Mrs. O'Rourke's Panther Press
For the week of March 12
HIJH Spring BOOK FAIR!
MONDAY, March 12th is our class's day to visit the HIJH Spring Book Fair. There are a number of fantastic new books available! Have your child bring money on Monday if he/she wishes to purchase a book.
Destination Imagination!
Congrats to the many students on our team who participated in the Destination Imagination competition this week. Rumor has it some of the teams did very well! We will have updates and hopefully some pictures for next week's newsletter!
Annie Jr. What a hit!
WOW!!! What an amazing amount of talent we have our team! The Annie Jr. musical was an absolute hit! I am so proud of the many students involved in the acting, singing, sound, stage crew and backstage help!
Learning highlights from the past few weeks
Question Formulation Technique
Students use QFT, Question Formulation Technique, to develop new inquiries and questions about a "big idea" topic. Over the past few weeks we spent sometime questioning "What is necessary to have for a successful, thriving civilization?"
Peer Editing Teams
Students have been working in peer editing teams this week to digitally collaborate and suggest revisions for each other's writing. They are also practicing how to give positive and constructive criticism to help build up a peer's writing while also helping guide what improvements may need to be made.
Isn't it Ironic?
This week we dove a little deeper into the concept of irony. It is such a watered down term that is used so often to point out something that, in reality, just might be a coincidence or bad luck. We learned about the differences between what is verbal irony and what constitutes sarcasm as well as what situational irony and dramatic irony are. Students became video directors and actors and made some fabulous video shorts to show the distinctions between the different types of irony. Look for these on Seesaw next week! They are informative AND entertaining! :)
THE IMPORTANCE OF INDEPENDENT READING
Your child should have read about 19-21 books by the end of March. Please check in with him or her.
Independent reading of self-selected text is, statistically, the most effective way for a person's reading abilities to grow and vocabulary to increase. Students have a 25 book reading requirement for the year. By now, they should have completed about 17-18 books, ideally. Please check in with your child to ensure that he/she is reading at home at least 15-20 minutes a day from a book that he/she enjoys. If kids are in a "reading rut" and can't find a book they like, they know that they can come see me for suggestions. I always have plenty of suggestions, and our classroom library is pretty extensive!! I know the students have other obligations, but establishing a reading routine at home will help your child in oh so many ways!! Happy reading!
Year-Long Humanitarian Projects
Detailed information can be found on Canvas in the Humanitarian Projects Module, but here are the basics:
• This year students will have the opportunity to show 3 different humanitarian acts within the community.
• Each project will be documented with a picture of the student performing the act/event and a short paragraph. These will be displayed all year to celebrate our acts of good will.
• Between Mrs. O'Rourke's and Ms. Hill’s class, it is our goal to perform 300 acts within our community.
Upcoming Assessments and Project Due Dates
This section will contain upcoming assessments so that parents can help students stay on top of their studying.
Next Few Weeks:
On going: Literary Essay Writing - 2nd Draft Due Tuesday, 3/13
Friday 3/16 - Independent Reading Family Discussion Due
Thursday 3/15 - Vocabulary Creative Writing Project Due
Friday 3/16 - Vocabulary Test
Canvas
Canvas is the HSE district's new online learning management system. It has replaced Blackboard. Our classes and our students are all using Canvas now. Family access is slated to be available in October. More news to come!
Mrs. O'Rourke
Email: aorourke@hse.k12.in.us
Location: 12278 N. Cyntheanne Rd., Fishers, IN 46037
Phone: 317-594-4120
Twitter: @MrsORourkeHIJH