Camp Arroyo!!!!

As you know, students will be heading off to  @ Camp Arroyo in Livermore within the next month. Technically, we leave a month from TODAY.

We have a few "next" steps in the process.

1st STEP-- Student Survey

I explained this entire process to my class and Mr. Newell's class on Friday. I encouraged all of the students to please go home this weekend and talk to their parents about how to make great survey selections.

Students will be given an opportunity to complete a survey where they will select their top three peers that they would like to have in their cabin group. They may choose any three like gender students in 5th grade, and they are NOT limited to just the students in our class. 

As a teaching team, we will spend numerous hours analyzing all 130 survey responses and try our darndest to match everyone with one of their top three selections as we create cabin groups. We understand cabin time is where the students will spend all of their evenings, sleeping and early morning time (plus two 30-45 minute periods during the daytime) therefore we want everyone to have at least one buddy in their cabin. 

During the day-time, the teachers place students into adventure groups where two-three chaperones and a camp naturalist will operate daily classes & activities (e.g., hike up to Cresta Blanca, discover life near a stream, etc.). We try our best in those smaller adventure groups to create classes with an equal amount of class diversity and behavior students. 

Long story long, students should think about which three other students they believe they can most respectfully, comfortably and cheerfully co-exist within their cabin group. While at camp it is still a K-12 environment, therefore, student safety, a positive learning environment, and civility are always paramount. They will complete the survey tomorrow morning.

2nd STEP -- Drivers

We need drivers to get to and return to camp. 

We leave DES promptly at 11:30 on Tuesday, December 12th.

We leave Camp Arroyo in Livermore promptly at 12:45 on Friday, December 15th.

If you can help with driving, please begin the paperwork process by click here.

3rd STEP -- Get more information

Here is the manual that they have created for chaperones, I believe this manual does a great job of explaining day to day life and has a tad bit more information for those parents that want to do the inside scoop. 

Chaperone Manual

This link is the generic parent link and takes you to the parent manual that you were given previously (i.e. it has your packing list!)

Here is a specific link for students.

If you are all about "full disclosure" and want to know everything that goes into Camp Arroyo, you can get lost reading all of the teacher requirements and information.

Kind regards,

Mr. Hubbard

Thursday, October 5, 2017 -- It has been too long

I apologize for the long delay in communicating. I came down with the double whammy of strep-throat and a worse than normal ear-infection. I still get ear-infections on a regular basis, and this one is a doozy.

Then being sick, not being 100% and the Dublin teachers "working to contract" -- it has made for some fast days of plugging holes in the boat.

What has been going on?

JAWS-A-THON
1. Please please please register your child on www.jawsathon.dojiggy.com  Even if you will be donating checks and/or cash rather than using the online payment system, having the child's information logged into our system saves the parent-volunteers logging and tracking all of the donations significant amounts of time.  It costs nothing to register your child, and it will save our hard work number crunching volunteers necessary time.
2. Please have them wear: a plain white, royal blue or black t-shirt, jacket or sweatshirt for our 9'ish performance in the morning. Please also have them wear plan pants or shorts bottom.
3. For our running time that starts at 1:20'ish, please have them wear sunblock, drink H2O throughout the day, a sizable breakfast and lunch and clothing&shoes appropriate for walking/jogging.

School stuff:
1. Narrative Writing -- the beginning of the year is all about writing about a personal moment. So we are working on that type of narrative.
2. The Constitution, voting rights, sit-ins and creating a voice within our government.
3. Larger multiplication and orders of Operations -- ask them to show you the tape diagram or generic area model. They are unique ways to multiply and dare I say an improvement on how we were taught.
4. Living and getting to Mars -- the students are working in teams to create a slide presentation about some of the early challenges we have in trying to live and get to Mars.

I'll post the homework below.

