Holidays

Teacher Christmas Party:

We had a great time celebrating the holidays together at Cantina Laredo this year! We always do an ornament exchange. It got a little crazy this year when some coworkers had an ornament of Mr. C framed. It was hilarious!

The fifth grade team!

I love my A.C. Steere family!

Student Christmas Party:

The students used sharpies to create this gator keep-sake!

Selfie!

Crazy Kiddos!

Santa came to visit!

Bowling with Teachers:

Some students won a raffle to bowl with teachers! We had so much fun!

Exciting things coming to Steere:

The student council and some teacher volunteers helped create a video to teach students our school rules. The teachers got to demonstrate the way NOT to act in the hallway, restrooms, and cafeteria. The student council demonstrated the correct way to behave. Be on the lookout for our fabulous video! I'll be posting it!

Task Force:

As most of you know, I am on the ELA task force that helps create the guidebooks for the Wonders series. Next year things will be changing as far as curriculum goes. Grades k-2 will continue using Wonders. Grades 3-5 will be using Caddo Guidebooks (Which use novels) and LearnZillion to teach. My principal asked me to be on the committee that will work on those guidebooks. As a teacher, I have learned to embrace change and be as flexible as possible. We have to roll with the punches.

Here is a picture taken for the ELA Task Force:

Nicole and me

http://caddoschoolsela.wix.com/caddoschoolsela

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday break! When we come back to school we will be starting some new things at Steere. We will begin a school-wide tutoring program and a new schedule to accommodate RTI better. I'm looking forward to it!

My Christmas Break:

Hanging with my niece!

While visiting Treg's family, we had a family picture taken!

Treg and me

Swinging with my nephew!

Visiting Treg's uncle!

Our dorky Christmas card photos!

See you in the New Year!

Amazing Day Back!

Happy Near Year everyone!

I had a fantastic day back with my 5th graders. I was a little nervous about returning. I have anxiety about preparing my students to the best of my ability for the PARCC assessment here in Louisiana. I know my students will do the best they can, and some will get it and some won't. I'm definitely frustrated with the PARCC assessment and our benchmark assessments. However, I believe in my students! I will teach them not only how to take these types of tests, but how to tackle comprehension questions, vocabulary questions, and writing prompts. I've been preparing my students all year. We've been focusing a lot on comprehension, text-based writing, and research projects.

Although I had a lot of nerves about the upcoming test practice, I really enjoyed seeing my students faces today. I was so excited to hear about their winter breaks. I assigned new seats to my students, so I did a team builder. I had my students do a Round Robin and share 3 things they received for Christmas, 2 things they enjoyed doing, and 1 thing they enjoyed eating. The kids loved it! We also went over their project requirements and read more from Number the Stars.

We are almost finished with Number the Stars. I'm not going to test them on the book any longer. We are on chapter 12. Once we finish the novel, I've decided to do a timed writing. The students will get to choose from three prompts relating to the novel. They will also be able to use the book to provide evidence for their writing.

Along with the enjoyment of seeing my students, I was also so excited to see some of my fantastic coworkers! I don't know what I'd do without my ELA cohort, Cheri. She is such a great friend, mentor, and teacher! I was also so glad to see my 5th grade team and any more!

I hope you all had a wonderful start to your new year and 3rd 9 weeks!