Student Led Conferences.

Beginning next week we will start our student-led conferences. It is a magnificent time for the students to take the lead in their education and see that their choices are the driving forces in their success going forward.

A parent asked recently why we do student-led conferences when they do not have an opportunity to do them while in middle-school or high school. I'm confident that teachers in the upper grades would see the value in this however logistically it would challenging with all of the various classes a student takes in a given semester. Some high schools do demand a portfolio be created as criteria for graduation. I would make the argument that the self-driven collection would be a student-led evaluation/conference.

The meetings will run for 20 minutes. The students will create goals, specific areas they feel most confident in and areas that they want to focus their attention on growing. Parents and myself with have an opportunity to change or modify goals and engage in a great conversation.

I am using Google spreadsheet for parents to select a time for the student and his or her family to attend the conference. If the spot is open, then you place the student's name in the column that says."student name."  Please do not write over someone else's name and please let me know if your family can not make the meeting.  I created 41 spots for 28 students, with some early morning, some into the later evening and some after school ends. If you still can not find a time that works, please reach out to me and I can try to accommodate you. Also, you are free to bring younger siblings. They may hop onto a Chromebook, read a book or wait outside on the classroom bench.

On some rare occasions, parents have a hard time typing their name onto the Google sheet (especially with the popular iPhones). Therefore I strongly suggest using a desktop or laptop to view the link.
To protect student/family privacy, the link will come in a separate email from this posting.
I am enthusiastically waiting to meet every family!
Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Monday, August 29, 2016

8:30-9:15 Circle Time

Introduce assistant teacher Ms. Walsh

Introduce each other to her

Tell us something about your weekend

9:15-10:00 Singing w/ Ms. Jones-Heinz

They did awesomely

10:00-10:15 Return the class to straighten things up and prepare for the remainder of the day

10:15-10:30 Run, Snack, and Play

10:30-10:45 Meditation (Lesson 9 of Course 1)

10:45-12:30 Rolling Out Eureka Math

Keep these two resources at your disposal:

• https://moodle.pleasantonusd.net/mod/page/view.php?id=16185
• http://www.oakdale.k12.ca.us/ENY_Math5_Modules

Notes from today regarding Eureka Math:

1. Green Book -- for class work and homework
2. The homework examples are on line...Youtube
3. The answers to the homework problems.
4. If you forget your book, all homework assignments are on-line, you may print them up. They have eliminated all excuses.

Add zero to every number

Count all the zero = the number of zeros in your answer. 10, 100 or 1000

When you multiply by 10, just add a zero at the end

12:30-12:40 GoNoodle and Birthday Celebration

12:40-1:20 Eat, Play and Get Oxygen to your head

1:20-2:00 Go over homework expectations and resources with Eureka Math

Tonight’s homework:

Module 1 and Lesson 1

Must do’s  1, 2, and 4

Should do’s 3 and 5

Superstars 6

Reading Log Fiction Week #2

30 minutes, complete front side & do activity on the backside

IXLs due on Friday

• Multiply numbers ending in zeroes (5-C.4)
• Multiply numbers ending in zeroes: word problems (5-C.5)
• Place values in decimal numbers (5-G.4)
• Model decimals and fractions (5-G.2)
• Understanding decimals expressed in words (5-G.3)

Day one in our 2016-2017 adventure

Today began the process of putting a learning community together. Therefore, we talked about some rules and procedures. We share a little about ourselves. I quizzed myself about the names. I know about 24 of the 28 students names already. I'll be at 100% by the close of the school day tomorrow. We also tried to make some sense of the supplies and clarify what do they keep and what because communal property.

We discussed the importance of reading.
We discussed why gum doesn't stay in your body beyond 24 to 72 hours.
We got up and running with "Would you rather?"

We ended the day discussing end of the day procedures, reminding them to give you homework and  practicing being released for the day.

Parent Homework

Homework Assignment #1:
If you can please complete this quick survey, I would greatly appreciate it.

I realize that you already completed this for our larger district information system. However, teachers do not have easy access to that information.  By you taking the 5 to 10 minutes to complete this survey it will help me when I need to text, email or call you since it will be in a Google file that I save on my phone, tablet, and standalone computer.

Click here to help me build up my classroom contact information.


Homework Assignment #2:

The school and my classroom will be using the web service called remind.com
If you could join my class, I can text you when I have new information. In fact, you will have the choice to receive the information as a text, a notice on a smartphone app or just as an email.
Please make sure to select the "role" of parent when signing up. 
Click here to join my remind classroom

Teaching the Teachers on August 11, 2016

As you begin today's class, it would be great if you would please complete this short quiz.

I will be showing the class answers up on the screen so they won't be 100% private.

Click here for the quiz

I'm back and where did I go?

If looks like I have left everyone, that is only partially true. I have been a writing machine. However, I moved much of my parent and student communication elsewhere.

For the students, I moved directly onto using Google Drive and Google emails.   Using these two mediums of communication allowed me to freely communicate with my students, include photos of them working throughout the class and gave us "security" of teaching in an enclosed/safe environment. I have always felt hesitant using complete names on this website since my students may not want their successes of a ten-year-old to show up in their Google search when they are twenty something years old.

For the parents, I moved onto Class Dojo and daily emails. The daily emails are the same safe environment like the one with the students. Class Dojo allows me to share immediate feedback with my students' parents regarding how my students are doing. It also allows me to share out photos with them in a safe environment where my photos can not be downloaded or saved. Class Dojo once again offers my students some safety from having their photos and work shared on the world wide web.

Another plus to using Class Dojo? It is a phone application as well. Not every parent is addicted to their email, therefore, having a phone application that cuts through the noise and gives an immediate phone notification has been extremely effective in reaching 100% of my students' parents.

For similar reasons as Class Dojo and the effectiveness of phone applications, I use Facebook to share resources and references regarding parenting, being a student and just items I find humorous.

So those are the reasons that my "official" website looks bleak and forgotten. However, I owe my parents and students more than that. As a big fan of Restaurant Impossible I have seen first hand numerous restaurants that serve amazing food and service however if the restaurant looks uninviting or rundown, it hurts the bottom line of the business. Therefore, I will be moving more of my Facebook posting onto here first, add some of my commentaries and then post it onto Facebook.