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

The Homework:

Reading and Reflection:

“At least” 30 minutes of reading Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening. Then complete the weekly reflection questions and reading journal. (video, type it out or handwrite it out)

Math:

Zearn.org and Eureka Math

Monday evening: Take notes and complete Zearn.org (Module 2 Lesson 3)

Complete Module 2 Lesson 2 homework pages if not completed in class.

Tuesday evening: Take notes and complete Zearn.org (Module 2 Lesson 4) Complete Module 2 Lesson 3 homework pages if not completed in class.

Wednesday evening: Take notes and complete Zearn.org (Module 2 Lesson 5)Complete Module 2 Lesson 4 homework pages if not completed in class.

Thursday evening: Take notes and complete Zearn.org (Module 2 Lesson 6)Complete Module 2 Lesson 5 homework pages if not completed in class.

IXL’s:

IXLs all EIGHT OF BELOW ARE DUE ON FRIDAY

• (“at least to 80” and GP = Graph Paper in math notebook):
• Yes, it says “8” but four of them should have been completed the prior week.

Here is the master IXL list for the entire school year.

G.15 Compare decimals and fractions on number lines
I.9Inequalities with decimal multiplication	GP
H.8 Estimate sums and differences of decimals	GP
H.1 Add decimal numbers	GP

S.2 Add and subtract money: word problems	GP
S.4 Divide money amounts: word problems	GP
Compare decimal numbers (5-G.10)
Put decimal numbers in order (5-G.11)

Brainpops (due on Friday -- movie and quizzes):

Orders of Operations

Main Idea

Constellations

The Supreme Court

Thursday, September 14, 2017 Inch&Miles, Place Value, Technology & Debate, Pooping in Space and Student Led Conferences

Is is really Thursday, and I am just updating the website now? We have been moving forward this week... Inch and Miles We continue to put forth progress in creating our pyramid slide presentations. The students should complete their presentations by early next week. Place Value -- 2017 version We continue to plug away with the place value process. Students are being challenged to understand the concept of how the value of a number increases by ten as it moves left on the number line (1's, 10's, 100's, 1000's, 10000's, etc..) and they decrease by ten as it moves to the right on the number line (1's, 1/10th's, 1/100th's, 1/1000th's, etc.....) Students have their first "real" test returned to them. They are to correct and analyze the problems that they missed on the test, have you sign the test result page and return this to me by Tuesday. Technology and Counterpoints Our reading during the day has focused on the concept of technology impact combined with the idea of counterpoints. So the phrases pros/cons are being discussed. We also have discussed idioms and different types of expressions. Feel free to throw out frequent idioms or point them out when you use them around the house. We have also had fun discussing how many people misuse the phrase "literally" versus figuratively. On a related note, we continue beta testing a language arts program that the district is considering purchasing. It is a humungous improvement from our now 12+-year-old adopted program. Today, the company, Wonders, sent a teacher out to teach a lesson using all of the tools available in the program. It is definitely modern, uses technology and has many collaborative situations built into the program. Therefore, if your kids tell you about "Mrs. Moore" teaching today, it was our guest lecturer. Science: Outerspace and the Challenges Living w/out gravity We had a spirited question and answer session regarding the challenges of our human digestive system when there is no gravity around. NASA's Space Poop Challenge How Stuff Works -- bathroom in space Goals and Studen Led Conferences Shortly, your son or daughter may approach you regarding goals you believe they need or for ideas. We will discuss it in class however sometimes they turn into the adults they love and whom they know will have opinions regarding the subject.
6 Characteristics of Top CEOs
Four Qualities that successful CEOs have
7 personality traits CEOs need
The schedule will come out later tonight.

Homework:

Reading and Reflection:

“At least” 30 minutes of reading Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening. Then complete the weekly reflection questions and reading journal. (video, type it out or handwrite it out)

Math:

Zearn.org and Eureka Math

Thursday evening: Take notes and complete Zearn.org Module 1 Lesson 12

Complete Module 1 Lesson 11 homework pages if not completed

in class.

