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Mrs. Greder's Advocacy

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Last week!

We are in our final week of school! Thank you so much for your support throughout the school year, especially through distance learning.  The last day of school is June 5th.  MobyMax will remain available throughout the summer if you and your child would like to continue to learn!


Important Dates


Monday, June 1st - Night of the Notables project due! Please email or share any files with your teacher.

Wednesday, June 3rd - 3/4 Pod “Goodbye” on Zoom! At 3:00pm, the entire pod will meet to see everyone’s faces to celebrate the end of the year.  This will only be about 5-10 minutes.  We are going to give kids an opportunity to see classmates from other advocacy classes and wish them a happy summer break! Please join the following link on Wednesday at 3:00pm!

 

Join Zoom Meeting 

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/5857924667?pwd=M1orTXVmeHhyaDV0b3poc2xBODBFQT09


Meeting ID: 585 792 4667

Password: Please see an email from your teacher for the password.


Thursday, June 4th - Goodbye Parade in the Westgate parking lot (10:00am - 11:00am).  Please do not arrive before 9:30am. 

Friday, June 5th - Last Day of School / Yearbook Pickup / Equipment Return (more details coming soon)

 

Favorite Recipes

Last week students shared their favorite recipe with the class at our zoom meeting. I am trying to put together a recipe book with those recipes for the class. Please send me your student's recipe by Wednesday. I will take up to three from each student if there were more they wanted to add.


Advocacy Zoom Meeting

Our Advocacy Zoom meeting is on Tuesday at 10:00 am. Please remind students were are doing our talent show. I hope to see all the kids there! 

Week 8

It is now week 8 of distance learning! Keep up the hard work! We are in the home stretch! Staying engaged can be especially challenging right now.  Please reach out if you would like any assistance in keeping your child engaged!


Important Dates


Monday, June 1st - Night of the Notables project due! Please email or share any files with your teacher.

Thursday, June 4th - Goodbye Parade in the Westgate parking lot (10:00am - 11:00am)

Friday, June 5th - Last Day of School / Yearbook Pickup / Equipment Return (more details coming soon)


Advocacy Activities from Mr. Rowan


This month’s theme is Wellness! Please see the additional post with information and activities from Mr. Rowan posted below.  

file:///Users/hannahhall/Downloads/May%20Advocacy%20Newsletter_Wellness_WeekFour.pdf


Night of the Notables 


If your child is working on our optional Night of the Notables project, we have a few updates to share!

  1. The project will be due on Monday, June 1st

  2. Your child should be prepared to dress up as their person to the best of their ability

  3. Your child should choose to present in one of the 2 following ways

    1. Record an approximately 2 minute video presentation and email it to their teacher

    2. Create a PowerPoint about their person, including pictures of them, dressed up as their person and share it with their teacher

Advocacy Zoom Meeting

Our Advocacy Zoom meeting is on Tuesday at 10:00am. I hope to see all the kids there! 

Night of the Notables Update

If your child is working on our optional Night of the Notables project, we have a few updates to share!
 
  1. The project will be due on Monday, June 1st
  2. Your child should be prepared to dress up as their person to the best of their ability
  3. Your child should choose to present in one of the 2 following ways
    1. Record an approximately 2-minute video presentation and email it to their teacher
    2. Create a PowerPoint about their person, including pictures of them, dressed up as their person and share it with their teacher
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out!

Mystery Science Zoom

The 3/4 pod is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting on Thursday, May 21- 1pm Watch Mystery Science Doug- LIVE with the rest of the 3/4 Pod 
  • There is going to be a special live science show done Mystery Science Doug all about SPACE–including a special video cameo by astronaut Jessica Meir, who answered real student questions Doug sent to her while she was aboard the International Space Station!
Topic: Mystery Science LIVE​
Time: May 21, 2020 01:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)​
 
Join Zoom Meeting​
​
Meeting ID: 791 4904 1688​
Password: DougRules!
 

