Welcome Back

Believe it or not the summer's almost over... but don't despair, the 2012-13 is going to be AWESOME.  The first day of school is Wednesday, August 1st.  I want to hit the ground running as soon as school starts so please see the list below for what to have.  Thanks!

Ms. Black's Class Supply List

4 Composition notebooks (one for each subject)

Pencils & Pens (for personal student use)

2 and 1....

This school year was amazing.  We were blessed to have a brand new school, a fabulous principal, great teachers, enthusiastic students, and dedicated parents.  I couldn't have made it through my first (real) year of teaching without all of those elements.  


Here are a few photos from the last two days of school.  I will be at the school for post-planning on Tuesday-Thursday.  Please feel free to contact me if you want to pick up any of your child's work.  Lastly, students and parents are more than welcome to contact and visit me in the upcoming years.  The 2011-12 Brainiacs will always hold a special place in my heart.

 Students helped to clean on the last day.... some helped me organize and some helped "dispose" of the opened snacks.

Lucky Auction winners at Twist watching me DJ

3:45pm --- The bell rings... summer vacation begins!

3:47pm... the kids are GONE!

#3

The Falcon Finale and Exhibition went superbly today.  Tomorrow is our class party and we'll be doing some cleaning so expect your child to come home with a backpack full of stuff Thursday and Friday.

#4

Today students worked on finalizing their Exhibition projects.  Additionally, they practiced in front of the class while the other students provided feedback.  


If you are coming to the lunch tomorrow please bring a large towel, blanket, lawn chair or something else to keep you and your child free of schoolyard dirt and grass clippings.  My class will be called to eat lunch at approximately 11:50am and when you arrive you will receive a schedule of the afternoon's events.


Lastly, I had to deal with several behavioral issues yesterday AND today.  Some children, even after receiving guidance, directions and multiple warnings, kept misbehaving during the Falcon Finale practice.  Some were slouching and kicking the chair in front of them and others were purposefully singing the IB song incorrectly thinking it was funny.   Another child found it impossible to sit through the 20 minute ceremony without sighing and rolling her eyes and some of my boys couldn't stop giggling like 5-year-olds.  The final straw was when several students pushed and shoved each other trying to get off the stage after I clearly called for the first row.  


Please talk to your child about their behavior.  The MAJORITY of my students behaved and followed directions; however, there were about 10 students who continually chose to not follow directions.  As a result, the entire class had to sit in silence for the last 10 minutes of the day because I had had enough.


The last few days of school should be fun... for everyone.  Hopefully the rest of the week will be better.

#5

Today students completed their Budget Written Reflection and they worked on finalizing their Exhibition projects.  We also had a practice session for the Falcon Finale performance.

#7

Students worked on their Exhibition projects, their individual projects and their President booklets today.  They had a combined music class with Mr. Taube's students and they concluded the day with a science lab lead my Ms. Karably. 

#8.5

Thank you to the Koski family for bidding on, and winning, the breakfast for the class.  

Math w/ Mr. Withers

#8

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."


- Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream"

 

 

#9 ...just pictures today... I'm tired.

Renfroe Field Trip -- TIME CHANGE

We will be leaving at 1:00pm for Renfroe.  If you are coming with us, please arrive at 12:50pm.  Thanks!

#10

Students continued to work on the Exhibition projects.  They worked on gathering the last bit of information for their Presidential Pages and started constructing their booklets.  The new due date for this project is Friday, May 18th.  


We concluded the day with an Economic/Budget Activity.  Students watched a BrainPop video on why people use budgets and they were randomly assigned a job w/ a monthly income.  Over the next week students are going to examine fictional budgets and go through simulations where they have to deal with expected and unexpected expenses.  Lastly they will write a reflection on the budget activity and I will take a final writing grade from that.

Field Trip / Field Day Updates

• We are walking to Renfroe tomorrow and we leave at noon.  If you would like to accompany us please show up around 11:50am so we can walk together.
• The field day adult lunch price is $3.50.
• If you would like to help chaperone the MLK field trip or to Field Day please let me know.  
• Students are allowed to decorate their own field day t-shirts as long as they say "Brainiac" on some part of the shirt.  Shirts need to be done by Friday and students can wear them during the day if they wish.

#12

Today was an exciting day.  One of my former students, Kwame, came to assist me for the day.  He's currently an 8th grader at Renfroe and all of the 8th graders in the building did lots to help out the F.AVE teachers.  We finished up our U.S. President notes and students worked on their Exhibition projects at the end of the day.  Lastly, we had two author visits.

 Kwame playing basketball with the boys

 They started building the playground!

 A game I invented.... I throw the ball in the air and they run into each other trying to keep it off the ground.  It's quite entertaining... for me.


Author Visit

#13

Students continued gathering information for their Presidential Pages project and they did a vocabulary review.  They took their 5th grade class picture and they also continued working on their Exhibition projects.  Lastly, Mr. Wither's taught a lesson where students practiced identifying coordinate planes and got to complete logic exercises.

Thank you for all the flowers; they were beautiful.  Although, Mr. Zimbardo received something truly unique...

(yes... that's lettuce...)

Great Documentary...

on PBS right now.  It's the American Experience profiling Bill Clinton.  In light of what the students are working on this week it would be a good one for them to watch.

Tuesday, May 8th

Social Studies -- Students began taking notes for their Presidential Pages project.  Students took notes on the last 6 U.S. presidents and we had a lively student-initiated discussion regarding politics, elections, healthcare, religion, and international policy.  I also talked about how they need to be aware of information they get from others (including teachers).  I warned them that some teachers may present their own opinion as fact but that if I chose to share my personal views, I would clearly state that I was sharing an opinion.  We will be gathering information over the next few days and students will begin assembling their projects next Monday.


Students also had Spanish and Art today (we switched with Ms. Holden's class because of the Renfroe field trip).  During Math Mania I introduced another 6th grade Math standard:  graphing linear equations.  

Monday, May 7th

ELA -- Students received this week's vocabulary words and the summative vocabulary test will be this Friday.


Social Studies -- We read some information about the Apollo Moon Landing.  Afterwards students assembled a 3D map and answered short questions regarding that event.


Exhibition -- Students continued to work on their Exhibition projects.  

May 1st-2nd

My class had the highest percentage of students in the 5th grade to make their English Language Arts MAP target.  Congratulations Brainiacs!!

ELA -- This week's suffix is -less and students will have a vocabulary test this Friday.


Social Studies -- Students finished taking their Civil Rights notes and they did a rotating review activity today.  


Math -- During Math Mania I introduced the 6th grade math standard of plotting coordinates on graphs and understanding that quadrant different coordinates are in.


Exhibition -- Students are working on their Exhibition projects every day and they are progressing nicely with their research.  


Individual Projects -- Students are continuing to work on their individual projects and when they complete them, I enter their grade immediately.  Students have until the last day of school to submit their individual projects.


School Library -- The school library will close for the year on Tuesday, May 15th.  All library books need to be turned in by then.