Dear Families,
Two quick things... 1. We had an author's visit today and our class, 206 was extremely well behaved and respectful. I was delighted!
Secondly... Last week before our fifth graders took the stage for their HERO presentations, Mrs. Strever gave a parent pep talk in the cafeteria. She also assigned homework for the parents. She asked all parents to write a nice note to their student letting them know how proud they were for the presentation their child completed. The letters were due today, Tuesday. I have only received 60% of my needed letters. If you haven't taken the time to do this yet, please do ASAP. A simple card from the store with an I LOVE YOU works if you aren't sure of what to write. My own daughter still has her love note from me written two years ago.
Thanks for the continued support!
Brenda Windsor
PS. We are in the home stretch... Science Fair / Field Trips / End of Year Assessments... It all happens very fast!
Who:Fifth Grade Parents
What: MiddleSchool Orientation
Where: MadisonMiddle SchoolAuditorium
When: Thursday,April 26, 2012 @7:00 p.m.
The main purpose of this orientation is to acquaintyou with the philosophy of the middle school and to provide an overview of thegrade level teaming arrangements for next year. We will also discuss matterssuch as specific curriculum offerings, our student activities program, andcertain school polices and services that will affect your child. In the pastyears, this program has proven to be a beneficial experience for parents ofincoming students.
On hand for the eveningprogram will be members of theMadisonadministration and guidance staff as well as representation from selectedcurriculum areas. Time will be provided for a question and answer session.
April 9, 2012
Change of Plans!! We will NOT be visiting the Museum of Natural History this year. Instead, we have booked a trip to the Mystic Seaport on Friday, June 15. Please mark your calendars. We will leave Frenchtown at 8:00 in the morning and return at 4:00 in the afternoon. Children will need to be dropped at school and picked up after school. They will NOT be able to take the bus. Chaperones are needed and welcomed. Please let me know if you can attend. I must have at least five parents to make this trip successful for our children.
We are still working on securing a date for our trip to Hammonassett. Ranger Russ is very difficult to get a hold of in order to book the date. We are hoping for the week of June 4. I will let you know as soon as I know!
Brenda Windsor
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A BOARD!!!
What do I need to have?
8 X 10 Picture representation of your hero…
If you are not creating a display board, than think out of the box about how to present this picture.
Example:
If you are makng a game board, could the hero's face be on the "box" the game would come in?
If you are creating a scrap book or journal, could the hero's picture go on the cover of the book?
If you are doing something that doesn't make sense to include a picture on, then simply put the picture in a nice frame to put on the table while you present.
Pillar that best represents the hero
Example:
Gameboard – Put the pillar on the game board
Digit poster – Incorporate the pillar into the poster
Make a 3 dimensional Pillar
All children will need to be at Frenchtown at 6:45 on April 12 and report directly to the room they will be presenting in. Rooms have NOT yet been assigned. Parents will report to the cafeteria for instructions. All students and parents are expected to stay for the entire presentation in the room they are assigned unless they are one of a multiple. In that case, the children will end up in a classroom with a sibling and remain there until all presentations are done.
We will have our speeches written by the end of the class period on Thursday and children will need to be practicing their oral presentations begining this weekend. I would suggestion two or three run throughs each day. I often suggest using a mirror so the child can see that they are looking up. We are working on FLUENCY and VOICE CONTROL. Many children need encouragment to SPEAK UP and SLOW DOWN!!
This is all just SO exciting!!
Let me know anything remains unclear. Thanks for the continued support!
Brenda Windsor
March 20, 2012
Let it be known that room 206 is officially done with CMTs for 2012!! Yeah! I have to admit the children worked as hard as anyone could expect. They really took their time, read each question, and put forth quality effort. I was extremely pleased! As I always say, it's like watching a two year old that you have worked with to not run into the road. The day of the test, you aren't allowed to stop the child if heading in the wrong direction.
Tuesday, June 6 has been booked for our field trip to the Museum of Natural History. Please mark your calendars. We will take coach buses, leave before the official start to school, and return after the buses have departed Frenctown. Children will need to be dropped at school in the morning and picked up in the afternoon. We will be needing chaperones. If you would be available and able to go, please let me know. I don't have any futher chaperone details at this time. June 6 will also be our final strings concert. So, maybe planning to stay for the concert might be an idea for your family!
Hero research in room 206 is pretty much wrapped up. We have now begun our writing process. The children will write their paragraphs in school, complete some peer editing, and then type their work at home. Currently, the intro paragraph will need to be typed for Wednesday, March 21 and the biography paragraph will be typed for Friday, March 22. The typed paragraphs can be printed and sent in or emailed direct to windsorb@trumbullps.org. Thank you for your support.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.
Brenda Windsor
April 3, 2012
Yes, I made a mistake in the last post. Our trip to New York is on the 5th of June and not the 6th. Tuesday was correct.
Hero presentations... I have had a number of questions, so let me try to clear them all up.
February 13, 2012
Happy February! Can you believe we have made it through December and January with NO snow days. I am grateful. As much as I love working with the children, the later we go into June, the less smiley I become. Speaking of your children... I have to say, I have been so proud of the growth I have seen over the last three weeks. Children are beginning to apply what we practice in class to their independent work. They are using their time more wisely and engaging in the value of real learning. It has been so rewarding. Thank you to all of the parents that have really reached out to encourage this growth.
This Friday, February 17, our fifth grade teachers will be hosting a "Hero Kick Off" in the cafetorium at 2:00. Please come and see what the project is all about, what the expectations will be, and how you can be supportive of this valuable learning experience. For those of you who are unable to attend, I will put up a HERO page on the website where you can take advantage of the latest information.
Have a happy Valentine's Day this week, a safe vacation week next week, and be ready to hit the ground running with CMTs and Heroes once we resume school the last week in February.
Brenda Windsor
January 26, 2012
Dear Families,
What an exciting week... For me anyway. It all started this past Monday morning when I arrived to find balloons and streamers decorating my classroom. Once I entered the door, I became Queen for the day! There were flowers, cards, letters, poems, and even a lovely violin solo by Irene. As the day progressed, my room mothers returned with cup cakes and ice cream. My teacher friends had sushi delivered and even provided a cake for lunch. I have been reminiscing on the day all week! Thank you to everyone for thinking of me and helping to make me feel SOOO special!
I have just found out there is a cute science cartoon on the PBS channel every afternoon at 5:30. It's called Sid, the Science Kid. If you are looking for some quality afternoon fun, please allow your children the opportunity to tune in. This program could really provide them with some educational review for our science CMT that will be in March. Who knows, if parents watch with their kids, everyone might learn a thing or two. I have not seen the show, but I have been reading about it on the internet. Monday, February 6 is scheduled to have a show on light which is our current unit. Anyone who watches the episode and writes up a paragraph explaining what the show was about will earn extra credit for science.
On another note... the boys and girls have really begun to put forth some commendable effort. It has been a pleasure working with them this past week! Thank you all for your encouragement from home.
Yours truly,
Brenda Windsor
January 10, 2012
Dear Families,
I am so delighted to share the news! I was out for the last two days. I stopped by the classroom this afternoon to make sure I had everything I needed for Wednesday, and I found two very nice notes from our substitutes for the last two days. I had noticed a huge improvement last week from our children but wanted to wait until after these two days with substitutes to send out my kudoos to our kids!
As many of you probably heard, my 14 year old daughter had shoulder surgery over the vacation. She wants to get back to school as soon as possible, so I moved her Thursday afternoon appointment to Tuesday, (today). She has received a clean bill of health and will return to school onThursday of this week. She will need to remain out of gym class and have extra time through the halls, but her pain is beginning to really dissipate. I was sorry to not be in class with our children today, but the doctor's appointment was such that I couldn't be in for either the morning or afternoon.
Again, thank you all so much for your support in helping our children become active learners! The support you give at home really shows in the classroom.
Brenda Windsor
January 2, 2012
Happy New Year!! Did everyone make a new year's resolution? I made one a few years ago to never make another one... That seems to have worked.
I'd really like to thank my room mothers for their hard word ensuring our holiday party was a hit. The kids made ornaments, decorated gingerbread cookies, and ate delicious food. Every child came with a gift to exchange which was an amazing feat! It just shows how dedicated our parents are.
Personally, I was blown away by the generosity I felt as I opened the magnitude of gifts delivered to my door this year. I have enough Dunkin Donut gift cards to keep me well caffeinated into the new year. The candies and other goodies were enough to break my diet (yea right, as if I were on a diet) yet again. And then there were the note pads, water fall relaxation machine, and gift cards to the mall. My year ended with many wonderful demonstrations of love from my students and their families. Thank you... it was really way too much.
As we begin our new year, the expectations remain rigorous. We will be spending more time writing in our writing journals as well as in our reading journals reflecting on our reading. We will really focus on the grammar and mechanic expectations in our writing as well. As we use more class time to write, the expectations for independence grows as well. In order for me to address the needs of each child, children will be expected to follow classroom rules and complete assignments on a timely basis. Children who are unable to work during assigned work time will be expected to finish work during lunch study hall or after school at home. I understand that some children are more easily distracted than others, so it is expected that all children respect that and ensure everyone is provided the working environment needed to complete work.
