No pencils

Hello,

I don't know how many years in a row that this has happened, but I'm sure that you probably have read about another two million dollar or so surplus for the school district.  I can assure you that it never feels like we have any extra to spend.  This year we underbudgeted for dry-erase markers.  We were all out before Christmas.  Today came word that we are out of pencils.  Sounds crazy, but the only way we will have new pencils this year is out of pocket.  Our class has gone through at least 300 of the ones that I bought from those ridiculous back to school sales back in August.  I should have bought more.  I will be purchasing more in the coming days, (our parent group has given all the teachers Target gift cards to help out with in class purchases), but I would be very thankful to anyone willing to donate a box of ten or twelve.  Thank you so much.

We will be making islands tomorrow.  Thank you to all of the dough makers.  We were a little short for today, so I'll make some more tonight and that should be enough.  We practiced making some land forms this afternoon with clay, and tonight's homework is to put down a rough sketch of a plan for their island(s).  It should be fun.  We'll be wearing our aprons that were so generously donated a couple years ago by Wild Oats, but I would still recommend that students don't wear their Sunday best.  We will be painting the bases first and I am more worried about that than the flour or cornstarch dough.

Crazy weather today.  I'm hoping for power when I get home.  Kids were in for the first recess, but got to run around a bit in the afternoon. 

I can't believe it is only two weeks until February vacation.  This year is going fast.  I've got some work to do.

Have good night.

Mr. Shea

Better than shoveling my roof

Hello,

Wow, it's warm.  At least I don't have to get up on the flat part of my roof this time. 

It was an odd day.  The kids had a substitute for math.  Some math classes had some kids take advantage of the "new" teacher.  We talked about that for a bit before lunch.  I was back in the classroom in time to send them to gym class.  It was nice to see some of my former students in the gym helping Ms. D'Agostino with a 5-2-1-0 class.  Ask your child about the planting, eating and exercising that happened during that forty minute period.

I think I'm going to get pulled to meet with the math specialist for another forty minutes tomorrow.  That means that we won't officially need the play dough until Friday.  It also means that I need to write up another plan for a substitute.  That isn't one of my favorite things to do.  Thanks to the parents who have made dough or plan to tonight or tomorrow.

Some of the clues that I heard about from last night's homework were fantastic.  We'll jump into that a little more tomorrow.  I think coming up with the clues before we come up with our "crime" is going to work out great.

My wife comes home from NYC tonight.  My dog and I will be happy to get things back to normal. 

Have a great night.

Mr. Shea

Short post

Hello,

I just went to the fifth grade band concert.  Amazing how big kids can grow in a year.  I hope to see a lot of this year's class putting on the show next year.

Sorry about the top play dough recipe that went home last night.  2 cups of water are necessary for that recipe.  I heard about some dry, powdery disasters.  Thanks to everyone planning on making a batch or two.  I'd like them by Thursday, but unexpected plans may push the project to Friday.  We'll see.

We will be having a substitutes tomorrow for all fourth grade math students.  The teachers will be meeting with a Math In Focus instructor in the morning and then see her/him teach a sample math class to Ms. Thayer's math class.  I will be back in my homeroom by 10:20 to send them to phys. ed.

Early release day tomorrow.  Students will be dismissed at 1:00. 

I need to write up a sub plan now, so have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Greasy roads - no blog

Hello,

I just got out of back to back meetings and the word is that the roads aren't good.  So, once again, but I'm bailing. 

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Lock down practice successful

Hello,

We practiced our first lock down drill of the year this afternoon.  We had a lengthy discussion this morning about the hows and whys.  The kids had a lot of great questions and many of them were able to talk about some of their fears, mainly ones that they have at home.  I was surprised at how many hide under the covers from all sorts of imagined threats.  I think it was good for them to hear how many of their peers also have these fears: Monsters in the walls, stranger in their house, mysterious sounds made by unknown sources, etc.  I think the most common thread for most of their fears had to do with darkness.  I didn't get the sense that any of them don't feel safe in school.

The lockdown lasted for about 20 minutes.  Students sat in small groups on the floor partially hidded by bookshelves.  I read some more of The City of Ember.  Lina and Doon have found the way out of the city, but are now wanted by their city police for "spreading vicious rumors."  It is getting really good.

We read Doreen Rappaport's fantastic picture book on Martin Luther King Jr. this morning.  This led to a very interesting discussion about race relations in our history, racism, sexism, religion, and even gun control.  I think it would be worth your while to hear some of your child's views on today's discussion.  One girl told about reading how men get paid more for doing the same jobs as women.  Some kids got pretty worked up over some of these issues.  It is great that they are interested in being informed.  I heard myself say a few times, "Just because it is something that we have always done, doesn't make it right." 

