Rain, rain, go away. Indoor recess is for the birds.

Hello,

I finally have a night without a meeting.  I try to get this done by 5:00, but meetings often get in the way. 

The big news today was the new math classes.  Your child has been placed into a math class with children of like abilites.  We made our decisions based on NWEA scores, NECAP scores, and last year's teacher's recommendations.  All groups will be covering the same concepts, but the speed and depth of that coverage will depend on the group.  We will be allowing for students to move into other classes based on progress levels.  Please contact me with any questions about this.  I know that ability grouping for math was not common practice at all of the former elementary schools.  I personally believe that it is the best way to give each child the best chance for success.

Speaking of contacting me, my school email is sshea@brunswick.k12.me.us.  The email that shows at the top of this blog is my personal email address.  I would prefer that you use the school address, only because that is the one that I check multiple times per day.  My gmail account only gets checked at night.  The website didn't allow me to post my alternative email since it is a google run blog.

I think I misspoke a bit yesterday.  I shouldn't have said that I lecture the kids.  That implies a long, drawn out, rehearsed speech.  I think it is more accurate to say that I rant.  They are often impromptu, impassioned, and generally not very long.  The class will be hearing the importance of reading rant a few times this year.

We started our geography picture dictionaries today.  I'll be interested to know if your child can tell you what an archipelago, canal, fiord, or bay is.  We started with some random ones, I know.  The goal is to make three dimensional islands in a couple weeks (out of homemade play dough) that show off our knowledge of land forms.  More odd ones to come: isthmus, mesa, tundra, butte, atoll, and delta.

My new math class got a look at what one million cubic centimeters would look like.  I built a giant cube out of pvc piping.  I'll be sharing it with other classes in the days to come.

It seemed like the first gym class of the year went well.  The music teacher spoke to me about how fantastic our class did on Friday afternoon.  They sang the county song.  That one is a little bit tougher to memorize than the continent song.  I'd be interested to know if you ask your child what the seven continents are, how many answer in song.  I bet they also know how many counties are in our state, but I'd be impressed if they can recite all sixteen after only one music session.

Already 5:00.  It is tough to get this done in a timely manner with all of the drop ins.

Have a great night.  Thanks for reading.

Mr. Shea