Have a Wonderful Summer 06/10/2010
Dear families, Tuesday’s party couldn’t have been nicer. (Well, perhaps we could have used a little more sunshine.) Other than that, though, Misti Coleman organized a wonderful day. I thank her and all those who drove, provided food and drinks, and helped supervise the activities. The highlight for me was, of course, the book of poetry. I can’t put into words how those poems touched my heart. All I can say is that they made me feel—and will continue to make me feel—so grateful that I had this year with these special children. Thank you to Mell Gallahue for masterminding that precious gift. Thank you, too, to all of you who contributed to the generous gift for the Water Project. I couldn’t be happier about the outcome and the children’s choice of charities. I must take advantage of this opportunity to thank Mell and Melissa Fay for being such wonderful room mothers. Mell was always there to lend a hand and do whatever she could to make things easier for me, and Melissa was my voice. She forced me into the twenty-first century and, moreover, allowed me to contact you with so little effort on my part. Those who were at the party heard me thank Ms. Adams for teaching math so masterfully, and for being the kind of person who helped in any and every way possible. This is a woman who goes the extra mile! Today we had a small ceremony in Mr. Inigo’s classroom to honor the children who are leaving Gillispie. Ms. Fleming and Mr. Bunyak were there, and the teachers had each departing child stand as we read three adjectives we had selected to describe them. Ms. Fleming let all the children know they are loved, and that they will always be a part of Gillispie. I think everyone was glad to have that one last time together as fifth graders. In early October, I became your children’s teacher at a time that was personally very difficult for me. My parents had just been in the car accident that took my father’s life six weeks later. Teaching this unique group of enthusiastic, curious, creative, intelligent children was the best thing that could have happened to me. Thank you for all the support I’ve received from you this year. It was a privilege to have worked with your children. Have a wonderful summer, and do drop by the cottage in the coming school year. Sincerely, Margie Final Weeks of School 05/27/2010
Hello lovely families, In celebration of the completion of ERB week, I’m going to summarize a few things that will be coming up; some you already know about, and others will be new. Today I sent home a permission slip for the annual breakfast at Harry’s. Please return it, along with a check, by Tuesday, June 1. The breakfast is Wednesday, June 9. We leave at 8:45, so you won’t need to bring your child in early. Next, this is a reminder that you are invited to attend our “state fair” on Wednesday, June 2 at 10:00. The children will not be bringing food, but I hope you’ll come to see their hard work. The viewing will last about an hour. Third, the date for the children to bring in a book for a young child has been extended until Friday, June 4—so there’s no need to run around scrambling for a book by tomorrow! This is due to a scheduling change by Words Alive, the organization we’re serving. The children will be writing captions for the books in class. Finally, I should receive three permission slips next week: 1) to appear on the Words Alive website; 2) breakfast at Harry’s; 3) end-of-year party. Dates at a glance:
Sincerely, Margie Accessing Consent to Photograph Form 05/25/2010
In order for your child to participate in the Word Alive group picture, please sign and return the following form: http://www.weebly.com/uploads/2/8/4/1/2841052/consent_to_photograph.parental_permission.pdf. If you cannot access this link, please click on the title above, "Accessing Consent to Photograph Form" which will take you to Ms. Edwards' blog. From there, you can download the file directly. 