During our whole class lessons and demonstrations, all children need to participate appropriately. There are many children in our class capable of being good role models for positive classroom participation. They should be raising their hand to offer higher level thinking ideas and demonstrating what good participation looks like. My typical class clowns will be rewarded for their lack of appropriate participation with more time spent in lunch study hall and after school detentions. I am the first one ready for a good joke or being silly, but there is a time and a place. During curriculum instruction, off task comments and ideas meant to cause silly reactions are not acceptable. Children need to come to school with the understanding they must be an active participant in order to take home new knowledge. When we shopped at the mall for their wonderful holiday teats, we didn't enter the doors and wait for the goods to come to us, we worked to find those treasures and we even "read" ahead of time to get the best price and the most quality goods. On occasions, we even had to ask sales associates for help and clarification. Using these skills in the classroom help make children more capable for real life experiences!
As always, I thank you for your help in ensuring our children are as successful as possible. I continue to teach because I truly love working with the kids.
Yours truly,
Brenda Windsor
December 19, 2011
Dear Families,
The weather has dropped to some rather chilly temperatures. We still have some of our boys arriving as though they think it will be in the 60s or 70s by recess. Please encourage them to bring sweatpants or jeans to put on before we go outside. As much as I know this could dampen their rating on the cool chart, I am being hounded by my peers that wearing shorts and no coat at recess is unacceptable. Help me out and send your children dressed appropriately for the weather!
Thank you!!
Brenda Windsor
PS. Only four more days...
We have a first BIG field trip of the year next week. We will be heading to the Science Museum in Hartford. I have asked the children to find out who would be interested in chaperoning. The cost for chaperones is $11. I know I have two parents committed with a third strong maybe. I will need to get back to you about transportation for the chaperones and if there is a maximum number allowed. I always feel the more the merrier. Children love to have their parents along.
The count down is on. Three weeks and we will be vacationing for a week. Encourage the kids to keep up the good work so the vacation will be well deserved.
Brenda Windsor
December 9, 2011
Dear Families,
Thank you so much for the lovely donations that went into Ms. S's going away basket. The children all wrote beautiful letters of recommendation for and shared in some cookies from Orlando and brownies from Karissa.
Our big field trip to the Science Museum will be on Thursday. We will be leaving as close to 8:30 as possible. Please make sure everyone is here on time. Mrs. DeliCarpini will be chaperoning along with Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Bonaventura may go along, but hasn't confirmed her schedule at this point. Thank you all for volunteering!
We have our annual fifth grade concert at Frenchtown this coming Wednesday evening. All children must be at school by 6:45. The show starts at 7:00 with the second grade chorus followed by the fifth grade chorus. It would be nice if one parent could help arrange flowers for the concert director, Mrs. Hawkins. There will need to be one child willing to give the flowers to her at the end of the concert.
As we have been practicing, it has been very obvious that many of the boys in my class are not very thrilled to participate in this program. They really struggle with standing on the risers, following the director, and participating appropriately. In the past, the children who didn't really want to participate did so without making it so obvious to all those around them. There is significant research supporting music programs in schools. Studies show that children participating in music programs tend to do better in math. Children also need to learn that they will not always get to do just the things they choose. In order to help with the behaviors, we have implemented a reward system where children receive a ticket prior to attending chorus. If they still have the ticket at the end of chorus, they are put into a raffle for a blow pop. Today, there were many children really giving their all. I rewarded them before even doing the raffle. My motto is, "Your character shows by what you choose to do when no one is watching." Sadly, many of the same children who don't really want to participate were then really upset because they didn't earn a blow pop. They were vocal about what was fair and what wasn't.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will be working on the meaning of fair. Fair doesn't always mean everyone gets the same thing. I hope this message will be reinforced at home and our communication about what is fair can be consistent.
Thank you so much for your continued support!! Brenda Windsor
December 5, 2011
Dear Families,
The end of 2011 is quickly approaching. Where did the year go? Our student teacher, Ivona or Ms. S as the kids call her, will be finishing up with us at the end of this week. I have asked the kids to bring something that a new teacher could use. Please keep it simple. Pencils, erasers, sticky notes, etc. We will create a basket with all of the treasures. The children are working on letters of recommendation to put in a book for her as well. I would like to thank the children for their support with our student teacher. Teaching is certainly not easy, and to be a student teacher can be intimidating as well as stressful, but your children helped to make her experience a good one.
As we approach our holiday break, I would like to remind everyone that we are still required to complete homework, study for tests and quizzes, as well as read nightly. I have seen some very nice improvement over the last few weeks. Report cards close this week, and we will begin gathering grades for marking period two. Please remember that we have switched back to the standard ABC report cards in our class. Look for them next week.
