Ms. Reeves

February 22, 2008

Announcements:

- Congratulations to Variah and Joshua for earning Six Flags Tickets for reading for 360 minutes. Way to GO!!!!!!
- Thank you for all the wonderful Valentines treats!!
- Thank you to all families that attended the Black History Program yesterday. We had two students, Joshua and Mia, represent our class in the program.

Upcoming Events: (dates subject to change)

-February 29th - Influential African Americans Final Projects DUE!

- March 4th - Early Release Day
- March 6th - Parent Resource Night
- March 7th - Spring Pictures
- March 14th - End of 3rd marking period
- March 20th - Report Cards come home

- April 3rd - Aquarium Trip (More info to follow)
- April 7th - 11th Spring Break
- April 14th/15th - Youth Museum Trip
- April 23rd - May 2nd - Testing Cycle (**CRCT**)

February 8th

Believe it or not, we are half-way through the 3rd nine weeks! 

Your students have been working on Informational Reading and Writing, Light & Sound, Fractions & Decimals, and Colonization.   In the upcoming weeks, your students will being learning about stars, constellations, & planets.  In general conversations, ask them about what was discussed in class to hear about all of the exciting activities we are involved in daily!!

As a culminating writing assignment, your students will need to research an influential African American.  Outlines will be due on Friday, February 22.  Final projects are due Friday, February 29th.  The outline guidelines are in this Friday's Folder.  Each student will need to select someone from the list provided. 

Valentine's Day is Thursday, February 14th.  We are not having an in-class party but students are welcome to bring in Valentine cards for their classmates.  If bringing cards, they must be for the entire class and not individual students.

End of Year Celebration - we will celebrate the close of the school year by having a moving on ceremony in May.  For this ceremony, I would like for all families to provide a dish or beverage that represents your culture.  More info will come in March!!! 

Reminders:

• February 12th - High Tech / High Touch In-school field trip
• February 14th - Valentine's Day
• February 15th - Academic Alerts sent home
• February 18th & 19th - School closed for students

Please continue to make sure your child is reading nightly, completing homework and agenda's are signed!!!  Thank you for all of your support and we will continue to have a wonderful and productive remaining 3 1/2 months.  Please feel free to contact me anytime at the school or via e-mail @ delana.reeves@cobbk12.org

January 18, 2008

I hope that everyone enjoyed the break and was able to spend some quality time with their families. I would like to welcome Lee and Jahorie to our class. We are all getting to know each other and getting back into our routines.

Reminders:
Please be aware of your conference time and look forward to seeing you.
During conference week, we will have early dismissal Tuesday, January 22 through Monday, January 28th. Dismissal begins at 12:20.
Friday Folders need to be returned back to school on Monday, signed by a parent.
Please make sure you are signing your child's agenda, nightly.
Please make sure that your child is reading, at least 30 minutes, nightly.

Featured News:
Your School Counselors at Dowell are ready for a new year with our students. We would like to share some of the activities we have planned for the next couple of months.
January 15, 2008, Parent Workshop – “Good Discipline, Good Kids” will be offered three convenient times: 8:00 -9:00 a.m.; 11:00 -12:00 noon and 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Please RSVP by Monday, January 14, at 678-594-8062.
During conference week, counselors will be busy meeting with parents. Feel free to stop by the counselors’ office or call for an appointment. 678-594-8062.
Week of February 11, 2008, is “Random Acts of Kindness Week”. The counselors will be conducting classes that encourage all of us to demonstrate kindness with everyone where ever we are.
February 12, 2008, Parent Workshop – “Skills for Single Parents”( please invite a friend if you like). Three convenient times: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.; 11:00 – 12:00 noon; and 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Please RSVP by Monday, February 11, at 678-594-8062
Attention 5th Grade Parents!!!! Human Growth and Development parent review of material will be available on Thursday, February 21, from 7:00- 8:00 a.m., and 3:00 – 4:00 p.m., and on Friday, February 22, from 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 – 12:00 noon. Human Growth and Development classes will be offered to students on Tuesday, February 26, and Wednesday, February 27.
March is “ Career Awareness Month” – The counselor will spend the entire month encouraging students to focus on and investigate various careers.
March 6, 2008, Parent Workshop – “Parenting Children with Learning Disabilities” Three convenient times: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.; 11:00 – 12:00 noon and 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Please RSVP by Wednesday, March 5, at 678-594-8062.
March 26, 2008, 5th graders are scheduled to visit middle schools.
March 31, 2008 – Parent Night at Smitha for 5th grade parents. Please check with your school for scheduled dates for parent night.
Dowell counselors: Jeri Bryant, Linda Dudley, and Sherise Hartman 


December 14, 2007

Winter Break is will be here Friday!!

