September 6-10

I remember where I was September 11, 2001, and I'm sure all of you parents do, too. It's strange to me that I'm teaching something in school, that I've lived through, that's considered history. Give it two more years and I'll be teaching kids that weren't even alive when it happened, but it won't make it any less real to them. I have decided that 9/11 is a good time of year to really teach the students the difference between a celebrity and a hero. The students have learned the definition of hero to be a man or woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities.

Day 1 of the unit we talked about different heroes and the deeds they have done. On day 2, we discussed the different heroic things the students might do in their time. On day 3, 9/10, the closest I could get with 9/11 being on Saturday, I had the chief of the Syracuse Fire Department and one of his men come in and visit with the students. Hearing the firemen talk about how many of their fellow brothers they lost on that day really brought home the lesson better than I ever could. It also gave the kids a chance to honor some of our hometown heroes. The picture below is our class with the two firemen.

Well, with week 3 down, I think there are finally enough grades loaded into the computer to make it worth while to give out the user names and passwords for our online gradebook. Keep your eyes on your e-mail, I should be sending those out sometime this week. Another thing I meant to do on Friday, but will do on Monday, is send home missing assignments sheets. What I've told the students is that assignments will only make it to a missing assignment list once. So if it was on this week's list, when I print them again in about two weeks, if the assignments were not turned in, they will be entered into the computer as a zero. I will still accept the assignments past that, but I am not going to spend the entire term chasing after assignments from the start of the term, so after the first list, it is up to the students to get missing assignments in.

Other than that, things should be as usual this week. We will finally begin the spelling program. With the rotations, it took me a while to get everything ready for 135 students, but, thanks to the help of several parent volunteers, it's finally done. If things go as planned, our class should also be starting the first sixth grade play of the year this week. Everything else, reading, science, social studies, should be steady as we go!

"Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family who lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children." -President George W. Bush

Mrs. Lawrence vs. Mr. Pratt

By Cathy Taylor

Part 1

Mrs. Lawrence welcomed the very first day of SAA.
When out jumped Mr. Pratt and said, “Introduce myself, if I may?”
Mrs. Lawrence took a shook of her head,
When a student broke his pencil led.
When Mr. Pratt jumped all about,
Mrs. Lawrence started to shout.
When Mr. Pratt left the room,
Mrs. Lawrence knew she was doomed.
Then she shouted out, “No test on Friday! We must protest!”
With Mrs. Lawrence and her trick,
She laughed and took a sip of her Dr. Pepper.

Part 2

On Friday the students had no test
Because today they had to protest.
The students made protest signs
While Mrs. Lawrence knew they had creative minds.
Once they were all done,
Mrs. Lawrence knew she had won.
When they went up the stairs,
It was as still as air.
When what trembled before Mr. Pratt’s eyes,
In his sight was only protest signs.
Mrs. Lawrence at once came,
To see Mr. Pratt’s shame.
The only thing Mr. Pratt thought was funny,
Was the shoutings of no more impersonating bunnies.
Once the students had gone,
Mr. Pratt told Mrs. Lawrence,
“It’s on!”

Part 3

While the students were all about,
Mr. Pratt snuck in like a scout.
Mrs. Lawrence came in to see,
A letter signed by Mr. P.
As Mrs. Lawrence starts to read,
The children came in like a stampede.
All children start to hear,
Mrs. Lawrence and her class scream loud and clear.
Mrs. Lawrence starts to think up tricks
While pulling on her froggy sticks.
Mrs. Lawrence and her class start to think,
How to get Mr. Pratt and his magazine link.
Someday we will get revenge,
To Mr. Pratt’s feeding cookie binge.

This poem was actually written by a student from Mrs. Lawrence's 5th grade class, but it pertains to our class as well so I figured I'd share it. It sums up the "extra-curricular" activites we've been doing in class the first couple of weeks. The upper picture is of the crew that kidnapped Mrs. Lawrence's chair and the ransom note we collaged to leave behind.

I'm a firm believer that if we as teachers can make the kids enjoy coming to school, they will be more receptive when it comes to teaching the core curriculum. So we do learn everything we need to, but we have fun also!

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. - Dale Carnegie