5TM Class Blog

1). Literature Circles – Starting on Monday, all fifth grade students will participate in the final literature circle of the year. Our final genre is fantasy. Please note that students can use their literature circle novels as one of their Reading Olympics books as long as it covers one of the categories (Newberry Winner, Fantasy, Controversial, etc…) that they have not yet completed.

2). Field Day – Our wonderful PE teachers are still in need of 5th grade parent volunteers for Field Day on the afternoon of Friday, May 14. Please email Rachel Baydo at rachel.baydo@saschina.org if you are able to help out.

3). String/Band Bonanza – The annual 5th grade Puxi/Pudong music exchange will take place on Monday, May 17. Letters from the music teachers have already been sent home.

4). Middle School Transition – Students from 5TM will have the opportunity to eat in the middle/high school cafeteria on Monday, May 24 (they are quite excited about having a choice of what to eat!) and then all fifth graders will go for middle school orientation from 11:00 to 3:00 on Friday, May 28th.

5). Reading Olympics – I met with each student this week to chat about what they still have left to do for Reading Olympics. Some only have one or two jobs left, and others have several. Each student came up with a plan to finish all jobs and books before Friday, May 28. Please check in with your child about his/her plan to finish everything before the due date that is only three weeks away.

6). Spelling Bee – We had our Spelling Bee today for units 25 to 29. There was some stress in the room as we started, but it turned out to be a good experience. The class was great at cheering each other on. Congratulations to our top five winners:

5th – Rhianne
4th – Sanjana
3rd – Ben
2nd – Kendrick
1st – Michelle

1). Poetry and Pancakes – I should have known better! I heated up the griddle and poured on the pancake batter to make the first 6 pancakes. They immediately started to burn and stick to the griddle. As 17 sets of eyes watched, I started to stress and break out into a sweat. It’s funny how suddenly every student knows how to make pancakes and feels comfortable telling the cook how it should be done!! With the help of a little butter, the next 70 (that’s right…70!) pancakes turned out just fine. Our morning of Poetry and Pancakes turned out to be a success. Students read, wrote and shared their poetry with each other while I slaved over a hot griddle.

2). Virtual School – Students are to complete the following on our Virtual School Days (April 30 and May 4).

I will check my email a few times on each of our Virtual School Days to see if students have any questions. I will also do my best to check at other times throughout the weekend.

Reading Olympics – Complete one book and/or activity. This can also be the book you are already working on. Make it a GOLD!

Spelling – Study for the Spelling Bee and Final Test. On your blog, post the 10 words you find most difficult to spell and write a rule to remember the spelling of each word.

For example – “Tragically” has two “l’s” because it would be tragic if it only had one “l”

Writers Workshop – Write 1 awesome poem  (Live like a poet and find your inspiration out in the world!)

On your blog, post your favorite poem that you have written so far. (If time, go to other 5TM students’ blogs and comment on their poetry)

Math – (SMJ – 292, 293, 294, 295) (SL – 199)

Mathletics – 30 minutes (I have assigned two short activities to do before you can go onto Mathletics Live)

Landforms – Please complete any homework you have for Miss Kyle

Specialist Homework – Please complete any homework your specialist teachers may have assigned for you (For example – The China Plate project for Art class).

3). Our field trip to Qi Bao was a success. Students experiences all sorts of food, listened to some traditional Chinese music at the Tea House, and watched a puppet show. I will post a short video of the trip on the 5TM blog as soon as possible. THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE PARENTS (AND GRANDPARENT) WHO WERE ABLE TO HELP OUT ON THE TRIP. YOUR HELP WAS REALLY APPRECIATED!

From pajamas to poetry, stuffed animals to spirit day, and bad hats to backwards day Power Down and Read has been an entertaining and worthy week.

Here are this week’s updates:

1). Advance sales of the 2010 Puxi Yearbooks will be held from Wednesday April 28 until Friday May 7.
Parent volunteers will be stationed in the ES Lobby from 7:45 till 8:30 and outside the MS/HS cafeteria from 11:30 till 1:30 each day to accept money and write receipts. The cost of the ES and MS books is 190 RMB each, while the HS book is 220. Please purchase a book during this period of advance sales to make sure you reserve a copy for yourself.
Thank you,
Michael Sheehan, Puxi Yearbook Coordinator

2). Field trip to Qi Bao – Wednesday, April 28. Although students can purchase food in Qi Bao, please have your child bring a lunch. Keep your fingers crossed that it is a sunny day!

3). April 30 and May 4- Per the Board decision to conduct “virtual school” for these days the grade 5 team is preparing 7 hours worth of work (3.5 hrs each day) for students to be completing in the areas of reading, writing, and math.  Homeroom teachers will issue this work on Thursday, April 28th to students to ensure that our curriculum is not interrupted by the extended holiday and that student learning continues.