We have many tasks to accomplish before the end of the marking period.

Holiday Party:
This Friday we will have a grade level party. Please remember to send in cans of Sprite.

We will also be saying farewell to McKennah, who is leaving us and returning to Iowa. All of the students will really miss her :-(  Congratulations go out to her for being for our class representative for the water conservation poster contest.

We would also like to congratulate Laura Valles for winning our class Spelling Bee.  If for any reason she is unable to attend the school-wide event Variah Johnson is our alternate.  The final four contestants made it very hard. They knew how to spell many words and weren't easily tricked. They were, Mia Knight, Mirza Lopez, Joshua McClure, and Ezequiel Campos.

Reminders:

January 8th- First Day Back for Students
January 11th - Report Cards are sent home
January 21 - Holiday - MLK, Jr.'s Birthday
January 22 - 25 Conference Week.

Enjoy the holidays with your family and I can't wait to see the students in the New Year!!!

December 1, 2007

We have just a few weeks before the Winter Break and SOOO much to do! You may have noticed that your children are reading more everyday. They are getting stronger in their skills. Please talk to your child about what they're reading.
In class, we are working on Fables and the meanings behind them. Each student is going to create their own fable, as our culminating activity, that will be published for their classmates to read. In science, we are discussing light, colors and sound. They are very intrigued by how we see light and where it comes from. In math, we are working on Geometry. It has been a nice breather for those students who are not very excited about the mechanics of multiplication and division. If you get a chance, please purchase a protractor for them to practice at home. In Social Studies, we are learning about regions, latitude & longitude as well as Hemispheres, Prime Meridian and Equator.

Just a few reminders:

Fox Theater Field Trip - Monday, Dec. 3rd. If your child does not have a bagged lunch, they can purchase one from the Cafeteria. Please send a snack. We probably won't eat lunch until 1pm and everyone will be starving by this time, since our regular lunch time is 10:58. I have asked the student to dress up a little a more than usual since we're going to the theater. I don't want any of them to feel uncomfortable, or overdressed, but all should look nice...

Arts Night- I was GREAT to meet as well as see many of you at Arts Night. The Chorus and art work were beautiful.

Spelling Bee- We will have a School-Wide Spelling Bee in January. I have sent home a list of words for everyone to study. Attached to the list is a website where all the words can be found. Please help your child practice. Our Class Spelling Bee is December 14th. The winner and an alternate will move on to the School-Wide Bee.

On-Line Testing- A few weeks a go a flyer went home about studying on-line for the CRCT. Please assist your child with this. It is great practice.

Santa Breakfast- Sat. , Dec. 8th from 9 -12PM. $3.00 per child. Pictures are $2. Please come for a great time.

Please feel free to contact me at anytime via email @delana.reeves@cobbk12.org or on the school phone.
You can always view our newsletter on the Dowell Website.

November 16, 2007

Here are a few updates:

Field Trip: We had a scientist visit our classroom for our In-Class field trip on Wednesday. It was amazing the types of machines the students put together by combining the six simple machines. Please find time to discuss the trip with your children.

Upcoming Field Trip: In this Friday's Folder you will find a permission slip for our next trip: Fox Theater. Please complete and return with money.

Generous Donor:
If your child is in need of a winter coat please let me know by Monday. Ms. Hartman (school counselor) is going to receive a donation from a store with new winter coats. We would like to get them those children who REALLY need them, so they're not cold in the upcoming months.

Academic Alerts will be sent home on November 26th.

Meet & Greet:
It is wonderful to say that I have meet over half of the parents in our classroom! For those of you that would still like to meet me and vice versa, I will be attending the Arts Night on November 27th. This will be a wonderful opportunity for you to see your child's work showcased. I will arrive @ 5:30 and leave the classroom open from 5:30 - 6:30. I am looking forward to meeting and seeing all of you at this event.
The event runs from 6:00 - 8:00.

Bleach Wipes:
Our class is in need of Bleach Wipes. They don't have to be name brand, any brand will do. The season is upon us where children are getting sick and colds are running rampant. We would like to cut down as much as possible in our classroom by using the wipes to disinfect our tables and chairs.

Reminder:

There is no school Wednesday, Thursday or Friday!!!! Enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday and enjoy your FAMILY, FRIENDS, and FEAST!!!

You can always view our Blog at www.cobbk12.org/~dowell/

November 2, 2007

We have been very busy the past two weeks! The information below will provide you with a little insight into our upcoming activities.

November 5th & 6th:
There is no school for students. They are Teacher In-Service days.

