they care, and they are willing to work hard.
Thank-you all for your wonderful children! Enjoy them and have a great summer!
Dear parents and students,
We made it to summer break!!! Congratulations to all of us for hanging in there the last couple of weeks. It always seems to get pretty hectic after Memorial Day.
I’d like to thank all the parents for your help and support. It truly takes a village to nurture a great classroom community.
I have some suggestions for over the summer. IXL is available for all students to work on. I’d suggest 30-60 minutes of math and language per week. Also, I have a summer reading and writing challenge over the summer. You will find this challenge under the Summer Work Challenge tab at the top of this page. The Challenge is due the first Friday of School which is August 25th. Yes, there is an award for this!
I also encourage students to get out there and stay active. There’s lots to be explored!
Report cards will be mailed out towards the end of June. If you have any questions about your child's scores, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me through Remind.
Attention 5th grade parents!: Grades are coming next year for your child. Please consider talking with them about the change. This means paying attention to when work is due and also thinking about taking work home to make sure they finish work. What you need to know is that I tailor work to their ability, but never the amount. The amount stays the same with all 6th graders. I do give them the opportunity to use a prefilled-out work plan to better help manage their time. Time management is probably one of the most important skills 6th graders work on. These 5th graders are ready to take on the challenge of 6th grade. I know they care, and they are willing to work hard.
Thank-you all for your wonderful children! Enjoy them and have a great summer!
Tuesday, June 6th, 2023
Dear parents and students,
Happy Tuesday and here are some quick reminders about the rest of the week!
June 7th-9th are half days with dismissal at 12:20.
Wednesday: Talent show, yes parents you are invited to watch the show! The amazing talent starts at 10:00 in the Gym.
Thursday: Classroom breakfast is at 9:45. We will be cleaning out our lockers. Please bring a plastic bag for extra stuff.
Friday: Last day of school! 6th Grade Paper plate awards. Then box up the classroom!
I will send a final classroom message out this Sunday.
Dear parents and students,
Happy Tuesday and here are some quick reminders about the rest of the week!
June 7th-9th are half days with dismissal at 12:20.
Wednesday: Talent show, yes parents you are invited to watch the show! The amazing talent starts at 10:00 in the Gym.
Thursday: Classroom breakfast is at 9:45. We will be cleaning out our lockers. Please bring a plastic bag for extra stuff.
Friday: Last day of school! 6th Grade Paper plate awards. Then box up the classroom!
I will send a final classroom message out this Sunday.
Monday, May 29th, 2023
Dear families,
I hope everyone had an enjoyable long weekend! Just a couple of quick reminders for the week ahead.
This Wednesday afternoon is field day. It is supposed to be quite warm so remember a water bottle.
On Thursday is our annual E2 Extravaganza. This is the letter. EotY Extravaganza Riverside Note Home We are responsible for bringing fruit.
As a class we are planning a class breakfast. The breakfast will take place on Friday June 2nd. Ask your child what they signed up to bring. It should be a nice relaxing morning.
Enjoy your week!
-Skipp
Dear families,
I hope everyone had an enjoyable long weekend! Just a couple of quick reminders for the week ahead.
This Wednesday afternoon is field day. It is supposed to be quite warm so remember a water bottle.
On Thursday is our annual E2 Extravaganza. This is the letter. EotY Extravaganza Riverside Note Home We are responsible for bringing fruit.
As a class we are planning a class breakfast. The breakfast will take place on Friday June 2nd. Ask your child what they signed up to bring. It should be a nice relaxing morning.
Enjoy your week!
-Skipp
Sunday, May 21st, 2023
Dear families,
I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend! Ours was full of soccer, rain, and beautiful sunshine! With three short weeks to go, school will fly by!
This Tuesday we will be walking to Wellerwood in the afternoon to perform some stream tests. We will be testing the water quality and we will be looking for invasive species. I would remember to bring comfortable shoes, sunscreen, and bug spray. We will be there most of the afternoon.
On Thursday the 6th graders will be headed to Chicago. Last Friday your child received a letter about some important reminders about Chicago. Here is the note in case you didn’t see it. Chicago Reminders
Please look for a note to come home today about E2 Extravaganza. This is the letter. EotY Extravaganza Riverside Note Home
As a class we are planning a class breakfast. The breakfast will take place on Friday June 2nd. More details will come soon.
Remember Friday is a half day and there is no school next Monday.
Enjoy your week!
-Skipp
Dear families,
I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend! Ours was full of soccer, rain, and beautiful sunshine! With three short weeks to go, school will fly by!
This Tuesday we will be walking to Wellerwood in the afternoon to perform some stream tests. We will be testing the water quality and we will be looking for invasive species. I would remember to bring comfortable shoes, sunscreen, and bug spray. We will be there most of the afternoon.
On Thursday the 6th graders will be headed to Chicago. Last Friday your child received a letter about some important reminders about Chicago. Here is the note in case you didn’t see it. Chicago Reminders
Please look for a note to come home today about E2 Extravaganza. This is the letter. EotY Extravaganza Riverside Note Home
As a class we are planning a class breakfast. The breakfast will take place on Friday June 2nd. More details will come soon.
Remember Friday is a half day and there is no school next Monday.
Enjoy your week!
-Skipp
Sunday, May 14th, 2023
Dear Parents and Students,
Wow! The students did an amazing job on their Science Fair Investigations. I gave the students the opportunity to grade themselves and they were pretty accurate with their scoring. The 6th graders do get a letter grade for their project, but I really told them to focus on what they did well and what they can improve on. As for their research papers, I’m continuing to edit these. I noticed that students really got into their background research and it showed when they presented their projects. Also, I will continue to upload Science Fair pictures to Homeroom this week.
We wrapped up M-Step last week and we will finish up makeup this week.
In Science on Tuesday afternoon, we will be participating in a hands-on lesson about the effects of water runoff and learn about the different contaminants that get into our water. We will also learn how to reduce these contaminants.
Then on Thursday in Social Studies we welcome Junior Achievement for the day. We will be learning about how businesses run.
Also, this is spirit week! Please see the flier your child brought home last week about the different activities. Plus, the middle school play is this week! We will be watching the performance on Thursday.
Please look for a note to go home about our annual E2 celebration called E2 Extravaganza at Riverside Park.
Thank-you and let’s have a great week!
-Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
Wow! The students did an amazing job on their Science Fair Investigations. I gave the students the opportunity to grade themselves and they were pretty accurate with their scoring. The 6th graders do get a letter grade for their project, but I really told them to focus on what they did well and what they can improve on. As for their research papers, I’m continuing to edit these. I noticed that students really got into their background research and it showed when they presented their projects. Also, I will continue to upload Science Fair pictures to Homeroom this week.
We wrapped up M-Step last week and we will finish up makeup this week.
In Science on Tuesday afternoon, we will be participating in a hands-on lesson about the effects of water runoff and learn about the different contaminants that get into our water. We will also learn how to reduce these contaminants.
Then on Thursday in Social Studies we welcome Junior Achievement for the day. We will be learning about how businesses run.
Also, this is spirit week! Please see the flier your child brought home last week about the different activities. Plus, the middle school play is this week! We will be watching the performance on Thursday.
Please look for a note to go home about our annual E2 celebration called E2 Extravaganza at Riverside Park.
Thank-you and let’s have a great week!
-Mrs. Skipp
Sunday, May 7th, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
We started off strong with our first week of May. Below are some reminders of this week's events.
The 5th graders will be taking their M-step Science this Tuesday. On Wednesday, May 10th is our Science Fair. Our class will be setting up in the gym at 9:15. You are welcome to join us from 9:30-11:00! Then on Thursday all E2 students will be taking the reading M-step starting at 9:30 am.
I’d like to circle back to the Science Fair. In class we have been working on putting our research notes into an expository essay. We have learned how to back up our sources with a Bibliography Page. Students have been working on tying up their rough drafts and sending them to me via google docs. We have been really working on Intro and concluding paragraphs.
Also, plant and flower pickup will be this Wednesday too.
Thank-you and let’s have a great week!
-Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
We started off strong with our first week of May. Below are some reminders of this week's events.
The 5th graders will be taking their M-step Science this Tuesday. On Wednesday, May 10th is our Science Fair. Our class will be setting up in the gym at 9:15. You are welcome to join us from 9:30-11:00! Then on Thursday all E2 students will be taking the reading M-step starting at 9:30 am.
I’d like to circle back to the Science Fair. In class we have been working on putting our research notes into an expository essay. We have learned how to back up our sources with a Bibliography Page. Students have been working on tying up their rough drafts and sending them to me via google docs. We have been really working on Intro and concluding paragraphs.
Also, plant and flower pickup will be this Wednesday too.
Thank-you and let’s have a great week!
-Mrs. Skipp
4-30-23
Dear Parents,
Welcome May! Your children worked really hard on their Map reading and math over the last two weeks! We were also able to enjoy extra time outside.
This week 5th graders have M-Step Social Studies this Wednesday. Then on Thursday all students have M-Step Math. Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest and eats a big breakfast for those days. We also will provide snacks for those days.
Attention 6th grade parents: Please look for field trip paperwork to go home this week for our Chicago trip. If you are interested in chaperoning on May 25th, please message me.
The Science Fair is quickly approaching. It’s hard to believe because we have been preparing well before spring break. Students have been working on their research paper in class and will finish that up in the next week. I have been showing students models on how to set up their trifolds. Many students took really good notes. Our Science Fair is Wednesday May 10th. Parents, you are invited to come in and peruse the Science Fair as well. I’m really proud of the students because they picked topics they were interested in. They seem more motivated to do research and perform their experiment.
If you have any questions about Science Fair or other topics please let me know. Thanks and let's have a super week!
-Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents,
Welcome May! Your children worked really hard on their Map reading and math over the last two weeks! We were also able to enjoy extra time outside.
This week 5th graders have M-Step Social Studies this Wednesday. Then on Thursday all students have M-Step Math. Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest and eats a big breakfast for those days. We also will provide snacks for those days.
Attention 6th grade parents: Please look for field trip paperwork to go home this week for our Chicago trip. If you are interested in chaperoning on May 25th, please message me.
The Science Fair is quickly approaching. It’s hard to believe because we have been preparing well before spring break. Students have been working on their research paper in class and will finish that up in the next week. I have been showing students models on how to set up their trifolds. Many students took really good notes. Our Science Fair is Wednesday May 10th. Parents, you are invited to come in and peruse the Science Fair as well. I’m really proud of the students because they picked topics they were interested in. They seem more motivated to do research and perform their experiment.
If you have any questions about Science Fair or other topics please let me know. Thanks and let's have a super week!
-Mrs. Skipp
Sunday April 23rd, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
We seem to be settling into our routines after spring break fairly smoothly. I can’t help but think that the weather has something to do with it.
This week we will be doing Map math testing Thursday at 9:30 am. Please make sure your child has had plenty of sleep and a big breakfast. Students may bring in mints or gum for testing.
Science Fair (May 10th)
Yes, we have been getting closer and closer to the Science Fair. The lessons students have received in school are ….
This week in class we will be working on our rough draft research paper. Students have been doing quite a bit of research this past week for their paper and they are ready to write. Just a reminder that the Science Fair experiments and organizing the trifold is to be done at home. Here is a link to Science Buddies which has many examples of trifold organization. What Makes a Good Research Plan (sciencebuddies.org)
I also have had an example in our classroom over the past two weeks for students to see the organization of the trifold.
Over the past two weeks I have been giving students M-Step Prep lessons in Math. I’ve heard some positive feedback from students about this. We have been using IXL to then further practice the skills.
Thank-you and let’s have a great week!
-Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
We seem to be settling into our routines after spring break fairly smoothly. I can’t help but think that the weather has something to do with it.
This week we will be doing Map math testing Thursday at 9:30 am. Please make sure your child has had plenty of sleep and a big breakfast. Students may bring in mints or gum for testing.
Science Fair (May 10th)
Yes, we have been getting closer and closer to the Science Fair. The lessons students have received in school are ….
- Science Fair Proposal Sheet
- Research Questions
- Variables and Hypothesis Sheet
- Bibliography
This week in class we will be working on our rough draft research paper. Students have been doing quite a bit of research this past week for their paper and they are ready to write. Just a reminder that the Science Fair experiments and organizing the trifold is to be done at home. Here is a link to Science Buddies which has many examples of trifold organization. What Makes a Good Research Plan (sciencebuddies.org)
I also have had an example in our classroom over the past two weeks for students to see the organization of the trifold.
Over the past two weeks I have been giving students M-Step Prep lessons in Math. I’ve heard some positive feedback from students about this. We have been using IXL to then further practice the skills.
Thank-you and let’s have a great week!
-Mrs. Skipp
Sunday, March 19th, 2023
Dear parents and students,
I guess winter came back for a short bit. I hope everyone was safe and warm this weekend! Hopefully winter has left us! Just two big reminders for this week. See below. Let’s have a super week.
Most important, is student-led conferences. Please click here to sign up North Park Montessori: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com) They start this week. Can’t wait to see you there!
Second is Zoo Lab chaperones. If you are able to help, please click on this link to sign up.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054baeab2ea1fe3-zoolab1#/
Thank-you,
Theresa Skipp
Dear parents and students,
I guess winter came back for a short bit. I hope everyone was safe and warm this weekend! Hopefully winter has left us! Just two big reminders for this week. See below. Let’s have a super week.
Most important, is student-led conferences. Please click here to sign up North Park Montessori: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com) They start this week. Can’t wait to see you there!
Second is Zoo Lab chaperones. If you are able to help, please click on this link to sign up.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054baeab2ea1fe3-zoolab1#/
Thank-you,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, March 12th, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
I’m wondering if we will ever have a five-day week. Most important is Zoo Lab chaperones. If you are able to help, please click on this link to sign up.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054baeab2ea1fe3-zoolab1#/
Second most important, is student-led conferences. Please click here to sign up North Park Montessori: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Here is a quick update of what we have been doing and also what’s to come.
In Language the ⅘ graders have been studying their spelling words. We will have our spelling test on Tuesday. In Book Club the 6th graders are continuing with Single Shard. I have told them that they may have to take the book home to read for a little homework. I have made available the audible version. The 5th graders finished up their book and started a small project about the theme. They are making a timeline of themes that takes place throughout the novel. This book is part of the 5th Graders One Book One City program where they will be able to meet the author on Thursday March 16th. I sent home permission slips last week and I’m still waiting on a few. We also need some parent chaperones. Please let me know if you are able to join us. We leave North Park around 9:30 and will return a little before noon on March 16th.
In writing students are finishing up their research on a famous woman in history. After our research is complete, students will showcase their female and display their work in the main hallway of the building. Students also have started to prepare for conferences. Conferences this year are student-led.
In Reader’s Response students will start to reflect on their 3rd quarter reading goals and they will set some goals for the 4th quarter.
Math…...
The 6th graders are finishing up coordinate planes and will be learning about Pi and the circumference of a circle. As for the 4th and 5th graders, it depends on the student. I individualize grade level math for them. Your best bet is to ask them to show you what they are working on. However, this week we all will be learning about Pi and the area of a circle.
In Science the ⅘ graders just finished taking a test on types of energy. We are now going to work on the Earth’s natural resources. The 6th graders are finishing up their learning on Rain Shadows and will begin to study Ocean Tides. The 6th graders started their research on Latin America.
In history the ⅘ graders are learning about the importance of the Second Continental Congress. The 6th graders will be learning about Latin America. The 4th and 5th graders will be moving into learning about the Constitution. We finished the Revolutionary War with a few songs…….
Coming up this month……
Let’s have a super week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
I’m wondering if we will ever have a five-day week. Most important is Zoo Lab chaperones. If you are able to help, please click on this link to sign up.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054baeab2ea1fe3-zoolab1#/
Second most important, is student-led conferences. Please click here to sign up North Park Montessori: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Here is a quick update of what we have been doing and also what’s to come.
In Language the ⅘ graders have been studying their spelling words. We will have our spelling test on Tuesday. In Book Club the 6th graders are continuing with Single Shard. I have told them that they may have to take the book home to read for a little homework. I have made available the audible version. The 5th graders finished up their book and started a small project about the theme. They are making a timeline of themes that takes place throughout the novel. This book is part of the 5th Graders One Book One City program where they will be able to meet the author on Thursday March 16th. I sent home permission slips last week and I’m still waiting on a few. We also need some parent chaperones. Please let me know if you are able to join us. We leave North Park around 9:30 and will return a little before noon on March 16th.
In writing students are finishing up their research on a famous woman in history. After our research is complete, students will showcase their female and display their work in the main hallway of the building. Students also have started to prepare for conferences. Conferences this year are student-led.
In Reader’s Response students will start to reflect on their 3rd quarter reading goals and they will set some goals for the 4th quarter.
Math…...
The 6th graders are finishing up coordinate planes and will be learning about Pi and the circumference of a circle. As for the 4th and 5th graders, it depends on the student. I individualize grade level math for them. Your best bet is to ask them to show you what they are working on. However, this week we all will be learning about Pi and the area of a circle.
In Science the ⅘ graders just finished taking a test on types of energy. We are now going to work on the Earth’s natural resources. The 6th graders are finishing up their learning on Rain Shadows and will begin to study Ocean Tides. The 6th graders started their research on Latin America.
In history the ⅘ graders are learning about the importance of the Second Continental Congress. The 6th graders will be learning about Latin America. The 4th and 5th graders will be moving into learning about the Constitution. We finished the Revolutionary War with a few songs…….
Coming up this month……
- We finished baking!!!!! It was yummy!!!!!!!
- End of the 3rd Quarter on March 10th
- I’m looking forward to seeing you and your child at conferences this spring. Your child will be preparing to lead the conference. Click here to sign up North Park Montessori: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
- No school Monday, March 13th.
- Zoo Lab- March 27th-30th!
Let’s have a super week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, March 5th, 2023
Dear Parents and students,
I’m in luck to have all you read this! It’s been a few weeks. I took some time off, snow days, and then an infection in my eye. All is over and healed up. I’m looking forward to a full week.
In Language all students have been working on more challenging word analysis (vocabulary). I told them that they are ready for a challenge, and I am here to support them. This coming week they will have a spelling test on those words.
In Book Club the 6th graders have just begun to read the novel Single Shard. The 5th graders will be finishing up their book club this week. The 5th graders and I are reading Issaih Dunn is My Hero. This book is part of the 5th Graders One Book One City program where they will be able to meet the author on Thursday March 16th. I will send home permission slips later this week. Once the students finish the book, they will be able to choose a project to do in class showcasing their feelings about the book.
In writing students are starting to research a famous woman in history. After our research is complete, students will showcase their female and display their work in the main hallway of the building.
In Reader’s Response students are digging into the characters of their own personal novels they are reading. They are looking for text that describes a character’s personality.
Math…..
The 6th graders have just finished with the area of polygons and triangles. We are now working on Coordinate Planes. As for the 4th and 5th graders, it depends on the student. I individualize grade level math for them. Your best bet is to ask them to show you what they are working on.
In Science the ⅘ graders just finished taking a test on types of energy. We are now going to work on the Earth’s natural resources. The 6th graders are learning about Rain Shadows The 6th graders will be learning about Latin America. .
In history the ⅘ graders are learning about the importance of the Second Continental Congress. The 6th graders will be learning about Latin America.
Coming up this month……
Let’s have a super week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
I’m in luck to have all you read this! It’s been a few weeks. I took some time off, snow days, and then an infection in my eye. All is over and healed up. I’m looking forward to a full week.
In Language all students have been working on more challenging word analysis (vocabulary). I told them that they are ready for a challenge, and I am here to support them. This coming week they will have a spelling test on those words.
In Book Club the 6th graders have just begun to read the novel Single Shard. The 5th graders will be finishing up their book club this week. The 5th graders and I are reading Issaih Dunn is My Hero. This book is part of the 5th Graders One Book One City program where they will be able to meet the author on Thursday March 16th. I will send home permission slips later this week. Once the students finish the book, they will be able to choose a project to do in class showcasing their feelings about the book.
In writing students are starting to research a famous woman in history. After our research is complete, students will showcase their female and display their work in the main hallway of the building.
In Reader’s Response students are digging into the characters of their own personal novels they are reading. They are looking for text that describes a character’s personality.
Math…..
The 6th graders have just finished with the area of polygons and triangles. We are now working on Coordinate Planes. As for the 4th and 5th graders, it depends on the student. I individualize grade level math for them. Your best bet is to ask them to show you what they are working on.
In Science the ⅘ graders just finished taking a test on types of energy. We are now going to work on the Earth’s natural resources. The 6th graders are learning about Rain Shadows The 6th graders will be learning about Latin America. .
In history the ⅘ graders are learning about the importance of the Second Continental Congress. The 6th graders will be learning about Latin America.
Coming up this month……
- We will be finishing up baking.
- End of the 3rd Quarter on March 10th
- I’m looking forward to seeing you and your child at conferences this spring. Your child will be preparing to lead the conference. Click here to sign up North Park Montessori: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
- No school Monday, March 13th.
- Zoo Lab- March 27th-30th
Let’s have a super week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, February 12th 2023
Dear Parents and students,
This week kind of felt like spring. We all really appreciated the sunshine!
During the week we started talking about listening to music and working. After observing work completion, the results are in. A few students benefit from listening to music while most need less distractions. Part of which I’m teaching kids is to manage their screen time in the classroom. I keep telling them that this is something you will always be managing throughout your life. We have been having many conversations about screen time awareness.
6th graders finished presenting their Explorer Projects and started their new word analysis with prefixes. I returned to all students their graded Informational writing essay about Christopher Columbus. The grading rubric is set up to help them grow as writers.
We continue to strive for our four daily works with 100% completion. The four daily works are reading, mfp, 2 math cards or 6th math, and a language work choice. Feel free to have a conversation with your child about what they are learning. I feel like this will really help their confidence.
This week……..
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
This week kind of felt like spring. We all really appreciated the sunshine!
During the week we started talking about listening to music and working. After observing work completion, the results are in. A few students benefit from listening to music while most need less distractions. Part of which I’m teaching kids is to manage their screen time in the classroom. I keep telling them that this is something you will always be managing throughout your life. We have been having many conversations about screen time awareness.
6th graders finished presenting their Explorer Projects and started their new word analysis with prefixes. I returned to all students their graded Informational writing essay about Christopher Columbus. The grading rubric is set up to help them grow as writers.
We continue to strive for our four daily works with 100% completion. The four daily works are reading, mfp, 2 math cards or 6th math, and a language work choice. Feel free to have a conversation with your child about what they are learning. I feel like this will really help their confidence.
This week……..
- Valentines’ Day class party Tuesday (managed by our class party planners)
- Valentines Day E2 Dance is Tuesday from 1:30-3:30. We have been asked to bring sliders. Some suggestions we came up with were hummus/cucumber, burger/cheese, ham/cheese, and turkey/cheese. I’d say a count of 15-20 seems reasonable.
- No School this Friday and next Monday for midwinter break
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, February 5th 2023
Dear Parents and students,
Holy cow! It’s hard to believe camp is behind us! I really enjoyed spending time with your children outside of school. They are all such wonderful, caring, and respectful children. Seeing the older children help support and look out for the younger children was awesome! It was also pretty cool to see kids push themselves out of their comfort zones. This is truly what camp is all about. Thank-you to our parents who spent the night at camp with us!
This coming week is a regular week. We will be finishing our Valentines Dance decorations and writing thank you cards to the high school chaperones.
Our Valentines Dance will be held on February 14th in the afternoon. Our 6th grade planning committee has asked our class to bring sliders in for the dance. Please look for the pink note that went home a week ago. Some suggestions we came up with were hummus/cucumber, burger/cheese, ham/cheese, and turkey/cheese.
Our class is planning a class valentine celebration in our room the morning before the dance. Stay tuned to hear what they come up with.
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
Holy cow! It’s hard to believe camp is behind us! I really enjoyed spending time with your children outside of school. They are all such wonderful, caring, and respectful children. Seeing the older children help support and look out for the younger children was awesome! It was also pretty cool to see kids push themselves out of their comfort zones. This is truly what camp is all about. Thank-you to our parents who spent the night at camp with us!
This coming week is a regular week. We will be finishing our Valentines Dance decorations and writing thank you cards to the high school chaperones.
Our Valentines Dance will be held on February 14th in the afternoon. Our 6th grade planning committee has asked our class to bring sliders in for the dance. Please look for the pink note that went home a week ago. Some suggestions we came up with were hummus/cucumber, burger/cheese, ham/cheese, and turkey/cheese.
Our class is planning a class valentine celebration in our room the morning before the dance. Stay tuned to hear what they come up with.
Let’s have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, January 29, 2023
Dear Parents,
Finally, the last week of January! It does feel like it’s been a long month! Any who, we are very pumped to go to camp this week. I will be talking to students during our class time about camp. They must bring jackets, winter boots, snow pants, gloves, and hats. We are outside the majority of the time. Please double check to make sure your child has the appropriate snow gear. We will return from camp on February 3rd at 2:00. You are free to pick up your child at that time. Please refer to the packing list that was sent home with the camp paperwork. Below are some more general reminders.
Thank-you chaperones for offering to spend the night! We actually had more than we needed. You guys are awesome! Below is a schedule for chaperones.
The Boy Cabin
The Girl Cabin
Wednesday Night: Joe Puplis and Kurt Offringa
Wednesday Night: Theresa Skipp and Jenny Barecki
Thursday Night: Joe Puplis and Tom Hale
Thursday Night: Theresa Skipp and Ellen Anderson
Attention Chaperones!! Please fill out this release form that Camp Henry sent me by the end of the day Monday. Sorry for the short notice, but it was just sent to me. Here’s the link, Camp Henry Release Form
Candy Bars to sell: We still have candy bars available to sell. If you are interested, just have your child ask for a permission slip and I can send it home with them. You can sell as many boxes as you want.
Week in review and a look ahead:
In Language, the 5th graders started reading their new novel. What is special about this book is that we get to meet the author. Please click on this link to learn more. One Book, One City for Kids
The 6th Graders will be finishing up their Travel Bags and getting ready to present the following week. We dyed paper this past week to make our travel journals look more authentic. 6th Graders will be presenting their explorers this week.
In writing everyone is working on writing an essay where students decide if Christopher Columbus is an Explorer or an Exploiter. This is an essay where they learn how to use fact-based evidence to back up their claim. We ended up finishing this work on Wednesday.
40 Book Challenge: Students are still working towards their goals in reading. I’m trying to get students to reflect on just the last quarter of reading. They tend to look at their whole reading career instead of the past eight weeks.
In History the 4th and 5th graders have been working on the causes that lead up to the Revolutionary War. Each student will be researching this week a specific cause and reporting back to the group. This work is due Tuesday.
In science the 4th and 5th graders have been working on our energy unit of electricity. They built flashlights last week and will be reading about how the human population has affected electricity pollution.
We started tea this week and it worked out great!
In February………..
So we started a new team building project which includes baking. Students got themselves into groups of two or three and started researching recipes. Basically, each group picks a day in February that they will bake. Each is responsible for everything to bring in except the mini oven (I got that covered).
Also, the Valentine’s Dance flier went home this week. The dance is on February 14th. The whole dance is planned out by students from the party committee. They would like us to bring in mini sliders as an appetizer. I would say a count of 8-12 would be good. The sliders can be cold or warm depending on the recipe. Also, our class is planning a small valentine’s party in our room in the morning before the dance. We have agreed on not passing out Valentines to each other. Hopefully next week I will have more details about the class party.
Thank-you for taking the time to read our weekly update. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents,
Finally, the last week of January! It does feel like it’s been a long month! Any who, we are very pumped to go to camp this week. I will be talking to students during our class time about camp. They must bring jackets, winter boots, snow pants, gloves, and hats. We are outside the majority of the time. Please double check to make sure your child has the appropriate snow gear. We will return from camp on February 3rd at 2:00. You are free to pick up your child at that time. Please refer to the packing list that was sent home with the camp paperwork. Below are some more general reminders.
- We leave for camp on Feb. 1st at 10:00. Some things to remember about packing:
- Kids have to carry their own gear. Be careful not to over pack. If you're using a plastic bag for some portion of the packing, consider throwing in an extra for on the way back.
- NO PHONES or other electronics please, even for the bus ride. If you have concerns about being able to get ahold of your child, let me know and we can work something out.
- Camp provides all of the food they'll need, including snacks. Please don't send any food, including candy or gum. This is important to protect wildlife from us and us from wildlife. If you have concerns about the food, please reach out to me ASAP.
- Kids have to carry their own gear. Be careful not to over pack. If you're using a plastic bag for some portion of the packing, consider throwing in an extra for on the way back.
Thank-you chaperones for offering to spend the night! We actually had more than we needed. You guys are awesome! Below is a schedule for chaperones.
The Boy Cabin
The Girl Cabin
Wednesday Night: Joe Puplis and Kurt Offringa
Wednesday Night: Theresa Skipp and Jenny Barecki
Thursday Night: Joe Puplis and Tom Hale
Thursday Night: Theresa Skipp and Ellen Anderson
Attention Chaperones!! Please fill out this release form that Camp Henry sent me by the end of the day Monday. Sorry for the short notice, but it was just sent to me. Here’s the link, Camp Henry Release Form
Candy Bars to sell: We still have candy bars available to sell. If you are interested, just have your child ask for a permission slip and I can send it home with them. You can sell as many boxes as you want.
Week in review and a look ahead:
In Language, the 5th graders started reading their new novel. What is special about this book is that we get to meet the author. Please click on this link to learn more. One Book, One City for Kids
The 6th Graders will be finishing up their Travel Bags and getting ready to present the following week. We dyed paper this past week to make our travel journals look more authentic. 6th Graders will be presenting their explorers this week.
In writing everyone is working on writing an essay where students decide if Christopher Columbus is an Explorer or an Exploiter. This is an essay where they learn how to use fact-based evidence to back up their claim. We ended up finishing this work on Wednesday.
40 Book Challenge: Students are still working towards their goals in reading. I’m trying to get students to reflect on just the last quarter of reading. They tend to look at their whole reading career instead of the past eight weeks.
In History the 4th and 5th graders have been working on the causes that lead up to the Revolutionary War. Each student will be researching this week a specific cause and reporting back to the group. This work is due Tuesday.
In science the 4th and 5th graders have been working on our energy unit of electricity. They built flashlights last week and will be reading about how the human population has affected electricity pollution.
We started tea this week and it worked out great!
In February………..
So we started a new team building project which includes baking. Students got themselves into groups of two or three and started researching recipes. Basically, each group picks a day in February that they will bake. Each is responsible for everything to bring in except the mini oven (I got that covered).
Also, the Valentine’s Dance flier went home this week. The dance is on February 14th. The whole dance is planned out by students from the party committee. They would like us to bring in mini sliders as an appetizer. I would say a count of 8-12 would be good. The sliders can be cold or warm depending on the recipe. Also, our class is planning a small valentine’s party in our room in the morning before the dance. We have agreed on not passing out Valentines to each other. Hopefully next week I will have more details about the class party.
Thank-you for taking the time to read our weekly update. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Dear Parents,
Snow!Snow!Snow! Finally! Snow came at the perfect time with camp right around the corner. Camp is about two weeks away. Below are some important reminders to talk about with your child.
The Boy Cabin
The Girl Cabin
Wednesday Night: Joe Puplis and Kurt Offringa
Wednesday Night: Theresa Skipp and Jenny Barecki
Thursday Night: Joe Puplis and Tom Hale
Thursday Night: Theresa Skipp and Ellen Anderson
Attention Chaperones!! Please fill out this release form that Camp Henry sent me by the end of the day Monday. Sorry for the short notice, but it was just sent to me. Here’s the link, Camp Henry Release Form
Candy Bars to sell: We still have candy bars available to sell. If you are interested, just have your child ask for a permission slip and I can send it home with them. You can sell as many boxes as you want.
Week in review and a look ahead:
In Language the 4th/ 5th graders have been working on Summarizing fictional texts. This week the 4th graders will be focussing on Nouns using IXL. The 5th graders will be focusing on Sentences, fragments, and run on sentences using IXL. The 6th graders will be working on punctuation.
4th Graders will be finishing up their book club before we head to camp. We have been reading an Informational Text together about The Sioux Indians. The 5th graders will be starting their book club this week. What is special about this book is that we get to meet the author. Please click on this link to learn more. One Book, One City for Kids
The 6ths graders finished Journey to the Center of the Earth and took a quiz over the book.
Last week the 4th/5th graders had word analysis so this week they will have a spelling test this Friday based on the words.
The 6th Graders will be finishing up their Travel Bags and getting ready to present the following week. We dyed paper this past week to make our travel journals look more authentic.
In writing everyone is working on writing an essay where students decide if Christopher Columbus is an Explorer or an Exploiter. This is an essay where they learn how to use fact-based evidence to back up their claim. We should be finished by the end of this week.
40 Book Challenge: Students are still working towards their goals in reading. I’m trying to get students to reflect on just the last quarter of reading. They tend to look at their whole reading career instead of the past eight weeks.
In math students will be finishing or taking their Delta Math Screener which will give them some new options of Math Fact Practice.
I have been individualizing my math unit of study this year. This makes for smaller lessons and more time I can spend with students one on one. I also feel like I can meet them more at their level since math can be so personal.
The 6th graders will be reviewing for a unit test for Fractions and Decimals.
In History the 4th and 5th graders have been working on the causes that lead up to the Revolutionary War. Each student will be researching this week a specific cause and reporting back to the group.
In science the 4th and 5th graders have been working on our energy unit of electricity. They built flashlights last week and will be reading about how the human population has affected electricity pollution.
Hopefully we will have tea shop this week. I do have about 12 mugs, but students are welcome to bring in their own.
Thank-you for taking the time to read our weekly update. If you have any further questions please feel free to ask. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents,
Snow!Snow!Snow! Finally! Snow came at the perfect time with camp right around the corner. Camp is about two weeks away. Below are some important reminders to talk about with your child.
- We leave for camp on Feb. 1st at 10:00. Some things to remember about packing:
- Kids have to carry their own gear. Be careful not to over pack. If you're using a plastic bag for some portion of the packing, consider throwing in an extra for on the way back.
- NO PHONES or other electronics please, even for the bus ride. If you have concerns about being able to get ahold of your child, let me know and we can work something out.
- Camp provides all of the food they'll need, including snacks. Please don't send any food, including candy or gum. This is important to protect wildlife from us and us from wildlife. If you have concerns about the food, please reach out to me ASAP.
- Kids have to carry their own gear. Be careful not to over pack. If you're using a plastic bag for some portion of the packing, consider throwing in an extra for on the way back.
The Boy Cabin
The Girl Cabin
Wednesday Night: Joe Puplis and Kurt Offringa
Wednesday Night: Theresa Skipp and Jenny Barecki
Thursday Night: Joe Puplis and Tom Hale
Thursday Night: Theresa Skipp and Ellen Anderson
Attention Chaperones!! Please fill out this release form that Camp Henry sent me by the end of the day Monday. Sorry for the short notice, but it was just sent to me. Here’s the link, Camp Henry Release Form
Candy Bars to sell: We still have candy bars available to sell. If you are interested, just have your child ask for a permission slip and I can send it home with them. You can sell as many boxes as you want.
Week in review and a look ahead:
In Language the 4th/ 5th graders have been working on Summarizing fictional texts. This week the 4th graders will be focussing on Nouns using IXL. The 5th graders will be focusing on Sentences, fragments, and run on sentences using IXL. The 6th graders will be working on punctuation.
4th Graders will be finishing up their book club before we head to camp. We have been reading an Informational Text together about The Sioux Indians. The 5th graders will be starting their book club this week. What is special about this book is that we get to meet the author. Please click on this link to learn more. One Book, One City for Kids
The 6ths graders finished Journey to the Center of the Earth and took a quiz over the book.
Last week the 4th/5th graders had word analysis so this week they will have a spelling test this Friday based on the words.
The 6th Graders will be finishing up their Travel Bags and getting ready to present the following week. We dyed paper this past week to make our travel journals look more authentic.
In writing everyone is working on writing an essay where students decide if Christopher Columbus is an Explorer or an Exploiter. This is an essay where they learn how to use fact-based evidence to back up their claim. We should be finished by the end of this week.
40 Book Challenge: Students are still working towards their goals in reading. I’m trying to get students to reflect on just the last quarter of reading. They tend to look at their whole reading career instead of the past eight weeks.
In math students will be finishing or taking their Delta Math Screener which will give them some new options of Math Fact Practice.
I have been individualizing my math unit of study this year. This makes for smaller lessons and more time I can spend with students one on one. I also feel like I can meet them more at their level since math can be so personal.
The 6th graders will be reviewing for a unit test for Fractions and Decimals.
In History the 4th and 5th graders have been working on the causes that lead up to the Revolutionary War. Each student will be researching this week a specific cause and reporting back to the group.
In science the 4th and 5th graders have been working on our energy unit of electricity. They built flashlights last week and will be reading about how the human population has affected electricity pollution.
Hopefully we will have tea shop this week. I do have about 12 mugs, but students are welcome to bring in their own.
Thank-you for taking the time to read our weekly update. If you have any further questions please feel free to ask. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, January 8th, 2023
Dear Parents,
Happy New Year and welcome back to the swing of things. I hope you all enjoyed time with your families over break! Also, a big shout out to all who chaperoned our field trips in December. We couldn’t have done it without you! We really appreciate your patience and kindness with the students.
Our Secret Santa week was very successful! I enjoyed seeing these little acts of kindness and generosity all week. Also, thank-you for all the wonderful gifts I received! My heart was definitely filled with joy!
Camp is just under a month away. If you are needing extra copies of the permission slips just let me know. If you have any questions about camp, also just let me know. I have been going to camp with students for over 15 years so there is no silly question in my books. First, I want to apologize if you told me, you could spend the night at camp because I forgot. If you have told me, please message me. I need two dads for both nights and one mom for both nights. If you can just do one night that is fine. Parents are just needed to spend the night and they come after 6:00 pm and can leave after 8:00 am.
Tuesday is our PE day. If you could help remind your child to have tennis shoes that would be great!
Candy Bars to sell: We still have candy bars available to sell. If you are interested, just have your child ask for a permission slip and I can send it home with them.
We have map testing the week of the 16th. We will be testing the 18th and 19th from 2:00-4:00 pm. It's a good reminder for students to get plenty or sleep in order to be good and ready for those days. Reminder that we also have Monday, January 16th off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Thank-you for taking the time to read our weekly update. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents,
Happy New Year and welcome back to the swing of things. I hope you all enjoyed time with your families over break! Also, a big shout out to all who chaperoned our field trips in December. We couldn’t have done it without you! We really appreciate your patience and kindness with the students.
Our Secret Santa week was very successful! I enjoyed seeing these little acts of kindness and generosity all week. Also, thank-you for all the wonderful gifts I received! My heart was definitely filled with joy!
Camp is just under a month away. If you are needing extra copies of the permission slips just let me know. If you have any questions about camp, also just let me know. I have been going to camp with students for over 15 years so there is no silly question in my books. First, I want to apologize if you told me, you could spend the night at camp because I forgot. If you have told me, please message me. I need two dads for both nights and one mom for both nights. If you can just do one night that is fine. Parents are just needed to spend the night and they come after 6:00 pm and can leave after 8:00 am.
Tuesday is our PE day. If you could help remind your child to have tennis shoes that would be great!
Candy Bars to sell: We still have candy bars available to sell. If you are interested, just have your child ask for a permission slip and I can send it home with them.
We have map testing the week of the 16th. We will be testing the 18th and 19th from 2:00-4:00 pm. It's a good reminder for students to get plenty or sleep in order to be good and ready for those days. Reminder that we also have Monday, January 16th off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Thank-you for taking the time to read our weekly update. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, December 4th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to Sunday! Below you will find a list of events coming up over the next two weeks.
Wish List:
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to Sunday! Below you will find a list of events coming up over the next two weeks.
- Tuesday December 6th E2 Fun Day in the afternoon.
- Wednesday December 7th ⅘ Winter Concert at 5:30. Students report to the music room at 5:15.
- Friday December 9th Field Trip Holiday Traditions at Frederik Meijer Gardens. Please let me know if you would like to chaperone. The cost for a chaperone is $5.00.
- Wednesday December 14th 6th Band Concert at City High. Students report at 5:30. Concert starts at 6:00 pm.
- Friday December 16th Ice Skating at Griff's Icehouse
- Monday-Friday the 12-16th Secret Santa. Click here for the note. Secret Santa
Wish List:
- Sugar cubes
- Used Games like: Clue, Sorry, Monopoly, The Game of Life, etc..
Sunday, November 20th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday with a little bit of snow!!
It was great to see everyone for conferences!
Monday November 21st marks the first day at Zoo Lab. Field trip permission slips went home this past week. If you are able to chaperone, click here to sign up. North Park Field Trips: Zoo Lab Week (signupgenius.com) Please make sure you have your child dress in winter gear. We will be outside most of the day. Also, a water bottle and an extra snack.
Camp is Coming!
Please look for the field trip note to Frederik Meijer Gardens on Monday. We will be experiencing the Holidays Around the World. Yes, we take chaperones. We will be going Friday, December 9th from 9:45-11:45 pm.
Holiday House forms went home this past week.
6th graders for language have started their Explorer Project. Click here for the details and dates of assignments. EXPLORER PROJECT They are excited and motivated for this work! I can’t wait to see the final product. They might need to make a trip to their local library for additional resources. They might need to work on this over Thanksgiving Break.
Thank-you for your beautiful children and let’s have a super week!
Wish list:
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday with a little bit of snow!!
It was great to see everyone for conferences!
Monday November 21st marks the first day at Zoo Lab. Field trip permission slips went home this past week. If you are able to chaperone, click here to sign up. North Park Field Trips: Zoo Lab Week (signupgenius.com) Please make sure you have your child dress in winter gear. We will be outside most of the day. Also, a water bottle and an extra snack.
Camp is Coming!
- On Thursday, Dec. 1 is our camp meeting for parents. I will be held at school in the gym at 6:30 pm. We’ll have camp and school staff there to answer all your questions. We will also be giving out the permission slip packets at that time. Right now, the cost for camp is $124.00, but we are hoping to sell enough wreaths and poinsettias, along with the mums we already sold, to bring the cost down to $ 100.00.
- Camp is February 1-3 at Camp Henry in Newaygo. We will be looking for chaperones for the overnight hours only. We'll need one mom and two dads each night. You wouldn't have to be there until 6:00 or even 6:30; we can certainly be flexible about the time
- We would also like to offer a candy bar sale if you wanted to do that to raise money for your individual child. We will have those boxes available at the camp meeting on Dec. 1.
Please look for the field trip note to Frederik Meijer Gardens on Monday. We will be experiencing the Holidays Around the World. Yes, we take chaperones. We will be going Friday, December 9th from 9:45-11:45 pm.
Holiday House forms went home this past week.
6th graders for language have started their Explorer Project. Click here for the details and dates of assignments. EXPLORER PROJECT They are excited and motivated for this work! I can’t wait to see the final product. They might need to make a trip to their local library for additional resources. They might need to work on this over Thanksgiving Break.
Thank-you for your beautiful children and let’s have a super week!
Wish list:
- Sugar cubes
- Used Games like: Clue, Sorry, Monopoly, The Game of Life, etc...
Sunday, November 13th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday with a little bit of snow!!
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone else in person at conferences this week Tuesday and Thursday. Click here to sign up. North Park Montessori: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com) Conferences are held November 15th, and 17th.
Monday November 21st marks the first day at Zoo Lab. Field trip permission slips went home this past week. If you are able to chaperone, click here to sign up. North Park Field Trips: Zoo Lab Week (signupgenius.com)
Camp is Coming!
Holiday House forms went home this past week.
In Language 4th/5th graders just wrapped up their week of spelling. This week they will have a word analysis practice.
Another part of our language curriculum is word study and grammar. Right now the 5th graders are working on word study and the 4th graders are working on grammar. I’ve been able to have students choose which word study and grammar piece they would like to work on. I feel like this is giving them a sense of freedom and independence. They are required to complete at least two activities a week in their areas they choose.
The third part of our language area is the reader's response. This is where your child writes a reflective paragraph or they make a diagram reflecting on their own comprehension of the book they are currently reading for their 40 book challenge. This week students will be reflecting on their own personal reading goals and how they did with their first quarter reading.
The fourth part of our language area is writing. Students finished writing narrative essays for the first quarter. Now they are writing about how characters can change in a story. This coming week they will practice letter writing.
The fifth part of language is book club. Right now just 5th graders are in the book club. We are reading Night of the Spadefoot Toads. For book club, we meet a couple times a week. We read most of the required reading together. They usually will have a chapter or two to read independently. They then go to Seesaw to answer questions about the reading. I’ve talked a lot with the fifth graders about possibly reading at home. They also have access to listen to the story online through clever. This week the 6th and 4th graders will start a book club as well. I read the whole book with the fourth graders together. The 6th graders will be reading their book mostly on their own. 6th graders will also have access to the audible through clever. Both grade levels will have comprehension questions to answer about their reading. The 4th graders' questions will be on Seesaw. The 6th graders will be in a packet that consists of vocabulary and questions.
Onto math: The 4th and 5th graders continue to work through a wide range of math skills. In math students can also choose between grade level math skills to work on. The requirement consists of two cards a day which is about 15-20 problems. The other math requirement for all grade levels is math fact practice (MFP). Students took a screener which indicated to me what math review they needed. This is how MFP is created. They are required to complete five problems a day. MFP is due on Friday and math cards are due at the end of each day.
For 6th grade, we used the Go Math Curriculum and right now we are dividing mixed numbers. We just finished working together on story problems while using Montessori material to check our work. It is possible that 6th graders have math homework because of band, they don’t have as much class time to finish their work.
6th graders for language have started their Explorer Project. Click here for the details and dates of assignments. EXPLORER PROJECT They are excited and motivated for this work! I can’t wait to see the final product. They might need to make a trip to their local library for additional resources.
In social studies the 6th graders are learning about the Five Themes of Geography. This is a large Seesaw work.
In Science for the 4th/5th graders, we will be starting our energy unit tomorrow. This past week students built a ride for an amusement park. Students were trying to build the most amazing roller coaster ride.
Okay, I know this was long and maybe a two coffee cupper, but I wanted to take the time to explain our week. Every beginning of the week we go through and write the assignment page together on our work plan. Our work plan is used like a planner on one side with assignments written on the other side. This is where time management and organization comes into play. This is the essence of upper elementary. Kids will fail, but it always leads to success because your children have the desire to improve. It is so motivating and real. This is how kids are best prepared for middle school.
Thank-you for your beautiful children and let’s have a super week!
Wish list:
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday with a little bit of snow!!
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone else in person at conferences this week Tuesday and Thursday. Click here to sign up. North Park Montessori: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com) Conferences are held November 15th, and 17th.
Monday November 21st marks the first day at Zoo Lab. Field trip permission slips went home this past week. If you are able to chaperone, click here to sign up. North Park Field Trips: Zoo Lab Week (signupgenius.com)
Camp is Coming!
- On Thursday, Dec. 1 is our camp meeting for parents. I will be held at school in the gym at 6:30 pm. We’ll have camp and school staff there to answer all your questions. We will also be giving out the permission slip packets at that time. Right now the cost for camp is $124.00, but we are hoping to sell enough wreaths and poinsettias, along with the mums we already sold, to bring the cost down to $ 100.00.
- Camp is February 1-3 at Camp Henry in Newaygo. We will be looking for chaperones for the overnight hours only. We'll need one mom and two dads each night. You wouldn't have to be there until 6:00 or even 6:30; we can certainly be flexible about the time
- We would also like to offer a candy bar sale if you wanted to do that to raise money for your individual child. We will have those boxes available at the camp meeting on Dec. 1.
Holiday House forms went home this past week.
In Language 4th/5th graders just wrapped up their week of spelling. This week they will have a word analysis practice.
Another part of our language curriculum is word study and grammar. Right now the 5th graders are working on word study and the 4th graders are working on grammar. I’ve been able to have students choose which word study and grammar piece they would like to work on. I feel like this is giving them a sense of freedom and independence. They are required to complete at least two activities a week in their areas they choose.
The third part of our language area is the reader's response. This is where your child writes a reflective paragraph or they make a diagram reflecting on their own comprehension of the book they are currently reading for their 40 book challenge. This week students will be reflecting on their own personal reading goals and how they did with their first quarter reading.
The fourth part of our language area is writing. Students finished writing narrative essays for the first quarter. Now they are writing about how characters can change in a story. This coming week they will practice letter writing.
The fifth part of language is book club. Right now just 5th graders are in the book club. We are reading Night of the Spadefoot Toads. For book club, we meet a couple times a week. We read most of the required reading together. They usually will have a chapter or two to read independently. They then go to Seesaw to answer questions about the reading. I’ve talked a lot with the fifth graders about possibly reading at home. They also have access to listen to the story online through clever. This week the 6th and 4th graders will start a book club as well. I read the whole book with the fourth graders together. The 6th graders will be reading their book mostly on their own. 6th graders will also have access to the audible through clever. Both grade levels will have comprehension questions to answer about their reading. The 4th graders' questions will be on Seesaw. The 6th graders will be in a packet that consists of vocabulary and questions.
