Everybody's working for the weekend

Today we officially started blogging as a class, using the education-specific site Kidblog. It is a program that some of my colleagues have had great success with, and the students seemed to get the hang of things very quickly today. We toured the site in detail, then students created an initial trial blog post. Any time they post it comes to me first for approval, so the site doesn't get flooded with posts. I will also try to comment on posts, and I hope that students will comment on their friends' ideas etc. as well.

For this weekend, I have told students to go ahead and play with the blog but not to expect me to "green-light" all of their posts. If they wish, your child can create drafts and play with formatting, or try to leave comments. If they would rather wait, that's fine too!

Some students met with Mrs. Shortall today to get an orientation to Beachy Cove's music program. Some students are joining the instrumental band, while others (with plenty of overlap in between) are going to join to string ensemble. Both are well-run, exciting programs that teach a great deal about music and other skills. I played in an instrumental band in school, and I have to say it was one of the more formative experiences of my learning as a child. It teaches great organization, control and memory as well as boosting confidence by providing you with unique skills. I can't wait to see the final product in June.

I sent students home with a Question du Jour as usual, and each student also has a French-language book to read now as well. These will be exchanged each Friday, or earlier if I am satisfied that the student has exhausted their options with that particular book. I will assign various response questions throughout next week. Some students are also bringing home band forms to sign and return, and others need approval to participate in intramural sports.

We are hoping to book a very exciting field field trip for the end of this month! All details will be disclosed next week, but I am very happy about the possibility of having another excursion. As I mentioned in a prior post, please let me know of any community events you think we may be interested in attending or monitoring in class.

Have a great weekend, and let me know if you have any questions.