Week 10's Treats

I've been gone all weekend visiting my granddaughter, so this will be brief and to the point.

Events this week:

• Wednesday - Trunk or Treat. Students bring their costumes to school and we'll have a great time celebrating Halloween in the afternoon.
• Friday - Day trip to Monticello in Charlottesville,VA. We need to leave the school at 7:30 A.M. so plan to get up early and be ready to go. Drivers are Keri Troyer, Kate Wood, Tara Wooton, and me. Each student needs to bring money to buy lunch.Please take a look at the menu.  Cafe menu. I anticipate being back to Lewisburg between 4:30 and 5:00 P.M.

Academics this week:

• Cell Analogy Project due November 9. Check Google classroom for details.
• History text reading and note taking.  We are learning about the events that sparked our Revolution. This assignment will also be on Google Classroom.
• Word Sorts. Most of the students have begun individualized spelling instruction.
• We'll listen to Clay Jenkinson as Thomas Jefferson reading the Declaration of Independence.
• The students will create a black out poem of "The Raven".

As always, don't hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns. 

Mrs. J

Week 9

Fall weather is definitely here and with it some news to help switch us into another season.

• All students need to have coats on these chilly days because we will go outside. We all need the fresh air whenever possible. 
• Sweaters and sweatshirts wore inside need to continue to be uniform appropriate.
• Please return your student's XC jersey this week.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

• Trunk or Treat - Wednesday, October 31. We will run on a 1 hour delay Thursday, November 1. Happy Haloweening!
• Day trip to Monticello, Charlottesville VA - Friday, November 2. We will leave the school at 7:30 am and return around 4:00 pm.
• Wednesday, November 15 -  We have tickets to see "As You Like It" at the American Shakespeare Theater in Staunton, Virginia. The day will consist of attending the play, having lunch at a pizzeria, returning to the theater for a behind the scenes tour, and traveling home. We'll leave the school at 8:30 am and return around 5:00 pm.
• Grandparent's/Special Friend Day - Friday, November 16 with early dismissal at 1:00pm.

Students can thrive in any educational environment (homeschool, private/public school) if certain elements are in place. Safe classrooms, engaging activities, differentiated lesson plans, and individual attention are just a few elements that GES provides. Another important element is parent involvement. Please talk to your child about what we're doing in the classroom and look at the work. The more accountability students have with caring adults, the better they perform directly affecting their self-esteem.

Here's what's on tap for this week.

• Plant/animal cells, their structure, and organelles. The students will begin a project in which they will create a cell analogy comparing different organelles to different elements in a city, zoo, theme park, school, or whatever they come up with. I will be giving specific instructions and a timeline in order to help with their time management.
• Annotating and note taking. Last week, we read (out loud) chapter 1 from Howard Zinn's A Young People's History of the United States. The students highlighted important and interesting information as we discussed Christopher Columbus. This week, they will go back on their own and write that information (paraphrasing) into note form. They will then have their own notes to study.
• Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven". We'll begin dissecting this poem. We'll listen to, read out loud, discuss literary elements, and finish up next week by creating a "black-out poem". I know the class will enjoy this.
• Programming. Ves Burford is back and the kids are happy. They will spend time with him every Friday.
• and... I'll begin small group spelling lessons this week. 

I'll end with a thought for the week.

Mrs. J

Approaching Week 8

Upcoming events:
1. Wednesday, October 31 Halloween! Students, start thinking about your awesome costume. Parents, plan to contribute candy or other healthier small treats to the trunk or treat party that afternoon.
2. Thursday, November 1. We'll start school at 9:00 a.m. to allow recovery time for kids and parents.
3. Friday, November 2. Day trip to Monticello. I still need drivers.

We're almost two-thirds the way through the first trimester! As we approach week 8, I'm pretty sure that the students are appreciating some aspects of the classroom.

• The classroom provides time for play and also time to study. By utilizing these times wisely, they are able to get their schoolwork finished on time and do it well.
• Mrs. Troyer and I are available to everyone who wants individualized help. We want the students to learn to work independently and ask for help when they feel that they need it.
• In order to learn the material and perform well on a test, they need to study and use the given study guide. * We will continue to help the students learn time management and study skills.
• Mrs. Troyer and I are doing our best to plan lessons that are engaging and differentiated. We want to know if students are struggling or not being challenged.
• Writing instruction spans the curriculum. In all subjects, students are expected to write in complete sentences, vary their sentence structures, attempt to use proper grammar and punctuation, think about word choice, and try to spell correctly (even if that means referring to a dictionary).
• Google Classroom is their friend. All assignments are posted there.

