Ms. Breit

A new week and new things to learn and practice. This is our OLYMPIC WEEK at Ray School. The 5th graders will have their day on WEDNESDAY and 6th  graders will be THURSDAY. Parents are invited to attend. It will be primarily in the morning with awards given after lunch. Hats off to our own Ms. Perez for all her hard work!!!

Our social studies unit about government will be in full swing this week. Expect homework for both grades. Mid-term Reports come home on WEDNESDAY…so be on the lookout.

Please help me in reminding your child that even though this is the last couple of weeks…we are going to continue to POWER DOWN until the very end!

6th GRADE PARENTS…I am awaiting a date for our visit to PERSHING WEST SCHOOL. I will let you know ASAP. Ms. Watkins, the Principal, is very accommodating and welcoming. I will take the 6th graders on the CTA or you can take them with you and meet us over there. Our last visit was very informative and fun! Have a great week!

We will continue with the M.A.P.S. assessments this week (math) for all 5th and 6th graders. This is the third and final assessment for this school year. We completed the reading portion the week before last.

I really enjoyed the three day Wilson Reading conference I attended last week and brought back some new strategies and techniques to utilize in my daily teaching. On Monday, I will be attending an after-school overview at the University of Chicago regarding the COMMON CORE STANDARDS that are being implemented citywide. These standards will also be part of your child’s next IEP.

This coming week we will be continuing our guided reading groups, Wilson groups, multiplication facts/word problems and governmental branches introduction in social studies. The 5th and 6th graders will continue their science groups and HYDE PARK ART CENTER classes with their included grade levels.

One more thing…STUDENT COUNCIL is having a school supply sale this FRIDAY at lunch. Items range from a quarter to $3.00. Let’s have a great week!!!

As we begin a new week, we continue with new challenges to learn as much as possible before our summer break. As you have seen from your child’s “4th QUARTER GOALS” progress report, many students are pushing forward! Mr. Clark and I will continue to keep you updated on academic progress in class, so you can continue to reinforce these skills at home. This week (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) I will be attending a 3-Day Wilson Reading Conference. I will have a good substitute as well as Mr. Clark, so the students will continue to receive consistent instruction. I am looking forward to keeping current with what is new in our multi-sensory reading program and having an opportunity to discuss strategies with peers in my profession. I will let you know what went on in next week’s BLOG. Last week the students had M.A.P.S. testing in the area of reading comprehension and will have the math section this coming week.

6th Graders have a change in schedule for science from now until the end of the year. They will be going either  M/W or T/TH @ 1p.m. They will continue to work with Hyde Park Art Center in the 6th grade classes either Tuesday or Wednesday. The 6th Grade Yearbook committees are also working T/TH at 12:30 in room #512.

5th Graders will be working on levers/pulleys in science with Ms. Krecik. They will also be continuing the Little Women guided reading group with me. We are having a great time reading this book. Each of the four girls in the group have chosen one of the four March girls in the story to do a character study about. I think each girl found some traits in either Meg, Beth, Amy or Jo that they saw in themselves.

Have a great week and as always…stay in touch!

As we move into May, we continue to learn new things while making sure all our skills remain STRONG! The 6th graders continue their work on the RAY SCHOOL YEARBOOK by interviewing various classes. Each 6th grader was paired with another and chose a class at Ray to interview. Their first job was to formulate questions for the class and teacher in order write an article for the yearbook. They also had to write an introductory letter to set up a time for this interview. Ask your child what class they chose and have them share their questions.

Fifth graders are working hard and have begun to read Little Women in their guided reading group. We are all so happy to have Jackye back with us! We have daily discussions regarding setting, characters, and historical facts. The girls seem to really be enjoying the book.

We are still pushing everyone forward with their multiplication facts and move into division facts. We are also studying money/making change in the context of one and two step word problems. As we have talked about before, any real life practice involving money and making change would be of great help to your child. Activities like counting the change received at the store or determining what bills to give the cashier can help supplement what they learn in class.

On Monday, your child will receive the 1st update for their new GOALS FOR 4th QUARTER. Please check over them with your child and sign/return the form. This should help avoid a last minute rush to achieve what goals your child has chosen to accomplish by June. Thanks in advance for your help with this. We are wrapping up the USA unit and moving into a social studies unit on GOVERNMENT.

Please stay in touch!