IXLs Due Friday (“at least to 80” and GP = Graph Paper in math notebook):

Divide by powers of ten (5-J.1)	GP
Decimal division patterns over increasing place values (5-J.2)	GP
Convert decimals between standard and expanded form (5-G.5)
Equivalent decimals (5-G.6)

Brainpops (due on Friday -- movie and quizzes):

1. Information Privacy
2. Media Literacy Assignment
3. Ethics Assignment
4. Digital Compass Game

Is it Thursday already? 9/7/2017

Inch and Miles, Success and Character Education
We completed all 15 of the blocks to John Wooden's Pyramid of Success. Students began their first real group project today. They will be explaining in their own words what each of the 15 blocks means to them. They will also explain what some of Coach Wooden's quotes mean to them. 

Camp Survey and Plea for Donations..
We explain the little dance that we do where we can not explicitly say paying $300 is mandatory while also explaining that if we don't collect enough "donations," then we can not feasibly and realistically go to Outdoor Education Camp. I love bureaucracy and governmental solutions -- our legislators so often display transcending nuance crafting laws that I'm sure had the best intentions at some point. On a positive note related this issue, PFC does have some limited scholarships for families that would like donation assistance. Plus, the school is willing to set up any interest-free payment plan. In an ideal world, every student would attend this exceptional and life altering experience. So the school/PFC will work with you to make it happen!! We also make our case why you want to be a chaperone -- where the kids will remember you for a life time since for many kids you will be their first "mom" or "dad" in an away from home environment. Please do NOT send money in yet rather just send in your survey responses!!

Ms. Quon fits right in
If you son or daughter come home mentioning Ms. Quon, she is our student teacher through December. She is with us Monday-Friday. She is a local, and this is her first semester at teaching credential (technically + a summer session).

First the 30 minutes of reading + the Zearn.org 
We had a discussion about how to prioritize homework.  The reading every weeknight is a non-negotiable and just needs to happen. Then the Zearn.org is the basis of our math lessons, and then we bang out and work on our homework. Falling behind on Zearn means your son or daughter is allegedly working on a homework assignment figuratively blind since they have not yet had a chance with Zearn.org to interactively learn the lesson.  It is like attending a book club trying to answer questions about the book that you have not read yet. 

If you ever need more time on the IXLs, Brainpops, or the weekly journal, just reach out to me. While no one desires weekend homework, these are not as high priority as the reading minutes and the Zearn.org

Brainpop -- fixed for the kids but not for my account
All but one student has successfully logged into Brainpop. The have fixed the students' issues. I still can't see or change their passwords, so I'm hoping your son or daughter do not lose their passwords anytime soon. 

Place Value Lessons
Multiplying and Dividing by 10, 100, 1000 by moving back and forth through the place value chart seems to be working fine. The lesson on metric conversion is still a work in progress. So we will practice that some more. Tonight's lesson, #7, in Zearn.org is waaaay different than anything you were taught in elementary arithmetic.  It involves converting ones into tenths and/or converting tens into tenths. Heck, it involves converting tens into hundredths. It makes it easier for us to create number lines, find "mid-points" and determine when to round up or round down. Just like that, Eureka math has killed off: bunny hops when multiplying by 10,100 or 1000; killed off "look to the right, if it is four or less then you let it rest" when you round and killed off imperial measurements. Spoiler alert but your "Please Excuse Your Dear Aunt Sally" will eventually reach a similar demise. What has a higher kill rate? Eureka math or Games of Thrones? 

Weekly Reading Journal and Reflection Questions
Here is the video where I publically embarrass myself in the kickoff video. 

We met Ms. Quon, Brainpop not yet fixed, & more metrics

Circle Time:
We had a special circle time where we could get to know our student teacher, Ms. Quon. We also spent time sharing out how everyone tried to address the record heat days on Friday afternoon and Saturday. 