A message from out elementary school counselors:

In November, SAS students participated in the Developmental Assets Survey.  The results have arrived and the elementary counselors want to share the findings with you.  Please come to an exciting Parent to Parent on Wednesday,  April 21st at 10:30 AM in the grades 1 and 2 project area. At this meeting you will hear how these assets promote academic success and give young people the strengths they need to make positive choices.

1). Field trip to Qi Bao – On April 28th, all fifth graders will be participating in our second China Alive experience. The purpose is to integrate the rich, diverse Chinese culture with SAS student learning. You will find the field trip form in the Friday Folder. Please let me know either on the form or by email if you are able to chaperone on this trip. We need around 5 parent volunteers.

2).  “Power Down and Read Week” is April 19th – April 25th. This is a combination of two annual SAS events – TV Turnoff Week and Love of Reading week.

During TV Turnoff Week, millions of children and adults world wide pledge to spend seven “screen-free” days.  This is a volunteer activity, students are not required to participate, but it is an experience that can be very valuable for you and your family.  If you are up to the challenge, seven “screen-free” days means: No TV, DVDs, computer games, video games, cell phone games, movies at the theatre, or chatting over the Internet.  (Exceptions include computer use for school or work…or for communicating with parents working out of town).

Studies show that children who watch less TV and play fewer video games are more likely to read well and to be physically fit.  Turning off the screens also allows for more family time.  We think that Turnoff Week 2010 is a great way to jump-start our kids into more reading, learning, and active play. It’s also a lot of fun!

We would like to ask for your support in our efforts.  Many families and teachers choose to join their children by keeping the screens turned off all week long.  This kind of support is the best thing you can do to ensure that your child will have a successful and beneficial experience. We have included a screen-free participation signature box on the attached sheet.  If your child remains screen-free for 7 days please complete the form and have your child return it to their classroom teacher on Monday April 26th.  We will use this information to acknowledge their efforts and celebrate their success.

Love of Reading week is designed to inspire students to develop a passion for reading and support the school’s goal of being a reading community. There are a couple of ways to participate in this event.  First, there will be five themes one for each day of the week.  Students can either dress up or bring in a prop which will enable them to participate in special classroom reading activities.  The themes are listed below.

Monday April 19th – Pajama Day
Tuesday April 20th – Bring your favorite teddy/buddy day
Wednesday April 21st – Wear a crazy hat and have a poem in your pocket day
Thursday April 22nd – Backwards Day
Friday April 23rd– Wear the title of your favorite book day and Eagle Colors

Secondly, students have the opportunity to help a build a reading community in a Chinese school without a library.  Students are already required to read a minimum of 20 minutes a night.  For this activity students can ask a family member or friend to sponsor their extra reading over 20 minutes.  For example, on Monday Susie reads for 30 minutes. Her parents have agreed to sponsor her at the rate of 1 RMB per minute of extra reading.  Susie’s parents will pay 10RMB for Monday’s extra reading. The money raised will go to support books for a school library in Sichuan.  Please see the attached sponsor sheet for more details.

Thank you for your support!

Eileen Knobloch (Puxi PK-1 Counselor)
Paul Stambaugh (Puxi 2-3 Counselor)
Kristina Anderson (Puxi 4-5 Counselor)
Rosmary Kinyanjui (ES Librarian)

It has been wonderful this week to observe the students in 5TM sharing their work and reflections on their learning with their parents during the conferences. I’m always amazed by how much growth has taken place since the beginning of the year. The students put a lot of work into preparing for these student-led conferences, and it’s very empowering for them to be in charge of their own learning by setting SMART goals and making action plans to reach these goals. Way to go 5TM!

A few updates for this week:

1). Students will be writing the ERB test on Wednesday and Thursday. Ms. Blair, a former ERB evaluator, did a lesson on the do’s and don’t’s of writing the ERB. Students did one practice ERB in class this week and will do one more over the weekend. Have your child explain what they should and should not do for the ERB.

2). As part of the SAS China Alive experience, 5th graders will be going on a field trip to Qi Bao on Wednesday, April 28th. We will need several parent volunteers to chaperone small groups. It would be helpful if you could speak Chinese, but not necessary. More information about the trip and volunteering will be coming to you soon.

First thing this morning, I promised the class if at Soccer Day I saw good sportsmanship, 100% effort from everyone, everyone had to touch the ball at least 10 times (getting hit in the head doesn’t count) and nobody screamed and ran away from the ball, I would make them breakfast one day. Well…..they were awesome! We only won one game, but they were superstars! I was very proud to be their teacher today. Other teachers/coaches commented on how much spirit our class had! It looks like I will be making pancakes and bacon!

