Class Update

                                                                                                       

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This week, Wednesday and Thursday are minimum days. Thursday students should be back at school at 5:45pm. Please have them come to my room while you go find seats. Make sure to walk through the hall that evening to look at displays of student activities.

Next week, Friday the 19th is a minimum day. We will have holiday break from December 20th to January 4th and then back to school on Monday! The only homework I assign over break is reading.

Secret Santa names have been drawn. Gifts should arrive at school no later than December 17th. Please do not spend more than $10 and non-monetary gifts are encouraged.

Book orders were handed out on Friday. You have until Tuesday (tomorrow!) to get them back to school. Books will be delivered before the holidays, so consider purchasing some reading material for gifts.

Students are fundraising for class funds to go to REACH. We are selling raffle tickets for various items including two separate cords of firewood. Encourage and brain storm with your student places where tickets could be sold.

Please be reminded that REACH forms are due this Thursday. We are not requesting money from you at this point - just the forms. However, if you are willing and able to pay towards the trip, that is wonderful and very helpful.

The 6th and 7th graders have finished comparing two different versions of the Greek Myth of Perseus' adventure for Medusa's head while the 8th graders are diving into the details of the Constitution. We are also learning how to write letters and address envelopes (it's a dying art!). Finally, we are editing our Gratitude Essays which will be published soon. All the math classes are going well and I'm so proud of students putting effort into learning math in new ways.

I look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Thank you for your support,

Maggie Orion

Class Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I hope you and yours enjoyed a warm Thanksgiving with much to be thankful for.

This week we (finally!) have a normal schedule though next week we will have two minimum days on Wednesday and Thursday for the Awards Assembly and our Winter Program. We'll need students here by 5:45pm on December 11th.

Please check in with your student to ensure lines and lyrics are being memorized and practiced at home.

You should have seen an informational flyer and sign up sheet go home for the REACH field trip. This is a three-day, two-night conference that our school has attended for years. Inspirational speakers, activities, and workshops are designed to give students skills to negotiate their emotional, physical and social well being through tween and teen years. Due to the size of my class this year and its expected growth next year, I am hoping that I can bring all my students this year (whereas next year, it will probably be more selective).  The cost for students has risen to $150 per student. Students and staff have planned some fundraisers to help ensure that the whole class can go. Please encourage and assist your child in participating in the fundraisers! Also, if you are moved to donate to our class fund for this trip, I would be extremely thankful. Depending on how much money is earned, we may ask for a per child donation of approximately $25.

At the end of this week, students will be choosing another student for a Secret Santa gift exchange. I wanted to give you two weekends for town shopping opportunities, but we wont actually exchange gifts until December 19th. Gifts should be under $10 though non-monetary gifts are also encouraged (i.e. homemade crafts or baked goods).

Despite our funny November schedule, we are still doing academics! Students have been practicing how to cite evidence from literary text and write five paragraph essays. We have also been discussing current events by watching CNN student news and practicing how to debate with respect and fact-based arguments. The 8th graders are deep in their Constitution unit and we are building our acting chops through our daily rehearsals.

With gratitude,

Maggie Orion

Class Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

We are officially in Winter Program mode!  Please check in with your student to see if they are expected to be memorizing lines or bringing in props. We will be having rehearsal several times a week, and we can't wait to perform for you. If you know that your child will not be able to be there, please let me know ASAP so that we can cast him or her appropriately.

I look forward to connecting with each of you at our conferences this week.

Additionally there is no bus run this Friday afternoon.

All students recently completed a Keynote Presentation on Ancient Egypt and we are now finishing up our 3d sarcophagi which your student should be able to define. 8th grade students will be diving into their Constitution Unit while the rest of us will begin our study of Ancient Greece.

Thank you for your support!

Maggie Orion

Class Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The trimester has officially ended. This week your students are reporting out on their Genius Hour projects. I was so excited by the variety of topics that were chosen and the amount of creativity students poured into their presentations. Just to give you an idea, some of the topics were:

Why do we forget?

How to make a homemade slushy and why it works.

Why are Americans obese?

The history of Native American beading.

Swedish baking (tasty treat included!)

Biography of a favorite musician

Does Bigfoot exist?

Meanwhile, I'm busy filling out report cards and the students are busy practicing their presentation skills for Veteran's day. Please consider joining us at the cemetary to plant bulbs at our local veterans' gravesites and honor all those who have and continue to serve in our country's military. .

Please note on your calendars: Tuesday, there is no school in honor of Veteran's Day. Wednesday is a half day for our Awards Assembly. And Friday, we are hosting a Fun Night for the upper grades - a permission slip was sent home last Friday.

I look forward to meeting with each of you next week. If you forgot your conference time feel free to send a note with your student.

During our conference, I will be introducing you to our new report cards. Teachers, staff, and administration began creating the report cards over summer to reflect the new standards. The new report cards allow us to evaluate students on effort, capability, and social, emotional, and behavioral skills. They look quite a bit different, so be prepared! I've uploaded a blank report card in the previous post that has a bit more explanation if you're curious. The students have had a chance to look them over too.

Finally, we have just begun preparing for our annual Winter Program - a night of student entertainment and community fun. You may hear requests for props and there will likely be some at-home memorizing in your child's future. This year the Winter Program will be held December 11th in the evening.

Thank you for your support,

Maggie Orion

ms.maggieorion@gmail.com

www.cougarvilleclass.blogspot.com

Introducing...A Report Card!

With the new Common Core State Standards being taught in our classrooms, we knew that our old report cards needed a change. Starting over summer, teachers, staff, and administration have worked to create report cards for the 2014/2015 year that reflect what students are learning and doing this year.

In the upper grades, you'll see that each main subject is still associated with an overall letter grade - associated with the scores that students earn for classwork, homework, projects, and assessments. The areas of math, reading, and writing are further broken down into subcategories where teachers can communicate with caregivers whether students are meeting grade level expectations.

We also decided to revise our list of skills that we associate with successful students now and into the future. We've titled these Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills, and we used parent feedback to inform the list we created. In this area, teachers will evaluate students on a variety of choices and actions students make every day including how a student demonstrates respect, controls unnecessary talking, accepts responsibility, works independently, returns work on time and more.

There's a lot more to share about these report cards, but I'll save that for conferences.

In the meantime, feel free to get acquainted with the new look.

   

Class Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Despite the rain, Halloween at school was enjoyable with many creative costumes and a spooky Haunted House built by Parent Club that was fantastic as evidenced below.

This is our last week of the first trimester and students in my math class will be taking a math test. Students will also have a science test this Friday. Please encourage studying at home. Next week, students will report out on their Genius Hour projects.

Mark your Calendars:

This Friday the 7th, the Parent Club is hosting a Movie Night fundraiser for all ages. Please consider joining for food, fun, and a film at 5:30. A $5 donation is requested, and students must be accompanied by an adult.

Tuesday the 11th we have no school in honor of Veterans day. Wednesday the 12th is a minimum day. We will have our monthly awards ceremony starting at 8:45 am and later that day we will be walking to the cemetery to plant flower bulbs and share words about Veterans Day.

Thank you for your support!

Maggie Orion