Brainpop Update 
Quickly, all the students who couldn't log in had their passwords reset to a common password. So everyone should be able to sign in and use Brainpop.
They told me that they fixed the teacher bug that I discovered, however, I can no longer sign into my classroom account. Therefore, I am unable to assign work nor see the user names of my students. 

Multiplying or dividing with 10s, 100s, 1,000s and the metric system
We are converting with metric length. Therefore, we are with transferring between millimeters, centimeters, and meters. 
We also had some fun taking competitive Kahoot.com quizzes regarding the metric system. We did a quiz where they worked independently, and then they did a quiz where they worked as a collaborative team.  I was so so proud of how the teams worked well together, supported each other and no one became upset or critique anyone when they got a question wrong. This class does a great job of helping each other. 

Homework -- 
It is a 20% shorter week for homework if you consider I only give homework on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. However, there are still four IXLs and four Brainpops due by Friday, therefore, the kids will need to organize and how they break down their responsibilities on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We discussed this as a class after lunch however they still should be strongly encouraged to not leave most of their IXLs/Brainpops until Thursday evening. 

8/31 Thursday -- It is a quick one folks!

Brainpop -- the saga continues 

Brainpop congratulated me on discovering a bug in their software. Currently, teachers are unable to change passwords of their students. Our situations are further complicated because teachers are never shown their student's passwords. So we have cases where students can't log in because they don't remember their password and I can't change it right now. They said they would get a programmer on this right away and tey will call or update me back once they fix the bug. 

If you child is positive that they know their password and they can't sign in at home -- try clearing out all Brainpop related "cookies." I did that for one student, and it did work!!!

Therefore, kids are getting an extension on the Brainpops this week. 

IXLs 
They are due tomorrow. 

Here is the link with the due dates and assignments for the entire year!!!

Weekly Friday Reading Journal + Reflection 
Remember students may either 1) Create a video response 2) Answer on-line or 3) Print up the document and write their answers. 

Here is the video link for the week.


As a reminder, the reading journal is a "soft" Friday deadline since they need to read for 30 minutes on Thursday as well. Therefore, just get it completed before the Monday morning of the next week. It is a reading journal and weekly reflection, so this can't authentically be "skipped" or "made up" after the fact (i.e., no one remembers what they read two weeks ago or what their goals were that week).



Stay cool....make sure they bring EXTRA water tomorrow -- it is going to be a record setting heat day!!

Wednesday 8/30 -- Brainpop Drama, Security Procedures, Math delayed by one day and Mr. Newell's Mindfulness

Brainpop Drama 
Please let me know if your child is having problems signing into Brain Pop at home, as I see issues on my end when resetting students passwords. Also, some students can't sign in even after Brainpop themselves emailed me that they corrected it. I'll be calling New York tomorrow morning while they have P.E. to get to the bottom of it. If your child has legitimately had Brainpop issues, please let me know about your issues. They will need to make it up however they should not stress about the Friday deadline. 

The new security procedures....
Thank you for your patience and support for the increased security changes made this year.  One of the security vulnerabilities that were addressed was the resolution to unwatched and unprotected students in the C and D Wing every morning between 8:10-8:25.  We appreciate all the families that have changed some long developed habits/traditions as we have created a safer community for the children. 

We are very pleased to report that student safety has improved. With the spirit of change and increased security, the teachers increased our teacher morning coverage by 50% (2 to 3) during the school arrival window of 8:10 to 8:25.  Most importantly prior the 8:25 bell teachers and administrators no longer discover students lingering in the C & D area outside our doors without supervision.  

As with any new practice, the implementation process has been a little bumpy, and there have been necessary tweaks & improvements. It is funny this week's language arts theme is "Trial and Error" where we are discussing being open to change course or opinions as we take in new information. Similarly, we are always looking to provide solutions to better our learning community.  Therefore if you have ideas to better protect the students during the 8:10-8:25 period, please let myself or administrators know. 