Field Trip:
If you haven't already done so, please submit your permission slip for our trip on November 13th & 14th.

Explorer's Unit:
Fourth Graders just finished up the Explorer's Unit. They were broken into groups and created skits about their explorers. The skits were taped and once compiled we will show them to the classes. Hopefully, we'll be able to present them to you at a later date!

Science Project:
Projects are due next Wednesday. Your children came home yesterday with the directions. Please don't spend money on these. I want them to find materials from around the house to create their model of a simple machine. They have a green & white reference that they can use to decide what type of machine they would like to make.

Spelling:
The students spelling test format will change. The Cloze paragraphs that have been assigned for homework, will be the new format for the test. This will enable the students to better understand the context of the word. As you've noticed, one of the weekly spelling assignments is to use a dictionary to look up the meaning of their words. If there is not a dictionary in the home, please purchase one. Looking words up in a book teaches ABC order as well as various other skills.

Beginning the week of the 12th, there will be 25 words instead of 20. The five extra, are words that are going to increase their vocabulary. The twenty words that they have been previously assigned are known to most of the students and are used on a daily basis. These words are equally important because they teach the students the different aspects of grammar.

Have extra candy?
Did your kids get tooo much candy, this week? We're excepting donations for our treat jar. Please send in!

I've already met about half of our class's parents, I can't wait to meet the rest. I am still enjoying our wonderful kids.

If for any reason you need to touch base with me, please do! I can be reached anytime via email @ delana.reeves@cobbk12.org or at the school number.

October 2007

Well my second week at Dowell Elementary is coming to close!  I have to say that I am really enjoying my class.  I am sure by now you know more about me than I may know about you!  I was very excited to make an instant connection with the students by also being a transplant to the state of Georgia.  Half of our class has relocated from another state, and even country.  I am from the Pennsylvania/Southern New Jersey Area and relocated to the Atlanta Area during the summer.   I have been a public school educator for 10 years now and still love it!

I am still getting to know all twenty-two personalities.  This week, we complete personal narratives about a big event in our lives.  The narratives have provided me some insight into their personal thoughts.  For the next 2-weeks will be working on forces and motions in Science, colonization in Social Studies, and traditional literature and critiques in reading and writing.  As you already know, we compact for math, so students are met at their skill level.

Just A Few Reminders:

• Please remember to check and sign your child's agenda every evening.  The Dowell characteristic for the month is responsibility.  Each student will be held accountable for their homework as well as the completion of their classwork, daily.  Homework, will continue to be a follow-up from the day's activities.
• Friday Folders need to be returned on Monday, signed.
• Parent conferences for the first marking period have been canceled until January.  I am making arrangements, to host an informal meet and greet by November, so we both may put a name with a face.
• Chick-fil-a biscuits are on sale every Thursday Morning for $2.50.

I welcome correspondence from you!  I can always be reached via email at delana.reeves@cobbk12.org or a message can be left on the school number.  I look forward to a productive year and I know that a strong partnership between home and school will be built, together.

As the first nine weeks draws to a close, I hope that you have had the opportunity to learn about all the exciting concepts that your student has learned.  In math, we have learned how to display data on various types of graphs.  In language arts, we are continuing to master our grammar skills and determine the type of sentence.  In writing, we are working on creative narrative stories that are zany and crazy!  In science, we have been studying weather and weather safety.  There have been many projects and activities that your student has been involved in and I hope that they have shared their discoveries with you.

On a different note, the past two weeks have been interesting and exciting on a personal level.  I recently accepted a position as an Area Lead Teacher for Cobb County.  This is an amazing opportunity that I could not turn down.  Unfortunately, it also means that I will be leaving my classroom.  I have truly grown to love each student in my class and this is definitely the hardest part of my decision.  Dr. Frost is in the process of hiring a replacement and rest assured that your child's new teacher will be fully capable to take over and lead your child to success.

Please remember that Chick-fil-A biscuits are on sale each Thursday for $2.50.  Dowell Math Night at Publix is fast approaching.  This is an exciting night to view first hand how math is applicable to real life situations.  I hope you all can make it!

If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please don't hesitate to call or email.

Email Notification Service

Parents
The service that we use to automatically notify you when the blog is updated has changed their terms of service in such a way that an ad will begin showing up at the bottom of the email that comes to you. Your email address is still not being shared with anyone other than the school! The mere placement of advertising in school communications is of concern to us, especially since we have no control over what the ad may be.

We are exploring other means of providing this service to you at this time. For now, we ask your patience as we work through the concern. In the meantime, if you receive an ad that is objectionable to you, we would appreciate your notifying the school, and holding onto it so that it may be forwarded to proper personnel.

Thank you for your patience!