Thanks so much to all of you who came to REPORT CARD PICK-UP! It was a pleasure having time to talk to each of you 1:1. We are on the “home stretch” now and need to work extra hard to complete all the goals we have set for ourselves. On Monday you will receive the completed final draft of your child’s 4th QUARTER GOALS. Please go over them with your child, sign and return on Tuesday. They will be posted in our room. The class had a meeting on Thursday and decided we will send home WEEKLY updates as to the progress of these goals so as not to be behind when week 9 rolls around. This way you will know how many books are left to read, what math facts need review, etc.

Hats off to MARCELL, ELLIONA, and AMARI for passing ALL their MULTILICATION table tests (0′s-12′s) with 100%!!! Great Work!

Our 6th graders have begun working with Ms. Wejman’s class on the RAY SCHOOL YEARBOOK due out this year. They are working in pairs and have chosen one classroom to interview/photograph and include in the yearbook. They began by composing a letter for the class they selected. They will work on the final draft this Tuesday in Ms. Wejman’s class. Ask your child for more updates. We will be meeting Tuesdays/Thursdays at 12:30 in room #512.

In Social Studies we should be finishing our state reports and completing the salt/flour maps this week. Then we will be presenting them orally in front of our classmates.

As always, please feel free to contact me whenever you need to. Either MSBreit@cps.edu or call or write.

Here’s to a WWW (Wonderful Week of Work!)

This Wednesday, April 18th, is Report Card Pick-Up. I will be sending home a schedule on Monday for you to fill out with an appropriate time slot. This is to assure we have enough time to talk and don’t feel rushed. Please make sure to check on Monday night if your child did not give you the schedule. I am looking for 100% attendance this quarter! Hope everyone can make it. Mr. Clark and I will be here from Noon until 6p.m. with a break from 3p.m. – 4p.m. We will go over the grades, the IEP benchmark progress and a plan for our FINAL FANTASTIC FOURTH quarter in terms of student-driven goals for each student. I am looking forward to seeing all of you on Wednesday.

Reminder: All 6th graders have a field trip to the Oriental Museum on Friday (April 20th). All students need to remember to bring a lunch and to be sure their permission slip is turned into Ms. Wejman. Thanks!

Since this is our last week before SPRING BREAK, Mr. Clark and I are trying to “power down” and give a good boost of academics that will carry our students through the break! I know you all probably have big plans for the week, but hopefully you can encourage your child to read a little bit each day from their AR books and to review the MULTIPLICATION facts through the 9′s. We have had timed tests over the last 2 weeks and many students are really doing well! We have posted the results and will give you the FINALS when you come for REPORT CARD PICK-UP on Wednesday APRIL 18th. I plan to retest after the break to make sure the facts have “stuck.”  I will also be looking for many students to take an AR test upon return from break. This week I will work 20 minutes of silent reading into our daily schedule to give the students a head start on their books. If you could do the same, that would be GREAT!

We continue working DAILY on the character ed. value of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY…especially in terms of writing down and completing homework. I am proud of those who are “stepping up” and taking an active role in their learning. We have also discussed the importance of admitting when a mistake is made and taking responsibility for the action.

Our social studies unit on the USA is going well. Much research is being done on our states and we should be completing the salt/flour topographical maps this week. They will have capitals, major cities, rivers/lakes and basic topography. Most of the work will be done in class, but some students may need to take parts of the reports home to complete. The following is a list of who is doing what state:

Amari-New Mexico;  Jackye- Iowa;  Elena-Hawaii;  Elliona-Alaska; Marcus-Michigan;  Marcell-Alabama; Peter-Florida;          Demi-California;  and Jacob-Texas.

Here’s to a WONDERFUL WEEK!!! Remember this is the week of the Scholastic Book Fair at Ray, so make sure you review the flyer we sent home and send book money with your child. Enjoy the break, Ms. Breit

We are more than half way through our third quarter. Time is rushing by! This week also marks the official beginning of spring. Some upcoming dates you may need to know are as follows: Book Fair-March 26-29, Spring Break begins Monday April 2nd, Friday April 13th is a Professional Development for teachers, and Report Card Pick-up is Wednesday April 18th. I will be sending home a sign- up sheet for conference times after the break. I am looking forward to seeing you all during the day. The hours will be from noon to 6p.m.

Since we have 5 graduating 6th graders, we are planning a trip to the “feeder”school for our Multi-Sensory Program…Pershing West. There is a program there to meet the needs of our 7th and 8th graders-to-be. We have already had many successful graduates from Pershing, many of whom have come back for a visit. I will be attending a cluster meeting at Pershing and plan to set a date with the Principal for late April in order to visit the school and classroom. We have done this in years past with much success. Usually the class takes CTA over there and the parents meet us there. The Principal, Ms. Watkins, is a gracious host and it has always been a nice transitional activity. I will keep you posted as to the date. Please visit the Pershing West (not East) website for more information concerning the school.

This week we are delving into our United States reports. More to follow… Also I want to ask if all of you could help me by making sure your child is working hard on the multiplication facts, either flash cards or by going on Multiplication.com on the Internet. Everyone needs this practice! We are beginning timed tests next week. Thanks so much in advance. Let’s stay in touch.

ISAT‘s are now behind us and the rest of Quarter #3 is ahead. You should have received your child’s Progress Report. If not, let me know. I am trying to stress the importance of our PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY character trait that will run through the rest of this year. Mr. Clark and I are really pushing them to READ independently and take their AR tests. They all made personal goals for the 3rd quarter (as you know) to read more and pass the AR tests.

Hats off to our own ELLIONA CLARK for her FANTASTIC African American Biography Report on Ida B. Wells! Elliona really went the extra mile! On Friday she presented it orally to the class. We especially enjoyed her personal connection to her “person.”  I look forward to hearing from everyone this week. Since we have a 5 day week, expect our SPELLWELL schedule to be back on track. Be on the lookout for the STATE reports as well as an activity to celebrate WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH. As always…please feel free to contact me at any time.

On Tuesday, March 6th, we will begin the annual ISAT. This year we will be testing in a morning and an afternoon session Tuesday-Thursday ( Friday is the 4th grade science.) Please make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and comes ready to do his/her best. We will not have homework this week and I will work, with your help, to alleviate any possible stress for your child. We have been reviewing basic concepts as a class and have discussed some testing strategies.  Thanks in advance for helping us with our 100% attendance goal for these three days of testing.

I am sure you heard that last week we had a visit from a “new generation” Tuskegee Airman named MOSES JONES.  Marcell Freeman’s father brought him to surprise our class! Marcell did his African-American Biography on one of the 1st Tuskegee Airmen and Mr. Freeman had a connection to Mr. Jones. He is such a warm and inspirational man and as Mr. Clark said…it was like a part of history walked through our door that day. Hats off to Mr. Freeman for making this happen and to Mr. Jones for taking time to come and talk to our students. He was very motivating and told the class to follow their dreams and not take NO for an answer in regard to achieving their goals.  Mr. Jones said he will be returning to talk to more students and will bring a documentary about the Tuskegee Airmen!    Mr. Freeman will also be giving us more information regarding the 2nd Saturday of each month at Joliet Airport…there will be opportunities for students (with their parents) to go up in a plane with one of the the new generation airmen. (More to follow on that.)

This year is flying by! March begins this Thursday! Monday March 5th is a school holiday, PULASKI DAY, and the next day ISAT begins. We are reviewing basic concepts that your child will encounter on the ISAT and he/she will most likely be bringing home some work to review, especially math concepts. Please make sure he/she review and that they are PRESENT for the entire ISAT  week.

We are doing our African-American History Oral Reports this week. I look forward to hearing about the different selections the students have chosen. The biographies reflect quite a diverse group. I will update you on the outcome on next week’s BLOG. Your child will also be doing a report on the United State of his/her choice and a biography about a woman in history for Women’s History Month in March. More will follow on these two projects.

During ISAT week, homework will be limited to reading at home each night. I will send a reading record sheet home, as well. As always, feel free to contact me as needed.

Monday, February 20th is Presidents’ Day and school will not be in session. When we resume on Tuesday, the sixth graders will continue meeting with their groups to study the Aztecs, Mayas and Incas. Please check with your child to see which culture they have chosen. Also, make sure you take a look at their “Museum Box” video on the website. (your child can show you).

5th and 6th Grades: The African-American biography reports are being completed at school. They will be displayed in front of our room for the Gallery Walk this coming Thursday (February 23).

5th Graders: Please check Mr. Martin’s website for 2 upcoming assignments. We talked about them today in class. Thanks for your support on this.

We will continue our work on the theme of  PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. The class is working hard to integrate this value into his/her day to day life, both in school and at home. Ms. Wejman, one of our 6th grade teachers, works daily with her students to make this happen. Since all our 6th graders go to her room for various subjects (language arts/social studies), I too, am working to help all the students in #307 to become more independent and cognizant of trying his/her best to take responsibility for themselves.

As always, please feel free to contact me through email, a note or a call,  anytime you need to do so. Thanks, SB