Week 7 5/18 - 5/22

Welcome to week 7 of distance learning! I know this has been many weeks learning outside of school, but you are all rocking it! Thank you for persevering and helping your kids to continue to grow! If your child is having a hard time staying engaged or if you are having any struggles, please email me for assistance or visit my office hours on Monday and Thursday from 10-11 a.m. I am here to help!

Important Dates & Information:

  • Continue to work on Night of the Notables (if you have chosen this option)
    • Please find specific information on this project in last week's post
  • Thursday, May 21- 11am Watch Mystery Science Doug- LIVE with the rest of the 3/4 Pod at https://mysteryscience.com/live
    • There is going to be a special live science show done Mystery Science Doug all about SPACE–including a special video cameo by astronaut Jessica Meir, who answered real student questions Doug sent to her while she was aboard the International Space Station!
  • Friday, May 22- Parent & Teacher Conferences (Teacher work day- no school)
    • This means your child has a 4 day work week the week of 5/18
  • Monday,  May 25- Holiday- No school (Memorial Day)
    • This means your child has a 4 day work week the week of 5/25 

       

Writing

For writing this week, you will find the rubric on which students will be assessed in Moby Max under the “Writing Assignments” tab and posted above.  This is a new rubric since we are moving into narrative writing. There is a 3rd grade rubric and a 4th grade rubric. 

The purpose of narrative writing is to entertain the reader! Narrative writing has a beginning, middle, and end. It also has dialogue. Here is a short video to remind you of the important traits in a narrative story: https://youtu.be/nWYXCSTrFto
If you want some more narrative reminders in a super corny sing-song way, check this video out: https://youtu.be/GLn8E0Jzafo
 

Time Guidelines

  •       Math-- 45 minutes a day
    •      Fact Fluency work on as needed or wanted 
  •      Reading -- 45 minutes a day
    •       Reading Skills Literature
    •       Reading Skills Informational
    •       Reading Stories
  •     Writing -- 20 minutes a day
    •        Writing Workshops
    •        Writing Assignments
    •        Language
  •      Science/Social Studies -- 25 minutes a day (each subject)
    • Social Studies - MobyMax will send assignments automatically. Please meet the minimum time for the week
      • Night of the Notables can be in conjunction with Moby Max times or in place of Moby Max times
    • Science - MobyMax will send assignments automatically. Please meet the minimum time for the week
      • Mystery Science Live can be in conjunction with Moby Max times or in place of Moby Max times. 

Zoom

Our Advocacy Zoom meeting is on Tuesday at 10:00am. I hope to see all the kids there! 

Week 5/11 - 5/15

Welcome to week 6 of distance learning! I hope that everything is going smoothly and routines are falling into place.  Staying engaged can be especially challenging right now.  Please reach out if you would like any assistance in keeping your child engaged!

Advocacy Activities from Mr. Rowan

This month’s theme is Wellness! Please see the additional post with information and activities from Mr. Rowan

file:///Users/hannahhall/Downloads/May%20Advocacy%20Newsletter_Wellness_WeekTwo%20(1).pdf

Night of the Notables 

We are excited to announce that the 3/4 pod is offering Night of the Notables as a totally optional project for kids to do at home! This project can be done in place of the MobyMax social studies assignments, or in addition to them if you and your child are looking for something extra to do! The guidelines will look slightly different for 3rd and 4th graders, so please read the section that applies to you and your child carefully! Feel free to email your child’s advocate with additional questions, or stop by office hours!  

3rd Graders 

Many of the third graders had started looking forward to this project so I want to encourage them to continue the work they may have started.  The students were to choose a notable figure from any time period in history. They could be from Ancient times or more recent past.  We have read about many notable people this year in our Studies Weekly newspapers and you may certainly choose one of them or use your own background knowledge to select a notable person.    

Basic Project Outlines 

Students should read and take notes on their notable person 

Students should write a 3 paragraph biography about their person 

Complete a bibliography to record your research resources (2-3 different sources) 

Prepare a short speech (about 2 minutes) that explains what that person did and why they are notable in the first person (they present as that person) 

They could dress up as that person for their speech 

Students could start by visiting www.brainpop.com to which they have free access.  

Presentation details of the project are still being worked out and we will provide them as soon as they are determined.   

