By Stephanie Westdyke on 10/7/2008

Dear Parents,

We have added an additional field trip to this year's curriculum. This was not covered by the budget request submitted by the 5/6 team last year. Additionally, the cost of district buses has nearly doubled this year, significantly increasing our transportation expense for field trips. To help cover the cost of this additional trip, we are requesting that each student bring in $6. I will cover the rest of the expense from my classroom budget. On November 14th, my class will have a guest speaker from the DMNS who will teach us more about the rainforest and bring in samples for students to experience. In the afternoon, each student will receive and paint a Mayan artifact. I am excited about this individualized learning experience for my class. Please contact me directly if you cannot cover the $6, and we will make other arrangements. Thanks for your supp ... Read More »

By Stephanie Westdyke on 10/7/2008

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By Stephanie Westdyke on 9/29/2008

By Stephanie Westdyke on 9/29/2008

We are completing a Literacy project in class, based on the first trimester Lit Circle books. This contained four parts:

Part 1: Word-Study Boxes

Part 2: Important Quote

Part 3: Characters/Setting

Part 4: Topic Web

This will be due at the end of class on Tuesday, and is not to be completed at home.

By Stephanie Westdyke on 9/23/2008

Mrs. Westdyke’s Class
LANGUAGE ARTS: Students are doing a great job learning how to work effectively in Literature Circles. Please check PowerSchool to see how your student is doing thus far. This week, we will continue with the reading of Loser by Jerry Spinelli.  A separate small group is working on Number the Stars. All students should have selected an individual novel for use on a semester project. This was due last Thursday. Individual student selections are noted in PowerSchool. Students will recei ... Read More »

By Stephanie Westdyke on 9/19/2008

Have you been wondering how I grade students for behavior? In Theme class, I make daily observations about student behavior. This includes participation, completion of daily jobs, level of effort on group activities, cooperation, and the general example that they set for others. Students begin each day with 1 point. If there are no major issues throughout Theme, the student retains that point. These scores are reflected as a weekly score in PowerSchool. If the student is disruptive, off-task, or exhibiting negative behaviors outside of our classroom agreements, the student loses the point for that day. Each student has the opportunity to start fresh every day.

By Stephanie Westdyke on 9/17/2008

By Stephanie Westdyke on 9/17/2008

Our field trip to Roxborough State Park was a huge success. Students were great hikers and had a great time identifying rock formations. We were able to see firsthand the rock cycle at work, and understand better what makes metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary. Thanks to Mrs. Carlson, Mr. Boyd, and Mrs. Skazin for chaperoning this trip for us. We couldn't do it without our parent volunteers. Want to see what your children saw? Visit the website: http://parks.state.co.us/Parks/roxborough

 

By Stephanie Westdyke on 9/11/2008

Remember that school pictures are Friday, September 12th. Please bring your completed order with payment no later than Friday morning. Grins are in!

By Stephanie Westdyke on 9/10/2008

Mrs. Westdyke’s Class
LANGUAGE ARTS: During class this week, we will become familiar with classroom expectations and goals. Students will be introduced to journaling, spelling practice, and an example of vocabulary program (homework this week due Friday). We will also begin to work on literacy circles and our first novel for the trimester. We will be reading Loser by Jerry Spinelli.

&l ... Read More »