Onto math: The 4th and 5th graders continue to work through a wide range of math skills. In math students can also choose between grade level math skills to work on. The requirement consists of two cards a day which is about 15-20 problems. The other math requirement for all grade levels is math fact practice (MFP). Students took a screener which indicated to me what math review they needed. This is how MFP is created. They are required to complete five problems a day. MFP is due on Friday and math cards are due at the end of each day.
For 6th grade, we used the Go Math Curriculum and right now we are dividing mixed numbers. We just finished working together on story problems while using Montessori material to check our work. It is possible that 6th graders have math homework because of band, they don’t have as much class time to finish their work.
6th graders for language have started their Explorer Project. Click here for the details and dates of assignments. EXPLORER PROJECT They are excited and motivated for this work! I can’t wait to see the final product. They might need to make a trip to their local library for additional resources.
In social studies the 6th graders are learning about the Five Themes of Geography. This is a large Seesaw work.
In Science for the 4th/5th graders, we will be starting our energy unit tomorrow. This past week students built a ride for an amusement park. Students were trying to build the most amazing roller coaster ride.
Okay, I know this was long and maybe a two coffee cupper, but I wanted to take the time to explain our week. Every beginning of the week we go through and write the assignment page together on our work plan. Our work plan is used like a planner on one side with assignments written on the other side. This is where time management and organization comes into play. This is the essence of upper elementary. Kids will fail, but it always leads to success because your children have the desire to improve. It is so motivating and real. This is how kids are best prepared for middle school.
Thank-you for your beautiful children and let’s have a super week!
Wish list:
- Gum
- Sugar cubes
Sunday, November 6th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to November! No school Tuesday, November 8th!
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in person at conferences. Click here to sign up. North Park Montessori: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com) Conferences are held November 9th, 15th, and 17th.
Monday November 21st marks the first day at Zoo Lab. Field trip permission slips went home this past week. If you are able to chaperone, click here to sign up. North Park Field Trips: Zoo Lab Week (signupgenius.com)
Camp is Coming!
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to get through!! Lots of fun events are happening! Now onto the classroom.
In Language 4th/5th graders just wrapped up their week of word analysis. This week they will have a spelling test on those words. During the work cycle they are required to choose at least three different ways to practice their spelling words. One that seems really popular is writing their words six times each. Their spelling test will be on Friday.
Another part of our language curriculum is word study and grammar. Right now the 5th graders are working on word study and the 4th graders are working on grammar. I’ve been able to have students choose which word study and grammar piece they would like to work on. I feel like this is giving them a sense of freedom and independence. They are required to complete at least two activities a week in their areas they choose.
The third part of our language area is the reader's response. This is where your child writes a reflective paragraph or they make a diagram reflecting on their own comprehension of the book they are currently reading for their 40 book challenge. This week students will be reflecting on their own personal reading goals and how they did with their first quarter reading.
The fourth part of our language area is writing. Students finished writing narrative essays for the first quarter. Now they are writing about how characters can change in a story. Also, each week for writing they write a reflection of different areas of their work. I’m hoping students start to dig a little deeper into their areas of work now.
The fifth part of language is book club. Right now just 5th graders are in the book club. We are reading Night of the Spadefoot Toads. For book club, we meet a couple times a week. We read most of the required reading together. They usually will have a chapter or two to read independently. They then go to Seesaw to answer questions about the reading. I’ve talked a lot with the fifth graders about possibly reading at home. They also have access to listen to the story online through clever. This week the 6th and 4th graders will start a book club as well. I read the whole book with the fourth graders together. The 6th graders will be reading their book mostly on their own. 6th graders will also have access to the audible through clever. Both grade levels will have comprehension questions to answer about their reading. The 4th graders' questions will be on Seesaw. The 6th graders will be in a packet that consists of vocabulary and questions.
Onto math: The 4th and 5th graders continue to work through a wide range of math skills. In math students can also choose between grade level math skills to work on. The requirement consists of two cards a day which is about 15-20 problems. The other math requirement for all grade levels is math fact practice (MFP). Students took a screener which indicated to me what math review they needed. This is how MFP is created. They are required to complete five problems a day. MFP is due on Friday and math cards are due at the end of each day.
For 6th grade, we used the Go Math Curriculum and right now we are dividing fractions. We just finished working together on story problems while using Montessori material to check our work. It is possible that 6th graders have math homework because of band, they don’t have as much class time to finish their work.
6th graders for language have started their Explorer Project. Click here for the details and dates of assignments. EXPLORER PROJECT They are excited and motivated for this work! I can’t wait to see the final product. They might need to make a trip to their local library for additional resources.
In social studies the 6th graders are learning about the Five Themes of Geography. This is a large Seesaw work.
In Science for the 4th/5th graders, we will be starting our energy unit tomorrow. This will consist of hands-on activities and reading.
Okay, I know this was long and maybe a two coffee cupper, but I wanted to take the time to explain our week. Every beginning of the week we go through and write the assignment page together on our work plan. Our work plan is used like a planner on one side with assignments written on the other side. This is where time management and organization comes into play. This is the essence of upper elementary. Kids will fail, but it always leads to success because your children have the desire to improve. It is so motivating and real. This is how kids are best prepared for middle school.
Thank-you for your beautiful children and let’s have a super week!
Wish list:
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to November! No school Tuesday, November 8th!
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in person at conferences. Click here to sign up. North Park Montessori: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com) Conferences are held November 9th, 15th, and 17th.
Monday November 21st marks the first day at Zoo Lab. Field trip permission slips went home this past week. If you are able to chaperone, click here to sign up. North Park Field Trips: Zoo Lab Week (signupgenius.com)
Camp is Coming!
- On Thursday, Dec. 1 is our camp meeting for parents. I will be held at school in the gym. We’ll have camp and school staff there to answer all your questions. We will also be giving out the permission slip packets at that time. Right now the cost for camp is $124.00, but we are hoping to sell enough wreaths and poinsettias, along with the mums we already sold, to bring the cost down to $ 100.00.
- Camp is February 1-3 at Camp Henry in Newaygo. We will be looking for chaperones for the overnight hours only. We'll need one mom and two dads each night. You wouldn't have to be there until 6:00 or even 6:30; we can certainly be flexible about the time
- We would also like to offer a candy bar sale if you wanted to do that to raise money for your individual child. We will have those boxes available at the camp meeting on Dec. 1.
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to get through!! Lots of fun events are happening! Now onto the classroom.
In Language 4th/5th graders just wrapped up their week of word analysis. This week they will have a spelling test on those words. During the work cycle they are required to choose at least three different ways to practice their spelling words. One that seems really popular is writing their words six times each. Their spelling test will be on Friday.
Another part of our language curriculum is word study and grammar. Right now the 5th graders are working on word study and the 4th graders are working on grammar. I’ve been able to have students choose which word study and grammar piece they would like to work on. I feel like this is giving them a sense of freedom and independence. They are required to complete at least two activities a week in their areas they choose.
The third part of our language area is the reader's response. This is where your child writes a reflective paragraph or they make a diagram reflecting on their own comprehension of the book they are currently reading for their 40 book challenge. This week students will be reflecting on their own personal reading goals and how they did with their first quarter reading.
The fourth part of our language area is writing. Students finished writing narrative essays for the first quarter. Now they are writing about how characters can change in a story. Also, each week for writing they write a reflection of different areas of their work. I’m hoping students start to dig a little deeper into their areas of work now.
The fifth part of language is book club. Right now just 5th graders are in the book club. We are reading Night of the Spadefoot Toads. For book club, we meet a couple times a week. We read most of the required reading together. They usually will have a chapter or two to read independently. They then go to Seesaw to answer questions about the reading. I’ve talked a lot with the fifth graders about possibly reading at home. They also have access to listen to the story online through clever. This week the 6th and 4th graders will start a book club as well. I read the whole book with the fourth graders together. The 6th graders will be reading their book mostly on their own. 6th graders will also have access to the audible through clever. Both grade levels will have comprehension questions to answer about their reading. The 4th graders' questions will be on Seesaw. The 6th graders will be in a packet that consists of vocabulary and questions.
Onto math: The 4th and 5th graders continue to work through a wide range of math skills. In math students can also choose between grade level math skills to work on. The requirement consists of two cards a day which is about 15-20 problems. The other math requirement for all grade levels is math fact practice (MFP). Students took a screener which indicated to me what math review they needed. This is how MFP is created. They are required to complete five problems a day. MFP is due on Friday and math cards are due at the end of each day.
For 6th grade, we used the Go Math Curriculum and right now we are dividing fractions. We just finished working together on story problems while using Montessori material to check our work. It is possible that 6th graders have math homework because of band, they don’t have as much class time to finish their work.
6th graders for language have started their Explorer Project. Click here for the details and dates of assignments. EXPLORER PROJECT They are excited and motivated for this work! I can’t wait to see the final product. They might need to make a trip to their local library for additional resources.
In social studies the 6th graders are learning about the Five Themes of Geography. This is a large Seesaw work.
In Science for the 4th/5th graders, we will be starting our energy unit tomorrow. This will consist of hands-on activities and reading.
Okay, I know this was long and maybe a two coffee cupper, but I wanted to take the time to explain our week. Every beginning of the week we go through and write the assignment page together on our work plan. Our work plan is used like a planner on one side with assignments written on the other side. This is where time management and organization comes into play. This is the essence of upper elementary. Kids will fail, but it always leads to success because your children have the desire to improve. It is so motivating and real. This is how kids are best prepared for middle school.
Thank-you for your beautiful children and let’s have a super week!
Wish list:
- Glue gun and glue sticks
- Gum
- Sugar cubes
Sunday October 30th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday and I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. There are two really big things happening in November. See below to find out.
Conferences are right around the corner. You can sign up this year by clicking on this link https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c094facaf29a2f5c25-mrs9. Conferences are in person this year! This is the first time since 2019!! Conferences are held in the classroom for 15 minutes. I’m excited to see all of you and talk about the growth of your child.
Another pretty big event taking place in November is our first day trip to John Ball Zoo. We will be going there Monday November 21st. Please look for field trip information to be going out this week. We are also looking for chaperones for this day. I will send you a link this week to sign up if you would like to chaperone.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns. Let’s have a super week!
Wish List: Pencils
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday and I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. There are two really big things happening in November. See below to find out.
Conferences are right around the corner. You can sign up this year by clicking on this link https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c094facaf29a2f5c25-mrs9. Conferences are in person this year! This is the first time since 2019!! Conferences are held in the classroom for 15 minutes. I’m excited to see all of you and talk about the growth of your child.
Another pretty big event taking place in November is our first day trip to John Ball Zoo. We will be going there Monday November 21st. Please look for field trip information to be going out this week. We are also looking for chaperones for this day. I will send you a link this week to sign up if you would like to chaperone.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns. Let’s have a super week!
Wish List: Pencils
Sunday, October 10th, 2022
Dear parents and students,
I hope your child enjoyed spirit week! I know I did!
During the next couple weeks in Science we will be investigating local Michigan Trees. With that said, I am planning on walking with Students to Wellerwood on Tuesday and Friday afternoon to collect leaf samples. We plan on leaving on our walk around 2:50 and returning around 3:50. Students are welcome to collect leaf samples around their neighborhood too. Placing individual leaves in plastic baggies seems to keep them more fresh. We didn’t get a chance last week to walk to Wellerwood. The plan has changed to walking this week. Students want to collect 10-25 different leaf species. I have reminded them that they can collect at home.
Thank-you and have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear parents and students,
I hope your child enjoyed spirit week! I know I did!
During the next couple weeks in Science we will be investigating local Michigan Trees. With that said, I am planning on walking with Students to Wellerwood on Tuesday and Friday afternoon to collect leaf samples. We plan on leaving on our walk around 2:50 and returning around 3:50. Students are welcome to collect leaf samples around their neighborhood too. Placing individual leaves in plastic baggies seems to keep them more fresh. We didn’t get a chance last week to walk to Wellerwood. The plan has changed to walking this week. Students want to collect 10-25 different leaf species. I have reminded them that they can collect at home.
Thank-you and have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, October 2nd, 2022
Dear parents and students,
Happy weekend! First of all, a huge thank you goes out to all the chaperones for ArtPrize. Having all the chaperones that we had made it much easier to split up into smaller groups.
Also the 6th grade leadership retreat was unbelievable and I am not just saying that. I saw our 6th graders really stand out as great leaders. I also saw their willingness to let other people lead. I am so happy to have this new field trip for 6th graders.
This week is spirit week:
Friday is our annual school Harvest Festival from 5-7pm. This is a great money maker and community builder for our school. We would love to see you there.
During the next couple weeks in Science we will be investigating local Michigan Trees. With that said, I am planning on walking with Students to Wellerwood on Tuesday and Friday afternoon to collect leaf samples. We plan on leaving on our walk around 2:50 and returning around 3:50. Students are welcome to collect leaf samples around their neighborhood too. Placing individual leaves in plastic baggies seems to keep them more fresh.
Thank-you and have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear parents and students,
Happy weekend! First of all, a huge thank you goes out to all the chaperones for ArtPrize. Having all the chaperones that we had made it much easier to split up into smaller groups.
Also the 6th grade leadership retreat was unbelievable and I am not just saying that. I saw our 6th graders really stand out as great leaders. I also saw their willingness to let other people lead. I am so happy to have this new field trip for 6th graders.
This week is spirit week:
- Monday- Pajama day
- Tuesday-Hat day
- Wednesday-Dress like a Teacher/Principal
- Thursday-Character T-shirt
- Friday-Sports day
Friday is our annual school Harvest Festival from 5-7pm. This is a great money maker and community builder for our school. We would love to see you there.
During the next couple weeks in Science we will be investigating local Michigan Trees. With that said, I am planning on walking with Students to Wellerwood on Tuesday and Friday afternoon to collect leaf samples. We plan on leaving on our walk around 2:50 and returning around 3:50. Students are welcome to collect leaf samples around their neighborhood too. Placing individual leaves in plastic baggies seems to keep them more fresh.
Thank-you and have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, September 25th, 2022
Dear parents and students,
Well, welcome to Fall! I always love the change in seasons! There are just a couple things this week.
First, a reminder for the 6th graders to turn in your leadership field trip permission slip. We go this Wednesday.
Second, a reminder to all students to turn in their ArtPrize permission slip. We go this Thursday. Dress warm and wear comfortable walking shoes. This is the coolest field trip because the 6th graders plan the ArtPrize route downtown! Also, remember to bring a sack lunch if you didn’t order a school sack lunch.
We ended our week with our 1st great lesson presentations. We had everything from rocks to chemical reactions. It was really amazing to see the effort students put into researching something they were excited about. We will be moving onto the 3rd great lesson this week with the coming of humans.
During the next couple weeks in Science we will be investigating local Michigan Trees. With that said, I am planning on walking with students to Wellerwood on Friday afternoon to collect leaf samples. We plan on leaving on our walk around 2:50 and returning around 3:50. Students are welcome to collect leaf samples around their neighborhood too. Placing individual leaves in plastic baggies seems to keep them more fresh.
Thank-you and have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear parents and students,
Well, welcome to Fall! I always love the change in seasons! There are just a couple things this week.
First, a reminder for the 6th graders to turn in your leadership field trip permission slip. We go this Wednesday.
Second, a reminder to all students to turn in their ArtPrize permission slip. We go this Thursday. Dress warm and wear comfortable walking shoes. This is the coolest field trip because the 6th graders plan the ArtPrize route downtown! Also, remember to bring a sack lunch if you didn’t order a school sack lunch.
We ended our week with our 1st great lesson presentations. We had everything from rocks to chemical reactions. It was really amazing to see the effort students put into researching something they were excited about. We will be moving onto the 3rd great lesson this week with the coming of humans.
During the next couple weeks in Science we will be investigating local Michigan Trees. With that said, I am planning on walking with students to Wellerwood on Friday afternoon to collect leaf samples. We plan on leaving on our walk around 2:50 and returning around 3:50. Students are welcome to collect leaf samples around their neighborhood too. Placing individual leaves in plastic baggies seems to keep them more fresh.
Thank-you and have a great week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, September 18th, 2022
Dear parents and students,
Happy Sunday! We survived our first full week! It was actually a great week!
You should have received a note from your child about our first field trip to Artprize. If you would like to chaperone and your volunteer badge is up to date, please message me. We are going Thursday, September 29th.
I would like to share with you what we do for math in the classroom. This is where you might hear your children talk about due dates. We have four areas of math we work on (only three right now). The first area is called Math Fact Practice (MFP). MFP is a daily 5 problem practice. For a total of 25 problems a week. Students had the choice of picking between the four operations. This has been great to see them choose areas that are hard for them.
The second area is called the math unit of study. You might hear your child talk about working on at least two cards a day. When they complete a level in the cards, they take a 10 problem quiz for mastery. Once they master a level, they can choose a different area to work on. As for 6th graders, their math unit of study refers to their Go Math Books.
The next area is Math IXL. I have individualized their math skill plans on IXL to help improve their map scores. We are starting at about 30 minutes of IXL time per week right now. The plan is to increase the time as we become more familiar with IXL.
The fourth area of math is our word problems. Students will be choosing at least five word problems per week. These word problems line up with their MFP work. That way they are practicing the same skill more than once.
I believe with consistency and accountability, students will become better mathematicians. I know their confidence in math will grow!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear parents and students,
Happy Sunday! We survived our first full week! It was actually a great week!
You should have received a note from your child about our first field trip to Artprize. If you would like to chaperone and your volunteer badge is up to date, please message me. We are going Thursday, September 29th.
I would like to share with you what we do for math in the classroom. This is where you might hear your children talk about due dates. We have four areas of math we work on (only three right now). The first area is called Math Fact Practice (MFP). MFP is a daily 5 problem practice. For a total of 25 problems a week. Students had the choice of picking between the four operations. This has been great to see them choose areas that are hard for them.
The second area is called the math unit of study. You might hear your child talk about working on at least two cards a day. When they complete a level in the cards, they take a 10 problem quiz for mastery. Once they master a level, they can choose a different area to work on. As for 6th graders, their math unit of study refers to their Go Math Books.
The next area is Math IXL. I have individualized their math skill plans on IXL to help improve their map scores. We are starting at about 30 minutes of IXL time per week right now. The plan is to increase the time as we become more familiar with IXL.
The fourth area of math is our word problems. Students will be choosing at least five word problems per week. These word problems line up with their MFP work. That way they are practicing the same skill more than once.
I believe with consistency and accountability, students will become better mathematicians. I know their confidence in math will grow!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, September 11th, 2022
Dear parents and students,
Well, that was the last of the short weeks. Now for a full week of school!
First, breaking news for 6th Graders! We have an upcoming leadership field trip this Thursday at Grand Rapids University. We are excited for this opportunity to work with all sixth graders on their leadership skills. The paperwork will go home tomorrow. There is a cost for this field trip.
This past week students took their fall Map reading and math. Now for something cool, we are able to individualize students reading and math learning with IXL. We work on IXL in the classroom for about 30 minutes on Friday. We continued with our 40 book challenge reading this week. The 40 book challenge is our reading curriculum per say. Students get to choose from a variety of genres to read throughout the year. Here is the link to the document in case they want one for home. 40 Book Challenge 4th and 5th grade . If reading isn’t something your child enjoys, I would just start with a conversation about how many pages they are reading at school. I do give them about 25 minutes to read at school every morning. However, we are all reading at different paces and levels. I’ve been encouraging students to start keeping track of the amount of pages they read during school. This will kind of put reading into a focus more for home. I check in with students about once a week to see how their reading is going. Another part of our daily routines is This week students work diligently on their Peaceful Cities. We started presenting and will finish up this week.
Over the past few weeks, we have collaborated with writing a classroom constitution. We are excited to finish this up this week and hang it in our classroom.
Now time to share the most awesome moment of the week! The high fives go to all the students working in 6th grade Go Math. They are coming to lessons ready to learn and work hard. What a motivating example to have set in the room! The feeling of hard work is definitely set by the students!
So we still do not have an Art teacher. I was wondering if any parent had an unique artistic activity you wanted to share with students on Friday at 12:50, please reach out to me and we can plan something.
There is so much wonderful energy with our class! The compassion and kindness melts my heart! I'm looking forward to the rest of the year.
Please reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear parents and students,
Well, that was the last of the short weeks. Now for a full week of school!
First, breaking news for 6th Graders! We have an upcoming leadership field trip this Thursday at Grand Rapids University. We are excited for this opportunity to work with all sixth graders on their leadership skills. The paperwork will go home tomorrow. There is a cost for this field trip.
This past week students took their fall Map reading and math. Now for something cool, we are able to individualize students reading and math learning with IXL. We work on IXL in the classroom for about 30 minutes on Friday. We continued with our 40 book challenge reading this week. The 40 book challenge is our reading curriculum per say. Students get to choose from a variety of genres to read throughout the year. Here is the link to the document in case they want one for home. 40 Book Challenge 4th and 5th grade . If reading isn’t something your child enjoys, I would just start with a conversation about how many pages they are reading at school. I do give them about 25 minutes to read at school every morning. However, we are all reading at different paces and levels. I’ve been encouraging students to start keeping track of the amount of pages they read during school. This will kind of put reading into a focus more for home. I check in with students about once a week to see how their reading is going. Another part of our daily routines is This week students work diligently on their Peaceful Cities. We started presenting and will finish up this week.
Over the past few weeks, we have collaborated with writing a classroom constitution. We are excited to finish this up this week and hang it in our classroom.
Now time to share the most awesome moment of the week! The high fives go to all the students working in 6th grade Go Math. They are coming to lessons ready to learn and work hard. What a motivating example to have set in the room! The feeling of hard work is definitely set by the students!
So we still do not have an Art teacher. I was wondering if any parent had an unique artistic activity you wanted to share with students on Friday at 12:50, please reach out to me and we can plan something.
There is so much wonderful energy with our class! The compassion and kindness melts my heart! I'm looking forward to the rest of the year.
Please reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Monday, September 5th, 2022
Dear parents and students,
I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend! We definitely have enjoyed hanging out with our family and friends.
Last week, we slowly started getting used to our weekly routines. I introduced 4th and 5th grade students to spelling and the different ways they can practice their words. 4th and 5th graders choose at least three different ways to practice their spelling words during the work cycle. We had a spelling test on Thursday. Then this coming week the 4th/5th graders will be working on vocabulary with those same spelling words. The 6th graders are working on prefixes and their meanings. Another big lesson students received this week was the 40 book challenge lesson. The 40 book challenge is our reading curriculum per say. Students get to choose from a variety of genres to read throughout the year. Here is the link to the document in case they want one for home. 40 Book Challenge 4th and 5th grade . If reading isn’t something your child enjoys, I would just start with a conversation about how many pages they are reading at school. I do give them about 25 minutes to read at school every morning. However, we are all reading at different paces and levels. I’ve been encouraging students to start keeping track of the amount of pages they read during school. This will kind of put reading into a focus more for home. I check in with students about once a week to see how their reading is going. We also started our reader’s response reflection. Students wrote about their summer reading and they set some goals for the first quarter.
Another part of our daily routines is Math Fact Practice (MFP). Students complete five problems per day on a previously mastered math skill.
This week students work diligently on their Peaceful Cities. We started presenting and will finish up this week.
Over the past two weeks, we have collaborated with writing a classroom constitution. We are excited to finish this up this week and hang it in our classroom.
Now time to share the most awesome moment of the week! The high fives go to all the students working in 6th grade Go Math. They are coming to lessons ready to learn and work hard. What a motivating example to have set in the room! The feeling of hard work is definitely set by the students!
This week students will be taking the MAP test. I don’t have the exact days and times, but I will let you know once I find out.
There is so much wonderful energy with our class! The compassion and kindness melts my heart! I'm looking forward to the rest of the year.
Please reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear parents and students,
I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend! We definitely have enjoyed hanging out with our family and friends.
Last week, we slowly started getting used to our weekly routines. I introduced 4th and 5th grade students to spelling and the different ways they can practice their words. 4th and 5th graders choose at least three different ways to practice their spelling words during the work cycle. We had a spelling test on Thursday. Then this coming week the 4th/5th graders will be working on vocabulary with those same spelling words. The 6th graders are working on prefixes and their meanings. Another big lesson students received this week was the 40 book challenge lesson. The 40 book challenge is our reading curriculum per say. Students get to choose from a variety of genres to read throughout the year. Here is the link to the document in case they want one for home. 40 Book Challenge 4th and 5th grade . If reading isn’t something your child enjoys, I would just start with a conversation about how many pages they are reading at school. I do give them about 25 minutes to read at school every morning. However, we are all reading at different paces and levels. I’ve been encouraging students to start keeping track of the amount of pages they read during school. This will kind of put reading into a focus more for home. I check in with students about once a week to see how their reading is going. We also started our reader’s response reflection. Students wrote about their summer reading and they set some goals for the first quarter.
Another part of our daily routines is Math Fact Practice (MFP). Students complete five problems per day on a previously mastered math skill.
This week students work diligently on their Peaceful Cities. We started presenting and will finish up this week.
Over the past two weeks, we have collaborated with writing a classroom constitution. We are excited to finish this up this week and hang it in our classroom.
Now time to share the most awesome moment of the week! The high fives go to all the students working in 6th grade Go Math. They are coming to lessons ready to learn and work hard. What a motivating example to have set in the room! The feeling of hard work is definitely set by the students!
This week students will be taking the MAP test. I don’t have the exact days and times, but I will let you know once I find out.
There is so much wonderful energy with our class! The compassion and kindness melts my heart! I'm looking forward to the rest of the year.
Please reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday August 28, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Well, I started off this week feeling really anxious and nervous. As the week progressed, nervousness turned into excitement. I can tell our community is going to be strong and full of curious hard workers.
We started off our week talking about what a Montessori environment looks and sounds like during the different work cycles. There are a few different types of work cycles. First, there is the silent individual work cycle (this is usually when I’m giving a lesson to ⅓ of the class). Second, there is a group work cycle (where students work together on the same work). Finally, there is the getting to know your classmates' work cycle. We have spent most of our time this week in the getting to know you work cycle.
During the week, we spent time talking about how to eat snacks and pick up after yourself (yes, this age group needs this). We’ve talked about what to get from our lockers each morning and afternoon. We organized almost all of our notebooks. We have reviewed PBIS (positive behavior in School).
We have started a couple of group projects. One is our classroom constitution. This is a list of principles we have collaborated with on how we want to be treated by one another. We will be signing the document this week and hang it for all to see. Our other project is our Peaceful Cities. Students chose partners to draw out a city of their dreams.
Some of the individual work the students have been working on is discovering their own learning style. I also have surveyed the students to see where they are with their multiplication and division facts. I call this Rocket Math.
In all we had a great first week and I’m looking forward to the second week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
Well, I started off this week feeling really anxious and nervous. As the week progressed, nervousness turned into excitement. I can tell our community is going to be strong and full of curious hard workers.
We started off our week talking about what a Montessori environment looks and sounds like during the different work cycles. There are a few different types of work cycles. First, there is the silent individual work cycle (this is usually when I’m giving a lesson to ⅓ of the class). Second, there is a group work cycle (where students work together on the same work). Finally, there is the getting to know your classmates' work cycle. We have spent most of our time this week in the getting to know you work cycle.
During the week, we spent time talking about how to eat snacks and pick up after yourself (yes, this age group needs this). We’ve talked about what to get from our lockers each morning and afternoon. We organized almost all of our notebooks. We have reviewed PBIS (positive behavior in School).
We have started a couple of group projects. One is our classroom constitution. This is a list of principles we have collaborated with on how we want to be treated by one another. We will be signing the document this week and hang it for all to see. Our other project is our Peaceful Cities. Students chose partners to draw out a city of their dreams.
Some of the individual work the students have been working on is discovering their own learning style. I also have surveyed the students to see where they are with their multiplication and division facts. I call this Rocket Math.
In all we had a great first week and I’m looking forward to the second week!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, June 12th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
First of all, thank you for a wonderful year ! I couldn’t have done it without the help of all of you! I’m excited for a nice break and I’m looking forward to slowing down a bit. Below are some work suggestions for over the summer. I narrowed it down to two subjects to practice. However, you do what you need for your family.
The first is to practice reading for at least 20 minutes a day. Have your children choose books that interest them. If you have readers that are nonreaders in your household, it helps to make a consistent time to read each day. Reading to your children at this age is totally fine. Tell them not to focus on how many pages, but time. This is because many readers are slow readers and they think they are bad at reading because they can’t finish 25 pages in 30 minutes. Actually, there is research that indicates that slower readers comprehend better. The best advice I can give you is to be consistent with a schedule.
Now for math. My math suggestions come directly from Math IXL of which they can use this summer.
4th- Multiplication D and Division E
5th-Fractions K-M and Mixed Operations O
6th- Mixed Operations O; Consumer Math; Coordinate Plane X
I would pick 3-4 numbers to work on a week. We use the rule of a Smart score of 90% as mastery.
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions. Have a super summer!
Dear Parents and students,
First of all, thank you for a wonderful year ! I couldn’t have done it without the help of all of you! I’m excited for a nice break and I’m looking forward to slowing down a bit. Below are some work suggestions for over the summer. I narrowed it down to two subjects to practice. However, you do what you need for your family.
The first is to practice reading for at least 20 minutes a day. Have your children choose books that interest them. If you have readers that are nonreaders in your household, it helps to make a consistent time to read each day. Reading to your children at this age is totally fine. Tell them not to focus on how many pages, but time. This is because many readers are slow readers and they think they are bad at reading because they can’t finish 25 pages in 30 minutes. Actually, there is research that indicates that slower readers comprehend better. The best advice I can give you is to be consistent with a schedule.
Now for math. My math suggestions come directly from Math IXL of which they can use this summer.
4th- Multiplication D and Division E
5th-Fractions K-M and Mixed Operations O
6th- Mixed Operations O; Consumer Math; Coordinate Plane X
I would pick 3-4 numbers to work on a week. We use the rule of a Smart score of 90% as mastery.
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions. Have a super summer!
Sunday, June 5th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
We are in the home stretch of things with three half days. Sorry this is late getting out, but soccer took over my day today. Please make sure your child comes with a sturdy bag tomorrow. We will be cleaning the classroom and bringing home all notebooks. There will be quite a bit of notebooks and folders that will make its way home.
Tuesday we will be walking to Wellerwood. We will leave around 9:30 and return around 11:15.
Wednesday we will be having our little Skipp traditions as well as Ice Cream Sundays.
I have really enjoyed working with your children this year! They have grown so much since August, socially and academically. We are building such a strong community within our classroom.
Also, Thank-you for all the help on field trips! This is such a wonderful community that we have created!
This will not be my last email to you. I will send the last one next Sunday. Next week I will focus on Summer work activities. Trust me I will make them as fun as possible.
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Dear Parents and students,
We are in the home stretch of things with three half days. Sorry this is late getting out, but soccer took over my day today. Please make sure your child comes with a sturdy bag tomorrow. We will be cleaning the classroom and bringing home all notebooks. There will be quite a bit of notebooks and folders that will make its way home.
Tuesday we will be walking to Wellerwood. We will leave around 9:30 and return around 11:15.
Wednesday we will be having our little Skipp traditions as well as Ice Cream Sundays.
I have really enjoyed working with your children this year! They have grown so much since August, socially and academically. We are building such a strong community within our classroom.
Also, Thank-you for all the help on field trips! This is such a wonderful community that we have created!
This will not be my last email to you. I will send the last one next Sunday. Next week I will focus on Summer work activities. Trust me I will make them as fun as possible.
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Sunday, May 29th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Finally, some nice warm sunny weather! We are looking forward to spending the day at Riverside for our Riverside Extravaganza. Reminder, that we are walking from school. All of E2 should arrive around 11:20 am. We will be setting up at the Riverbend Shelter.
All Immerse projects need to be picked up by the end of this week from the library. Once again, great job on all the projects!
We have an exciting week ahead of us filled with some great activities. First, we have the Riverside Extravaganza which is basically a huge picnic with a kickball game of parents/staff vs. 6th graders. Kickball seems extra special this year because we have been practicing all year. Some kids really dig it. Parents, you are welcome to join us for the game. Our class is in charge of bringing crunchies for the day. Here is the link to sign up and also if you have yard games. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-endofthe
In Language Arts all students have been working on text features using informational books. We will also be preparing for our Reader’s Theater. Hopeful Reader’s Theater will take place on Friday June 3rd.
In math the 4th are working on geometry. The 5th graders have also been working on long division. The sixth graders are working on percentages and will be moving into algebraic equations. We will be doing math all the way through the end of the year!
In science the 4th and 5th graders studied the needs of a plant and will be moving into the different types of plants. The 6th graders started their work on the Fungi Kingdom and will be working on the bacteria kingdom as well.
Starting next week the ⅘ graders will be creating a leaf book in class and the 6th graders will be creating a seed book for their final science projects. To help make these books spectacular, we are going to walk to Wellerwood on Wednesday afternoon and again Thursday morning. We will leave Big North Park Wednesday around 1:30 and should be back around 3:15. On Thursday we plan on leaving Big North Park around 10:00 am and should be back around 11:15.
This has been such an amazing memorable end to a school year. The sense of community has grown so strong throughout the year! I am so proud of each student!! Also, if you are interested in some summer work, I will be posting some ideas and a schedule for you in the next coming weeks.
Reminders
May 31st: Riverside Extravaganza
June 3rd: Field Day
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Dear Parents and students,
Finally, some nice warm sunny weather! We are looking forward to spending the day at Riverside for our Riverside Extravaganza. Reminder, that we are walking from school. All of E2 should arrive around 11:20 am. We will be setting up at the Riverbend Shelter.
All Immerse projects need to be picked up by the end of this week from the library. Once again, great job on all the projects!
We have an exciting week ahead of us filled with some great activities. First, we have the Riverside Extravaganza which is basically a huge picnic with a kickball game of parents/staff vs. 6th graders. Kickball seems extra special this year because we have been practicing all year. Some kids really dig it. Parents, you are welcome to join us for the game. Our class is in charge of bringing crunchies for the day. Here is the link to sign up and also if you have yard games. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-endofthe
In Language Arts all students have been working on text features using informational books. We will also be preparing for our Reader’s Theater. Hopeful Reader’s Theater will take place on Friday June 3rd.
In math the 4th are working on geometry. The 5th graders have also been working on long division. The sixth graders are working on percentages and will be moving into algebraic equations. We will be doing math all the way through the end of the year!
In science the 4th and 5th graders studied the needs of a plant and will be moving into the different types of plants. The 6th graders started their work on the Fungi Kingdom and will be working on the bacteria kingdom as well.
Starting next week the ⅘ graders will be creating a leaf book in class and the 6th graders will be creating a seed book for their final science projects. To help make these books spectacular, we are going to walk to Wellerwood on Wednesday afternoon and again Thursday morning. We will leave Big North Park Wednesday around 1:30 and should be back around 3:15. On Thursday we plan on leaving Big North Park around 10:00 am and should be back around 11:15.
This has been such an amazing memorable end to a school year. The sense of community has grown so strong throughout the year! I am so proud of each student!! Also, if you are interested in some summer work, I will be posting some ideas and a schedule for you in the next coming weeks.
Reminders
May 31st: Riverside Extravaganza
June 3rd: Field Day
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Sunday, May 22nd, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday and thank you for all your support with the 6th Grade Ship Trip! The day was wonderful! Lots of students were excited with all the hands-on Science.
Also, great work on all the Immerse projects. It was truly special to see how students took what they learned from Immerse and applied it to the creation of their own projects. What a joy to see! All the projects are displayed in the library if you want to come take a peak. We will be taking them down at the end of this week.
We have an exciting week ahead of us filled with some great activities. First, we have the Riverside Extravaganza which is basically a huge picnic with a kickball game of parents/staff vs. 6th graders. Kickball seems extra special this year because we have been practicing all year. Some kids really dig it. Parents, you are welcome to join us for the game. Our class is in charge of bringing crunchies for the day. Here is the link to sign up and also if you have yard games. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-endofthe
In Language Arts all students have been working on text features using informational books. We will also be preparing for our Reader’s Theatre. Hopeful Reader’s Theater will take place on Friday June 3rd. We also have returned to our Words Their Way which enforces different spelling patterns and helps increase vocabulary.
The 5th graders continued working through George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. Students will most likely finish the book by the end of this week.
In math the 4th are working on geometry. The 5th graders have also been working on long division. The sixth graders are working on percentages and will be moving into algebraic equations. We will be doing math all the way through the end of the year!
The 4th and 5th graders will be wrapping up their work with colonial life by building their own small colonial town and moving into the road to revolution.
In science the 4th and 5th graders studied the needs of a plant and will be moving into the different types of plants. The 6th graders started their work on the Fungi Kingdom and will be working on the bacteria kingdom as well.
Starting next week the ⅘ graders will be creating a leaf book in class and the 6th graders will be creating a seed book for their final science projects.
Reminders
May 26th: Riverside Extravaganza
May 27th: About 10:00- Talent Show
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday and thank you for all your support with the 6th Grade Ship Trip! The day was wonderful! Lots of students were excited with all the hands-on Science.
Also, great work on all the Immerse projects. It was truly special to see how students took what they learned from Immerse and applied it to the creation of their own projects. What a joy to see! All the projects are displayed in the library if you want to come take a peak. We will be taking them down at the end of this week.
We have an exciting week ahead of us filled with some great activities. First, we have the Riverside Extravaganza which is basically a huge picnic with a kickball game of parents/staff vs. 6th graders. Kickball seems extra special this year because we have been practicing all year. Some kids really dig it. Parents, you are welcome to join us for the game. Our class is in charge of bringing crunchies for the day. Here is the link to sign up and also if you have yard games. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-endofthe
In Language Arts all students have been working on text features using informational books. We will also be preparing for our Reader’s Theatre. Hopeful Reader’s Theater will take place on Friday June 3rd. We also have returned to our Words Their Way which enforces different spelling patterns and helps increase vocabulary.
The 5th graders continued working through George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. Students will most likely finish the book by the end of this week.
In math the 4th are working on geometry. The 5th graders have also been working on long division. The sixth graders are working on percentages and will be moving into algebraic equations. We will be doing math all the way through the end of the year!
The 4th and 5th graders will be wrapping up their work with colonial life by building their own small colonial town and moving into the road to revolution.
In science the 4th and 5th graders studied the needs of a plant and will be moving into the different types of plants. The 6th graders started their work on the Fungi Kingdom and will be working on the bacteria kingdom as well.
Starting next week the ⅘ graders will be creating a leaf book in class and the 6th graders will be creating a seed book for their final science projects.
Reminders
May 26th: Riverside Extravaganza
May 27th: About 10:00- Talent Show
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Sunday, May 15th 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Finally, we have some nice warm weather! Thank-you to the parents who volunteered our trip to Rosy Mound Natural Area in Grand Haven. It was a great day to be outside and enjoy Michigan’s lakeshore!
Hats off and some great cheers to all students for their Science Fair Projects! All students did an amazing job! This week the students and I plan on reflecting on our Science Fair experience. It was also great to see all the parents come visit!
We have an exciting week ahead of us filled with some great activities. First, we are celebrating Inclusion Week. Inclusion week basically means we are celebrating the fact that we include and recognize all the diverse learners in our building. This is the schedule for the week; Monday crazy socks for Down Syndrome; Tuesday is wear blue for Autism; Wednesday is Hat’s off to Inclusion so wear a hat; Thursday we have a guest reader; and Friday is movie night from 4:15-6:15.
Sixth graders have a ship trip this Friday. We still need a few more items for our trip. Click here if you want to donate. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-needed
Immerse night is right around the corner. We will be spending the majority of our work cycle finishing up projects. Students however are encouraged to work on them at home. Immerse night takes place at the Grand Rapids Museum from 6:00-8:00. We will be displaying the projects on the 2nd floor. Students can bring their projects right to the museum or if you can’t make it, I will bring them. Hope to see you all there!
In Language Arts all students have been working on Theme. Theme has been rather a challenge for students. We will continue to work on it this week. I think with more reading practice they will get the hang of it. We also have returned to our Words Their Way which enforces different spelling patterns and helps increase vocabulary.
The 5th graders continued working through George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. Students will most likely finish the book by the end of this week.
In math the 4th and 5th graders have started their work in operations and algebraic thinking. The 5th graders have also been working on volume. The sixth graders started this week with unit rates and ratios. The 6th graders have also started proportions.
The 4th and 5th graders will be wrapping up their work with colonial life by building their own small colonial town.
In science the 4th and 5th graders studied the needs of a plant and will be moving into the different types of plants. The 6th graders started their work on the Fungi Kingdom and will be working on the bacteria kingdom as well.
All students have been working on their Immerse Project.
Reminders
May 17th Immerse Family Project Night (Note coming home this week)
May 20th Ship Trip (Parents needed)- Contact me
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Dear Parents and students,
Finally, we have some nice warm weather! Thank-you to the parents who volunteered our trip to Rosy Mound Natural Area in Grand Haven. It was a great day to be outside and enjoy Michigan’s lakeshore!
Hats off and some great cheers to all students for their Science Fair Projects! All students did an amazing job! This week the students and I plan on reflecting on our Science Fair experience. It was also great to see all the parents come visit!
We have an exciting week ahead of us filled with some great activities. First, we are celebrating Inclusion Week. Inclusion week basically means we are celebrating the fact that we include and recognize all the diverse learners in our building. This is the schedule for the week; Monday crazy socks for Down Syndrome; Tuesday is wear blue for Autism; Wednesday is Hat’s off to Inclusion so wear a hat; Thursday we have a guest reader; and Friday is movie night from 4:15-6:15.
Sixth graders have a ship trip this Friday. We still need a few more items for our trip. Click here if you want to donate. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-needed
Immerse night is right around the corner. We will be spending the majority of our work cycle finishing up projects. Students however are encouraged to work on them at home. Immerse night takes place at the Grand Rapids Museum from 6:00-8:00. We will be displaying the projects on the 2nd floor. Students can bring their projects right to the museum or if you can’t make it, I will bring them. Hope to see you all there!
In Language Arts all students have been working on Theme. Theme has been rather a challenge for students. We will continue to work on it this week. I think with more reading practice they will get the hang of it. We also have returned to our Words Their Way which enforces different spelling patterns and helps increase vocabulary.
The 5th graders continued working through George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. Students will most likely finish the book by the end of this week.
In math the 4th and 5th graders have started their work in operations and algebraic thinking. The 5th graders have also been working on volume. The sixth graders started this week with unit rates and ratios. The 6th graders have also started proportions.
The 4th and 5th graders will be wrapping up their work with colonial life by building their own small colonial town.
In science the 4th and 5th graders studied the needs of a plant and will be moving into the different types of plants. The 6th graders started their work on the Fungi Kingdom and will be working on the bacteria kingdom as well.
All students have been working on their Immerse Project.
Reminders
May 17th Immerse Family Project Night (Note coming home this week)
May 20th Ship Trip (Parents needed)- Contact me
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Sunday, May 8th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
First, thank you for all the wonderful cards and gifts this week! Everything was very thoughtful. True appreciation is the gift of watching your children grow as independent workers over the course of the year!
In Language Arts 4th have been working on commas and 5th graders have been working on subject verb agreement. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning about commas. We also have returned to our Words Their Way which enforces different spelling patterns and helps increase vocabulary.
Next week I will be introducing the 4th graders to different text features using an informational text.
The 5th graders continued working through George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. Students will most likely finish the book by the end of this week.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 9-10 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th and 5th graders have started their work in operations and algebraic thinking. The sixth graders started this week with unit rates and ratios. The 6th graders have also started proportions.
The 4th and 5th graders have started their work on Colonial Life. The sixth graders started their work on the Geography of North America.
All students have been working on their Immerse Project.
In Science the whole class will be starting to prepare for the Science Fair. Science Fair this year is Thursday May 12th from 9:30-11:00 in the Gym. This week students will be getting some information and lessons on how to come up with a project. Most of their Science Fair work is to be done at home. The researching and taking notes part can be done at school. To get started www.sciencebuddies.org has lots of great resources to get you started. This week, the students’ overall question will be due this Thursday.
Reminders
May 11th Lakeshore Erosion Field Trip (Note coming home this week and we need chaperones)
May 12th Science Fair 9:30-11:15 (Parents are invited)
May 17th Immerse Family Project Night (Note coming home this week)
May 20th Ship Trip (Parents needed)- Contact me
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Dear Parents and students,
First, thank you for all the wonderful cards and gifts this week! Everything was very thoughtful. True appreciation is the gift of watching your children grow as independent workers over the course of the year!
In Language Arts 4th have been working on commas and 5th graders have been working on subject verb agreement. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning about commas. We also have returned to our Words Their Way which enforces different spelling patterns and helps increase vocabulary.
Next week I will be introducing the 4th graders to different text features using an informational text.
The 5th graders continued working through George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. Students will most likely finish the book by the end of this week.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 9-10 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th and 5th graders have started their work in operations and algebraic thinking. The sixth graders started this week with unit rates and ratios. The 6th graders have also started proportions.
The 4th and 5th graders have started their work on Colonial Life. The sixth graders started their work on the Geography of North America.
All students have been working on their Immerse Project.
In Science the whole class will be starting to prepare for the Science Fair. Science Fair this year is Thursday May 12th from 9:30-11:00 in the Gym. This week students will be getting some information and lessons on how to come up with a project. Most of their Science Fair work is to be done at home. The researching and taking notes part can be done at school. To get started www.sciencebuddies.org has lots of great resources to get you started. This week, the students’ overall question will be due this Thursday.
Reminders
May 11th Lakeshore Erosion Field Trip (Note coming home this week and we need chaperones)
May 12th Science Fair 9:30-11:15 (Parents are invited)
May 17th Immerse Family Project Night (Note coming home this week)
May 20th Ship Trip (Parents needed)- Contact me
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Sunday, May 1st, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
We had a busy week and we finished off strong! The only testing for this week was for 5th grade MAP reading and math. Make ups for both m-step and map will finish in the next two weeks.
In Language Arts 4th have been working on contractions and 5th graders have been working on helping and main verbs. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning about prepositions. We also have returned to our Words Their Way which enforces different spelling patterns and helps increase vocabulary.
The 5th graders have started a new novel study this week called George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. We are about half way through the book.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 9-10 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders have started their work on the different types of angles. The 5th graders have started reviewing perimeter and area in order to dive into volume. The sixth graders started this week with unit rates and ratios. The 6th graders have also started proportions.
The 4th and 5th graders also started to discuss the American Government and its three branches. We will finish our government work this week. The sixth graders started their work on the Geography of North America.
In Science the whole class will be starting to prepare for the Science Fair. Science Fair this year is Thursday May 12th from 9:30-11:00 in the Gym. This week students will be getting some information and lessons on how to come up with a project. Most of their Science Fair work is to be done at home. The researching and taking notes part can be done at school. To get started www.sciencebuddies.org has lots of great resources to get you started. This week, the students’ overall question will be due this Thursday.
Reminders
May 3rd Field Trip to Calvin College for a Chemistry Demonstration
May 6th Moving Up Day
May 11th Lakeshore Erosion Field Trip (Note coming home this week and we need chaperones)
May 12th Science Fair 9:30-11:15 (Parents are invited)
May 17th Immerse Family Project Night (Note coming home this week)
May 20th Ship Trip (Parents needed)- Contact me
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Dear Parents and students,
We had a busy week and we finished off strong! The only testing for this week was for 5th grade MAP reading and math. Make ups for both m-step and map will finish in the next two weeks.
In Language Arts 4th have been working on contractions and 5th graders have been working on helping and main verbs. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning about prepositions. We also have returned to our Words Their Way which enforces different spelling patterns and helps increase vocabulary.
The 5th graders have started a new novel study this week called George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. We are about half way through the book.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 9-10 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders have started their work on the different types of angles. The 5th graders have started reviewing perimeter and area in order to dive into volume. The sixth graders started this week with unit rates and ratios. The 6th graders have also started proportions.
The 4th and 5th graders also started to discuss the American Government and its three branches. We will finish our government work this week. The sixth graders started their work on the Geography of North America.
In Science the whole class will be starting to prepare for the Science Fair. Science Fair this year is Thursday May 12th from 9:30-11:00 in the Gym. This week students will be getting some information and lessons on how to come up with a project. Most of their Science Fair work is to be done at home. The researching and taking notes part can be done at school. To get started www.sciencebuddies.org has lots of great resources to get you started. This week, the students’ overall question will be due this Thursday.
Reminders
May 3rd Field Trip to Calvin College for a Chemistry Demonstration
May 6th Moving Up Day
May 11th Lakeshore Erosion Field Trip (Note coming home this week and we need chaperones)
May 12th Science Fair 9:30-11:15 (Parents are invited)
May 17th Immerse Family Project Night (Note coming home this week)
May 20th Ship Trip (Parents needed)- Contact me
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Sunday, April 24th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Wow! The students and I knocked it out of the park this week with testing. Congratulations goes to all students for their hard work and flexibility! The only testing left for this week is for 5th grade MAP reading and math which will take place this Wednesday and Thursday.
In Language Arts 4th have been working on contractions and 5th graders have been working on Latin Roots. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 5th graders have started a new novel study this week called George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 7-8 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders have started their work on the different types of angles. The 5th graders have started reviewing perimeter and area in order to dive into volume. The sixth graders started this week with unit rates and ratios.
