Autism Awareness

April is Autism Awareness Month and Monday, April 2 is World Autism Day. My 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students have been learning about autism for the last couple of weeks. They have read some non-fiction articles and books, in addition to some stories about autism. The students have also made informational posters that we have hung up in the hallway.

Here are some pictures of my students hard at work while they learned about autism:

Even More Benefits of Bilingualism

Check out this article from the NY Times to learn more about the benefits of speaking two languages.

Benefits of Biligualism

Reused 2-liter Soda Bottles Became Bird Feeders

This week the Green Team made bird feeders from 2-liter soda bottles and other found objects. They hung them in trees on school grounds.

Does Speaking Two Languages Make Immigrants Healthier?

Check out this interesting article about some of the effects of bilingualism:

http://www.cfah.org/hbns/archives/getDocument.cfm?documentID=22487

Second Grade Ambassador Butterflies

The ambassador butterflies that our second graders made and sent to Mexico arrived at their final destination. You can check it out here:

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/sm/escuelasbyschool.html?schoolname=monroe&submit=Search

WIDA: ACCESS for ELLs (February 1 - February 17)

It is time again for the annual administration of the ACCESS for ELLs test  (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners). This test is used to:

• Monitor student progress on an annual basis
• Establish when ELLs have attained English language proficiency according to state criteria
• Inform classroom instruction and assessment
• Aid in programmatic decision-making

With the exception of kindergarten students, the test is administered in three different sessions. These sessions are reading/listening, writing, and speaking. The reading/listening and writing portions of the test are given in group settings, while the speaking test is administered one-on-one to each student. The kindergarten test is usually administered in one session which includes all four language domains. Kindergarten students are tested individually in a one-on-one setting.

Thank you for the generosity of South Piedmont Community College's Future Educators Club!!

Word Wizard

The Word Wizard this week is Jovana Fuentes from Ms. Fortnum's 5th grade class. Congratulations, Jovana!

Bilingualism Will Supercharge Your Baby's Brain

Word Wizard Winner

For the first time this year, the Word Wizard is a boy! Luis Pineda, a third grade student in Mr. Hare's class is this week's Word Wizard.

Congratulations, Luis!!

We are thankful for...

Here is a picture of this year's Thanksgiving tree. The tree is decorated with turkies that the students have decorated with the things for which they are thankful.

Word Wizard

This week's Word Wizard is Maria Hernandez from Ms. Nussbaum's class! Congratlulations, Maria!

Butterfly Migration

My second graders participated in the Symbolic Butterfly Migration project through the group Journey North. One of our butterflies was posted on their website. Can you find it?

Butterfly Gallery

Third Grade Soil Activity

Mrs. Edwards Third Grade Students:

Here is the link to the webpage that you will use to answer the questions about soil:

Soil Website

Responsibility

Responsibility is the character trait for the month of November. Unfortunately, due to the irresponsible actions of some students, this question of the week will be the last one that is posted on my door. Some students decided that it was OK to write bad words and to cross out the positive comments that other students had written.  However, I can still read the great comments about how to be responsible, so here they are:

• Keep track of your belongings
• Do your homework
• Don't lose your homework
• Be responsible for what you have
• Don't blame other people for your actions
• Help others
• Bring all of your materials to school
• Listen to the teacher
• Be responsible for partnerships

New Word Wizard!!

This week's Word Wizard is 5th grader, Destiny Montgomery from Ms. Nussbaum's class.

Congratulations, Destiny!!

Fall is Here!!

In honor of fall finally arriving to Monroe, the question I asked East Eagles last week was:

What is the best part of fall?

You may have already guessed this, but many of the responses were about Halloween! Here they are:

• Halloween
• Trick or Treating
• Candy
• Scaring little kids
• Halloween costumes
• Jumping in the leaves
• Leaves falling off the trees
• Fall break
• Playing football

Cooperation

The character trait for the month of October is cooperation. I asked East Elementary students how they demonstrate cooperation. Here are their answers:

• having a team
• be nice
• helping your family
• getting along
• helping others and encouraging them
• following the rules
• helping your classmates
• take turns
• be respectful
• help the teachers
• walk in a straight line
• keep the school clean
• help the little kids so they can be smart
• work together

New Word Wizard

This week, the Word Wizard is Desnee Bryant from Ms. Nussbaum’s class.

Congratulations, Desnee!!

Question of the Week

Since today starts the beginning of the Fall Intersession Break for East Elementary School,  I asked students:

How will you take responsibility for your learning during the two weeks that you will not be here?

The answers were a mixture of both good and bad. I have to be honest when I say that I was pretty disappointed with some of the responses.  What do you think? Here they are:

• Read every day
• I will do my chores when I need to and I will read sometimes.
• I will do my homework every day.
• Play with my friends
• Play Xbox
• Study and exercise
• Play PSP
• By not reading
• I'll feed my dog every day.
• Read and finish my intersession packet
• I will do the math that I saved from my class and read every day for 30 minutes.
• I will read a lot