I hope that all of you had an enjoyable winter break with your families. I was lucky enough to teach Acceleration Academy last week, and I had a wonderful opportunity to meet and work with students from other classrooms.
We are about three weeks away from our ELA MCAS examination, and so we will continue working hard to prepare your students for this important test. Students are receiving daily practice with complex texts and poems to increase their confidence and ability to tackle the questions they will be asked. We are working on open response writing and strategies for finding our answer in the text. You can help your student to prepare by getting him/her to school on time every day, making sure they get a good night's sleep and and ensuring that they read each and every night for at least 20 minutes. I want to thank the parents that sign each and every night to tell me that their child finished their reading minutes.
To ease some of the anxiety about next year's transition to UP Academy, I have begun using a merit system in the classroom that I understand is similar to the system to be used next year. Students will receive 10 merit points every Monday. They will receive one extra point every time they are a Superstar Student. Students will receive a demerit (lose points) for every flipped card. Students will have an opportunity to "buy" items or activities with their points on Fridays. Examples of activities are: board games, computer time, crochet lessons, photography lessons, water color paints, sloppy science activities, making/playing with clay, and learning chess. Students without points will be asked to read quietly at their desk. Please email me if you have any questions.
Enjoy your last few days of February :) ~ Mrs. Mark
We are about three weeks away from our ELA MCAS examination, and so we will continue working hard to prepare your students for this important test. Students are receiving daily practice with complex texts and poems to increase their confidence and ability to tackle the questions they will be asked. We are working on open response writing and strategies for finding our answer in the text. You can help your student to prepare by getting him/her to school on time every day, making sure they get a good night's sleep and and ensuring that they read each and every night for at least 20 minutes. I want to thank the parents that sign each and every night to tell me that their child finished their reading minutes.
To ease some of the anxiety about next year's transition to UP Academy, I have begun using a merit system in the classroom that I understand is similar to the system to be used next year. Students will receive 10 merit points every Monday. They will receive one extra point every time they are a Superstar Student. Students will receive a demerit (lose points) for every flipped card. Students will have an opportunity to "buy" items or activities with their points on Fridays. Examples of activities are: board games, computer time, crochet lessons, photography lessons, water color paints, sloppy science activities, making/playing with clay, and learning chess. Students without points will be asked to read quietly at their desk. Please email me if you have any questions.
Enjoy your last few days of February :) ~ Mrs. Mark