Dreams and Reflection in Week Seven

Here's a quick update on our past week in class.  But, first, take a look at a note from the office regarding dropping off students in the morning.

ATTENTION FAMILIES:  Please talk to your students about arriving to school in the morning. Unless special arrangements have been made to have students enrolled in KidZone, in a special program during the week like, Strings, coming to Fast Forward, meeting with a teacher, or going to the wifi room (again all must be prearranged), students are not allowed on the school property. There is no one outside to supervise students.  The doors open at 8:30 a.m. each day.  If your student eats breakfast, they may enter the building at 8:25 a.m.  Students should not wait on the steps out in front of the building or in the back by the playground.  If they are coming for a special arrangement, they are to come to the front of the building and ring the buzzer.  KidZone will know if they are approved to enter the building and where they are to go.  Thanks.  

DreamBox
Last week, our class started to work on a new program called DreamBox.  This program is similar to our ELA program called iReady.  DreamBox meets each student where they are at.  It has individualized instruction based off the level of each student in each sub area.  So, some students may have extra lessons in Comparing Fractions to Decimals, while other may have more practice with understanding Multiplication and Arrays.  We are able to monitor student progress and look to see their gains as their lessons progress.  Students are very excited about this new program, and we can't wait to see the results as we continue working within DreamBox.

Here is a sneak peak into our new program, DreamBox.  Have your student login and show you around, as well!

DreamBox Homepage

After the completion of a lesson, a student's screen will show their coins and badges earned.

A sample lesson; Comparing Fractions and Decimals

 

Class Meetings
During the past week, we spent some time having class meetings with each of our classes.  We met as a whole and also as our three individual classes, as well.  We used this time to reflect on our classroom setting and the pilot as a whole.  At the beginning of our meetings, as an entire 5th grade, we looked at what our classroom looks like as compared to a typical 5th grade classroom in our district. We shared which parts of our classroom is the same as any other classroom in our district, and which parts are strictly "pilot" based. 

Then, after our whole group meeting, our classes broke out and shared the things we really loved about the pilot so far, and the things that we wished were a little different. 

 

 

As teachers, we were so excited to have this time of reflection with our students.  Here are a few things that our students absolutely love about our current 5th grade classroom.

• I love iReady, because I like having a lesson that is right on my level.
• I like having the Chromebook, because all my tools I need I can access at home.
• I love having the blended classroom, because I can get much more help with having more teachers in my classroom.

Here are a few thoughts from a few of our students sharing some possible suggestions for our classroom.

• I wish we could have more iReady, and that it did not stop and start over when we close our lids.  It also freezes up sometimes.  I wish it didn't do that.
• Sometimes I feel distracted in our classroom, but I know I was distracted in other classrooms too.
• I'd like to try a different type of computer other than the Chromebook, like maybe a Mac.

Upcoming Events
October 1 - Special PTA Meeting @ 7pm- Informational Meeting regarding Levy
October 4 – Running Club @ 8am
October 4 - AD Tailgate @ 5pm

October 4 - 5th graders sing at William Jewel in the evening (for those that signed up)
October 19 - KC Kids Marathon

 

Our students had an amazing week 7! We feel so blessed to get to spend our days with these fabulous young scholars. Every day is filled with a brand new exciting adventure!

Thanks for all you do at home!  :)

~Mrs. Rhea