It's hard to believe it's the end of Term 1! We've worked hard and have been able to accomplish a ton in this term. I'm looking forward to what Term 2 has in store! Below are a few news and notes:
Room Parent Communication Please take the time to complete this short survey about Room Parent Communication. The survey asks if you are ok with our Room Parent sending you emails. It's super short and will sure up our Room Parent communication. Additionally, if you are able and willing to be a Room Parent Assistant, send me an email.
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Silly selfies...they never get old! We learn. We laugh. We have a great time being 5th graders and enjoying our last year of elementary school. Here are some of the things we'll be enjoying throughout the week:
Social Studies We are ending our study of Changing the US Constitution. Students should be able to explain the process whereby the Constitution is amended. Students should also be able to tell why the Founding Fathers created an amendment process. At the end of this week, we'll be studying the Cattle Drives! If you have an Old Western paraphernalia (cowboy hat, lasso, posters, boots, etc.) that you would like to send in, let me know. My goal is to decorate the classroom Old Western style for this unit! Reading We are still working on Main Idea and Summarizing. We are getting so much accomplished with our new reading series. I will be sending home our Reading Log this week. The students are to read for 20-30 minutes nightly and record information about what they read on their reading log. (Please read the guest blog post here on my blog from Corrinne Smith-Media Specialist on Sparking a Love of Reading) Writing We are working on writing Personal Narratives. Students are choosing small moments from their life and crafting a story about that moment. If you have any questions, send me an email at [email protected]. Cheers! At Curriculum Night, I was asked several times by parents, "What can I do to get my child to ready?" I posed this question to Corrine Smith, our Media Specialist. She agreed to be our guest blogger this week. This is what she had to say:
Sparking a Love of Reading I am going to make a sweeping generalization: All kids love to read. I know, I know, you are all thinking of a child, maybe yours, who does NOT like to read at all. But I stand by my statement. Think about it, when kids are little they all love stories. Maybe they couldn’t sit still for an entire picture book, but they still loved to hear the story read to them, to look at the pictures, to watch a story unfold on their favorite tv show or in their favorite movie or even make up their own stories with their legos, cars, and dolls. After 26 years of teaching, I truly do believe that all kids do instinctually love books, but some have misplaced that love. So, how do kids become “reluctant readers” if they all start off loving stories? There are many factors that go into a student falling out of love with books. Maybe they struggle with reading independently, feeling badly about themselves when they try. Maybe they would rather be doing something active, like a sport. Perhaps the lure of the screen overrides the desire to read a book. Or maybe, just maybe, they have not found the right book that sparks that love of reading. I truly believe that all of the other reasons for not being a reader can be solved if we can find THAT BOOK. You know the one, that first book that you carried around with dog-eared pages and shared with your friends on the bus. To help children overcome their reluctance to read, we have to find that book for them. And, parents, it is not always the one we want it to be: the long chapter book, the classic you loved as a kid. But at this age, nothing is more important than igniting an excitement, a passion for reading. How do we do this if a reluctant attitude has already crept in at the old age of 10 or 11? I have some ideas…
If you listen to one thing that I write here, please let it be this. Don’t make reading a battle, an activity that feels like work. Don’t force a reluctant reader to join a book club or read a certain number of books in a time span or even stick to books on a certain reading level. It’s so important that kids read often, that’s true. But the minute it feels more like something they are forced into, we lose any chance of it becoming a habit, something they will do once you are out of their lives. I love to read, would rather be reading than doing most things, and yet I struggle to finish books that I HAVE to read. Many kids are no different. We will create passionate readers if we let them discover that special book, that series that they can’t put down. Use the suggestions above to gently guide them in that direction. Good evening , Parents! It's going to be a busy week in 5th grade! Here's what we are looking to achieve this week!