The 4th and 5th graders also started to discuss the American Government and its three branches. We will finish our government work this week. The sixth graders started their work on the Geography of North America.
In Science the whole class will be starting to prepare for the Science Fair. Science Fair this year is Thursday May 12th from 9:30-11:00 in the Gym. This week students will be getting some information and lessons on how to come up with a project. Most of their Science Fair work is to be done at home. The researching and taking notes part can be done at school. To get started www.sciencebuddies.org has lots of great resources to get you started. This week, the students’ overall question will be due this Thursday.
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Dear Parents and students,
Wow! The students and I knocked it out of the park this week with testing. Congratulations goes to all students for their hard work and flexibility! The only testing left for this week is for 5th grade MAP reading and math which will take place this Wednesday and Thursday.
In Language Arts 4th have been working on contractions and 5th graders have been working on Latin Roots. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 5th graders have started a new novel study this week called George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 7-8 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders have started their work on the different types of angles. The 5th graders have started reviewing perimeter and area in order to dive into volume. The sixth graders started this week with unit rates and ratios.
The 4th and 5th graders also started to discuss the American Government and its three branches. We will finish our government work this week. The sixth graders started their work on the Geography of North America.
In Science the whole class will be starting to prepare for the Science Fair. Science Fair this year is Thursday May 12th from 9:30-11:00 in the Gym. This week students will be getting some information and lessons on how to come up with a project. Most of their Science Fair work is to be done at home. The researching and taking notes part can be done at school. To get started www.sciencebuddies.org has lots of great resources to get you started. This week, the students’ overall question will be due this Thursday.
Thanks everyone for your support. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Sunday, April 17th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
First thank-you for all who chaperoned on the Immerse Trip. The week was full of community place based learning! Stay tuned for an at home project students will be doing based on their experience at the museum.
In Language Arts 4th have been working on contractions and 5th graders have been working on Latin Roots. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 5th graders have started a new novel study this week called George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 6-7 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders have started their work on the different types of angles. The 5th graders have started reviewing perimeter and area in order to dive into volume. The sixth graders started this week with unit rates and ratios.
In Social Studies for 4th and 5th I was going to introduce the 13 colonies, but we took a little detour. We spent part of the week talking about Patrick Lyoya. The students had an amazing discussion of the events that took place after I read them an article from WoodTV8. The 4th and 5th graders also started to discuss the American Government and its three branches. The sixth graders started their work on the Geography of North America.
In Science the whole class will be starting to prepare for the Science Fair. Science Fair this year is Thursday May 12th from 9:30-11:00 in the Gym. This week students will be getting some information and lessons on how to come up with a project. Most of their Science Fair work is to be done at home. The researching and taking notes part can be done at school. To get started www.sciencebuddies.org has lots of great resources to get you started. Please be on the lookout for notes to go home this week about Science Fair.
Testing, testing, testing! This week students will be having their m-step and map tests. The good news is that all their major testing will be done in one week. I do apologize for the late notice. Our classroom community has talked about getting plenty of sleep and eating a good breakfast and lunch.
Thanks again for your wonderful children. Have a great rest of your weekend and let’s have a super week!
Dear Parents and students,
First thank-you for all who chaperoned on the Immerse Trip. The week was full of community place based learning! Stay tuned for an at home project students will be doing based on their experience at the museum.
In Language Arts 4th have been working on contractions and 5th graders have been working on Latin Roots. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 5th graders have started a new novel study this week called George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 6-7 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders have started their work on the different types of angles. The 5th graders have started reviewing perimeter and area in order to dive into volume. The sixth graders started this week with unit rates and ratios.
In Social Studies for 4th and 5th I was going to introduce the 13 colonies, but we took a little detour. We spent part of the week talking about Patrick Lyoya. The students had an amazing discussion of the events that took place after I read them an article from WoodTV8. The 4th and 5th graders also started to discuss the American Government and its three branches. The sixth graders started their work on the Geography of North America.
In Science the whole class will be starting to prepare for the Science Fair. Science Fair this year is Thursday May 12th from 9:30-11:00 in the Gym. This week students will be getting some information and lessons on how to come up with a project. Most of their Science Fair work is to be done at home. The researching and taking notes part can be done at school. To get started www.sciencebuddies.org has lots of great resources to get you started. Please be on the lookout for notes to go home this week about Science Fair.
Testing, testing, testing! This week students will be having their m-step and map tests. The good news is that all their major testing will be done in one week. I do apologize for the late notice. Our classroom community has talked about getting plenty of sleep and eating a good breakfast and lunch.
Thanks again for your wonderful children. Have a great rest of your weekend and let’s have a super week!
Sunday, March 27th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
It was great seeing all you parents at conferences. I’m looking forward to Wednesday night for our final conference night.
In Language Arts 4th and 5th graders have been learning different spelling patterns with their word analysis and grade level vocabulary. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 5th graders met with the author of The Jamie Drake Equation this week over Zoom. They all brought their projects they made to the meeting. Some students chose to make a 3D object of their alien, while others wrote a character analysis about their character. Two students were also chosen to ask the author questions. This all made for a great visit.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 5-6 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders continued working on measurement. The 5th graders continued working on capacity conversions. The sixth graders started this week with a quiz over their decimal unit and began studying ratio and rates.
In Social Studies the 4th and 5th graders have started presenting their Native American slide show. After a student presents I give them feedback on what they did well and what to work on. This is meant to help them grow as presenters. Our next Social Studies work will be on the 13 colonies. I introduced this work this past week. The sixth graders started to present their national park research project involving Canada and North America.
In Science the 4th and 5th graders started to describe different types of chemical reactions. We started researching explosive reactions. The 6th graders made their edible cell.
Immerse is this coming week! I have the students’ t-shirts. They wear regular uniform bottoms. Please remember a water bottle, comfortable walking shoes, dress for the weather, a quarter (we take the Rapid back to school), and a sack lunch or a school sack lunch. Please also remember your backpack too! While we are at the Museum we will be exploring many different exhibits through the lenses of the Fundamental Needs. Through the Fundamentals Needs, we will hopefully be able to understand the life and the times of the many different cultures represented at the museum. When we come back from spring break students will be presented with an at home project of making their own exhibit displaying the Fundamental Needs of People. They will be able to choose any exhibit at the museum.
We do need quite a few chaperones to make this field trip successful. Here is a link to sign up for the field trip if you can chaperone. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-immerse
Also, the conference sign up link was sent out earlier through Remind. You can also click here to sign up. Spring PT Conferences: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Conferences are virtual again this time. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you!
Dear Parents and students,
It was great seeing all you parents at conferences. I’m looking forward to Wednesday night for our final conference night.
In Language Arts 4th and 5th graders have been learning different spelling patterns with their word analysis and grade level vocabulary. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 5th graders met with the author of The Jamie Drake Equation this week over Zoom. They all brought their projects they made to the meeting. Some students chose to make a 3D object of their alien, while others wrote a character analysis about their character. Two students were also chosen to ask the author questions. This all made for a great visit.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 5-6 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders continued working on measurement. The 5th graders continued working on capacity conversions. The sixth graders started this week with a quiz over their decimal unit and began studying ratio and rates.
In Social Studies the 4th and 5th graders have started presenting their Native American slide show. After a student presents I give them feedback on what they did well and what to work on. This is meant to help them grow as presenters. Our next Social Studies work will be on the 13 colonies. I introduced this work this past week. The sixth graders started to present their national park research project involving Canada and North America.
In Science the 4th and 5th graders started to describe different types of chemical reactions. We started researching explosive reactions. The 6th graders made their edible cell.
Immerse is this coming week! I have the students’ t-shirts. They wear regular uniform bottoms. Please remember a water bottle, comfortable walking shoes, dress for the weather, a quarter (we take the Rapid back to school), and a sack lunch or a school sack lunch. Please also remember your backpack too! While we are at the Museum we will be exploring many different exhibits through the lenses of the Fundamental Needs. Through the Fundamentals Needs, we will hopefully be able to understand the life and the times of the many different cultures represented at the museum. When we come back from spring break students will be presented with an at home project of making their own exhibit displaying the Fundamental Needs of People. They will be able to choose any exhibit at the museum.
We do need quite a few chaperones to make this field trip successful. Here is a link to sign up for the field trip if you can chaperone. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-immerse
Also, the conference sign up link was sent out earlier through Remind. You can also click here to sign up. Spring PT Conferences: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Conferences are virtual again this time. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you!
Sunday, March 20th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
I’d say our highlight of the week was making a chemical reaction by mixing glue, water, and borax. Yes, we made goop! Fun was had by all!
In Language Arts 4th and 5th graders have been learning different spelling patterns with their word analysis and grade level vocabulary. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 5th graders will be meeting with the author of The Jamie Drake Equation this week over Zoom.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 5-6 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders started their work on measurement. The 5th graders have started their work on measurement conversions. The sixth graders will start this week with a quiz over their decimal unit and begin studying ratio and rates.
In Social Studies the 4th and 5th graders have started presenting their Native American slide show. After a student presents I give them feedback on what they did well and what to work on. This is meant to help them grow as presenters. The sixth graders national park research project involving Canada and North America was due on Friday and they will present this week.
In Science the 4th and 5th graders experimented like alchemists with different acids and they saw the different types of reactions these acids can have. The 6th graders will be starting their research on human cells. This week they will be making an editable cell.
It’s hard to believe that our Immerse Field trip is coming up. We do need quite a few chaperones to make this field trip successful. Here is a link to sign up for the field trip if you can chaperone. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-immerse
Also, the conference sign up link was sent out earlier through Remind. You can also click here to sign up. Spring PT Conferences: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Conferences are virtual again this time. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you!
Dear Parents and students,
I’d say our highlight of the week was making a chemical reaction by mixing glue, water, and borax. Yes, we made goop! Fun was had by all!
In Language Arts 4th and 5th graders have been learning different spelling patterns with their word analysis and grade level vocabulary. This work is due every week. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 5th graders will be meeting with the author of The Jamie Drake Equation this week over Zoom.
The 6th graders will continue with their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 5-6 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders started their work on measurement. The 5th graders have started their work on measurement conversions. The sixth graders will start this week with a quiz over their decimal unit and begin studying ratio and rates.
In Social Studies the 4th and 5th graders have started presenting their Native American slide show. After a student presents I give them feedback on what they did well and what to work on. This is meant to help them grow as presenters. The sixth graders national park research project involving Canada and North America was due on Friday and they will present this week.
In Science the 4th and 5th graders experimented like alchemists with different acids and they saw the different types of reactions these acids can have. The 6th graders will be starting their research on human cells. This week they will be making an editable cell.
It’s hard to believe that our Immerse Field trip is coming up. We do need quite a few chaperones to make this field trip successful. Here is a link to sign up for the field trip if you can chaperone. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-immerse
Also, the conference sign up link was sent out earlier through Remind. You can also click here to sign up. Spring PT Conferences: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Conferences are virtual again this time. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you!
Sunday, March 13th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Moving up day was a great success! The sixth graders loved their time in middle school. The 4th and 5th graders did an absolutely wonderful job helping out the 3rd graders, who came to visit our classroom. It was a great day for all and we are looking forward to the next moving up day in April.
In February we celebrated Black History month almost everyday. We enjoyed it so much that we have been celebrating through March. Here is a link to what we have been talking about. Timely Topics: Learn Something, Do Something! Daily Calendar - Google Slides
Students
In Language Arts 4th and 5th graders have been learning different spelling patterns with their word analysis and grade level vocabulary. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 4th graders began reading about the Pueblo people . The 5th graders will be getting a lesson on how to prepare a book report project for the Jamie Drake Equation. The 5th graders will continue to prepare for their meeting with the author of The Jamie Drake Equation.
The 6th graders started their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 3-4 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders will be wrapping up long division and they headed into studying measurement. The 5th graders have been learning how to add/subtract fractions with different denominators. We started learning this work with the fraction pieces and now we are learning how to find the least common denominator without material. This week the 5th graders will study fraction word problems. The 6th graders are learning how to divide a decimal by a decimal and working with word problems.
In Social Studies the 4th and 5th graders will be wrapping up their Native American slide show and presenting. The sixth graders national park research project involving Canada and North America is due this Friday.
In Science the 4th and 5th graders experimented like alchemists with different acids and they saw the different types of reactions these acids can have. The 6th graders will be starting their research on human cells. This week they will be making an editable cell.
It’s hard to believe that our Immerse Field trip is coming up. We do need quite a few chaperones to make this field trip successful. Here is a link to sign up for the field trip if you can chaperone. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-immerse
Also, the conference sign up link was sent out earlier through Remind. You can also click here to sign up. Spring PT Conferences: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Conferences are virtual again this time. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you!
Dear Parents and students,
Moving up day was a great success! The sixth graders loved their time in middle school. The 4th and 5th graders did an absolutely wonderful job helping out the 3rd graders, who came to visit our classroom. It was a great day for all and we are looking forward to the next moving up day in April.
In February we celebrated Black History month almost everyday. We enjoyed it so much that we have been celebrating through March. Here is a link to what we have been talking about. Timely Topics: Learn Something, Do Something! Daily Calendar - Google Slides
Students
In Language Arts 4th and 5th graders have been learning different spelling patterns with their word analysis and grade level vocabulary. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 4th graders began reading about the Pueblo people . The 5th graders will be getting a lesson on how to prepare a book report project for the Jamie Drake Equation. The 5th graders will continue to prepare for their meeting with the author of The Jamie Drake Equation.
The 6th graders started their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 3-4 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders will be wrapping up long division and they headed into studying measurement. The 5th graders have been learning how to add/subtract fractions with different denominators. We started learning this work with the fraction pieces and now we are learning how to find the least common denominator without material. This week the 5th graders will study fraction word problems. The 6th graders are learning how to divide a decimal by a decimal and working with word problems.
In Social Studies the 4th and 5th graders will be wrapping up their Native American slide show and presenting. The sixth graders national park research project involving Canada and North America is due this Friday.
In Science the 4th and 5th graders experimented like alchemists with different acids and they saw the different types of reactions these acids can have. The 6th graders will be starting their research on human cells. This week they will be making an editable cell.
It’s hard to believe that our Immerse Field trip is coming up. We do need quite a few chaperones to make this field trip successful. Here is a link to sign up for the field trip if you can chaperone. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-immerse
Also, the conference sign up link was sent out earlier through Remind. You can also click here to sign up. Spring PT Conferences: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Conferences are virtual again this time. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you!
Sunday, March 6th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Wow! What a great week! I really enjoy ending the week with a field trip to the Home and Garden Show. Here are a few highlights your children said they liked about the field trip. They enjoyed eating lunch next to a large window overlooking the Grand River, riding the Rapid, and the hands-on activities at the Home and Garden Show. Also, thank-you chaperones for all your help. This all made for a great day
In Language Arts 4th and 5th graders have been learning different spelling patterns with their word analysis and grade level vocabulary. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 4th graders started their in depth book club discussion about different Native American Tribes. The 5th graders will be getting a lesson on how to prepare a book report project for the Jamie Drake Equation. The 5th graders will continue to prepare for their meeting with the author of The Jamie Drake Equation.
The 6th graders started their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 2-3 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders have been learning about long division. Some are learning in with the stamp game and some have been learning it with the standard algorithm. The 5th graders have been learning how to add/subtract fractions with different denominators. We started learning this work with the fraction pieces and now we are learning how to find the least common denominator without material. The 6th graders are learning how to divide a decimal by a decimal.
In Social Studies the 4th and 5th graders have started researching three different Native American tribes from three different geographic locations in North America. This work is done with great reverence and respect of the indegionus people of North America. The sixth graders have started a national park research project involving Canada and North America.
In Science the 4th and 5th graders tried to make gold. We were unsuccessful. We did all rust a nail though. This week we will be experimenting with acids and bases. The 6th graders will be starting their research on human cells.
It’s hard to believe that our Immerse Field trip is coming up. We do need quite a few chaperones to make this field trip successful. Here is a link to sign up for the field trip if you can chaperone. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-immerse
Also, the conference sign up link was sent out earlier through Remind. You can also click here to sign up. Spring PT Conferences: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Conferences are virtual again this time. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you!
Dear Parents and students,
Wow! What a great week! I really enjoy ending the week with a field trip to the Home and Garden Show. Here are a few highlights your children said they liked about the field trip. They enjoyed eating lunch next to a large window overlooking the Grand River, riding the Rapid, and the hands-on activities at the Home and Garden Show. Also, thank-you chaperones for all your help. This all made for a great day
In Language Arts 4th and 5th graders have been learning different spelling patterns with their word analysis and grade level vocabulary. The sixth graders have been learning new vocabulary with their book club book.
The 4th graders started their in depth book club discussion about different Native American Tribes. The 5th graders will be getting a lesson on how to prepare a book report project for the Jamie Drake Equation. The 5th graders will continue to prepare for their meeting with the author of The Jamie Drake Equation.
The 6th graders started their book club, A Wind in the Door this week. They will be reading 2-3 chapters a week mostly on their own. They also have comprehension questions that go along with each chapter.
In math the 4th graders have been learning about long division. Some are learning in with the stamp game and some have been learning it with the standard algorithm. The 5th graders have been learning how to add/subtract fractions with different denominators. We started learning this work with the fraction pieces and now we are learning how to find the least common denominator without material. The 6th graders are learning how to divide a decimal by a decimal.
In Social Studies the 4th and 5th graders have started researching three different Native American tribes from three different geographic locations in North America. This work is done with great reverence and respect of the indegionus people of North America. The sixth graders have started a national park research project involving Canada and North America.
In Science the 4th and 5th graders tried to make gold. We were unsuccessful. We did all rust a nail though. This week we will be experimenting with acids and bases. The 6th graders will be starting their research on human cells.
It’s hard to believe that our Immerse Field trip is coming up. We do need quite a few chaperones to make this field trip successful. Here is a link to sign up for the field trip if you can chaperone. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-immerse
Also, the conference sign up link was sent out earlier through Remind. You can also click here to sign up. Spring PT Conferences: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Conferences are virtual again this time. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you!
Sunday, February 27th, 2022
Dear Parents and Students,
I hope everyone had a great week! Here is a little recap of what your child was learning this week.
Our circle questions this week revolved around honesty and how honesty affects our classroom community. We also started talking about the difference between surviving and thriving.
At the start of every morning we have been learning about different African Americans and their contributions throughout history.
In Language Arts 4th graders have been learning about the difference between similes and metaphors. The 5th graders have been reviewing idioms. The 4th graders will be starting an in depth informational text about three different Native American tribes. The 6th graders will be beginning an in depth novel study on A Wind in the Door. The 5th graders will continue to prepare for their meeting with the author of The Jamie Drake Equation.
In math the 4th graders have been learning about long division. Some are learning in with the stamp game and some have been learning it with the standard algorithm. The 5th graders have been learning how to add/subtract fractions with different denominators. We started learning this work with the fraction pieces and now we are learning how to find the least common denominator without material. The 6th graders are learning how to multiply a decimal by a decimal.
In Social Studies the 4th and 5th graders are about to start researching three different Native American tribes from three different geographic locations in North America. This work is done with great reverence and respect of the indigenous people of North America. The sixth graders have started a national park research project involving Canada and North America.
In Science the 4th and 5th graders will be studying about how alchemists thought they could change things into gold.
This week Friday we will be headed to The Home and Garden Show for a field trip. If you would like to join please message me. We will be taking the yellow school bus there and returning on the Rapid. We will be studying different plants and insects native and invasive to Michigan. If you would like to enjoy more of a feeling of spring then come along!
Also, the conference sign up link was sent out earlier through Remind. You can also click here to sign up. Spring PT Conferences: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Conferences are virtual again this time. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you!
Dear Parents and Students,
I hope everyone had a great week! Here is a little recap of what your child was learning this week.
Our circle questions this week revolved around honesty and how honesty affects our classroom community. We also started talking about the difference between surviving and thriving.
At the start of every morning we have been learning about different African Americans and their contributions throughout history.
In Language Arts 4th graders have been learning about the difference between similes and metaphors. The 5th graders have been reviewing idioms. The 4th graders will be starting an in depth informational text about three different Native American tribes. The 6th graders will be beginning an in depth novel study on A Wind in the Door. The 5th graders will continue to prepare for their meeting with the author of The Jamie Drake Equation.
In math the 4th graders have been learning about long division. Some are learning in with the stamp game and some have been learning it with the standard algorithm. The 5th graders have been learning how to add/subtract fractions with different denominators. We started learning this work with the fraction pieces and now we are learning how to find the least common denominator without material. The 6th graders are learning how to multiply a decimal by a decimal.
In Social Studies the 4th and 5th graders are about to start researching three different Native American tribes from three different geographic locations in North America. This work is done with great reverence and respect of the indigenous people of North America. The sixth graders have started a national park research project involving Canada and North America.
In Science the 4th and 5th graders will be studying about how alchemists thought they could change things into gold.
This week Friday we will be headed to The Home and Garden Show for a field trip. If you would like to join please message me. We will be taking the yellow school bus there and returning on the Rapid. We will be studying different plants and insects native and invasive to Michigan. If you would like to enjoy more of a feeling of spring then come along!
Also, the conference sign up link was sent out earlier through Remind. You can also click here to sign up. Spring PT Conferences: Mrs. Skipp (signupgenius.com)
Conferences are virtual again this time. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you!
Monday January 17th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
"The time is always right to do what is right." -Dr. Martin Luther King Junior
The above quote couldn’t fit better with our classroom community right now! Whether students’ are finishing their daily tasks, talking to a friend, or cleaning the environment, all these actions require students to do what is right. This isn’t always an easy task sometimes. In Montessori, we call on each other to reflect on all these things and look on how we can improve our actions. We also take the time to celebrate as well.
There are three expected daily tasks each student must do. They read 25 pages, math fact practice (MFP), and math unit study. After those three things are finished students may choose from language, social studies, science, and practical life.
This week students have math MAP testing. This Friday we have Stem with Legos. Students are welcome to bring in Legos for these activities. This is our first Stem activity of the year. Stem stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
I’m happy to announce that this week the fifth graders will be starting our One Book One City program. We will be reading The Jamie Drake Equation by Christopher Edge. We will be reading this book together and blogging with all the GRPS schools. In early spring some students might have the opportunity to meet the author.
Reminder: Please bring an extra pair of shoes for the classroom.
Great shout out to all students who participated in the Spelling Bee! What a great opportunity for those who had the courage to participate!
Other than that, let’s bundle up and enjoy our week. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Dear Parents and students,
"The time is always right to do what is right." -Dr. Martin Luther King Junior
The above quote couldn’t fit better with our classroom community right now! Whether students’ are finishing their daily tasks, talking to a friend, or cleaning the environment, all these actions require students to do what is right. This isn’t always an easy task sometimes. In Montessori, we call on each other to reflect on all these things and look on how we can improve our actions. We also take the time to celebrate as well.
There are three expected daily tasks each student must do. They read 25 pages, math fact practice (MFP), and math unit study. After those three things are finished students may choose from language, social studies, science, and practical life.
This week students have math MAP testing. This Friday we have Stem with Legos. Students are welcome to bring in Legos for these activities. This is our first Stem activity of the year. Stem stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
I’m happy to announce that this week the fifth graders will be starting our One Book One City program. We will be reading The Jamie Drake Equation by Christopher Edge. We will be reading this book together and blogging with all the GRPS schools. In early spring some students might have the opportunity to meet the author.
Reminder: Please bring an extra pair of shoes for the classroom.
Great shout out to all students who participated in the Spelling Bee! What a great opportunity for those who had the courage to participate!
Other than that, let’s bundle up and enjoy our week. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Sunday January 9th, 2022
Dear Parents and students,
Happy New Year! I’m so thankful for the new year and being in person! Below are just a couple reminders.
We have winter map testing this week. This is just a gentle reminder to students to get plenty of sleep and eat well! The testing is in the afternoon by grade level.
Please remind students to bring an extra pair of shoes indoors. Boots should stay in their lockers.
In school this week we took the Delta Math Screener. From this screener I generate math fact practice for students. You might hear your child talk about MFP, well this is what it is. These are reviewed math facts for most students. Some of the concepts might be new to students because of covid and online learning. No worries, we will review.
The 5/6th grade spelling bee will be this Thursday afternoon on the 13th.
Furthermore, I’m happy to be back in school and I’m enjoying the community we are building. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Dear Parents and students,
Happy New Year! I’m so thankful for the new year and being in person! Below are just a couple reminders.
We have winter map testing this week. This is just a gentle reminder to students to get plenty of sleep and eat well! The testing is in the afternoon by grade level.
Please remind students to bring an extra pair of shoes indoors. Boots should stay in their lockers.
In school this week we took the Delta Math Screener. From this screener I generate math fact practice for students. You might hear your child talk about MFP, well this is what it is. These are reviewed math facts for most students. Some of the concepts might be new to students because of covid and online learning. No worries, we will review.
The 5/6th grade spelling bee will be this Thursday afternoon on the 13th.
Furthermore, I’m happy to be back in school and I’m enjoying the community we are building. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Sunday, December 12th, 2021
Dear Parents and students,
So I’m going to start off with a difficult conversation. Don’t worry this is a normal conversation for this age level. It has come to my ears that there have been some inappropriate conversations amongst kids at the upper elementary level. These conversations are expressed through jokes, but they are sexual in nature. We will continue to talk to students about this type of talk and discuss appropriate jokes. I feel like the more we talk to children the more they understand.
This week will be a quick and exciting week. Monday will be a usual Monday for us. On Tuesday we have Holiday House in the morning. We leave for Ice Skating after 12:00 pm. Then after ice skating, we build our gingerbread houses. Every student needs a can of frosting and a bag. The 4th graders need to bring a box of graham crackers, the 5th graders bring in paperware, and the 6th graders bring candy.
On Friday, we will be having our Secret Santa exchange. The gift should be under 10.00. Students drew their person on Friday. Also, on Friday you might want to send in an extra bag with your child because we are cleaning out lockers.
Thank-you and let’s have a great week!
-Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
So I’m going to start off with a difficult conversation. Don’t worry this is a normal conversation for this age level. It has come to my ears that there have been some inappropriate conversations amongst kids at the upper elementary level. These conversations are expressed through jokes, but they are sexual in nature. We will continue to talk to students about this type of talk and discuss appropriate jokes. I feel like the more we talk to children the more they understand.
This week will be a quick and exciting week. Monday will be a usual Monday for us. On Tuesday we have Holiday House in the morning. We leave for Ice Skating after 12:00 pm. Then after ice skating, we build our gingerbread houses. Every student needs a can of frosting and a bag. The 4th graders need to bring a box of graham crackers, the 5th graders bring in paperware, and the 6th graders bring candy.
On Friday, we will be having our Secret Santa exchange. The gift should be under 10.00. Students drew their person on Friday. Also, on Friday you might want to send in an extra bag with your child because we are cleaning out lockers.
Thank-you and let’s have a great week!
-Theresa Skipp
Sunday December 5th, 2021
Dear Parents and students,
I don’t know about you, but this time of year can speed by in a blink of an eye. I will keep this short and sweet.
Monday marks the due date for 4th graders to share their early human tool catalog. This is a pretty big project for 4th graders because this was one of the first times they had to follow a project rubric all on their own, use secondary sources for research, and practice their best writing skills.
This Wednesday the 5th graders will share their Mesopotamia project. The 5th grade project is set up much like the 4th grade project. I haven't forgotten about the 6th graders, they have been busy with Book Club and Go Math. The 6th graders will be busy after winter break with their explorer project.
Exciting News!!! We are headed to Griff’s Icehouse on December 14th at 12:30. If you didn’t get the note, chances are it’s still in your child’s mailbox. If you are interested in chaperoning this field trip, message me on Remind. Another tradition we have in my class is making gingerbread houses. There will be a note to go home on Monday.
Finally, one last tradition is our Secret Santa exchange. We take it to a new level. Students will be doing different activities for their secret santa the following week. The final day of secret santa is on Friday with a small gift for under 10.00. There will be more information to come.
Dear Parents and students,
I don’t know about you, but this time of year can speed by in a blink of an eye. I will keep this short and sweet.
Monday marks the due date for 4th graders to share their early human tool catalog. This is a pretty big project for 4th graders because this was one of the first times they had to follow a project rubric all on their own, use secondary sources for research, and practice their best writing skills.
This Wednesday the 5th graders will share their Mesopotamia project. The 5th grade project is set up much like the 4th grade project. I haven't forgotten about the 6th graders, they have been busy with Book Club and Go Math. The 6th graders will be busy after winter break with their explorer project.
Exciting News!!! We are headed to Griff’s Icehouse on December 14th at 12:30. If you didn’t get the note, chances are it’s still in your child’s mailbox. If you are interested in chaperoning this field trip, message me on Remind. Another tradition we have in my class is making gingerbread houses. There will be a note to go home on Monday.
Finally, one last tradition is our Secret Santa exchange. We take it to a new level. Students will be doing different activities for their secret santa the following week. The final day of secret santa is on Friday with a small gift for under 10.00. There will be more information to come.
Saturday, November 13th, 2021
Dear Parents and students,
I hope everyone can find joy in the first snowfall of the season! The students found such delight in seeing the snow yesterday!
I wanted to spend some time talking about what your child is responsible for in the classroom. First, we have daily works and that is just what they are. They are works to complete everyday. I check them every day. These works are designed to help them show progress on the MAP and the Mstep.
They are listed below:
We talk in our classroom about keeping concentration and completing one work before moving onto another work. Students have expressed why it’s hard for them to concentrate. They mentioned other kids interrupting their focus, transitions like snack time and lesson switching, and having questions about their work, but not asking. We are really trying as a community to help grow everyone’s concentration.
Now I’m going to switch gears. If your child is sent home for quarantining. The work looks a little different, but has the same intentions as the in class work. The daily work for home is posted onto Seesaw in your child’s inbox. It will show the Monday’s date for the week. This work is meant to be completed everyday of the week. Once again this is basic. They or you can have them push themselves in any of the listed work areas.
In a Montessori classroom the sky's the limit. The options to learn are limitless beyond the daily work. When students actually start taking the time to focus on their learning, I never hear them say they are bored.
Field Trip Reminder: Immerse Field Trip day is Monday November 22nd. Students will receive an Immerse shirt to wear and they can keep it. Also have students plan on bringing their backpack, water bottle, and lunch if they didn’t order a school sack lunch.
Have a super weekend!
Dear Parents and students,
I hope everyone can find joy in the first snowfall of the season! The students found such delight in seeing the snow yesterday!
I wanted to spend some time talking about what your child is responsible for in the classroom. First, we have daily works and that is just what they are. They are works to complete everyday. I check them every day. These works are designed to help them show progress on the MAP and the Mstep.
They are listed below:
- Read 25 pages from a book of your choice (this helps organize book showcase reading).
- Math Fact Practice (MFP)- five problems a day and or rocket math
- Grade level. ⅘ have follow up work with at least two math cards per day. 6th grade has Go Math follow-up work.
- A language work of their choice (Words Their Way, reader’s response, Writing, Grammar, or Word Study).
We talk in our classroom about keeping concentration and completing one work before moving onto another work. Students have expressed why it’s hard for them to concentrate. They mentioned other kids interrupting their focus, transitions like snack time and lesson switching, and having questions about their work, but not asking. We are really trying as a community to help grow everyone’s concentration.
Now I’m going to switch gears. If your child is sent home for quarantining. The work looks a little different, but has the same intentions as the in class work. The daily work for home is posted onto Seesaw in your child’s inbox. It will show the Monday’s date for the week. This work is meant to be completed everyday of the week. Once again this is basic. They or you can have them push themselves in any of the listed work areas.
In a Montessori classroom the sky's the limit. The options to learn are limitless beyond the daily work. When students actually start taking the time to focus on their learning, I never hear them say they are bored.
Field Trip Reminder: Immerse Field Trip day is Monday November 22nd. Students will receive an Immerse shirt to wear and they can keep it. Also have students plan on bringing their backpack, water bottle, and lunch if they didn’t order a school sack lunch.
Have a super weekend!
Sunday November 7th, 2021
Dear parents and students,
First and foremost, happy weekend! Now for some more exciting news, I’m looking for about four parents to join me on our next field trip which is November 22nd at the Grand Rapids Public museum. All you will need to do is monitor students in a small group as they work throughout the museum. There are really no special requirements to help out. Message me through Remind if you are interested in volunteering.
Next, for students who are quarantining this week, please go to Seesaw and check announcements for this week's work. The work for the week at home basically looks like this.
- 25 pages of reading per day (6th grade can read book club book)
- 15 minutes of Language IXL (check Seesaw for specific grade level work)
- 15 minutes of Math IXL (check Seesaw for specific grade level work)
- MFP (20 problems)
- Check Seesaw for additional work after 10:30 am each day.
The work above is specifically handpicked for each grade level based on what we are doing in the classroom or the work is picked based on my observations of where students need to practice.
Finally, conferences start this week. I’m excited to meet with all of you. Here is a link to conferences in case you need it. Conference Link
Donations: We are in need of dish soap, a dish tub, and a small knife set for cutting vegetables and fruit.
Thank-you very much for your wonderful donations and your helpful children. Despite the interruptions our community is growing into a wonderful supportive community.
PS: Reminder, Book Showcase for October has been pushed back. The new due date is Tuesday November 30th.
Monday, October 18th, 2021
Dear Parents and Students,
Here's what you need to know for camp:
For people selling candy: It turns out the cost of candy has gone up (like everything else!), so when you bring back your $30, only $27 will go towards camp. World's Finest now charges us $33 per box. I'm really sorry we weren't aware of this earlier.
Dear Parents and Students,
Here's what you need to know for camp:
- There are a LOT of really generous families at North Park! Many people donated extra, so if paying for camp isn't really possible for you, PLEASE send me an email and let me know so we can get you hooked up.
- Please arrive by 8:15, at the latest, each day. The cafeteria has ordered extra breakfasts, so kids can come through, grab a breakfast and load the bus. We want to be pulling away by 8:30 each morning.
- Kids will need masks for the bus and for a couple of indoor things at camp.
- Students do not need to wear uniforms. Spirit wear is encouraged; please no ripped clothing; cropped shirts, short shorts, etc- the usual. Long pants are required for horseback riding (That's the history group.)
- Kids may bring backpacks with a jacket, spare shoes and socks, etc. A water bottle is a good idea too. They may bring drawing materials, books, and card games for the bus.
- PLEASE DO NOT LET KIDS BRING ELECTRONICS, INCLUDING PHONES! If you're worried about connecting with us at pick up, we will definitely be in touch with you and kids can use our phones if needed.
- Please do not send food/snacks. We will have a snack at camp before we leave and the lunch and dinner portions are generous.
- If your child has dietary needs and have not contacted Steve in the kitchen at camp yet please do so ASAP at [email protected]
- If your child already takes meds at school, the nurse is sending them along. If your child will need meds that they normally take at home, hopefully you've already contacted the nurse about those meds; you need signed forms from your doctor for all of those meds. Please do not show up on Wednesday and hand over medications that your child will need during the day; I cannot administer those.
- If you want to keep your child home on Friday, please feel empowered to do so. Thursday is a late night.
For people selling candy: It turns out the cost of candy has gone up (like everything else!), so when you bring back your $30, only $27 will go towards camp. World's Finest now charges us $33 per box. I'm really sorry we weren't aware of this earlier.
Sunday, October 10th, 2021
Dear Parents,
First of all I want to thank all families that have been affected by Covid this year. I want you to know that your children continue to be diligent about their academics in and out of the classroom. With that being said if your child experiences quarantine this year at any point, please have them check Seesaw for assignments. The Seesaw assignments will be posted after 10:30 each day.
In our classroom this week students presented their first book showcase. Students presented museum style which is when only a few students presented as though they were an exhibit. Students practiced public speaking and talking about the books they read. Students made some amazing scenes out of clay, memory games, board games, and much more. They really did a super job!
For the month of October we are focusing on Biographies and Autobiographies. I have many in my class, but some might want to take a trip to the public library for more of a selection. Here is a link to the Book Showcase for the whole year. Book Showcase.docx
Camp is right around the corner. Camp is 10-20 and 10-21. All camp paperwork should be in by October 15th. It might be a good idea to dress in layers and bring extra socks. If you have any questions about camp, please feel free to contact me.
Let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents,
First of all I want to thank all families that have been affected by Covid this year. I want you to know that your children continue to be diligent about their academics in and out of the classroom. With that being said if your child experiences quarantine this year at any point, please have them check Seesaw for assignments. The Seesaw assignments will be posted after 10:30 each day.
In our classroom this week students presented their first book showcase. Students presented museum style which is when only a few students presented as though they were an exhibit. Students practiced public speaking and talking about the books they read. Students made some amazing scenes out of clay, memory games, board games, and much more. They really did a super job!
For the month of October we are focusing on Biographies and Autobiographies. I have many in my class, but some might want to take a trip to the public library for more of a selection. Here is a link to the Book Showcase for the whole year. Book Showcase.docx
Camp is right around the corner. Camp is 10-20 and 10-21. All camp paperwork should be in by October 15th. It might be a good idea to dress in layers and bring extra socks. If you have any questions about camp, please feel free to contact me.
Let’s have a great week!
Monday October 4th, 2021
Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome Fall! I’m quite happy to see the leaves change in color just a touch. Below is some important information involving camp.
We have some updates on Fall Camp, but we don’t have the final paperwork yet. We’re really sorry that we haven’t been able to get information to you as quickly as we normally would. We’ve had to make some changes to this year’s camp program and it’s taking us a bit longer than usual. Here’s what we DO know:
Also, please note that we are working on putting together different fundraising options for families. Stay tuned, for this information will be coming out this week.
Let’s have a great week!
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome Fall! I’m quite happy to see the leaves change in color just a touch. Below is some important information involving camp.
We have some updates on Fall Camp, but we don’t have the final paperwork yet. We’re really sorry that we haven’t been able to get information to you as quickly as we normally would. We’ve had to make some changes to this year’s camp program and it’s taking us a bit longer than usual. Here’s what we DO know:
- Camp will only be two days, October 20 and 21. We will be leaving school at 8:30 in the morning via school bus on both days.
- We will leave camp Wednesday night at 7:00, arriving back at North Park for pick up at 8:00.
- We will leave camp Thursday night at 9:00, arriving back at North Park for pick up at 10:00.
- The cost will be less than in the past, but we don’t know how much less yet. For your planning purposes, let’s estimate $75; with $10-$15 extra if choosing an interest track with high ropes, zip line or horseback riding.
- We will offer the same interest tracks that we have offered in the past and do as many of the activities as we can in the time we have.
- We will have very limited chaperone needs since we will not be staying overnight.
- When you do get your paperwork, it will be a tight turn around. To help yourself out, if you will need to send any medications that your child does not already take at school, please get the consent forms for those medications now; you can get med consent forms from the nurse at any time.
Also, please note that we are working on putting together different fundraising options for families. Stay tuned, for this information will be coming out this week.
Let’s have a great week!
Theresa Skipp
Sunday September 12th, 2021
Dear Parents and Students,
I am not lying when I say that I’m really enjoying getting to know your children. They have been really kind, helpful, and inquisitive. This all definitely helps in creating a positive safe learning environment. I’m a huge believer in talking to your children about their school day. If you are wondering what to talk about, explore the list below for topics.
I have one large thing to really brag about this week and that’s the students’ mastery in division and multiplication facts! They are all working soooooo hard at their level to master their facts. I am so proud of them!
This week…………
I will be introducing students to the Book Showcase. I teach reading comprehension by allowing students to choose their own books they want to read. We do a couple things with these books. First, students respond to a reading analysis question I give to them once a week. I do this not to bore them, but to try and ignite a deeper light in them while they are reading. I also want to expose them to different types of literature. Students will receive the first lesson this week. At the end of the month, students will choose a project to showcase their book. They have the choice to work on the project at school or at home. Here is a link to the Book Showcase schedule: Book Showcase.docx
Choosing a book and reading can be very overwhelming for some children. I spend time talking with them in order to have them explore when is the best time and environment for them to read. I also teach them how to finish reading a book by planning out how many pages they can read a day.
On Friday the 6th graders and I will be headed to Lewis Farm on a field trip. The purpose of this field trip is basically to bond! I can’t wait to spend time with these students and reconnect with them!! Also, 6th graders need to bring in condiments and drinks for this field trip. We are bringing in these items for about 45 people.
Thank-you for a wonderful start to school. Let’s have a great week!
Dear Parents and Students,
I am not lying when I say that I’m really enjoying getting to know your children. They have been really kind, helpful, and inquisitive. This all definitely helps in creating a positive safe learning environment. I’m a huge believer in talking to your children about their school day. If you are wondering what to talk about, explore the list below for topics.
- Daily work log
- Peaceful Cities
- Word Analysis (WA)
- Math Fact Practice (MFP)
- Rocket Math
- DEAR
- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
- Great Lesson Follow-up work
- 4th Grade Multiple work
- 5th Grade Decimal work
- 6th Grade Integer work
- Upper Elementary Peaceful Gatherings
- PCFs (Parent Communication Folders) (purple folder)
I have one large thing to really brag about this week and that’s the students’ mastery in division and multiplication facts! They are all working soooooo hard at their level to master their facts. I am so proud of them!
This week…………
I will be introducing students to the Book Showcase. I teach reading comprehension by allowing students to choose their own books they want to read. We do a couple things with these books. First, students respond to a reading analysis question I give to them once a week. I do this not to bore them, but to try and ignite a deeper light in them while they are reading. I also want to expose them to different types of literature. Students will receive the first lesson this week. At the end of the month, students will choose a project to showcase their book. They have the choice to work on the project at school or at home. Here is a link to the Book Showcase schedule: Book Showcase.docx
Choosing a book and reading can be very overwhelming for some children. I spend time talking with them in order to have them explore when is the best time and environment for them to read. I also teach them how to finish reading a book by planning out how many pages they can read a day.
On Friday the 6th graders and I will be headed to Lewis Farm on a field trip. The purpose of this field trip is basically to bond! I can’t wait to spend time with these students and reconnect with them!! Also, 6th graders need to bring in condiments and drinks for this field trip. We are bringing in these items for about 45 people.
Thank-you for a wonderful start to school. Let’s have a great week!
Tuesday June 1st, 2021
Dear parents and students,
Reminder: This Thursday is the End of the Year Covid Extravaganza. Click on the link below for more information. End of the Covid Year Extravaganza We will be ending zoom calls this Thursday at 11:00. Our zoom schedule for this Thursday is
9:00- Morning meeting
9:15- All students- Science Fair Presentations
10:00-4th grade students
10:15-5th grade students
10:30-6th grade students
Next week: There will be a carline on Tuesday June 8th from 1:00-2:00 pm. Students will be getting their Science Fair feedback and other goodies. Please also return any book club books and 6th grade Geography Alive Books you still have. You can keep the Go Math Books.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Skipp
Dear parents and students,
Reminder: This Thursday is the End of the Year Covid Extravaganza. Click on the link below for more information. End of the Covid Year Extravaganza We will be ending zoom calls this Thursday at 11:00. Our zoom schedule for this Thursday is
9:00- Morning meeting
9:15- All students- Science Fair Presentations
10:00-4th grade students
10:15-5th grade students
10:30-6th grade students
Next week: There will be a carline on Tuesday June 8th from 1:00-2:00 pm. Students will be getting their Science Fair feedback and other goodies. Please also return any book club books and 6th grade Geography Alive Books you still have. You can keep the Go Math Books.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Skipp
Sunday, May 23, 2021
Dear Parents and students,
I hope everyone is enjoying the nice warm summer weather! This letter will be short and quick.
First, this week the upper elementary team will be hosting a virtual science fair. If you would like to see your child present log onto our zoom this Thursday from 9:30-11:00. This is a great opportunity to see your child’s hard work as well as the children of the upper elementary community.
Second, I will be having any live zoom meetings this Monday. There will be work posted on Seesaw. The lessons I have planned for Monday will be given on Tuesday. We will be resuming our regular zoom classes on Tuesday.
Third, this Friday I will be hosting a live baking show on our zoom at 9:30. The recipe will be posted on zoom tomorrow in case students would like to bake along with me.
Finally and most important, I would like to invite all virtual students to an actual live field trip at North Park. We are very excited to carry on this upper elementary tradition at North Park. Please click here for more information. End of The Covid Year Extravaganza
Please let me know if you have any questions. Let’s have a great hard working week!
Dear Parents and students,
I hope everyone is enjoying the nice warm summer weather! This letter will be short and quick.
First, this week the upper elementary team will be hosting a virtual science fair. If you would like to see your child present log onto our zoom this Thursday from 9:30-11:00. This is a great opportunity to see your child’s hard work as well as the children of the upper elementary community.
Second, I will be having any live zoom meetings this Monday. There will be work posted on Seesaw. The lessons I have planned for Monday will be given on Tuesday. We will be resuming our regular zoom classes on Tuesday.
Third, this Friday I will be hosting a live baking show on our zoom at 9:30. The recipe will be posted on zoom tomorrow in case students would like to bake along with me.
Finally and most important, I would like to invite all virtual students to an actual live field trip at North Park. We are very excited to carry on this upper elementary tradition at North Park. Please click here for more information. End of The Covid Year Extravaganza
Please let me know if you have any questions. Let’s have a great hard working week!
Sunday May 2nd, 2021
Dear Parents and Students,
Wow! This week felt a little like the first week of school and the end of the year wrapped up in one!
This is our class website, www.skipp456.weebly.com . I will let you know when I post by using the Remind app. To join Remind click on this link, https://www.remind.com/join/c47f3.
Map testing makeup sessions are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday this week from 9:30 to 11:00 am. All students will be taking their grade level map tests at this time. On Tuesday students will take their Math exam. On Thursday they will take their Reading exam. Because of Map testing our calls on Tuesday and Thursday will be a little different. Fourth graders will meet at 11:15-11:45; fifth graders will meet at 11:45-12:15; and sixth graders will meet at 12:30-1:00 on these two days.
Our regular zoom schedule is outlined below. We will use this schedule on Monday and Friday next week. Everyone needs to be on starting at 9:00 a.m. Morning meeting generally wraps up by 9:45 a.m. The fourth grade call starts at 10:00. The fifth grade call begins at 11:00 and then the sixth grade call starts at 12:00.
Another tradition that is coming up is the E2 End of the Year Extravaganza, which will probably not be an actual extravaganza, but we are hoping to do something. Traditionally this is a big field trip to a park for yard games, a picnic and a Sixth grade vs Teachers and Parents kickball game. We won't be able to do the picnic or go to a park, but we're hoping to do the yard games and the kickball game on our own property. We'll need some parents to come be on our team for kickball, so who's with me?! I'll have the date for you ASAP. It is likely to be during the last full week of school.
All grades receive about 2-3 math lessons a week and 2-3 reading lessons a week. I do refer to the math lessons as a math unit of study. I refer to the reading lessons as our book clubs. I post the book club reading assignments and questions on Seesaw. Fourth and fifth grade students are asked to read part of the stories on their own. For example we might read two of the three chapters assigned for that day. They will need to read the other chapter on their own and answer the questions. I strongly encourage parents to read together with your child if you have the time. The parent can read a page and then the child can read a page. This helps you know what your child is reading and the work I am expecting of them. It also helps build their stamina to read the chapter independently, if this work is a struggle. I will also be sending all students a link in their student email account for the recorded version of the story. I will be sending this link to all grades. Sixth grade parents, if you would like to read with your child too, go for it!
I post all our work on Seesaw. If you need help accessing your child’s Seesaw account please let me know. I give students the lessons on our calls and we begin to work on the lesson assignments together. Students then have a little follow up work to do after each lesson.
Wednesdays are days reserved for catching up on work, specials, and practical life work. This Wednesday I will be sharing a video on baking banana apple muffins. I will also leave the recipe in case students want to make the muffins themselves.
Our regular weekly zoom schedule can be found at the below link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cjT_QaJABQyjy-jKRDFNBY1RPObZ9uvPXaRunQ87SQI/edit?usp=sharing
Science Fair: Here comes Science Fair Covid 2021 virtual. The upper elementary team and I are working together to come up with a plan for students to share their science fair projects with everyone. In the meantime, I have started giving students lessons on the Science Fair. So far the lessons include, science fair proposal, science fair question, background research, dependent and independent variables. This week we will cover more on variables and the hypothesis. The website https://www.sciencebuddies.org is a great resource to help students get started. We are thinking the Science Fair will start the week of May 17th. This is the link for the science fair rubric.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yqe9WilqOdJln2r25CI60stliQTngQRSmXuYlu_wOGA/edit?usp=sharing
Lastly, on Seesaw, under activities, I have posted a copy of my zoom link, your child’s work schedule, and the Map testing link.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing all your children and maybe you on Zoom tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
Wow! This week felt a little like the first week of school and the end of the year wrapped up in one!
This is our class website, www.skipp456.weebly.com . I will let you know when I post by using the Remind app. To join Remind click on this link, https://www.remind.com/join/c47f3.
Map testing makeup sessions are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday this week from 9:30 to 11:00 am. All students will be taking their grade level map tests at this time. On Tuesday students will take their Math exam. On Thursday they will take their Reading exam. Because of Map testing our calls on Tuesday and Thursday will be a little different. Fourth graders will meet at 11:15-11:45; fifth graders will meet at 11:45-12:15; and sixth graders will meet at 12:30-1:00 on these two days.