Dear Families,
Halloween is quickly approaching. With this time of year comes some heightened behaviors. Children tend to become a bit "sillier", their ability to stay on task or focus dwindles a bit, and the true feel of fall simply adds a new layer of angst. In the classroom, I have noticed children really struggling to work independently for any length of time. By this time, I should be able to work with a small group for 20-30 minutes and not need to redirect children at their desks. Some of our children are still requiring multiple reminders. There will be an indication of this on their new fifth grade report card under the heading of being able to maintain a level of work. If your child is able to sustain 20 minutes daily of on task work at this point in the year, they are meeting the expectations for fifth grade. If they are having to be reminded daily, they are not meeting expectations and are making limited progress toward meeting that expectation. Only children able to work beyond the 20 minutes daily would receive a score of exceeding expectations. It is also important to realize that as the year progresses, the level of expectation also increases. If your youngster can not sustain for 20 minutes now, they are going to have to work even harder in the next trimester to "meet expectations."
Our daily reading log has been established to provide me with knowledge of your child's reading abilities, likes, and personal needs. I use the in-class log to help children develop responsibility. By this time of the year, it should be very clear that the child's just right book being read in class is also being read for a minimum of 20 minutes at home. I still have a few children telling me they are reading a different book at home. Reading additional material is always good, but the consistency of what is being read in the classroom and home is expected. This reading is also called "just right" because the level is just right for each reader. Many of our children are wanting to read material that is significantly below their just right reading levels. When this is allowed for extended periods of time, we are defeating the purpose of growing stronger readers. Please keep in mind that all children need to learn a minimum of 3000 new words over the course of a year. They should be seeing a new word every few pages. My classroom library is one of my personal pride pieces. Children are able to borrow my books freely, and I am eager to make suggestions that will beneficial to each of the readers. From time to time, children come in with books that either too easy or too hard, I may need to may suggestions in order to have them reading something that is going to work for them.
We will be celebrating Dewali this week on Wednesday at 11:00 with Tajas and his mother. Next week on Monday afternoon, we will celebrate Halloween. At this point, as a fifth grade team, we have agreed that it will not fit in our schedule on Monday to have a recess in addition to a party. Our class has art in the afternoon, and Ms. Dean has agreed to allow our children to come to art earlier in order to have our party in the afternoon. However, to do this, we need to forgive our recess time for the day. I will assign very limited homework, so the children will have additional outdoor time available after school.
We have been utilizing the ticket system to help guide improved behaviors in our classroom. I have seen some wonderful improvements. Please continue to encourage your children to participate appropriately by raising their hands, listening to their peers, and refraining from deep sighs or moans when work is assigned or expected. It would be like having your child moan when a pastor in a church asked everyone to bow their heads.
Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy e-mail! If your child comes in with a mention of it in their assignment pad, I will reward them with a smarty! But, shhh.... only those that read will get the reward!
Happy Fall!
Brenda Windsor
Dear Families,
October has come upon us. Where did September go? After working with your children for one month, I have come to adore each of them for their personal charm and wit. I have begun to see some growth in responsibility among many of the children. They are getting to school on time, following our morning routines by checking in, gathering their morning work, turning in notes for the office and homework, and then beginning to read if there is time before social studies or science begins. There are still a few children that need to be reminded on a daily basis of what our morning routine requires. For these youngsters, they will begin to "lose" a ticket that they otherwise would have had to enter the weekly raffle. It would be similar to getting paid when you complete a job and not getting paid when the job isn't complete. Please ask your child how many tickets were earned each day. They have the opportunity to earn three tickets for "doing their job".
Our reading routines are becoming much more consistent! Each child is expected to come to class with a book of his or her choosing to read during our reading block. This book is to travel home, where the child is expected to read for a minimum of 20 minutes each night. There have been many upgrades to our daily reading ritual. At this time, we have four special reading chairs for children to earn by turning their tickets into the weekly class raffle. When a child has earned the "reading chair," he or she is able to sit in a comfortable beach chair somewhere in the classroom during the independent part of reading. The few who have won the treat have really enjoyed the opportunity. I am just about finished with the beginning of the year leveled reading assessments and am happy to report that very few readers went backwards over the summer from where they ended their reading last spring. This comes from summer reading!
Next week, Thursday and Friday are class visitations. I will be sending home our class schedule, so you will be able to select the times you would like to visit the classroom. I would encourage parents to visit math from 10-11 on Thursday to see some of the new Investigations or reading from 11:40 - 1:00 on Friday to see what our reading workshop looks like. We will be taking our science assessment on Thursday morning for Mrs. Russo's class and again on Friday morning for Mrs. Windsor's class, so visiting science might not be so exciting.
Thank you all for being wonderful parents to your children. They are truly delightful!
Sincerely,
Brenda Windsor