Dylan is back!

Dylan had to leave mid-morning because of intolerable headache...his parents only wanted for him to say hi, but he opted to stay and do some work. During Tribes Community Circle, he said he feels like a "2" ( in Tribes lingo, it means he feels sad.) When asked why, he genuinely answered that it's because it's hard to have cancer. I almost broke into tears.

Earlier this morning, Dylan as always had

 the most pleasant disposition as he came up at the door. He didn't appear like he had a very tough week, with the tumor increasing in size and having had frequent seizures. He sat through a long Monday assembly and willingly posed for the camera with his friends. Both my aide and I were in near-tears, listening to his mom's recounting of their most recent ordeal. His mom, despite lack of sleep and stress of having to go through this, never showed attitude and even found it in her heart to be generous of praise and thanksgiving. We continue to be inspired, and we continue to pray that Dylan gets to finish 4th Grade. I'm sure we'll be entitled for another wish of this nature when he moves up to 5th. For now, it's a really fervent wish and prayer that he gets the gift of healing so he could say next time, that he feels like a "5" ( which in Tribes lingo means he's very happy).

Get well soon, SuperDylan!

Your friends and teachers miss you so much! You said you were coming on Tuesday, please keep your word next time! We have post-its to spare and we made something that you need to pick up yourself! See you tomorrow then?

Get well soon, Dylan! You are our inspiration!

Back-to-School Night

Back-to-School Night at Pali was held on Thursday, August 30th. It was a short week as Friday was unassigned day and Monday is Labor Day. It is the last weekend that ushers in Fall. This year, the upper grades start early at 6pm; it's Pali tradition to alternate the schedule between the lower and upper grades.

All five families were represented and it was an informative night for both parents and myself. The parents got to see some of the works that their child has done the past couple of weeks. They were also given information on the curriculum, assessment, field trips, and other activities for the year.

The students wrote their parents an "apple" note and their parents responded to it. The theme of the night was that of parents being their child's first teacher, so they are equally deserving of receiving an "apple," which is customarily a symbol associated with teachers.

Apples and Teachers
Why are apples associated with teachers? People commonly see the fruit as a symbol of variety, change and growth. It symbolizes change and variety because it comes in different colors such as green yellow and red. Additionally, the fruit has various tastes like sweet, sour as well as tangy. Moreover, apple symbolizes growth since the strongest branch and grove of the plant sprout from the seeds of the fruit. However, people should know that without love or support, the fruit could become undesirable and bitter.
Why are apples associated with teachers? Another reason why people associate apples with teachers is the tradition from the 16th century until 18th century in various countries including Denmark and America, in which parents pay educators with foods like fruits. During this time, teachers do not receive enough salary to sustain the cost of living in their places. To help them with their basic needs, parents give the teachers of their children potatoes and apples. During these centuries, apples are considered special and expensive because these fruits are difficult to plant, cultivate and harvest. To compensate the efforts of educators and to make them feel special, parents pay them with different varieties of the fruit.
http://www.whyguides.com/why-are-apples-associated-with-teachers.html

It was also a night to ask support from parents to sign up as volunteers and to fulfill some of the items on the wish list. Room 20 has volunteer sign up and items for its wish list.

Volunteer Sign Up

Wishing Upon a Star!

Thank you again Room 20 parents for coming to our back-to-school night! I look forward to more productive discussions and conversations with you!

Here's a link to the prezi I showed that night:

http://prezi.com/3iugcbccfs_0/back-to-school-night-pali/?auth_key=66fd036b600e9aae0285fba8b2368e374efa2f6a

First Week of School

School year 2012-2013 officially started on August 14th, 3 weeks earlier than the previous years. This will definitely get the students much more prepared for the state tests. Pali took no exception to this early start, our students joined more than 600,000 students across the district that went back to school on this day.

Room 20 welcomed back three of it's students: Tristen and Shahin (4th Grade) and Tyler (5th Grade). They will be joined this year by a new student in 3rd Grade, Diana. Two more are expected to return in a couple of days, Dylan (3rd) and Tom (5th).

Room 20 

Welcome Card from Mr. Ramos

The class is very fortunate to have Mrs.B on board as Instructional Assistant. She has a lot to offer in ensuring the continuity of the highly successful academic program that Mrs. Sidman had started.

It is our pleasure to open our classroom and we can't wait to tell many success stories of the kids this year as they move up to a new grade and have new experiences that their grade levels have to offer.

Student desks

Our classroom will soon be the main hub for reading, math, inquiry projects, and assessments. It is slowly getting filled with books, manipulatives, anchor charts, and supplies. More importantly, it is getting filled with ideas, questions, wonderings, and thoughts.

"Scholarliness"

Our Tribes folder has also been used a lot. Team 20 has been really very good with identifying their trible and complying to the Four Tribes Community Agreements. We are focusing on Honesty as core value of the month.

Tribes Wall

We had a mixing class with Ms. Choi's 5th Grade class to "Save Fred." This is an activity that reinforces the skills necessary for problem-solving in science. We all got to save Fred and got free sugar-free gummy worms afterwards.

Save Fred

Science Wall

We use EnVision Math and all grade levels start with lesson on numeration. Fifth grade takes it a step further learning about decimals.

Math Concept Wall

Our Reading Concept/Question Wall is probably the busiest as we use Treasures, Triumphs, and Core Literature books for 3rd, 4th, and 5th. We started reading The Trumpet of the Swan for our Novel Studies and we are also reading historical and realistic fiction selections from Treasures. We have also started learning vocabulary strategies and "playing" with words- learning about idioms, word etymology, toponyms, eponyms, etc.

Reading Concept/Question Wall

We are in the process of getting more books for our classroom library. We also hope to update our board games.

Classroom Library

We got started with Writer's Workshop right away. The students have done their "heart" and are in the process of writing their seed stories.

Writing Wall

This is proving to be a very promising year with the students all ready to learn and starting on a good note. 

First Day of School/Morning Assembly

Opening Day/First Morning Assembly

School year 2012-2013 officially starts on Tuesday, August 14th. We have an early start, three weeks earlier than usual due to efforts to "maximize environments for learning" which includes alignment of testing schedules.

Bell Schedule:

7:45 am	Breakfast Program Begins
8:10 am	Class Begins
10:25 - 10:45 am	Recess - Grades 4 & 5
12:30 - 1:15	Lunch, Grades 4 & 5
1:45 pm	Dismissal, Grades 1 - 5

Room 20 will be the new house of this class. They were in Room 8 for the longest time and this will definitely be a big change for the students, in terms of their access to the bathrooms, main school entrance, and to their mainstreaming classes. But I am confident, as well that they will soon get used to it as it has easy access to the Computer Lab, the play yard, and the cafeteria.

This room is relatively much larger and we have so much space to fill. I can't wait to see this room get so active and busy.

The yard is so accessible to the bungalows, and hearing the voices of children out on the yard is very encouraging of the great future awaiting all of them.

The first morning assembly was not held until the following week. It's a great Pali tradition to show Pali spirit by wearing either blue or white, and all members of the community-teachers, staff, administration, parents, and students- together as a single learning community every Monday.

We are Pali!

Pali rocks!!!

Endings and Beginnings

                                    One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those 

                             who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, 

                        but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child."  --Carl Jung

Hello, it's Mr.Ramos!

It's the first day of summer and the first day of a relatively shorter summer vacation. School year 2011-2012 has finally come to a close and I wasn't expecting that I will be at a new school for the incoming school year. For 5 prolific years, I have devoted my time teaching a wonderful class at Gratts Elementary in downtown Los Angeles. 

Gratts @ dusk

This class made me discover and rediscover the nobility and the important role of being a teacher. I was lucky to have had students that opened a world of opportunities for me to hone my craft. The program has undergone a lot of changes, from a moderate to severe class, serving kids who are in an alternate curriculum to mild to moderate with students using the core curriculum. The best thing about it was more than 60% of them were in the same program for the past 5 years. It gave me an opportunity to work very closely with them and their families, offering constancy and consistency not usually present in a child's educational experience. 

Very Special Arts Festival, Music Center, Downtown LA

Glogster Project Presentation

Storybird Project Presentation

Habitat Project- Treasures Unit 5 4th Grade

Kid's Ocean Day 2012, Dockweiler Beach

Science Center Field Trip

I am so proud of what they have become, seeing them through more than half of their elementary years.  I can't wait to hear about more great things that they will accomplish as they spread their wings and soar with their knowledge, skills, and great attitude to succeed. 

Southern California Special Olympics-Track and Field

I come to Pali with a full heart; wanting to do more of the many great things I've started at Gratts. I don't only look forward but I can't wait to start and meet the school faculty and staff, students, and parents that will make me discover and rediscover more great things about teaching.