I have had a great time getting to know you all these past couple of days. For those of you I already know, it has been so fun reconnecting with you. It has also been difficult getting our class routine started, as schedules keep shifting and class lists keep changing. I appreciate the patience and understanding shown by our da Vinci students, and I can already tell it's going to be a great year!
Yesterday, we wrote briefly about the kind of people we hope to be as adults and discussed cool things that happened in our lives and in the world during the summer. I did more speaking in front of the class than I usually will, giving a brief Prezi presentation on my Classroom Community Philosophy. You can view the presentation below. Keep in mind that much of the presentation involved me speaking about things that don't appear in the Prezi, so clicking through it doesn't have quite the same effect.
Yesterday, we wrote briefly about the kind of people we hope to be as adults and discussed cool things that happened in our lives and in the world during the summer. I did more speaking in front of the class than I usually will, giving a brief Prezi presentation on my Classroom Community Philosophy. You can view the presentation below. Keep in mind that much of the presentation involved me speaking about things that don't appear in the Prezi, so clicking through it doesn't have quite the same effect.
Today, students were patient again, as I had to go over the syllabus with you. I take our work seriously, so I felt it was important that I talk about each item. I expect students to take control of their education, with my support, so I hope you were all interested in hearing details about our plans for the year. In the same vein, we worked on our Individualized Education Profiles. Because I believe each student needs to be supported on an individual basis, I asked students to write briefly about themselves. Check out the syllabus and IEP under the Links & Documents tab.
The IEP is due this Monday, 8/31
Students took home a parent survey, which is to be filled out by a parent/guardian by Friday, 9/4. If multiple parents wish to complete the form, that is absolutely great and encouraged! The digital version is available under the Links & Documents tab.
On Monday, we will start a poetry project using mentor texts. As we begin crafting our "I was raised by..." poems, we will also begin our first reading unit. Students will work in groups, and each group will be assigned a different short story. Students will close-read, analyze, and explore complex social justice themes from a variety of different authors writing about personal subjects.
Thank you for the opportunity to work with all of you. We are so lucky to share such an incredible community. It is my goal that we foster our own special classroom community this year, too, and that we use it to enrich our school and our world.
I can't wait to see where our work takes us this year! Thank you.
Have a great weekend :)
Ms. Spiegel
The IEP is due this Monday, 8/31
Students took home a parent survey, which is to be filled out by a parent/guardian by Friday, 9/4. If multiple parents wish to complete the form, that is absolutely great and encouraged! The digital version is available under the Links & Documents tab.
On Monday, we will start a poetry project using mentor texts. As we begin crafting our "I was raised by..." poems, we will also begin our first reading unit. Students will work in groups, and each group will be assigned a different short story. Students will close-read, analyze, and explore complex social justice themes from a variety of different authors writing about personal subjects.
Thank you for the opportunity to work with all of you. We are so lucky to share such an incredible community. It is my goal that we foster our own special classroom community this year, too, and that we use it to enrich our school and our world.
I can't wait to see where our work takes us this year! Thank you.
Have a great weekend :)
Ms. Spiegel