Post-Thanksgiving News

Dear Families,

As we wind down from Thanksgiving break and time with our families, teachers are busily getting back into our regular routines!  We loved having this time to attend the National Association for Gifted Children's Conference in Denver where each of us came back having learned quite a bit about how best to meet the needs of our students!  We also enjoyed time at home, relaxing with our own families, celebrating those things for which we are most thankful.

In LifeSkills this week, we are beginning to generate solutions to common social and emotional issues that arise in Division III, as well as learning to evaluate the consequences those solutions might bring. 

World of Math in Ms. Brown's class will involve reviewing place value of whole numbers to begin learning about decimals, while continuing to master basic math facts for all four operations.  Continue having your child use xtramath.org each night for practice!  

Dr. Ricotta's class experienced a guest teacher from Division IV prior to Thanksgiving break. Ryan Kricker joined them and taught the first level of "Hands On Equations" for three days. The students loved learning pre-algebra through hands-on methods taught by Ryan!

Ms. Burns' World of Math class is currently extending their understanding of algebraic expressions, applying their knowledge of variables learned during their work with Hands On Equations prior to break.  Taking the time to learn the Hands On Equations method has been helpful for all students!

During Art of Language this week, Ms. Brown's students will continue their novel studies, completing literature webs (due December 7) and vocabulary webs (due December 14), as well as participating in literature circles with others reading the same novels to discuss the patterns of change within their novels.  Students will also begin analyzing persuasive writing and planning their own using the "Hamburger Model" structure.  When your child begins requesting gifts and such for the holiday season, ask them to draw upon their newly found persuasive abilities and techniques in ethos, pathos, and logos!

Just before break, Dr. Ricotta's students completed their 5-paragraph essay for the classic "The Secret Garden."  Each essay details the theme of change throughout their particular chapter.  The essays are on display in the hallway outside of Room 6.

Ms. Burns' class has continued their work on the animal reports that were started prior to Thanksgiving break.  Students have started doing fluency work with reading, doing one-minute partner reads to increase reading speed and fluency.

Historical Inquiry brings Division III to one of our most enjoyable topics: Government, Politics, and Nursery Rhymes of the Middle Ages.  During this unit, students will study the government and politics of the time, the feudal system and the everyday life of those living during this time, as well as about castles and their purpose during the Middle Ages.  Students will learn the history behind many common nursery rhymes.  For instance, "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" has a very interesting story behind it!  These topics are essential to understanding the history of this time period, so that students can make connections to our current governmental and political structure both in the United States, and specifically in Colorado.  

Students will be able to choose from a number of projects to demonstrate their learning during the course of this unit, and will have the opportunity to research at home and create a model of a castle of their choosing as well.  Information on the Castle Builder Project will go home in binders with students and via email to families today (Thursday, November 29). The project will be due on December 17.

Some important dates to keep in mind during the last several weeks of this quarter:

December 1 - Festival of Lights Parade: Academy ACL will have a float this year! See this week's Monday Message for more information.

December 3 - Scholastic orders due (to ensure delivery before we go to Winter Break)

December 14 - DIII Medieval Feast!  More information to follow soon.

December 20 - Winter Festival: Encore teachers have been working with students to create celebrations of the holiday season from around the world. Performances and artistic expressions will be at the forefront of this event! 

December 21 - No School for Students: Teachers will be busily preparing Quarterly Learning Reports and planning for the third quarter.

December 21-January 3 - Winter Break: Teachers will have a work day to prepare for conferences on January 3.

January 4 and 7 - Family Conferences

November 1 Newsletter

Important Dates & Reminders

November 5 - High School Night

November 15-18 - NAGC Conference in Denver - No School

November 19- 25 - Thanksgiving Break (WOO!)

December 21 - Teacher Work Day

December 22 - January 2 - Winter Break

January 3 - Teacher Work Day

January 4 & 7 - 2nd Quarter Family Goal Setting Conferences

January 8 - Begin 3rd Quarter

Dear Families,

Division III teachers had wonderful goal-setting conferences with all of you last week--thank you for coming!

Please consider donating to our school's holiday food drive.  Many families in our school community are struggling financially, and we would love to be able to alleviate some of the stress that accompanies the holiday season by being able to provide food baskets for all who need them.  We can't do this without your generous donations.  Non-perishable foods can be donated to the boxes outside the office, and grocery store gift cards in $10 increments can be donated as well, being brought to the office.  Every item donated matters and will make a difference for a family.  Thank you for your generosity in advance!

Second quarter is off to a great start:

In LifeSkills, we've started discussing how to calm down when we begin to feel strong emotions and role playing our responses to situations that can cause strong emotions.  The more students can practice these techniques, the more automatic they will become.