Our regular zoom schedule is outlined below. We will use this schedule on Monday and Friday next week. Everyone needs to be on starting at 9:00 a.m. Morning meeting generally wraps up by 9:45 a.m. The fourth grade call starts at 10:00. The fifth grade call begins at 11:00 and then the sixth grade call starts at 12:00.
Another tradition that is coming up is the E2 End of the Year Extravaganza, which will probably not be an actual extravaganza, but we are hoping to do something. Traditionally this is a big field trip to a park for yard games, a picnic and a Sixth grade vs Teachers and Parents kickball game. We won't be able to do the picnic or go to a park, but we're hoping to do the yard games and the kickball game on our own property. We'll need some parents to come be on our team for kickball, so who's with me?! I'll have the date for you ASAP. It is likely to be during the last full week of school.
All grades receive about 2-3 math lessons a week and 2-3 reading lessons a week. I do refer to the math lessons as a math unit of study. I refer to the reading lessons as our book clubs. I post the book club reading assignments and questions on Seesaw. Fourth and fifth grade students are asked to read part of the stories on their own. For example we might read two of the three chapters assigned for that day. They will need to read the other chapter on their own and answer the questions. I strongly encourage parents to read together with your child if you have the time. The parent can read a page and then the child can read a page. This helps you know what your child is reading and the work I am expecting of them. It also helps build their stamina to read the chapter independently, if this work is a struggle. I will also be sending all students a link in their student email account for the recorded version of the story. I will be sending this link to all grades. Sixth grade parents, if you would like to read with your child too, go for it!
I post all our work on Seesaw. If you need help accessing your child’s Seesaw account please let me know. I give students the lessons on our calls and we begin to work on the lesson assignments together. Students then have a little follow up work to do after each lesson.
Wednesdays are days reserved for catching up on work, specials, and practical life work. This Wednesday I will be sharing a video on baking banana apple muffins. I will also leave the recipe in case students want to make the muffins themselves.
Our regular weekly zoom schedule can be found at the below link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cjT_QaJABQyjy-jKRDFNBY1RPObZ9uvPXaRunQ87SQI/edit?usp=sharing
Science Fair: Here comes Science Fair Covid 2021 virtual. The upper elementary team and I are working together to come up with a plan for students to share their science fair projects with everyone. In the meantime, I have started giving students lessons on the Science Fair. So far the lessons include, science fair proposal, science fair question, background research, dependent and independent variables. This week we will cover more on variables and the hypothesis. The website https://www.sciencebuddies.org is a great resource to help students get started. We are thinking the Science Fair will start the week of May 17th. This is the link for the science fair rubric.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yqe9WilqOdJln2r25CI60stliQTngQRSmXuYlu_wOGA/edit?usp=sharing
Lastly, on Seesaw, under activities, I have posted a copy of my zoom link, your child’s work schedule, and the Map testing link.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing all your children and maybe you on Zoom tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday April 25th, 2021
Dear parents and students,
Happy Sunday! This is going to be a long letter and it might be a tad bit boring, but it’s filled with some good information. First of all happy spring! I hope everyone is able to get out and enjoy the clean fresh air! I’d like to welcome new families to my virtual classroom. I am happy to have you! For the next seven Sundays I will be posting information about our classroom on www.skipp456.weebly.com . I will let you know when I post by using remind app.
Map testing: Spring Map testing is scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday this week at 9:30-11:00 am. All students will be taking their grade level map tests at this time. On Tuesday students will be taking Math and then on Thursday they will be taking reading. Because of Map testing our calls on Tuesday and Thursday will be a little different. Fourth graders will meet at 11:15-11:45; fifth graders will meet at 11:45-12:15; and sixth graders will meet at 12:30-1:00 on these two days.
Our regular zoom schedule will exist on Monday and Friday next week. Everyone needs to be on at 9:00 until about 9:45. The fourth grade call starts at 10:00. The fifth grade call begins at 11:00 and then the sixth grade call starts at 12:00. All grades receive about 3 math lessons a week and 3 reading lessons a week. I do refer to the math lessons as a math unit of study. I refer the reading lessons to the book club. I post the book club reading assignments and questions on Seesaw. Please know fourth and fifth grade parents that your child is asked to read part of the stories on their own. For example we might read two of the three chapters assigned for that day. They will have read the other chapter on their own and answer the questions. However, I strongly encourage parents to do the reading together with your child. The parent could read a page and then the child could read a page. I will be sending them a link in their student email to the recorded version of the story. I will be sending this link to all grades. Sixth grade parents, if you would like to read with your child too, go for it!
I post all our work on Seesaw. I give students the lessons on our calls and we begin to work on the lessons. Students then have a little follow up work to do after the lessons.
Wednesdays are days reserved for catching up on work, specials, and or practical life. This Wednesday I will be sharing a video on baking banana apple muffins. I will also leave the recipe in case students want to make the muffins themselves.
Regular weekly zoom schedule meets are on this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cjT_QaJABQyjy-jKRDFNBY1RPObZ9uvPXaRunQ87SQI/edit?usp=sharing
Science Fair: Here comes Science Fair Covid 2021 virtual. The upper elementary team and I are working together to come up with a plan for students to share their science fair projects with everyone. In the meantime, I started giving students lessons on the Science Fair. So far the lessons include, science fair proposal, science fair question, background research, dependent and independent variables. This week will cover more on variables and the hypothesis. The website https://www.sciencebuddies.org is a great resource to help students get started. We are thinking the Science Fair will start the week of May 17th. This is the link for the science fair rubric. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yqe9WilqOdJln2r25CI60stliQTngQRSmXuYlu_wOGA/edit?usp=sharing
Lastly, on Seesaw under activities I have posted a copy of my zoom link, your child’s work schedule, and the Map testing link.
Okay everyone, this felt like a lot of information, sorry. Please let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing all your children and maybe you on Zoom.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear parents and students,
Happy Sunday! This is going to be a long letter and it might be a tad bit boring, but it’s filled with some good information. First of all happy spring! I hope everyone is able to get out and enjoy the clean fresh air! I’d like to welcome new families to my virtual classroom. I am happy to have you! For the next seven Sundays I will be posting information about our classroom on www.skipp456.weebly.com . I will let you know when I post by using remind app.
Map testing: Spring Map testing is scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday this week at 9:30-11:00 am. All students will be taking their grade level map tests at this time. On Tuesday students will be taking Math and then on Thursday they will be taking reading. Because of Map testing our calls on Tuesday and Thursday will be a little different. Fourth graders will meet at 11:15-11:45; fifth graders will meet at 11:45-12:15; and sixth graders will meet at 12:30-1:00 on these two days.
Our regular zoom schedule will exist on Monday and Friday next week. Everyone needs to be on at 9:00 until about 9:45. The fourth grade call starts at 10:00. The fifth grade call begins at 11:00 and then the sixth grade call starts at 12:00. All grades receive about 3 math lessons a week and 3 reading lessons a week. I do refer to the math lessons as a math unit of study. I refer the reading lessons to the book club. I post the book club reading assignments and questions on Seesaw. Please know fourth and fifth grade parents that your child is asked to read part of the stories on their own. For example we might read two of the three chapters assigned for that day. They will have read the other chapter on their own and answer the questions. However, I strongly encourage parents to do the reading together with your child. The parent could read a page and then the child could read a page. I will be sending them a link in their student email to the recorded version of the story. I will be sending this link to all grades. Sixth grade parents, if you would like to read with your child too, go for it!
I post all our work on Seesaw. I give students the lessons on our calls and we begin to work on the lessons. Students then have a little follow up work to do after the lessons.
Wednesdays are days reserved for catching up on work, specials, and or practical life. This Wednesday I will be sharing a video on baking banana apple muffins. I will also leave the recipe in case students want to make the muffins themselves.
Regular weekly zoom schedule meets are on this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cjT_QaJABQyjy-jKRDFNBY1RPObZ9uvPXaRunQ87SQI/edit?usp=sharing
Science Fair: Here comes Science Fair Covid 2021 virtual. The upper elementary team and I are working together to come up with a plan for students to share their science fair projects with everyone. In the meantime, I started giving students lessons on the Science Fair. So far the lessons include, science fair proposal, science fair question, background research, dependent and independent variables. This week will cover more on variables and the hypothesis. The website https://www.sciencebuddies.org is a great resource to help students get started. We are thinking the Science Fair will start the week of May 17th. This is the link for the science fair rubric. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yqe9WilqOdJln2r25CI60stliQTngQRSmXuYlu_wOGA/edit?usp=sharing
Lastly, on Seesaw under activities I have posted a copy of my zoom link, your child’s work schedule, and the Map testing link.
Okay everyone, this felt like a lot of information, sorry. Please let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing all your children and maybe you on Zoom.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, March 28th, 2021
Dear Parents and students,
The Science Fair is making a return, but in a different fashion. Since we are virtual, students will have the opportunity to work on their Science fair at home. Parents are welcome to help their child with this work, especially 4th grade parents. Students received an overall lesson a week ago on the Science Fair. This week we will be exploring the website https://www.sciencebuddies.org/ together. Then after spring break students will receive the following lessons.
Secondly, please look for communication to come about an engineering project students will be starting after spring break. In the meantime any recycled cardboard can be collected for this project.
Finally, please look for communication about a fourth quarter car line to take place after spring break.
Have a great spring break!
Dear Parents and students,
The Science Fair is making a return, but in a different fashion. Since we are virtual, students will have the opportunity to work on their Science fair at home. Parents are welcome to help their child with this work, especially 4th grade parents. Students received an overall lesson a week ago on the Science Fair. This week we will be exploring the website https://www.sciencebuddies.org/ together. Then after spring break students will receive the following lessons.
- Research the background of your project
- Identifying the variables
- Keeping track of your data
- Writing your conclusion
- Creating your presentation.
Secondly, please look for communication to come about an engineering project students will be starting after spring break. In the meantime any recycled cardboard can be collected for this project.
Finally, please look for communication about a fourth quarter car line to take place after spring break.
Have a great spring break!
Sunday, March 7th 2021
Dear Family and students,
Happy Sunday to everyone! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone for virtual conferences this week and next. Click on the link to check out your time slot. https://signup.com/go/pcRoXcx
Also and finally awaited is our Zoo Lab Virtual Field Trip.
There is a whole new schedule for the week. Students do need to be on starting at 9:00 am. Click here for the schedule.
Skipp's Zoo Lab Schedule
When clicking on the schedule, notice the tab at the bottom and make it sense Skipp. Students will log onto Zoom using our regular Zoom link.
The work students will be doing this week is centered around the Zoo. This work will be posted daily on Seesaw. Students also are exempt from specials this week. This is because this Wednesday they will have Zoo Lab activities to choose from. Please make sure they have their Science Notebooks and pencils ready to go for Monday morning.
The fifth graders this week will have an extra live virtual event happening this Wednesday at 1:00pm. This virtual event is centered around the book we are reading, Front Desk. I don’t have all the information yet on this district live event, but as soon as I do, I will pass it along to 5th grade parents. I’m excited to have our students speak about this book. I’m definitely looking forward to this event.
6th graders, this is your final week of the quarter. This is the catchup week for specials and other work. Please mark Friday 4:00 as your final day.
Let’s all have a great week!
Dear Family and students,
Happy Sunday to everyone! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone for virtual conferences this week and next. Click on the link to check out your time slot. https://signup.com/go/pcRoXcx
Also and finally awaited is our Zoo Lab Virtual Field Trip.
There is a whole new schedule for the week. Students do need to be on starting at 9:00 am. Click here for the schedule.
Skipp's Zoo Lab Schedule
When clicking on the schedule, notice the tab at the bottom and make it sense Skipp. Students will log onto Zoom using our regular Zoom link.
The work students will be doing this week is centered around the Zoo. This work will be posted daily on Seesaw. Students also are exempt from specials this week. This is because this Wednesday they will have Zoo Lab activities to choose from. Please make sure they have their Science Notebooks and pencils ready to go for Monday morning.
The fifth graders this week will have an extra live virtual event happening this Wednesday at 1:00pm. This virtual event is centered around the book we are reading, Front Desk. I don’t have all the information yet on this district live event, but as soon as I do, I will pass it along to 5th grade parents. I’m excited to have our students speak about this book. I’m definitely looking forward to this event.
6th graders, this is your final week of the quarter. This is the catchup week for specials and other work. Please mark Friday 4:00 as your final day.
Let’s all have a great week!
Saturday, February 27th, 2021
Dear Parents and students,
Happy weekend! I seriously think I blinked and February was over. I have two pretty big communications for you. One is conferences. Please head click on this link to sign up for your virtual conference time: https://signup.com/go/pcRoXcx .
Our second HUGE announcement is our week long virtual field trip to John Ball Zoo. This will take place the week of March 8th. The field trip will require students to be online from 9:00-1:30 with a lunch break around 11:30 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of that week. Students were informed this past week about this wonderful event. We will be joining Mr. Slade and Mrs. Ettinger’s class on zoom for this four day event. Students will have some work choices on Wednesday that week posted on Seesaw.
Have a wonderful weekend. Please look for a more detailed schedule to come this week for our Zoo Lab Virtual Field Trip.
Dear Parents and students,
Happy weekend! I seriously think I blinked and February was over. I have two pretty big communications for you. One is conferences. Please head click on this link to sign up for your virtual conference time: https://signup.com/go/pcRoXcx .
Our second HUGE announcement is our week long virtual field trip to John Ball Zoo. This will take place the week of March 8th. The field trip will require students to be online from 9:00-1:30 with a lunch break around 11:30 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of that week. Students were informed this past week about this wonderful event. We will be joining Mr. Slade and Mrs. Ettinger’s class on zoom for this four day event. Students will have some work choices on Wednesday that week posted on Seesaw.
Have a wonderful weekend. Please look for a more detailed schedule to come this week for our Zoo Lab Virtual Field Trip.
Sunday February 7th, 2021
Dear Parents and students,
Greetings and happy winter! I hope today finds you enjoying the beauty of a Michigan winter! I have to say that I have been really enjoying our new blend of students. Please help make sure students are staying on during their calls. Also, students need some help reminding them to always have their carline bag with them. I teach and give lessons with the material. This helps them to follow along and ask questions as well as get help when they don’t understand something. Couple important reminders:
Below you will find some important updates from the front office.
Meeting Number: 581 443 7741
Passcode: 996539
https://grps-org.zoom.us/j/5814437741?pwd=dVovaFVIME8yZmFHaWxad2xSRjl0Zz09
Thank you for your patience and grace as we work to get to our important Parent Race and Equity work. A small group of leaders have met twice in the last two months to sort through our next steps. For this first soft launch of our work, I would like to invite parents to participate in a White Fragility book study, once a month over the next five months, followed by an hour of committee work.
The dates and times are below on this work. Also included is the Zoom information for our time. We will start, from 5 to 6 p.m., on Tuesday, February 23rd by working to create some ground rules and frame up our work as a community. I also hope to review our school and city's demographics as well as some of what was discussed in the planning meetings. We will talk a bit about what we are already doing well at North Park as it pertains to this topic and a few of the ways we could improve and strengthen this work internally as a school community. Finally, we will set some goals for the remaining four months of our time together. This initial meeting will be followed by March, April, May, and June meetings where we first meet to discuss the book from 5 to 6 p.m. and then extend the meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. for any who want to join in more immediate work focusing on Race and Equity Challenges at North Park.
Please feel free to reach out with questions and concerns. All are welcome. Dr. Harvey, our NPM HIL coach, and Kathryn Curry, our WMLA coach will assist me in facilitating these meetings as their schedule allows. I am looking forward to our first gathering.
Tuesday, February 23rd, 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 23rd, 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 27th, 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 25th, 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 22nd, 5 to 7 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://grps-org.zoom.us/j/5814437741?pwd=dVovaFVIME8yZmFHaWxad2xSRjl0Zz09
Meeting ID: 581 443 7741
Passcode: 996539
Please remember to reach out with any questions.
Thank-you
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
Greetings and happy winter! I hope today finds you enjoying the beauty of a Michigan winter! I have to say that I have been really enjoying our new blend of students. Please help make sure students are staying on during their calls. Also, students need some help reminding them to always have their carline bag with them. I teach and give lessons with the material. This helps them to follow along and ask questions as well as get help when they don’t understand something. Couple important reminders:
- First map makeup session will be Tuesday February 9th at 11:00 (there will be more days)
- Open parent night Zoom meeting Tuesday February 9th at 7:00 (on my zoom link which you can find it on last week’s note)
Below you will find some important updates from the front office.
- Thursday, February 11th
- Tuesday, February 16th
- Thursday, February 18th
- Thursday, February 25th
- The Zoom information for the Listening Tours, the PTA Meeting, and our school specific Open House (for new parents/replacing my Friday morning tours) is below.
Meeting Number: 581 443 7741
Passcode: 996539
https://grps-org.zoom.us/j/5814437741?pwd=dVovaFVIME8yZmFHaWxad2xSRjl0Zz09
Thank you for your patience and grace as we work to get to our important Parent Race and Equity work. A small group of leaders have met twice in the last two months to sort through our next steps. For this first soft launch of our work, I would like to invite parents to participate in a White Fragility book study, once a month over the next five months, followed by an hour of committee work.
The dates and times are below on this work. Also included is the Zoom information for our time. We will start, from 5 to 6 p.m., on Tuesday, February 23rd by working to create some ground rules and frame up our work as a community. I also hope to review our school and city's demographics as well as some of what was discussed in the planning meetings. We will talk a bit about what we are already doing well at North Park as it pertains to this topic and a few of the ways we could improve and strengthen this work internally as a school community. Finally, we will set some goals for the remaining four months of our time together. This initial meeting will be followed by March, April, May, and June meetings where we first meet to discuss the book from 5 to 6 p.m. and then extend the meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. for any who want to join in more immediate work focusing on Race and Equity Challenges at North Park.
Please feel free to reach out with questions and concerns. All are welcome. Dr. Harvey, our NPM HIL coach, and Kathryn Curry, our WMLA coach will assist me in facilitating these meetings as their schedule allows. I am looking forward to our first gathering.
Tuesday, February 23rd, 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 23rd, 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 27th, 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 25th, 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 22nd, 5 to 7 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://grps-org.zoom.us/j/5814437741?pwd=dVovaFVIME8yZmFHaWxad2xSRjl0Zz09
Meeting ID: 581 443 7741
Passcode: 996539
Please remember to reach out with any questions.
Thank-you
Theresa Skipp
January 31st, 2021
Dear Parents and students,
As we approach the end of January, I can’t help but think about what we would all be preparing for in the coming month of February. You see in February the sixth graders start forming the Valentine’s Committee. The committee helps organize the Valentine’s Day dance. Well, due to Covid the dance will be canceled. However, the 6th graders are coming up with a Valentine’s Day party that both virtual and hybrid students can take part in. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting day.
If you were unable to pick up your child’s virtual book bag last Thursday, stop by the office and we can get you your bag.
I wanted to mention the amazing activity that all 5th graders across the district get the opportunity to take part in. It is called One Book One City. The book we are reading this year is called Front Desk. Front Desk has some pretty big themes that range from racial profiling to immigration. Check out this website for more information, https://www.grpl.org/kids-and-teens/onebookforkids/ . Another great thing about this program is that students get to keep the books. Hopefully they will enjoy learning about other people’s struggles in America. I’m really excited to share this experience with them.
On another note, I will be updating 6th grades this week. Students will be able to see what work they still need to turn in.
I communicate mostly through an app called remind. Below is the link to my code for Remind. https://www.remind.com/join/42b69g
Almost the last announcement, map makeups will be the week of February 8th. I will let you know next week as we get closer to this date.
Finally, for the most important news! I’m excited to share with you our first family zoom call. This will take place February 9th at 7:00pm. I highly encourage everyone to join me. I will be answering all your questions about work and anything else that you need. My zoom link is https://grps-org.zoom.us/j/5435583245?pwd=T3VLZlJCWEFOZGFlWWg3V25La2hLUT09
In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
As we approach the end of January, I can’t help but think about what we would all be preparing for in the coming month of February. You see in February the sixth graders start forming the Valentine’s Committee. The committee helps organize the Valentine’s Day dance. Well, due to Covid the dance will be canceled. However, the 6th graders are coming up with a Valentine’s Day party that both virtual and hybrid students can take part in. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting day.
If you were unable to pick up your child’s virtual book bag last Thursday, stop by the office and we can get you your bag.
I wanted to mention the amazing activity that all 5th graders across the district get the opportunity to take part in. It is called One Book One City. The book we are reading this year is called Front Desk. Front Desk has some pretty big themes that range from racial profiling to immigration. Check out this website for more information, https://www.grpl.org/kids-and-teens/onebookforkids/ . Another great thing about this program is that students get to keep the books. Hopefully they will enjoy learning about other people’s struggles in America. I’m really excited to share this experience with them.
On another note, I will be updating 6th grades this week. Students will be able to see what work they still need to turn in.
I communicate mostly through an app called remind. Below is the link to my code for Remind. https://www.remind.com/join/42b69g
Almost the last announcement, map makeups will be the week of February 8th. I will let you know next week as we get closer to this date.
Finally, for the most important news! I’m excited to share with you our first family zoom call. This will take place February 9th at 7:00pm. I highly encourage everyone to join me. I will be answering all your questions about work and anything else that you need. My zoom link is https://grps-org.zoom.us/j/5435583245?pwd=T3VLZlJCWEFOZGFlWWg3V25La2hLUT09
In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
1-25-21
Dear Parents and students,
First I’d like to say I have really enjoyed meeting your children if you are new to my class. It’s exciting to see how we are coming together as a new class.
The big change this week is an adjustment to our Zoom call schedule. I’ve also added open office hours. Click on the link below for the updated schedule. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cjT_QaJABQyjy-jKRDFNBY1RPObZ9uvPXaRunQ87SQI/edit?usp=sharing
The work on Wednesdays is dedicated to specials work and any work students need to catch up on.
This Thursday and Friday we will be taking the MAP test online together. We will be taking math on Thursday and reading on Friday. The testing time for all grades will be about 9:30 for both days.
This Thursday is our car line day from 5:00-6:00. I will all the books and work for your child ready to pick-up during that time. I hope to see you all at car line!
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out.
-Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
First I’d like to say I have really enjoyed meeting your children if you are new to my class. It’s exciting to see how we are coming together as a new class.
The big change this week is an adjustment to our Zoom call schedule. I’ve also added open office hours. Click on the link below for the updated schedule. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cjT_QaJABQyjy-jKRDFNBY1RPObZ9uvPXaRunQ87SQI/edit?usp=sharing
The work on Wednesdays is dedicated to specials work and any work students need to catch up on.
This Thursday and Friday we will be taking the MAP test online together. We will be taking math on Thursday and reading on Friday. The testing time for all grades will be about 9:30 for both days.
This Thursday is our car line day from 5:00-6:00. I will all the books and work for your child ready to pick-up during that time. I hope to see you all at car line!
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out.
-Mrs. Skipp
Sunday January 17th, 2021
Dear Parents and students,
Okay, now it feels like winter with actual snow on the ground! I hope this letter finds you enjoying the peacefulness that winter can bring. Below is an attached schedule for online learning. The times have shifted a little from the first semester.
I am getting new bags together for students to pick up in the front office towards the end of this week. Students will need to keep their Go Math books, but all other books need to be returned. I will communicate with you in the next few days over the exact bag pick up times. I will also let you know the exact books that need to be returned.
Below is a copy of my Zoom link. Reminder that there is no school on Monday. I will see everyone on Tuesday at 9:00 am.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://grps-org.zoom.us/j/5435583245?pwd=T3VLZlJCWEFOZGFlWWg3V25La2hLUT09
Meeting ID: 543 558 3245
Passcode: 455418
Below you will find links to the daily schedule and daily work plan.
Virtual time schedule:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cjT_QaJABQyjy-jKRDFNBY1RPObZ9uvPXaRunQ87SQI/edit?usp=sharing
Daily workplan schedule:
docs.google.com/document/d/1ocOKNN0CUMWDmLgxtoDpVZ8MSy45biz8Txzsd8eBcRc/edit?usp=sharing
Thank-you everyone for our new virtual class! I’m excited to welcome my new families and students into the class. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or wonderings.
Dear Parents and students,
Okay, now it feels like winter with actual snow on the ground! I hope this letter finds you enjoying the peacefulness that winter can bring. Below is an attached schedule for online learning. The times have shifted a little from the first semester.
I am getting new bags together for students to pick up in the front office towards the end of this week. Students will need to keep their Go Math books, but all other books need to be returned. I will communicate with you in the next few days over the exact bag pick up times. I will also let you know the exact books that need to be returned.
Below is a copy of my Zoom link. Reminder that there is no school on Monday. I will see everyone on Tuesday at 9:00 am.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://grps-org.zoom.us/j/5435583245?pwd=T3VLZlJCWEFOZGFlWWg3V25La2hLUT09
Meeting ID: 543 558 3245
Passcode: 455418
Below you will find links to the daily schedule and daily work plan.
Virtual time schedule:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cjT_QaJABQyjy-jKRDFNBY1RPObZ9uvPXaRunQ87SQI/edit?usp=sharing
Daily workplan schedule:
docs.google.com/document/d/1ocOKNN0CUMWDmLgxtoDpVZ8MSy45biz8Txzsd8eBcRc/edit?usp=sharing
Thank-you everyone for our new virtual class! I’m excited to welcome my new families and students into the class. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or wonderings.
1-15-21
Dear Parents and students,
Good morning! The upper elementary team gathered and we came up with this list of items to bring next week if you are hybrid. This letter really only has information for hybrid students and parents. If you are virtual with me, expect another letter coming out this weekend for you.
Items to bring for hybrid:
Below are the Hybrid teachers remind codes. They also use remind to give you up to date information.
Grove Hybrid: Code: @34c2b4
Hybrid Lancaster: Code: @hybridlan
Slade’s Hybrid: Code:fkfk48
Ettinger’s Hybrid: Code: @c3agg3
In light of our class being dismantled for awhile, we are going to meet together on Zoom at 3:00 on Mondays and Thursdays, starting the week of the 25th.
Thank-you everyone for your support and help. Please reach out with any questions.
Dear Parents and students,
Good morning! The upper elementary team gathered and we came up with this list of items to bring next week if you are hybrid. This letter really only has information for hybrid students and parents. If you are virtual with me, expect another letter coming out this weekend for you.
Items to bring for hybrid:
- Chromebooks and chargers each day
- Masks must be worn all day (bring extra)
- GRPS uniform code applies
- School supplies (bring what you have been using)
- Filled water bottle(s) (Students are not allowed to use the drinking fountains at this time)
- Backpack
- Proper winter gear
Below are the Hybrid teachers remind codes. They also use remind to give you up to date information.
Grove Hybrid: Code: @34c2b4
Hybrid Lancaster: Code: @hybridlan
Slade’s Hybrid: Code:fkfk48
Ettinger’s Hybrid: Code: @c3agg3
In light of our class being dismantled for awhile, we are going to meet together on Zoom at 3:00 on Mondays and Thursdays, starting the week of the 25th.
Thank-you everyone for your support and help. Please reach out with any questions.
Sunday January 10th, 2021
Dear families,
I realize not everyone is going hybrid, but for those who are, this update is mostly for you. For families staying virtual, our work and routines will mostly stay the same with an exception on Wednesday. On Wednesdays there are no live meetings right away. Wednesdays are set up for students to complete six works with the focus on specials. We are working very hard as an upper elementary team to make sure routines are as unified as we can. We care very much about the community as a whole and about keeping kids connected with their original homeroom regardless of where they'll be for this third quarter. You should hear from your hybrid teachers, fairly early in the week. We are also working on a carline for you.
Below is a list of what your students should bring to school for their hybrid classes.
For those of you coming hybrid on the 19th (Cohort A) or the 21st (Cohort B) let's start with a list of what to bring; kids might have to do some hunting to figure out where they've stashed some things:
Ok let's get to the learning:
I recognize that you will have a lot of questions; there are lots of things that I just don't know yet. We have a staff meeting on Monday and I hope to learn a lot. I'll update everyone again next weekend. In the meantime, reach out with questions, clarifications and anything you've noticed I haven't thought of. We've really become a team and I value you.
All the best,
Mrs. Skipp
Dear families,
I realize not everyone is going hybrid, but for those who are, this update is mostly for you. For families staying virtual, our work and routines will mostly stay the same with an exception on Wednesday. On Wednesdays there are no live meetings right away. Wednesdays are set up for students to complete six works with the focus on specials. We are working very hard as an upper elementary team to make sure routines are as unified as we can. We care very much about the community as a whole and about keeping kids connected with their original homeroom regardless of where they'll be for this third quarter. You should hear from your hybrid teachers, fairly early in the week. We are also working on a carline for you.
Below is a list of what your students should bring to school for their hybrid classes.
For those of you coming hybrid on the 19th (Cohort A) or the 21st (Cohort B) let's start with a list of what to bring; kids might have to do some hunting to figure out where they've stashed some things:
- Chromebook and charger
- All of the composition books; red, black (might be decorated), green, blue and yellow or orange
- Spiral notebooks
- All of your folders; red, blue, green, yellow/orange, and purple
- Pencil box or case; this is super important so we can cut down on sharing (I know, that does sound weird.)
- Pencils, colored pencils, erasers and scissors if possible. I understand those may be lost or you were never able to get them. I'll take care of it; don't stress.
- Water bottle; the drinking fountains are closed at this time
- A warm sweater or sweatshirt; the room is often cold and I don't allow coats (This is not a COVID issue, it's always my policy.)
- Snow gear- we will be going outside as much as possible. We only stay in when the temperature is below 0 (I honestly can't remember the wind chill factor here, but you might)
- Some kind of footwear for in the classroom. Boots are not allowed because they bring in all of the snow, mud and dirt. If kids are wearing their shoes outside, there's not much I can do about that, but if possible during winter, we don't want the outdoor footwear in the classroom. Slippers are allowed.
Ok let's get to the learning:
- For Cohort B students, there will be work posted to Seesaw on January 19th. It will be similar to what we've been doing. They will be expected to do 6 works. They will need to have it done before they come on the 21st. If you need a work plan, and you have a printer, use this link.
- For Cohort A, we will spend the bulk of our time on the 19th establishing our in person routines and expectations, as well as establishing the environment. Cohort A kids will come home with work to do and a work plan for the 20th-23rd. They will still need to use Seesaw to some extent. I will do my best to make it clear what the expectations are for them while they are at home.
- On January 20th, EVERYONE is virtual. There will be no live meetings at least for at least this week. That may change as the hybrid model evolves. I will post work to Seesaw for that day and there will be specials work. Students will be expected to do 6 works that day.
- January 21st- Cohort B comes; we will spend the bulk of our time on the 21st establishing our in person routines and expectations, as well as establishing the environment. They will leave school on FRIDAY with a filled out work plan for the week of the 25th. They will still need to use Seesaw to some extent.
- Everyone must wear a mask except while eating. It must be a mask and not a scarf, gator or bandana. If you need help getting masks, let me know ASAP.
- We will "wash in" and "wash out." There is a huge bottle of sanitizer sitting by our classroom door. We'll work to develop the habit of sanitizing every time we pass through the door.
- We will also wash every time we take and return material. There is hand sanitizer in our supply area, library, on the math materials shelf, at the math checking area, and by the math follow up work drawers. The routine is going to be to wash when you take something and wash when you return it, if it's something that gets returned.
- The classroom is currently set up so that all work spaces are 6ft apart. Kids will have to stay at their own work spaces all day to do work. Of course they will get up to go to get materials and supplies, but they will not be able to go join a friend at their work space to work together. I know, that sounds terrible. We'll see how it goes.
- The lockers are going to be assigned so that they alternate between the cohorts. No one who is in school on the same day will have a locker next to someone else who is there that day.
- Kids will still be doing contributions at the end of the day, but that will look different with kids cleaning their own work space and kids who clean community spaces (supply area and math shelves for example) staying spread out. I will also clean everything according to district guidelines and expectations after kids leave, so we can be confident in the sanitation and so kids aren't using potentially harmful chemicals.
- As of this writing, I don't know what we're doing about snacks.
I recognize that you will have a lot of questions; there are lots of things that I just don't know yet. We have a staff meeting on Monday and I hope to learn a lot. I'll update everyone again next weekend. In the meantime, reach out with questions, clarifications and anything you've noticed I haven't thought of. We've really become a team and I value you.
All the best,
Mrs. Skipp
Sunday, December 13th, 2020
Dear Parents and students,
Greetings! As we wrap up our last week of the second quarter, I wanted to share with you a little something special that the 6th graders have prepared for this week.
Each day this week has a special theme to it. We are asking all students to participate in the fun. We will also have special guests joining our Zoom calls at 9:00 each morning. Below are the special themes for each day.
What does the work look like this week? For fourth and fifth graders, they should choose 3-4 works per day. This is the week to get caught up if need be. On Friday December 18th, I will be archiving all old Seesaw assignments.
As for 6th graders, I will be working with them on making sure they turn in any missing work.
We have all our regular timed Zoom Calls this week. Below is our Zoom schedule:
Monday: 9:00-all students; 10:00-4th graders; 12:00-⅚ graders
Tuesday:9:00-all students; 10:00-4th graders; 11:00-5th graders; 12:00-6th graders; 2:00-4th graders
Wednesday:9:00-all students; 10:00-4th graders; 11:00-5th graders; 12:00-6th graders;
Thursday: 9:00-all students; 10:00-4th graders; 11:00-5th graders; 12:00-6th graders;
******There are NO 2:00 zoom calls on Wednesday and Thursday this week.**************************
Thank-you to everyone for your support and kindness. Have a wonderful winter break and see you in the new year!!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
“Peace is not something you wish for, it is something you make, something you are, something you do, and something you give away.”
– Robert Fulghum
Dear Parents and students,
Greetings! As we wrap up our last week of the second quarter, I wanted to share with you a little something special that the 6th graders have prepared for this week.
Each day this week has a special theme to it. We are asking all students to participate in the fun. We will also have special guests joining our Zoom calls at 9:00 each morning. Below are the special themes for each day.
- Monday: Mustache day
- Tuesday: Career day
- Wednesday: Sunglasses day
- Thursday: Pet day
What does the work look like this week? For fourth and fifth graders, they should choose 3-4 works per day. This is the week to get caught up if need be. On Friday December 18th, I will be archiving all old Seesaw assignments.
As for 6th graders, I will be working with them on making sure they turn in any missing work.
We have all our regular timed Zoom Calls this week. Below is our Zoom schedule:
Monday: 9:00-all students; 10:00-4th graders; 12:00-⅚ graders
Tuesday:9:00-all students; 10:00-4th graders; 11:00-5th graders; 12:00-6th graders; 2:00-4th graders
Wednesday:9:00-all students; 10:00-4th graders; 11:00-5th graders; 12:00-6th graders;
Thursday: 9:00-all students; 10:00-4th graders; 11:00-5th graders; 12:00-6th graders;
******There are NO 2:00 zoom calls on Wednesday and Thursday this week.**************************
Thank-you to everyone for your support and kindness. Have a wonderful winter break and see you in the new year!!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
“Peace is not something you wish for, it is something you make, something you are, something you do, and something you give away.”
– Robert Fulghum
Sunday, November 15th, 2020
Dear Parents and Students,
First and foremost I want to thank all of you for the open lines of communication. I am very grateful for the village we are building for our children. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.
If you are ever wondering what we are doing on our calls, I will explain here. During our 9:00 call we meet as a community and I share a lesson with the kids in either work plans, writing, social studies, or science. I also have kids share their work to the class during this call. For our grade level calls I give lessons in book club, word work, and math. These lessons are grade level and are pretty important for each grade level content. During the lesson, we also start the follow-up work. Some students do finish during the lesson. If they don’t finish they can finish the work up after the call. Once they finish the work they go to Seesaw and find the correct assignment and take a picture of their work.
The work plan meetings in the beginning of the week is time for kids to plan out when they are doing all the work. All the work on the work plan are the lessons that students get during the week. It’s not additional work.
What I have been observing with 4th and 5th graders is that they are not making it or staying on all the calls. When they leave they miss out on assignments and opportunities to ask questions as well as work with other students. I can’t imagine the anxiety that then builds in students when they go to Seesaw and see all the activities. They miss out on so much communication and they don’t even realize it.
My suggestions are maybe revamp their workplace and work with them on eliminating all distractions.
If anyone is interested I can share with you a schedule that I made up. The schedule can be flexible based on your own child’s work plan. Also, if you have a schedule that you would be willing to share you could send it to me. We could all help on this.
This week starts our new schedule with calls starting on Monday at 9:00. There is also an additional call at 2:00. The 2:00 call eliminates the 1:00 call. You can get to the link of the schedule here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qcwuZqxjBLtD112fBFXIl__tzaS34N32g7ziFgToLK0/edit?usp=sharing
Thank-you everyone for your support and your teaching!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
First and foremost I want to thank all of you for the open lines of communication. I am very grateful for the village we are building for our children. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.
If you are ever wondering what we are doing on our calls, I will explain here. During our 9:00 call we meet as a community and I share a lesson with the kids in either work plans, writing, social studies, or science. I also have kids share their work to the class during this call. For our grade level calls I give lessons in book club, word work, and math. These lessons are grade level and are pretty important for each grade level content. During the lesson, we also start the follow-up work. Some students do finish during the lesson. If they don’t finish they can finish the work up after the call. Once they finish the work they go to Seesaw and find the correct assignment and take a picture of their work.
The work plan meetings in the beginning of the week is time for kids to plan out when they are doing all the work. All the work on the work plan are the lessons that students get during the week. It’s not additional work.
What I have been observing with 4th and 5th graders is that they are not making it or staying on all the calls. When they leave they miss out on assignments and opportunities to ask questions as well as work with other students. I can’t imagine the anxiety that then builds in students when they go to Seesaw and see all the activities. They miss out on so much communication and they don’t even realize it.
My suggestions are maybe revamp their workplace and work with them on eliminating all distractions.
If anyone is interested I can share with you a schedule that I made up. The schedule can be flexible based on your own child’s work plan. Also, if you have a schedule that you would be willing to share you could send it to me. We could all help on this.
This week starts our new schedule with calls starting on Monday at 9:00. There is also an additional call at 2:00. The 2:00 call eliminates the 1:00 call. You can get to the link of the schedule here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qcwuZqxjBLtD112fBFXIl__tzaS34N32g7ziFgToLK0/edit?usp=sharing
Thank-you everyone for your support and your teaching!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
11-8-20
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday! Thank you for pivoting again with our changing zoom schedule. After quite a bit of thought, I came up with the schedule below. I briefly talked to students last Thursday and Friday about adding Monday zoom calls to our schedule. Most were accepting with the idea of having more teaching/collaboration time.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qcwuZqxjBLtD112fBFXIl__tzaS34N32g7ziFgToLK0/edit?usp=sharing
After a couple days of thought with this quick transition, I’m excited to teach and work with your kids more during distance learning. I know the more we are together the stronger we will grow.
What starts tomorrow is our 9:00 meeting with planning out our work plan. This replaces our 1:00 meeting on Mondays. We will start the new Monday schedule meetings next week.
In short, have your kids on the 9:00 call Monday for work plan meetings.
Thank-you for all your support!
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday! Thank you for pivoting again with our changing zoom schedule. After quite a bit of thought, I came up with the schedule below. I briefly talked to students last Thursday and Friday about adding Monday zoom calls to our schedule. Most were accepting with the idea of having more teaching/collaboration time.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qcwuZqxjBLtD112fBFXIl__tzaS34N32g7ziFgToLK0/edit?usp=sharing
After a couple days of thought with this quick transition, I’m excited to teach and work with your kids more during distance learning. I know the more we are together the stronger we will grow.
What starts tomorrow is our 9:00 meeting with planning out our work plan. This replaces our 1:00 meeting on Mondays. We will start the new Monday schedule meetings next week.
In short, have your kids on the 9:00 call Monday for work plan meetings.
Thank-you for all your support!
Sunday October 25th 2020
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday! First, I want to thank you for all your corporation and reaching out to me with questions about your child’s work! Parents and caregivers, you are doing an amazing job. This is definitely hard work and we are doing great!! Below you will find some important information about this week and one modification to our weekly schedule.
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication during our virtual learning. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday! First, I want to thank you for all your corporation and reaching out to me with questions about your child’s work! Parents and caregivers, you are doing an amazing job. This is definitely hard work and we are doing great!! Below you will find some important information about this week and one modification to our weekly schedule.
- Our work plan meetings on Monday are from 1:00-2:00 for all grades. This week will be our last week using google classroom to turn in work plans. Here is a link to our updated classroom schedule: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GmZadbL5Thb3I8KXux075qFSsT5CrXmfu41HVlnzIAI/edit?usp=sharing
- We will be having a carline on Thursday 10-29-20 from 5:00-6:00 pm. If you can’t make it to the carline, please let me know and we can make other arrangements.
- I am giving ALL students hard copies of the work plan for the whole second semester. They will be taking a picture of their work plan each week and posting it on Seesaw. This will start the week of November 2nd. Students need to have their work plan by them at all times during distance learning. I know this might sound demanding, but the idea behind is to reinforce that organizational piece.
- Grades and report cards: I filled out the report card to the best of my ability for virtual learning. There are blank spaces.
- Conferences: Please click on this link to sign up for your virtual conference time. https://signup.com/go/ZsxdfNP
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication during our virtual learning. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Monday October 19th 2020
Dear Parents and students,
Breaking News***** The district has decided to remain virtual for the remainder of the first semester. With this being said our schedule has shifted lightly.
Students will stay with me virtually for the rest of the semester
Tomorrow will be our only zoom meetings for the week.
9:00 am- Whole class zoom Meeting
10:00 am- 4th Grade meeting
10:30 am- 5th Grade zoom meeting
11:00 am- 6th Grade zoom meeting
11:30 am- Whole class zoom meeting
Students have a reading activity to complete on Seesaw by Wednesday at 5:00pm.
When reading activity is finished students should be completing any late seesaw activities.
Hosting a parent Zoom meeting this Thursday at 7:00pm.
We will continue our regular schedule meetings next week.
Please reach out with any questions.
Sunday, October 18th, 2020
Dear parents and students,
Greetings! Happy October!! This letter is to inform you about your child’s work load this week. The pace and amount of work this week is lighter than most weeks. This is because we are transitioning from 100% virtual to hybrid.
Tuesday at 9:00 will be our only virtual online call this week. We will meet on Zoom in our regular spot. I will share with them the work plan for the week on Monday on Google classroom. The work plan will reflect what I’m sharing in this letter.
**If 25 pages feels overwhelming, have your child break up the pages in thirds or in halves. In other words break up the 25 pages throughout the day.
Monday- 1. Read 25 or more pages in your own book and Seesaw work.
Tuesday-Read 25 or more pages in your own book and Seesaw work.
Wednesday-Read 25 or more pages in your own book and Seesaw work.
Thursday-Read 25 or more pages in your own book and Seesaw work.
Friday-Read 25 or more pages in your own book.
I was told that after this hybrid is over and we move back to full in person instruction, all students will be back in my classroom together.
If you chose virtual, I will be your teacher.
I will be in contact with all hybrid parents and students about the switch this coming Thursday.
I look forward to seeing all students Tuesday at 9:00 am online!
Dear parents and students,
Greetings! Happy October!! This letter is to inform you about your child’s work load this week. The pace and amount of work this week is lighter than most weeks. This is because we are transitioning from 100% virtual to hybrid.
Tuesday at 9:00 will be our only virtual online call this week. We will meet on Zoom in our regular spot. I will share with them the work plan for the week on Monday on Google classroom. The work plan will reflect what I’m sharing in this letter.
**If 25 pages feels overwhelming, have your child break up the pages in thirds or in halves. In other words break up the 25 pages throughout the day.
Monday- 1. Read 25 or more pages in your own book and Seesaw work.
Tuesday-Read 25 or more pages in your own book and Seesaw work.
Wednesday-Read 25 or more pages in your own book and Seesaw work.
Thursday-Read 25 or more pages in your own book and Seesaw work.
Friday-Read 25 or more pages in your own book.
I was told that after this hybrid is over and we move back to full in person instruction, all students will be back in my classroom together.
If you chose virtual, I will be your teacher.
I will be in contact with all hybrid parents and students about the switch this coming Thursday.
I look forward to seeing all students Tuesday at 9:00 am online!
Sunday October 11th, 2020
Dear Parents and students,
I just want to start by saying thank-you for all your support and hard work. Obviously these are not easy times, but there are definitely some wonderful things that are happening. For example, I feel much more connected with my parents. Our communication feels like it just keeps growing and I believe our students will reap the benefits. Another wonderful thing that is happening is that students are becoming much more confident in their responsibilities! This is truly a gift Montessori gives. I’m just so proud of all of them. They can really do this!!
We have two weeks left of virtual learning before we switch to virtual and hybrid classrooms. Over the next couple of weeks we will be wrapping up our current style of learning. We will continue our pace of at least five different works per day. The five works per day include Monday through Friday. There are five works typed out on the work plan for each day. This includes specials.
As we endure another large change in a couple of weeks, we must remember to move forward in a positive light. Whenever there are big changes there usually is room for large growth. I encourage all of us to remember this as we move forward.
Thank-you everyone for your support! Please reach out if you have any questions.
Dear Parents and students,
I just want to start by saying thank-you for all your support and hard work. Obviously these are not easy times, but there are definitely some wonderful things that are happening. For example, I feel much more connected with my parents. Our communication feels like it just keeps growing and I believe our students will reap the benefits. Another wonderful thing that is happening is that students are becoming much more confident in their responsibilities! This is truly a gift Montessori gives. I’m just so proud of all of them. They can really do this!!
We have two weeks left of virtual learning before we switch to virtual and hybrid classrooms. Over the next couple of weeks we will be wrapping up our current style of learning. We will continue our pace of at least five different works per day. The five works per day include Monday through Friday. There are five works typed out on the work plan for each day. This includes specials.
As we endure another large change in a couple of weeks, we must remember to move forward in a positive light. Whenever there are big changes there usually is room for large growth. I encourage all of us to remember this as we move forward.
Thank-you everyone for your support! Please reach out if you have any questions.
Sunday, September 27th, 2020
Dear Parents and Students,
We are headed into Week 6 of virtual learning. Parents and students have asked if I will be teaching the hybrid model, yes I will!!
Last week we started to settle into our routine of virtual lessons. When I meet with students on their individual grade level meetings, we spend half the time on math and the other half on reading.
This part is pertaining for 6th grade parents and students. 6th grade marks the first year of grades in Montessori. I will be working this week on updating grades. I always let students know what assignments they are missing and they always have a chance to turn their work in. All parents have access to look at grades through ParentVue. Students can access grades through StudentVue. I will be showing 6th grade this week how to look this up.
I’m looking forward to having a super week!
Dear Parents and Students,
We are headed into Week 6 of virtual learning. Parents and students have asked if I will be teaching the hybrid model, yes I will!!
Last week we started to settle into our routine of virtual lessons. When I meet with students on their individual grade level meetings, we spend half the time on math and the other half on reading.
This part is pertaining for 6th grade parents and students. 6th grade marks the first year of grades in Montessori. I will be working this week on updating grades. I always let students know what assignments they are missing and they always have a chance to turn their work in. All parents have access to look at grades through ParentVue. Students can access grades through StudentVue. I will be showing 6th grade this week how to look this up.
I’m looking forward to having a super week!
Saturday, September 19th 2020
Dear Parents and Students,
We just finished week four of online school. I can’t believe how fast four weeks have flown by!
If you weren’t able to make it to the car line last Thursday, please come this Monday night from 5:00-6:00 pm. The car line is in the lower parking lot right next to the old children’s house playground. I will be there Monday night. If you are not able to make it, please contact me and we can make arrangements.
At this point in the quarter, I like to do a little reminder of work responsibilities with students. We will be spending some of our lesson time on Tuesday to get caught up with our math. This is normal if we were in school too.
This week students received their first math unit study lesson. 4th graders are exploring multiples, 5th graders are exploring decimals, and 6th graders are working with integers.
We also began our race and equity work for the year.
Something you can ask your child everyday is …”Can you show me your work plan and the work you did for the day?”
On Fridays you can ask students did you turn in your work plan for the week?
Thank-you everyone! Have a wonderful weekend!
Dear Parents and Students,
We just finished week four of online school. I can’t believe how fast four weeks have flown by!
If you weren’t able to make it to the car line last Thursday, please come this Monday night from 5:00-6:00 pm. The car line is in the lower parking lot right next to the old children’s house playground. I will be there Monday night. If you are not able to make it, please contact me and we can make arrangements.
At this point in the quarter, I like to do a little reminder of work responsibilities with students. We will be spending some of our lesson time on Tuesday to get caught up with our math. This is normal if we were in school too.
This week students received their first math unit study lesson. 4th graders are exploring multiples, 5th graders are exploring decimals, and 6th graders are working with integers.
We also began our race and equity work for the year.
Something you can ask your child everyday is …”Can you show me your work plan and the work you did for the day?”
On Fridays you can ask students did you turn in your work plan for the week?
Thank-you everyone! Have a wonderful weekend!