4th Graders 

Last year, students were able to research any person who would be considered notable to research and present as.  This year, students will choose someone who was either 

Born in Colorado 

Notable for the work they did in Colorado 

For example, Nikola Tesla was born in Croatia, but did some of his important work in Colorado Springs.  Nikola Tesla would be someone your child could research!  

Throughout the year, we have read about many important people in our Studies Weekly newspapers.  Any of these people could be potential candidates for this project!  In addition, I have some links that have biographies of other notable Coloradans.  These articles are mostly kid-friendly, but may require some outside assistance in order to fully comprehend the information.  These links also provide a list to kids of people they may not have heard of!  In order to choose someone to research, we just need to find at least one kid-friendly article with sufficient information.  If you and your child are having difficulties finding someone to research, please let me know and I can try to help as best I can!  Please note that you do not have to choose someone from either of these links! 

Link 1 - https://history.denverlibrary.org/colorful-coloradans 

Link 2 - https://www.historycolorado.org/biographies-notable-coloradans 

Basic Project Outlines 

Students should read and takes notes on their notable person 

Students should write a 5 paragraph biography about their person 

Prepare a short speech (about 3 minutes) that explains what that person did and why they are notable in the first person (they present as that person) 

They dress up as that person for their speech 

Of course, we will not be able to present in person, but we are currently working on some ideas of what might be possible (ex: Zoom, a video, etc…).  This part has not yet been planned.   

Please feel free to reach out with any questions! 

Advocacy Zoom Meeting

 

Our Advocacy Zoom meeting is on Tuesday at 10:00. I hope to see all the kids there! Don't forget to have their book ready to share!  It will be the same link & password as last week if you have that handy.

Week 5/4 - 5/8

Welcome to week 5 of distance learning! I hope that everything is going smoothly and routines are falling into place.  Staying engaged can be especially challenging right now.  Please reach out if you would like any assistance in keeping your child engaged!

 

Important Dates & Information:

  • Monday, May 4th - Belongings Pick-Up - 9:00am - 1:00pm

    • If your child still has any belongings that need to be picked up at school, you can come on this day and time.  These are only for essential items, such as backpacks, jackets, and other items your child might need.  We will not be gathering items such as notebooks and other school supplies.  You should have received an email from your child’s advocate if they found any of your child’s belongings at school.  Below are the pickup times.

    • 9:00 - 10:00am - Last name A-F

    • 10:00 -11:00am - Last name G-L

    • 11:00 - 12:00pm - Last name M-R

    • 12:00 - 1:00pm - Last name S-Z

Advocacy Activities from Mr. Rowan

Writing

For writing this week, you will find the rubric on which students will be assessed.  This is a new rubric since we are now doing an informational piece.  I will also be posting the PDFs to the rubrics should you wish to see them.  Itt is also on MobyMax, or I can email them to you if necessary!  There is a 3rd grade rubric and a 4th grade rubric.  This is all under the “Writing Assignments” tab.  Here are some additional guidelines for the weekly prompts:

  1. The response should be a minimum of two paragraphs, and about 10 sentences in total.

  2. The prompt should follow a RACES format.

    1. R - restate the question

    2. A - answer the question

    3. C - cite evidence (if possible)

    4. E - explain

    5. S - summarize

Time Guidelines

     Math-- 45 minutes a day

     Fact Fluency work on as needed or wanted

     Reading -- 45 minutes a day

      Reading Skills Literature

      Reading Skills Informational

      Reading Stories

     Writing -- 20 minutes a day

       Writing Workshops

       Writing Assignments

       Language

    Science/Social Studies -- 25 minutes a day (each subject)

Social Studies - MobyMax will send assignments automatically. Please meet the minimum time for the week

Science - MobyMax will send assignments automatically. Please meet the minimum time for the week

 

Our Advocacy Zoom meeting is on Tuesday at 10:00. I hope to see all the kids there! Don't forget to wear your favorite PJs! 

Week 4 4/27-4/31

Welcome to week 4 of distance learning! I hope that everything is going smoothly and routines are falling into place.  Staying engaged can be especially challenging right now.  Please reach out if you would like any assistance in keeping your child engaged!