Spelling test tomorrow.  I hoping the days of flunked spelling tests are over.  One student that did extra spelling work for the first half of every lunch recess this week sure hopes so too.

Harry Potter Club meets tomorrow night until 5:15.  Looks like I have one of those years where they like to meet on Fridays.  Not my first choice.

Have a great night.

Mr. Shea

Mr. Shea

Lock down drill tomorrow

Hello,

We are having our first lock down drill of the school year tomorrow.  We will be very clear explaining that this is a practice drill, much like our fire drills and bus evacuation drills.  This will take place tomorrow afternoon.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Our class is in the middle of a mystery.  Mrs. Smith's class won the Golden Trash Can Award last week and now it has gone missing.  Many kids in the class think that they have seen or heard clues to help us solve the mystery.  One student already thinks he knows where it is.  We'll have to take a look tomorrow to see if he is correct.  I think there are more clues to come.  I was trying to convince the class to work together, rather than work on the mystery separately.  The mysterious note in our read aloud, City of Ember, created many different class factions. They did not share with one another and went to lengths to conceal their discoveries.

The antagonists that were created last night were fantastic!  What originality!  We had villians, suspicious people, robots, creatures, even an evil tissue box.  Great details and some very creative thinking.  Tonight, students need to write a short storyline in which their antagonist will play a role. 

I am usually on top of making sure that kids know why they get days off from school.  We'll discuss Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tomorrow morning when we usually have a spelling test.  Our spelling test will be on Friday, due to the short week.

Have a great night.

Mr. Shea

What happened to the snow?

Hello,

I think many students were anticipating a snow day.  Lucky for them it was the weekend so they didn't get caught without doing their homework.

We got a visit from Mrs. Yeodsnukis this afternoon to talk to us about fossils.  She worked in Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming.  She brought in a lot of great specimens.  It was great to see how they find and cut away fossils from the land. 

Students did a little character sketch today.  Their homework is to apply some of those skills to create an antagonist.  I think they were very motivated to create "a bad guy."

The Harry Potter Book Club will be gathering after school this Friday, January 25 from 3:15 to 5:15.  We will be viewing the first Harry Potter movie:  The Sorcerer’s Stone.  We will be discussing the differences between the movie and novel, answering trivia questions, and enjoying refreshments.  This meeting is completely optional for members. SPermission slips went home, but just write a short note if you didn't see one.  Thanks.

Have a great night.

Mr. Shea

No School Monday

Hello,

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is this Monday.  Just a reminder that we have no school. 

The City of Ember is getting more exciting.  We just found out that the mayor has been hoarding all the good supplies for himself.  We'll see if Lina and Doon's plan to get the city guards to arrest him will work or backfire on them. 

The fourth grade teachers decided to do our math graphing unit with our homerooms instead of in math class.  It makes sense to me.  Reading graphs is more of a non-fiction reading skill (reading for information) than a math skill.  I sent a little bar graph home for them to complete today.  I'll ask questions about it tomorrow. 

I'll be doing some reading testing the next few weeks during silent reading.  Everyday I'll test a student or two with a running record.  I'll be looking at their reading accuracy, their comprehension skills, and their ability to summarize.  Four students have been tested in the past three days.  Sixteen to go.

Mrs. Farrand, our school counselor, came in and read a book called Say Something.  It is about not turning the other way when you see injustice.  We discussed the best way to help someone being teased or bullied. 

I'm off to shovel my roof tonight.

Thanks for reading,

Mr. Shea

PS.  For those of you following the story of the Notre Dame football player with the fictional girlfriend: My wife does exist. 

Blog called on account of snow

Hello,

I'm going home.  Blaze has told me that the roads are icy and I need to leave now.

Thanks for understanding,

Mr. Shea

Snow coming

Hello,

I just heard that we will be getting 1-3 inches of snow tomorrow.  I'm hoping for no snow days this year.  I like days off in June better than days of shoveling in January or February.  I think we're safe from a snow day tomorrow.  The last few days have been a nice mini-break for the kids from the cold weather. 

It was interesting to see how many students wrote their spelling words over and over last night rather than make up a word search, crossword, or some other game with their words.  The cynic in me thinks it was because that was the most mindless option.  Maybe it was because it was the quickest, although putting them in sentences or making a word search doesn't take very long.  I was surprised with the overwhelming majority of students that did the same thing. 