Thursday, September 10th, 2020
Dear parents and students,
I can’t say this enough, but parents thank-you for all your hard work! This is enormously hard and we are doing it! We got this.
I have some great news to announce. This coming Thursday on September 17th from 5:00-6:00 parents and students will be able to come to North Park Montessori to pick up work. We will be doing this in a car line fashion. Stay tuned for further details.
This week all students received a new reading lesson, titled Who?, What? Why? Where? and When? They also received a new Writing lesson. It is titled, If I were president, I would…. I’m excited to read these!
In math the 4th/5th graders received a new lesson for math fact practice. We will be using Xtra math for math fact practice. We got started on this today. The students and I talked and we came up with the time of 10-20 minutes a week to work on Xtra math.
Great lesson follow-up. Students can post their pictures and/or make a video of their work, then post on Seesaw. The students are turning in some amazing work!
Reminder: Monday work plan meeting. 1:00-4th; 1:30-5th; 2:00-6th
Friday math seminar: 1:00-4th; 2:00-5th/6th
“It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Dear parents and students,
I can’t say this enough, but parents thank-you for all your hard work! This is enormously hard and we are doing it! We got this.
I have some great news to announce. This coming Thursday on September 17th from 5:00-6:00 parents and students will be able to come to North Park Montessori to pick up work. We will be doing this in a car line fashion. Stay tuned for further details.
This week all students received a new reading lesson, titled Who?, What? Why? Where? and When? They also received a new Writing lesson. It is titled, If I were president, I would…. I’m excited to read these!
In math the 4th/5th graders received a new lesson for math fact practice. We will be using Xtra math for math fact practice. We got started on this today. The students and I talked and we came up with the time of 10-20 minutes a week to work on Xtra math.
Great lesson follow-up. Students can post their pictures and/or make a video of their work, then post on Seesaw. The students are turning in some amazing work!
Reminder: Monday work plan meeting. 1:00-4th; 1:30-5th; 2:00-6th
Friday math seminar: 1:00-4th; 2:00-5th/6th
“It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
September 3rd, 2020
Week two Recap:
First off thank-you all parents for your continuing support this week. Thanks for reaching out about questions.
On Monday we had our first work plan meeting. During this meeting we spent time looking at the work plan. I do want to let you know that it is very normal for your child to feel overwhelmed. This is a huge change for students. If we were in school I’d be working right next with them and helping them choose work. It’s also completely normal to help your child pick work from the work plan.
There is no school this Friday or Monday. That means no Zoom calls on Monday. Students and parents can reach me through email, reminder, text.
The Great Lesson Project is due next week Tuesday September 8th.
Students received a lesson about what life was like 150 years ago in honoring Dr. Maria Montessori’s birthday.
Students received a writing and reading lesson this week as well.
We continued with our Math Fact Practice work this week.
Students turn in their first work-plan today by 4:00 pm. They turn it in on Google Classroom. Please note, some students are printing out their work plans and taking a picture of it and posting it on Seesaw.
We also listened to the Story of the Second Great Lesson. I presented with the Clock of Eras lesson.
Week two Recap:
First off thank-you all parents for your continuing support this week. Thanks for reaching out about questions.
On Monday we had our first work plan meeting. During this meeting we spent time looking at the work plan. I do want to let you know that it is very normal for your child to feel overwhelmed. This is a huge change for students. If we were in school I’d be working right next with them and helping them choose work. It’s also completely normal to help your child pick work from the work plan.
There is no school this Friday or Monday. That means no Zoom calls on Monday. Students and parents can reach me through email, reminder, text.
The Great Lesson Project is due next week Tuesday September 8th.
Students received a lesson about what life was like 150 years ago in honoring Dr. Maria Montessori’s birthday.
Students received a writing and reading lesson this week as well.
We continued with our Math Fact Practice work this week.
Students turn in their first work-plan today by 4:00 pm. They turn it in on Google Classroom. Please note, some students are printing out their work plans and taking a picture of it and posting it on Seesaw.
We also listened to the Story of the Second Great Lesson. I presented with the Clock of Eras lesson.
Thursday, August 27th 2020
Big Doings this week in Mrs. Skipp’s class.
First, students self selected their first books they are going to read this week to kick off our 40 Book Challenge. They are reading about a book a week. The book does need to be over 100 pages if it’s a chapter book. They are reading about 15-25 pages per day.
Second, students received a lesson on how to get onto Google Classroom. The title for our Google Classroom is Skipp Virtual Learning 2020-2021.
Third, students received the first math fact practice lesson. For fourth grade they have the choice of doing multiplication facts in their notebook three times per week or math IXL for 30 minutes. I talked with fourth graders about really thinking of memorizing their facts. The 5th graders will be working on division facts. They are required to complete 20 problems a week. The sixth graders will be required to work on 20 problems per my/our conversation together on Thursday.
Fourth and final, students listened and watched the First Great Lesson!! They received the beautiful story in two parts. During the second part I introduced them to their follow-up work choices. These choices are found on Google classroom.
Fifth and final: We start our first Monday Work plan Zoom call. Please see times below. 4th-1:00 5th-1:30 6th- 2:00
Thank-you again for all your help and your beautiful children. I’m so grateful to have them in my classroom. Also, friends if questions pop up, please feel free to contact me.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is,” ‘What are you doing for others?’ -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tuesday, August 18th, 2020
Dear Parents and students,
First, thank-you for taking the time to read this. I know this is a very unique time in the world. I am right there with you! Also, welcome new 4th grade families and returning parents. I am happy to have all of you.
I am starting my 14th year teaching Upper Elementary Montessori. I’ve been with GRPS for nine years. I have spent much time thinking about how to merge Montessori and the district expectations for distant learning. With collaboration with my upper elementary Montessori team, we came up with a pretty amazing schedule for the first nine weeks. You can access the schedule here: Schedule.
I know the district has come up with an exact amount of time spent online. Since we are different from a traditional classroom because we are Montessori and have three grade levels, we felt like this schedule would meet the needs of our uniqueness. Yes, I know this is distant learning, but I want to keep the community on track for an easy transition into the classroom. I will be spending time on Monday night during our virtual open house explaining the schedule. I’m looking forward to meeting with all of you on Monday night. However, most importantly I am looking forward to seeing all students Tuesday at 9:00 am on Zoom August 25th!
Hopeful, I will be able to answer all your questions on Monday night.
-Theresa Skipp
“Education is a work of self-organization by which man adapts himself to the conditions of life. “
-Maria Montessori
Dear Parents and students,
First, thank-you for taking the time to read this. I know this is a very unique time in the world. I am right there with you! Also, welcome new 4th grade families and returning parents. I am happy to have all of you.
I am starting my 14th year teaching Upper Elementary Montessori. I’ve been with GRPS for nine years. I have spent much time thinking about how to merge Montessori and the district expectations for distant learning. With collaboration with my upper elementary Montessori team, we came up with a pretty amazing schedule for the first nine weeks. You can access the schedule here: Schedule.
I know the district has come up with an exact amount of time spent online. Since we are different from a traditional classroom because we are Montessori and have three grade levels, we felt like this schedule would meet the needs of our uniqueness. Yes, I know this is distant learning, but I want to keep the community on track for an easy transition into the classroom. I will be spending time on Monday night during our virtual open house explaining the schedule. I’m looking forward to meeting with all of you on Monday night. However, most importantly I am looking forward to seeing all students Tuesday at 9:00 am on Zoom August 25th!
Hopeful, I will be able to answer all your questions on Monday night.
-Theresa Skipp
“Education is a work of self-organization by which man adapts himself to the conditions of life. “
-Maria Montessori
Monday June 8th, 2020
Dear Parents and students,
I hope this letter finds you enjoying the beautiful summer sun. I first want to thank all my sixth graders for a wonderful three years together. You were such a power crew. I was absolutely thrilled to see all of you last week!
Listed below are some summer work suggestions. My biggest advice would be to get outside for long periods of time. Fresh air and unstructured play always helps!
If you click on the Summer Work Challenge tab on the classroom weebly, it will take right to some suggested work.
Math Ixl is open all summer. Below are some suggestions by grade level.
4th Grade math
5th Grade math
6th Grade math
Another science skill that's easy to practice is using the scientific method. Have them pose a question, make a hypothesis based on what's known, set up a procedure and a method for recording data, collect the data and then write a conclusion based on that data. There are tons of science investigation ideas on sciencebuddies.com. (I know that's online, but the actual work would be offline!).
Also for history, have 4th and 5th graders finish the Road to Revolution slides. This will help give them a good base for American History.
Thank-you all and have a wonderful summer!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
I hope this letter finds you enjoying the beautiful summer sun. I first want to thank all my sixth graders for a wonderful three years together. You were such a power crew. I was absolutely thrilled to see all of you last week!
Listed below are some summer work suggestions. My biggest advice would be to get outside for long periods of time. Fresh air and unstructured play always helps!
If you click on the Summer Work Challenge tab on the classroom weebly, it will take right to some suggested work.
Math Ixl is open all summer. Below are some suggestions by grade level.
4th Grade math
- Memorize multiplication and division facts through 12.
- Multiply a 3 digit by 1 digit number
- Multiply a 4 digit by 1 digit number
- Multiply a 3 by 2 digit number
- Area and perimeter
- Converting improper fractions to mixed numbers
- Adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators
- Long division
5th Grade math
- Use the Order of Operations
- Multiply and divide multi-digit numbers
- Multiply decimals
- Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators
- Multiply fractions and mixed numbers
- Divide fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by fractions
6th Grade math
- translate algebraic expressions
- Evaluate algebraic expressions
- Simplify algebraic expressions
- Solve simple equations with one variable
- Multiply and divide fractions and mixed numbers
Another science skill that's easy to practice is using the scientific method. Have them pose a question, make a hypothesis based on what's known, set up a procedure and a method for recording data, collect the data and then write a conclusion based on that data. There are tons of science investigation ideas on sciencebuddies.com. (I know that's online, but the actual work would be offline!).
Also for history, have 4th and 5th graders finish the Road to Revolution slides. This will help give them a good base for American History.
Thank-you all and have a wonderful summer!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Skipp
Sunday May 31st, 2020
Dear Parents and students,
As the school year slowly begins to end, I want to first thank all the parents for their help and support during distance learning. I can’t help but think how resilient these students are! They are capable of so much. These two years have been way off the normal path. I love seeing how they keep pushing through with a positive attitude.
This week, there will be no additional work plan sent out. Students may go back and finish any extra work they didn’t get a chance to do. I’d say maybe have them choose three to four works to do. Reading can be one of them.
We will have our last 2:00 meeting on Tuesday. That means no call on Monday and Wednesday.
On Wednesday I will be making a visit to sixth grade houses to drop off some special surprises.
Also, please check your email because the district has sent out a note about days that families can come into their school buildings to collect their things.
This summer I am available for tutoring. I’m planning on doing Zoom calls for tutoring. If you are interested in learning more please contact me either at [email protected] or 616-299-6272. I’m available for tutoring in reading and math or both. Tutoring sessions can be for an hour a week or two hours a week.
Summer Work: If you are interested in some ideas for summer work, you can find them under the Summer Work Challenge on our class website. After you click on the Summer Work Challenge tab, click on the Summer Work letter first. The letter gives you a brief outline of the work options.
Thank-you for your great support,
Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
As the school year slowly begins to end, I want to first thank all the parents for their help and support during distance learning. I can’t help but think how resilient these students are! They are capable of so much. These two years have been way off the normal path. I love seeing how they keep pushing through with a positive attitude.
This week, there will be no additional work plan sent out. Students may go back and finish any extra work they didn’t get a chance to do. I’d say maybe have them choose three to four works to do. Reading can be one of them.
We will have our last 2:00 meeting on Tuesday. That means no call on Monday and Wednesday.
On Wednesday I will be making a visit to sixth grade houses to drop off some special surprises.
Also, please check your email because the district has sent out a note about days that families can come into their school buildings to collect their things.
This summer I am available for tutoring. I’m planning on doing Zoom calls for tutoring. If you are interested in learning more please contact me either at [email protected] or 616-299-6272. I’m available for tutoring in reading and math or both. Tutoring sessions can be for an hour a week or two hours a week.
Summer Work: If you are interested in some ideas for summer work, you can find them under the Summer Work Challenge on our class website. After you click on the Summer Work Challenge tab, click on the Summer Work letter first. The letter gives you a brief outline of the work options.
Thank-you for your great support,
Mrs. Skipp
Week of May 17th, 2020
Dear Parents,
Happy Sunday! We have about 2.5 weeks of school left. It’s hard to believe that we are finishing virtually. Our work this week will reflect a 4 day week since Memorial Weekend starts this Friday.
Students will still have until Friday at 4:00 pm to turn in their work.
The work will shift a little for 4th and 5th graders to focus more on Social Studies and Science. 4th and 5th graders will have a lighter load in Language.
This week for reading I will be giving all students the choice of either to continue reading their 25 pages per day of their own book or they can read the posted Time for Kids. The Time for Kids also has follow-up work.
Also, I won’t be posting our work plan for next week until Tuesday, May 26th because of Memorial Day.
There will be no 2:00 meeting this Friday, May 22nd and also Monday May 25th.
I also wanted to say thank-you to all of you who have taken on a “teacher role” at home. I know days are better than others and I appreciate all the communication and questions.
Please enjoy your week,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents,
Happy Sunday! We have about 2.5 weeks of school left. It’s hard to believe that we are finishing virtually. Our work this week will reflect a 4 day week since Memorial Weekend starts this Friday.
Students will still have until Friday at 4:00 pm to turn in their work.
The work will shift a little for 4th and 5th graders to focus more on Social Studies and Science. 4th and 5th graders will have a lighter load in Language.
This week for reading I will be giving all students the choice of either to continue reading their 25 pages per day of their own book or they can read the posted Time for Kids. The Time for Kids also has follow-up work.
Also, I won’t be posting our work plan for next week until Tuesday, May 26th because of Memorial Day.
There will be no 2:00 meeting this Friday, May 22nd and also Monday May 25th.
I also wanted to say thank-you to all of you who have taken on a “teacher role” at home. I know days are better than others and I appreciate all the communication and questions.
Please enjoy your week,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, May 3rd, 2020
Dear Parents and students,
I just checked the calendar and we are in the home stretch! Today I will keep it short and sweet.
This week students worked on activities from Seesaw and their work plan. We will continue to use our @students.grps.org Seesaw account. If you have questions about that account please let me know.
This week 4th and 5th graders will be given a pretty big amazing history project to work on. The whole upper elementary team worked together to make this project happen. Students will be exploring the road to Revolution. This project will take several weeks to work on.
I have a few suggestions for the work plan. Sit with your child on Monday to read through the work plan. Help them or guide them to fill it out. Then maybe by 3:00 check back in with your child and have them show you what they have worked on. However some children might need more check-ins. Do what you feel it best for your child. If you have questions please contact me.
By 9:00 am Monday morning I will have posted our new work plan for the week. You will be able to find it on Remind, Google Classroom, and Seesaw.
We will have a community meeting Monday at 2:00. During this meeting I will show your child how to Turn In their work plan.
HUGE EXCITING NEWS: Wednesday’s google hangout will be a LIVE VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP to the JOHN BALL ZOO at 2:00.
I will hold a Parent Zoom meeting this Thursday at 7:00 pm. I just want to touch base with everyone and answer any questions.
Miss all of you and your children!
Please reach out with any questions,
Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
I just checked the calendar and we are in the home stretch! Today I will keep it short and sweet.
This week students worked on activities from Seesaw and their work plan. We will continue to use our @students.grps.org Seesaw account. If you have questions about that account please let me know.
This week 4th and 5th graders will be given a pretty big amazing history project to work on. The whole upper elementary team worked together to make this project happen. Students will be exploring the road to Revolution. This project will take several weeks to work on.
I have a few suggestions for the work plan. Sit with your child on Monday to read through the work plan. Help them or guide them to fill it out. Then maybe by 3:00 check back in with your child and have them show you what they have worked on. However some children might need more check-ins. Do what you feel it best for your child. If you have questions please contact me.
By 9:00 am Monday morning I will have posted our new work plan for the week. You will be able to find it on Remind, Google Classroom, and Seesaw.
We will have a community meeting Monday at 2:00. During this meeting I will show your child how to Turn In their work plan.
HUGE EXCITING NEWS: Wednesday’s google hangout will be a LIVE VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP to the JOHN BALL ZOO at 2:00.
I will hold a Parent Zoom meeting this Thursday at 7:00 pm. I just want to touch base with everyone and answer any questions.
Miss all of you and your children!
Please reach out with any questions,
Mrs. Skipp
4-26-20
Dear Parents and students,
Friends, I will keep this short and sweet. In this letter you will find three things. 1. A schedule for when I will be hosting live lesson help.
2. Workplan
3. How to access google hangouts. (this is the new way we will be meeting)
I will be using my one hour per day of office hours to host live lessons. Each day will have a specific topic covered and a chance for students to ask questions on that topic. The hour is 2:00-3:00 Monday-Friday. I will also be available through email, remind, or text throughout the day.
At home learning Schedule for Google Hangouts (2:00-3:00)
Monday: Community Meeting/Work Plan Overview
Tuesday:Math (all grades)
Wednesday: Science (all grades)
Thursday: Social Studies (all grades)
Friday: Language Arts (all grades)
Workplan: The work plan will be your go to for work for the week. I have stated on the work plan that some of the lessons are on Seesaw. Make sure children are logging in with their @students.grps.org login for Seesaw. The district has asked us to create a Seesaw account using the district provided gmail. This is for safety and protection of content for our students and staff. Students can access the workplan either through this link or it’s posted on our google classroom.
The workplan link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dqf5LdGZvIWOIa3rXKApFXIECsw0buTHQOY3103qNzs/edit?usp=sharing
How to access Google hangouts for our Meetings: Click on the link below for a guide.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iAyBN_yTJDScGzykpjku8RYRkqvHVpKSEJaCNYs9eg4/edit?usp=sharing
Thank-you so much for your time and your patience. Please notify me with any questions. Miss all of you and hope all is well!
Peace-Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents and students,
Friends, I will keep this short and sweet. In this letter you will find three things. 1. A schedule for when I will be hosting live lesson help.
2. Workplan
3. How to access google hangouts. (this is the new way we will be meeting)
I will be using my one hour per day of office hours to host live lessons. Each day will have a specific topic covered and a chance for students to ask questions on that topic. The hour is 2:00-3:00 Monday-Friday. I will also be available through email, remind, or text throughout the day.
At home learning Schedule for Google Hangouts (2:00-3:00)
Monday: Community Meeting/Work Plan Overview
Tuesday:Math (all grades)
Wednesday: Science (all grades)
Thursday: Social Studies (all grades)
Friday: Language Arts (all grades)
Workplan: The work plan will be your go to for work for the week. I have stated on the work plan that some of the lessons are on Seesaw. Make sure children are logging in with their @students.grps.org login for Seesaw. The district has asked us to create a Seesaw account using the district provided gmail. This is for safety and protection of content for our students and staff. Students can access the workplan either through this link or it’s posted on our google classroom.
The workplan link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dqf5LdGZvIWOIa3rXKApFXIECsw0buTHQOY3103qNzs/edit?usp=sharing
How to access Google hangouts for our Meetings: Click on the link below for a guide.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iAyBN_yTJDScGzykpjku8RYRkqvHVpKSEJaCNYs9eg4/edit?usp=sharing
Thank-you so much for your time and your patience. Please notify me with any questions. Miss all of you and hope all is well!
Peace-Mrs. Skipp
Thursday, April 16th
After thinking a little bit more about the difference between Google classroom and Seesaw, I came up with this. Google classroom is a spot where I can post assignments and links. Students can also turn work in using the Google classroom platform. Seesaw is a little different because I can have students post pictures and share short videos.
Please reach out if you have any questions.
After thinking a little bit more about the difference between Google classroom and Seesaw, I came up with this. Google classroom is a spot where I can post assignments and links. Students can also turn work in using the Google classroom platform. Seesaw is a little different because I can have students post pictures and share short videos.
Please reach out if you have any questions.
Saturday April 4th, 2020
Dear Parents and students,
Spring break! We’ve made it! I’m missing your kids and all the laughs that we’ve had together. I am taking my spring break starting on this Monday, April 6th and will return Sunday, April 12th. I will continue to suggest work next week. I hope your kids are doing okay. I know this is a hard time for them. Hopefully they have been able to connect with each other digitally.
Alright, I have a short story to tell all of you. One of my dear friend’s parents is battling Covid-19. She believes she was infected at the end of February at a wedding in Colorado. She has been on a ventilator since March 17th. She has shown signs of improvement, but the road is slow and long. I was wondering if students would like to write her a letter of encouragement. Her name is Jeannine. She is a grandmother of 8. Students can send their letters to my gmail account. My email is [email protected].
Have a safe and healthy Spring Break!
Dear Parents and students,
Spring break! We’ve made it! I’m missing your kids and all the laughs that we’ve had together. I am taking my spring break starting on this Monday, April 6th and will return Sunday, April 12th. I will continue to suggest work next week. I hope your kids are doing okay. I know this is a hard time for them. Hopefully they have been able to connect with each other digitally.
Alright, I have a short story to tell all of you. One of my dear friend’s parents is battling Covid-19. She believes she was infected at the end of February at a wedding in Colorado. She has been on a ventilator since March 17th. She has shown signs of improvement, but the road is slow and long. I was wondering if students would like to write her a letter of encouragement. Her name is Jeannine. She is a grandmother of 8. Students can send their letters to my gmail account. My email is [email protected].
Have a safe and healthy Spring Break!
Saturday March 28th, 2020
Dear Parents and Students,
I know we should be getting ready for our trip to the Zoo and or plans for Spring Break. My heart is sad that we have had to change our course of direction. I miss seeing and talking to all the students. I think of all you parents who are attempting home school. I know it’s hard, I’m right there with you! I will continue to update our Skipp Meaningful Work document. All the work I’m suggesting is a continuation from our classroom learning. I know it’s not required work, but it is work that is consistent and stable.
I will also continue to update Seesaw with activities. Seesaw is a great place for kids to connect in an educational setting.
I do have one big announcement! Many have asked for me to bring back a math game we used to use. The name of the game is Prodigy. Prodigy is an online math game for students to practice math facts. I will send passwords to students through their Grand Rapids Public School gmail account. I know of a couple students who can’t remember their Grand Rapids Public School gmail password so I will send their passwords for Prodigy through the Remind App. I do want to let parents know that Prodigy is a game. Prodigy won’t replace the Math IXL work. Prodigy is more of a math fact practice game. In other words I will be assigning Math Fact Practice this week using the game Prodigy.
Also below is a little make shift work schedule. This is just a suggestion.
Monday
Read 25 pages of a book
Math IXL/Go Math
Prodigy
Writing
Tuesday
Read 25 pages of a book
Math IXL/Go Math
Prodigy
Science:
Discovery Education
Wednesday
Read 25 pages of a book-Reader’s Notebook Assignment
Math IXL/Go Math
Prodigy
Social Studies
Thursday
Read 25 pages of a book
Math IXL/Go Math
Prodigy
Science:
Discovery Education
Frisday
Read 25 pages of a book
Math IXL/Go Math
Prodigy
Social Studies
If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m here for you!!
Just to recap, I will be emailing most Prodigy passwords tomorrow and will send an update of the Skipp Meaningful Work at home document.
Peace out friends! Stay safe, healthy, and have your kids unload the dishwasher!
Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
I know we should be getting ready for our trip to the Zoo and or plans for Spring Break. My heart is sad that we have had to change our course of direction. I miss seeing and talking to all the students. I think of all you parents who are attempting home school. I know it’s hard, I’m right there with you! I will continue to update our Skipp Meaningful Work document. All the work I’m suggesting is a continuation from our classroom learning. I know it’s not required work, but it is work that is consistent and stable.
I will also continue to update Seesaw with activities. Seesaw is a great place for kids to connect in an educational setting.
I do have one big announcement! Many have asked for me to bring back a math game we used to use. The name of the game is Prodigy. Prodigy is an online math game for students to practice math facts. I will send passwords to students through their Grand Rapids Public School gmail account. I know of a couple students who can’t remember their Grand Rapids Public School gmail password so I will send their passwords for Prodigy through the Remind App. I do want to let parents know that Prodigy is a game. Prodigy won’t replace the Math IXL work. Prodigy is more of a math fact practice game. In other words I will be assigning Math Fact Practice this week using the game Prodigy.
Also below is a little make shift work schedule. This is just a suggestion.
Monday
Read 25 pages of a book
Math IXL/Go Math
Prodigy
Writing
Tuesday
Read 25 pages of a book
Math IXL/Go Math
Prodigy
Science:
Discovery Education
Wednesday
Read 25 pages of a book-Reader’s Notebook Assignment
Math IXL/Go Math
Prodigy
Social Studies
Thursday
Read 25 pages of a book
Math IXL/Go Math
Prodigy
Science:
Discovery Education
Frisday
Read 25 pages of a book
Math IXL/Go Math
Prodigy
Social Studies
If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m here for you!!
Just to recap, I will be emailing most Prodigy passwords tomorrow and will send an update of the Skipp Meaningful Work at home document.
Peace out friends! Stay safe, healthy, and have your kids unload the dishwasher!
Skipp
Sunday, March 8th 2020
Dear Parents and students,
I hesitate to say this, but I think fifth grade is going to have accomplished the Herculean task of being ready for the M-Step after spring break. Fifth grade has the misfortune of being the first to test, which means they have basically just the first three quarters to cover all of the math topics for their grade. This group started extending into fifth grade math last year already, so I'm not shocked. That's not totally true- this still feels like a big deal, and I'm a little paranoid that I've overlooked something. We'll continue to go over topics and become better at using different operations and formulas so that everyone is as comfortable with the material as possible.
Fourth grade is well positioned to be in the same situation next year. We've already started doing quite a few fifth grade topics with fractions. I don't think they've mastered it all, so we circle back and practice again. We're to the point though where everyone has lots of options for their MFP (math fluency practice) so they can mix it up and keep the work fresh.
We will be wrapping up our studies in Native Americans this week. We're also wrapping up Native American studies and moving on to learning about Africa and Africa's ties to North America. Similar to Native American studies, this has some dark chapters. The goal is going to be a wide view of the land of Africa and the people of Africa that includes seeing the African people not just as victims of European and North American oppression, but as strong people with their own rich and beautiful histories.
I really enjoyed our time together at conferences this past week. I look forward to wrapping up conferences on Wednesday night. Thanks again for bringing in snacks!
Dear Parents and students,
- We are still in need of a couple electric tea kettles for our tea time.
- March 17th is Science Fair Parent Night! Even if you don’t need science fair help, we’ll be doing some fun science investigations together as practice. We’ll also learn about collecting data and I’ll have pictures of past science fair displays.
- March 20th is the Montessori Family Dance at GRM. It was super cute and fun last year.
- Three weeks until we head to the Zoo. Here is the link again to sign up for that fun adventure. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054baeab2ea1fe3-zoolab1
- Sixth grade also will be participating in a Ceasar Chavez rally over lunch in two weeks. Those permission slips are coming home next week.
I hesitate to say this, but I think fifth grade is going to have accomplished the Herculean task of being ready for the M-Step after spring break. Fifth grade has the misfortune of being the first to test, which means they have basically just the first three quarters to cover all of the math topics for their grade. This group started extending into fifth grade math last year already, so I'm not shocked. That's not totally true- this still feels like a big deal, and I'm a little paranoid that I've overlooked something. We'll continue to go over topics and become better at using different operations and formulas so that everyone is as comfortable with the material as possible.
Fourth grade is well positioned to be in the same situation next year. We've already started doing quite a few fifth grade topics with fractions. I don't think they've mastered it all, so we circle back and practice again. We're to the point though where everyone has lots of options for their MFP (math fluency practice) so they can mix it up and keep the work fresh.
We will be wrapping up our studies in Native Americans this week. We're also wrapping up Native American studies and moving on to learning about Africa and Africa's ties to North America. Similar to Native American studies, this has some dark chapters. The goal is going to be a wide view of the land of Africa and the people of Africa that includes seeing the African people not just as victims of European and North American oppression, but as strong people with their own rich and beautiful histories.
I really enjoyed our time together at conferences this past week. I look forward to wrapping up conferences on Wednesday night. Thanks again for bringing in snacks!
Sunday March 1st, 2020
Dear Parents and students,
First, reminders about this week and then some cool things we’ve been doing this past week.
Conferences are this Tuesday and Thursday from 5-8 pm. They are 15 minutes long and I will be leading them. I told students that it wasn’t mandatory that they came. If they do come, I will have a table set up in the hallway where your child can show you their work. Here is the link to the scheduled times.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TexJA53yYzVt80rJRotXJpT7lqIRUzMut9cF6M1uHPQ/edit?usp=sharing
We're headed back to the Zoo at the end of March. If you are interested in volunteering please click on this link.
Here's the link to sign up to volunteer
About two weeks ago the Pie order forms went home. The note was purple. The pie sales is a huge fundraiser for our school.
Also, there is no school this Friday.
In class this week the 5th graders took flight with their zip line racers they built. Students participated in a STEM science work. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Basically they had to build a zip line racer all by themselves. Some of them flew and some didn’t. The project is not over because students can continue to improve their zip line racer until it flies. This type of learning fits so well with this age group. They are working together, researching, and learning from their mistakes.
6th graders had the opportunity to make a slide with their bacteria. I taught the students a very step by step way on how to prepare a slide. This will give them experience for when they head to middle school and work with micro organisms.
4th graders will be dissecting mushrooms Monday afternoon. They are studying the Fungi Kingdom.
In history all students will be preparing a poster board comparing two Native American Tribes. Students have spent the past two weeks researching and now they will learn how to present their work using a poster board.
Wish List: Tea Kettle
Dear Parents and students,
First, reminders about this week and then some cool things we’ve been doing this past week.
Conferences are this Tuesday and Thursday from 5-8 pm. They are 15 minutes long and I will be leading them. I told students that it wasn’t mandatory that they came. If they do come, I will have a table set up in the hallway where your child can show you their work. Here is the link to the scheduled times.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TexJA53yYzVt80rJRotXJpT7lqIRUzMut9cF6M1uHPQ/edit?usp=sharing
We're headed back to the Zoo at the end of March. If you are interested in volunteering please click on this link.
Here's the link to sign up to volunteer
About two weeks ago the Pie order forms went home. The note was purple. The pie sales is a huge fundraiser for our school.
Also, there is no school this Friday.
In class this week the 5th graders took flight with their zip line racers they built. Students participated in a STEM science work. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Basically they had to build a zip line racer all by themselves. Some of them flew and some didn’t. The project is not over because students can continue to improve their zip line racer until it flies. This type of learning fits so well with this age group. They are working together, researching, and learning from their mistakes.
6th graders had the opportunity to make a slide with their bacteria. I taught the students a very step by step way on how to prepare a slide. This will give them experience for when they head to middle school and work with micro organisms.
4th graders will be dissecting mushrooms Monday afternoon. They are studying the Fungi Kingdom.
In history all students will be preparing a poster board comparing two Native American Tribes. Students have spent the past two weeks researching and now they will learn how to present their work using a poster board.
Wish List: Tea Kettle
Sunday, February 23rd, 2020
Dear Parents and Students,
This week felt really productive with lessons and concentration. Things to know:
Our field trip to the Grand Rapids Symphony is on Friday. There are just a few missing permission slips.
We're headed back to the Zoo at the end of March. If you are interested in volunteering please click on this link.
Here's the link to sign up to volunteer https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054baeab2ea1fe3-zoolab1
Also, Ms. Tessa with the YMCA and healthy eating will be joining us every Tuesday afternoon. Students will receive a healthy snack and a recipe every week for the next six weeks.
For 6th grade parents: I wanted to give you a heads up on grading in the classroom for the 3rd quarter. Students receive grades in four different areas. They receive grades in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies/History. Within these categories I put in students’ assignments weekly. In the category of English students’ receive grades for the following “works”; spelling/vocabulary, writing, and reader’s notebook. For math, I put in students’ MFP and math unit study assignments. I also put in students’ assignments in Science and History. In our classroom students have a turn and this is where they place their work to be corrected and returned. Here is a list of what is due every Friday: spelling/vocabulary, writing, reader’s notebook, and math. If your child has low grades it could be a couple of things, missing assignments or poor work completion. To view your child’s grades follow this link https://www.grps.org/parentvue . After you click on this page, scroll down and there is a link to studentvue. Students can login in with their username and password which is the same as what they use at school. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. Please note that students can always turn in late work which can change their grade.
Things needed: An electric tea kettle
Dear Parents and Students,
This week felt really productive with lessons and concentration. Things to know:
Our field trip to the Grand Rapids Symphony is on Friday. There are just a few missing permission slips.
We're headed back to the Zoo at the end of March. If you are interested in volunteering please click on this link.
Here's the link to sign up to volunteer https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054baeab2ea1fe3-zoolab1
Also, Ms. Tessa with the YMCA and healthy eating will be joining us every Tuesday afternoon. Students will receive a healthy snack and a recipe every week for the next six weeks.
For 6th grade parents: I wanted to give you a heads up on grading in the classroom for the 3rd quarter. Students receive grades in four different areas. They receive grades in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies/History. Within these categories I put in students’ assignments weekly. In the category of English students’ receive grades for the following “works”; spelling/vocabulary, writing, and reader’s notebook. For math, I put in students’ MFP and math unit study assignments. I also put in students’ assignments in Science and History. In our classroom students have a turn and this is where they place their work to be corrected and returned. Here is a list of what is due every Friday: spelling/vocabulary, writing, reader’s notebook, and math. If your child has low grades it could be a couple of things, missing assignments or poor work completion. To view your child’s grades follow this link https://www.grps.org/parentvue . After you click on this page, scroll down and there is a link to studentvue. Students can login in with their username and password which is the same as what they use at school. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. Please note that students can always turn in late work which can change their grade.
Things needed: An electric tea kettle
Sunday February 9th, 2020
Dear parents and students,
Happy Sunday!! Hopefully everyone got enough rest this weekend! Winter camp was fabulous this year!! A huge thank-you to all who helped make this possible. Thank-you to the parents and students who interviewed the high school counselors. Thank-you to all the high school counselors. They were simply amazing to our children.
I’m also so very proud of how the students were really respectful to all the adults. They deserve extra dessert!
Thanks to the parent chaperones who drove up and spent the night. Wayyyyy too much fun was had by all!!
This week is the week of the Valentine Dance. Students can come to school dressed for the dance. It is a non-uniform day. We will still be having moving up day this Friday though. Moving up day will end at 2:15. The dance will start around 2:30. If you would like to come help chaperone, please let me know.
I had to make a decision about passing out valentines, we will not be passing out valentines this Friday. We are focusing on a friendship dance instead. I do apologize if I didn’t communicate this sooner. I’m very sorry. If they already have made them, that’s fine. If you haven’t started, please don’t. We really just want to focus on a friendship dance.
In class this week students will continue their Native American research. We are researching the fundamental needs of a tribe. Students may pick their tribe. If you have a chance to go to a local library to borrow books please do so, but it’s not required.
Also, next Friday the 21st we will be celebrating Dr. Maria Montessori’s 150th birthday at Aquinas College. A note went home last week about it.
Then on Saturday, February 22nd there will be a Montessori conference from 8-12 am. We would love to see you all there. This is a great way to celebrate our wonderful unique Montessori Education.
Thank-you for all the tea donations. We will be starting tea this week!!
Dear parents and students,
Happy Sunday!! Hopefully everyone got enough rest this weekend! Winter camp was fabulous this year!! A huge thank-you to all who helped make this possible. Thank-you to the parents and students who interviewed the high school counselors. Thank-you to all the high school counselors. They were simply amazing to our children.
I’m also so very proud of how the students were really respectful to all the adults. They deserve extra dessert!
Thanks to the parent chaperones who drove up and spent the night. Wayyyyy too much fun was had by all!!
This week is the week of the Valentine Dance. Students can come to school dressed for the dance. It is a non-uniform day. We will still be having moving up day this Friday though. Moving up day will end at 2:15. The dance will start around 2:30. If you would like to come help chaperone, please let me know.
I had to make a decision about passing out valentines, we will not be passing out valentines this Friday. We are focusing on a friendship dance instead. I do apologize if I didn’t communicate this sooner. I’m very sorry. If they already have made them, that’s fine. If you haven’t started, please don’t. We really just want to focus on a friendship dance.
In class this week students will continue their Native American research. We are researching the fundamental needs of a tribe. Students may pick their tribe. If you have a chance to go to a local library to borrow books please do so, but it’s not required.
Also, next Friday the 21st we will be celebrating Dr. Maria Montessori’s 150th birthday at Aquinas College. A note went home last week about it.
Then on Saturday, February 22nd there will be a Montessori conference from 8-12 am. We would love to see you all there. This is a great way to celebrate our wonderful unique Montessori Education.
Thank-you for all the tea donations. We will be starting tea this week!!
Monday, January 20th, 2020
Dear Parents and Students,
Last week was a short, but powerful week. I will call last week the beginning of let’s get organized.
Many parents ask me if their child is working in class. My answer is usually yes because they are.
However, what I have discovered is that they are doing the work that they planned on their work plan. You see every Monday morning I work with students in small groups to help them plan their work week. We also have an assignment board where students can look and see what work they need to plan out. I help remind them on what work that is due every day. Each day we move towards becoming more organized. I really enjoy watching this.
For 6th grade parents: Grades are due by Wednesday at 4:00 pm. The World Map is their big Social Studies project. For Science is their Leaf books.
On another note, listed below are some important dates to follow for this week..
Thursday, January 23 MAP ELA at 9:30
Friday, January 24 MAP Math at 9:30
Ps. Please look for a Tea note to come home this week!
Wish List: Healthy snacks and hot chocolate
Dear Parents and Students,
Last week was a short, but powerful week. I will call last week the beginning of let’s get organized.
Many parents ask me if their child is working in class. My answer is usually yes because they are.
However, what I have discovered is that they are doing the work that they planned on their work plan. You see every Monday morning I work with students in small groups to help them plan their work week. We also have an assignment board where students can look and see what work they need to plan out. I help remind them on what work that is due every day. Each day we move towards becoming more organized. I really enjoy watching this.
For 6th grade parents: Grades are due by Wednesday at 4:00 pm. The World Map is their big Social Studies project. For Science is their Leaf books.
On another note, listed below are some important dates to follow for this week..
Thursday, January 23 MAP ELA at 9:30
Friday, January 24 MAP Math at 9:30
Ps. Please look for a Tea note to come home this week!
Wish List: Healthy snacks and hot chocolate
Sunday, January 12th, 2020
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy winter Sunday! Today I’ll be sharing with you what students worked on this week. I will also share important dates to come.
This week students received new Math Fact Practice Lessons or you will hear us call it MFP. MFP is a math skill for students to practice during their work cycle. I told them that they can complete a satisfying amount that leads to mastery. Most students complete 20-40 problems a week.
The other main lesson students received this week was a Language lesson in grammar. Students received lessons in either adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, verbs, conjunctions, or prepositions. Our Montessori curriculum teaches students all of the types of prepositions as per say to some of them. In other words, Montessori takes the work a step further.
In 6th grade math students received a lesson in adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. We are going to be studying this for the next few days.
In science we will be starting to talk about the six kingdoms of life. We will also be working on STEM boxes. I’ll talk more about STEM next week.
In history we will begin our journey on studying American History. We will start with Native Americans.
Important Dates:
Tuesday Jan. 14th 5:15 Camp Parent Meeting
Wednesday Jan. 15th Camp med forms are due
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday half days.
Snack: Thank-you for bringing in donations! We love healthy snacks!!
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy winter Sunday! Today I’ll be sharing with you what students worked on this week. I will also share important dates to come.
This week students received new Math Fact Practice Lessons or you will hear us call it MFP. MFP is a math skill for students to practice during their work cycle. I told them that they can complete a satisfying amount that leads to mastery. Most students complete 20-40 problems a week.
The other main lesson students received this week was a Language lesson in grammar. Students received lessons in either adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, verbs, conjunctions, or prepositions. Our Montessori curriculum teaches students all of the types of prepositions as per say to some of them. In other words, Montessori takes the work a step further.
In 6th grade math students received a lesson in adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. We are going to be studying this for the next few days.
In science we will be starting to talk about the six kingdoms of life. We will also be working on STEM boxes. I’ll talk more about STEM next week.
In history we will begin our journey on studying American History. We will start with Native Americans.
Important Dates:
Tuesday Jan. 14th 5:15 Camp Parent Meeting
Wednesday Jan. 15th Camp med forms are due
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday half days.
Snack: Thank-you for bringing in donations! We love healthy snacks!!
Sunday January 4th, 2020
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed a little time off. I’ll be honest, I just want the snow to come!! Below are a couple of important things coming up I wanted to share with you. Our next moving up day is this Friday the 10th. The 6th graders will go to middle again and we will invite 3rd graders into our community for the day.
Camp permission slip forms will be going home this week. We leave for camp Wednesday, Feb. 5th and return Friday Feb. 7th. We will have our camp parent information night is on Tuesday January 14th at 5:15 pm. If your child is planning on taking medication at camp, all medical forms will need to be turned into our nurse by Wednesday, January 15th. At the camp parent information night, we go over what your child can expect at camp. We talk about what to bring and how to dress. We also answer any parent questions about camp. Also, there are still candy boxes to sell if you would like them. You pay thirty dollars for the box. Then sell sixty dollars worth.
6th Graders, the end of the marking period is Friday, the 17th. The major Science Grade for the marking period is the leaf book. The major Social Studies grade is your world map. The leaf book and the World Map are your grade. If these projects aren’t turned in then chances are your grade will be low.
The fifth graders have the wonderful opportunity to participate in the annual One City One Book project. A note went home over spring break about the author of the book, Harbor Me. This is a beautiful book that I will be reading with all the fifth graders this year. I am very excited to share this book with my fifth graders!!! Here is a link to more information about Harbor Me. https://www.grpl.org/kids-and-teens/onebookforkids/
Also, if you want to see a calendar of important dates, just click on the E2 calendar tab at the top of our weebly and it will take you right to the calendar.
Sunday, December 15th, 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
Greetings! Below is just a quick update as to what to expect for this week. Thanks everyone for snack this week! We appreciate it! Also, a huge thank-you for the watercolor paper and watercolor paints!!
Over the past years the class and I have put together some traditions we celebrate the week before winter break.
Students have started their Holiday Traditions Research (they might need to make a trip to the library to get books). They will present their project next Thursday or Friday. Some students created a grading sheet for the whole class for this project. They did a thorough job. I will be focusing more on having students do this piece of work.
A note went home this week about Secret Santa in our classroom this week.
1.Monday-Draw a picture
2.Tuesday-small candy
3.Wednesday-small craft
4.Thursday-write a letter
5.Friday-Five dollar present
Monday, December 16th- Holiday Traditions from Around the World at Frederik Meijer Gardens.
Tuesday, December 17th- Game and Craft day. Students may bring in their favorite game they like to play. I can’t decide if I’m bringing in Monopoly or Battleship. Students will also have the chance to make a craft. Spelling Bee starts at 1:00 and students gather at 12:30.
Wednesday, December 18th- Gingerbread House making and Gingerbread math!
Everyone brings their own frosting, 4th graders bring small candy, 5th graders bring napkins, and 6th graders bring graham crackers. 6th-8th grade Winter Concert at City at 6:00 pm.
Thursday, December the 19th- Ice Skating at Griff’s and Holiday Research Presentations.
Friday, December 20th- Volunteer in Mrs. Keiler’s class. We will be helping them design their Gingerbread houses. Also, Secret Santas’ final stop!! Today is a half day.
Dear Parents and Students,
Greetings! Below is just a quick update as to what to expect for this week. Thanks everyone for snack this week! We appreciate it! Also, a huge thank-you for the watercolor paper and watercolor paints!!
Over the past years the class and I have put together some traditions we celebrate the week before winter break.
Students have started their Holiday Traditions Research (they might need to make a trip to the library to get books). They will present their project next Thursday or Friday. Some students created a grading sheet for the whole class for this project. They did a thorough job. I will be focusing more on having students do this piece of work.
A note went home this week about Secret Santa in our classroom this week.
1.Monday-Draw a picture
2.Tuesday-small candy
3.Wednesday-small craft
4.Thursday-write a letter
5.Friday-Five dollar present
Monday, December 16th- Holiday Traditions from Around the World at Frederik Meijer Gardens.
Tuesday, December 17th- Game and Craft day. Students may bring in their favorite game they like to play. I can’t decide if I’m bringing in Monopoly or Battleship. Students will also have the chance to make a craft. Spelling Bee starts at 1:00 and students gather at 12:30.
Wednesday, December 18th- Gingerbread House making and Gingerbread math!
Everyone brings their own frosting, 4th graders bring small candy, 5th graders bring napkins, and 6th graders bring graham crackers. 6th-8th grade Winter Concert at City at 6:00 pm.
Thursday, December the 19th- Ice Skating at Griff’s and Holiday Research Presentations.
Friday, December 20th- Volunteer in Mrs. Keiler’s class. We will be helping them design their Gingerbread houses. Also, Secret Santas’ final stop!! Today is a half day.
Sunday, December 8th, 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy Sunday! This will be short and sweet.
Please click on the E2 Calendar for up to date activities and times.
A note went home Friday about a field trip to Frederik Meijer Gardens and Ice Skating at Griff's Icehouse.
We will be visiting Holiday House this Friday the 13th.
Students have started their Holiday Traditions Research (they might need to make a trip to the library to get books).
A note will go home this week about Secret Santa in our classroom this week.
Over the past years the class and I have put together some traditions we celebrate the week before winter break.
Monday, December 16th- Holiday Traditions from Around the World at Frederik Meijer Gardens.
Tuesday, December 17th- Game and Craft day. Students may bring in their favorite game they like to play. Students will also have the chance to make a craft.
Wednesday, December 18th- Students will be presenting their Holiday Traditions Research.
Thursday, December the 19th- Ice Skating at Griff’s
Friday, December 20th- Volunteer in Mrs. Keiler’s class. We will be helping them design their Gingerbread houses.
Secret Santa will be Monday through Friday. Students will be making the note this week to send home about the different activities explained.
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy Sunday! This will be short and sweet.
Please click on the E2 Calendar for up to date activities and times.
A note went home Friday about a field trip to Frederik Meijer Gardens and Ice Skating at Griff's Icehouse.
We will be visiting Holiday House this Friday the 13th.
Students have started their Holiday Traditions Research (they might need to make a trip to the library to get books).
A note will go home this week about Secret Santa in our classroom this week.
Over the past years the class and I have put together some traditions we celebrate the week before winter break.
Monday, December 16th- Holiday Traditions from Around the World at Frederik Meijer Gardens.
Tuesday, December 17th- Game and Craft day. Students may bring in their favorite game they like to play. Students will also have the chance to make a craft.
Wednesday, December 18th- Students will be presenting their Holiday Traditions Research.
Thursday, December the 19th- Ice Skating at Griff’s
Friday, December 20th- Volunteer in Mrs. Keiler’s class. We will be helping them design their Gingerbread houses.
Secret Santa will be Monday through Friday. Students will be making the note this week to send home about the different activities explained.
Sunday, November 24th, 2019
Dear Parents,
***Candy Sales is Happening*** Students can bring in their $30.00 and signed form and pick up their candy box.
Good morning. This might be a little long one, but I wanted to give you the best snapshot of our classroom and what your children our working on.
First off, when students walk into the room on Monday morning, they find their work spaces for the week. I call this seating popriri. This is where I randomly select their name card and place it at a work space. The benefit of this is that students sit at different spots and by different people.
After we have circle we start a period of silent work time. This was previously called DEAR where all students were required to read, The class and I decided to change this time to silent work cycle. Students are still required to read everyday and meet their goal pages. During this time silent time students can plan out their day, read, and or work silently.
Attached at the bottom of this note is our last week's work plan. Please note that math and language unit studies are tailored towards your child’s specific needs and interests.
Students are required to complete at least two math cards a day from their math unit study. This is a requirement and not a choice. I tell students to at least plan on working on math for 45 minutes everyday. 6th graders work in math is a little bit different. They meet with me three days a week and receive a lesson and then follow up work.
Another area your child works on is reading. Your child gets to choose a book they want to read and they set their own goal of how many pages to read a day. The goal really depends on the student. They usually have a follow-up assignment that is placed in their reader’s notebook.
Students also have a language unit study which is either grammar or word study.
Students have vocabulary/spelling as well. 6th grade just have Latin and Greek root work.
In writing this week students were given a writing assignment about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For 6th grade this is a district writing contest. I told all the students that they may email me their essays no later than Sunday, December 1st by 6:00 pm.
In history the 4th graders are working on a Michigan map, the 5th graders are working on a 5th grade map, and the 6th graders are working on a world map.
In science the 4th and 5th graders are researching Fossils. The 6th graders will be researching Tides. All science and history lessons stem from the Great Lessons students received in the beginning of the year.
All leaf books are due Tuesday, November 26th. We are going on our field trip to Aquinas to check our leaf books.
In a nutshell during the next two days your child will work on the following:
Dear Parents,
***Candy Sales is Happening*** Students can bring in their $30.00 and signed form and pick up their candy box.
Good morning. This might be a little long one, but I wanted to give you the best snapshot of our classroom and what your children our working on.
First off, when students walk into the room on Monday morning, they find their work spaces for the week. I call this seating popriri. This is where I randomly select their name card and place it at a work space. The benefit of this is that students sit at different spots and by different people.
After we have circle we start a period of silent work time. This was previously called DEAR where all students were required to read, The class and I decided to change this time to silent work cycle. Students are still required to read everyday and meet their goal pages. During this time silent time students can plan out their day, read, and or work silently.
Attached at the bottom of this note is our last week's work plan. Please note that math and language unit studies are tailored towards your child’s specific needs and interests.
Students are required to complete at least two math cards a day from their math unit study. This is a requirement and not a choice. I tell students to at least plan on working on math for 45 minutes everyday. 6th graders work in math is a little bit different. They meet with me three days a week and receive a lesson and then follow up work.
Another area your child works on is reading. Your child gets to choose a book they want to read and they set their own goal of how many pages to read a day. The goal really depends on the student. They usually have a follow-up assignment that is placed in their reader’s notebook.
Students also have a language unit study which is either grammar or word study.
Students have vocabulary/spelling as well. 6th grade just have Latin and Greek root work.
In writing this week students were given a writing assignment about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For 6th grade this is a district writing contest. I told all the students that they may email me their essays no later than Sunday, December 1st by 6:00 pm.
In history the 4th graders are working on a Michigan map, the 5th graders are working on a 5th grade map, and the 6th graders are working on a world map.
In science the 4th and 5th graders are researching Fossils. The 6th graders will be researching Tides. All science and history lessons stem from the Great Lessons students received in the beginning of the year.
All leaf books are due Tuesday, November 26th. We are going on our field trip to Aquinas to check our leaf books.
In a nutshell during the next two days your child will work on the following:
- Michigan, USA, or World Map
- Leaf book
- Math
- MLK writing essay
- 4th/5th Fossils
- Reading
- Late work
Have a wonderful restful Thanksgiving break!
-Skipp
Work Plan Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EC-zrtTyPGMrRbmAvfPQaoAxKaqPOhCxyfyeVQJ2q6g/edit?usp=sharing
Sunday November 10th, 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
I really enjoyed seeing everyone at conferences this past week. It’s too bad that we only have 15 minutes together. The kids really put sometime in thinking about their conference reflection.
The trip Thursday at the Zoo was fabulous! It was a bright sunny cold Michigan day. We were the only people at the Zoo since it was closed for construction. I thought that was pretty special. Thank you so much to all who could volunteer. Your help was awesome! We are looking forward to the rest of Zoo lab in March.
Volunteer Opportunity:
Candy Bar Sale: Set your own schedule! Come at the beginning or end of the day to collect money and pass out boxes of candy. We'll give you everything you need to keep accurate records. We'll even give you Tanya Chanter to show you how she did it in the past. We already have the candy and are ready to roll. It’s really easy and it helps students pay for their own field trips.
Next Field Trip: We are going to see the Sound of Music at City on Thursday. I had intended to send permission slips home on Friday, but forgot to put them in the tray for things to go home. They'll come home Monday. The cost is $2.50. City has to charge for tickets because they are charged royalty fees every time they perform the show. Fifty cents is for the bus there and back.
During our work cycle this week for Science, we worked on getting our notebooks setup for Zoo Lab. This involved gluing in our journal entry and extra activities students can choose to do for their animal. I encourage students to look for books about their animals. For our leaf books, students received a lesson for the leaf book cover and the table of contents. I have extended the leaf book project to be due by November 26th. On November 26th, we are headed on a short field trip to Aquinas College to check our leaf books. I’m excited to see the students work on this extended project.
In class students have begun vocabulary and spelling. This work consists of grade level vocabulary words for 4th and 5th grade. As for sixth grade, students have begun learning Greek and Latin roots. All vocabulary was due on Friday. Now this week 4th and 5th graders will be preparing for a spelling test on the same vocabulary words. The sixth graders will take a vocab quiz.
I’m looking forward to see the rest of my families on Tuesday and Thursday for conferences!
Thanks again for bringing in snacks!
Wish List: model magic, watercolor paints, watercolor paper, watercolor pencils.
Dear Parents and Students,
I really enjoyed seeing everyone at conferences this past week. It’s too bad that we only have 15 minutes together. The kids really put sometime in thinking about their conference reflection.
The trip Thursday at the Zoo was fabulous! It was a bright sunny cold Michigan day. We were the only people at the Zoo since it was closed for construction. I thought that was pretty special. Thank you so much to all who could volunteer. Your help was awesome! We are looking forward to the rest of Zoo lab in March.
Volunteer Opportunity:
Candy Bar Sale: Set your own schedule! Come at the beginning or end of the day to collect money and pass out boxes of candy. We'll give you everything you need to keep accurate records. We'll even give you Tanya Chanter to show you how she did it in the past. We already have the candy and are ready to roll. It’s really easy and it helps students pay for their own field trips.
Next Field Trip: We are going to see the Sound of Music at City on Thursday. I had intended to send permission slips home on Friday, but forgot to put them in the tray for things to go home. They'll come home Monday. The cost is $2.50. City has to charge for tickets because they are charged royalty fees every time they perform the show. Fifty cents is for the bus there and back.
During our work cycle this week for Science, we worked on getting our notebooks setup for Zoo Lab. This involved gluing in our journal entry and extra activities students can choose to do for their animal. I encourage students to look for books about their animals. For our leaf books, students received a lesson for the leaf book cover and the table of contents. I have extended the leaf book project to be due by November 26th. On November 26th, we are headed on a short field trip to Aquinas College to check our leaf books. I’m excited to see the students work on this extended project.
In class students have begun vocabulary and spelling. This work consists of grade level vocabulary words for 4th and 5th grade. As for sixth grade, students have begun learning Greek and Latin roots. All vocabulary was due on Friday. Now this week 4th and 5th graders will be preparing for a spelling test on the same vocabulary words. The sixth graders will take a vocab quiz.
I’m looking forward to see the rest of my families on Tuesday and Thursday for conferences!
Thanks again for bringing in snacks!
Wish List: model magic, watercolor paints, watercolor paper, watercolor pencils.
Sunday October 27th, 2019
Dear parents and students,
Happy end of October! This week will be short and sweet! This week will be continuing to make our leaf books. I strongly encourage students to collect special beautiful leaves around their home or neighborhood. We will be identifying leaves this week and making our leaf books.
Also, this week in Science we will be practicing our animal observations in order to prepare us for the following week at the Zoo. We will spend the day on Thursday November 7th at John Ball Zoo. If you would like to chaperone on that day, please contact me.
Lastly, students will be preparing for their conferences this week. We are excited to share!
Wish List: model magic, water color paints, watercolor paper, water color pencils.
Dear parents and students,
Happy end of October! This week will be short and sweet! This week will be continuing to make our leaf books. I strongly encourage students to collect special beautiful leaves around their home or neighborhood. We will be identifying leaves this week and making our leaf books.
Also, this week in Science we will be practicing our animal observations in order to prepare us for the following week at the Zoo. We will spend the day on Thursday November 7th at John Ball Zoo. If you would like to chaperone on that day, please contact me.
Lastly, students will be preparing for their conferences this week. We are excited to share!
Wish List: model magic, water color paints, watercolor paper, water color pencils.
October 13th, 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
I hope you are enjoying the nice breezy fall weather!
Important Dates:
October 15th is the Sixth Grade trip to Meijer Gardens with Ms. Kieren
October 18 is Wild in the Woods (We sure got lucky pushing that back a week! Fingers crossed for a dry Friday next week! We could still use more parents.
In our classroom every Friday students write a weekly reflection. The reflection can come home in the form of a parent letter or a question answer reflection sheet. For this week students wrote a question/answer reflection and stapled their work plan to the sheet.
It is normal for Montessori students to feel a little bit anxious about their work load in the classroom. Students are given three hours to work independently on their work. We spend a lot of time teaching students time management skills for working. This can be a very daunting task, but the reward of self motivation is extraordinary. It’s truly a gift to learn how to educate yourself without an adult directing you all the time. What I do direct is nonworking behavior. Nonworking behavior can be breaking other students’ concentration. Breaking other students’ concentration is one of the biggest ones I see. I also have empowered 5th and 6th graders to recognize these interruptions of concentration. I have set the bar high for your children. They can do it! They are incredibly awesome!
Also, to sign up for conferences this fall, we are going paperless. Please click on this link to sign up: https://forms.gle/3jqQD78y1wzboqvV7. Students will be preparing for their conferences and are planning to lead them with my assistance. Please make sure they come to their conferences. I’m super excited for them to share!!
Wish List: Watercolor paper, watercolor pencils, watercolor paint, and model magic
Dear Parents and Students,
I hope you are enjoying the nice breezy fall weather!
Important Dates:
October 15th is the Sixth Grade trip to Meijer Gardens with Ms. Kieren
October 18 is Wild in the Woods (We sure got lucky pushing that back a week! Fingers crossed for a dry Friday next week! We could still use more parents.
In our classroom every Friday students write a weekly reflection. The reflection can come home in the form of a parent letter or a question answer reflection sheet. For this week students wrote a question/answer reflection and stapled their work plan to the sheet.
It is normal for Montessori students to feel a little bit anxious about their work load in the classroom. Students are given three hours to work independently on their work. We spend a lot of time teaching students time management skills for working. This can be a very daunting task, but the reward of self motivation is extraordinary. It’s truly a gift to learn how to educate yourself without an adult directing you all the time. What I do direct is nonworking behavior. Nonworking behavior can be breaking other students’ concentration. Breaking other students’ concentration is one of the biggest ones I see. I also have empowered 5th and 6th graders to recognize these interruptions of concentration. I have set the bar high for your children. They can do it! They are incredibly awesome!
Also, to sign up for conferences this fall, we are going paperless. Please click on this link to sign up: https://forms.gle/3jqQD78y1wzboqvV7. Students will be preparing for their conferences and are planning to lead them with my assistance. Please make sure they come to their conferences. I’m super excited for them to share!!
Wish List: Watercolor paper, watercolor pencils, watercolor paint, and model magic
October 5th, 2019
Dear Families and Students,
Important Note: Our Wild in the Woods field trip is pushed back until Friday, October 18th. This field trip is at Wellerwood all day. We need parent volunteers. If you can come all day or half of the day, we would love to have you. A yellow note went home last week about Wild in the Woods. Also, to sign up for conferences this fall, we are going paperless. Please click on this link to sign up: https://forms.gle/3jqQD78y1wzboqvV7. Students will be preparing for their conferences and are planning to lead them with my assistance. Please make sure they come to their conferences. I’m super excited for them to share!!
To start this week, I took the 6th graders on our annual fall Ship Trip. We rode a charter bus up to Suttons Bay. While we were there students spent time either creating ROVs (remote operated vehicles) or determining if the great lakes were clean. We had a beautiful day! Thank-you to all who volunteered their time and/or donations.
In class this week. Students received a couple of really great lessons. I gave students the 4th Great Lesson which is the Story of Language. I introduced students to many different types of writings. I shared Pictographs, Cuneiform, Hieroglyphics, Latin, and Greek and many more. Students’ follow-up work is to create a letter using a different language. I’m excited to see what they come up with.
Another lesson this week was the Delta Math Screener. This screener gives me specific math skills that students need to work on from the previous school year. Part of students math work each week is called Math Fact Practice (mfp). Students will choose this week their (MFP).
On a sad note, Holly Two Oriole passed away on Wednesday afternoon. This was our classroom Guinea Pig. We made cards for her and placed them in her cage. She was well loved and cared for by the children.
Wish List: Watercolor paper, watercolor pencils, watercolor paint, and model magic
Sunday, September 22nd 2019
Dear Parents and students,
This message will be short and sweet. I just want to give parents a better explanation about how math works in our classroom. I also will include some important dates and a small wish list.
As for math, students choose a math unity area of study. These choices were based off an assessment I gave them and the map data I collected. Once students choose their math unit study, I gave them a lesson on the work, and students work through their math unit study. When students need help, they can ask other students, me or put their card down if I’m busy. The students and I agreed that for right now all students should complete a minimum of 3 cards a day. However, you can go as far as you want. Students are expected to finish 3 cards a day and this is a minimal expectation. Math is a must everyday. By the end of last week, students were getting a better grasp on this.
Listed below are some important upcoming dates:
Dear Parents and students,
This message will be short and sweet. I just want to give parents a better explanation about how math works in our classroom. I also will include some important dates and a small wish list.
As for math, students choose a math unity area of study. These choices were based off an assessment I gave them and the map data I collected. Once students choose their math unit study, I gave them a lesson on the work, and students work through their math unit study. When students need help, they can ask other students, me or put their card down if I’m busy. The students and I agreed that for right now all students should complete a minimum of 3 cards a day. However, you can go as far as you want. Students are expected to finish 3 cards a day and this is a minimal expectation. Math is a must everyday. By the end of last week, students were getting a better grasp on this.
Listed below are some important upcoming dates:
- Thursday, September 26th Field Trip to Project One (Art Prize)
- Monday September 30th-6th Grade Boat trip. Please click on this link to donate supplies for the boat trip: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-ship1
- Thursday October 11th (tentative date) for Our team building field trip called Wild in the Woods.
- Tuesday October 15th 6th Grade Field Trip to Frederik Meijer Gardens, Fitness in The Park.
Sunday September 15th, 2019
Dear Parents and students,
First, I want to apologize if I am not getting back to you when using the Remind App. If you need to let me know something about your child, please don’t hesitate to text me at 616-299-6272. Texting me will be the quickest.
Listed below are a couple important dates.
1.Tuesday September 17th-Picture Day
2.Thursday September 19th-Upper Elementary Curriculum Night from 5-7pm.
3.Monday September 30th-6th Grade Boat trip. Please click on this link to donate supplies for the boat trip: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-ship1
4. Thursday October 11th (tentative date) for Our team building field trip called Wild in the Woods.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Our Field Trip Wild in the Woods: we need volunteers, stay tooned for more information.
In school this week students received their first math unit study lesson. Students are required to complete at least three math cards a day. Students are also working on their Timeline of life follow-up activities. These follow-up activities are on their own creation. Students are making timelines, researching endangered animals, etc.. I LOVE seeing their motivation and creativity. In science students received a lesson on Solar Energy.
This week in class students will be receiving their first language unit study lesson. I’m very excited to get this rolling! The 5th and 6th graders have been ready for this. Students are required to complete at least two Language Unit Study cards a week.
We spent the end of the week playing a team building game of capture the flag. We discussed as a community what went well and what we should work on. This was a great way to end our first 5 day week.
Thank-you for all your snacks and support. I will be making the snack schedule soon. Hope to see you at Upper Elementary curriculum night.
Dear Parents and students,
First, I want to apologize if I am not getting back to you when using the Remind App. If you need to let me know something about your child, please don’t hesitate to text me at 616-299-6272. Texting me will be the quickest.
Listed below are a couple important dates.
1.Tuesday September 17th-Picture Day
2.Thursday September 19th-Upper Elementary Curriculum Night from 5-7pm.
3.Monday September 30th-6th Grade Boat trip. Please click on this link to donate supplies for the boat trip: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45A5AB23A2FB6-ship1
4. Thursday October 11th (tentative date) for Our team building field trip called Wild in the Woods.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Our Field Trip Wild in the Woods: we need volunteers, stay tooned for more information.
In school this week students received their first math unit study lesson. Students are required to complete at least three math cards a day. Students are also working on their Timeline of life follow-up activities. These follow-up activities are on their own creation. Students are making timelines, researching endangered animals, etc.. I LOVE seeing their motivation and creativity. In science students received a lesson on Solar Energy.
This week in class students will be receiving their first language unit study lesson. I’m very excited to get this rolling! The 5th and 6th graders have been ready for this. Students are required to complete at least two Language Unit Study cards a week.
We spent the end of the week playing a team building game of capture the flag. We discussed as a community what went well and what we should work on. This was a great way to end our first 5 day week.
Thank-you for all your snacks and support. I will be making the snack schedule soon. Hope to see you at Upper Elementary curriculum night.
September 9th, 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy Monday! I wanted to send out a quick note about the happenings in our classroom last week.
On Friday, students wrote their very first parent letter to you. This letter is written in paragraph form and sent home to you in their purple PCF folders. If you haven’t received it yet, you should today after school. Parent letters go home once a month.
6th grade parents: The ship trip field trip forms were sent home on Friday. Please look for a supply sign up sheet link that will go home this week. This sheet has supplies for food for our ship trip. In the past couple of years we have cooked our own lunch at Suttons Bay. This is why we need supplies.
In our classroom we have been working on choosing our own work and without interrupting other students concentration. The fifth and sixth graders are doing an excellent job leading by example. Each week our community concentration grows.
Last week students received the second great lesson on the Timeline of Life. We started the story with single cell organisms and ended with human beings. This week students will choose different follow-up work from this lesson.
Also this week, students will receive a science lesson about the relationship between the sun and the earth have.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Let’s have a great week!
Volunteer opportunities: Hang locker tags and laminate math material (text me if you are interested)
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy Monday! I wanted to send out a quick note about the happenings in our classroom last week.
On Friday, students wrote their very first parent letter to you. This letter is written in paragraph form and sent home to you in their purple PCF folders. If you haven’t received it yet, you should today after school. Parent letters go home once a month.
6th grade parents: The ship trip field trip forms were sent home on Friday. Please look for a supply sign up sheet link that will go home this week. This sheet has supplies for food for our ship trip. In the past couple of years we have cooked our own lunch at Suttons Bay. This is why we need supplies.
In our classroom we have been working on choosing our own work and without interrupting other students concentration. The fifth and sixth graders are doing an excellent job leading by example. Each week our community concentration grows.
Last week students received the second great lesson on the Timeline of Life. We started the story with single cell organisms and ended with human beings. This week students will choose different follow-up work from this lesson.
Also this week, students will receive a science lesson about the relationship between the sun and the earth have.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Let’s have a great week!
Volunteer opportunities: Hang locker tags and laminate math material (text me if you are interested)
Monday, September 2nd
Dear Parents and Students,
I’ve really enjoyed getting to know your children over the last week! They are all so unique and special. I have so much in common with them all.
In our classroom we are working on always choosing work during the three hour work cycle. Students are working on planning their afternoon using their work plan. Students receive their work plan in the beginning of the week. The work plan has a list of work choices. Then, on the other side of their work plan is their planning page. The planning page is where they plan their work cycle time. We have an assignment board in the classroom that lists work choices and their due dates.
6th Grade parents, the permission slip for the Ship Trip will be coming home this week.
Students experienced the first great lesson in Montessori. The First Great Lesson refers to the Scientific Theory of how they earth was created. This week students will be exploring different creation stories from civilizations from all over the world.
Please review the dress code with your children.
Thank-you for the donations of snack and Atlases. We appreciate your kindness.
Dear Parents and Students,
I’ve really enjoyed getting to know your children over the last week! They are all so unique and special. I have so much in common with them all.
In our classroom we are working on always choosing work during the three hour work cycle. Students are working on planning their afternoon using their work plan. Students receive their work plan in the beginning of the week. The work plan has a list of work choices. Then, on the other side of their work plan is their planning page. The planning page is where they plan their work cycle time. We have an assignment board in the classroom that lists work choices and their due dates.
6th Grade parents, the permission slip for the Ship Trip will be coming home this week.
Students experienced the first great lesson in Montessori. The First Great Lesson refers to the Scientific Theory of how they earth was created. This week students will be exploring different creation stories from civilizations from all over the world.
Please review the dress code with your children.
Thank-you for the donations of snack and Atlases. We appreciate your kindness.
Friday, August 23rd
Dear Parents and Students,
Wow, this was a quick week for sure! I really have been enjoying getting to know the 4th graders and reconnecting with my 5th and 6th graders. Also, what a difference air conditioning can make in a classroom in mid August!
This week we spent a lot of time going over what we call grace and courtesy lessons. Listed below are a few:
Also, this week I gave different whole group lessons. Students learned how to organize their notebooks and folders. Students took a learning style survey which most are still working on.
I introduced students to Peace Mandalas and the peace shelf.
I gave students a math survey. This survey was to get an idea of where kids are at in subtraction, addition, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and measurement.
On Thursday we created our list of ways on how we were going to treat each other. We are calling them The Golden Rules. Next week a couple of 6th graders are going to display these rules in the classroom and we are all going to sign it. This was an amazing experience to see how many similarities children have.
We have agreed that snack will be after 1:45 each day except for Tuesdays when we have P.E. Snack will take place at 10:15 after P.E. We talked about eating our own snacks and not sharing food.
Next week I will begin our Cosmic Education journey. On Monday I will be introducing two subject areas which are Geography and Geometry. On Tuesday I will introduce writing and fractions. On Wednesday and Thursday mornings students will be taking the MAP reading and math assessments in our classroom.
We will also have time next week for more community team building and peace activities.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
Wow, this was a quick week for sure! I really have been enjoying getting to know the 4th graders and reconnecting with my 5th and 6th graders. Also, what a difference air conditioning can make in a classroom in mid August!
This week we spent a lot of time going over what we call grace and courtesy lessons. Listed below are a few:
- Hallways
- Bathroom
- Lockers
- Playground
- Cafeteria
- Classroom
- Stairways
Also, this week I gave different whole group lessons. Students learned how to organize their notebooks and folders. Students took a learning style survey which most are still working on.
I introduced students to Peace Mandalas and the peace shelf.
I gave students a math survey. This survey was to get an idea of where kids are at in subtraction, addition, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and measurement.
On Thursday we created our list of ways on how we were going to treat each other. We are calling them The Golden Rules. Next week a couple of 6th graders are going to display these rules in the classroom and we are all going to sign it. This was an amazing experience to see how many similarities children have.
We have agreed that snack will be after 1:45 each day except for Tuesdays when we have P.E. Snack will take place at 10:15 after P.E. We talked about eating our own snacks and not sharing food.
Next week I will begin our Cosmic Education journey. On Monday I will be introducing two subject areas which are Geography and Geometry. On Tuesday I will introduce writing and fractions. On Wednesday and Thursday mornings students will be taking the MAP reading and math assessments in our classroom.
We will also have time next week for more community team building and peace activities.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Monday, August 19th
Dear Parents,
I really enjoyed meeting you all at open house! I’m absolutely thrilled to be back in our classroom! I know we will really enjoy having air conditioning. Below are some reminders about drop off and pick up.
For tomorrow morning when the bell rings at 9:05, please plan to line up along the outside wall underneath the cafeteria windows. They're new and beautiful, so you might not recognize them at first. Hopefully there will be a sign there with my name on it. Our class lines up starting in about the middle of the wall. Mrs. Ettinger’s will be in front of us. I'll be out between 9:05 and 9:10 to help everyone find their way.
At the end of the day our class dismisses out door B which is right by the cafeteria at 4:10. If you are pick up, please don't pull into that driveway, as children walk to the bus through there and other children start walking home in that direction. Feel free to park on the street or in the lower parking lot. If you park on the street on the building side, your child is free to walk to you and get in. If you have to park across the street, I will be asking your children to cross at the crosswalk and walk up the sidewalk to you this year. If your child has siblings in Lower Elementary, they will be free to walk down to meet those siblings outside. If they are riding the bus, everyone will meet at the bus lines.
Fourth graders and children with new after school plans, please be sure your children are clear about what to do after school. I have a list of who rides the bus according to Dean, but often they have many more kids listed as riding than are actually planning to ride. I will trust that your children are pick up if they say they are.
Sorry this is so late! I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents,
I really enjoyed meeting you all at open house! I’m absolutely thrilled to be back in our classroom! I know we will really enjoy having air conditioning. Below are some reminders about drop off and pick up.
For tomorrow morning when the bell rings at 9:05, please plan to line up along the outside wall underneath the cafeteria windows. They're new and beautiful, so you might not recognize them at first. Hopefully there will be a sign there with my name on it. Our class lines up starting in about the middle of the wall. Mrs. Ettinger’s will be in front of us. I'll be out between 9:05 and 9:10 to help everyone find their way.
At the end of the day our class dismisses out door B which is right by the cafeteria at 4:10. If you are pick up, please don't pull into that driveway, as children walk to the bus through there and other children start walking home in that direction. Feel free to park on the street or in the lower parking lot. If you park on the street on the building side, your child is free to walk to you and get in. If you have to park across the street, I will be asking your children to cross at the crosswalk and walk up the sidewalk to you this year. If your child has siblings in Lower Elementary, they will be free to walk down to meet those siblings outside. If they are riding the bus, everyone will meet at the bus lines.
Fourth graders and children with new after school plans, please be sure your children are clear about what to do after school. I have a list of who rides the bus according to Dean, but often they have many more kids listed as riding than are actually planning to ride. I will trust that your children are pick up if they say they are.
Sorry this is so late! I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Monday, May 20th 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
It’s hard to believe we are approaching are final two weeks of school.
In class this week, students will be working on their African American Research paper. This will take up much of their work time with lessons on how to write an introduction and conclusion paragraph.
This week Thursday is our Extravaganza party at Huff Park. We are suppose to bring in crunchy snacks. Also, if you have any outdoor games like bean bag toss, please feel free to donate it for the day.
We have a half day on Friday. I hope all have a safe and wonderful Memorial Weekend.
Dear Parents and Students,
It’s hard to believe we are approaching are final two weeks of school.
In class this week, students will be working on their African American Research paper. This will take up much of their work time with lessons on how to write an introduction and conclusion paragraph.
This week Thursday is our Extravaganza party at Huff Park. We are suppose to bring in crunchy snacks. Also, if you have any outdoor games like bean bag toss, please feel free to donate it for the day.
We have a half day on Friday. I hope all have a safe and wonderful Memorial Weekend.
Monday May 6th 2019
Dear parents and students,
This was a great Science Fair week. I am very proud of all the students who participated in the Science Fair. For some it was a first experience. Many students fought through fears of presenting, putting together their tri-fold, or finding a subject to test. I’ve been talking with students about focusing on what they can change for next year’s science fair. We always have areas to improve on.
This week students will start to focus in on their African American Research writing. Students most definitely should have their books at school by Tuesday, May 7th to begin research.
This Friday, the 6th graders have Math m-step.
Please look for a note to go home about a class field trip to Calvin College next Wednesday for a Chemistry presentation.
Wish List: Healthy snacks, pencils, tissues, Clorox wipes.
Dear parents and students,
This was a great Science Fair week. I am very proud of all the students who participated in the Science Fair. For some it was a first experience. Many students fought through fears of presenting, putting together their tri-fold, or finding a subject to test. I’ve been talking with students about focusing on what they can change for next year’s science fair. We always have areas to improve on.
This week students will start to focus in on their African American Research writing. Students most definitely should have their books at school by Tuesday, May 7th to begin research.
This Friday, the 6th graders have Math m-step.
Please look for a note to go home about a class field trip to Calvin College next Wednesday for a Chemistry presentation.
Wish List: Healthy snacks, pencils, tissues, Clorox wipes.
Sunday, April 28th
Dear Parents and students,
Happy Sunday! You might have heard that we had a few extra guests this past week in our classroom. It was a little tight, but we managed. Your children did an absolute wonderful job welcoming the students into our classroom. The extra students will be back in their classroom this week. In math, students continue to work on their math unit studies.
Math unit studies range from graphs, decimals, angle work, and fractions. Students are still responsible for two math cards a day. You might have heard your child talk about grade level math. Grade level math is a lesson students receive on Wednesday’s. In grade level math students are working on operations and algebraic thinking and measurement. Basically, your students are cracking the code of algebra at a younger age. They do a great job with this! In 6th grade math we are working on evaluating expressions. Students are learning the basic terms of algebra. For example, they are identifying like terms, coefficients, and variables.
I’ve been dragging my feet with the African American research paper over the past few weeks. This is my fault, I just needed a little bit of time to figure out how this would look for the rest of the year. What you need to know is that your child will need to find 3-5 books or articles on their topic or person. I will also talk to your children about looking for books about the time period when they lived. My plan is to teach them to dig a little deeper when looking for books about their topic and not just focus on their person. They are going to need the books or printed articles by Monday, May 6th to bring into class.
This Tuesday, we have Ms. Tessa cooking up some healthy snacks with the students. She will be coming every Tuesday in May pretty much.
Every Thursday afternoon, the class and I participate in team building. Last week we resurrected a camp game called, Where’s my Chicken? The weeks prior, students had been working in small groups creating their own recess game. The purpose of team building is to share ideas and cooperate with others in order to play safe and peaceful games at recess. I can’t wait for students to teach each other about the games they created.
Save the Date: Monday- Map Math testing- 9:30. Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest.
Tuesday: Science Fair - afternoon
Friday- M-step ELA for 4th graders.
Thank-you for snack!! We welcome more! We will take anything healthy.
Monday, April 16th
Dear Parents and Students,
Our return of winter will be short lived! In this update I just want to let you know some things your children will be working on in school and at home. First, they will be receiving their a variable science fair lesson. Students will be able to work on this in class and at home. The North Park Montessori school Science Fair is April 30th and the district Science Fair is May 2nd. You should have received a letter from the school district for the GRPS Science Fair.
Students will be receiving their Independent Research Project that they will be conducting on their African American from Black History month. This letter about this project which does involve a trip to the library. Please look for this note sometime this week.
M-Step Schedule:
Monday: 5th Grade Math
Thursday: 5th Grade Science
Ms. Tessa will be coming into our classroom on Tuesday afternoons. She will be teaching us how to make healthy snacks. Kids will be collecting recipes too to bring home.
This Friday, we are having game day. Students may bring in card games and board games. Please make sure they are school appropriate.
Wish list: Healthy snacks
Dear Parents and Students,
Our return of winter will be short lived! In this update I just want to let you know some things your children will be working on in school and at home. First, they will be receiving their a variable science fair lesson. Students will be able to work on this in class and at home. The North Park Montessori school Science Fair is April 30th and the district Science Fair is May 2nd. You should have received a letter from the school district for the GRPS Science Fair.
Students will be receiving their Independent Research Project that they will be conducting on their African American from Black History month. This letter about this project which does involve a trip to the library. Please look for this note sometime this week.
M-Step Schedule:
Monday: 5th Grade Math
Thursday: 5th Grade Science
Ms. Tessa will be coming into our classroom on Tuesday afternoons. She will be teaching us how to make healthy snacks. Kids will be collecting recipes too to bring home.
This Friday, we are having game day. Students may bring in card games and board games. Please make sure they are school appropriate.
Wish list: Healthy snacks
Sunday, April 7th
Good evening. A couple important things to remember this week are 5th graders have ELA M-Step on Wednesday, April 10th from 9:30-11:30. On Thursday, April 11th from 9:30-11:30 5th graders will be taking the Social Studies M-Step.
Also, please look for a note to go home about the Science Fair.
Good evening. A couple important things to remember this week are 5th graders have ELA M-Step on Wednesday, April 10th from 9:30-11:30. On Thursday, April 11th from 9:30-11:30 5th graders will be taking the Social Studies M-Step.
Also, please look for a note to go home about the Science Fair.
Monday, April 1st 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
Nope, this isn’t an April fools joke, I’m really sending a letter out on Spring Break.
I’ve had many 5th and 6th graders inquire about the Science Fair. I’ve created a Google Classroom and it’s titled Science Fair 456. Students will need the class code, 2qp3jm, this code will get them to the google classroom. I have posted the Science Fair Proposal Sheet that students can download and print off if their ready. Please don’t feel like you have to start this over spring break, this is just for students who are ready. I have six Science Fair lessons I will be giving to students next week. The Science Fair will be held May 2nd from 6:00-7:00 pm in the evening. There will also be an afternoon showing and I will get back with you on the time.
Secondly, students might be talking to you about their Black History month research paper. This work is a process much like the Science Fair. Students have received a lesson about taking notes for their Black History month person. Some students have found books in their person which is a great start. Please look for a note to go home next week about the due dates for this work.
Thirdly, M-step starts next week for 5th graders. I will let you know of the exact times next Sunday. Fifth graders will take math, language, science, and social studies.
Finally, I want to thank all the parents and students for making this transition to our temporary school such a success. Thank-you for offering your time, snacks, money, and patience.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
Nope, this isn’t an April fools joke, I’m really sending a letter out on Spring Break.
I’ve had many 5th and 6th graders inquire about the Science Fair. I’ve created a Google Classroom and it’s titled Science Fair 456. Students will need the class code, 2qp3jm, this code will get them to the google classroom. I have posted the Science Fair Proposal Sheet that students can download and print off if their ready. Please don’t feel like you have to start this over spring break, this is just for students who are ready. I have six Science Fair lessons I will be giving to students next week. The Science Fair will be held May 2nd from 6:00-7:00 pm in the evening. There will also be an afternoon showing and I will get back with you on the time.
Secondly, students might be talking to you about their Black History month research paper. This work is a process much like the Science Fair. Students have received a lesson about taking notes for their Black History month person. Some students have found books in their person which is a great start. Please look for a note to go home next week about the due dates for this work.
Thirdly, M-step starts next week for 5th graders. I will let you know of the exact times next Sunday. Fifth graders will take math, language, science, and social studies.
Finally, I want to thank all the parents and students for making this transition to our temporary school such a success. Thank-you for offering your time, snacks, money, and patience.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, March 3rd, 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
First, I have to say thank-you for all the support during this transition time. We are in the process of reestablishing our work-cycle. Reestablishing the work cycle means that during work cycle you are always choosing work. It also means that if you are working with someone on work that you are on task. Our work cycle is about 90 minutes of when students are working on math, language, science, or social studies. This is hard work for students right now, but I know we will get there.
This week students made name tags for their lockers. The theme of the name tags was kindness. Students came up with some genuine meaningful words about kindness. I am very excited to hang them on their lockers.
This week students will start reading in their book club books. Students will also begin their research on a famous African American.
Also, this week students will be writing their conference reflection sheet of which they will share at conferences. Please make sure your child attends conferences.
Conferences are Tuesday and Thursday this week. There is also conference night on the following Wednesday.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
-Mrs. Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
First, I have to say thank-you for all the support during this transition time. We are in the process of reestablishing our work-cycle. Reestablishing the work cycle means that during work cycle you are always choosing work. It also means that if you are working with someone on work that you are on task. Our work cycle is about 90 minutes of when students are working on math, language, science, or social studies. This is hard work for students right now, but I know we will get there.
This week students made name tags for their lockers. The theme of the name tags was kindness. Students came up with some genuine meaningful words about kindness. I am very excited to hang them on their lockers.
This week students will start reading in their book club books. Students will also begin their research on a famous African American.
Also, this week students will be writing their conference reflection sheet of which they will share at conferences. Please make sure your child attends conferences.
Conferences are Tuesday and Thursday this week. There is also conference night on the following Wednesday.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
-Mrs. Skipp
Sunday, February 24th, 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy Sunday morning! I wanted to give you a little academic recap of our past three days. I also wanted to give you a heads up on what's to come. All students are still responsible for completing two math cards a day. These math cards are part of their math unit study. Thanks to a couple of teachers at Grand Rapids Montessori, I was able to get math work for students.
Our language work over the next few weeks consists of a persuasive essay, book club, spelling, and Black History Month research. We will also be preparing ourselves for the Immerse Week at the Grand Rapids Museum.
Our 6th graders will be making a type of a cell in Science and will be studying Latin American Culture in Social Studies.
In our team building activity this week, we started to build a social contract for our new classroom. We will hand write our contract and post in our classroom.
A special thanks to everyone who has donated snacks! We appreciate the act of kindness.
Parents: Please copy and paste this link in your browser to sign up for conference time.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSceb9PAryUKhR-eVdp4wzwWwwOfwzLbLsiY9tNjkD1oqjPArw/viewform
Classroom Supplies:
Please copy and paste this link below in your browser. The students and I will update this list during the week as well.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FIu3SkPlw4O-K0dDKesmaW6iw24Rd_iGcHlxg98uuvs/edit?usp=sharing
Thank-you for your support and your generosity!
-Theresa Skipp
Classroom Supplies:
Please copy and paste this link below in your browser. The students and I will update this list during the week as well.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FIu3SkPlw4O-K0dDKesmaW6iw24Rd_iGcHlxg98uuvs/edit?usp=sharing
Thank-you for your support and your generosity!
-Theresa Skipp
Dear NPM Families,
Thank you for a great first two days of learning for NPM @ GRPS U. Carline ran successfully from 8:25 through 9:20 a.m. yesterday morning. Today car line started at 8:40 and wrapped up at 9:10. We will continue to manage morning dismissal in this manner. If you are driving your child to school, please plan on coming up to GRPS U from the back side on Sweet Street and getting in car line. We will manage dismissal in a similar fashion for the foreseeable future. The car line for dismissal will start moving at 4:10. Our administrative team is working on GRPS NPM cards to put in the dashboard to help car line run more efficiently moving forward. We appreciate your patience as we getting this new system in place over the coming days. We will work to explain things clearly as well as answer any questions throughout this transition.
If there is an emergency, or you need to come into the office to check in with Mette about a question, detail, or concern, you are welcome to park in the front parking lot at GRPS U (off Fuller) and come in the front door. All parents must enter through the front door of GRPS U. Starting next week we will graciously resume welcoming parent volunteers into our building and program. Please remember that all protocols stay the same. Parents must enter through the front door, check in with Mette and sign in and out of the building, just as you would have done at Big NPM. If you are visiting or volunteering in the building, again, you are welcome to use the front parking lot.
For the time being, students who live close and want to walk need a parent to come to the front office and pick them up. These piece will loosen up in the coming week for the MS students.
I hope this information is helpful as we continue to create a loving, safe, learning environment for all students and staff in our community.
All the best,
Maureen Capillo
Principal
North Park Montessori Academy
3375 Cheney Ave NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
(616) 819-2848
Thank you for a great first two days of learning for NPM @ GRPS U. Carline ran successfully from 8:25 through 9:20 a.m. yesterday morning. Today car line started at 8:40 and wrapped up at 9:10. We will continue to manage morning dismissal in this manner. If you are driving your child to school, please plan on coming up to GRPS U from the back side on Sweet Street and getting in car line. We will manage dismissal in a similar fashion for the foreseeable future. The car line for dismissal will start moving at 4:10. Our administrative team is working on GRPS NPM cards to put in the dashboard to help car line run more efficiently moving forward. We appreciate your patience as we getting this new system in place over the coming days. We will work to explain things clearly as well as answer any questions throughout this transition.
If there is an emergency, or you need to come into the office to check in with Mette about a question, detail, or concern, you are welcome to park in the front parking lot at GRPS U (off Fuller) and come in the front door. All parents must enter through the front door of GRPS U. Starting next week we will graciously resume welcoming parent volunteers into our building and program. Please remember that all protocols stay the same. Parents must enter through the front door, check in with Mette and sign in and out of the building, just as you would have done at Big NPM. If you are visiting or volunteering in the building, again, you are welcome to use the front parking lot.
For the time being, students who live close and want to walk need a parent to come to the front office and pick them up. These piece will loosen up in the coming week for the MS students.
I hope this information is helpful as we continue to create a loving, safe, learning environment for all students and staff in our community.
All the best,
Maureen Capillo
Principal
North Park Montessori Academy
3375 Cheney Ave NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
(616) 819-2848
Thursday, 2-21-19
Classroom update
Dear Parents and students,
Yesterday went pretty smoothly. We spent the first part of the morning asking questions about what has happened over the past five days. We also took a tour of our new school. We talked about some of the new procedures that are in place.
We were able to have a little bit of a work cycle where students worked on math, spelling, and reading.
We plan on making locker tags for our new lockers, making stamp games for lower elementary, and completing a social contract for our new classroom.
I will be in touch soon with further updates of our needs for the classroom. Thank-you for all who reached out during this brain stretching time.
Classroom update
Dear Parents and students,
Yesterday went pretty smoothly. We spent the first part of the morning asking questions about what has happened over the past five days. We also took a tour of our new school. We talked about some of the new procedures that are in place.
We were able to have a little bit of a work cycle where students worked on math, spelling, and reading.
We plan on making locker tags for our new lockers, making stamp games for lower elementary, and completing a social contract for our new classroom.
I will be in touch soon with further updates of our needs for the classroom. Thank-you for all who reached out during this brain stretching time.
Sunday, February 17th, 2019
Dear students and families.
I wanted to touch base since the discovery of asbestos in our building and our plan moving forward.
This morning our staff met prior to the parent meeting at GRPS University. As of right now, we are still processing the information that has been shared with us, and taking steps as a team to make a plan for welcoming our kiddos back on Wednesday at a new temporary location. We intend to have a solid plan by Monday evening. This includes fourth graders field trip to Frederik Meijer Gardens. I will update the class weebly with more information about our class and classroom then, including any supplies we might need, or items we might borrow.
On Monday and Tuesday, February 18-19, there will be no school for Big North Park, 1st-8th grade. Wellerwood classes will go on as scheduled. On Monday and Tuesday, the teachers and staff will begin setting up new temporary instructional spaces for our students to return to class on Wednesday at our new temporary location, at GRPS University located at 1400 Fuller Ave. NE. Information from the district about bussing will be forthcoming.
Please expect another class weebly post from me by Monday evening with any needs that you may be able to help with. I know so many of you will be eager to help, and I appreciate that so much! I am so thankful for such supportive families and phenomenal staff team.
Dear students and families.
I wanted to touch base since the discovery of asbestos in our building and our plan moving forward.
This morning our staff met prior to the parent meeting at GRPS University. As of right now, we are still processing the information that has been shared with us, and taking steps as a team to make a plan for welcoming our kiddos back on Wednesday at a new temporary location. We intend to have a solid plan by Monday evening. This includes fourth graders field trip to Frederik Meijer Gardens. I will update the class weebly with more information about our class and classroom then, including any supplies we might need, or items we might borrow.
On Monday and Tuesday, February 18-19, there will be no school for Big North Park, 1st-8th grade. Wellerwood classes will go on as scheduled. On Monday and Tuesday, the teachers and staff will begin setting up new temporary instructional spaces for our students to return to class on Wednesday at our new temporary location, at GRPS University located at 1400 Fuller Ave. NE. Information from the district about bussing will be forthcoming.
Please expect another class weebly post from me by Monday evening with any needs that you may be able to help with. I know so many of you will be eager to help, and I appreciate that so much! I am so thankful for such supportive families and phenomenal staff team.
February, 10th 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
I am hopeful we go to school five days this week! Listed below are the events of this week.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
Dear Parents and Students,
I am hopeful we go to school five days this week! Listed below are the events of this week.
- Monday-12:30 Math MAP testing
- Wednesday-10:30- 5th graders to the Grand Rapids Symphony (Permission Slips will come home this week)
- Thursday- After lunch is the Valentine’s Day Dance-Please remember the purpose of this dance is to promote friendship and kindness in our upper elementary community. We are in charge of bringing drinks.
- Wednesday-February 4th Graders to Frederik Meijer Gardens for Biome Exploration. (Permission slips will come home this week)
- Monday- February 25th Scholastic book order due. You can go online www.scholastic.com/bookclubs and type in code LVGFZ.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
February 3rd, 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
Now that was a nice midwinter break! I hope everyone enjoyed the time with their families. This week will be short and sweet.
MAP math testing is rescheduled for Wednesday, February 6th at 2:15 pm. Students will also have time to finish their reading MAP in the next couple of weeks.
6th grade only: 6th graders were given a midterm math test the week of the 24th. After the students took the test the first time, I showed them their score. We then discussed the possibilities of why they got that particular score. I will take partial blame because students said they felt rushed to finish. That was my fault. They felt that because they were rushed they missed important pieces of the directions. Students were then allowed to correct their mistakes from the first test. Students originally had until Monday, January 28th to turn in their corrected mistakes and then I would post their grade on their report card. Due to the Polar Vortex students will have until Wednesday, February 6th to correct their mistakes and the grade will probably not show in their second quarter report card. However, I will try and see if the report grades will be extended and then I can slip in their math grade. If I can’t I will send their math grade home.
Tea: We really are looking to start tea in these next couple of weeks. Please look for a note to go home about tea.
Wish List: Electric water kettle, tea, dish soap, kitchen rag/towel.
Dear Parents and Students,
Now that was a nice midwinter break! I hope everyone enjoyed the time with their families. This week will be short and sweet.
MAP math testing is rescheduled for Wednesday, February 6th at 2:15 pm. Students will also have time to finish their reading MAP in the next couple of weeks.
6th grade only: 6th graders were given a midterm math test the week of the 24th. After the students took the test the first time, I showed them their score. We then discussed the possibilities of why they got that particular score. I will take partial blame because students said they felt rushed to finish. That was my fault. They felt that because they were rushed they missed important pieces of the directions. Students were then allowed to correct their mistakes from the first test. Students originally had until Monday, January 28th to turn in their corrected mistakes and then I would post their grade on their report card. Due to the Polar Vortex students will have until Wednesday, February 6th to correct their mistakes and the grade will probably not show in their second quarter report card. However, I will try and see if the report grades will be extended and then I can slip in their math grade. If I can’t I will send their math grade home.
Tea: We really are looking to start tea in these next couple of weeks. Please look for a note to go home about tea.
Wish List: Electric water kettle, tea, dish soap, kitchen rag/towel.
January 23rd, 2019
Dear parents and students,
We FINALLY have snow! This is the time when you realize your children have grown out of their winter coat, winter boots, gloves, hats, and or snow pants. I realized that my nine year old daughter can fit comfortably into my winter boots. Maybe it’s me that has to get new boots.
Homework: Homework has not changed since the beginning of the year. I suggest talking with your child about making a schedule of when they will work on Math IXL. The times are as follows: 4th grade- 30 minutes; 5th grade grade-45 minutes; 6th grade- 90 minutes. On math ixl students can work on their current math unit study, math fact practice, previous math unit studies, or other work within their grade level. Encourage your child to keep working when the work gets hard. I always tell them to keep pushing through. 40 book challenge: I encourage students to update their book list. I encourage students to set a goal for how many pages they are going to read a day. I say this because each book is different with its content. The goal should be challenging, but doable.
MAP testing: We have our reading MAP testing this Friday, January 25th at 2:15. I came across this link below that I talk with the students about. Some of these pointers are great conversation starters. https://www.nwea.org/blog/2017/11-talking-points-for-teachers-preparing-students-for-the-map-test/ I am planning to make sure students have snack before testing.
Work cycle: I am going to spend time talking with kids about work cycle this week. First and foremost during work cycle, students should always be choosing work from our work choices on the whiteboard.
Tea: We really are looking to start tea in these next couple of weeks. Please look for a note to go home about tea.
Wish List: Electric water kettle, tea, dish soap, kitchen rag/towel.
January 13th, 2019
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy New Year!! We started off our week by welcoming our first big sign of air conditioning in our classroom. This lead to a week long team building activity where students redesigned the classroom. This work was amazing to watch. Students were measuring all objects in our room to see how they could rearrange everything so it would fit. Students were helping each other all week long. This upcoming week, the students and I will go over the different plans and chose one.
Some students presented their Holiday research, but not all. We will be finishing up the presentations this week as well as their reflections about their presentations.
We started off the week reminding ourselves of our classroom work cycle rules. This week I focussed on Math Unit Study lessons. Students are to complete at least two math unit study cards per day.
As a class we went through our PBIS rotations for the bathroom, cafeteria, and recess. This is basically a review of the positive behavior we should have in our school.
Ms. Capillo will be coming in on Monday to remind us to be More Kind, to Take Responsibility for our choices, and Listen and follow Directions the First Time. We're also going to be writing a skit as a whole class to show the rest of E2 how to do those things in the bathroom.
We have some smaller field trips coming up this winter. Fourth grade will be learning about biomes at Meijer Gardens in February and fifth grade will go to the Grand Rapids Symphony in early March. These are all low cost or no cost trips.
Thank-you and have a wonderful week! Reminder: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we dismiss at 12:20.
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy New Year!! We started off our week by welcoming our first big sign of air conditioning in our classroom. This lead to a week long team building activity where students redesigned the classroom. This work was amazing to watch. Students were measuring all objects in our room to see how they could rearrange everything so it would fit. Students were helping each other all week long. This upcoming week, the students and I will go over the different plans and chose one.
Some students presented their Holiday research, but not all. We will be finishing up the presentations this week as well as their reflections about their presentations.
We started off the week reminding ourselves of our classroom work cycle rules. This week I focussed on Math Unit Study lessons. Students are to complete at least two math unit study cards per day.
As a class we went through our PBIS rotations for the bathroom, cafeteria, and recess. This is basically a review of the positive behavior we should have in our school.
Ms. Capillo will be coming in on Monday to remind us to be More Kind, to Take Responsibility for our choices, and Listen and follow Directions the First Time. We're also going to be writing a skit as a whole class to show the rest of E2 how to do those things in the bathroom.
We have some smaller field trips coming up this winter. Fourth grade will be learning about biomes at Meijer Gardens in February and fifth grade will go to the Grand Rapids Symphony in early March. These are all low cost or no cost trips.
Thank-you and have a wonderful week! Reminder: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we dismiss at 12:20.
Week of December 17th
Dear Parents and Students,
Okay, where’s the snow? I think just a little snow would be great!
This past Friday a note went home about gingerbread houses and Secret Santa. Written below is the gist of what they said.
