MrHowd.com

We continued with more “setting the table” for the rest of the school year. Here are some highlights:

• We got new seats.
• We elected team captains and reviewed class jobs.
• We reviewed school expectations for behavior on the bus, in the office, in the hallways, and at recess.
• Students took the Mr. Howd test, and most failed (again!)
• We talked about crashing and learning. It’s okay to crash and make a mistake if you learn from them and fix it for next time. Crashes help people learn and get better. It’s not okay to crash the same way over and over, that’s a bad habit, but crashing and learning is how you get better. See the video below about this.
• We talked about how our mouths speak what overflows from our hearts. There are some things that shouldn’t come out of our mouths, so that means there are some things we should keep thinking about over and over. Here’s a short list we came up with:
  • Rumors
  • Gossip
  • Boyfriend/girlfriend/romatic love talk
  • Bullying
  • Making fun of differences
  • Taking joy in the mistakes of others

Crash & Learn – Aleksander Aurdal from ANTIMEDIA on Vimeo.

Notes:

• Team Day is Friday, September 5 from 10:15-11:45 am. The class will be completing team-building activities in student groups. Can you help? Instructions will be provided!
• School Supply list
• Want to get an early start saving a spot for Fall Conferences? Go to MrHowd.com/conferences to sign up.
• Students will need a pair of earbuds this year. Something inexpensive will be fine.
• Need to update your contact information or send in your email address or phone number? Do that here.
• Parents and family members, find out more information about our class here.
• Students, visit StudentCentral here.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue and StudentVue.
• More class information…
  • About MrHowd.com
  • Class Info
  • Contact Mr. Howd
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Subjects

Welcome back to school! Today was filled with school start-up activities and procedures. Here are some highlights:

• We played a game to share some news from the summer.
• We took a tour of our new planners. Parents, look in the planners for a bunch of paperwork for you to fill out. That’s your homework!
• We attended gym and music and an assembly about the new year.
• We got lockers and partners.
  • Since our lockers are small and each person has a partner, one of the partners can create more space for their things by bringing in a reusable grocery bag that can be hung from one of the hooks in the locker. That bag can store books and belongings.

Notes:

• Team Day is Friday, September 5 from 10:15-11:45 am. The class will be completing team-building activities in student groups. Can you help? Instructions will be provided!
• School Supply list
• Want to get an early start saving a spot for Fall Conferences? Go to MrHowd.com/conferences to sign up.
• Students will need a pair of earbuds this year. Something inexpensive will be fine.
• Need to update your contact information or send in your email address or phone number? Do that here.
• Parents and family members, find out more information about our class here.
• Students, visit StudentCentral here.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue and StudentVue.
• More class information…
  • About MrHowd.com
  • Class Info
  • Contact Mr. Howd
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Subjects

Our class was fortunate to pilot chromebooks last year. We used them for writing, math, some reading, and other class activities throughout the day.

We are lucky enough to continue the pilot again this year! The 5th grade social studies curriculum has a complete online component that we’ll try, including the text, and online assignments, quizzes, and tests.

We are also going to try incorporating a computer science and programming curriculum into our weekly class activities.

What all that means is that we’ll be using our chromebooks even more this year for learning. If you would like a way to extend that learning at home, and if your student doesn’t already have a chromebook, Groupon is having a steal of a deal right now:

A refurbished Acer C720 for $129.99.

Many review sites say that this is one of the best chromebooks available. I personally have this same model that I use at home, also refurbished, but I purchased it for a higher cost than this sale offers.

While your student can use any computer for any of our classwork, this chromebook is portable, has a keyboard for writing and typing, and the battery lasts over 8 hours. It gets automatic updates and should be useable well into middle school for your student. It can’t install Windows programs and it doesn’t have a DVD player, but it can be used for 95% of what your student will need well into middle school.

Note that while chromebooks can be used offline for reading email, creating documents, and some other things, chromebooks are really meant to be used with a wifi internet connection. (Comcast offers a nice deal on low cost internet for families of students that qualify for free or reduced lunch; learn more about the low cost internet service here.)

I’m not sure how much longer this deal will last. So if you’re interested in a chromebook for your student, you can’t get much better than $130 for this model.

Note: I don’t get any kind of kickback for this. Just trying to promote a great device at a great price that will help students.

Source: Groupon

Space Fashion Show 2014

The Space Fashion Show was written and performed by fourth grade students from McGrath Elementary in Grand Blanc, MI.

We had a great time our last day of fourth grade. Everyone had their fill at our potluck picnic. Then we ran ourselves silly playing games in the courtyard!

Thanks to all the families that brought a dish to pass, helped with food preparation and cleanup, and helped with the games.

I wish everyone all the best over the summer and into fifth grade!

Here are some memories from our fourth grade year: