Hi parents!

Our first full week of the school year is now under our belts. Take a look at what we’ve been up to 🙂

• Early in the week, we challenged ourselves to find a way to cover an 11 X 13 grid with as few squares as possible. We discussed the specifications that make a rectangle a square and then started filling in the grids. We had a mix of strategies and great discussions between partners! Our math challenges continued throughout the week as we found patterns in equations. In our DynaMath magazine, we analyzed a bar graph with data about student involvement in various sports last year. I was truly impressed with the critical thinking and relevant conversations. Students pointed out things like how the data could have been more specific (for example, some sports could have been indoor or outdoor and that would have made a difference in masks/participation). Students also thought about how the same graph might look different with data collected this year.

• This week we read a few books as clues leading up to our new class novel. One was a Cherokee legend, The First Strawberry. This brought us to a Mystery Science video about fruits! We learned about the specifications to differentiate between a science fruit and a science vegetable. We then dissected fresh foods to decide if they were a science fruit or a science vegetable!

• We started our new class novel this week! We are reading Two Roads by Joseph Bruchac. The novel has had us discussing our heritage (*see this weekend’s homework assignment!) and learning Native American song and dance. We even made our own instruments to join in the song! Throughout the novel, we will learn about the Great Depression, World War I, and of course, practice various summarizing skills. Ask your child what they think of Cal Black and his story so far!

https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Programs/Musical-Explorers/Digital/Program-Two/Martha/Lesson-2

• Team building game for one of our morning meetings!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! See you next week 🙂

-Anna

Hi parents!

Only two days in and we are off and rolling! Take a look at a few things we have been up to this week 🙂

• This week we introduced DynaMath magazine and read an article about street art. Throughout the year, we will continue to utilize this resource that brings math to life!
• This year our school will be digging into what it means to be an upstander. We kicked this off by reading Peter Reynolds’ Say Something and Alexandra Penfold’s All Are Welcome Here. We discussed when it is important to Say Something and how sometimes Saying Something looks like sitting down next to someone who is lonely or maybe standing up for someone who is being hurt. Each student then said something by making their own poster for a cause they believe in. Students made posters about causes like speaking out against bullies, the cost of lifesaving medications, and even plastic in the oceans. Next week we will continue our discussions and decide what we want our classroom to look, sound, and feel like as a class full of upstanders!
• As a way to build our community, we rotated partners to find things in common with each of our classmates and learned a new game called Bippity Bop Bop.

• Having fun being back at recess and checking out the games and books in our room!

Thank you for an excellent first week back at Plato Academy!

-Ms. Anna

Hello! Welcome to Room 102! 

I hope you had an amazing summer and I am so excited to welcome you back to Plato Academy as your teacher for the 2021-2022 school year!!  

If you’re new to our classroom, my name is Ms. Anna and this will be my fourth year teaching at Plato Academy. My husband and I have a son named RJ who is almost 2 years old, a dog named Roscoe, and we will be welcoming Baby Girl Wians in October! We can’t wait for her to meet Room 102! 

As some of you know, it is our family goal to visit all of the United States National Parks. This summer, we visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My husband even saw a family of black bears while he biked through the park! This National Park actually spans between two states. Can you find the two states on a map? 

I am looking forward to seeing you all soon and hearing all about your summer adventures! We will have many explorations this year and will kick them off with a story about a boy piecing together his identity as he learns about his past. I can’t wait to get started!!

Cornflake and I hope to see you at Meet Your Teacher day on Wednesday, August 18! 

 

Love, 

Ms. Anna