Secret Santa- Day 1: Get candy for the person you have; Day 2: Make a craft for the person you have; Day 3:Write a letter/poem to your person; Day 4: Give them a list of jokes or something to make them laugh; Day 5: Small give under $10.00.
Tuesday: Students will be presenting their Holiday research. This was an in class language assignment they were working on. Students will be presenting in different ways. Students choose to make a brochure, google document with pictures, or google slides. In addition to one of the project choices some kids are making dishes to share. This is not mandatory.
Gingerbread houses: When? -This Wednesday. 4th and 6th graders bring in candy and 5th graders bring in graham crackers. All students bring in a can of frosting. I will supply the rest.
Thursday we will be going Ice Skating at Griff’s Icehouse on December 20th. We leave North Park at 12:30 and return around 2:30. The cost of the field trip is $8.00. Parents who have chaperoned in the past have either rode the bus or just met us at the rink.
Also, most important we still have work cycle this week! We have Science and Social Studies Monday and Tuesday. Have a wonderful week!
Dear Parents and Students,
Okay, where’s the snow? I think just a little snow would be great!
This past Friday a note went home about gingerbread houses and Secret Santa. Written below is the gist of what they said.
Secret Santa- Day 1: Get candy for the person you have; Day 2: Make a craft for the person you have; Day 3:Write a letter/poem to your person; Day 4: Give them a list of jokes or something to make them laugh; Day 5: Small give under $10.00.
Tuesday: Students will be presenting their Holiday research. This was an in class language assignment they were working on. Students will be presenting in different ways. Students choose to make a brochure, google document with pictures, or google slides. In addition to one of the project choices some kids are making dishes to share. This is not mandatory.
Gingerbread houses: When? -This Wednesday. 4th and 6th graders bring in candy and 5th graders bring in graham crackers. All students bring in a can of frosting. I will supply the rest.
Thursday we will be going Ice Skating at Griff’s Icehouse on December 20th. We leave North Park at 12:30 and return around 2:30. The cost of the field trip is $8.00. Parents who have chaperoned in the past have either rode the bus or just met us at the rink.
Also, most important we still have work cycle this week! We have Science and Social Studies Monday and Tuesday. Have a wonderful week!
Monday, December 10th
Winter break is just two weeks away! Time surly gets the best of us this time of year.
Reminders:
Report cards were mailed home last week.
Holiday House is this week.
The 6th grade winter concert is this Tuesday night.
In class this week for writing students will be receiving a lesson on a Holiday Research project. Most of the work for this project will be completed in school. I can’t wait to give the lesson on Tuesday!! Students will be presenting their project next Tuesday, December 18th.
What’s coming up the week of the 17th:
Students wanted to partake in Secret Santa this year in our classroom. I will send out more information this week about it. I do know that girls pick girls and boys pick boys. Students will receive a Secret Santa lesson this Friday.
On Wednesday, December 19th students will be making Gingerbread Houses.
On Thursday, December 20th students will be going Ice Skating.
On Friday, December 21st students will be helping Mrs. Keiler’s class make their Gingerbread Houses. This is a great way to get ready for break by doing a little community service.
Winter break is just two weeks away! Time surly gets the best of us this time of year.
Reminders:
Report cards were mailed home last week.
Holiday House is this week.
The 6th grade winter concert is this Tuesday night.
In class this week for writing students will be receiving a lesson on a Holiday Research project. Most of the work for this project will be completed in school. I can’t wait to give the lesson on Tuesday!! Students will be presenting their project next Tuesday, December 18th.
What’s coming up the week of the 17th:
Students wanted to partake in Secret Santa this year in our classroom. I will send out more information this week about it. I do know that girls pick girls and boys pick boys. Students will receive a Secret Santa lesson this Friday.
On Wednesday, December 19th students will be making Gingerbread Houses.
On Thursday, December 20th students will be going Ice Skating.
On Friday, December 21st students will be helping Mrs. Keiler’s class make their Gingerbread Houses. This is a great way to get ready for break by doing a little community service.
Week of December 3rd
Dear Parents and students,
I don’t know about you, but it was quite nice to have a snow day last Monday. There are a couple things I wanted to discuss this week. First, work ethic and second report cards. Last week I gave each student assigned work spaces. I did this for a couple reasons. First, I wanted for students to sit by different people. Second, I wanted students to work harder during the two hour work cycle. After four days of checking work, I can tell that the assigned seats have paid off. This week we will have what is called seating potpourri which is their work space is picked for them, but it’s not strategic.
Report cards are the second thing I wanted to discuss.
M (mastery)-the student is showing a strength in this area of content
WI-(working independently) The student is working independently in this area and doesn’t need an adult’s help.
W (working with support) The students is working in this area and frequently needs adult support or the support of material.
CS (not choosing this work or not showing this trait) The student is not choosing to work on this skill at this time. The work has been presented, but the student is not following up with additional work.
Reminder: Our k-5 Winter Concert is this Wednesday at Ottawa Hills Auditorium. Students should arrive at 5:45 pm. They can wear North Park Montessori spirit wear or uniform color shirts. Students will be sitting with me during the performance. Hope to see you there!
Dear Parents and students,
I don’t know about you, but it was quite nice to have a snow day last Monday. There are a couple things I wanted to discuss this week. First, work ethic and second report cards. Last week I gave each student assigned work spaces. I did this for a couple reasons. First, I wanted for students to sit by different people. Second, I wanted students to work harder during the two hour work cycle. After four days of checking work, I can tell that the assigned seats have paid off. This week we will have what is called seating potpourri which is their work space is picked for them, but it’s not strategic.
Report cards are the second thing I wanted to discuss.
M (mastery)-the student is showing a strength in this area of content
WI-(working independently) The student is working independently in this area and doesn’t need an adult’s help.
W (working with support) The students is working in this area and frequently needs adult support or the support of material.
CS (not choosing this work or not showing this trait) The student is not choosing to work on this skill at this time. The work has been presented, but the student is not following up with additional work.
Reminder: Our k-5 Winter Concert is this Wednesday at Ottawa Hills Auditorium. Students should arrive at 5:45 pm. They can wear North Park Montessori spirit wear or uniform color shirts. Students will be sitting with me during the performance. Hope to see you there!
Monday, November 19th, 2018
Dear parents and students,
This will be short and sweet! Tuesday, we will be headed to the Grand Rapids Public Museum to mark the beginning of our Immerse Week at the museum. We will be taking the City bus to/from the museum. We will finish up our Immerse Week in March, the week before Spring Break.
Since this week is mighty short, I reminding students to set a reading goal for themselves over the long weekend. For example some students goals might be ten pages a day and some might read 25+ pages per day. The students will be bringing home their reading goal sheets on Monday night.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break and safe travels!!
Wishlist: Juice and small pencil sharpeners.
Dear parents and students,
This will be short and sweet! Tuesday, we will be headed to the Grand Rapids Public Museum to mark the beginning of our Immerse Week at the museum. We will be taking the City bus to/from the museum. We will finish up our Immerse Week in March, the week before Spring Break.
Since this week is mighty short, I reminding students to set a reading goal for themselves over the long weekend. For example some students goals might be ten pages a day and some might read 25+ pages per day. The students will be bringing home their reading goal sheets on Monday night.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break and safe travels!!
Wishlist: Juice and small pencil sharpeners.
Sunday, November 11th, 2018
Dear Parents and students,
Our report grading system has changed this year to better reflect what a Montessori report card looks like. Listed below are the new codes and what they mean.
M (mastery)-the student is showing a strength in this area of content
WI-(working independently) The student is working independently in this area and doesn’t need an adult’s help.
W (working with support) The students is working in this area and frequently needs adult support or the support of material.
CS (not choosing this work or not showing this trait) The student is not choosing to work on this skill at this time. The work has been presented, but the student is not following up with additional work.
In Montessori I spend time each day observing students and how their working each day. I reach out to students each week and ask them questions about their work. Usually I get to about five students a day. This helps me choose their Montessori grade other then the work they turn in. I really enjoy talking to my students privately about what their working on.
Immerse Field trip notes went home on Friday. Here is the link to sign up to chaperone the field trip. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080a45a5ab23a2fb6-immerse
If you would like to chaperone, you can either meet us at the museum or ride the city bus with us.
Wish List: Watering can for houseplants (message me if you would like to donate).
Dear Parents and students,
Our report grading system has changed this year to better reflect what a Montessori report card looks like. Listed below are the new codes and what they mean.
M (mastery)-the student is showing a strength in this area of content
WI-(working independently) The student is working independently in this area and doesn’t need an adult’s help.
W (working with support) The students is working in this area and frequently needs adult support or the support of material.
CS (not choosing this work or not showing this trait) The student is not choosing to work on this skill at this time. The work has been presented, but the student is not following up with additional work.
In Montessori I spend time each day observing students and how their working each day. I reach out to students each week and ask them questions about their work. Usually I get to about five students a day. This helps me choose their Montessori grade other then the work they turn in. I really enjoy talking to my students privately about what their working on.
Immerse Field trip notes went home on Friday. Here is the link to sign up to chaperone the field trip. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080a45a5ab23a2fb6-immerse
If you would like to chaperone, you can either meet us at the museum or ride the city bus with us.
Wish List: Watering can for houseplants (message me if you would like to donate).
Camp and the Sick Week
Dear parents and students,
First, I want to add my thoughts about camp from a week ago. I really enjoyed all the students and parent volunteers that helped make camp happen. Below are some gathered thoughts that you could ask your child about camp:
What was your favorite game/song/skit/meal?
What did you try that you haven’t tried before? What was it like to try something new?
What was challenging for you? An activity, an interaction, being away, the amount of sleep, or something else?
What did you do to help yourself/help others with challenges?
What are the Y’s core values and did you see any of them? (They’re honesty, respect, caring, inclusion, and responsibility.)
What do you think your’re still going to remember in a year?
Sick week. It all started around 10:30 am last Friday. First a fever and chills, then a really bad headache. After returning from camp, I immediately went home and went to bed. The next 48 hours were pretty difficult. My fever reaches 103 and wouldn't budge. I tried different medications, but they only brought my fever down to 100. I knew Sunday night that there was no way I was able to work on Monday. I rested all Monday, I felt extremely week and I couldn't eat. On Tuesday morning, I checked my temperature and it was right around 101. I called the doctor’s office and explained all my symptoms. They told me that my symptoms sounded like the flu and I needed to rest so I did. Then Wednesday morning I woke up with my ears hurting. I thought to myself, I haven’t had an ear infection since I was nine! I called the doctor and said I needed to come in. Needless to say, I was put on an antibiotic to help with the sinus/ear infection. I also needed to rest because my blood pressure was extremely low and my heart rate was high (common with a bacterial infection.)
Resting, being a mom, and having a full time job don’t always happen. However, my body demanded that I rested. As a teacher, I’ve been sick before, but nothing this extreme since my second year of teaching. I know I’m feeling better and ready to come back to school.
Right now I’m working on report cards. The ⅘ graders will receive the new Montessori report card. However the 6th graders will receive letter grades this first marking period.
Reminder: No school on Tuesday
Dear parents and students,
First, I want to add my thoughts about camp from a week ago. I really enjoyed all the students and parent volunteers that helped make camp happen. Below are some gathered thoughts that you could ask your child about camp:
What was your favorite game/song/skit/meal?
What did you try that you haven’t tried before? What was it like to try something new?
What was challenging for you? An activity, an interaction, being away, the amount of sleep, or something else?
What did you do to help yourself/help others with challenges?
What are the Y’s core values and did you see any of them? (They’re honesty, respect, caring, inclusion, and responsibility.)
What do you think your’re still going to remember in a year?
Sick week. It all started around 10:30 am last Friday. First a fever and chills, then a really bad headache. After returning from camp, I immediately went home and went to bed. The next 48 hours were pretty difficult. My fever reaches 103 and wouldn't budge. I tried different medications, but they only brought my fever down to 100. I knew Sunday night that there was no way I was able to work on Monday. I rested all Monday, I felt extremely week and I couldn't eat. On Tuesday morning, I checked my temperature and it was right around 101. I called the doctor’s office and explained all my symptoms. They told me that my symptoms sounded like the flu and I needed to rest so I did. Then Wednesday morning I woke up with my ears hurting. I thought to myself, I haven’t had an ear infection since I was nine! I called the doctor and said I needed to come in. Needless to say, I was put on an antibiotic to help with the sinus/ear infection. I also needed to rest because my blood pressure was extremely low and my heart rate was high (common with a bacterial infection.)
Resting, being a mom, and having a full time job don’t always happen. However, my body demanded that I rested. As a teacher, I’ve been sick before, but nothing this extreme since my second year of teaching. I know I’m feeling better and ready to come back to school.
Right now I’m working on report cards. The ⅘ graders will receive the new Montessori report card. However the 6th graders will receive letter grades this first marking period.
Reminder: No school on Tuesday
Sunday, October 21st
Dear parents and students,
During this weekend, I took the time and reflected on how much has happened during the past eight weeks. It seems impossible to think that students, teachers, and families can accomplish so much, when we work together. I am so thankful for all of you!
This week is camp week. I copied and pasted the camp packing list at the bottom of this letter. Thank-you to all the parents for all your patience in getting camp chaperones settled and tracks settled.
Homework: The kids and I have discussed math IXL times for homework these last couple of Fridays. Math IXL homework goes from Friday to Friday. The minimum amount of time spent is as follows fourth grade-30 minutes, fifth grade-45 minutes, and sixth grade is 90 minutes. I check students’ time spent every Friday. I’m not planning I checking times this Friday, but this Friday does start a new week. Students work on their math unit study area for math IXL for a smart score of 90 or higher.
Also, reading at home for their 40 book challenge. Students figured out that they could read about a book a week and about 25 pages per day. I’m trying to get students to focus more on the amount of pages per day. Finding maybe about 25-30+ minutes a night to read will help with the challenge.
Community Service: This portion of students’ homework will go home next week. I’ll be combining October/November. This won’t be due until the Monday before Thanksgiving break (which is perfect timing).
Hopefully, you received parent letters this weekend from your child. Students worked on their letters this past Friday.
Thank-you,
Theresa Skipp
Packing Guidelines
Pack compactly. Please label all items. Please keep in mind that guests of camp must carry their
belongings to their cabins. Driving on camp is prohibited. Please also keep in mind that weather in
Michigan is somewhat unpredictable and many of our activities are almost exclusively outdoors. The
key to enjoying your experience is to be prepared.
Bedding
Each person will bring their own sleeping bag or blankets and sheets and pillow.
Clothing
Dress is casual and appropriate for camp. Layering is best. We suggest bringing old, but clean
clothing.
x Jeans, shorts, pants
x T-shirts, sweaters, jacket
x Shoes –AT LEAST TWO PAIRS - boots for winter, hiking boots, sneakers Daily change of
underwear and socks
x Pajamas
x Raincoat
Special Activities
x Participants using the High Ropes Course or who will be rock climbing must have closed-toe
shoes
x Horseback participants MUST have long pants and closed-toe shoes
Toiletries
x Soap and shampoo
x Toothpaste and toothbrush
x Brush and comb
x Deodorant
x Chapstick
x Tower and washcloth
x Sunscreen and Insect Repellent
Option Items
Flashlight ~ camera (clearly labeled) ~ money for Camp Store ~ alarm clock ~ games
What Not to Bring to Camp
Aerosol cans – knives or firearms – alcohol and tobacco products - electronic equipment, electronic
games or personal music players – gum or candy
Personal Property
YMCA Camp Manitou-Lin is not responsible for clothing and personal property brought from home.
While our staff will help campers, it is considered the responsibility of the camper to keep their
belongings together. The green Lost and Found Box is located on the Lodge porch; please check this
before departure. Unclaimed lost and found property is kept for one week and then donated to local
charities.
Tech-free Zone
YMCA Camp Manitou-Lin is proud to be a Tech-free zone. Please help us by making sure that your
campers do not have any electronic equipment, electronic games or personal music players in their
possession. Thanks for your cooperation.
Dear parents and students,
During this weekend, I took the time and reflected on how much has happened during the past eight weeks. It seems impossible to think that students, teachers, and families can accomplish so much, when we work together. I am so thankful for all of you!
This week is camp week. I copied and pasted the camp packing list at the bottom of this letter. Thank-you to all the parents for all your patience in getting camp chaperones settled and tracks settled.
Homework: The kids and I have discussed math IXL times for homework these last couple of Fridays. Math IXL homework goes from Friday to Friday. The minimum amount of time spent is as follows fourth grade-30 minutes, fifth grade-45 minutes, and sixth grade is 90 minutes. I check students’ time spent every Friday. I’m not planning I checking times this Friday, but this Friday does start a new week. Students work on their math unit study area for math IXL for a smart score of 90 or higher.
Also, reading at home for their 40 book challenge. Students figured out that they could read about a book a week and about 25 pages per day. I’m trying to get students to focus more on the amount of pages per day. Finding maybe about 25-30+ minutes a night to read will help with the challenge.
Community Service: This portion of students’ homework will go home next week. I’ll be combining October/November. This won’t be due until the Monday before Thanksgiving break (which is perfect timing).
Hopefully, you received parent letters this weekend from your child. Students worked on their letters this past Friday.
Thank-you,
Theresa Skipp
Packing Guidelines
Pack compactly. Please label all items. Please keep in mind that guests of camp must carry their
belongings to their cabins. Driving on camp is prohibited. Please also keep in mind that weather in
Michigan is somewhat unpredictable and many of our activities are almost exclusively outdoors. The
key to enjoying your experience is to be prepared.
Bedding
Each person will bring their own sleeping bag or blankets and sheets and pillow.
Clothing
Dress is casual and appropriate for camp. Layering is best. We suggest bringing old, but clean
clothing.
x Jeans, shorts, pants
x T-shirts, sweaters, jacket
x Shoes –AT LEAST TWO PAIRS - boots for winter, hiking boots, sneakers Daily change of
underwear and socks
x Pajamas
x Raincoat
Special Activities
x Participants using the High Ropes Course or who will be rock climbing must have closed-toe
shoes
x Horseback participants MUST have long pants and closed-toe shoes
Toiletries
x Soap and shampoo
x Toothpaste and toothbrush
x Brush and comb
x Deodorant
x Chapstick
x Tower and washcloth
x Sunscreen and Insect Repellent
Option Items
Flashlight ~ camera (clearly labeled) ~ money for Camp Store ~ alarm clock ~ games
What Not to Bring to Camp
Aerosol cans – knives or firearms – alcohol and tobacco products - electronic equipment, electronic
games or personal music players – gum or candy
Personal Property
YMCA Camp Manitou-Lin is not responsible for clothing and personal property brought from home.
While our staff will help campers, it is considered the responsibility of the camper to keep their
belongings together. The green Lost and Found Box is located on the Lodge porch; please check this
before departure. Unclaimed lost and found property is kept for one week and then donated to local
charities.
Tech-free Zone
YMCA Camp Manitou-Lin is proud to be a Tech-free zone. Please help us by making sure that your
campers do not have any electronic equipment, electronic games or personal music players in their
possession. Thanks for your cooperation.
Week of October 8th in Review and what's coming up next......
It’s finally nice to have some actual cool temperatures!
This week I started talking to students about the quote; “..with freedom comes great responsibility…” . We’ve been talking about what that means in an upper elementary classroom. Most students agreed that freedom exists when you can focus on your work during work cycle with little distraction.
This week we will be discussing what distractions you have and how to limit them.
CAMP
Please get your camp forms in, and money, if you haven't already. If you're not sure how much to pay, because your child may or may not be doing High Adventure, here are your choices:
IF YOUR CHILD WILL NEED MEDS, AND YOU HAVE NOT DONE A CONSENT FORM FOR THOSE MEDS, PLEASE GET ONE TO THE NURSE ASAP!
It’s finally nice to have some actual cool temperatures!
This week I started talking to students about the quote; “..with freedom comes great responsibility…” . We’ve been talking about what that means in an upper elementary classroom. Most students agreed that freedom exists when you can focus on your work during work cycle with little distraction.
This week we will be discussing what distractions you have and how to limit them.
CAMP
Please get your camp forms in, and money, if you haven't already. If you're not sure how much to pay, because your child may or may not be doing High Adventure, here are your choices:
- If your child is in sixth grade assume she/he will get their first choice, and pay accordingly
- Other grades, you can choose to pay over and I'll refund you, or you can donate to the scholarship fund
- You can choose to pay under and pay the extra 10 later
- You can wait until we announce the tracks and pay the entire amount at that time
IF YOUR CHILD WILL NEED MEDS, AND YOU HAVE NOT DONE A CONSENT FORM FOR THOSE MEDS, PLEASE GET ONE TO THE NURSE ASAP!
Week of October 1st in Review and what's coming up next......
Welcome to the 8th week of school! This time of the year seems to fly by. I really enjoyed meeting with you and your children this week for conferences. We have one more day of conferences and that is Wednesday, October 10th.
On Friday, I introduced students to Math IXL. I will send home students user name and passwords on Monday. I'm using math IXL as students Math homework this year. They also have some time in school to work on Math IXL every Friday for about 25 minutes. During this time on Friday I have students work on their math unit study area as a review. While students are working on Math IXL at home they should be working on grade level or about level math areas. The suggested math IXL times are 4th grade-30 minutes; 5th grade-45 minutes; 6th grade-90 minutes.
Also, students can practice their spelling words at home by logging onto this website for practice: https://www.spellingcity.com/users/skippthe. We are starting week 5.
Tuesday, Oct. 9th all of 6th grade has their Meijer Gardens Fitness in the Park trip. We will be leaving school at 10:45 and returning around 1:15. We will be bringing our lunch to the Gardens to eat. Please dress for the weather because we will be outside most of the time.
CAMP
Please get your camp forms in, and money, if you haven't already. If you're not sure how much to pay, because your child may or may not be doing High Adventure, here are your choices:
- If your child is in sixth grade assume she/he will get their first choice, and pay accordingly
- Other grades, you can choose to pay over and I'll refund you, or you can donate to the scholarship fund
- You can choose to pay under and pay the extra 10 later
- You can wait until we announce the tracks and pay the entire amount at that time
IF YOUR CHILD WILL NEED MEDS, AND YOU HAVE NOT DONE A CONSENT FORM FOR THOSE MEDS, PLEASE GET ONE TO THE NURSE THIS WEEK!
We finished the Second Great Lesson which is the Timeline of Life. I introduced the Wonder Wall to students. This is a place where students can write their questions (wonderings) they might have after hearing the Great Lesson stories. We will be starting the Third Great Lesson this week. This lesson is the Coming of Humans.
Thank-you again for your wonderful children. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
Sunday, September 30th, 2018
It’s hard to believe we just finished our 6th week of school. During our Montessori Cultural time, students are listening to the second great lesson. This story talks about the Timeline of Life. The Timeline of Life story will happen next week too. Students are learning what was happening on our Earth during the different timeline eras.
We finished this week with Art Prize! I had to make a quick decision to take the city bus instead of Dean transportation for Art Prize. We had free passes to take the city bus and we were able to stay longer at Art Prize. Thank-you chaperones for your flexibility and willingness to walk around with a small group of children. I know I enjoyed my day tremendously with my group. I am also very happy it didn’t rain!
Next week I will be with the 6th graders on Monday for the Ship trip. Tuesday I will not be there during the day, but I will be there for conferences at night.
Conferences are next week Tuesday and Thursday. For conferences, students must attend because they have a HUGE role in the conference! Students will be sharing a conference reflection sheet with us during conferences. They will do great!
Snack: I did post the snack schedule on the class weebly under the last class info tab.
I must tell you how much I enjoy working with your children. They are such honest compassionate students who are willing to learn. They are asking for lessons all the time. I love it!!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
It’s hard to believe we just finished our 6th week of school. During our Montessori Cultural time, students are listening to the second great lesson. This story talks about the Timeline of Life. The Timeline of Life story will happen next week too. Students are learning what was happening on our Earth during the different timeline eras.
We finished this week with Art Prize! I had to make a quick decision to take the city bus instead of Dean transportation for Art Prize. We had free passes to take the city bus and we were able to stay longer at Art Prize. Thank-you chaperones for your flexibility and willingness to walk around with a small group of children. I know I enjoyed my day tremendously with my group. I am also very happy it didn’t rain!
Next week I will be with the 6th graders on Monday for the Ship trip. Tuesday I will not be there during the day, but I will be there for conferences at night.
Conferences are next week Tuesday and Thursday. For conferences, students must attend because they have a HUGE role in the conference! Students will be sharing a conference reflection sheet with us during conferences. They will do great!
Snack: I did post the snack schedule on the class weebly under the last class info tab.
I must tell you how much I enjoy working with your children. They are such honest compassionate students who are willing to learn. They are asking for lessons all the time. I love it!!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, September, 22nd, 2018
Dear Parents and students,
It’s officially fall!! There are a few traces of leaf color change and Art Prize is in full effect.
If you couldn’t make it to curriculum night, I am sending home some information I passed out to parents.
You should have received camp permission slips, art prize permission slips, and 6th grade Fitness in the Park.
This Friday we are headed to ArtPrize. I am looking for at least five chaperones to walk around with the students at Art Prize. Please send me a message if you would like to chaperone and your volunteer badge is up to date.
After much collaboration with the students, we’ve decided to switch around our daily schedule. Basically, we will have our two hour work cycle in the afternoon which includes math and language lessons. Our mornings will consist of specials, writing, DEAR, and Montessori Cultural lessons. I am excited for the switch! This switch makes a lot of sense because we eat lunch at 11:30.
Conference times will go home this week. We start conferences next week Tuesday and Thursday.
We spent some of our afternoons discussing International Peace Week. We visited the United Nations web site. We talked about how we can do our part to promote peace. Peace education will continue throughout our school year. We will discuss what peace feels like and looks like.
If you have any questions, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
“Preventing war is the work of politicians, establishing peace is the work of educationists.”
― Maria Montessori
Dear Parents and students,
It’s officially fall!! There are a few traces of leaf color change and Art Prize is in full effect.
If you couldn’t make it to curriculum night, I am sending home some information I passed out to parents.
You should have received camp permission slips, art prize permission slips, and 6th grade Fitness in the Park.
This Friday we are headed to ArtPrize. I am looking for at least five chaperones to walk around with the students at Art Prize. Please send me a message if you would like to chaperone and your volunteer badge is up to date.
After much collaboration with the students, we’ve decided to switch around our daily schedule. Basically, we will have our two hour work cycle in the afternoon which includes math and language lessons. Our mornings will consist of specials, writing, DEAR, and Montessori Cultural lessons. I am excited for the switch! This switch makes a lot of sense because we eat lunch at 11:30.
Conference times will go home this week. We start conferences next week Tuesday and Thursday.
We spent some of our afternoons discussing International Peace Week. We visited the United Nations web site. We talked about how we can do our part to promote peace. Peace education will continue throughout our school year. We will discuss what peace feels like and looks like.
If you have any questions, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
“Preventing war is the work of politicians, establishing peace is the work of educationists.”
― Maria Montessori
September 15th
Week in review,
Happy Sunday! After some much needed rest, I think it’s safe to say I’m over my sinus infection. I hope everyone can stay healthy!
This week students had their first lesson on spelling and the Chromebooks. Students are able to log onto:https://www.spellingcity.com/users/skippthe. Students practice their spelling words in class and take a test of Friday. I introduced a new level of Spelling and this website is https://www.sadlierconnect.com/vw. With the Sadlier list of words, we are focussing more on greek and latin roots. We are using book A.
I gave lessons this week on language unit studies.
Also, we spent more time discussing the 40 book challenge and the different genres to pick from. I did talk to students about having a chapter book to read in school.
Students had a full week of Science and Social Studies.
Candy boxes went out on Friday.
This coming week, please mark your calendars for Curriculum/Ship trip/Camp night on Tuesday, from 6-7pm. We really hope to see you there.
Have a great rest of your weekend.
Week in review,
Happy Sunday! After some much needed rest, I think it’s safe to say I’m over my sinus infection. I hope everyone can stay healthy!
This week students had their first lesson on spelling and the Chromebooks. Students are able to log onto:https://www.spellingcity.com/users/skippthe. Students practice their spelling words in class and take a test of Friday. I introduced a new level of Spelling and this website is https://www.sadlierconnect.com/vw. With the Sadlier list of words, we are focussing more on greek and latin roots. We are using book A.
I gave lessons this week on language unit studies.
Also, we spent more time discussing the 40 book challenge and the different genres to pick from. I did talk to students about having a chapter book to read in school.
Students had a full week of Science and Social Studies.
Candy boxes went out on Friday.
This coming week, please mark your calendars for Curriculum/Ship trip/Camp night on Tuesday, from 6-7pm. We really hope to see you there.
Have a great rest of your weekend.
Week of September 10th,
We are all very happy that the weather cooled off this week. The temperature is significantly cooler in the classroom.
This week students have all received their math fact practice lessons and their math unit studies. Students must complete at least 25 math fact problems a week. As for math unit study, students are required to work on two math unit study cards a day. As for 6th graders, we meet everyday for GO Math. GO Math is the 6th grade district math curriculum and it meets the state requirements. The students all pair up to work on their math.
This week we also started Science and Social Studies. Science and Social Studies meets four days a week.
On Friday, students took the Math MAP.
Students also received the 40 book challenge lesson. Throughout the next couple of weeks, students will receive lessons on the different types of literature genres. I have asked for each student to pick a chapter book to start with. We are going to talk about setting reading goals this week.
This week we will be starting language unit studies and spelling. I’m also excited to introduce the writer’s notebook!
Candy boxes will be delivered this Wednesday to school. The official 6th grade Ship Trip paperwork went home last week.
Please look for a note to go home about Art Prize this week.
On Tuesday, September 18th at 6:30 is 456 Curriculum/Camp/ 6th grade Ship Trip night. We will start with Curriculum night in our classroom, then move to the gym for camp, and then finally wrap up with 6th grade Ship Trip.
Hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend and have a great week!
We are all very happy that the weather cooled off this week. The temperature is significantly cooler in the classroom.
This week students have all received their math fact practice lessons and their math unit studies. Students must complete at least 25 math fact problems a week. As for math unit study, students are required to work on two math unit study cards a day. As for 6th graders, we meet everyday for GO Math. GO Math is the 6th grade district math curriculum and it meets the state requirements. The students all pair up to work on their math.
This week we also started Science and Social Studies. Science and Social Studies meets four days a week.
On Friday, students took the Math MAP.
Students also received the 40 book challenge lesson. Throughout the next couple of weeks, students will receive lessons on the different types of literature genres. I have asked for each student to pick a chapter book to start with. We are going to talk about setting reading goals this week.
This week we will be starting language unit studies and spelling. I’m also excited to introduce the writer’s notebook!
Candy boxes will be delivered this Wednesday to school. The official 6th grade Ship Trip paperwork went home last week.
Please look for a note to go home about Art Prize this week.
On Tuesday, September 18th at 6:30 is 456 Curriculum/Camp/ 6th grade Ship Trip night. We will start with Curriculum night in our classroom, then move to the gym for camp, and then finally wrap up with 6th grade Ship Trip.
Hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend and have a great week!
August 31st 2018
What a fantastic short week we’ve had. We jumped into this week with Math Fact Practice and 6th grade math. The 6th graders told me they are really excited about their new math books. Students made our classroom Social Contracts. The social contracts are a list of reminders of what is expected of students. The class worked together in small groups to make the contracts.
I’ve started working with students on math unit studies. By the end of this next week my goal is to have all students started on a math unit study.
We will be starting Science and Social Studies this week. This means that students will go to the other 456 teachers for Science or Social Studies. I teach 6th Science and Social Studies.
I have so enjoyed the students memory homework. I love learning a little bit more about them. They were so eager to share. If your student didn’t share on Thursday, then they will share next week.
We have MAP math testing this Friday and summer homework is due this Friday too.
This week, I will be posting our weekly schedule and the snack schedule.
Thank-you for all the snacks! We really appreciate it and have a great weekend!
What a fantastic short week we’ve had. We jumped into this week with Math Fact Practice and 6th grade math. The 6th graders told me they are really excited about their new math books. Students made our classroom Social Contracts. The social contracts are a list of reminders of what is expected of students. The class worked together in small groups to make the contracts.
I’ve started working with students on math unit studies. By the end of this next week my goal is to have all students started on a math unit study.
We will be starting Science and Social Studies this week. This means that students will go to the other 456 teachers for Science or Social Studies. I teach 6th Science and Social Studies.
I have so enjoyed the students memory homework. I love learning a little bit more about them. They were so eager to share. If your student didn’t share on Thursday, then they will share next week.
We have MAP math testing this Friday and summer homework is due this Friday too.
This week, I will be posting our weekly schedule and the snack schedule.
Thank-you for all the snacks! We really appreciate it and have a great weekend!
August 20th week in Review
We got off to an amazing start this week. The fifth and sixth graders have been incredibly helpful in setting the expectations of the classroom. They are all such wonderful great leaders. All the fourth graders have done an excellent job asking questions and figuring things out in the room. We have spent majority of the time organizing notebooks and practicing working independently. All students have received the Math Fact Practice lesson or MFP. MFP is simply reviewing math work from last year. The work varies depending on the student. The students and I discuss together what they should work on. MFP is 5-10 problems a day and yes, some can do more. Students also started working on a group project. The group project is our Social Contract. Our Social Contract consists of different rules and expectations in our building and classroom. Students will be presenting these on Monday or Tuesday. We will be hanging our Social Contract in the classroom so everyone can see.
This week….
We will be taking our Map testing LA on Thursday at 1:30. Please review with your child testing taking skills. I also talk with students about the Map testing as well. We talk about getting enough sleep, taking your time, and eating a good lunch.
Also, there is no school on Friday.
Thank-you for all the extra supplies and snacks this week! The students and I appreciate it so much.
Enjoy your week!
We got off to an amazing start this week. The fifth and sixth graders have been incredibly helpful in setting the expectations of the classroom. They are all such wonderful great leaders. All the fourth graders have done an excellent job asking questions and figuring things out in the room. We have spent majority of the time organizing notebooks and practicing working independently. All students have received the Math Fact Practice lesson or MFP. MFP is simply reviewing math work from last year. The work varies depending on the student. The students and I discuss together what they should work on. MFP is 5-10 problems a day and yes, some can do more. Students also started working on a group project. The group project is our Social Contract. Our Social Contract consists of different rules and expectations in our building and classroom. Students will be presenting these on Monday or Tuesday. We will be hanging our Social Contract in the classroom so everyone can see.
This week….
We will be taking our Map testing LA on Thursday at 1:30. Please review with your child testing taking skills. I also talk with students about the Map testing as well. We talk about getting enough sleep, taking your time, and eating a good lunch.
Also, there is no school on Friday.
Thank-you for all the extra supplies and snacks this week! The students and I appreciate it so much.
Enjoy your week!
Sunday, August 19th, 2018
Dear Parents and students,
Okay, summer went by way too fast! I usually see slight hints of fall before we start back at school, but not this year. I guess a little change is okay.
Every Sunday I like to send out a little weekly recap as well as a week preview. In my letters, I usually stick to classroom news.
If you click on the E2 Calendar tab, you will find a full calendar of district and E2 events.
This week in class we spend time welcoming the 4th graders into our classroom community. We will spend time this week going over school and classroom procedures. We will also practice working independently. You will hear your kids talk about the introducatary shelf. This shelf has work students may choose to work independently.
If students are in the middle of reading a book at home, they may bring that book to school to read too.
Recess this year is at 11:30 and lunch is at 11:55.
Our specials do start this week.
Art: Monday 9:15; P.E.: Tuesday 9:15; Music: Wednesday 9:15; 6th Band/Choir: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 12:30-1:10.
Dismissal is at 4:06. Please note that busses are usually a little late in the beginning of the year because they are adjusting to their routes.
Students are encouraged to bring water bottles everyday.
Coming up: E2 Curriculum night is Tuesday September 18th at 6:30 pm. We have a new report card that I am eager to share.
6th grade ship trip is October 1st. Camp is October 24th-26th. I am looking for parents to chaperone camp. Parents, you would only be spending the night at camp.
Please look for the snack schedule to be posted in the next few weeks.
It was so nice seeing everyone at open house. I’m looking forward to working with all my families this year!
Dear Parents and students,
Okay, summer went by way too fast! I usually see slight hints of fall before we start back at school, but not this year. I guess a little change is okay.
Every Sunday I like to send out a little weekly recap as well as a week preview. In my letters, I usually stick to classroom news.
If you click on the E2 Calendar tab, you will find a full calendar of district and E2 events.
This week in class we spend time welcoming the 4th graders into our classroom community. We will spend time this week going over school and classroom procedures. We will also practice working independently. You will hear your kids talk about the introducatary shelf. This shelf has work students may choose to work independently.
If students are in the middle of reading a book at home, they may bring that book to school to read too.
Recess this year is at 11:30 and lunch is at 11:55.
Our specials do start this week.
Art: Monday 9:15; P.E.: Tuesday 9:15; Music: Wednesday 9:15; 6th Band/Choir: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 12:30-1:10.
Dismissal is at 4:06. Please note that busses are usually a little late in the beginning of the year because they are adjusting to their routes.
Students are encouraged to bring water bottles everyday.
Coming up: E2 Curriculum night is Tuesday September 18th at 6:30 pm. We have a new report card that I am eager to share.
6th grade ship trip is October 1st. Camp is October 24th-26th. I am looking for parents to chaperone camp. Parents, you would only be spending the night at camp.
Please look for the snack schedule to be posted in the next few weeks.
It was so nice seeing everyone at open house. I’m looking forward to working with all my families this year!
Skipp’s North Park Montessori Upper Elementary News
Welcome parents and students,
Wow, it’s hard to believe we are almost back together again! I’m so excited to start this year! Welcome new families and students! We are happy to have you.
Now for some general reminders about the year, please bring an extra pair shoes (to be left at school) for physical education. Most students just keep an extra pair of tennis shoes in their locker. All students will have a full year of art and music. All sixth graders will have the opportunity to participate in band or choir as well.
We really want to encourage healthy snack eating this year. Eating a healthier snack like fruits and vegetables will help students gain extra brain energy and avoid any sugar crash. Please no large bags of candy or potato chips. For the first few weeks of school we will be having snack all together around 10:30 am. This is to insure that students understand the proper snack procedures in the classroom. We are also encouraging students to each have their own sports water bottle with their name on it. Please keep small toys at home such as Pokémon Cards or stuffed animals. These small toys become a distraction. Each student will receive a locker this year that they will share with another student. Photos of family and pets are fine to hang up.
Homework this year will consist of Math IXL, 40 Book Challenge, and Community service. Students will also go online for IXL math with a specific target area to work on. For example, Billy the fourth grader might be working on measurement while Susan the fifth grader might be working on long division. Community service is another large component of our homework. Students will be completing a service learning project each month at home. For example preparing dinner for the family or folding laundry. Please be aware that part of our curriculum in the upper elementary is service learning. Please note that the following dates for homework to begin:
We have FALL camp this year-October 24th-26th at YMCA Camp Manitoulin.
Our 6th grade ship trip is Monday, October 1st.
Remember in order to volunteer in the classroom or chaperone on a field trip, your volunteer paperwork must be approved.
Your child will be bringing one folder back and forth each day. This folder is called the Parent Communication Folder today. Any notes from school will be placed in this folder for you. This folder is purple.
Please review our North Park Montessori school handbook with your child. We will be spending time reviewing and discussing what inappropriate touching looks like and bullying. We also discussed the immediate consequence for these behaviors. We want to make sure the children and parents are very clear about these behaviors. Our ultimate goal is to make sure all students feel safe when they go to school.
Students in the upper elementary will create a social contract next week. This social contract will consist of certain rules and expectations that all will follow. Each student will sign the contract in agreement. We post these contracts in our classroom community as a visual reminder. If your child is having difficulties following the social contract, they will have their own personal behavior plan. Your child’s teacher will contact you if your child needs to start an individual behavior plan.
Thank-you so much for your time, we look forward to working with you this year.
*Please plan on attending 4th-5th New Family Curriculum Nights on Tuesday, September 18th from 6:30-7:00 pm. This night is one of the most crucial nights of the school year! We will discuss the Montessori curriculum, field trips, behavior expectations, and exactly what your kids are doing on a day to day basis. 6th grade curriculum night is also Tuesday September 18th from 7:00-7:30 pm. At the 6th grade meeting, I’ll be showing you how to check your child’s grades.
*Please save the date for our Heritage Dinner Night. We have not set the exact date yet, but we will soon. Please look for another note with more details to come.
SCRIP: Hey! Are you looking for an easy way to earn money for your family or the school? Families can be saving money towards camps. Families will earn 50 % of the rebate. For example: If a $100.00 gift card is purchased and the rebate is 8%, $8.00 would be earned. The school would get $4.00 and the family would be $4.00. Jill McDermed has graciously agreed to keep track of this!
Communication:
It usually takes me no longer than 24 hours to get back with you. The easiest most convenient way to reach me is my cell phone. My number is 616-299-6272. Please make sure you call the office if your child is going to be absent or has an appointment.
If you are wondering how I communicate to you on what’s going on in the classroom, I have a classroom website. On this classroom website I will share weekly information and post other documents. The website is www.skipp456.weebly.com. I post weekly reminders, class schedules, homework documents, hopefully photos, and other resources. I do send school and PTA information to this website.
In addition to our website, we will be using https://www.remind.com/. Remind. Com is an extremely easy way for me to send you reminder email messages right from my phone! Messages might be a reminder about a field trip note, book report minder, or how awesomely hard your children are working.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Welcome parents and students,
Wow, it’s hard to believe we are almost back together again! I’m so excited to start this year! Welcome new families and students! We are happy to have you.
Now for some general reminders about the year, please bring an extra pair shoes (to be left at school) for physical education. Most students just keep an extra pair of tennis shoes in their locker. All students will have a full year of art and music. All sixth graders will have the opportunity to participate in band or choir as well.
We really want to encourage healthy snack eating this year. Eating a healthier snack like fruits and vegetables will help students gain extra brain energy and avoid any sugar crash. Please no large bags of candy or potato chips. For the first few weeks of school we will be having snack all together around 10:30 am. This is to insure that students understand the proper snack procedures in the classroom. We are also encouraging students to each have their own sports water bottle with their name on it. Please keep small toys at home such as Pokémon Cards or stuffed animals. These small toys become a distraction. Each student will receive a locker this year that they will share with another student. Photos of family and pets are fine to hang up.
Homework this year will consist of Math IXL, 40 Book Challenge, and Community service. Students will also go online for IXL math with a specific target area to work on. For example, Billy the fourth grader might be working on measurement while Susan the fifth grader might be working on long division. Community service is another large component of our homework. Students will be completing a service learning project each month at home. For example preparing dinner for the family or folding laundry. Please be aware that part of our curriculum in the upper elementary is service learning. Please note that the following dates for homework to begin:
- Math IXL: Friday September 7thth due the following Friday.
- Students will be given a letter with their password and login.
- Students will be given a list of target areas to work on.
- 6th grade requirement of 90 minutes a week (minimum)
- 5th grade requirement of 45 minutes a week (minimum)
- 4th grade requirement of 30 minutes a week (minimum)
- I monitor students’ progress every Friday.
- 40 Book Challenge
- The purpose of the challenge is to get kids to fall in love with reading many different types of book and other reading material.
- There will be weekly reading assignment questions for students to answer in google classroom (I’m new to google classroom and I’m super excited to use this)!!!!!
- Assignments will start Friday, September 14th and checked every Friday.
- A monthly book share extravaganza will happen at the end of each month.
- Community Service:
- Opportunity for students to give back outside the classroom
- The purpose for this is to help teach our kids the importance of helping others out. These are acts of kindness
- Community service will start Friday, September 14th.
- Community service is due the last Friday of each month.
We have FALL camp this year-October 24th-26th at YMCA Camp Manitoulin.
Our 6th grade ship trip is Monday, October 1st.
Remember in order to volunteer in the classroom or chaperone on a field trip, your volunteer paperwork must be approved.
Your child will be bringing one folder back and forth each day. This folder is called the Parent Communication Folder today. Any notes from school will be placed in this folder for you. This folder is purple.
Please review our North Park Montessori school handbook with your child. We will be spending time reviewing and discussing what inappropriate touching looks like and bullying. We also discussed the immediate consequence for these behaviors. We want to make sure the children and parents are very clear about these behaviors. Our ultimate goal is to make sure all students feel safe when they go to school.
Students in the upper elementary will create a social contract next week. This social contract will consist of certain rules and expectations that all will follow. Each student will sign the contract in agreement. We post these contracts in our classroom community as a visual reminder. If your child is having difficulties following the social contract, they will have their own personal behavior plan. Your child’s teacher will contact you if your child needs to start an individual behavior plan.
Thank-you so much for your time, we look forward to working with you this year.
*Please plan on attending 4th-5th New Family Curriculum Nights on Tuesday, September 18th from 6:30-7:00 pm. This night is one of the most crucial nights of the school year! We will discuss the Montessori curriculum, field trips, behavior expectations, and exactly what your kids are doing on a day to day basis. 6th grade curriculum night is also Tuesday September 18th from 7:00-7:30 pm. At the 6th grade meeting, I’ll be showing you how to check your child’s grades.
*Please save the date for our Heritage Dinner Night. We have not set the exact date yet, but we will soon. Please look for another note with more details to come.
SCRIP: Hey! Are you looking for an easy way to earn money for your family or the school? Families can be saving money towards camps. Families will earn 50 % of the rebate. For example: If a $100.00 gift card is purchased and the rebate is 8%, $8.00 would be earned. The school would get $4.00 and the family would be $4.00. Jill McDermed has graciously agreed to keep track of this!
Communication:
It usually takes me no longer than 24 hours to get back with you. The easiest most convenient way to reach me is my cell phone. My number is 616-299-6272. Please make sure you call the office if your child is going to be absent or has an appointment.
If you are wondering how I communicate to you on what’s going on in the classroom, I have a classroom website. On this classroom website I will share weekly information and post other documents. The website is www.skipp456.weebly.com. I post weekly reminders, class schedules, homework documents, hopefully photos, and other resources. I do send school and PTA information to this website.
In addition to our website, we will be using https://www.remind.com/. Remind. Com is an extremely easy way for me to send you reminder email messages right from my phone! Messages might be a reminder about a field trip note, book report minder, or how awesomely hard your children are working.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Tuesday, May 15th, 2018
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy spring! I just wanted to give you a heads up on a couple reminders this week. This week Wednesday is our Science Fair. We will be open from 2-3:30 in the afternoon and we will also reopen from 5-7pm. Please come when you can. Students will be taking home their trifolds that night or they will bring them home the next day.
Next week I will be leaving for Florida on Wednesday-Sunday to see my nephew graduate. Students will be with Sally Frahm those days. We do have a half day next Friday the 25th. On Wednesday the 23rd students have a movie day in the gym.
Our Spring concert is on May 23rd. Students should arrive at 6:40 pm. A note went home last week about the concert. Also, on June 4th is our Riverside Extravaganza. Please look for a note that went home last week on this too. Field day is June 5th. Please look to the calendar under the tab E2 for updated information.
Thank-you again for all your donations to the classroom. We still always need snack. Have a great week.
-Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
Happy spring! I just wanted to give you a heads up on a couple reminders this week. This week Wednesday is our Science Fair. We will be open from 2-3:30 in the afternoon and we will also reopen from 5-7pm. Please come when you can. Students will be taking home their trifolds that night or they will bring them home the next day.
Next week I will be leaving for Florida on Wednesday-Sunday to see my nephew graduate. Students will be with Sally Frahm those days. We do have a half day next Friday the 25th. On Wednesday the 23rd students have a movie day in the gym.
Our Spring concert is on May 23rd. Students should arrive at 6:40 pm. A note went home last week about the concert. Also, on June 4th is our Riverside Extravaganza. Please look for a note that went home last week on this too. Field day is June 5th. Please look to the calendar under the tab E2 for updated information.
Thank-you again for all your donations to the classroom. We still always need snack. Have a great week.
-Skipp
Week of May 7th
Dear Parents and students,
We finally have some nice weather! This note will be short and sweet (I promise).
First, there was a typo in the last post about the Science Fair. Students this year will be working by themselves with no partner. For the Science Fair this week, we have been talking about what makes a good science fair question. I’ve been asking students, how are you going to measure your question? I also ask them what are they testing? Science Buddies has some great Science Fair projects,but then students should come be able to come up with their own question and figure out how they will measure it.
This week, fourth and sixth grade will have M-Step testing. The dates have changed for this. Fourth graders will be tested on Monday and Wednesday. Sixth graders will be tested on Tuesday and Thursday. Plenty of sleep and a big breakfast go a long way!
6th graders will be going to Lamberton Creek this Thursday to test the water quality. This will be a walking field trip from 1:30-3:30.
Have a super week!
Dear Parents and students,
We finally have some nice weather! This note will be short and sweet (I promise).
First, there was a typo in the last post about the Science Fair. Students this year will be working by themselves with no partner. For the Science Fair this week, we have been talking about what makes a good science fair question. I’ve been asking students, how are you going to measure your question? I also ask them what are they testing? Science Buddies has some great Science Fair projects,but then students should come be able to come up with their own question and figure out how they will measure it.