 

Important Dates & Information:

  • Monday, April 27th - Medication Pick-Up - 9:00am - 11:00am

    • If your child has medication that needs to be picked up from the clinic, it can be picked up at this day and time.  Please call the front desk for more information if necessary

  • Monday, May 4th - Belongings Pick-Up - 9:00am - 1:00pm

    • If your child still has any belongings that need to be picked up at school, you can come on this day and time.  These are only for essential items, such as backpacks, jackets, and other items your child might need.  We will not be gathering items such as notebooks and other school supplies.  If you know your child has something that needs to be picked up in the classroom, please describe the item via email to your child’s advocacy teacher and we will do our best to locate the item

Advocacy Activities from Mrs. Valenza

Monday - Nature is magic! Today’s nature craft is to make a stick wand. Go find a really good stick that feels right when you hold it in wand position. If you can find some small sticks, leaves, or pinecones those may be nice to have to add to the end of your wand. Then ask your parents for some string and get to decorating. Wrap the string around the stick however you’d like. You can use some of the string to hang leaves, sticks, pinecones, or flowers off the end. Once you’re wand is done, decide which powers your wand has and how can you use those powers for good. Send a picture to Mrs. Valenza with your wand. 

 

Tuesday-  Westgate kids are amazing at solving real-world problems. They dream big! This game from National Geographic uses a robot to solve real-world problems.  

 

Wednesday - It has been hard to not be able to go where you want, see who you want, when you want. Today make a list, journal, or draw a picture about all the places you want to visit once the “Stay at home” order has been lifted. Hopefully this will keep your spirits lifted and remind you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Share your list with someone you trust.  Mrs. Valenza wants to go camping in Moab, have a picnic at Chautauqua, and buy a plane ticket to go see humpback whales in Hawaii.  

 

Thursday – Today, go outside! Here are a few ideas: You could build a bee water station --> https://carolinahoneybees.com/diy-bee-waterer/ 

Add some pollinator plants to your yard or porch. Call your local nursery to see if they have any of these plants. --> https://resourcecentral.org/5-plants-for-your-colorado-pollinator-garden/

Have a picnic outside.  

Just sit on your porch and watch the world pass by. 

General Information Regarding MobyMax & Advocacy

For all subjects other than writing, students should be working at their own pace, continuing to aim for the work times below.  The software will send them their next assignments automatically. 

Please remember, I can help, answer questions, share my screen, and have your student share their screen during my office hours (Tuesday and Thursday 3:00 - 4:00pm). 

For writing this week, you will find the rubric on which students will be assessed.  This is the same rubric as last week as we are doing another opinion piece.  If you scroll down on this page, you should find them from last week.  If you can’t, it is also on MobyMax, or I can email them to you!  There is a 3rd grade rubric and a 4th grade rubric.  This is all under the “Writing Assignments” tab.  Here are some additional guidelines for the weekly prompts:

  1. The response should be a minimum of two paragraphs, and about 10 sentences in total.

  2. The prompt should follow a RACES format.

    1. R - restate the question

    2. A - answer the question

    3. C - cite evidence (if possible)

    4. E - explain

    5. S - summarize

     Math-- 45 minutes a day

     Fact Fluency work on as needed or wanted

     Reading -- 45 minutes a day

      Reading Skills Literature

      Reading Skills Informational

      Reading Stories

     Writing -- 20 minutes a day

       Writing Workshops

       Writing Assignments

       Language

    Science/Social Studies -- 25 minutes a day (each subject)

Social Studies - MobyMax will send assignments automatically. Please meet the minimum time for the week

Science - MobyMax will send assignments automatically. Please meet the minimum time for the week

 

Our Advocacy Zoom meeting is on Tuesday at 10:00am. I hope to see all the kids there! Don't forget to have their show-and-tell item prepared to share with the class! I will send a reminder email on Tuesday with the Zoom link and password.  It will be the same link & password as last week if you have that handy.

Advocacy Activities 4/20 - 4/24

Monday - If you are doing one of the choices for the “Earth Day Assignment” please use this day to work on that and send it to me as you finish it.  