A few other things to note:

1). Report cards go home today. Please note that I have commented on the number of Reading Olympics jobs that students have completed. Do not panic! There are still two months left to complete the jobs, and many of the students have completed work since the start of Trimester 3.

2). For those parents who would like copies of the photos I have taken this year, I will give students a chance to bring in a flash drive to copy any photos they like.

3). A note from our wonderful counselor Kristina Anderson:

Dear Parent(s),

The Habitat for Humanity Club at the Puxi High School has teamed up with the Elementary Eagle Leaders to design a project to raise funds to help those in need in Haiti and Malawi. Habitat for Humanity is an organization that assists people in substandard housing conditions around the world, organizes international builds, and provides donations to disaster zones around the globe. The proceeds of this fundraiser will go to sponsoring the Jacaranda Foundation in Malawi and to the impoverished earthquake victims in Haiti.

“Operation Raise the Roof” will take place April 6th-12th.  During this week elementary school students will have the opportunity to buy “bricks” each morning before school outside the elementary office from 7:45-8:10am. Bricks are different prices based on their color. Colors include white, brown, tan, yellow, and gold. Each grade level will be competing as a team to earn as many points (indicated by the price of the brick) as possible, and display their purchased bricks on their own designated window outside the elementary office. Each participant who buys a brick will be given a wristband. There will be a prize for the grade that raises the most money.

If you wish to participate the money should be attached to this order form or you can just show up with the money and indicate on the spot which types of bricks you would like to purchase and the amount.

On behalf of the Shanghai American School High School Habitat for Humanity Club and the Elementary Eagle Leaders, we appreciate your consideration and participation in this fundraiser.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Ms. Anderson with the Eagle Leaders at:
kristina.anderson@saschina.org

Or any of the following high school Habitat for Humanity Club members:
kelvinfsun@hotmail.com
fyreflash@hotmail.com
linkinpark2004123@hotmail.com

Brick prices:
White=10RMB
Tan, Brown or Yellow=15RMB
Gold=25RMB

Here the latest updates for 5TM:

1). Parent Conference forms will be going home today in the Friday Folder. Conferences are scheduled for April 8th and 9th and will be student-led. The conferences are scheduled for one hour blocks in order to give your child enough time to talk about his/her learning since the beginning of the year, but most conferences usually take about 30 to 40 minutes. Your start and end times are flexible. Please return these forms to school as soon as possible.

** The following two updates are from SAS Middle School. You will also receive this information in hard copy in the Friday Folder.

2). Dear Grade 5 Parents,

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and your family to the Middle School community!  We have a lot of information to share with you and we hope you find it useful!

For starters, we would like to invite you to visit:
Middle School Blog: http://teachers.saschina.org/mspuxi/
Brad Latzke Blog: http://teachers.saschina.org/blatzke/
Be sure to check these sites out from time to time.

Your are invited to a Grade 5 Parent Information Night – Wednesday, March 31st at 5:30 pm in the Performing Arts Center.  This is a parent night only.  The middle school will conduct extensive grade 5 student transition activities later this spring.

Course Registration – For the first time, this will be done using the Power School Student Portal. The only classes that students will need to register for are Music, Global Language and Exploratory classes (more on Exploratory towards the end of this letter). A simple set of instructions concerning this process will be coming to you as we get ready to begin in April.

Middle School Classes – All grade 6 Middle School students will be scheduled for 8 classes. Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Science, Physical Education, Rotation (more on that later) and Music.
Two types of Classes, Cores and Specials.
i.     Core Classes are Language Arts, Social Students, Math and Science. These classes meet every other day in 80-minute blocks.
ii.     Specials Classes are Physical Education, Music and Art/Health “Rotation”. These courses meet for 60 minutes every other day.

Daily Schedule – Every day Middle School begins with a 5 minute advisory period so that students can touch base with their advisory teacher.  All students have a total of 8 classes that meet over two-day rotation. Students’ attend two core classes and two Specials per day. There is a 45-minute period at the end of everyday that will rotate between and Advisory and Exploratory.

Choices – The only choice that Middle Schoolers have concerning their schedule is what Global Language and Music classes they will take. It is extremely important that you rank your choices 1, 2 and 3 when the time comes to register.  Due to the structure of our schedule, we usually are able to get every student into his or her first choice. However, there is a very small chance that we may need to move you to a second or even third choice. Registration forms that do not clearly state 1, 2 and 3 priorities will be returned for re-submission.

Global Languages – All students must include a first, second and third choice for their Global Language selection. Beginning French and Spanish are available to all grade 6 students. Beginning Chinese is also available for students new to China. For those students who are currently taking Chinese and wish to continue will have a recommendation from their current Chinese teacher.

Performing Arts - All students must include a first, second and third choice for their Music selection. Grade 6 students may sign up for Band, Orchestra or General Music/Drama. Due to the fact that most of our rising 5s already play a musical instrument, it is difficult for us to offer beginning programs in Orchestra or Band. If a students wishes to start a new instrument, they may take private lessons and audition for the Band or Orchestra once they grasp basic fundamentals.
Rotation – Art and Health are semester long courses. All grade 6 students will be assigned to a section of this Rotation.
Small Learning Communities – Each grade level at MIDDLE SCHOOL is divided into two teams, Red and Gold. There are between 72-80 students on each team. Each team has a set 4 Core Teachers. These teachers work together as a unit. This is very beneficial as each of the 4 teachers’ works with the same group students. This teaming structure makes it possible for individual teams to meet and discuss the specific needs of each of their students.  Our main goal is to create teams that have a well-balanced group of students. We carefully consider academic strengths, areas of concern, special needs, English language levels and behavior when balancing each team. For this reason it is very difficult for us to accept individual teacher or team requests from parents.
Advisory – Our advisory program is an affective educational program designed to focus on the social, emotional, physical, psychological, and ethical development of our students. Given that relationships are vital during young adolescence, our primary intention is to provide consistent, caring adult guidance and a supportive, stable peer group for every student. Middle School students start and end their day with their advisor and a group of 12 students. During this time there are special activities designed and implemented to help students find ways to be successful in school. The advisory program helps bridge the gap between the self-contained elementary school and the independent world of high school. Every student has contact with a teacher who becomes an ‘expert’ on them, encouraging their independence and personal growth, and planning together for their academic and personal success.
Exploratory – Exploratory classes are learning experiences that build upon the skills taught in core courses. Exploratory courses encourage students to try new things, discover new interests and to learn more about themselves as learners. This supports our belief that content should not be taught in isolation but applied in the context of real experiences. The Exploratory program reaches out to students at this crucial point in their development and encourages them think beyond themselves, to interact with their peers and develop strong and positive relationships with their teachers and their peers. Exploratory classes will meet for 45 minutes twice weekly beginning next year. Students will have the opportunity to sign up for next year’s courses later this spring. Students new to SAS will sign up during the first week of the new school year.
Counselors – We are very fortunate to have two counselors in the middle school. Each counselor is associated with one of our Learning Communities. Mr. Allen Wolf and Ms. Leslie Peake work very closely with students at each grade level and you will find them to be an outstanding resource for you and your child during the middle school years.

As we said at the beginning of this email, there is a lot if information here! Please spend a little time reviewing this document and make a note of any questions you may have.
We look forward to answering those questions for you on at the Parent Night on Wednesday, March 31st at 5:30PM in the PAC.

Sincerely,
Matt Leishman                                                              Brad Latzke
Middle School Vice Principal                                     Middle School Principal
Puxi Campus                                                                  Puxi Campus
Matthew.leishman@saschina.org                             Brad.latzke@saschina.org

3). Below you will find the basic information regarding the grade 6 laptop program for 2010-11.

Laptops for Grade 6 Students- A transitional approach to student and family ownership:
In surveying the schools around the world who have transitioned young middle school students and older elementary students into laptop ownership, many have noted that an “educational year” of 1:1 laptop use is appropriate and recommended.

As we are experiencing this year with our 7th grade students, we know that when younger children are handed a computer an certain amount of experimentation and game playing is normal and the supervision requirements for these laptops requires additional efforts.  Thus beginning in 2010-11 grade 6 students at SAS will begin our laptop program in a transitional year program.

The Approach Will Look Like This:
•  All Grade 6 classrooms would be fully 1:1
•  All computers will be school owned, and no tech fee will be required from the parents and children. Optional insurance may be offered.
•  All students will be assigned a computer installed with a bag, lock and school software.
•  These machines will then remain in the ownership of SAS and be checked out to individual students for use at school for the first few weeks of the school year and then to be taken to and from school and home.
•  This will make laptop ownership only in grade 7-12 after full implementation of the 1:1 program in 2012.
•  6th grade students will not be allowed to bring their own computers to school next year.

Classroom Expectations for Students:
Like our other 1:1 classrooms, the computer will be an expected and relied on tool. In that the students will be taking responsibility for it’s care and maintenance, a student and parent orientation meeting will happen early in the school year to introduce the laptop program to the parents and students and give them clear direction on the background of the program, behavioral expectations, background on breakage issues, service issues, etc.

I hope this letter helps you better understand the grade 6 laptop program for next year.  Most importantly, no family should personally buy a computer for use in grade 6 next year.  Mr. Leishman and I can answer additional questions about laptops at the March 31st Grade 5 Parent Meeting in the PAC.

Thank you.

Brad Latzke
MS Principal
Puxi Campus