Highlights of the week from Ms. Kathleen

Our classroom!  The view from the front to the back of the room.  One can tell some teachers really slaved over moving the furniture and organizing this so that is is perfect for students.  You can't see it but the library has a comfy armchair and soft cushions so readers can be comfortable..

Look how beautifully organized it is!  The supplies are conveniently located, the upside down map right where we can see the world, and hooks INSIDE for our backpacks and jackets.  Last year, the poor kids had to put their stuff on a rickety rack (which promptly fell apart when we moved it).  We are so fortunate this year!  There is another sofa bench you can't see that is in the front of the room by the teacher desk.  The kids are living in the lap of luxury.

We started the week with scavenger hunts.  One was to find out something about our classmates (we mixed Spanish and Japanese kids so not everyone know each other).  The other scavenger hunt, pictured above, was to find where different resources in the class room were located.

This class share a parking lot where anyone can write their ideas for improvements, inspirational sayings, and anything off the top of their minds.

Everyone also received a pencil pouch where they got a flair pen, an ERASABLE pen (woot! woot!), and two pencils.  As 5th graders, they will be responsible for their own supplies and they will cart their pencil pouch to their morning and afternoon classrooms.

Kids checking out books.

 A kid reading.

Fifth graders have the privilege of eating wherever they want in the classroom, unlike K-3 who has assigned seats.

 We wrote reflections about our hopes and dreams.

 More reflections.  We learned/revisiting writing complete reflections which restates the question so that anyone reading it would not need to know the question.

More reading...and snacking.  We can eat snack during independent work time.  Food is extra delicious when reading. 

Some kid learned to do yoga during a break.  

It was a super hot week, up in the high 80's with poor air quality.  This is my dog Bruno who is hogging the space right next to the air conditioning vent during those hot days.

Ashy hot sun.