Thursday September 20, 2007

SCHOOL PICTURES TOMORROW!

We had the most marvelous field trip today to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuse!! We were fortunate that it did not rain. Even though the weather was "nippy", it nonetheless was an excellent field trip! Many thanks to Peter's mom who spearheaded the trip and to all who drove. We could not have done it without you!!

I have some photos which I want to share with you, but first, the homework:

EXPLORERS:

All Explorers are to write a "Reflection" paper in their classwork notebooks tonight. It is to have a thesis sentence for the opening paragraph and at least 3 supporting details. There should be a total of at least 4 paragraphs. I am only requiring 20 minutes on this. If your child wishes to work in his/her sketch book tonight on additional illustrations of the Nisqually Wildlife Sanctuary, then that is fine with me; however we will be having art tomorrow afternoon where they will be working in their sketch books.

So, due tomorrow: to be BROUGHT INTO CLASS

Classwork notebooks with the 20 minute reflection paper.

Sketch books if they were brought home today.

20 minutes worth of work on the Wordly Wise.

20 minutes on the handwriting packet.

Please note that if your child has not finished their Wordly Wise this week, that is fine. I just want an honest effort of their personal best. They are to turn in wherever they are. The same is true for their Social Studies work.

HERE ARE A FEW OF TODAY'S PHOTOS:

MORE PHOTOS TOMORROW!

Wednesday 9/19/07

Yes, I did not have a posting yesterday. I'm certain that you noticed that there was No Posting on Tuesday. My attentive class certainly did.Yesterday, shortly after school I had a parent teacher conference. During it, I received an urgent call that a dear friend had a heart attack and was going to have quadruple by-pass surgery. My husband and I rushed to Olympia to the Providence Hospital and we were there until late.

I certainly heard from numerous students that there wasn't a posting on Tuesday. While I'm sorry that the emergency did not permit me to post one yesterday, I am, nonetheless, quite pleased that students and parents are checking my blog each day! That is my commitment to myself, and to your family, to try my hardest to create a posting each school day. In addition, I have been known to post on the weekend as well, so be sure to check then as well. So here are yesterday's and today's blog entries.

NOW FOR CLASSROOM NEWS:

FIELD TRIP TOMORROW!!!

We will be leaving Seabury tomorrow morning and will be going to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. We will be leaving at 9:00 and we should be returning to school by 2:00.

Students are to bring a SACK lunch and a disposable drink. I am supplying a morning snack. Please don't forget to pack a napkin. They are always in short supply. I urge you to pack a disposable WATER bottle for the student's lunch drink. I can not stress this enough. "Snapple" or other type of disposable drinks contain an enormous amount of sugar. The following information is from the back portion of a student's Snapple plastic bottle, which he accidentally dropped, and it exploded, at the head of the school's entryway to the Kindergarten classroom right as you walk in! Talk about a sticky mess. So, I was curious about the amount of sugar in the bottle. The back of the Snapple bottle says it contains 26 grams of sugar per serving. There are 2.5 servings per bottle! So, it is 66 grams of sugar per 20 oz. in this Snapple ,which incidentally, is a bottle the same size as bottle water. Personally, I believe water to be the best thirst quencher, especially on field trips when we are doing a lot of walking. Thank you for your consideration.

Students should be dressed for rain or inclement weather. A waterproof rain coat is a necessity and rain boots are optional. Often Explorers are insistent on wearing boots, so please know that this is fine with me.

Many, many thanks to those parents who offered to drive. I need you, or else we would not have a field trip. I also greatly appreciate you!!

EXPLORERS and NAVIGATORS are to bring either an orange or grapefruit, preferably a grapefruit, to school tomorrow. Even though I assigned this on Monday, I know that sometimes assignments in assignment books are not shared in a timely manner. Many students have brought in their grapefruits. If you are unable to bring one in, NEVER FEAR, MRS. GELLERT IS HERE! I have extra grapefruits, so please do not despair.

