Thank you everyone so much for the necklace. It is so beautiful and I have already worn it twice! We had a great time together at our party with food, a craft and lots of smiles. Thank you everyone for your kindness extended in the gifts some brought in and the ultimate gift, which is their presence each day. They are the gift!
Please enjoy your family time together. If students are looking to access Edmodo over the break this is fine, but could you please let them know 2 things? I have set all posts and replies to "moderation" since we are out of school. This just means any posts and replies have to be first accepted through me so they may not see their words instantly appear! The second is that I have changed everyone's passwords to the name of the animal that is our mascot.
Enjoy the holiday week!
Jaclyn Karabinas
Monday, December 24, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Grateful for Blessings...
Dear Honeybee Families,
Thank you so much for the outpour of support and gratitude that so many in the community have expressed to LAS, and school communities in general, since Friday. Each night since, I lay in bed and run through any and all emergency procedures in my head to remind myself that yes- we are prepared as a school and a staff. I don't want to say anything to the children to cause them to create scenarios in their minds, but I hope they know that I would physically and emotionally shield them from anything, without hesitation.
Ok! Now that I am teary, let's shift gears!
Christmas & Holiday Celebration
Our class will celebrate the holidays together on Friday afternoon at 1:45. Everyone is welcome to join us if you choose!
Maternity Leave Transition
I am really looking forward to January-March with the class. Each year, these are my favorite months with students, as the schedule holds limited interruptions. It is typically the time that I really see so many skills fall into place with the students and we are really able to dig in to our learning. I am so thankful that my baby isn't due until the end of March so I can still enjoy that time of learning with them!
That being said, the children may have mentioned to you that Jill Berry will be their teacher from March 15 through the end of the year. Mark and I feel so confident about this for many reasons. Jill is a teacher that has been substituting in our school for many years. I will let her completely introduce herself personally and professionally when we begin the new year. She has worked with the children from this class in their other classrooms from K-2 so that has truly created a base of experience with them as students. Additionally, since she has been a part of our school community for so long, she is comfortable with staff, as well as all the nuts & bolts of LAS and the community. While I am not out often, I have asked that it be Jill as the substitute to increase their bonding time together.
She and I have already had a handful of meeting times together and will continue to meet during January and February. After February break, she and I will be co-teaching for a week or so, and then she will fully take over at the start of the 3rd trimester, March 18. (unless this baby girl comes reaaaallly early!) By the time Jill begins as their teacher, she will have full background information on the talents and needs of each student, of core learning goals, curriculum topics, classroom routines, and instruction/assessment strategies. I will leave no stone unturned!
Finally, when talking to the students I refer to Jill Berry as their other teacher. I don't want them to think of her as a substitute because at that point, she will have transitioned to being their teacher. We talk about it often so they can transition their minds with time, and honestly, I think they will adjust much more quickly than I will! I promised them baby updates via Edmodo.
Other bits and pieces...
*If your child hasn't brought in his/her caroling permission slip yet, please make sure they do by Thursday.
*Our New Year begins together on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013
*We will touch base in January so I can update you on the curricular happenings in our classroom.
As always, any questions- email me at jkarabinas@sau21.org
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you,
Jaclyn Karabinas
Friday, December 7, 2012
The Magical World of...Assessment?
Hi everyone! Today your child brings home his or her 1st trimester report card. I wanted to let you know a bit about the process so you have an understanding of how I work with your children so they understand their progress and use the information to move forward.
Why so many skills?
I don't think I could ever function in an education world where I didn't get to examine children from the perspective of so many learning goals! The idea of receiving 1 grade for a subject with so many components seems so...final. Letter grades are familiar to our society; They are mathematically based and have been a part of traditional practice and our own educational histories. What is so valuable on our style of report card for students, teachers, and parents is the ability to specifically see areas of strength and struggle, and set goals accordingly. It allows kids to see that maybe, yes, math is hard for them, but perhaps a certain component of math is going well, for example. It allows us to look at ourselves as learners, not just academic performers.
Where does all the information come from?
A teacher's life is a constant cycle of observation, evaluation, reflection, planning and re-planning for instruction...then back again! Differentiated instruction calls for differentiated assessment, yet many subject skills require grade-level common assessments as well. Formative and informal assessments are what we do every day as we examine student work, listen to students process learning, and reflect in learning journals. This type forms our next step of instruction. Summative assessment wraps up examination of certain skills for a unit or topic, are often based on grade-level expectations, but are also based on individual students needs and goals. Basically, everything comes together on a report card to give a whole picture of the child and help them to zero in on their "medals and missions" as we call our "strengths and struggles" in here.