In the World of Math, Ms. Brown's class is finishing up their first exploration into measurement.  Students have practiced measurement to the nearest inch, half inch, quarter inch, and explored measuring using metric units as well.  Students also learned to find the perimeter of polygons and experimented with different ways to calculate area.  Most students have begun working toward their quarterly goals of improving math fact automaticity and accuracy by using xtramath.org to practice each night as well.  By the end of the school year, all students should be fluent in math facts for all operations.  Continued practice at home will help in meeting this goal.  Our next unit will focus on common uses of multiplication and division. The Unit 4 family letter was sent home in binders and a digital copy emailed home today.  

In Mrs. Burns' Math class, students are delving in to algebraic concepts with learning "legal moves" with pawns and cubes that represent variables and number values. 

Dr. Ricotta's World of Math class is completing Unit 3 on Friday.  Mastering multiplication facts has been emphasized, division introduced, and beginning algebraic equations has been practiced through open-ended equations.

Ms. Brown's Art of Language class has started work analyzing patterns of change in literature.  During this unit, students will be analyzing the language of literature through four-level sentence analysis, other grammar and vocabulary activities, and class discussion, while reading literature which explores the concept of patterns of cyclic change.  Over the past two weeks, students have created a Frayer Model to explore cycles we see around us every day and started delving deeply into the vocabulary that writers use to communicate their messages.  Students analyzed a portion of Maya Angelou's "On the Pulse of Morning," this week and had some very interesting connections to the poem!

In Mrs. Burns' Art of Language class students are jumping into researching on an animal report. They are working on taking notes on important information and getting ready to compile it into a report. 

Dr. Ricotta's Art of Language class completed reading The Secret Garden. Each student will now be writing an essay relating the novel's theme of 'Change" for one chapter in the book. A home project for their chapter with many choices to choose from is optional.

Division III has chosen to level students for our current Scientific Inquiry which explores rocks and minerals.  Because many of our students have demonstrated mastery of the standards relating to this unit, they are exploring topics within it that appeal to them, becoming experts on the topic of their choice.  Others are experiencing these concepts for the first time, while others are going a bit deeper, synthesizing what they learn while working their way through a web quest and then experimenting hands on with rocks and minerals.

Important Dates and Reminders

September 25 - Mechanisms Fair, Academy ACL Gym, 2pm.

October 1 - Dress Like Your Hero Day and COUNT DAY!!  Attendance this day is very important!! 

October 5-8 - Fall Break

October 12 - Read-A-Thon.  Early dismissal at NOON; Get your sponsor sheets in to your homeroom teachers!! Also End of Quarter 1

October 15 - Teacher Work Day - no school

October 25-26 - Family Conferences

Attendance Policy: Please check your Family Handbook regarding excused vs. unexcused absences. Also, if your child will be absent for any reason, please email both your child's teachers AND the office.

Division III News

LifeSkills

Students in Dr. Ricotta's class have been introduced to the 'Celebrations & Concerns' bucket for situations and events happening in class, encore, and playground. They’ve also been discussing how bodily fluids from sneezing, coughing, and teeth hygiene spreads germs and bacteria. So using the tissues on the table would be advantageous for all of us!

'Perceive" has been their lifeskill of the week. How one looks, acts, & speaks reflects how others think of them. Perception is in the eye of the observer whether it is accurate or not.

Ms. Brown’s class focused on how to join in to conversations and activities, as well as how germs are spread.  We talked about using the “cough pocket” (the crook of one’s elbow) when we sneeze or cough to ensure that we are minimizing the amount of germs we spread.

World of Math

In Ms. Brown’s math class, students learned how to add using various algorithms, such as partial sums.  They will be taking their assessment with Ms. McDonough on Friday morning. Beginning Monday, we will complete the remainder of Unit 2, which focuses on subtraction algorithms.

Using family numbers, students in Dr. Ricotta’s class learned how to create a line plot graph. Together they graphed the number of family members living in one household. With this graph, they learned how to find THE MEDIAN from a set of data. Students also practiced multi-digit column addition as well as partial sums.

In Ms. Burns’ class, students are learning all about adding, subtracting, and multiplying decimals. We are working with Multiplication with Powers of 10 as well.  We are rocking this unit!

Art of Language

Mrs. Burns' class has been focusing on identifying main idea and supporting details in our reading and on writing 5 sentence paragraphs that include a topic sentence, 3 supporting details and a conclusion. 

Dr. Ricotta’s Art of Language class is still exploring The Secret Garden. It has kept the students engaged, entertained, and anxious as they read about a lonely, contrary little girl. The journal entries from each chapter of this book has been such a delight to hear the students share.  She reports, “We are having so much fun reading this classic piece of literature as we learn about English Gardens, the moors, and Yorkshire accents.”

