Teacher of the Year

Last week Principal Phillips came to our classroom and announced that I was selected as the Teacher of the Year for 2015-2016.  This is a huge honor at Chets Creek because you are nominated by your peers.  I have great respect for the people I work with and will do my best to represent our school with honesty, integrity, and kindness.  Since Chets Creek is a family affair for me, (I co-teach with my sister, my mom volunteers at the front desk every Thursday, and my dad helps with Blessings in a Backpack on Fridays) Mrs. Phillips had them join her for the announcement.  I'm overjoyed to share this honor with what I believe is The Greatest Class On Earth!

A surprise!

Mrs. Phillips

My mom and dad with me and the kids.

My sister and parents.

My own parking space!

Missy brought me a celebratory coffee!

Building A Reading Life with Lucy Calkins

To grow as a reader we need to look at our reading habits. Although we tracked the books we read last year in second grade, in third grade our Reading Log is much more sophisticated. This year not only do we write the book title and author, but we are keeping track of the level, starting - ending pages, starting - ending times, and minutes read. After a few days we will look for patterns and self-assess ourselves as readers. What genres do we choose? How long does it take us to read a page (or ten)? Do we read fiction books quicker than nonfiction books? Are we reading so fast that we are choosing books that may be too easy for us? Is the opposite true - are we reading books that are so difficult that it is taking us a long, long time and perhaps, interfering with comprehension?

One student's reading log.

Reading with our logs ready to fill out.

Third graders read and enjoy chapter books.

.  Our goal is to read three quarters of a page a minute for at least an hour a day between school and home. We will work to achieve this goal in third grade. We know we can do it because as Lucy says... "You are in charge of your reading life." 

What makes a GREAT classmate?

As the new year starts and new friendships are formed, we asked our students the question... What makes a great classmate? After a short discussion the kids used sticky notes to write what a great classmate is, does, says, and is not. We put our finished chart in the back of the classroom as a daily reminder.

Welcome to the Greatest School on Earth

Today is day one of our 180 day journey into third grade.  We have the greatest class in the greatest school on earth!  The circus is our theme this year and it's fun, colorful, and energizing.  Our second grade class has stayed together so coming back for third grade wasn't scary at all.  In fact, today was all about rekindling friendships and making memories.  Our principal, Mrs. Phillips, arranged for a show with a clown and dogs that entertained us with tricks. What a great first day!

The circus comes to Chets Creek on PhotoPeach

What teachers do during the summer...

While we miss our students during summer vacation, we do have extra time to spend with our own children. This summer Mrs. Metzger and Missy found an awesome bookstore! Missy picked books from the teen fiction section while Mrs. Metzger loaded up on third grade chapter books for the class.

 

Sarah and Joey enjoyed camping in the Georgia mountains. 

 

 

 Mrs. Metzger and Mrs. Morris went on a "road trip" to Atlanta, Georgia.  While there, we found a restaurant called The Varsity that serves delicious cheeseburgers and french fries.

 

Mrs. Morris felt right at home because some of the seats in the restaurant were actually school desks!  

 

 Soon we will be cleaning and organizing the classroom to get ready for our third graders!  

Second Grade Comes to a Close

It's hard to believe 180 days are up! We've had a GREAT year together growing, learning, and enjoying school life. This last week has been filled with friendship and fun. We've played games, had a talent show, learned about each other through show and tell, and capped it all off with field day! Field Day Fun on PhotoPeach

Hot Dog - Now We're Cookin'

As we study energy in science, we decided to put the sun's energy to work for us.  We constructed solar ovens from simple shoe boxes and foil.  We picked a bright, sunny day to "bake" our hot dogs for about 1 1/2 hours.  Then.... mmmm.... LUNCH!

Hot Dog - now we're cookin! on PhotoPeach