                  I will also be doing a live Zoom with the chickens and goats at 12:30pm this day! Tune in to see the ladies and ask questions.  

                   Time: Apr 20, 2020 12:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) 

                  Meeting ID: 951 417 9342        Password: WCS2020 

 

Tuesday - Westgate kids are natural problem solvers. There are 2 ways you can problem solve today.  

    1. Think of a problem you’ve seen in your house, your neighborhood, your city, Westgate, the world and create an invention to fix that problem. An app that tells people where their food came from? A drone that picks up trash along highways? Think big!  

    2. Create a way to get people to do something positive for the environment.  Hand out bee hives to every school? Give every house 3 new trees to plant? Give everyone who picks up trash $100? Think big! 

Wednesday - You have 2 options today...Join the Lorax and Mr. Rowan for a live reading of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. Or head to Mrs. Valenza’s staff profile page to hear a pre-recorded reading of the story.  

                   Topic: The Lorax Read Aloud with Question and Answer 
                   Time: Apr 22, 2020 01:15 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada) 
                   https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79083049885?pwd=cXdiMk9vYjh6Z2Y4dGl5NHpvUVJHQT09 
                   Meeting ID: 790 8304 9885 

                   Password: 046268 

 

Thursday -Today I want you to make sure you get outside for a walk. With all the water we’ve been getting (in the form of snow) the plants should be popping! Take notice of this. What flowers can you find? What new buds are popping up on the trees? Is there sign of life? Can you find any birds nests? If you want to get really fancy you could download a plant identification app – Plantifier is a relatively good one that is also free! Send Mrs. Valenza a picture of you with your favorite sign of life.  

 

Friday - Choose a video to watch from The Story of Stuff that interests you -https://www.storyofstuff.org/movies/the-good-stuff/ 

Weekly Update: 4/20 - 4/24

Welcome to week 3 of distance learning! I hope that everything is going smoothly and routines are falling into place.  

Students will find their assignments in Moby Max as they click on each subject, specifically for science, social studies & writing.  Students should begin working on each subject at their pace, continuing to aim for the work times below. If you have any problems with Moby Max, please let me know right away so I can help get students rolling in the right direction! Please remember, I can help, answer questions, share my screen, and have your student share their screen during my office hours (Monday and Thursday 10-11 a.m.). 


For writing this week, you will find the rubric on which students will be assessed.  There is a 3rd grade rubric and a 4th grade rubric. The rubric is also attached to their assignment on MobyMax, which you can also view.  This is all under the “Writing Assignments” tab. Here are some additional guidelines for the weekly prompts:


  1. The response should be a minimum of two paragraphs, and about 10 sentences in total.

  2. The prompt should follow a RACES format.

    1. R - restate the question

    2. A - answer the question

    3. C - cite evidence (if possible)

    4. E - explain

    5. S - summarize


     Math-- 45 minutes a day

     Fact Fluency work on as needed or wanted


     Reading -- 45 minutes a day

      Reading Skills Literature

      Reading Skills Informational

      Reading Stories


     Writing -- 20 minutes a day

       Writing Workshops

       Writing Assignments

       Language


    Science/Social Studies -- 25 minutes a day (each subject)

Social Studies - MobyMax will have assignments automatically. Please meet the minimum time for the week

Science - MobyMax will have assignments automatically. Please meet the minimum time for the week

 

Our Advocacy Zoom meeting is on Tuesday at 10:00am. I hope to see all the kids there! 

Advocacy Activities

 

Monday- I have a strict belief that the more we know about a place the more we want to care for it. We can’t travel many places right now, but we can still appreciate what Earth has to offer. Let's travel using Google Earth. (https://www.google.com/earth/) Use the Search function to look up these different places: 1. Your house 2. Westgate 3. Favorite nature area to visit 4. Favorite City to visit 5. Somewhere you want to visit      Use the Street View function (the little guy above the black and white Earth on the bottom right hand corner of the screen) to look around each of these places.