Ms. Brown’s language arts class has forayed into reading non-fiction books, while still focusing on non-fiction writing. Students were allowed to bring non-fiction books of their choosing, and several students have brought some very interesting books such as The World’s Most Haunted Places, and a book about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It’s been fascinating to talk to students about what they’ve chosen to read.

Students focused on writing summaries of their daily reading as though they were reporting for a newspaper, answering questions such as who, what, why, when, where, and how. Our workshop lessons for writing for the next several meetings will focus on conventions and their proper usage in our writing, and proper use of “academic language” in our writing.   Today, students will be starting work on an expository piece about a topic they know a lot about--the topics will vary, but we think that students will have some very interesting pieces to share!  Some students are still working on their nutrition essays as well.

Scientific Inquiry

This week, students researched and have each prepared a page for our class medieval medicine book which we will complete when our paper making project is finished. We’ll then transfer our findings to our medieval paper!  Students worked diligently in class this week to locate information on their assigned herbs and have been surprised by not only their uses during medieval times, but also by their uses in the modern world!  Thank you to all who have located samples of these herbs.  Some are more difficult to locate than others!

Next week, we will begin a scientific inquiry unit in which we will study the effects of temperature on matter.  Students will investigate through the scientific process how heat and cooling affect matter, as well as conduct experiments to explore simple chemical reactions.  This unit will wrap up on October 12.  

Mechanisms, Medieval Inventions, and Medicine!

Important Dates and Reminders:

Friday, September 28: Rube Goldberg Machines DUE & Mechanisms Fair - 2pm in the gym!

Monday, October 1: Count Day and Hero Day - Come to school dressed as your favorite hero, fictional or real!

Friday, October 5: Monday, October 8 - Fall Break

Saturday, October 6: Jesse Wilson's The Night the Moon Ate My Room! Performance and book release signing. 3-4:30 pm Marmalade at Smokebrush, 219 W. Colorado Avenue, Ste. 210 (Evening performance at 5pm)

Friday, October 12: Early Release 12:00pm and Read-A-Thon!  Be sure to find your ten sponsors!  End of 1st Quarter

Monday, October 15: No School for Students - Teacher Work Day

Tuesday, October 16: 2nd Quarter Begins - Big Idea: Patterns

Tuesday, October 23: Picture re-takes

Thursday and Friday, October 25 and 26: 1st Quarter Family Conferences

Division III News

Scribe's Corner by Keeghan M.

CLASH!  Fighting is what the medieval people did for possession of land.  And how do I know this?  In our study of medieval inventions, we discovered just that.  My group and I made our own mini catapult using popsicle sticks, glue, a wooden spoon, and wood.  

Did you know that Leonardo DaVinci didn't make the catapult?  He just designed it.  He also invented the tank. We are excited that we have been invited to go to the Leonardo DaVinci exhibit in Denver with Division V in October!

Lifeskills

Students in Dr. Ricotta's homeroom have been learning to understand different perspectives and how perception of others comes into play.  

All three classes have been composing persuasive letters to Mrs. Myers to convince her to allow us to travel to Denver in October with Divisions IV and V for the DaVinci Machines Exhibit.  Composing well-written persuasive letters is one of the requirements to be allowed to go on a field trip.  Permission slips for this trip, another requirement, went home in Thursday folders today and must be returned with applicable funds no later than October 4.  Students bringing permission slips or money after this date will NOT be allowed to go on the field trip.  Because all three Divisions are attending and it is such a large group, we will not accept late submissions.  Additional information will follow shortly.

World of Math

Ms. Brown's math class has moved into Unit 2, and is studying several different strategies for solving addition problems.  Family letters went home in student binders on Monday.  Several students have still not returned Unit 1 tests with signatures.  Please return those as soon as possible!

Art of Language

In Dr. Ricotta's language arts class, the use of the dictionary has aided the students in completing a vocabulary web for Caesar's English.  They are engrossed with reading and responding to "The Secret Garden."  Students are having hard time putting it down! It is that good!  Classic literature never dies!

Ms. Browns' class is finishing up their expository pieces about nutrition.  Students have chosen to include very valuable information, as well as integrated informational text features such as diagrams, pictures with captions, headings and subheadings, as well as charts and graphs!  Students have had a great time interviewing one another and putting their research together.  

Next week, students will need to bring non-fiction books of their choosing to class.  An email about this went home to families on Thursday afternoon.

Scientific and Historical Inquiry

Students completed their Medieval Inventions this week and they are FANTASTIC!  They'll be on display soon in the front cabinets.