iReady Materials Are Here! We have adopted a new reading program! We are using the Ready Reading series. I am super excited to have a reading program packed with everything needed to teach and challenge our 5th graders. Students will be introduced to materials on Monday and we'll dive deep into learning beginning Tuesday! Due Process We will be continuing our conversation about the importance of "due process". Students have shared some insights and asked some great questions during Social Studies. We'll wrap up this discussion this week. Curriculum Night I'm excited to see you on Tuesday, August 20th at 6:00 pm for Curriculum Night. Ms. Madhere and I have some exciting things to share with you! Note from Jackie Thiesen: If your child is currently identified as gifted and has been receiving services through the Links program there will be an informational meeting at 5:15 (PRIOR TO the beginning of 5th Grade curriculum night) on TUESDAY, 8/20/19. If you would like to hear about how Links services are provided here at FAVE please plan on attending this session. If you any questions, feel free to contact, Jackie Theisen. I am the senior member of the team of teachers of the gifted and will be serving only 5th grade this year. MAP Testing We will be taking the MAP Test August 20th-22nd in class this week. We'll take it first thing in the morning on Tuesday-Thursday. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to send me an email at [email protected]. Cheers! One of the most difficult things about transitioning into a new school year is getting used to a new teacher. Every teacher has their own unique personality and way of doing things. There are teachers that are hyper-organized and teachers that are free spirits. We teachers are challenged to tailor our style and way of doing things to a style that best fit the families we are serving. Though we'll go in-depth on Curriculum Night---here are a few quick things about Mr. Johnson's way of doing things.
How I Communicate As a parent of three, I know firsthand how important it is to have a good communication between teacher and family. Here are the three main ways that I communicate with families: Email-I treat my email like texts during the week. They come to my phone and I usually try to give a short quick reply. On the weekends, I am running around with my family and may not return an email until Monday. Blog-I decided to start blogging again this year. Last year, I sent home a weekly newsletter. I think the blog will be a good place to document our journey this year. This will be the place to come for pictures, info, my teaching philosophy, etc. Agenda-I sign student agenda's Monday-Thursday. You can feel free to write a note in the agenda. I will check it daily. How I Teach I joke with the class that I am "loud and country" (I am proud to be from Macon, GA). I am all about student engagement. We move, complete group projects, have quiet time to work---all in a purposeful way. The fun part of my job is to make content that was considered boring to my generation interesting to our students. How I Discipline One goal that I have during my first six weeks of school is to form some sort of personal connection with each student. I have found that this alone helps to thwart any discipline issues for the rest of the year. If I ever have to be firm with a student, the personal connection is what I lean on to encourage students to make necessary adjustments---not fear. I am also a proponent of self-monitoring. One way I do this is by implementing team points. Students love to earn points for self-monitoring. I make a huge deal when students or groups are following instructions. Students love this! A positive classroom culture is my #1 discipline tool. Is there anything else about my style of teaching you would like to know about? Let me know in the comments. Cheers! Hello, Parents! We've had an amazing time over the past few days building community, getting organized and learning our processes. I'm excited about how eager students are to learn and explore! Below are few housekeeping updates.
