Lasten syystodistukset - Pikku-O:n ensimmäinen - sekä viimeaikojen muita tapahtumia

Lasten syystodistukset saapuivat viikolla. Alla niistä kooste. Arvioperusteet ensin. Kaikilla suurin osa kymmenistä numeroista oli 3. E:lla ja Iso-O:lla oli muutama 4, Pikku-O:lla yksi 2. Odotin useampaa...

Performance Level

4       Consistently exceeds standard.

3      Meeting expectations for standard at this time of year.

2      Making progress toward standard, but not meeting expectations for this time of year.

1      Making limited or inconsistent progress toward standard.

N/A Not Applicable

Personal & Social Growth

Effort Level

3   Usually

2   Sometimes

1   Rarely

Seuraavana opettajien kommentit. Amerikkalaista kermakakkukuorrutusta täynnä. Suomalaisena sitä helposti odottaa negatiivisuutta, mutta sekin on niin nätisti kätketty. Kaiken keskeltä löytyy: "He still needs reminders about when it is appropriated to line up the decimals (or not) for addition and multiplication" tai "Occasionally, she needs reminders to modulate her voice..." tai: "He does occasionally benefit from reminders about controlling silly behaviours..."

Ensin viidesluokkalainen E:

Personal/Social:

It has truly been a pleasure getting to know E this year. E brings an enthusiasm for learning and a positive, cooperative attitude to school each day. E is a kind, inclusivefriend and a fair, easygoing group member. He enters our room every day with focus and determination and he always attends to his work immediately. E follows directions and he consistently applies effective effort to each assignment. He stands out among his peers for his wonderful work ethic and positive attitude. E is an active participant who is proud to raise his hand when he knows the answer. One of my favorite qualities of E is his perseverance through challenges. He has a “never quit” mentality instilled in him that is very inspiring. E is a determined student and a genuinely kind boy who is a true role model citizen in our classroom community.

Academic:

E is making excellent academic progress in all subjects. E can read and comprehend text that is above grade-level. E reads with excellent pacing and expression. E’s Reading Journal for his Guided Reading Group is spectacular. He clearly demonstrates his ability to use reading strategies. E consistently makes connections and asks questions, but his ability to make inferences and evaluations truly shows that E reflects thoughtfully while reading. As a writer, E shows great strength in his ability to elaborate within his narrative pieces. He artfully uses a blend of description, action, dialogue, and thinking to develop her characters, setting, and plot. E also effectively incorporates sensory details and figurative language in his stories. Mathematically, E demonstrates an excellent understanding of all the concepts presented so far. He is an astute mathematician who problem-solves carefully. He still needs reminders about when it is appropriate to line up the decimals (or not) for addition and multiplication. E is able to correct his place value errors when he is required to estimate the answer; he is working on using estimation routinely and independently even when the problem does not require him to do so. E does a fantastic job of explaining his strategies using words, and our class greatly benefits from his excellent explanations! I look forward to E’s continued progress in all areas.

  

Seuraavana kolmasluokkalainen matami Iso-O:

Iso-O is a bright, responsible and highly motivated student. She comes to school each day eager to learn and motivated to do her best work! She is self-confident as she tackles challenges and engages in activities. She completes her classwork thoroughly and with care. Iso-O is a deep, logical thinker who thrives on asking questions to gain a deeper understanding of what she is studying. She has strong leadership qualities, which she uses effectively when working in collaborative learning groups like her Wampanoag season group and her Tall Tower team. Iso-O has a vibrant personality, and she enjoys the company of many friends in the class. Occasionally, she needs reminders to modulate her voice when working with a group or when socializing during snack or indoor recess. She is thoughtful and helpful to her classmates and teacher.

Iso-O has solid academic skill that she continues to develop. She is reading above the mid-year benchmark for third grade with good accuracy and comprehension. Iso-O has been learning to use evidence from the text to support her answers. During reading group discussions of Dick King-Smith’s book, Funny Frank, she used comprehension strategies like asking questions and making predictions to enhance her understanding of the text. Iso-O is beginning to use the clues in the text along with her background knowledge to make inferences. She has begun to explore new authors that are slightly more challenging “just right” books like Ella Enchanted by Julie Andrews, a chapter book she thoroughly enjoyed reading and has since recommended to numerous classmates. A goal for the second half of the year is for Iso-O to read different genres like biographies, fantasy and historical fiction and broaden her exposure to varied writing styles and vocabulary. Iso-O enjoys writing, which is evident in her enthusiasm and productivity during writer’s workshop. In her narratives, she has begun to include elements like sensory images, similes and dialogue to develop her stories. She will continue to work on adding more internal dialogue, rich details and vocabulary like vivid verbs, adjectives and precise nouns.

