Week 24

 Weekly Greetings!

Most of last week we still had almost half of class out sick again. The students in attendance continued to press forward in our curriculum in preparation for MAP testing this week. We will be testing on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, so please make sure your child is well rested and on time those days.

Wednesday will be our 100th day of school and we will celebrate during our math class that day for 100 minutes. Many of the activities I have planned are math related, and will incorporate cooperative learning strategies.

The end of the month will be on Thursday, and we will start the day with the Student of the Month assembly. It is wonderful to recognize the achievements of so many students at Tok School. On Thursday, the district Spelling Bee will start at 10am, and we have three students interested in competing.

In Social Studies last week, we focused on the changes brought about by the civil rights movement, and the inspiring leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. The students in attendance also made a replica of themselves with and inspiring statement to put up on an "Inspiration Wall" in our classroom. We still need to find time for the students that were absent to add their encouraging words.

I hope you have an awesome week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown

Week 23

Weekly Greetings!

I hope this finds you all well and enjoying the warmer weather. Everyday last week, half of our class was out sick and apparently there are a few illnesses that have hit the community. The testing window for MAP opens this week, but because so many students were out last week I plan to wait until next week to start. Due to having testing next week, we will spent this week and next on Unit 15 Spelling so there will not be a test this Friday. I think that will also help some of the students catch up that missed so much school last week.

This week we will focus on Martin Luther King, Jr. and some of the reasons for the Civil Rights movement. At the end of the week I would like to show the movie Hidden Figures, as I feel it is very inspirational. It is a PG movie, so please let me know if you would like me to exclude your child and I will give them an alternative assignment. Also feel free to contact me if you would like more details. The school counselor will also visit the class on Wednesday to continue discussing bullying.

On Wednesday morning at 8:30am there will be an assembly for the Semester 1 honor roll. I hope you can attend. The other important piece of information you need to know is that there will be an early release at 2:15pm this Friday.

As for last week, we still pressed on in our Reading and Math curriculum despite such a low attendance. We also went to the Makerspace room to make get-well posters for Mr. Kelso, who is one of the high school teachers and very ill. He is in Oregon having medical procedures and will be gone the remainder of the school year.  After the art project, the students explored the resources available in the room.

Have a fantastic week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown

Week 22

Weekly Greetings!

Even though we started the second semester off with a short week, it felt wonderful to be back to school last week. Despite the cold temperatures, most of the students were in attendance and we made the best of our time together.

We moved forward in the Math curriculum, and everyone wrote about the best part of their Christmas break.

The new S.T.A.R.S. pod classes began Monday, and I have seven 3rd graders in the Geography class I am teaching this quarter. For the first week, we looked at continents and different types of landforms.

With the basketball games starting Wednesday afternoon, our regular recess was limited to the classroom. After doing an exercise workout, there still was time to fit in some enrichment time. The class broke down into small groups, and played with a variety of supplies stored in the class.

This week we will be back to a more normal routine with a full five days of class time. I will be sending home a book order form with each child. If you want to purchase any books for your child, please get the order back to me by January 24. It is easiest if you send cash, or a check made out to me, and then I can just place the whole order on my credit card.

Have a warm and wonderful week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown

Week 21

Greetings in the New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and joyous start to the new year. Before I recap just a few enrichment activities that we did to end our school year, I want to remind you that there will only be three days of school this week. Thursday and Friday will be teacher in-service and work days. Also, I will only be sending home two days of homework to start off the second semester, and there will not be a spelling test this week. We will study the same unit words next week when there is a full week to cover all the lessons.

The week before break was full of special activities. In Social Studies, we had been studying about the reasons behind the American Revolution and did an activity simulating the taking of taxes from the colonists using Skittles. The students were not happy when the King kept demanding more taxes and their supply of goodies was quickly being depleted.

The class also had a visit from the school counselor, as we continue to address the issue of bullying. This is something that we will continue into the next semester.

There were also a lot of preparations for Christmas. The students made cards to go along with their gifts, and made paper to wrap presents.

In reading, the class compared the traditional story of the Gingerbread Man to the fractured fairy tale about the Gingerbread Baby. To go along with each story they made gingerbread cookies, and a gingerbread house made from gram crackers.

The students were challenged to build a gingerbread house, as at the end of the Gingerbread Baby he is caught in a gingerbread house instead of being eaten by the fox.

There were many other things happening that last week, such as the Christmas program and class party. Unfortunately, I was too engaged with the students to capture the events on camera. Thank you to all of you that sent food in for the party.

Enjoy the longer days and have a great week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown

Week 18

Weekly Greetings!

It is hard to believe we are just about done with our first semester of school! This week there will be more enrichment activities for Christmas interwoven into our regular routine. In addition there will not be any spelling this week, but I will still be sending homework with a math fact sheet and a language activity page nightly as usual. Also, please remember the Christmas program will be on Wednesday at 6:00pm and there will not be any G.A.P. that day. Finally, there will be an early release on Friday at 2:15pm. Our class party will be after lunch at 1:15pm and I will be attaching a sign-up sheet for snacks. I hope some of you can join us!

Even though for the last few weeks we have tried to make one last academic push before ending our first semester, we did make time to use the Makerspace room for an art project. It was great that everyone was in class that day. With all the different sicknesses and people traveling, it has been rare for everyone to be in class on any given day. When the students finished their project, they could explore materials in the room before we had to clean up.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday with family and friends! School will open again for the second semester on Monday, January 7. It will only be a three-day week, though, due to a basketball tournament. Teachers will in-service that Thursday and Friday.

Kind Regard,

Julie Brown

Week 17

Weekly Greetings!

It is amazing to me that we only have two more weeks of school before vacation! Also, that will be the end of our first semester, marking half way through the school year. Since the last week before vacation is always filled with festive activities, I have been continuing to make an academic push the last few weeks to complete our 2nd quarter.

Tim Lorenzini had to reschedule for after vacation, as the refuge office was closed on Wednesday due to a national day of mourning the loss of President George H. Bush. But, we were fortunate to participate in another special activity the next day. During our usual pod class time, we were fortunate to have a music concert on Thursday to enjoy some Christmas music.  Our visitors played traditional carols from around the world on a variety of stringed instruments. It lasted for 45 minutes, and the students listened intently. The kindergarten class even participated with the final song!

When I was gone a little over a week ago, I  got a wonderful report from the seasoned teacher who substituted for me. Here is a quote from her notes to me. "I enjoyed the day with the students. They were all kind, caring, respectful, helpful, and hard working." I wanted to pass that on to you all because I have to agree with her observations. It has been a pleasure to be working with this group, and sometimes it is good to share that with others.

I hope you have a great week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown

Week 16

 Weekly Greetings!

It has been my experience that these next few weeks will go by quickly, with the holiday break rapidly approaching. Each week, we will be fitting in a special activity, before we break for Christmas. On Wednesday this week the class will begin looking at migratory birds in preparation for the Tetlin Refuge annual bird count in December. Also, the students will begin drawing and writing about some of the birds for the Migratory Bird calendar contest through the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.

As for last week, the class visited the Biomass power plant and saw the 100-year-old steam engine that is powering the electricity at the school. Tony Lee gave them a great tour, and when we discussed what they learned on our return to class, I was pleased at how much everyone gleaned from the experience.

The drama S.T.A.R.S. pod class that I am teaching this quarter was able to act out a mock trial on Thursday at the Tok District Court. There was a really good audience turn out also, and the students did a great job in the short amount of time we had to work on it. The next few weeks will be in preparation for the Christmas program.

I hope you have an awesome week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown