Party on Friday!

Maybe my New Year's resolution will be to post more regularly!

Students in Room 12 are hard at work mastering the use of apostrophes, adding and subtracting decimals, and writing scientific conclusions. We are wrapping up a busy and challenging fall and preparing to regroup in January.

Many of you have questions about the school district's plan for Hawthorne next year. Amid a major budget crisis, there seems to be a new plan every week for the Hawthorne building. Among other proposals, there is a possibility that the Hawthorne program will be eliminated next year and students assigned to other schools. Some of you came to the community meeting in the library last week, and we have forwarded your many ideas and concerns to the superintendent's office.

Here are a few links that may help keep you informed. The current superintendent's proposals are here. Seattle Public Schools community blog is run by active Seattle parents (not published by the school district) and has extensive information and opinions about the latest developments. Please also feel free to contact me with any further questions and I will do my best to help. This is a big deal for all of us.

We will be having a potluck lunch party this Friday, December 19th. Each student should do their best to bring a food item with some nutritional value to share! All family members are invited, and it would be great to have any of you join us.

I hope you all are enjoying the season and staying warm in this incredibly cold weather!

The Eve of an Historic Election

We are all so excited about the election tomorrow! Room 11 taught us today about the Electoral College, so be sure to ask your student if you have any questions about this sometimes confusing system. Election reports are also due tomorrow, so your student may enjoy an extra pair of eyes as they do their final editing and revision.

Don't forget to vote!!

So much for weekly updates!

Hello families! Tonight is open house curriculum night, and there is so much to share with you! We will have dinner at 6pm, listen to a presentation in the lunchroom, and come upstairs to check out Room 12. The students will talk about our daily schedule, and I will discuss homework and our curriculum plans for the year.

Your students are amazing, and I am learning something new from them every day. Our fieldtrip yesterday to the Cedar River Watershed was great. Students learned a lot about where our drinking water comes from, and how electricity can be generated from dams. All of this is a real life extension of our land and water science unit. I will figure out how to post pictures soon!

Keep checking back, I will try to update every Monday.

Curriculum Information

What will students learn this year? In science, they will work with microscopes, learn about erosion and ground water, and even become engineers. For the next two months we will be following the presidential campaigns very closely. We will also be studying the world of work and the labor movement, particularly in Washington State. Most reading instruction will be linked to our social studies themes, using resources from the Comprehension Toolkit. Writing will be taught using the Writer's Workshop format in combination with at least two research projects.

We continue to use the rigorous Everyday Math program at Hawthorne, which I have been quite pleased with. There are two 4/5 multi-age classrooms this year, and we will be separating students by grade level for math. I will be teaching math in my classroom to the 4th graders in Rooms 11 and 12, and Charlene Smith will be teaching math in Room 11 to the 5th graders in both classes.

Welcome to Room 12!

Hello! My name is Sarah Brown, and I will be your child’s fourth or fifth grade teacher this year. I am very excited to start my 5th year at Hawthorne!

Fourth and fifth grades are very exciting years for students. They are closer to starting middle school, and as such, it is critical that throughout the year, students become academically and socially ready for that transition. Instruction, especially in the areas of reading, writing, and math, will be rigorous to ensure that readiness.

Homework will be given Monday through Thursday. Students should be spending a little more than an hour per night on homework, including 30 minutes of reading. I expect homework to be done completely independently. If your child is asking for help often with the homework, please let me know. Most homework given in class will be directly related to what was taught during that school day.

I am looking forward to getting to know all of you. This is the first year that I am using a blog to communicate with families, so please let me know what you think! Check back weekly for updates.

School Supplies

Check back this weekend for more information about myself and all of the exciting plans for a great year in Room 12! In the meantime, you may be wondering about school supplies. All students will need to bring the following to class by Monday, September 8th:

Room 12 Supply List

Colored Pencils
Pencil Bag
Three Ring Binder
Dividers
Pencil Sharpener with cover
#2 Pencils
1 Pkg. wide rule paper

Materials for whole class:
Kleenex
Snacks for 25 students

Optional:
Scissors
Glue Stick

See you soon!