Geography picture dictionaries should be wrapped up tomorrow.  We'll spend a few more days on landforms and then make islands of play dough / clay where they can show off their learning.  I'll send a recipe home when we get a little closer to the day.

Physical education class is tomorrow.  Don't forget sneakers.

Have a good night.  I've got to run.

Mr. Shea

Good start

Hello,

Quite a few teachers were talking about how squirrely their classes were today, but I am pleased to report that I didn't see much of that.  The class had a strong start to the week. 

The mystery unit continues.  The kids are having a good time solving the mysteries of the Black Hand Gang.  I have an old book from my childhood that requires a careful eye for detail in the writing and the pictures to solve mini-mysteries.  I projected a few on Friday and today for the class to solve together.  They are doing quite well. 

The math challenge for my math class this week is very challenging, but fun as well.  It involves making congruent shapes on a grid.  I'll be interested to see who can rise to the challenge.  I offer up my weekly challenges to any student or parent, regardless of math teacher.  If you think you have what it takes to give four gorillas four separate cages, with the exact same shape while staying on the lines of a grid, then just ask for the challenge sheet.

Our World Wildlife Fund adoptee, the Amur leopard, arrived this weekend.  We opened it up this morning.  Very fuzzy.  Tomorrow we will decide its gender and name.  Come to think of it, is gender all that important?  Maybe we'll just give it a name.  (Although, with only thirty or so left, I bet the gender of any newborn in the real world is really important.)

We did more work on our geography picture dictionaries.  New terms today: fjords, glaciers, atolls and archipelagos.  We watched some glaciers calving into the sea on our big screen and then saw a video clip of an iceberg turning over.  Ridiculously more effective then me just describing it for all those years. 

Spelling homework tonight is to do something with their words.  They can write them ten times each, make sentences out of them, put them in a story, make a crossword, make a wordsearch, whatever they can come up with to show me that they spent a little bit of time making a connection with their words. 

Have a great night.

Mr. Shea

Tests tomorrow

Hello,

We have our continent test tomorrow.  Students are required to place the seven continents and four oceans on an unlabeled map of the world.  I think they are ready.  Ask them to sing the continent song to you, if you'd like a headache.

My math class also has a test tomorrow.  It will be very similar to last week's, just without the careless mistakes and skipped problems.  GCF, LCM, multiple digit multiplication, divisibility, and placing numbers on a number line are the major topics.

We started our geography picture dictionaries.  Today's terms to know were geyser, iceberg, badlands, cave, tunnel, desert, butte, mesa, and plateau.  Bonus for your child if they can tell you what an alluvial fan is.  (Let me know.)

We had a rough time doing an activity where everyone writes a sentence and then you pass the papers.  Each person adds on to the story that they receive.  Everytime they write a sentence, they pass it on and receive a new one.  We had trouble solving problems too quickly.  (One story had a mysterious disappearance of a baseball player, and someone unfortunately wrote, "They found him."  Mystery over.)  Other people "hijacked" stories.  Someone was having something explode in every story they got ahold of.  Not good.  We talked about it.  We'll try again in a month or so.

Lots of sickness going around.  I was very pleased to have our entire class present and working hard for the whole day.  Let's keep those hands washed!

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Notes on the day

Hello,

We had a staff meeting at the end of the day.  All of the school security procedures are being revisited.  I'll let you know any major changes when I hear about them.

We worked on using a grid to read a map today.  Homework has them making a grid and drawing a map of a room within that grid. 

Math was all about division and fractions.  I'm not going to separate them into neat little units because fractions are division.  We'll get into fractions much heavier later, but they will be learning many of the concepts as they are learning the many facets of division.

Students will be creating and performing a gymnastic program in their phys ed. class.  According to Ms. D'Agostino, our class has two more weeks to practice.

Spelling test tomorrow.  I forgot to remind them today.  It has been a long time since our last one and they have had their words to study since Jan. 2nd, so they should be okay. 

Lego club tomorrow until 5:00.

Have a great night.

Mr. Shea

Homework club is going well.

Hello,

I like how the homework club is going.  It feels like the kids are more comfortable asking questions and daring not to know during these less formal times.  Both the games version and the Lego version of the clubs are going smoother than my fun science homework club from last year.  I'm liking that I don't have to do any extra prep work for these clubs.  The Legos and games just need to be taken off the shelf.

I have a dinner to go to tonight so I'm going to have to cut this short.  (It seems like I've been saying that a lot lately.)  We will be reviewing some map skills over the next week or two.  We worked with a giant state map today and the homework tonight is to create a map, of something real or make believe, using symbols and a map key. 

Math tests went home tonight from my math test.  Make sure to take a look.  Some sloppy work there, but it's all about learning how to take a test.  We'll get there.

