New Semester, New Learnings

It is hard to believe that second semester is here! This year seems to be flying by.  Here are some highlights from the past month.

Country Gallery Walk

Students worked hard on their research projects and were so proud to show off their posters! Thank you to all the families who were able to join us.  Here are a few highlights from that day.

Our next writing unit will focus on opinion writing.  This unit begins with the question Should There be Zoos?  Students will take a stand, do some research and then write a shared opinion.  Next, students will pick a topic they are passionate about, conduct a short research project and then write an opinion piece.  We hope to have a video recording of these opinions pieces!

Saying Good Bye to Ms. Reidy and Ms. Li

We tearfully said goodbye to Ms. Reidy and Ms. Li.  They were both showed kindness and compassion to all of our students and we wish them good luck in their next placement.

However, we are so lucky to have Ms. McMaMahon and Ms. Ohvall back with us FULL TIME this semester!  If you have not met this Dynamic Duo, stop by the LilyPad and say "Hi!"

I Believe in my #selfie

Our last PBS assembly was all about growth mindset and thinking about what we can accomplish in 2017.  All students set a goal for what they will work on in 2017.  We also took some #selfies that were used in a slideshow during the assembly.  Here are ours:

World Read Aloud Day

We have decided to make February 16, which is World Read Aloud Day into an all-school Read Your Heart Out Celebration. We will have author skypes that day 

Author Skypes for each grade level

• 10:20 5th Grade Skype with Mike Grosso (I Am Drums)
• 12:05 4th Grade Skype with Abby Cooper (Sticks & Stones)
• 2:00 3rd Grade Skype with Erin Soderberg (The Quirks)

We are also asking parents to send in photos (you can send the printed photo or an electronic photo) of you reading at home.  We will have a display in the school.  We would like to have some guest readers on the 16th as well.  If you have a book you love (picture book) and would like to read to us, please let me know!  If you would like to read but want a book suggestion, I can help with that, too.

Genius Time

You may or may not have heard your child talking about our genius time (passion projects).  We are working in conjunction with Ms. Heindel to create a time and space for students to work on a project they want to create or a topic they want to learn more about.  We are doing this during the last half hour on Friday afternoons.  If you want to help with this time, let me know! As our projects get underway we may need some assistance.

Upcoming Events

• February 14 - Valentine's day Party 
• February 16 - World Read aloud day
• March 3 - PTG Auction

Are you signed up for text messages from the MMSD?

It is easy to stay informed and here is one way.  Sign up for SchoolMessenger's SMS texting service. You can scan the QR code or.  Text "yes" to 68453.

Technology Hits The Lilypad!

This will be a post with very few photos...sorry!  I will post some photos later this week as soon as I upload them to my computer. :)

I want to preface this blogpost by telling you that I am on the technology implementation team at Marquette.  Students will be receiving one-to-one devices next year and our team is trying to make the transition as smooth and as meaningful as possible.  Students will not be on chromebooks all day everyday but will be finding ways to enhance their learning through the use of technology.  I am trying out a few ideas with the class this year,  The purpose is to allow for practice at home, ways to enhance the learning that is occurring at school as well as reduce the use of paper. I will be introducing two different ideas Prodigygame (a math site) and Reading Glue ( an online reading log) Any questions, concerns and feedback are welcome!

New Math Website

Your child may have come home today all excited about a new website we are piloting in the Lilypad.  It is called Prodigygame and it is very engaging as well as educational!  A letter will be coming home tomorrow with all the important details and information for you.  I have linked the site in a few different places.  It will be here on the blog (on the righthand sidebar under "Helpful Websites" and I have a link in The Lilypad Classroom in the About section.  Your child will know how to login through classroom.

Here is the link :

www.prodigygame.com/play

As I said, we are piloting the site to see if it helps with math fluency and practice.  Students can play at home and will have a few times during the week to access it here at school, too.  Any feedback you have for me would be appreciated.

Reading Glue

This is a site that will allow for students to record what they are reading at home on an electronic form.  Students can set goals for their reading, record their reading minutes and their thinking about their reading all on this site.  It will allow for the recording of minutes at home and at school. Students can log if they are Listening to Reading, Reading to Someone or Reading to Self.  They can also record the genre of their reading (fantasy, informational, historical fiction, etc.)

The links below are a quick overview of the program.

https://www.readingglue.com/about

Reading Glue Blog entry

I will not be starting the electronic logs until January but am excited to give them a go!  If you would prefer to record reading minutes on paper, just let me know!  The electronic log may not work for everyone or every family.  

The HoChunk People

Students studied about the history of the HoChunk Nation here in the Madison area.  Each group was assigned a topic to research (like how the HoChunk traveled, got food, lived) and then created a poster presenting their knowledge.  When the poster were complete, groups taught their classmates. Here are a few examples of the posters.

A Few Items Before Winter Break

• Please make sure you are sending a change of shoes during winter as well as winter gear (boots, coats, hats, mittens, etc.)
• The last day of school is Wednesday, December 21.  School resumes on Wednesday, January 4.
• We will have our MAPS Winter Reading Test on Thursday, December 14.
• The last day of rollerblading in Wednesday!

Thanks, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Kathy Mack

A long overdue update!

Greetings, families!

I must start with an apology.  This update is long overdue...I guess fall learning and planning got in the way.  I will try to hit the highlights from the last several weeks.

I want to thank all of you for attending conferences.  I appreciated the time to reflect with you about your child and the great learning they have been doing this year.  The next update you will receive will be the 2nd quarter report card. This will include the new SELS goal we set at conference.

Food Drive

As many of you may know, Marquette was collecting food for the Goodman Center Food Pantry.  As extra incentive, Ms. Miller's classroom and our classroom had a side wager.  The classroom who brought in the most food was going to be able to dress the other teacher up in either Bears or Packers gear.  AND THE WINNER IS.....THE LILY PAD! Actually the real winner is the Goodman Center!  Great work 3rd Graders! On Wednesday, we helped the fire department load the goods onto the truck.

Sharing our Narratives

We finished our narrative writing unit this past week  To honor our authors and all the hard work they did, we had students shared their work in small groups.  Each author sat in a special chair and shared their writing while others listened and gave positive feedback.  Students worked on adding dialogue, interesting details, actions, setting and paragraphs.  The each walked away with a good piece of writing.

Madison History

We have been studying about Madison History this past quarter.  Students have learned about the glaciers, the Ice Age, the Mound Builders and the Hochungra people.  We took a walking trip to visit the Effigy Mounds at Hudson Park.

Upcoming Events

• 11/23 - 11/25 - Thanksgiving Break
• 12/9 - Code Red Drill
• 12/22 - 1/3 Winter Break
• 1/19 - Celebration of Country Research in MPR