Understanding and Using Assessments as a Student
We use the language of the goals on our report card daily. Students hear and are learning the key words in just about every goal, something done on purpose to help them truly be connected to their assessment. We reviewed a blank report card, looked for those familiar words, and asked many questions to understand what we are seeing. Many students were surprised at their attendance records. Some students thought it was great that there is a space for my comments. Each student had the chance to meet with me 1:1 ask questions and share his/her perspectives of personal medals and missions. I want to make sure that they feel connected to the assessment and view it not as final, but a starting point for our new trimester.
Understanding the Rubric
Students have a clear understanding of the meaning of 1,2,3,and 4. We have processed the word "expectations" and understand that those are at a 3rd grade level. They know that to "exceed" means to go beyond in many different ways for many different reasons, and that achieving 4's means it is something consistent throughout the marking period. They also know that a 1 can mean something is either really hard for you, something that needs more attention and effort, or both. If anything on the report card is a surprise to the students, I did something wrong somewhere in the path of communicating expectations. It's why I meet with them because it's important for them to make sense of what they need to do. 1's seem scary to students at times, but we talk about it like this: it means "not within expectations"- but I like to add the word 'yet'. Someday it will be! It might be in March, it might be by September or it might take longer, but regardless, we continue to work hard as learners.
Goal Setting
Usually I set goals right away with the students based on this information. As I look at where we are in the year, I think that goal setting will be more useful in January with the holiday excitement behind us and new focus in front of us. Many students already told me their goals today- and that is great! But we definitely will take the time upon returning in January to revisit our progress and set our goals.
If the students have more questions, or of course, if YOU do, please send me an email or give a call next week. I never mind making more sense of important information. Have a great weekend and we'll talk soon!
Why so many skills?
I don't think I could ever function in an education world where I didn't get to examine children from the perspective of so many learning goals! The idea of receiving 1 grade for a subject with so many components seems so...final. Letter grades are familiar to our society; They are mathematically based and have been a part of traditional practice and our own educational histories. What is so valuable on our style of report card for students, teachers, and parents is the ability to specifically see areas of strength and struggle, and set goals accordingly. It allows kids to see that maybe, yes, math is hard for them, but perhaps a certain component of math is going well, for example. It allows us to look at ourselves as learners, not just academic performers.
Where does all the information come from?
A teacher's life is a constant cycle of observation, evaluation, reflection, planning and re-planning for instruction...then back again! Differentiated instruction calls for differentiated assessment, yet many subject skills require grade-level common assessments as well. Formative and informal assessments are what we do every day as we examine student work, listen to students process learning, and reflect in learning journals. This type forms our next step of instruction. Summative assessment wraps up examination of certain skills for a unit or topic, are often based on grade-level expectations, but are also based on individual students needs and goals. Basically, everything comes together on a report card to give a whole picture of the child and help them to zero in on their "medals and missions" as we call our "strengths and struggles" in here.
Understanding and Using Assessments as a Student
We use the language of the goals on our report card daily. Students hear and are learning the key words in just about every goal, something done on purpose to help them truly be connected to their assessment. We reviewed a blank report card, looked for those familiar words, and asked many questions to understand what we are seeing. Many students were surprised at their attendance records. Some students thought it was great that there is a space for my comments. Each student had the chance to meet with me 1:1 ask questions and share his/her perspectives of personal medals and missions. I want to make sure that they feel connected to the assessment and view it not as final, but a starting point for our new trimester.
Understanding the Rubric
Students have a clear understanding of the meaning of 1,2,3,and 4. We have processed the word "expectations" and understand that those are at a 3rd grade level. They know that to "exceed" means to go beyond in many different ways for many different reasons, and that achieving 4's means it is something consistent throughout the marking period. They also know that a 1 can mean something is either really hard for you, something that needs more attention and effort, or both. If anything on the report card is a surprise to the students, I did something wrong somewhere in the path of communicating expectations. It's why I meet with them because it's important for them to make sense of what they need to do. 1's seem scary to students at times, but we talk about it like this: it means "not within expectations"- but I like to add the word 'yet'. Someday it will be! It might be in March, it might be by September or it might take longer, but regardless, we continue to work hard as learners.
Goal Setting
Usually I set goals right away with the students based on this information. As I look at where we are in the year, I think that goal setting will be more useful in January with the holiday excitement behind us and new focus in front of us. Many students already told me their goals today- and that is great! But we definitely will take the time upon returning in January to revisit our progress and set our goals.
If the students have more questions, or of course, if YOU do, please send me an email or give a call next week. I never mind making more sense of important information. Have a great weekend and we'll talk soon!
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