Brain Week + Beta Testing a new DUSD language arts program = less math time this week.
Therefore, the kids were not fibbing when they said I cxl'ed tonight's Zearn.org lesson. We didn't go over lesson #3 today in class, so I felt it was unfair to go forward without working with them. 

So what exactly is the homework as of Wednesday evening Mr. Hubbard?
I'm glad you asked. 
 ONE:   30+ minutes of reading every evening.  Thursday night -- the journal response or the video responses to self-reflection questions and their reading for the week.

TWO:  Thursday night -- watch Zearn.org lesson 4 


Due Friday:  The 4 IXLs 

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

Due Friday if technology possible:  The 3 Brainpops 

Speaking of Brain-Week:
Today the kids learned with Mr. Newell regarding Mindfulness. He shared with me the slide show the students used and learned from and it pretty amazing. I appreciate how Mr. Newell takes the time to update his presentation with new and relevant information that the kids will love. The kids were blessed to have his class today. 
Here is the link if you would like to check it out and you can even "quiz" your kids. 

Tomorrow and Friday will be more than a little hot; we can expect to have indoor recesses, and we also have P.E., Please remind your child to bring a water bottle and to stay hydrated.

Thank you for bringing such lovely kids to school each day!!

Mr. Hubbard

Happy week 2! 8/22/17

Let's catch up on the last two days...

Eclipse Day

At first, I thought the big guy upstairs was trolling us and we were going to have clouds cover the sky during the eclipse. Then around 9:50'ish the clouds cleared off and we could observe the eclipse. We looked at 10'ish, 10:15 (when it was 75% covered), 10:40 and then 11:15 when it was pretty much the regular sun again. Mrs. Cargo has a close friend that lost some site during the 1979 eclipse so I shared that story and we watched two different videos that had the kids keenly respectful of the power of our sun. So the kids stayed safe, looked at some history and we are all grateful for the Joshi family's glasses donation.

Circle Time
We spent time on both Monday afternoon and then this morning, doing circle time. I'm a big believer that to be the best teacher possible; you follow this saying, "People won't care how much you know until they know how much you care. " So we have used the time to share out about each other's weekends, discover what their favorite smells are, and learn what things they collect. Then I mix in some listening challenges, so the kids have an incentive to learn each other's names and also listen & learn about each other. We will do this once a week most of the year, and early in the year, we may even do it more than once a week. 
Ask you, child, what they shared that they collected, what scents do they love or enjoy and what they felt was memorable about their weekend. 

Reading "at least" 30 minutes every weeknight
We will discuss this on Thursday during the Back to School Night. I want to ease your responsibility from having to sign and return nightly the reading log. I also want the students to learn responsibility by choosing whatever they want to read and keeping up with the daily reading. They will then type or write out a paragraph on Thursday evening telling me what they read this week, what was interesting and sometimes I may ask them to write about something specific that they read. 

IXL and Brainpops
Every week the kids will get 3 to 5 IXLs and 2 to 4 Brainpops. I generally make ALL OF THEM due on Friday. However, kids should strategically work on them throughout the week. This will ensure that their Thursday evenings are not hellacious every week.  
Brainpops -- should be re-watched and quizzes retook until they earn "at least" an 8 out of 10 on the quiz.  Students created their user names and their passwords so they should know these and I asked them to write them down. 
IXLs -- should be worked on until they reach "at least" 80 points. If you feel your child should be challenged more, one of the easiest ways to work on their thoroughness and advanced math skills is to have them earn 100 points on each IXLs. Frequently the 92 points - 100 points are clearly advanced 5th grade or higher grade level arithmetic.  All students received a print out of their IXL user name and password. 

Eureka Math and Zearn Learning
That will begin on Monday next week. Watching Zearn will be a nightly expectation Monday-Thursday. 