Next week, we'll begin learning about medieval medicine and remedies.  Students will be assigned a medieval remedy and will research it, creating a page for our class medicine book.  We'll be learning the scientific name for each medicine, it's common uses during the middle ages, and whether or not it is still used today. We'll illustrate each remedy and provide small samples as well.  (Samples of most medicines can be purchased at most local health food stores (Mountain Mama, Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage, etc.) Students are making paper, another medieval invention, with Ms. Hellen in Art, and that paper will be used to publish our research in our books. 

Newsletter September 13, 2012

Reminders and Important Dates

Thursday, September 13: Achievement Night, 5:30pm.  Guest speaker Jackie Law will be speaking about MAP testing information for parents, and staff will share math games and science fair information for each division.

Friday, September 14: Drawing and materials list for Rube Goldberg Projects are due!  This day is also an Early Release at 2:10.

Saturday, September 15: Paper Making Project Help Needed: Jimmy Cline, a Division III parent, has graciously volunteered to build the paper presses we need to create our medieval paper.  He needs help, however, with the construction of them.  If you are available in the afternoon on Saturday and willing to assist, please get in touch with him via email: jimmycline@comcast.net.

Friday, September 28: Rube Goldberg Machines DUE!  Mechanisms Fair in the afternoon in the gym.  More details will follow.  If your child has not shared this project with you, please check his or her binder for the information.  It can also be obtained on the school's website in the Forums under Division III.

In Other News...

The weather changes have started in our region!  Fall is almost upon us!  Please remember that our weather is unpredictable, and so students need to come prepared with rain gear and jackets each day.  As the weather turns colder, students will not be allowed to play outside if they are not dressed appropriately.

If you are picking your child up mid-day, please remember to check in at the office and allow the office staff to retrieve your child, rather than heading straight to his or her classroom.  It's imperative for the safety of our students and staff that the office is aware of who is in the building at all times and who is taking students out during the day.

If you wish to observe or volunteer in a particular class, be sure that you have scheduled your visit ahead of time with the teacher(s) in whose classes you wish to observe or volunteer.  We welcome our families, but would appreciate knowing when we will be having visitors and volunteers.  In this instance too, you must check in with the office and obtain a visitor's badge.  If you will be volunteering, you must have completed the volunteer orientation.  Please contact the office for the next orientation.

LifeSkills

Students in Division III discussed and role-played situations involving the giving and receiving compliments.  Students noticed that tone of voice plays a role in how compliments are received.  We have also started writing persuasive letters to Mrs. Myers to convince her that we should be allowed to take a field trip to the DaVinci Machines exhibit in Denver in October.

World of Math

Ms. Brown and Dr. Ricotta's Math classes took MAP tests this week.  Teachers will let you know when scores are available.  Ms. Brown's math class will take their Unit 1 test and a few students will finish up MAP testing on Friday.  Dr. Ricotta gave her Unit 1 test earlier in the week and Mrs. Burns' class is scheduled to take their Unit 1 test next week!

Art of Language

Ms. Brown's Art of Language class has continued with Writer's Workshop, focusing on expository writing.  Students have been busy interviewing others for their essays and many are actively drafting essays that incorporate many different non-fiction features and informational writing structures.  Word Study information went home on Monday and the first assessment will be next Wednesday, September 19.

Dr. Ricotta's class is learning analogies and Latin stems (bi-, pre-, super-, sub-, and de-).  They are continuing work on their non-fiction animal essays and have started reading The Secret Garden.

Mrs. Burns' language arts class has been learning to identify the main idea and details in nonfiction text using non-linguistic representations.  She put related items in a box, and through exploration, students identified what the main idea of the box was, as well as identified which items were details.

Inquiry

Division III has completed their study of mechanisms and simple machines, working on three culminating activities throughout the week.  In Dr. Ricotta's classroom, students played games such as Mouse Trap and Capsula to further explore mechanisms at work. Mrs. Burns arranged for students to take apart common household machines such as broken X-Boxes (which was a favorite!) and coffee machines, identifying mechanisms and the way they work within the system.  In Ms. Brown's classroom, students went on a simple machine scavenger hunt, finding the six simple machines on our playground.  Students sketched where they were located, labeled each using scientific vocabulary such as load, effort,  input and output, and then explained how those simple machines were integrated into the equipment students play on every day.

We will begin our first Historical Inquiry unit this Thursday, which will have students becoming experts on medieval inventions, technology, and medicine.  In Art class, Ms. Hellen will begin facilitating the paper making process on Monday, as an integration of history into art.  She is still looking for additional volunteers to help from 12:30 until 1:30 or so each day.  Please contact her to schedule a time to help out!

Newsletter September 6, 2012

Reminders and Important Dates

NEEDED: Sets of the game "MOUSE TRAP" for use next week as part of an inquiry rotation.  If you have a set, please contact Dr. Ricotta and send it with your child by Monday.