This week, fourth and sixth grade will have M-Step testing. The dates have changed for this. Fourth graders will be tested on Monday and Wednesday. Sixth graders will be tested on Tuesday and Thursday. Plenty of sleep and a big breakfast go a long way!
6th graders will be going to Lamberton Creek this Thursday to test the water quality. This will be a walking field trip from 1:30-3:30.
Have a super week!
Monday April 23rd, 2018
Dear parents and students,
We have spring! It’s actually hard to believe!! I think it’s here to stay. Please see below. Have a great week.
Week in Review: Last week for math ixl, the 4th graders reviewed decimals, the 5th graders worked on volume, and the 6th graders reviewed ratios and rates. This week for math ixl all students are working on what they are doing for their math unit study.
In Science the 4th/5th graders are working on how animals survive in their environment. The 6th graders are working on water quality. In Social Studies the 4th/5th graders are learning about the three different branches of government.
This week:
Monday- Map math testing
Wednesday- 5th graders to PJ Hoffmaster
Thursday- Map reading testing
Friday- Parent Letter
Students will be finishing up our Black STEAM unit. Students will be receiving their Science Fair information on Tuesday. Please look for a Science Fair note to go home on Tuesday. The 4th/5th graders may work with a partner or by themselves for the Science Fair. The 6th graders will work on their own for the Science Fair. The date of the Science Fair is May 16th.
Also, this week students will be working on our Auction Project. We are excited to reveal our project May 4th. All students will participate in the project.
Wish List: Healthy Snacks
Thank-you for your wonderful children and have a great week!
-Theresa Skipp
Dear parents and students,
We have spring! It’s actually hard to believe!! I think it’s here to stay. Please see below. Have a great week.
Week in Review: Last week for math ixl, the 4th graders reviewed decimals, the 5th graders worked on volume, and the 6th graders reviewed ratios and rates. This week for math ixl all students are working on what they are doing for their math unit study.
In Science the 4th/5th graders are working on how animals survive in their environment. The 6th graders are working on water quality. In Social Studies the 4th/5th graders are learning about the three different branches of government.
This week:
Monday- Map math testing
Wednesday- 5th graders to PJ Hoffmaster
Thursday- Map reading testing
Friday- Parent Letter
Students will be finishing up our Black STEAM unit. Students will be receiving their Science Fair information on Tuesday. Please look for a Science Fair note to go home on Tuesday. The 4th/5th graders may work with a partner or by themselves for the Science Fair. The 6th graders will work on their own for the Science Fair. The date of the Science Fair is May 16th.
Also, this week students will be working on our Auction Project. We are excited to reveal our project May 4th. All students will participate in the project.
Wish List: Healthy Snacks
Thank-you for your wonderful children and have a great week!
-Theresa Skipp
Saturday, April 14th, 2018
Dear Parents and Students,
Week in review: Winter is back, but only for a short time. I just want to give a huge shout out to all the 5th graders who powered through M-Step. These 5th graders tried their very best and worked extremely hard up until the end. Way to go 5th graders!
For community service on Friday, students baked either brownies or cookies for the rummage sale. Students chose if they wanted to participate or not.
Coming up this week: This week there is no map or m-step testing. We will have map testing the following week. This will be a regular work week. 6th grade will be walking to Lamberton Creek to test the water quality on Thursday at 2:30. This Friday is our E2 talent show.
Wish list: We are looking for two electric kettles for tea.
Thank-you and have a great week.
Dear Parents and Students,
Week in review: Winter is back, but only for a short time. I just want to give a huge shout out to all the 5th graders who powered through M-Step. These 5th graders tried their very best and worked extremely hard up until the end. Way to go 5th graders!
For community service on Friday, students baked either brownies or cookies for the rummage sale. Students chose if they wanted to participate or not.
Coming up this week: This week there is no map or m-step testing. We will have map testing the following week. This will be a regular work week. 6th grade will be walking to Lamberton Creek to test the water quality on Thursday at 2:30. This Friday is our E2 talent show.
Wish list: We are looking for two electric kettles for tea.
Thank-you and have a great week.
Sunday April 8th, 2018
Dear parents and students,
Welcome to spring! It’s hard to believe we have only 8 weeks left in this school year. Hopefully the air will warm up soon!!
The week in review:
The week before spring break we headed to John Ball Zoo for four days. Thank-you to all the parents who donated their time chaperoning. We couldn’t have done it without you. Also, thanks to the families who donated snack during the week. During the week at the zoo, students had one main focus and that focus was animal observation. For one hour a day each student observed their animal. They observed the animal’s body, habitat, and many other things. Students were also quite flexible if their animal wasn’t out for the day or days. Later on this month, students will be designing the ideal habitat for an animal in the zoo. Students will be choosing their animal.
While we were at the zoo, students got to see how the zoo staff prepared food for the animals. They learned about the different animal diets and special dietary needs. Students also made an enrichment toy for the Chimpanzees. After the toy was made, on our last day, the chimps were given the enrichment toy. The enrichment toy is designed to help the animals work specific muscles. All and all the week at the zoo was a great four days. I really enjoyed the discussions I had with my students about their animal observations. What fascinates me the most was the questions the students had about their animals and their zoo habitats. I’m looking forward to discussing with them their animal habitat design project!
For the week of April 9th:
This coming week starts the fourth quarter. We also start M-Step testing this week. Please see the list below for grade level subject dates.
6th grade will be starting a Science Unit about water conservation. This will take us through about four weeks. This is truly my favorite unit to introduce to students. On April 11th I have a person coming in from Enviroscape teaching the kids about what a watershed is. On April 19th from 2:30-3:30 6th graders will be running some tests on the water at Lamberton Creek. Please look for a note to go home about this. I would love chaperones.
We will be reviewing PBIS playground and cafeteria rules on Monday.
Also, this Friday students who would like to are going to be able to bake and donate their tasty treats to the Rummage Sale this weekend.
This week students will be given their final three lessons on Black History STEAM. The topics this week are visual and protest art. As well as the Age of Black Lives Matter. Students next week will be starting their culminating project of this unit.
List of Important Dates this week:
April 9th PBIS Rotations
April 10th Mstep 5th grade ELA 1:00-2:15
April 11th Mstep 5th grade Social Studies 9:30-10:45
April 12th M Step 5th grade Math 1:00-2:15
Thanks again for the snack donations and the guinea pig food. Thanks so much for your dedication to our classroom.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear parents and students,
Welcome to spring! It’s hard to believe we have only 8 weeks left in this school year. Hopefully the air will warm up soon!!
The week in review:
The week before spring break we headed to John Ball Zoo for four days. Thank-you to all the parents who donated their time chaperoning. We couldn’t have done it without you. Also, thanks to the families who donated snack during the week. During the week at the zoo, students had one main focus and that focus was animal observation. For one hour a day each student observed their animal. They observed the animal’s body, habitat, and many other things. Students were also quite flexible if their animal wasn’t out for the day or days. Later on this month, students will be designing the ideal habitat for an animal in the zoo. Students will be choosing their animal.
While we were at the zoo, students got to see how the zoo staff prepared food for the animals. They learned about the different animal diets and special dietary needs. Students also made an enrichment toy for the Chimpanzees. After the toy was made, on our last day, the chimps were given the enrichment toy. The enrichment toy is designed to help the animals work specific muscles. All and all the week at the zoo was a great four days. I really enjoyed the discussions I had with my students about their animal observations. What fascinates me the most was the questions the students had about their animals and their zoo habitats. I’m looking forward to discussing with them their animal habitat design project!
For the week of April 9th:
This coming week starts the fourth quarter. We also start M-Step testing this week. Please see the list below for grade level subject dates.
6th grade will be starting a Science Unit about water conservation. This will take us through about four weeks. This is truly my favorite unit to introduce to students. On April 11th I have a person coming in from Enviroscape teaching the kids about what a watershed is. On April 19th from 2:30-3:30 6th graders will be running some tests on the water at Lamberton Creek. Please look for a note to go home about this. I would love chaperones.
We will be reviewing PBIS playground and cafeteria rules on Monday.
Also, this Friday students who would like to are going to be able to bake and donate their tasty treats to the Rummage Sale this weekend.
This week students will be given their final three lessons on Black History STEAM. The topics this week are visual and protest art. As well as the Age of Black Lives Matter. Students next week will be starting their culminating project of this unit.
List of Important Dates this week:
April 9th PBIS Rotations
April 10th Mstep 5th grade ELA 1:00-2:15
April 11th Mstep 5th grade Social Studies 9:30-10:45
April 12th M Step 5th grade Math 1:00-2:15
Thanks again for the snack donations and the guinea pig food. Thanks so much for your dedication to our classroom.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
March 21st News Ahead.
Happy Spring!! This is just a short and sweet note of upcoming events happening over the next week until spring break.
Friday: Dress as your favorite character
Friday: 5th/6th graders talk about Reproductive Health/HIV
Monday-Thursday (March 26-29) John Ball Zoo Lab
Spring Pictures: We will be at the Zoo during Spring Pictures. Our students will have their Spring Pictures taken on the retake date in April. I will send more information about the date after spring break.
There is no uniforms on Fridays. There is also no school next Friday the 30th.
Questions to ask your children:
Happy Spring!! This is just a short and sweet note of upcoming events happening over the next week until spring break.
Friday: Dress as your favorite character
Friday: 5th/6th graders talk about Reproductive Health/HIV
Monday-Thursday (March 26-29) John Ball Zoo Lab
Spring Pictures: We will be at the Zoo during Spring Pictures. Our students will have their Spring Pictures taken on the retake date in April. I will send more information about the date after spring break.
There is no uniforms on Fridays. There is also no school next Friday the 30th.
Questions to ask your children:
- What are you working on in your math unit study?
- What are you working on in Science and Social Studies?
- What is the Black History STEAM project?
- What is systemic racism?
- How are you coming with the 40 book challenge?
February 25th, Week in Review
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to windy Sunday! Hopefully, you received your child’s parent letter on Friday.
During this past week, we started practicing our M-Step skills. All students will be taking the M-Step after spring break.
In writing, we started a new writing piece call Opinion writing. Students choose their own opinion statements to write about. Students are receiving lessons on how to better back up their opinions. Students seem to be really motivated by this style of writing.
This week I introduced students to a math game called Prodigy. Prodigy is a free math game where students can review specific skills they need to work on. I have the ability to individualize the game and questions for all students.
There are a couple of wonderful things that are coming up in the next two weeks. We will be starting a STEM project covering African American History!! I am extremely excited to start this with the kids.
Also, we will begin some preparation lessons for Zoo Lab. We will be heading to John Ball Zoo March 26-29th. If you are available to chaperone one or more of the days, we would love to have you. Please email me at [email protected] if you are available to help.
On another note, I’ve been working with students on how to express themselves when they are upset with other students. We talk about using I statements with each other. For example, “I would appreciate it if you would stop making those noises, because the noises distract me from my work.” We also talk about how to respond. “I’m sorry, I will stop my noises.”
Another thing we have brought up in our community is appropriate jokes and what makes up laugh. Children’s joke books are a great way to teach kids about jokes.
Reminder, we do have conferences this week Wednesday. Wish List: Guinea Pig food, bedding, and Timothy hay.
Love your children!! Have a super week!
Dear Parents and students,
Welcome to windy Sunday! Hopefully, you received your child’s parent letter on Friday.
During this past week, we started practicing our M-Step skills. All students will be taking the M-Step after spring break.
In writing, we started a new writing piece call Opinion writing. Students choose their own opinion statements to write about. Students are receiving lessons on how to better back up their opinions. Students seem to be really motivated by this style of writing.
This week I introduced students to a math game called Prodigy. Prodigy is a free math game where students can review specific skills they need to work on. I have the ability to individualize the game and questions for all students.
There are a couple of wonderful things that are coming up in the next two weeks. We will be starting a STEM project covering African American History!! I am extremely excited to start this with the kids.
Also, we will begin some preparation lessons for Zoo Lab. We will be heading to John Ball Zoo March 26-29th. If you are available to chaperone one or more of the days, we would love to have you. Please email me at [email protected] if you are available to help.
On another note, I’ve been working with students on how to express themselves when they are upset with other students. We talk about using I statements with each other. For example, “I would appreciate it if you would stop making those noises, because the noises distract me from my work.” We also talk about how to respond. “I’m sorry, I will stop my noises.”
Another thing we have brought up in our community is appropriate jokes and what makes up laugh. Children’s joke books are a great way to teach kids about jokes.
Reminder, we do have conferences this week Wednesday. Wish List: Guinea Pig food, bedding, and Timothy hay.
Love your children!! Have a super week!
Updated: Feb.11th.
February 6th week in Review,
Dear Parents and students,Hopefully all students and parents rested this weekend a little. It’s hard to stretch back in my mind to think of last week Monday and Tuesday, but here it goes. Before we went to camp, we spent the afternoons reading and discussing articles in our Time for Kids magazines. When we finish with the magazines, students are allowed to bring them home.
Camp: I really enjoyed watching the students problem solve together. I saw many students power through their comfort zone. I also saw a lot of students help each other power through together. I’m very proud of all of them.
This week is Spirit Week at school. The schedule is Monday: Sports day; Tuesday: College day; Wednesday: No uniform day; Thursday: TV character; Friday: Superhero.
This Wednesday, we will have a class valentine exchange, please NO candy.
Also, on Wednesday is our Valentine Dance. Our class is responsible for bringing in fruit or vegetables for the dance. Our dance is a celebration of friendship.
Also looking ahead this week, students will be given an exciting lesson on a Black History month project. This project they will be working on in school. Stay tuned for a due date of the presentation.
Also, please send in conference note request times. This was a pink note that went home a week ago.
Thanks again for snack!! Wish list is pencils and erasers.
February 6th week in Review,
Dear Parents and students,Hopefully all students and parents rested this weekend a little. It’s hard to stretch back in my mind to think of last week Monday and Tuesday, but here it goes. Before we went to camp, we spent the afternoons reading and discussing articles in our Time for Kids magazines. When we finish with the magazines, students are allowed to bring them home.
Camp: I really enjoyed watching the students problem solve together. I saw many students power through their comfort zone. I also saw a lot of students help each other power through together. I’m very proud of all of them.
This week is Spirit Week at school. The schedule is Monday: Sports day; Tuesday: College day; Wednesday: No uniform day; Thursday: TV character; Friday: Superhero.
This Wednesday, we will have a class valentine exchange, please NO candy.
Also, on Wednesday is our Valentine Dance. Our class is responsible for bringing in fruit or vegetables for the dance. Our dance is a celebration of friendship.
Also looking ahead this week, students will be given an exciting lesson on a Black History month project. This project they will be working on in school. Stay tuned for a due date of the presentation.
Also, please send in conference note request times. This was a pink note that went home a week ago.
Thanks again for snack!! Wish list is pencils and erasers.
Updated: Feb. 3rd.
January 29th Week in review and a look ahead....
Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome back to the cold winter temperatures. I’ve noticed a lot of students not bringing gloves/mittens and hats. Help remind them, it’s freezing out.
This week we finished up our MAP reading and math. We also finished up our Delta Math check. The Delta Math check is almost like a review of math skills. I take the results from Delta math and create work for them to finish in the classroom. We call this work math fluency. Some of the work your child could be doing is subtracting a 3 digit number, multiplication facts 1-10, multiplying a two by two digit number, division facts, or fraction comparisons, integers, and decimals.
On Friday students were given the conference sign up sheet and their camp track. The camp track note also had the camp balance. The candy sale fundraiser was included on it.
We finished up our narrative writing prompt. Students wrote about an invention and how the invention would help people or animals. We also took our spelling tests on Friday.
Earlier this week a note went home about our 456 Valentine Dance. Our class is responsible for bringing fruits and vegetables. The dance is in the gym for about an hour.
There was also a note that went home about Valentine’s Day in our classroom. The students decided that they wanted to pass out Valentine cards to each other. We also decided this year that no candy would be allowed. We have a better plan. Students will make a healthy snack to eat instead. Students are divided up into teams and they will decide on a healthy snack to make. I have a couple kid friendly recipe websites for them to search as well as some kid cook books to look through. If you would like to let us borrow any kid cookbooks that would be awesome. We would return them as soon as we are finished. The teams will work together ahead of time to decide on their snack and items to bring in.
On Friday we had an activity called Juicy News. The goal of Juicy News is to read and to collaborate with a partner over current news events, while drinking juice. We do this with our Time for Kids magazines. Students were gathering evidence from an article to support an author’s claim. The claim this week was that Chloe Kim was not your average teenager. We will finish up this activity on Monday afternoon.
We had a camp meeting on Friday and talked up what to pack. We also talked about rules and responsibilities while at camp. We leave for camp on Wednesday around 9:45 and will return close to 2:30 on Friday. You may pick your child up at 2:30 on Friday.
Also, thanks so much for snack and the antibacterial wipes!!! Wish List: pencils.
Have a wonderful snowy weekend!!
January 29th Week in review and a look ahead....
Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome back to the cold winter temperatures. I’ve noticed a lot of students not bringing gloves/mittens and hats. Help remind them, it’s freezing out.
This week we finished up our MAP reading and math. We also finished up our Delta Math check. The Delta Math check is almost like a review of math skills. I take the results from Delta math and create work for them to finish in the classroom. We call this work math fluency. Some of the work your child could be doing is subtracting a 3 digit number, multiplication facts 1-10, multiplying a two by two digit number, division facts, or fraction comparisons, integers, and decimals.
On Friday students were given the conference sign up sheet and their camp track. The camp track note also had the camp balance. The candy sale fundraiser was included on it.
We finished up our narrative writing prompt. Students wrote about an invention and how the invention would help people or animals. We also took our spelling tests on Friday.
Earlier this week a note went home about our 456 Valentine Dance. Our class is responsible for bringing fruits and vegetables. The dance is in the gym for about an hour.
There was also a note that went home about Valentine’s Day in our classroom. The students decided that they wanted to pass out Valentine cards to each other. We also decided this year that no candy would be allowed. We have a better plan. Students will make a healthy snack to eat instead. Students are divided up into teams and they will decide on a healthy snack to make. I have a couple kid friendly recipe websites for them to search as well as some kid cook books to look through. If you would like to let us borrow any kid cookbooks that would be awesome. We would return them as soon as we are finished. The teams will work together ahead of time to decide on their snack and items to bring in.
On Friday we had an activity called Juicy News. The goal of Juicy News is to read and to collaborate with a partner over current news events, while drinking juice. We do this with our Time for Kids magazines. Students were gathering evidence from an article to support an author’s claim. The claim this week was that Chloe Kim was not your average teenager. We will finish up this activity on Monday afternoon.
We had a camp meeting on Friday and talked up what to pack. We also talked about rules and responsibilities while at camp. We leave for camp on Wednesday around 9:45 and will return close to 2:30 on Friday. You may pick your child up at 2:30 on Friday.
Also, thanks so much for snack and the antibacterial wipes!!! Wish List: pencils.
Have a wonderful snowy weekend!!
Week of January 29th, 2018
Welcome back to winter! I wanted to give you all a recap of last week. We started off on Monday working in the computer lab on math ixl. All the 4th graders were working with angles. They are learning the different types of angles and degrees. They are also adding angles. The 5th graders are working with American measurement. They learning about how many inches are in a foot, feet in a yard, and how many yards make a mile. The 6th graders are working on reviewing perimeter and area of a rectangle.
On Monday students also received their spelling list. There was’t a spelling test on Friday due to the half day. Spelling tests will be on Monday.
We also started our Personal Narrative Writing prompt. Students were to write about an invention and what happened when they used it. Students spent about a day planning their story. Then they have about a week to finish their final draft. The writing prompt will be due by Wednesday. We have also started our Delta Math checks. Delta math is a way to check for any missing holes in students’ math progress. These math checks should be finished by the end of this week.
In Science the 6th graders just finished up their human body unit. For the last part of the unit students had to draw out one body system on their body that they traced. These should be coming home or already made it home.
Looking ahead this week: We have our winter map math test on Monday, January 29th. Camp forms are also due today. We have winter reading this Thursday afternoon.
Camp update: I will be going over camp forms the next few days. I will also be figuring out who gets what track. By the end of the week, I will be able to let you know what your child has.
Snack: Thank-you so very much for the donations of snack. We appreciate all of it.
Thank-you,
Mrs. Skipp
Welcome back to winter! I wanted to give you all a recap of last week. We started off on Monday working in the computer lab on math ixl. All the 4th graders were working with angles. They are learning the different types of angles and degrees. They are also adding angles. The 5th graders are working with American measurement. They learning about how many inches are in a foot, feet in a yard, and how many yards make a mile. The 6th graders are working on reviewing perimeter and area of a rectangle.
On Monday students also received their spelling list. There was’t a spelling test on Friday due to the half day. Spelling tests will be on Monday.
We also started our Personal Narrative Writing prompt. Students were to write about an invention and what happened when they used it. Students spent about a day planning their story. Then they have about a week to finish their final draft. The writing prompt will be due by Wednesday. We have also started our Delta Math checks. Delta math is a way to check for any missing holes in students’ math progress. These math checks should be finished by the end of this week.
In Science the 6th graders just finished up their human body unit. For the last part of the unit students had to draw out one body system on their body that they traced. These should be coming home or already made it home.
Looking ahead this week: We have our winter map math test on Monday, January 29th. Camp forms are also due today. We have winter reading this Thursday afternoon.
Camp update: I will be going over camp forms the next few days. I will also be figuring out who gets what track. By the end of the week, I will be able to let you know what your child has.
Snack: Thank-you so very much for the donations of snack. We appreciate all of it.
Thank-you,
Mrs. Skipp
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Tuesday, November, 30th, 2017
Dear Parents,
Hopefully all of you enjoyed some time with your family and friends. Last week you should have received a parent letter from your child. Students who haven’t finished their parent letters have been instructed to finish them at home.
Last week was a short week with a field trip to John Ball Zoo. At the field trip students spent an hour observing their animal in it’s habitat. We will finish up our Zoo Lab field trip the week before spring break in the end of March.
Over the last nine weeks of school, students have been working on different unit studies of work in both math and language. When students finish a unit study they take a short quiz over the unit. Students also have completed two unit reflections. The unit reflections gives students an opportunity to explain what they have been learning in their unit study. Another way students explain what they are learning in their unit study is they teach other students how to begin that very same unit study. The next step students will be taking with their unit study is making some sort of project or game. This is to help students solidify their learning of the unit.
In addition to our math and language unit studies, students have begun spelling. Students copy down their list on Monday and they have all week to practice their words. On Friday morning is when they take their spelling tests. In writing students will begin writing a narrative story. We have had different lessons talking about what makes a narrative worth reading. Ask your child what makes a narrative worth reading. We have also started Time for Kids. Time for kids is a student magazine that discusses current issues.
For our Montessori cultural lessons, most students have finished their leaf books and their fundamental needs charts. The fundamental needs charts lay the foundation for studying early man. Students will next choose an early human to research.
In Science the 6th graders are starting a body systems unit. The 4th and 5th graders are working on Newton’s 3 Laws of motion for Science. In Social Studies, the 6th graders finished up a map of the world. In Social Studies for the 4th and 5th graders, students are working on the different push and pull factors of immigration and migration.
Homework Reminder: Students are to keep track of their books they are reading. The requirements for math ixl are 30 minutes for 4th grade, 45 minutes for 5th grade, and 90 minutes for 6th grade.
Snack Thank-you: A special snack thank-you goes out to all of you and your children. Snack has turned out to be a great community time.
Wish List: Laundry basket (for out lunch boxes), clorox wipes, a small cheap vacuum, and a floor lamp.
Thank-you for all your wonderful help and support. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at 299-6272 or [email protected]
Dear Parents,
Hopefully all of you enjoyed some time with your family and friends. Last week you should have received a parent letter from your child. Students who haven’t finished their parent letters have been instructed to finish them at home.
Last week was a short week with a field trip to John Ball Zoo. At the field trip students spent an hour observing their animal in it’s habitat. We will finish up our Zoo Lab field trip the week before spring break in the end of March.
Over the last nine weeks of school, students have been working on different unit studies of work in both math and language. When students finish a unit study they take a short quiz over the unit. Students also have completed two unit reflections. The unit reflections gives students an opportunity to explain what they have been learning in their unit study. Another way students explain what they are learning in their unit study is they teach other students how to begin that very same unit study. The next step students will be taking with their unit study is making some sort of project or game. This is to help students solidify their learning of the unit.
In addition to our math and language unit studies, students have begun spelling. Students copy down their list on Monday and they have all week to practice their words. On Friday morning is when they take their spelling tests. In writing students will begin writing a narrative story. We have had different lessons talking about what makes a narrative worth reading. Ask your child what makes a narrative worth reading. We have also started Time for Kids. Time for kids is a student magazine that discusses current issues.
For our Montessori cultural lessons, most students have finished their leaf books and their fundamental needs charts. The fundamental needs charts lay the foundation for studying early man. Students will next choose an early human to research.
In Science the 6th graders are starting a body systems unit. The 4th and 5th graders are working on Newton’s 3 Laws of motion for Science. In Social Studies, the 6th graders finished up a map of the world. In Social Studies for the 4th and 5th graders, students are working on the different push and pull factors of immigration and migration.
Homework Reminder: Students are to keep track of their books they are reading. The requirements for math ixl are 30 minutes for 4th grade, 45 minutes for 5th grade, and 90 minutes for 6th grade.
Snack Thank-you: A special snack thank-you goes out to all of you and your children. Snack has turned out to be a great community time.
Wish List: Laundry basket (for out lunch boxes), clorox wipes, a small cheap vacuum, and a floor lamp.
Thank-you for all your wonderful help and support. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at 299-6272 or [email protected]
Monday, October 30th, 2017
Dear Parents,
Wow! Now it feels like fall outside. Please remember jacket, gloves, hats etc. It was really great seeing all of you at conferences. Thanks for your patience if you had to wait. Also, thanks to the parents and students who have brought in snack. We all really appreciate the healthy snacks.
Questions to ask your child: Ask your students what units of study they are working on in math and language? What lessons have you received in writer’s notebook? What are your six fundamental needs? What are you working on in social studies or science? What book(s) are you reading during DEAR time?
Homework: Math IXL homework has started. Listed below are the weekly requirements: 4th-30 minutes, 5th-60 minutes, 6th-90 minutes. Students chose from the recommendations tab for their work. FYI: I do give students about 25 minutes on most Mondays in the computer lab for math IXL.
40 book challenge: How’s the list coming?
Community Service: will start in November
Dates to remember:
Tuesday, October 31st- Cyber Safety
Tuesday, November 7th- No School
Tuesday, November 21st- Field Trip to John Ball Zoo
This week students will be bringing home their unit study reflection sheets along with their parent letters. Please take the time to discuss this with your child. There is a spot for a parent signature. Unit study reflection sheets will be coming home every other week. You will see them with their parent letters.
Also, on the back of this note is the information that was handed out on curriculum night.
If you have any questions please let me know. Thank-you for your wonderful support.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents,
Wow! Now it feels like fall outside. Please remember jacket, gloves, hats etc. It was really great seeing all of you at conferences. Thanks for your patience if you had to wait. Also, thanks to the parents and students who have brought in snack. We all really appreciate the healthy snacks.
Questions to ask your child: Ask your students what units of study they are working on in math and language? What lessons have you received in writer’s notebook? What are your six fundamental needs? What are you working on in social studies or science? What book(s) are you reading during DEAR time?
Homework: Math IXL homework has started. Listed below are the weekly requirements: 4th-30 minutes, 5th-60 minutes, 6th-90 minutes. Students chose from the recommendations tab for their work. FYI: I do give students about 25 minutes on most Mondays in the computer lab for math IXL.
40 book challenge: How’s the list coming?
Community Service: will start in November
Dates to remember:
Tuesday, October 31st- Cyber Safety
Tuesday, November 7th- No School
Tuesday, November 21st- Field Trip to John Ball Zoo
This week students will be bringing home their unit study reflection sheets along with their parent letters. Please take the time to discuss this with your child. There is a spot for a parent signature. Unit study reflection sheets will be coming home every other week. You will see them with their parent letters.
Also, on the back of this note is the information that was handed out on curriculum night.
If you have any questions please let me know. Thank-you for your wonderful support.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Sunday, October 8th, 2017
Dear Parents,
Happy October! I just wanted to give you a quick overview about some things your children are doing and will be doing.
We’ve started the year off by slowly introducing work to accomplish during the daily work cycle. I’m looking forward to give students lessons in spelling and geometry over the course of the next two weeks.
Students will get access this week to their math IXl passwords. Later in the week, students will also receive a lesson on their Community Service for the month of October.
It has been a tradition at North Park Montessori to help others in need in the Community. One established tradition is picking apples for Feeding America. Feeding America is West Michigan’s food bank. This year, we will be pick apples on Tuesday, October 10th. Please look for the field trip note to go home, Monday, October 9th.
List of Important Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, October 10th, Apple Picking at Ridgeview Orchards (Cost: $1.00)
Wednesday, October 11th, 4th/5th Science/Social Studies switch day
Thursday, October 12th, 6th Grade to Frederik Meijer Gardens
Friday, October 13th, Wild in the Woods
October 17th,19th, 25th, Conferences
Friday October 27th Fall Harvest Party
Snack:
Thank-you students and parents for donating snack. There isn’t a schedule to bring snack or a requirement to do so. We all just really appreciate the healthy options.
Class website:
Please go to skipp456.weebly.com for the following information.
Thank-you for all your time and help. Please reach me at [email protected] for any questions.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents,
Happy October! I just wanted to give you a quick overview about some things your children are doing and will be doing.
We’ve started the year off by slowly introducing work to accomplish during the daily work cycle. I’m looking forward to give students lessons in spelling and geometry over the course of the next two weeks.
Students will get access this week to their math IXl passwords. Later in the week, students will also receive a lesson on their Community Service for the month of October.
It has been a tradition at North Park Montessori to help others in need in the Community. One established tradition is picking apples for Feeding America. Feeding America is West Michigan’s food bank. This year, we will be pick apples on Tuesday, October 10th. Please look for the field trip note to go home, Monday, October 9th.
List of Important Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, October 10th, Apple Picking at Ridgeview Orchards (Cost: $1.00)
Wednesday, October 11th, 4th/5th Science/Social Studies switch day
Thursday, October 12th, 6th Grade to Frederik Meijer Gardens
Friday, October 13th, Wild in the Woods
October 17th,19th, 25th, Conferences
Friday October 27th Fall Harvest Party
Snack:
Thank-you students and parents for donating snack. There isn’t a schedule to bring snack or a requirement to do so. We all just really appreciate the healthy options.
Class website:
Please go to skipp456.weebly.com for the following information.
- 40 book challenge
- Parent Orientation Night
- Weekly Schedule
Thank-you for all your time and help. Please reach me at [email protected] for any questions.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Friday, September 22nd, 2017
Dear Parents and Students,
Fall is here! Well, technically it is. This has been a great start to the school year. I wanted to give you a brief overlook as to what your children have been doing in school so far.
In math, students have chosen an unit of study to work on for their grade level. These unit studies intertwine Montessori math and the Common Core Standards. All students are required to complete two math cards of their unit study a day. This is a requirement and not an option. When students do not meet the requirements, this means a loss of something. For example, a loss of recess or the freedom to choose their work space or the freedom to choose when in the morning they do their math. In a few short weeks, students will be introduced to their Geometry unit of study. Students will be required to complete one geometry card in their unity of study.
In Language, students have chosen an unit of study to work on for their grade level. The units of study could be punctuation, abbreviation, phonics, poetry, or capitalization. Students are required to complete two language cards in their unit of study each day. This works just as the math unit of study.
In writing, students will be writing parent letters about twice a month. Students will also be writing a personal narrative. These writings will stay at school in their writing binders.
This year, students will receive Montessori Cultural lessons at least twice a week. We have been reviewing the Timeline of Life and the Clock of Eras. We also will be starting our leaf collecting today for our leaf books that we will make.
Students will also continue to receive peace lessons and team building lessons throughout the year.
In Science the 4/5th graders are working with the different types of energy. The 6th graders are exploring a water quality unit.
In Social Studies the 4/5th graders are talking about the branches of government. The 6th graders will be making maps of the Western Hemisphere.
Thank-you for all who have brought in snack. Please feel free to continue.
Homework: Students have received their lesson on the 40 book challenge. Students will receive their math ixl lesson next week and their community service lesson.
Our curriculum night is Scheduled for Tuesday, September 26th. Please meet in my room. I will be discussing the over all year and how to look at grades for the 6th graders. Hope to see all of you there.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me either by email, [email protected] or 299-6272.
PS. Candy bars will be delivered again next week.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
Fall is here! Well, technically it is. This has been a great start to the school year. I wanted to give you a brief overlook as to what your children have been doing in school so far.
In math, students have chosen an unit of study to work on for their grade level. These unit studies intertwine Montessori math and the Common Core Standards. All students are required to complete two math cards of their unit study a day. This is a requirement and not an option. When students do not meet the requirements, this means a loss of something. For example, a loss of recess or the freedom to choose their work space or the freedom to choose when in the morning they do their math. In a few short weeks, students will be introduced to their Geometry unit of study. Students will be required to complete one geometry card in their unity of study.
In Language, students have chosen an unit of study to work on for their grade level. The units of study could be punctuation, abbreviation, phonics, poetry, or capitalization. Students are required to complete two language cards in their unit of study each day. This works just as the math unit of study.
In writing, students will be writing parent letters about twice a month. Students will also be writing a personal narrative. These writings will stay at school in their writing binders.
This year, students will receive Montessori Cultural lessons at least twice a week. We have been reviewing the Timeline of Life and the Clock of Eras. We also will be starting our leaf collecting today for our leaf books that we will make.
Students will also continue to receive peace lessons and team building lessons throughout the year.
In Science the 4/5th graders are working with the different types of energy. The 6th graders are exploring a water quality unit.
In Social Studies the 4/5th graders are talking about the branches of government. The 6th graders will be making maps of the Western Hemisphere.
Thank-you for all who have brought in snack. Please feel free to continue.
Homework: Students have received their lesson on the 40 book challenge. Students will receive their math ixl lesson next week and their community service lesson.
Our curriculum night is Scheduled for Tuesday, September 26th. Please meet in my room. I will be discussing the over all year and how to look at grades for the 6th graders. Hope to see all of you there.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me either by email, [email protected] or 299-6272.
PS. Candy bars will be delivered again next week.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Friday, September 1st, 2017
Dear Parents and Students,
After spending almost a whole week with your children, I have come to one conclusion. Your children are amazing! They are so eager to learn and help one another. With that being said, please read down below to learn what we did this week.
In the beginning of the week, we spent some time talking about our classroom environment, how we use it, and how we treat it.
We spent quite a bit of time discussing and practicing our daily work cycles. Daily work cycles are a chunk of time, usually about 2.5 hours where students work mostly by themselves on their work. Sometimes students, with permission work with other students. This week students chose work from the “Introductory Shelf”. During the morning work cycle, students are mostly silent. I spend the time giving lessons and helping students.
During the week we organized our Composition books, PCF folders (went home on Thursday and come back everyday), and our cubbies.
Students are currently working on their language and math placement tests as well as their Acrostic Poem.
Today students received their first homework assignment. The homework assignment is called the Memory Homework. This assignment is due Friday, September 8th. I’m really looking forward to see what students share.
Towards the end of each day this week, our class participated in different team building activities. These were mostly getting to know you type activities. Students were very receptive to this. We will continue these activities throughout the year as we build a community of trust.
Homework this year will consist of Math IXL, 40 Book Challenge, and Community service. Students will also go online for IXL math with a specific target area to work on. For example, Billy the fourth grader might be working on measurement while Susan the fifth grader might be working on long division. Community service is another large component of our homework. Students will be completing a service learning project each week at home. For example preparing dinner for the family or folding laundry. Please be aware that part of our curriculum in the upper elementary is service learning. Please note that the following dates for homework to begin
Homework:
Math: Tuesday, September 5th at 10:55-12:10
Reading: Thursday, September 7th at 10:55-12:10
North Park Montessori School Infractions/Steps
Please read the table below.
Infraction Steps
Consequences / Intervention
1
Warning - Students are given a verbal warning (redirection) about the expected behavior that is not being followed and informed that they are now on Step 1.
2
Loss of Privilege - Students are told about the expected behavior that is not being followed and that they are on Step 2. The person assigning the student to step 2 administers the loss of privilege (moving seats, lose of play time, removed from activity, etc.)
3
Loss of Privilege & Reflection Sheet - students are told about the expected behavior that is not being followed and that they are one Step 3. The loss of privilege continues and the Reflection Sheet is given to and completed by the student at school.
4
Parent Contact - Students are told about the expected behavior that is not being followed and that they are one Step 4. The staff member assigning the student to Step 4 will make the contact with the parent (via phone call or email (CC Sorge & Peck)) & complete the Parent Contact Form (?)
5
Office Referral - the person giving the office referral fills out the form, gives the entire form (triplicate) to Cindy. Contact the parent to let them know the behavior referral and a phone call from Cindy will be coming.
Save the date:
Thursday, September 14th: Heritage Dinner Potluck (more news to come)
Tuesday, September 26th: Curriculum Night 6:30-7:30 (classroom)
Please enjoy this wonderful weekend with your family. Also, please take the time to go over this note with your children.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Dear Parents and Students,
After spending almost a whole week with your children, I have come to one conclusion. Your children are amazing! They are so eager to learn and help one another. With that being said, please read down below to learn what we did this week.
In the beginning of the week, we spent some time talking about our classroom environment, how we use it, and how we treat it.
We spent quite a bit of time discussing and practicing our daily work cycles. Daily work cycles are a chunk of time, usually about 2.5 hours where students work mostly by themselves on their work. Sometimes students, with permission work with other students. This week students chose work from the “Introductory Shelf”. During the morning work cycle, students are mostly silent. I spend the time giving lessons and helping students.
During the week we organized our Composition books, PCF folders (went home on Thursday and come back everyday), and our cubbies.
Students are currently working on their language and math placement tests as well as their Acrostic Poem.
Today students received their first homework assignment. The homework assignment is called the Memory Homework. This assignment is due Friday, September 8th. I’m really looking forward to see what students share.
Towards the end of each day this week, our class participated in different team building activities. These were mostly getting to know you type activities. Students were very receptive to this. We will continue these activities throughout the year as we build a community of trust.
Homework this year will consist of Math IXL, 40 Book Challenge, and Community service. Students will also go online for IXL math with a specific target area to work on. For example, Billy the fourth grader might be working on measurement while Susan the fifth grader might be working on long division. Community service is another large component of our homework. Students will be completing a service learning project each week at home. For example preparing dinner for the family or folding laundry. Please be aware that part of our curriculum in the upper elementary is service learning. Please note that the following dates for homework to begin
Homework:
- Math IXL: Friday September 15th due the following Friday.
- Students will be given a letter with their passcode and login.
- Students will be given a list of target areas to work on.
- 6th grade requirement of 90 minutes a week (minimum)
- 5th grade requirement of 45 minutes a week (minimum)
- 4th grade requirement of 30 minutes a week (minimum)
- I monitor students’ progress every Friday.
- 40 Book Challenge
- The purpose of the challenge is to get kids to fall in love with reading many different types of book and other reading material.
- There will be weekly reading assignment questions for students to answer in google classroom (I’m new to google classroom and I’m super excited to use this)!!!!!
- Assignments will start Friday, September 15th and checked every Friday.
- A monthly book share extravaganza will happen at the end of each month.
- Community Service:
- Opportunity for students to give back outside the classroom
- The purpose for this is to help teach our kids the importance of helping others out. These are acts of kindness
- Community service will start Friday, September 15th.
- Community service is due the last Friday of each month.
Math: Tuesday, September 5th at 10:55-12:10
Reading: Thursday, September 7th at 10:55-12:10
North Park Montessori School Infractions/Steps
Please read the table below.
Infraction Steps
Consequences / Intervention
1
Warning - Students are given a verbal warning (redirection) about the expected behavior that is not being followed and informed that they are now on Step 1.
2
Loss of Privilege - Students are told about the expected behavior that is not being followed and that they are on Step 2. The person assigning the student to step 2 administers the loss of privilege (moving seats, lose of play time, removed from activity, etc.)
3
Loss of Privilege & Reflection Sheet - students are told about the expected behavior that is not being followed and that they are one Step 3. The loss of privilege continues and the Reflection Sheet is given to and completed by the student at school.
4
Parent Contact - Students are told about the expected behavior that is not being followed and that they are one Step 4. The staff member assigning the student to Step 4 will make the contact with the parent (via phone call or email (CC Sorge & Peck)) & complete the Parent Contact Form (?)
5
Office Referral - the person giving the office referral fills out the form, gives the entire form (triplicate) to Cindy. Contact the parent to let them know the behavior referral and a phone call from Cindy will be coming.
Save the date:
Thursday, September 14th: Heritage Dinner Potluck (more news to come)
Tuesday, September 26th: Curriculum Night 6:30-7:30 (classroom)
Please enjoy this wonderful weekend with your family. Also, please take the time to go over this note with your children.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Skipp’s North Park Montessori Upper Elementary News
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017
Welcome parents and students,
Wow, it’s hard to believe we are almost back together again! I’m so excited to start this year! Welcome new families and students! We are happy to have you.
Now for some general reminders about the year, please bring an extra pair shoes (to be left at school) for physical education. Most students just keep an extra pair of tennis shoes in their locker. All students will have a full year of art and music. All sixth graders will have the opportunity to participate in band as well.
We really want to encourage healthy snack eating this year. Eating a healthier snack like fruits and vegetables will help students gain extra brain energy and avoid any sugar crash. Please no large bags of candy or potato chips. For the first few weeks of school we will be having snack all together around 10:30am. This is to insure that students understand the proper snack procedures in the classroom. We are also encouraging students to each have their own sports water bottle with their name on it. Please keep small toys at home such as Pokémon Cards or stuffed animals. These small toys become a distraction. Each student will receive a locker this year that they will share with another student. Photos of family and pets are fine to hang up.
Homework this year will consist of Math IXL, 40 Book Challenge, and Community service. Students will also go online for IXL math with a specific target area to work on. For example, Billy the fourth grader might be working on measurement while Susan the fifth grader might be working on long division. Community service is another large component of our homework. Students will be completing a service learning project each week at home. For example preparing dinner for the family or folding laundry. Please be aware that part of our curriculum in the upper elementary is service learning. Please note that the following dates for homework to begin:
All 456 students will be going to winter camp this year. Additional information regarding camp will follow later in the year. The cost of camp is about 100.00. We do offer students the chance to sell candy bars to offset the cost. We will also be participating in Zoo Lab at John Ball Zoo the week before spring break. This cost is about 35.00. There will be many opportunities for parents to volunteer for field trips and service learning trips. Remember in order to volunteer in the classroom or chaperone on a field trip, your volunteer paperwork must be approved.
Your child will be bringing one folder back and forth each day. This folder is called the Parent Communication Folder today. Any notes from school will be placed in this folder for you.
Please review our North Park Montessori school handbook with your child. We will be spending time reviewing and discussing what inappropriate touching looks like and bullying. We also discussed the immediate consequence for these behaviors. We want to make sure the children and parents are very clear about these behaviors. Our ultimate goal is to make sure all students feel safe when they go to school.
Students in the upper elementary will create a social contract next week. This social contract will consist of certain rules and expectations that all will follow. Each student will sign the contract in agreement. We post these contracts in our classroom community as a visual reminder. If your child is having difficulties following the social contract, they will have their own personal behavior plan. Your child’s teacher will contact you if your child needs to start an individual behavior plan.
Thank-you so much for your time, we look forward to working with you this year.
*Please plan on attending Parent Student Orientation night. This night is one of the most crucial nights of the school year! We will discuss the Montessori curriculum, field trips, behavior expectations, and exactly what your kids are doing on a day to day basis. Parent Student Orientation night is Tuesday September 26th from 6:30-7:30.
*Please save the date for our Heritage Dinner Night. The dinner will be Thursday, September 14th. Please look for another note with more details to come.
Communication:
It usually takes me no longer than 24 hours to get back with you. The easiest most convenient way to reach me is my cell phone. My number is 616-299-6272. Please make sure you call the office if your child is going to be absent or has an appointment.
If you are wondering how I communicate to you on what’s going on in the classroom, I have a classroom website. On this classroom website I will share weekly information and post other documents. The website is www.skipp456.weebly.com. I post weekly reminders, class schedules, homework documents, hopefully photos, and other resources. I do send school and PTA information to this website.
In addition to our website, we will be using https://www.remind.com/. Remind. Com is an extremely easy way for me to send you reminder email messages right from my phone! Messages might be a reminder about a field trip note, book report minder, or how awesomely hard your children are working.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017
Welcome parents and students,
Wow, it’s hard to believe we are almost back together again! I’m so excited to start this year! Welcome new families and students! We are happy to have you.
Now for some general reminders about the year, please bring an extra pair shoes (to be left at school) for physical education. Most students just keep an extra pair of tennis shoes in their locker. All students will have a full year of art and music. All sixth graders will have the opportunity to participate in band as well.
We really want to encourage healthy snack eating this year. Eating a healthier snack like fruits and vegetables will help students gain extra brain energy and avoid any sugar crash. Please no large bags of candy or potato chips. For the first few weeks of school we will be having snack all together around 10:30am. This is to insure that students understand the proper snack procedures in the classroom. We are also encouraging students to each have their own sports water bottle with their name on it. Please keep small toys at home such as Pokémon Cards or stuffed animals. These small toys become a distraction. Each student will receive a locker this year that they will share with another student. Photos of family and pets are fine to hang up.
Homework this year will consist of Math IXL, 40 Book Challenge, and Community service. Students will also go online for IXL math with a specific target area to work on. For example, Billy the fourth grader might be working on measurement while Susan the fifth grader might be working on long division. Community service is another large component of our homework. Students will be completing a service learning project each week at home. For example preparing dinner for the family or folding laundry. Please be aware that part of our curriculum in the upper elementary is service learning. Please note that the following dates for homework to begin:
- Math IXL: Friday September 15th due the following Friday.
- Students will be given a letter with their passcode and login.
- Students will be given a list of target areas to work on.
- 6th grade requirement of 90 minutes a week (minimum)
- 5th grade requirement of 45 minutes a week (minimum)
- 4th grade requirement of 30 minutes a week (minimum)
- I monitor students’ progress every Friday.
- 40 Book Challenge
- The purpose of the challenge is to get kids to fall in love with reading many different types of book and other reading material.
- There will be weekly reading assignment questions for students to answer in google classroom (I’m new to google classroom and I’m super excited to use this)!!!!!
- Assignments will start Friday, September 15th and checked every Friday.
- A monthly book share extravaganza will happen at the end of each month.
- Community Service:
- Opportunity for students to give back outside the classroom
- The purpose for this is to help teach our kids the importance of helping others out. These are acts of kindness
- Community service will start Friday, September 15th.
- Community service is due the last Friday of each month.
All 456 students will be going to winter camp this year. Additional information regarding camp will follow later in the year. The cost of camp is about 100.00. We do offer students the chance to sell candy bars to offset the cost. We will also be participating in Zoo Lab at John Ball Zoo the week before spring break. This cost is about 35.00. There will be many opportunities for parents to volunteer for field trips and service learning trips. Remember in order to volunteer in the classroom or chaperone on a field trip, your volunteer paperwork must be approved.
Your child will be bringing one folder back and forth each day. This folder is called the Parent Communication Folder today. Any notes from school will be placed in this folder for you.
Please review our North Park Montessori school handbook with your child. We will be spending time reviewing and discussing what inappropriate touching looks like and bullying. We also discussed the immediate consequence for these behaviors. We want to make sure the children and parents are very clear about these behaviors. Our ultimate goal is to make sure all students feel safe when they go to school.
Students in the upper elementary will create a social contract next week. This social contract will consist of certain rules and expectations that all will follow. Each student will sign the contract in agreement. We post these contracts in our classroom community as a visual reminder. If your child is having difficulties following the social contract, they will have their own personal behavior plan. Your child’s teacher will contact you if your child needs to start an individual behavior plan.
Thank-you so much for your time, we look forward to working with you this year.
*Please plan on attending Parent Student Orientation night. This night is one of the most crucial nights of the school year! We will discuss the Montessori curriculum, field trips, behavior expectations, and exactly what your kids are doing on a day to day basis. Parent Student Orientation night is Tuesday September 26th from 6:30-7:30.
*Please save the date for our Heritage Dinner Night. The dinner will be Thursday, September 14th. Please look for another note with more details to come.
Communication:
It usually takes me no longer than 24 hours to get back with you. The easiest most convenient way to reach me is my cell phone. My number is 616-299-6272. Please make sure you call the office if your child is going to be absent or has an appointment.
If you are wondering how I communicate to you on what’s going on in the classroom, I have a classroom website. On this classroom website I will share weekly information and post other documents. The website is www.skipp456.weebly.com. I post weekly reminders, class schedules, homework documents, hopefully photos, and other resources. I do send school and PTA information to this website.
In addition to our website, we will be using https://www.remind.com/. Remind. Com is an extremely easy way for me to send you reminder email messages right from my phone! Messages might be a reminder about a field trip note, book report minder, or how awesomely hard your children are working.
Sincerely,
Theresa Skipp