The week ended with a sunshiny mini recess, a game of kickball for some, and song rehearsal for others as they prepared for the school's talent show. If you read my blog, you'll note that there's rarely a dull moment at this school.
As I look forward to the week ahead, the focal point is family-student-teacher conferences. Students spent time this week preparing their showcase portfolios. They'll introduce their efforts and goals to family members, and then we'll talk as a group about the child's progress and questions. After that, if adults want a few minutes, we'll make time for that. It's likely parents will want to discuss next year's transition to the Middle School.
Academically we're really focused on covering all the material for the upcoming PARCC tests. As one part of that, I'm going to create a number of contests related to students' Khan Academy and TenMarks practice. I'll probably include categories such as the class with the most points, number of minutes, scores, and more. I'll look over the data and try to make the contests so that everyone has a chance of winning if they give the practice time and attention. On TenMarks I'm giving students problems and exercises that match their readiness and skill practice levels. I'll probably look a bit more closely at that over the next few weeks to make sure students are getting problems at that just right level. I'll also spend time focusing on optimal strategies for online learning.
Next week's highlight will be the visit by the origami expert. That will spur origami fun that will outlast the one hour lesson so I must remember to buy more origami paper to have on hand.
In addition to the conferences, we'll focus on the fifth grade play at the end of the week with the leadership of our music teacher. It will be a good week ahead, now it's time for family!