Friday, September 7 - Thursday Folders Due
                                        Reading Logs Due
                                        List of Rube Goldberg ideas due

Tuesday, September 11 - Picture Day

Friday, September 14 - Early Dismissal 2:10

DIII is currently looking for a DPR (Division Parent Representative).  This individual would be involved in coordinating volunteer needs for our division (see the Inquiry section for an example), organizing some of our larger events, and other things as needed.  Please contact Ms. Brown or Mrs. Myers for additional information if you are interested.

LifeSkills:

In LifeSkills this week, students are learning our school's Vision and Mission statements.  See if your child can recite and/or explain what they mean! We have also been exploring the differences and similarities in people's perspectives, considering how perspective can impact someone's message or how our message is received.  Students in Dr. Ricotta's class are also learning how to write an entry in their Writer's Notebooks using a BINGO sheet.

World of Math:

Students in Dr. Ricotta's math class this week spent time identifying different properties polygons and learned how to use a compass to create a circle.  Ms. Brown's math class discussed the vocabulary word "equivalent" and learned about equivalent names for numbers, explored the vocabulary of probability (sure/not sure, probable/improbable), and learned to use the number grid to find the difference between numbers.  

Please check your child's binder regularly for homelinks and other Math related news.  

Art of Language:

Dr. Ricotta's class has started Ceasar's English, which emphasizes Latin roots, as well as editing and four level sentence analysis for Grammar.  They are also identifying nonfiction text features using National Geographic for Kids, and are continuing their informational essays on their animal of choice.

Ms. Brown's class is continuing their work with four level sentence analysis to help students create vivid and interesting sentences in their writing.  Spelling and vocabulary work will begin next week.  Please check your child's binder in the language arts section (3rd tab) for more information on your child's work in this area on MONDAY.  Her students have continued their exploration of non-fiction text, focusing on the topic of Nutrition.  Several students have already shared the area in which they intend to study and write about.  Using nonfiction books and articles, students are learning more about the organization of informational writing, everything from the use of descriptions and lists to cause/effect articles, to include question and answer pieces.  

Students are encouraged to locate materials on their topic of choice and bring these to class with them each day.  Please go with your child to the library or search the internet for information, books, and articles on the topic he or she has chosen, helping them to locate pieces that are child-friendly.  Nonfiction writing can get rather technical, and it then becomes frustrating for students when they are unable to make sense of what they are reading because it involves terminology or information that is not easily understood by young people.

Our writing this week has focused on writing about what we have read including summaries, note taking, and reflective pieces to document our thought processes as we explore the idea of nutrition.  Students are in the ideas/planning phase of the writing process currently.

Inquiry:

This week, students moved from mechanisms into learning about electrical circuits and how they work. We discovered the difference between conductors and insulators and how each affects a circuit.  Students will also learn about switches, and how they affect a circuit as well.  Next week, we will start a three day rotation in which students will further their knowledge of mechanisms and simple machines.  

Late next week, we will begin a study of medieval inventions, tying students' study of mechanisms and machines to history.

We are still in need of volunteers during Art Encore classes (12:30-1:20 daily) starting Monday, September 24th, as well as some supplies:
1. to make x6 paper "presses" -   fine metal screen and wood for frames ( important to make the metal edges completely safe!) with plywood cut to size (inside measurement)
2. x6 concrete half blocks
3. x6 plastic trays to catch the water
4. x4 blenders for making the pulp
5. Elmers glue x3 large containers
6. natural materials - grass, flowers etc

Please email Ms. Brown (teresabrown@academyacl.org) if you have not already and you are interested in providing supplies or adult support in the classroom.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Levers, Pulleys, and Gears, Oh My!

Reminders and Important Dates:

Thursday Folders & Reading Logs Due Tomorrow

Friday, August 31 - Early dismissal - 12:00pm

Monday, September 3 - Labor Day - No school!

Tuesday, September 11 - Picture Day

Friday, September 14 - Early Dismissal - 2:10pm

Life in Division III is picking up steam!  Students began transitioning to World of Math and Art of Language classes this week, and have started working on projects in those core classes as well as started exploring mechanisms and simple machines.  

Dr. Ricotta's students have named the African Dwarf frogs who reside in her classroom "Merlin" and "Gandalf" after characters in their current read-aloud, "The Hobbit.  

Students in her classroom are earning pebbles to fill a jar based on social behavior per day.

Students chose pajama day, treats, movie, game day, and crafts as class incentives.

So far, Dr. Ricotta's students have earned 12 pebbles this week!

Ms. Brown's class began working toward similar goals with a "virtual" marble jar that is housed within our SMART Board software.  Students earn marbles by going above and beyond, demonstrating good leadership skills and practicing the FISH! Philosophy.  