Iso-O is a very capable math student. She possesses solid computation as well as math reasoning skills. She has a firm understanding of the concepts covered this semester. Iso-O is able to use her strong mental math to solve many problems. She is working on explaining her thinking and showing the strategies she used when solving complex, multi-step problems like those in the unit, The Big Dinner. The accuracy of Iso-O’s answers improves when she routinely checks her calculations and carefully reads the directions before each exercise. Iso-O’s enthusiasm and positive outlook are assets to the 3M community. It is a pleasure to work with Iso-O this year!

Ja viimeisenä meidän vilperttipoikamme Pikku-O, joka sai täten ensimmäisen koulutodistuksensa:

Pikku-O has made a smooth transition to kindergarten. He enters the classroom each day ready to learn and completes his morning routines independently. Pikku-O greatly enjoys the social aspects of kindergarten and his friends at school. He does occasionally benefit from reminders about controlling silly behaviors in the classroom, but he is always able to refocus and get back on task quickly. When completing academic tasks, Pikku-O puts forth his best effort and will ask for clarification if needed. Pikku-O’s sweet personality and kind nature make him a pleasure to have in the classroom. I look forward to his continued growth during the second half of the year.

Pikku-O is poised to meet the kindergarten academic benchmarks this year. His knowledge of letter-sound correspondence is strong, and he has gained much confidence at applying this knowledge in his daily writing independently. Pikku-O is demonstrating many skills of an emergent reader and is an active participant in our shared reading activities. He can use pictures cues, follow a simple pattern in text and loves to make personal connections with read alouds. Pikku-O is able to grasp presented math concepts with ease and uses this knowledge daily at the math center and during math workshop. He can write and identify numbers, count aloud with confidence and has a good number sense. Pikku-O demonstrates a good understanding of one to one correspondence, patterns, sorting and simple geometry. It has been wonderful to watch his academic skills progress.

Siinäpä jälleen sulattelemista. Pikku-O:n numero 2 tuli kuvaamataidon ohjeidenkuuntelutaidosta. Sitten todistuksista eteenpäin. Alla lyhyesti viimeaikojen muita tapahtumia.

Koululla oli jälleen World Culture Day. T oli toisen suomalaisperheen kanssa edustamassa Suomea. Saimme jälleen lähestystöstä materiaalia, pöydällä pyöri esittelyvideo ja toisessa päässä pääsi pelaamaan T:n ja lasten tekemää Nok-Hockey peliä. Viikottaisessa sähköpostiviestissä peli huomioitiin seuraavasti:

Whether your kids enjoyed playing Nok-Hockey in Finland, receiving a bindi or bangles in India, having their name written in Chinese, taking a guess where Boston England is, sampling all the delicious food or just looking at pictures and learning facts about different countries it is one of those community events that stands out. 

Talvi on todellakin ottanut New Englannin haltuunsa. Lunta tuiskuttaa ja pakkaset senkuin jatkuvat. Keskiviikkona oli jälleen lumipäivä, mikä oli itselleni ihanaa, sillä lasten ollessa kotona päivällä sain mahdollisuuden heidät tavata (teen öitä). Seuraava lumimyrsky on tiedossa jo huomenna. Huoh! Trooppinen sieluni kärsii. T kävi ystäviensä kanssa illanvietossa, ja sai samalla mahdollisuuden jutella yhden yliopiston professorin kanssa aukeavasta paikasta. Suhteilla on hirveän suuri merkitys, paljon suurempi kuin Suomessa, joten välinpitämättömästi näihin keskusteluihin ei kannata suhtautua. Lasten kanssa hän myös kävi Francisilla ja Dominicilla ja huolehti E:n lähestyvästä Talent Show-esityksestä. Viimeksi mainittu on jälleen yksi viidesluokkalaisten aktiviteeteista. Vuosittainen Raffle Basket-arvonta meni ohi tällä kertaa voitoitta. E oli hirmuisen pettynyt, kun kyseessä oli hänen viimeinen mahdollisuutensa voittaa alakoulun arpajaisissa. Iso-O voitti viime vuonna, ja Pikku-O preschoolin vastaavassa. Meillä oli T:n kanssa viidestoista hääpäivä.