The Gower Gazette
Week 4- Aug. 24, 2018
In The Classroom...
In literacy this week we focused on Growth Mindset and understanding that it is ok if we are not great at something. Many things take time and practice before we can see improvement. We did a lot of Mix-Pair-Share this week and talked collaboratively about what it means to be a winner, how if felt if we lost at something or weren't very good at something, and we discussed if it was ok to not be the "best" or to struggle with things. We watched a video of the '92 Olympics where runner, Derek Redmond was favored to win the 400 meter sprint, but didn't. Though he didn't win the race and he came in last due to an injury, he didn't give up; he finished the race. In this video Derek's father came from the stands and helped him finish the race. The kids and I talked about how there are many people around them that are here to help: from their teachers, parents, and peers. We had a really good discussion about this. As we focused on this, the kids took some time to think of something they struggled with, weren't the best at, or something they wanted to work on. To help build their comfort in sharing, I had the students write their struggles on a sticky note and we posted it on our chart; these stickies had no names on it. Then the kids played a Kagan Game that had them find a person and share what they wrote. This helped build trust in each other. The kids enjoyed creating a poster of what they "will never give up at". We then made a video of our pledge to Never Give Up and to Believe in Ourselves. Check it out; it's posted below this section (you don't want to miss it). Today all the kids earned their own gold medal to remind them that as long as they always do their best and try, then they will always be a winner. You guys have some great kids and I am extremely proud and fortunate to be their teacher.
We started AR this week. The kids learned how to take an AR test and were really proud of taking their first test. AR is not mandatory; I have books in my classroom that the kids can read from and take the AR test when they are ready. It's up to them; they can also check out books from the library. I do have an incentive chart up for students as they earn points. The kids seem very excited to get this started.
In Math we focused on teen numbers and understanding they they are a group of ten and left over ones. Most of the kids seem to be understanding this concept. We will continue to work on it next week and then will move on to addition with missing addends.
Do you know what makes day and night? That's what we are learning about in Science. We read an awesome book titled: Somewhere in the World Right Now. This book helped us to understand the different time zones and that when it's day here; it's night somewhere else. They really thought this was cool. We sang a song about day and night and learned that the earth spins and it takes 24 hours for it to spin all the way around. We used a flashlight to see how the sun shines on the earth to create day and night. We will continue to work on this next week.
We are still working on building our class community and understanding why rules are important. The kids are turning out to be a great team. They loved hearing the story, The Little Engine that Could and seeing how working together and being kind is an important characteristic of good citizens. The kids saw this first hand with the book they received on Thursday. I reached out to our community asking for friends to sponsor my students and provide them with a book to help build a love for reading. I hope your child showed you his/her book. They were so excited to get these and to read the messages inside. The smiles on their faces were priceless. I am so grateful to our community for sharing these books with our class.
As you can see it's been a busy first week back. We have a great class; I know this year will be awesome.
I hope you all have a terrific weekend! Don't forget to check out the notes section below.
Take Care,
Ms. Gower
Next Week Birthdays!
We Could Use...
- $6.00 Scholastic (We're still a little short)
- Connect 4 & Rubix Cube (for Game Day Fridays)
- Playground Equipment
Mark Your Calendar-
- Aug. 27-Sept. 7- First Quarter Conferences
- Mon. Sept. 3- Holiday/No School​
- Fri. Sept. 28- Early Release
Congrats AR Readers!
- Molly
- Gerrek
- Aaron
- Karma
- Austin
- Noah
- Samuel
- Julian
- Isabella
- Homework: Please make sure to check off your child's homework each week. This lets me know that he/she completed their assignments while also building responsibility.
- Website: I enjoyed lunch today with 5 students who completed the track out blog over break. I will be posting a new read & respond blog by Monday. Have your child respond to the post to earn lunch with me on Friday. I will also update the Math Stumper too.
- Kindness Rock: Over break one of our kindness rocks was found in South Carolina. It was so exciting. If your child has not hidden their rock, please do so. It's super cool to see where our rocks turn up and who finds them.
- Fall Pictures: Lieftouch is having some software issues and have not been able to print the kids' pictures just yet. We are hoping that they will get this resolved soon. Retakes will be scheduled for early October. I will pass along picture info as I get it.
- Conferences: I have scheduled most of you for our first conference. These begin next week. I sent home a confirmation letter with your day/time. If your conference is next week, I also sent a reminder in the Friday Folder. Please be prompt to your conference as these are scheduled back to back. If you are unable to make your conference then please message me through Class Dojo or call the office that way I can use my time wisely. I can't wait to meet with you and share your child's beginning of the year data.
WSES- Embracing the Needs of Every Child!
Email: egower@wcpss.net
Website: msgower.weebly.com
Location: 6800 Dwight Rowland Road, Willow Spring, NC, USA
Phone: (919) 557-2770
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msgower/
Twitter: @MsGowersClass