LifeSkills

In LifeSkills this week, we've discussed how we often have the same feelings as others when we find ourselves in similar situations, sometimes experiencing multiple feelings at the same time.  We're not as different as we think we are, and we can empathize with one another.  We've created social contracts in our homeroom classes as well, and are working to create our contracts in other classes this week and next.  Dr. Ricotta has successfully completed the social contracts for all three of her classes--homeroom, math and language arts!

World of Math

Students have jumped headfirst into World of Math, reviewing both procedures and concepts.  Unit 1 Family Letters will be sent home in the second section of each student's binder along with any home links or other practice needed.  Look for these letters as new units begin every few weeks. 

Dr. Ricotta sent home emails on Wednesday afternoon providing additional information to families and introducing herself and giving an overview of her year in World of Math This letter can also be found in the forums on the AcademyACL website under her name. 

If you have questions about goings on in the World of Math, please email your child's math teacher.

Art of Language

In Ms. Brown's Art of Language, students are beginning a research and writing project to highlight both non-fiction reading skills and academic writing.  The big topic is "nutrition."  Right now students are focusing on developing skills to help them locate and comprehend information in informational text using specific text features and structures.

Students will choose a nutrition topic they would like to explore and will be reading to locate information using multiple texts and articles and then turning that information into a piece of academic writing to be included in a book about nutrition created by AcademyACL students for other children!  Students are already excitedly discussing what topics they want to explore and considering where to find resources.  More information on this will be provided to families shortly explaining ways they can support their student during this project.

A first quarter syllabus will be emailed to Ms. Brown's Art of Language families this weekend and will be posted in the forums under her name.

Dr. Ricotta's class is currently focusing on non-fiction writing. Students have started exploring the writing process by "writing what they know!"  They are composing five-paragraph essays on animals on which they consider themselves to be experts.  A note from Dr. Ricotta for her Language Arts class went home Wednesday afternoon and can be found in the forums under her name.

Ms. Burns' class is also studying informational text features, locating them in newspapers and magazines, creating reference pages for themselves.  

Words Their Way spelling will begin coming home in the third section of students' binders soon.  Please cut these out and keep them at home for practice.  In Ms. Brown's class, several students will begin studying Greek and Latin roots as part of their word study, while others continue to master spelling patterns and derivational spelling. 

Daily two-minute edits and four-level sentence analyses using the Michael Clay Thompson analysis framework have started as well.  Students are quickly learning the eight parts of speech, to identify the parts of a sentence, types of phrases, and clauses, as well as how all of these things work together to improve our writing.

Inquiry

Students are exploring mechanisms and simple machines on a deeper level, determining how they work together so that everyday objects do their jobs.  They've created a model of a mechanism on a 1:3 scale!  This project has been amazing to watch.  It required teamwork, planning, and perseverance, as well as exceptional levels of creativity as students were using very basic materials to create this particular mechanism!  

On Friday before they go home for the day, students will be introduced to the Rube Goldberg Project, which will be the culminating event for this unit and be featured in our Mechanisms Fair to be held on the 28th of September.  Paperwork and more information, including rubrics, will go home with students on Friday in their binders as well as posted in the forums for download.

Planners

Please continue reviewing planners with your students nightly.  At the beginning or end of each class period, students are recording the lesson's objective, and should be able to provide you with additional details about what they are learning.

Knightly Reading Logs

Knightly Reading Logs went home on Monday with students and must be returned with Thursday folders on Friday morning.

Thank you for your continued support of Division III students!

~Ms. Brown, Mrs. Burns, Dr. Ricotta, and Miss McDonough

Getting back into the swing of things...

Important Reminders:

Friday, August 24, 6:30 p.m.  - Academy ACL's Third Annual Sock Hop

Come dance the night away to the oldies and learn some new moves, with DJ services and dance lessons provided by Division V students!  Bring your best guy or gal--it's bound to be a great time! (Be on the lookout for your Division III teachers who will be dressed to impress!)

Friday, August 31, 12:00pm - Early Release

Monday, September 3 - Labor Day, No School

LifeSkills

Just like any other traditional contract, Division III classes are preparing for the formalization of their Social Contracts in homerooms on Friday. Discussions have been centered on the four essential questions:

1. How do I want my teacher to treat me?
2. How do I want to be treated by others?
3. How does my teacher want to be treated?
4. How do we want to be treated when there is a conflict?

On Friday, students will then agree to what elements are included in their contract, sign it, and will adhere to their peers' expectations.