* Some of the students were unhappy about their performance on Friday's science and geography tests. They were given a study guide last week that listed absolutely everything that they needed to know and where to find the material. So... study skills are lacking. Please encourage your student and help him/her understand that skills are learned over time and to keep plugging away. I will allow students that scored below 80% (3- proficient, meets standards) to correct their answers. These corrections need to be turned in Wednesday and additional credit will be given. 

The point of studying new concepts and ideas, completing assignments well and on time, practicing various writing techniques and styles, and participating in class discussions is to learn the material and refine communication skills.The point of a giving a test is to help students learn how to prepare for and how to take a test. All these skills aid in building a well-educated, well-rounded person.

The students will begin publishing their writings. They already have several ways to publish, but I've created two new places. They can publish on this blogspot. GES Galaxy - Going Public or on this FB page. GES Galaxy Publications. Both of these venues are hosted by me and the students' names will not be included. Please check these spots later in the week.

Finally, I want to remind you that there is an Annual Fund Drive contest going on. All families are asked to give a monetary contribution to the fund. This can be anywhere from $1 to $1,000,000. When all classes reach 85% participation, the school will have an ice cream party and when the classes reach 100% participation, we'll have a pizza party.

School uniforms: $XXX.xx

GES tuition: $XXXX.xx

Love of learning: PRICELESS

Mrs. J

Week 7

Hi Galaxy families!

We've certainly had a busy first 6 weeks. Some highlights were our fantastic XC season, a trip to Cranberry Glades and The Falls of Hills Creek, nature journaling, learning about Monarch butterflies and classification, completing a powerpoint on Native Americans, learning to navigate Khan Academy math, attending a performance of "Julius Caesar" at GVT, just to name a few. Whew... no wonder I'm tired!

I've been enjoying our goal setting conferences and I'm pleased to see that we all seem to be on the same page concerning our hopes and dreams for our children. We want them to feel good about themselves and be an important part of the class and the GES community. We want them to graduate from GES with the tools needed for a seamless transition into a successful high school experience, and we want them to be respectful to teachers, to fellow students, and to not be a distraction to others as well as to themselves. Keri and I are dedicated to finding ways and structures to insure that all of these goals can and will be accomplished with the cooperation of the students, parents, and teachers.

With all that said, we'll be tightening up a bit and expecting that each student do their very best to follow the steps that they agree to in their goal setting conferences. We'll be in close communication with each student and their parents in order to assist them in accomplishing their goals.

One important instrument in this communication is our Google Classroom. It is crucial that both students and parents become familiar with this tool and look at it everyday. Parents, you have to see it with your student. There are individual classes as well as a homework thread. Keri and I will post all assignments and homework on these threads. Sometimes, your student will have an assignment that they actually do on Google Classroom. They should already understand this, but you need to understand it also. There are several posts right now, so take a look at it before we go back to school on Tuesday.

I'm committed to teaching organizational and study skills to the class. I'll have exact instructions so that (hopefully) we all know what the expectations are. These instructions and expectations will vary from student to student since we have such a varied group (and I love that we do).

I want to hear from you and am open to working with you and your child in anyway that will be helpful. I have many worthwhile projects to launch and we all need to work together in order for the class to have a year of growth both academically and behaviorally.

Coming up:

• Monday, 10/8 - no school. Goal setting conferences.
• GrabNGo menu this week - Corn dogs, fresh veggies, fruit, muffins, snacks
• Tuesday, Italian Night. Galaxy students need to be at school by 5:15, dressed nicely, and ready to serve.

• Wednesday, 10/31 - Halloween! Be thinking about your costume.
• Friday, 11/2 - Trip to Monticello. We'll leave school at 7:30 a.m. and return around 4:00 p.m. I need some drivers.

With XC over, the schedule is easing up a bit, but academically we're moving full speed ahead. I'm excited and looking forward to all that is ahead. 

Mrs. J

"Julius Caesar"