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