SOCIAL STUDIES: EXPLORERS: Lesson 2 is due on Friday

NAVIGATORS: Lesson 3 is due on Friday

MRS. GELLERT"S MATH CLASS: Fraction Action project is due on Friday. Students are to write and create a fraction problem involving their favorite recipe.

SCHOOL PHOTOS ON FRIDAY ! Please know that your child does NOT have to wear his/her Seabury shirt on Friday. This Yuen Lui photo day is for your child's individual photos and class photos and they may wear whatever you parents would like to see them in. Many thanks in advance for the great Parent Booster Club volunteers who help make everything run smoothly.

NO STREAM STUDY THIS FRIDAY DUE TO PICTURE DAY !

NISQUALLY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

FIELD TRIP on THURSDAY

FIELD TRIP- This Thursday, at 9:00, the Explorers, Navigators, and Beacons will be taking a field trip to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.

Please be prepared for RAIN!

Students will need to bring a WATERPROOF rain jacket, preferably with a hood. If your child has outgrown the one from last year's O.P.I. trip, then now is a great opportunity to get a new one. Please remember:ONLY sack lunches and disposable drinks are for lunch.

I will be supplying a nutritious snack for the class. Many thanks to those who have volunteered to drive. You are GREATLY appreciated!

Mr. G and I are still in need of a few drivers. It's a great way to take care of those volunteer hours! So, if you are available and would like to drive, please let me know.

Here is a preview of what we hope to see on Thursday:

Friday, Sept. 14

DASH POINT STATE PARK STREAM STUDY

Stream Study was absolutely amazing today. Please be sure to ask your Explorer about it. Many, many thanks to those who drove. We couldn't have done it without you! Mrs. Wollum joined us and gave a marvelous "walk and talk" about the history of our stream study and the locations of the sites. Mother Nature has altered the stream's path and some of our 100 trees, which we planted two years ago, have succumbed to the juggernaut invasive plants; however, it is a great beginning for a wonderful year of learning though scientific experimentation and observations. I am thrilled to have to have Mr. G with his scientific expertise and his Navigators working side by side with my Explorers. Today was an excellent prelude to our October trip to the Olympic Park Institute. I have a few of the Stream Study photos from today at the bottom of this entry. Keep checking this weekend for I will be uploading more photos.

EXPLORERS:
This weekend please tighten your THINKING CAPS and remember to bring to school on Monday the following three items:
Your Friday Folder, your Classwork spiral notebook, and your Reading Log.
I know I can count on you to remember!
It might be a great idea to say to yourself the following sentence so you won't forget. Just say...
"My FRIDAY FOLDER and my CLASSWORK NOTEBOOK, and my READING LOG are DUE on MONDAY, every MONDAY, every MONDAY, every MONDAY"...repeat as necessary.
Have a GREAT weekend!!

REMEMBER: On Monday, if 100% of the class brings back their Friday Folder, their Reading Log, and their classwork notebook, then everyone in the class will receive an Award Winning Betsy's Best Brownie!! This happened last Monday, and everyone said they LOVED my brownie treats which I gave to the class yesterday!

Parents will find in this week's Friday Folder their child's individual Grade Pro sheet.This sheet lists all of the homework and classwork assignments in chronological order with the grades. In short, it is an accumulation of the Explorer's grades. Homework, classwork, projects and performance are some of the categories. The only one you probably are not familiar with is the "performance" category. This helps track your child's ability to focus on particular tasks and his/her ability to complete the daily classwork assignments.
All corrected homework and classwork papers that are in the Friday Folder are to either be placed in the Explorer's binder, or kept at home. The Grade Pro sheet, which I will generate every two weeks, is to be kept at home also. It does not go into the binder. Parents merely need to sign a sheet of paper which says they have reviewed the contents of the Friday Folder with their Explorer and that will be returned to school on Monday in the Explorer's Friday Folder.