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Sorry so late

Hello,

It is after 7:00 and I just got back to my room after meeting with team members about math.  I'll make this quick.  We passed out mystery books today.  Ask your child what they are reading.  I made a lot of the choices low level readers.  We should be able to read these easily, but take in more of the big picture of what makes a mystery.  I hope many kids will step up and read more than one during the unit.

We did some Grammar Ninja this afternoon.  Many kids struggled to pay attention.  It doesn't matter how it is presented, if kids aren't confident in their ability on a subject, many of them try their best to tune out.  It is more socially acceptable for them to not be paying attention than to not know the answer.  I got very frustrated.  I gave them a little lecture on being present and attentive.  Then I asked how many of them were tired of me giving this message to them repeatedly.  Many raised their hands.  I passed the clicker to one of the children raising their hands and asked them to finish the problem on the screen that the last child was struggling with.  The student had no idea what the problem was even asking.  So they heard me ask them to pay attention and were tired of that message, but they had no idea what we were working on.  Yeah, that's frustrating.

Continents quiz on Friday.  Students must know the seven continents, the four oceans, the equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, and the Ural Mountains designating the split between Europe and Asia.  We've filled in quite a few maps.  We've spent some time on these things.  I was quite disheartened to hear that we live in the continent of Brazil today. 

Some days teachers feel like we are doing a lot of things well.  Some days are like today. 

Alphabetization homework tonight. 

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Getting back on track

Hello,

I think it is taking me longer to get back on track than the kids.  For the second day in a row I forgot to use the restroom at lunch.  On most days I don't have any break from 12:05 to 3:15.  I was very relieved when the bus calls came this afternoon. 

Our Roald Dahl Jeopardy game went very well.  Ask your child if they were able to answer any questions correctly.  It was a close game and a good end to that successful reading unit.  Mysteries are on deck.  I read them some two-minute mysteries and then we went over some terms this afternoon.  Do you know what a red herring is?  We also talked about these terms: alibi, clue, evidence, hunch, motive, suspect, victim and witness.  These will keep coming up over the next few weeks but I was having fun using them all afternoon.  ("I have a hunch that __________ isn't going to put up his chair and I will be the victim."  "__________ had motive to leave quickly, the evidence is this mess under her desk!" etc.)

I sent another blank rock cycle sheet home tonight.  It is for studying purposes only.  They won't need to pass it in.  They will need to know the cycle to do well on tomorrow's geology test.  I'll have some hands on portions of the test as well. 

It is quite possible that your child has already asked you to buy them some corn starch.  We played around with it this afternoon in our study of states of matter.  When mixed with water, is it a solid or liquid?  It is fun to try to figure out.

I officially sent in the money to make our symbolic adoption of the Amur Leopard.  I'll let you know when the furry thing and the papers arrive.

Students got to choose their new seats just before the end of the day.  I'll move the desks in the morning.  (Why do now what you can do tomorrow?)  Ask them if they chose to sit next to their friends and whether or not they are mature enough to handle that.  I bet they will say yes to both questions.  We shall see.  It was interesting to see who chose to sit in the back rows. 

Thank you for outfitting your kids properly.  We will be going outside during any recess where the temperature is at ten degrees or higher.  Hats are a necessity!

I have one small request.  We have gone through tissues like I've never seen.  We are currently using the school's thin scratchy ones.  I can't seem to keep the class stocked with the softer ones.  If I could get a few parents to buy a couple of boxes, it would be a great help.  We seem to be going through almost two boxes a week.  Thanks in advance.

Have a great night. 

Mr. Shea  

Welcome back

Hello,

I hope everyone had a nice break from the norm.  I'm glad the kids had a chance for some time in the snow.  It sounded like the class enjoyed the vacation.  There was a little too much talk about the Rated M video games that they are allowed to play.  Not much I can do about that, but I don't want them flaunting it. 

I'm exhausted.  I literally just had an eyes-closed head bob.  This job requires an amount of energy that can only be replicated on the job. 

No Lego Club tomorrow.  (Thursday)  I have an afterschool meeting scheduled.  I made up a slip to go home, but I'm looking at them right now.  I announced it, so hopefully I won't have to make too many calls in the morning.

We will have our geology test on Friday.  I'll give them a "cheat" sheet tomorrow that includes everything that will be on the test.  I don't want to surprise them.  I just want them to show me that they know it. 

Two more head bobs.  I'm literally falling asleep at the keyboard.  You'll have to ask your child what else happened today.  I can barely type.

My apologies.

Mr. Shea