  

Tuesday - Head to Mrs. Valenza’s Staff Profile page to hear her reading from The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry 

 

Wednesday – Take a scavenger hunt walk! Attached is a scavenger hunt document if you’d like to print that out. You could also just write down some of the items on a separate piece of paper and check them off as you find them. Let Mrs. Valenza know what things you found!  

 

Thursday – It's time to create! Ask your parents what recyclables you can use to create a recycling masterpiece. A robot? A castle? A new friend? Use your imagination (and a little tape)! 

 

Friday - Originally, we were going to have an Earth Day fair at Westgate but that can’t happen anymore. We’re going to celebrate in a little different way. Head to Mrs. Valenza’s Staff Profile Page to hear what she wants you to do! 

(These are suggested Minimum Expected Times) 

Moby Max Modules 

     Math-- 45 minutes a day 

     (take the Quick placement test first) 

The program will assign  skills as needed (70% needed to pass) 

     Fact Fluency - work on as needed or wanted 

     Reading -- 45 minutes a day 

      ( take the Reading Level Assessment first) 

      Reading skills Literature 

      Reading skills Informational 

     Language -15 minutes a day 

       (Take the placement test first) 

     Writing -- 20 minutes a day 

       Writing Workshops 

       Writing Assignments 

    Science/Social Studies -- 25 minutes a day  

 

Parents you can sign in as well using your students information to track their progress 

Mrs. Greder's Advocacy Zoom Meeting

We will meet as an advocacy class every  Tuesday at 10 a.m. I will record this meeting for those who can't make it during this time; unfortunately, recordings will only have the advocacy teacher's video camera and voice of students (no student videos). Please send me an email if you would like me to send you the video for the week. I'm excited to see students on Tuesday!! I miss them all!
 
Hannah Greder is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
 
Topic: My Meeting
Time: Apr 7, 2020 10:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
        Every week on Tue, until Jun 2, 2020, 9 occurrence(s)
        Apr 7, 2020 10:00 AM
        Apr 14, 2020 10:00 AM
        Apr 21, 2020 10:00 AM
        Apr 28, 2020 10:00 AM
        May 5, 2020 10:00 AM
        May 12, 2020 10:00 AM
        May 19, 2020 10:00 AM
        May 26, 2020 10:00 AM
        Jun 2, 2020 10:00 AM
 
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Weekly: https://us04web.zoom.us/meeting/uJUpcOuurDMjOyUkkGETocJbO3DNdX7JVQ/ics?icsToken=98tyKuypqjwoHNaduVz9Z7YqOZn4bN_MiF5Xn6hWuzrRDCN5YCylEsxGCuVVJumB
 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/514726289?pwd=b2lNSENiSHRFR2dHT1QxeGREdG4yUT09

March Advocacy Update

Spring Conference Sign Up  

Conferences are coming up on March 16th, 17th, & 20th.  On the 16th & 17th, conferences will be from 4:00pm - 7:00pm.  On Friday the 20th, conferences will be held from 8:00am - 8:00pm.  We will be posting the sign-up link within the next week or two, so please look for that in your e-mail or the advocacy pages.  The 20-minute slots are first come, first serve.   

CMAS 

CMAS testing begins the week after Spring Break.  The following schedule is tentative. Our first test will be on Thursday, April 9th.  Testing will continue daily until April 16th. Students will be testing in the morning, so please try to have your students here on time as they will not be permitted to start the test if they arrive late for the testing window. Please try not to schedule appointments in the mornings on those days. 

Advocacy Focus for March  

Our Advocacy focus for March is Growth Mindset & Grit.  All classes will be working on helping students learn to reframe failure and have perseverance and tenacity in their academic and personal lives.  Identifying and replacing the negative self-talk that so many of us are accustomed to with positive self-talk will also be part of this unit.  

Treats at School 

Reminder--please do not send homemade treats with your child to share with the class for events such as birthdays.  All food that is to be shared must be store bought! This helps prevent and complications due to dietary restrictions and/or allergies. 

Upcoming Dates: 

March 16th & 17th: Conferences from 4:00pm - 8:00pm 

March 19th: No School 

March 21 - April 5th: Spring Break 

April 9th - April 16th: CMAS testing