Today was a very busy day. It was our first performance at Gathering and our first Stream Study.

Gathering: I was very proud of your Explorer today during Gathering. Every student had excellent projection, direct eye contact, knew the lines and appeared to be enjoying the moment. All Explorers sing so beautifully. The adults got chills when they sand "The Star Spangled Banner". It was lovely.

Speaking of singing, Seabury is proud to announce that thanks to a generous donation from the Patrick Maher Memorial Fund, the school will e starting a Seabury choir this year. We will start this fall with a 10 week session for interested Beacons, Navigators and Explorers beginning Monday, September 24th. Interested students will meet in the multi-purpose room from 3:00-4:15 pm on Mondays through December. The 10 week choir sessions will culminate in at least 3 performances: The Festival of Trees on Saturday, December 1st, 2007; the Seabury Winter Program on Wednesday, December 12 and additional community performances which will be announced. If you have any questions on how you can volunteer to help with snacks from 3:00-3:15, ten please contact Mrs. Padilla through he school office: 253-952-3111. Based on the stunning voices singing The Star Spangled Banner in Gathering today, I know the Seabury choir will be a huge success.

MORE DASH POINT STATE PARK STREAM STUDY PHOTOS :

Thursday, Sept. 13

PIZZA FRIDAY is tomorrow. Each delicious slice is $1.00.Yumm







Gathering is tomorrow. The Explorers will be performing a short piece on The Star Spangled Banner at the beginning of Gathering.Gathering is held in the Multi-purpose Room at 8:20. I hope to see you tomorrow morning!



As you are aware, TOMORROW marks the first in a series of field trips this year to the Dash Point State Park Stream Study sites. Many thanks to those intrepid drivers who have volunteered to shuttle and chaperone our students tomorrow. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. We will be departing from Seabury at 1:00 and will be returning before 3:00. We will not be going every Friday. I will post the proposed field trip dates in upcoming days.

After school today, Mr. G and I went down to Dash Point State Park and scoped out the sites. We are very excited to start this project. There are significant changes in the stream sites since the huge winter storms of last year. These changes are a constant reminder of the power of nature. The new information we be learning at our upcoming Olympic Park Institute October field trip will be used in our Dash Point Stream Study scientific experiments. We're all looking forward to tomorrow. It should be a beautiful day.

Today we had a guest speaker. Be sure to ask your Explorer about "The Worm Man". Virtually every Explorer and Navigator was very interested in the hands-on scientific information.We viewed numerous long slimy worms and even potato bugs under the ingenious magnifier! Very cool. We also discussed the world's population, composting, recycling, and making a global difference.

FRIDAY FOLDERS will be going home tomorrow for all Explorers. All Navigators who have me for Social Studies and Math will also receive their Friday Folder.

Inside tomorrow's Friday Folder will be a Grade Pro sheet which will list all the assignments and grades your child has had the past 9 days. Grade Pro is very effective communication tool to help share information between the teacher/student/parent. I will be sending out a Grade Pro sheet every two weeks.

Enjoy the rest of today!

Wednesday, Sept. 12

Just a friendly reminder: Book orders are due tomorrow.

Many, many thanks to Chris' mom who has volunteered to help with the book orders.

Also, STREAM STUDY will start this Friday, September 14th. Mr. G. and I are still in need of drivers. We will be departing Seabury at 1:00, so drivers should be here no later than 12:45. With our new schedule this year, lunch is over at 12:30, so the Navigators and Explorers will have plenty of time to get ready to leave promptly at 1:00. Since Friday's forecast is for stunningly beautiful weather, there is no need for students to bring any rain clothes or boots. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are available to drive on Friday. Many thanks!

EXPLORERS' HOMEWORK:

Science and Math- please check with Mr. G.

Mrs. Gellert's Math Class: Students are to write 2 equations using symbols and mathematical strategies discussed in class to solve the mathematical problems.