Back to School Night!!
Thursday night!! The 4th and 5th grade is up first this year so 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. will be my presentation. If you have any questions, please email me ahead of time, and I will try my darndest to reply to them during the performance. Parking will be a challenge. On a positive side, there should be so many adults here at that time that the GATES should be flowing like a river and you should be able to access the C and D wing directly. 

 
Sheep Brains
Next Tuesday from 10:30-Noon'ish, our class, will be dissecting sheep brains. If you would like to help, we could use parental volunteers. 
Please complete this form and turn it into the office ASAP if you would like to help. 

We also need a volunteer to take home all the dissection materials, bleach them out and wipe them dry. They must be returned the next day since I am leading dissections each day that week. Every class is recruiting volunteers for the dissection days and also the cleanup duty. 
**We also could use some medical gloves donated to the class. The students and I all need medical gloves for the dissection process. 

I hope you can attend on Thursday evening!!

Kind regards,

Mr. Hubbard

Day four -- August 17, 2017

Solar Eclipse 
The famous solar eclipse will be this Monday morning. We were lucky to have the Joshi family donate glasses which ensures that everyone in our class can safely observe this historic event. Because we live in 2017 and everything and everyone can be sued, it does entail that I share with you an informational legal document. You ONLY return it if you would like your child to NOT participate in using the glasses and observing the eclipse. 


ClassCraft will begin tomorrow!
We have worked out our technology challenges, and the students will sign into Classcraft tomorrow. This does entail homework for you as well because parents do have the ability to give out "gold coins" during their time at home.  I will be asking for your ideas on back to school night regarding scenarios that you would like to see (making the bed, reading 30 minutes without giving you grief, completing challenging math, etc.).  It is 100% free, and you can install the app onto iPhones or Android phones. The kids are super fired up therefore, make sure to ask them to explain what it is all about.

Day Planners
I gave every student a day planner today.  We also spent about 40 minutes putting all of our holidays, significant school days, every collaboration Wednesday date, and field trip date into their day planner. So often you can now ask them when an important event is occurring.

Writing and Math
We did an end of year  4th-grade assessment that every 5th grader at DES is taking. The assessment will help give us a baseline regarding where all of the 130 students are. We have also begun writing on a daily basis. Yesterday they told me about their family and today they had to choose between being born with a third leg or being born with a third arm.

Homework???
That will begin next week, and I'll discuss this topic during Thursday's Back to School Night. Here it is in a rough nutshell:
1. 30 minutes of reading every Monday-Thursday evening. With no reading log.

2. Every Friday -- either a written letter (typed or handwritten) or a 2-minute video (left on Flipgrid) where the student explains in significant details what they chose to read over the four days that week.
3. 2 to 3 IXL math skills will be assigned.
4. 2 to 3 Brainpop movies + 80% or higher on the movie's quiz.
5. Every Monday-Thursday evening -- the student watches the Eureka math's Zearn.com lesson & practice before class. Then we use class time to work on the Eureka math homework.  Yes, you do not have to decipher or try and teach the new math strategies. Rather, you just proctor that your son/daughter completes that night's math lesson & activities (often they take 15 to 20 minutes to complete).
Throughout the week, though more challenging during shortened weeks, the students will be given the opportunity to complete the Zearn.com, IXL.com and the Brainpop.com assignments IN CLASS. Students that are focused will have little homework outside of the 30 minutes of reading while students that enjoy conversations with others or randomly surfing the internet will have more homework.

Day Two! 8/15/2017

Less talk about supplies and more time spent learning about each other!!

