Education City

We visited the computer lab again today.  Mrs. Mullin, our computer clerk, helped us all get started on Education City.  Last Friday Mrs. Kurt sent home a password for us to use Education City at home.  Today we practiced logging on and getting checked in to our class.  We also completed the counting activity "Bake Shop".  The most exciting part was we got to use our headphones.  It was really fun for us.  Please take some time at home and check out the Education City website.

As promised, we added details to the pumpkins that we painted last week.  We added stems, vines and seeds.  They turned out great!

You've probably been hearing lots about the All Star Code, Shining Stars and our clips.  I thought you would like to see these things.  The All Star Code consists of three points:  I will be responsible,  I will be respectful and I will be safe.  We recite the code daily and talk about ways we plan to be responsible, respectful  and safe in school.

There is an All Star Student behavior chart in our classroom.  This chart consists of seven categories.  When the students arrive in the morning, one of their morning jobs is to take the clothespin with their name on it at their table spot and clip it on to the chart on the green "Ready to Learn" section.  Depending on behavior, clips can be moved up or down throughout the day.  

Clips can move up to "Good Job", "Role Model" or "All Star Student".  Anyone who gets up to "All Star Student" status gets a shining star.  Our shining stars are yellow pieces of paper which are filled out by a teacher or other staff member and then placed in a jar near the library.  Every Friday during the morning news, two names are drawn out of the K-2 and 3-5 jars.  Students whose names are drawn are invited to the office to choose a prize.  In addition, students can receive shining stars for a number of other things, such as good behavior, helping a friend, good citizenship, etc.  

There are some times when clips move down for not such good choices.  Clips can move down to "Be Careful", "Think About It" and "Take a Break".  If a students gets to the "Take a Break" section, an All Star Code Reminder will be sent home for parents to review with your child, sign and return.

The best part of this system is that students always have the opportunity to make better choices of fix a problem that they may be having.  When they do, clips are moved up.  It has been a very effective classroom management tool and if you have any questions regarding this, we can discuss it at conferences.