Team Teaching As you know, I will be team teaching with Ms. Madhere. I will teach our students Social Studies and ELA and Ms. Madhere will teach our students Math and Science. We will both teach our homeroom classes writing. We have been switching classes since Monday and it's going great! Room Parent We currently have one parent committed serve as a room parent this year. I usually try to have 2 or possibly 3 room parents to share the load. Send an email to [email protected] if you are interested in being a part of this team. Agendas/Homework Students will begin to take their agendas home with them Monday-Thursday beginning on Monday. I typically sign all agendas once their homework is written down correctly for the correct day. Please sign the agenda Monday-Thursday. Feel free to send communication via the agenda as well. Curriculum Night I look forward to seeing you on August 20th at 6:00 pm for Curriculum Night. Here, Ms. Madhere and I will give you the run down of what we will be teaching this year. Come with your questions! It will be an informative evening. If you have any questions or concerns, email me at [email protected]. Cheers! We have had some amazing experiences this year here in 5th grade. The students have grown taller, smarter and more prepared for the next step of their journey...Renfroe Middle School! As we began to wrap up our school year, keep this dates and important activities in mind:
5th Grade Exhibition/Exhibition Mentors Now that Tybee is over, we will begin to shift our focus to the next big event for 5th graders and that is Exhibition! I will need 6-7 parent mentors to help with groups of 4-5 students with their Exhibition inquiries. Exhibition is the culminating project for all students in the IB PYP program. They will be designing their own inquiry into a topic that they care about. The students will be able to practice all of their inquiry skills, research skills, communication skills, and social skills. This requires about an hour of your time during the school day each week for 5 weeks in April and May. If you are interested in helping send me an email expressing your interest. Training will be provided on April 12th at 5:30pm Many parents comment on how this is a great experience for them to see exactly how IB works! The date for Exhibition is May 23rd...mark your calendars! Renfroe Middle Visits Parents and students will have an opportunity to visit Renfroe Middle School on Thursday, March 29th from 7:00-8:00 pm. I will also be there with my 5th grader...we will be experiencing this transition together. There will also be a day in which we walk to Renfroe Middle School as a 5th grade class during the school day. The date for this is May 4. There will be some presentations and students will take a tour of the school. Social Studies Projects Students will be receiving a few Social Studies take home projects. These projects will be used as springboards for class discussion, will expose students to additional information and be used to review information covered in the beginning of the school year. Let me know if you have any questions. The first project is due Thursday! Spring Break Activities I wil be sending home some activities for students to complete during Spring Break. This is not something students are required to do. Look for it on Thursday, March 29th. Email me if you have any questions! This past Monday we sent my daughter, Madison, to Tybee Island. This was a her first time away from home at a place other than my mom and dad’s house. Admittedly, Mandisa and I were a little nervous. Madison returned from Tybee yesterday fired up about the great time she had. She told us ALL about her trip. I know we will have a great time on our class trip as well!
Below is a short synopsis of what our trip will look like from beginning to end. After the synopsis, I have included some Frequently Asked Questions about this trip. Please let me know if you have any further questions. The Morning of the 12th On the morning of March 12th you will arrive at school between 5:15-5:30 am. Students will check in with me to be marked as present and grab their snack bags. They will be directed to load their luggage onto the bus once I am given a bus assignment. We will be pulling out at around 6:00 pm. We will make a restroom stop once we pass through Macon. Our Arrival When we arrive, students will be given their cabin assignments. They will then be escorted by their chaperone to their cabins. They will get their bed made and put luggage away. Afterwards, students will eat lunch and start their first activities! Bed Time After students have dinner each night, they will have one last activity. After the final activity, chaperones and students will make their way back to the dorms. Students will then settle down for the night by taking showers and getting ready for the next day as directed by their dorm chaperones. I will walk through to check on the boys during this time to ensure the process of taking showers is moving along smoothly. Ms. Cassan will check on the girls. We will do one last check just before lights out. On the Road Again On the morning of the 14th, the students will have breakfast, pack their bags, and clean their room. The chaperones will help students clean the rooms and ensure that all of their materials are packed. After we ensure bags are packed, we will then load the busses and be on our way back to Decatur. Students will have sack lunches on the bus. We will call and send text messages once we are in Macon to give you an estimated time of arrival. Tybee -Frequently Asked Questions Will my child need money? There is a small gift shop that sells snacks and souvenirs. Students will be responsible for keeping up with their own money. Who are the chaperones? We are fortunate to have 4 amazing chaperones from Mr. Johnson’s Class! They are Kirsa Gamble, Ernest Clarke, Kent Fisher, and Christy Brock. Are students allowed to bring electronics? Students are not allowed to bring any electronic devices. Are students allowed to bring cameras? Yes, student may bring disposable cameras. How can I get in touch with my student in case of emergency? Ms. Cassan or myself will call you in case of emergency. |
Eddie Johnson
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