Gaming in class? Aka CLASSCRAFT
We did spend the morning discussing Classcraft. We are going to use Classcraft to both help offer parents feedback on how each student's day is going and also to have some fun. As a parent I appreciate how it allows you to limited hand out amounts of gold-coins at your discretion regarding homework @ home, studying @home and general overall effort towards learning while @ home. I am unsure if you can "take away" gold coins as a teacher can. We will find out together. Look for your parent invite in the next few days. In the meantime, ask your son or daughter to share what they learned about Classcraft today.
https://www.classcraft.com/#modal-iste-2017
https://help.classcraft.com/hc/en-us/articles/217901858-Inviting-parents-to-Classcraft


Getting to know each other time.....
We did the classic "Find someone who did ???? over the summer".  Then as an entire class, we shared out some of the similarities. Also, we began guessing who replied in what way to the day one survey titled, "This is me."  Students were then asked to answer six questions about themselves, and then we had a snowball fight!! I was attacked by 26 students all trying to bring me down with binder paper snowballs.

The Pyramid of Success
I value character, and I try to use the early part of the year to get to know each other and also make a point to discuss, write and reflect upon character issues. I use the book "Inch and Miles..The Journey to Success" written by the late John Wooden. Ask your son or daughter about 1. What is a success? 2. What is the pyramid of success? And then have them describe the four character attributes that we read about and discussed today: hard work, enthusiasm, friendship, and loyalty.

Get your head on straight
For the last year and a half, I have been using meditation in my class as a way to improve learning, specifically right after we return from our morning recess time. Numerous studies and many schools have found great success in teaching students basic breathing exercises, practice with focusing and learning to cut out the ever present stimuli in their life. We use the popular app/website called www.mindspace.com  The lessons are 100% secular, there are no references to religion, and there is absolutely no use of idols.   Much of the beginning lessons focus on observing our breathing patterns and challenging ourselves to turn our attention to how slowing our breathing and lasering our focus calms the body.  If you are skeptical, please feel sign up at www.mindspace.com. Both the website and the app will give you a free two-week trial and try the foundation lessons that we are doing at school. Also, feel free to discuss this with me if you have questions, suggestions or concerns.
Articles that discuss meditation:
The Atlantic Article
Slate's Article
Forbe's Article

I sent home a PG Movie permission slip; please consider signing it and returning it. Sometimes, especially on a Friday, we will watch part of a fun movie after lunch. The permission slip allows me to play most Pixar films and other kid particular movies.

Some people were having a challenge finding my Facebook page, so here is the link:
https://www.facebook.com/mrhubbardsclassdotcom/
I like to post parent related articles there, and people are welcome to join or start a conversation regarding the articles.

I also need about ten more families to complete the survey:

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Day 1 is in the books....

It was a great day getting to know the newest group that I will spend the next 291 days forming a learning community. Yes, you have 291 days from your son or daughter becomes a middle schooler.

Supplies for days....

The first day often involves sleepy students with enthusiasm that sort of gets derailed as "we" as a class handles how to decipher all of the school supplies. We talk about what is donated and what is not given and how they may want to handle the items that they keep.  At this point, they want to keep a 3-ring binder, at least one folder, one math note book, one college ruled notebook and an envelope to hold their one to three pencils, one pen, one to two highlighters, and their markers if they choose to keep them. The extra notebooks (graphing and college ruled) may be left at home.

Items that we could still use donated to the class -- scissors. I have exactly six in my class so for art projects it would be great to have more scissors. Also, colored printing paper would be wicked awesome. Like I did tonight, in an ideal world I would send home important "please don't lose" form in a particular color. Then I could tell the parents, "hey, look for the orange colored handout in the backpack."

Long story, long....supplies take a lot longer than you imagine.

We did discuss eating in class, privileges versus rights,  using the restroom rules, changes to the bell schedule, and how to line up and go to lunch.  We also fleshed out my life and who "IS" Mr. Hubbard. Students are now well versed in my life, my likes/dislikes and where I came from.  We did do some dancing to Michael Jackon, invent some new handshakes, create some dance moves and have some movement. Finally, we did get onto the Chromebooks, joined my Google Classroom, and they answered an easy question. We also discussed our theme of "Today You, Tomorrow Me."

Please complete this quick survey, and it really does help me out. 

Also, if for some reason my brightly colored letter didn't make it home, here is my welcome message. 


Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard