OOPS!

Sorry guys, it has been so busy I have not really had time to post. There is so much to bring you up to date on too:-) As of late I have been working with Kdg students in the morning in a Junior Great Books reading group. This allows teachers some flexibility in their reading schedules and for students to receive rigorous instruction in the area of reading comprehension and develops their discussion skills. Last week I also had the privilege of going into Mrs. Doyle's class to help them through a shared inquiry discussion on their story, "The Fisherman and His Wife". Students had very strong ideas about why the wife was never contented and kept asking her husband for more. Mr. Huston also allowed me to come in to do a lesson on theme with his fourth graders. I used the story "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss to help them discover that book doesn't have to be difficult to read to have a great theme. We use the title, over all topic, and repeating ideas to develop our theme of the story. A theme is a message about life we should take away from the story. We had a great time discussing and developing our theme together. I am hoping it makes the students realize that uncovering the theme is not as hard as it sounds. It is more like putting the puzzle pieces together to see the "big picture." Last week I also visited classrooms and saw really strong instruction going on in classes. Mrs. Miller's guided reading groups were discussing their Junior Great Book stories and developing their lists for their spelling pattern of the week and Mr. Huston's class was working to finish their research in writing. It is always a pleasure to get out into classrooms to see what everyone is learning and how students work differently at different grade levels.
All that being said there are a few big items coming up in the next few weeks we should be aware of, other than Winter Break:-) In the start of January the m-class testing window opens back up for grades K-2. Teachers will be doing the one-on-one reading testing to show the growth students have made since Sept. Grades 3-4 will be taking the computerized reading test Map-R. We do all of these assessments 3 times a year. On Jan. 12th students that applied to the Highly Gifted Center in third grade will have their testing as well. An outside staff person from the county will help me implement that assessment. In the area of the book room we have made a lot of improvement. Many new books have come in and teachers now have a great selection to choose from for guided reading. If your child is not bring home guided reading books they are working on in class please inquire with your grade level teacher or me. Students should be rereading each night to practice their reading skills learned in class.

During this holiday season I do want to wish you all the best. Time has really flown by and I hope it slows down a bit in the new year. Please enjoy this time with your families and read those classic tales of the holidays!

Mrs. Del Balzo