Words Alive Project 05/25/2010
.Parents, Gillispie’s 5th grade curriculum includes learning to write persuasive essays. The topic of the essays our children are currently writing is either the importance of reading, or why one should read a particular book. Together with Ms. Edwards, the class has talked about using their allowance money to purchase one of their favorite books from early childhood to donate to Words Alive. Words Alive is a wonderful San Diego based literacy program (please see their website: www.WordsAlive.org) <http://www.WordsAlive.org> . The Words Alive Early Literacy Intervention program is a read-aloud program conducted at six state-funded preschools and child development centers that serve pre-kindergarten-age children from mostly low-income households. The books from our class will be given to children who often own no books of their own, and will include an inscription from our children. Please have your child bring in their book by Friday, May 28.Words Alive will be picking up the books and would love to take a group photo of all the children together holding their books, which they would then use on their website along with the Gillispie School class’s “recommended reading list”. Please sign and return the following photo release form if your child would like to be included in the group photo, using none of the children’s names: http://www.weebly.com/uploads/2/8/4/1/2841052/consent_to_photograph.parental_permission.pdf. Please let me know if you have any questions about this service project. Thank you, Karen Stone kstone@westwindinvestors.com Jill Skrezyna jill_s@sbcglobal.net
ERBs and State Projects 05/16/2010
Dear parents, Can you believe that the school year is almost over? Although June is just around the corner, we are still actively working to complete all of our goals for the year. Lots of important dates are coming up. This week we’re finishing the state projects. Although the writing will be completed in class as promised, the children will need to do their visual aid at home. Parents are cordially invited to come by to see the state projects on Wednesday, June 2 at 1:30 in the afternoon. The display will be in our classroom. ERB testing will begin on Monday, May 24; the tests will be in the morning and last one to two hours. For those of you new to the school and/or this particular test, you might want to look at the following: www.erbtest.org/parents/admissions/ecaa. It’s important for the children to take the tests seriously in order for us to have a standardized measure of the progress they’ve made and help determine how best to plan future teaching/learning activities. On the other hand, worry and anxiety over such tests don’t yield the most accurate results. It’s best to approach the week matter-of-factly and to make sure your child has a good breakfast each day and plenty of rest each night. Tests are sent to the Educational Records Bureau, scored, and returned to Gillispie in the summer; you’ll receive the test results shortly thereafter. Currently the children are reading novels in small groups we call “lit circles.” Listening to them discussing which books to read was so much fun. Recommendations to each other came fast and furious, and, once settled into their book of choice, they’ve been happily working on whatever the assignment of the day might be. In math, Ms. Adams has expressed a great deal of satisfaction with everything the children have accomplished this year. As I observe and listen to math activities, I’m impressed, too. They are really thinking like mathematicians and have become so capable at showing the steps taken to reach an answer. We’re now embarking on the voyage of Lewis and Clark in social studies. Learning about that remarkable trip will sharpen the children’s understanding of America’s early days and provide an interesting comparison to the trip across the Atlantic taken by the Pilgrims in the seventeenth century. Last but not least, I must tell you that the video Melissa and Todor Fay created for Gillispie is absolutely fabulous. We saw at Friday’s assembly and the children were thrilled with the whole process. You’ll be hearing from me again soon; enjoy your week! Warmly, Margie Math Test Friday 05/11/2010
Dear Parents, There will be a test on our current math chapter on Friday. It is a geometry chapter, and the biggest challenge is vocabulary, not math. The test covers sections 10-1, 10-3, 10-4,10-6, and 10-7. Stress all the definitions for all of the types of lines, angles and polygons under consideration. Thanks, Susan Adams P.S. All missing work (which will be posted tomorrow) is due by end of day Friday. Math Test Friday 04/26/2010
Parents, There will be a math test on Friday covering sections 6-8, 6-9, 6-10, and 6-11 in the book. Children will need to remember how to find the area of a rectangle and the nines multiplication table (9 x 1 through 9 x 12) as well. Thanks, Susan Adams Class Photos Online 04/24/2010
Dear Parents I wanted to let you all know that there are some wonderful photos of our children up on the zenfolio page - Wild West Showdown rehearsal and performance, the night on the Californian, choir trip and general school day images. Please check it out. Go to gillispie.zenfolio.com. First password to get to the school site isgillispie click on our class then password Belle Also, if you have photos you would like to share, it would be great to get them up on the site. You can email them to me (webb1994@mac.com) or alternatively, save to a cd and forward to me and I will upload them. Sheila Webb Hello everyone, I need to let you know that I'm not feeling well and will stay home tomorrow (Monday). Carolyn Marsden will be subbing for me and it should be a treat for the children. She has published thirteen children's books, and part of the day will be spent learning about what it's like to be an author and working on writer's workshop under her supervision. I also want you to know that Sydney Chehab is scheduled to visit the school on Monday. She will attend art with Mr. Inigo's class at 11:30, and our children can visit the art room to say hello two at a time. Please read the note from Mr. Inigo and the information within his note from Gail about her visit. Also, I hope you've noticed that a parent discussion entitled "Affluenza" with Patty Artz will be held this Wednesday evening. Alison Fleming recommends it highly. Finally, Friday at 1:30 is the big day of our Western musical. The children rehearse every day and it's very important that they not miss any rehearsal time. I'll look forward to seeing you on Friday! Sincerely, Margie Gillispie Gala Promo 04/18/2010
A small video reminder about next month's upcoming event. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saWBlfM95iE | ArchivesJune 2010 CategoriesAll | ||||
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