We have also been discussing listening with attention and how to identify passive, aggressive, and assertive behaviors.  The concept of being assertive is a difficult one for many of our students, because they fear coming off as bossy, or fear reprisal from others. We have role played in the classroom as well--continue this practice at home with your child, presenting scenarios in which assertive behavior is needed to help them develop this skill. 

World of Math and Art of Language

While math and language arts groups are not yet finalized as of Thursday, Division III students broke out into some initial groupings while we continue to assess both math and literacy levels school-wide to ensure proper placement.  Students are learning procedures and routines in each classroom and getting familiar with academic expectations at new levels. 

Students in Dr. Ricotta's math class have been collecting class data to create a bar graph this week. Students chose their topic ranging from favorite color to the different alphabet letters in a bag of blocks. From their data, students then identified the maximum, minimum, range, and mode. Each graph was unique to its creator and turned out expertly! Reading and interpreting graphs are skills that will be assessed throughout level four math curriculum.

Ms. Brown's math students spent the week learning foundational math games to help them practice basic math facts such as Addition and Subtraction Top-It, practice naming numbers using place value language in Number Top-It, and challenged them to formulate equations using all four operations while playing Name that Number.  These games will help students continue to build their math fact knowledge and think like mathematicians.

Students who went to Mrs. Burns' room this week also learned math games used to solidify mathematical concepts into which they will delve deeper this year.  Many of these students will be dispersed among other classrooms beginning next week, as other Division classrooms were still testing, and transitions will begin next week.

Poetry is an integral genre that students need to read, interpret, and create. Using a generic template, Division III students are using their voice to create a personal poem about themselves. The writing process begins with a sloppy copy, then revision and editing, with the final copy published on the computer. Students' creativity has been evident and encouraged throughout the process.

We are working with students to promote seeing writing as a process, rather than a finished product.  While some pieces may go to publication, as in the case of the poem, often, even the published pieces will be revised or re-used again later.  Students are being encouraged to think of themselves as writers in all areas, not just language arts.

Inquiry

Our study of mechanisms is underway!  Division III scientists have defined the term "mechanism" and determined characteristics common to mechanisms, as well as observed them to understand inputs and outputs and are working to understand the "law of the lever."  It's interesting to see students observing everyday items in new ways!

If you have the game "MouseTrap" please send it in!  We'll be using it shortly!

Reading Logs

We'd intended to begin sending them home this week.  There are many new procedures being learned right now, so we have put them off for now so as not to overwhelm our students.  Please continue to have your child read at home.  When we are ready to send them home, we will let you know!

Planners, Binders, and Thursday Folders

Please continue reviewing your child's planner nightly and signing off on them.  The great majority of our students have done a wonderful job, being responsible for bringing them back each day and having you review them.  If your child forgets to share them, please remind them until it becomes a nightly habit.  

In addition to remembering to bring back their binders and planners, students are also responsible to return empty and signed Thursday folders each Friday morning.  These must be returned, otherwise students will need to call home and spend our assembly in another classroom, which would be a big bummer--assemblies are fun!

Have a great weekend!

Week one--check!

It's been a lot of fun this week getting to know your children!  We're enjoying building a sense of community within our Division. New students have found friends and are making connections in each classroom. We are still working through various assessment pieces during the next week and plan have groups prepared for math and language arts to begin on Monday, August 27. 

Supplies
Thank you so much for providing student supplies so promptly.  It's really made getting organized easy for us!  We were able, from the first day, to introduce basic procedures with regard to writer's notebooks, binder use, and planners.  

There are two items we will need, and realized they'd been left off of our supply list:  a set of 4 thin expo markers and a flash drive.  We'll be using whiteboards quite a bit and students will need their own expo markers.  The flash drive will be used to save computer generated work in later projects.  Please purchase these while they are still on sale this weekend and have students bring them in on Monday.

Planners
If you have not already purchased a planner, please do so in the office for $4.  Student planners should have covers decorated soon--Dr. Ricotta's class needs theirs completed by tomorrow, Friday the 17th.  Mrs. Burns and Ms. Brown are due to be completed on Monday.

Please review planners with your child nightly and initial that you have seen them.  We'll be doing random binder/planner checks each week.

We'd like to thank you all so much for helping your students remember to bring back their binders, notebooks, and planners each morning.  Doing so allows them to be prepared.  Know that if a student arrives without these items, expect a telephone call from your child asking for what was forgotten.

"Knightly" Reading Logs
On Monday, "Knightly" reading logs will come home.  They are due back each Friday morning.  Students are expected to read for 20 minutes each night and write a short summary of what they read.  

We teachers *love* to read, but don't always get to read the fabulous things you children are reading. Through your child's summary, we are getting a taste of what is out there in children's literature and they are learning a very important skill: summarization.  Encourage them to be brief, writing only a few sentences, but to go beyond "This book was about a dog."  We need a little more to ensure comprehension!

