March Madness With Principal Phillips

How lucky for us that our amazing principal came to read to every class in our school for her version of "March Madness". We loved having you read to us Mrs. Phillips! Thank you very much!

How is my child progressing in school?

We have added two links from Duval County Public Schools with detailed information on how to register for an account to view your child's progress in school. You will need your child's student number to set up an account. Your child's student number is located inside the back cover of his/her planner. 

DCPS FOCUS REGISTRATION SITE

PARENT/GUARDIAN PORTAL REGISTRATION PROCEDURES

Second grade students earn letter grades in Conduct, Language Arts, and Mathematics. 

A = 90% - 100%     B = 80% - 89%     C = 70% - 79%     D = 60% - 69%     F = 59% and below

Second grade students earn an S, N, or U in Science, Social Studies, and all of the resource classes.   
S = Satisfactory Progress      N = Needs Improvement      U = Unsatisfactory

Shanghai Circus Field

Shanghai Circus Field Trip February 22, 2016 on PhotoPeach

Doodling Leads to Great Thinking

Our students have been using a wonderful and fun note taking strategy called Sketchnoting. Watch the video below to learn more about visual note taking. Then ask your child to show you how it works. 

Source: http://www.schrockguide.net/sketchnoting.html

Blessings in a Backpack is a Blessing for Our Students

What is Blessings in a Backpack?
"Blessings in a Backpack provides elementary schoolchildren who are on the federal Free and Reduced Price Meal Program with a backpack of food to take home for 38 weekends during the school year. Backpack food includes easy-to-prepare, ready-to-eat foods, like granola bars, juice boxes, mac and cheese, and oatmeal."

How Much Does it Cost?
"$80 - $100 feeds one child on the weekends for one 38 week school year through the Blessings in a Backpack program. 50 kids at $80 is $4,000 to get started. 100% of money raised to fund a school goes to feeding that school."

source: https://www.blessingsinabackpack.org/About.aspx

We encourage you to participate in this program as best as possible. Our students here at Chets Creek Elementary directly reap the benefits of this amazing program.  

The flyer below can be downloaded, printed, and brought to menchie's on September 17 and 18th, 3pm to 10pm to support the program at Chets Creek Elementary. Thank you!

 Downloaded, print and bring to menchie's on
 9/17 and 9/18 between 3pm and 10pm.

The First Step

Every month at Chets Creek Elementary, our principal, Mrs. Phillips, selects a book that will be shared amongst the entire school community. The books Mrs. Phillips has selected over the years have been filled with profound lessons and rich literature that extend across content. Both younger and older students are able to engage with the text at various levels. As a teacher, I enjoy her book of the month presentations and I am always eager to participate in her lessons. Mrs. Phillips models new and tried and true ways of teaching, which enrich my own practice.


This month's book of the month is Giant Steps to Change the World, by Spike and Tonya Lewis Lee. The book is filled with quotes and text about fulfilling your dreams and taking chances.

I began this lesson by activating the students' schema prior to reading the text. I shared with the students only the title of the text and asked them to draw a picture of what they thought the cover of the book might look like. Then the students wrote their predictions of what the book was about.

After sharing the text with the class, the students were asked to summarize what the text was about and share their summaries during our closing session. I was very proud of how the students expressed their understanding of what it meant to follow your dreams, take chances and not let anything get in your way of your goals and aspirations. One student said during our closing session, "The first step is the hard one and then you start running." So true! 

The video below was shared with my class as an example of how students can respond to literature using music.   

Volunteers Needed

Happy October! The first day of October has brought us some refreshing weather and signal's a change in seasons. Thus, our Fall Carnival is quickly approaching. This year, our class has teamed up with Mrs. Nash's fourth grade class to operate the cotton candy booth. This booth is a great fundraiser and always sells out fast. Please check the link below if you would like to volunteer to either make and/or sell cotton candy this year. This year's carnival is sure to be the best one yet with the dedication and support of an amazing team of volunteers. Mark your calendar to attend this fun filled event. 

Sign Up Here to Make Cotton Candy
 

Sign Up Here to Sell Cotton Candy

  

First Day of School

Our first day of school was action packed. The students were greeted at the door by real Superheroes. We spent the day getting to know each other with various activities, while reviewing rituals and routines. Each student received a poster sized picture of a backpack (Powerpack), that included questions about the student. The students answered questions about themselves and spent time decorating their Powerpack. The students had the opportunity to share their work with their classmates.

First Day of School on PhotoPeach



Later on in the day, everyone attended a fantastic assembly presented by Omegaman, whose motto is "the choices you make today determine your tomorrow." The children were thrilled when Omegaman tore a phonebook in half. He left quite an impression with our Superkids.
 


Thanks to the generosity of our PTA, each student received a new Chets Creek t-shirt with this year's school mascot, Chet the Super Eagle. The children were amazing and excited today and are so eager to learn. I am looking forward to an incredible year!