On Thursday, December 22, 2011, we had the Grand Opening of our class store, Bungles. Students prepared for weeks to have the store ready for this big day and just like a Black Friday event, it was extremely busy.
Posted by MrLynch | Posted in Book Buddies, Featured | Posted on December 31, 2011
Our first grade Book Buddies came over to Thompson Brook for a visit at the end of December. Students took them on private tours of the school in small groups. After the tours, both the first and fifth graders made snowflakes together and we hung all of them on the walls of the classroom.
Posted by MrLynch | Posted in Contest, Funny Pictures | Posted on December 18, 2011
Enter a funny caption for the photo below for a chance to win 50 mini-candy canes. Students in Mr. Lynch’s class and Mrs. Pooler’s class are eligible to enter and you can enter with as many entries as you can think of. Inappropriate entries will be deleted prior to being posted.
Posted by MrLynch | Posted in Weekly Newsletter | Posted on December 18, 2011
Weekly Newsletter
December 19 – 23
This is the last school week of 2011. Hanukkah begins Tuesday night and Christmas is on Sunday so I’m sure everyone will be quite busy this week at home. We have almost a full week of school (with a half day on Friday) so our week will be as normal as we can make it. Well, whatever normal means. On Wednesday we are having our second Z-Day for Team 5-1. Students will have the opportunity to visit all four fifth grade teachers on our team for a variety of different lessons. The Wednesday morning extra help this week will focus on review for Thursday’s math test. Thursday will also be our class Holiday Luncheon. Happy Holidays!
Upcoming Events
Holiday Luncheon – Thursday, December 22
Math – We are just finishing Unit 5: Fractions, Decimals, and Percents. The test will be on Thursday. Students are in the final year of the Everyday Mathematics program in Avon. I offer math extra help on Wednesday mornings from 7:30 – 7:55 AM. Your child can attend regularly, once in a while, or even just one time. Do not think of this as remedial help or even enrichment – it’s basically whatever the students need who show up. My two requirements to attend are as follows: 1) Parents should send me an e-mail by the night before letting me know their child will be attending. 2) The student should have some idea what he/she needs help with. If their answer is, “I don’t know. My mom is making me go,” that’s not going to cut it. It may be absolutely true, but if students have no idea what they need help with then it’s not always useful time. This year we are using the 2012 edition which does a much better job helping teachers focus on the new Common Core State Standards, but for students you most likely won’t notice anything drastically different from fourth grade. Basically, these standards are an effort to get all 50 states teaching the same curriculum. It doesn’t mean the same program even town-to-town – it just means that in the past a student in California and a student in Montana might be learning very different skills. This is an effort to tighten that up and within a few years the CMTs will disappear and be replaced with national tests. On most nights (except Fridays) students will have homework and the vast majority of the time it will be a Study Link worksheet. Again, probably very similar to fourth grade.
English – Writer’s Workshop continues with activities tied into Writer’s Notebooks. With the new website and blog students have been customizing their own websites and most students have his/her first official post on the website. Writer’s Notebooks will serve as a major vehicle for their writing activities this year.
Reading– Mrs. Pooler continues with Reader’s Workshop. In our classroom, I am currently reading aloud with students – A House Called Awful End: The Eddie Dickens Trilogy.
Science – The third science unit of the year is Rocks and Minerals and students are learning about this with in the classroom and in the science lab. Students will continue two science labs a week with Mrs. Luddy. In the classroom (with me) we discussed sound and read literature about how sound impacts their everyday lives. This week we will continue those discussions and also focus on the parts of the ear. At Thompson Brook, students have science twice a week in the science lab with Mrs. Luddy and once or twice in the classroom with me. (During the second half the year they will switch to Mrs. Mahar for science.) For the most part, the implementation of the science curriculum is established by Mrs. Luddy as well as any supplies that students need. If you have questions or concerns I’m happy to pass them on to Mrs. Luddy or you can reach her directly at jluddy@avon.k12.ct.us. Unless it’s a personal issue, please CC me on any e-mails to the science teachers so I can help out, too.
Social Studies – We recently finished the Powwow Project and this will segway into a recap of the French/Indian War after vacation, followed by an introduction to the American Revolution. As I told students, I’m not a big quizzer or tester in Social Studies. I do assess my students – just not through a standard quiz or test. I could write an entire thesis on my dislike of rote Social Studies memorization, but I’ll try to sum it up in a few sentences. My students walk away learning about many historical events and some even remember specific dates, but I could care less if students remember that the Boston Massacre took place on March 5. I care very much that they know it TOOK PLACE, they know WHY it took place, and they know the historical significance of HOW that one event helped begin a revolution that led to the formation of our country. If a student can memorize the date and know nothing else about the event except that a few people were killed, what’s the point? After basic geography (because if students don’t know that Japan is not off the shore of Connecticut they will at some point in their lives sound foolish), most of Social Studies in fifth grade is based on history, with a big focus on the 1760s – 1860s.
Posted by MrLynch | Posted in Cool Videos | Posted on December 14, 2011
This is a very cool video of a girl setting the cup stacking world record. Gather up some cups and try it yourself.
Posted by MrLynch | Posted in Charitable Cause | Posted on December 9, 2011
Today, with the help of a class parent, students helped decorate a gingerbread house which will be donated to a local establishment. Here are the pictures:
Posted by MrLynch | Posted in Featured, Social Studies | Posted on December 8, 2011
Below are the Powwow Pictures from December 6 & 7.
Posted by MrLynch | Posted in Weekly Newsletter | Posted on December 4, 2011
Weekly Newsletter
December 5 – 9
It was great meeting all of you at Parent/Teacher Conferences last week. Our journey to Walmart for the Holiday Bear Project went very well last week – we had 20 students join us for our shopping expedition. Through the generosity of students, parents, and local businesses, we raised $530 which we used to purchase gifts for two children from Danbury. The Powwows will be held on December 6 & 7. Parents are welcome to come watch their child’s group. Exact times of each Powwow are listed on this week’s Monday Memo.
Upcoming Events
Powwow – Tuesday, December 6 and Wednesday, December 7
Book Buddies – Friday, December 16 (9:30 – 11:00)
Holiday Luncheon – Thursday, December 22
Math – We are currently on Unit 5: Fractions, Decimals, and Percents. Students are in the final year of the Everyday Mathematics program in Avon. I offer math extra help on Wednesday mornings from 7:30 – 7:55 AM. Your child can attend regularly, once in a while, or even just one time. Do not think of this as remedial help or even enrichment – it’s basically whatever the students need who show up. My two requirements to attend are as follows: 1) Parents should send me an e-mail by the night before letting me know their child will be attending. 2) The student should have some idea what he/she needs help with. If their answer is, “I don’t know. My mom is making me go,” that’s not going to cut it. It may be absolutely true, but if students have no idea what they need help with then it’s not always useful time. This year we are using the 2012 edition which does a much better job helping teachers focus on the new Common Core State Standards, but for students you most likely won’t notice anything drastically different from fourth grade. Basically, these standards are an effort to get all 50 states teaching the same curriculum. It doesn’t mean the same program even town-to-town – it just means that in the past a student in California and a student in Montana might be learning very different skills. This is an effort to tighten that up and within a few years the CMTs will disappear and be replaced with national tests. On most nights (except Fridays) students will have homework and the vast majority of the time it will be a Study Link worksheet. Again, probably very similar to fourth grade.
English – Writer’s Workshop continues with activities tied into Writer’s Notebooks. With the new website and blog students have been customizing their own websites and by the end of the week everyone should have his/her first official post on the website. Writer’s Notebooks will serve as a major vehicle for their writing activities this year. This month we will focus a lot on main idea & theme; connections; and making a personal response to the text. In addition, students will learn the importance of a mini-lesson and how it will help shape what writing they do each day in class.
Reading– Mrs. Pooler continues with Reader’s Workshop. This month some of the things that students will learn include: main idea & theme; connections; and making a personal response to the text. In our classroom, I am currently reading aloud with students – A House Called Awful End: The Eddie Dickens Trilogy.
Science – The third science unit of the year is Rocks and Minerals and students are learning about this with in the classroom and in the science lab. This unit is coming to a close – students will hear about a test soon. Students will continue two science labs a week with Mrs. Luddy. In the classroom (with me) we discussed sound and read literature about how sound impacts their everyday lives. This week we will continue those discussions and also focus on the parts of the ear. At Thompson Brook, students have science twice a week in the science lab with Mrs. Luddy and once or twice in the classroom with me. (During the second half the year they will switch to Mrs. Mahar for science.) For the most part, the implementation of the science curriculum is established by Mrs. Luddy as well as any supplies that students need. If you have questions or concerns I’m happy to pass them on to Mrs. Luddy or you can reach her directly at jluddy@avon.k12.ct.us. Unless it’s a personal issue, please CC me on any e-mails to the science teachers so I can help out, too.
Social Studies – The Powwow Project is concluding this week and the Powwows will be held on December 6 & 7. Each student also submitted a plan letting me know what he/she was planning to do for his/her portion of the project. This is a month-long project that will be our introduction to the mid-1700s, especially looking at how the future United States was populated during this time period. The French & Indian War came just before the colonists got really riled up over their treatment from the British. Once the American Revolution was over, the American Indians still lived on the land and this will help us look at the landscape of who was here during that time. The Powwow will conclude with a two-day event on December 6 & 7, (which parents are invited to) where each of the five groups will present foods, games, stories, costumes, and a miniature shelter to the class. The initial two weeks will be mainly research and as it comes together in the second half students will be working more closely with their groups on the presentation and building the shelters. As I told students, I’m not a big quizzer or tester in Social Studies. I do assess my students – just not through a standard quiz or test. I could write an entire thesis on my dislike of rote Social Studies memorization, but I’ll try to sum it up in a few sentences. My students walk away learning about many historical events and some even remember specific dates, but I could care less if students remember that the Boston Massacre took place on March 5. I care very much that they know it TOOK PLACE, they know WHY it took place, and they know the historical significance of HOW that one event helped begin a revolution that led to the formation of our country. If a student can memorize the date and know nothing else about the event except that a few people were killed, what’s the point? After basic geography (because if students don’t know that Japan is not off the shore of Connecticut they will at some point in their lives sound foolish), most of Social Studies in fifth grade is based on history, with a big focus on the 1760s – 1860s.