When your child tallies how many pages are read, please have them include the NUMBER of pages (22), rather than the range of pages read (5-27).  We will be tallying these in the classroom to determine how many pages we read as a class, and later forward this data on to see whether or not we can read half a million pages as a school.  There is also a place in the planner to note this as well for your child's records.  

Thursday Folders
Thursday folders went home with your children today.  Please review their contents and sign the front, then send it back with your child tomorrow.  Students who do not bring their folders back will not get to attend our weekly assembly and will be doing an alternative activity in another classroom during that time.

Mechanisms
Our mechanisms unit is beginning on Monday.  We are incredibly excited to start this exploration with our students!  Many families have already brought in items for us to explore, but if you have not, please feel free to send those with your child on Monday.

LifeSkills
In Thursday folders, a note regarding our LifeSkills curriculum was sent home.  This is just one small piece of our entire curriculum, but the link in the note will help you understand the lessons we will be using during the first quarter to help students learn to deal with those strong emotions and basic social skills.  

In the coming weeks, we will create Social Contracts in each class for homeroom, math, and language arts.  We encourage students to self-advocate and attempt to problem solve on their own, learning to use their words (I Messages and the Peace Path) to solve conflicts between one another.  We'll definitely help facilitate that, so know that the first question we will ask our students is what they have already tried to resolve the conflict. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Brown, Mrs. Burns and Dr. Ricotta

Happy New School Year!

The first day of school is Monday, August 13!  Can you believe it?

Students will need to be ready to enter the building at 7:50 outside of their current homeroom door. That door will close at 8am, and students arriving after 8am must go to the office to sign in and will be marked tardy. They'll then be sent to class with a late slip by the office.  On the first day, you are welcome to come in with your child to see the classroom, but we ask that you honor our time together to build community and say your goodbyes quickly so that we can get started at 8am. Students will have a short get-to-know-you writing assignment waiting for them when they arrive on the first day!

Initial Family Conferences
If you were unable to make our initial conference days this week, please schedule an appointment with your child's homeroom teacher within the next week or so.  We look forward to chatting with you!

Supplies

Many of you have already brought in your school supplies or had them delivered by EduKit.  Thank you!  If you have not brought them by, feel free to bring them by school on Friday or to ODD (Orientation, Divisions, and Dessert) Night Friday evening beginning at 5:30.  Please make sure the bags containing your child's supplies are marked with his or her name--we'll take care of labeling everything else.  

ODD Night

ODD Night is an orientation night that helps families gain a better understanding of Division-specific expectations. Information about projects, homework, field trips and other events specific to each division will be discussed.  If you have a child in more than one division, there are four sessions: 5:30, 6:30, 7:00 and 7:30.  At 6:00, Mrs. Myers will hold a new family orientation in the gym.  

Volunteering

During our initial conferences, many of you expressed interest in volunteering.  Our school is ALWAYS looking for volunteers to help out around the school and in the office.  There is a sign up sheet in the office.  As we get into our school year, classroom teachers will be looking for help with various projects as well.  Please understand that not all of these projects involve being in the classroom with your child.  Because we are project oriented, our needs often include research, trips to the library for research materials, preparation of materials and/or games, copies, etc.  As needs arise for extra hands during more hands-on explorations, we'll let you know, and will set up a time to discuss what exactly will be needed.  As noted in the handbook, we need to have an idea of when you are available to volunteer, and set up something in advance with you, rather than have you just drop in to volunteer. 

Allergies

The gifted population tends to have more food and other sensitivities than others.  We have a number of students allergic to peanuts and peanut products, some with Celiac disease and gluten sensitivities, and some with dairy allergies.  Mrs. Myers has outlined and provided our policies to ensure the safety of all of our children.  Please be familiar with it and direct any questions you may have to your child's homeroom teacher or the office.

Miss Stephanie McDonough, Student Teacher

Division III is proud to introduce Miss Stephanie McDonough who will be joining us during the first eight weeks of school.  Many of you have had the opportunity to meet her this week during our initial conferences.  Miss McDonough will be working with Ms. Brown in her classroom, gradually taking on additional teaching responsibilities as her eight weeks of student teaching experience with us progresses.  She is a native of Iowa City, Iowa, and has relocated here specifically to complete her teaching program.  We're thrilled to have her as a part of our Division III team!

Division III Handbook

The Division III Handbook can be located and downloaded from the following link:

http://www.AcademyACL.org/site/site/forums.html

under Division III, Division III Handbook.  You can also request another copy from your child's homeroom teacher. 

We look forward to beginning the school year on Monday!  Have a great weekend!

~Ms. Brown, Mrs. Burns, Dr. Ricotta, and Miss McDonough