November 10, 2009

I knew I was forgetting to do something:-) Well now you know how busy I must be at school. With conferences, new books, and Highly Gifted Center applications it is hard to get away from my desk. I have however been out in classes observing and getting great ideas from our expert master teachers. I had the privilege of being in fourth grade two times already this week. Ms. Wukitch invited me in to do a lesson on setting on Monday. I began with showing students different settings on a flip chart and getting their ideas for writing a story. The picture I showed them for a setting affected what they thought the story could be about, which lead into our discussion on how the setting can impact the events in a story and the characters. I read the class High as a Hawk, a historical fiction book about a courageous little girl and how she climbed a mountain in Colorado. We voted on how the setting affected the story and students completed an exit card after discussion with a partner. Today I just visited rooms and saw some amazing research going on on Ms. Granofsky's class. Students were using graphic organizers to write multiple paragraphs. I was so impressed by the way there was so much going on in Ms. Granofsky's room at one time. Students were conferencing with each other, Ms. Granofsky was conferencing one on one, some students were doing research on the computer while even more were working on writing their paragraphs independently. There were clear directions on the flip chart and students knew exactly what to move on to next. In Ms. Wukitch's class students were involved in guided reading groups discussion historical fiction stories. It was so awesome to see all of these teachers and students at work. I am trying to get into more classes before the next round of assessments in January. IF you ever have questions about the reading program here at Gibbs please feel free to contact me.

A few Highly Gifted Center Notes:
The deadline for applications has now passed. Any applications you would like to send need to sent to the address on the application. The office does reserve the right to deny your application since the deadline is over. If you had extenuating circumstances please note that on your application. I will now be putting together portfolios on each student that submitted an application. These will be sent to central office by December 14th. After that there will be no action until January when all applicants will be tested here at Gibbs. I have checked into it and there are no sample questions or ways to study for the testing in January. I have been told it is a reasoning test that you cannot prepare for by studying. Just have a good breakfast and nights rest before. As the time gets closer and central office sends me an official date I will let you know the day the testing will occur. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me at school.

I hope you are all getting ready for parent/teacher conferences and I look forward to seeing you and your children around campus! Have a great night.

Mrs. Del Balzo