March and April

Hello all!
February has come and gone and it was very eventful. The Black History Unit was very well received and I think all the students had a great learning experience, and a little fun too! March is nearly over already and I, for one, don't know where it's gone! Oh well, onward and upward!
We have been learning about inventors and artists, lately, in the Reading Street book. Students have explored their own thoughts on what are the most important inventions and how they have impacted the world.
We have also been working on Paideia workshops with 5B. This is new to me and has been very enlightening. I always enjoy class discussion and I truly believe it leads to higher understanding, but it is just terrific to learn a more structured way to carry out discussion. I think students are enjoying it quite a bit too. I will try and incorporate at least one every week or two for the rest of the school year, for all classes. Be sure and ask your student about it!
We have been toiling away at EOG prep too. The EOG booklets have arrived and were distributed last week. I have answer keys in my room, located in the Homework bin, for students to check their answers. I will accept two practice readings a night for homework. Please make sure your student works in order in the book and answers ALL practice questions (not just the A,B,C.. questions). I am tutoring 6th grade students in the mornings (7:45-8:10) using these books. I have administered the pretests to most classes again during March also. I will write down your students score in their agendas this week, please watch for that.
Chip reward week has arrived! 6th grade students will be treated to an old-fashioned sock-hop in the gym. Their will be prizes given for best 50's dress (male and female), best dancers (male and female), Best hula-hooper and best limboer. Should be a lot of fun. 5th grade classes will be treated to a free period of fun too! On Thursday, students who have earned the privilege (at least 77 chips, from me only) may bring hand held electronics, musical CD's, games, etc.. and spend time playing, instead of working. If the weather's nice, we'll go outside.
Important Dates to remember:
March 26: No school for students, teacher workday
March 31: Report cards go home
April 2-9: Spring break, Enjoy!
April 6: PTO Meeting Light of Christ Church 7:00
No spelling words this week!
Reminder: Homework is also the same and is ALWAYS due unless we have a PTO meeting or I write differently in students agenda: Read for 30 minutes, write a paragraph about what you read (not the book) and jot down page numbers. Students should read chapter books for this assignment!

Hello! Welcome to the third semester at Neuse Charter School! This semester we will work on novel studies, Black History Month and EOG preparation. On Tuesdays, we will have a special schedule for EOG preparation. Also, if you would like a great website for extra practice:
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/index.htm
Have a great week!

Happy New Year!

Hello and Happy New Year to everyone! I trust you all had a restful and happy Christmas break. I spent my time doing a whole lot of relaxing, reconnecting with friends and my college-age son and eating great food. My family and I went to a Charlotte Bobcats game. We spent a few very cold nights in the mountains, too. I look forward to hearing about all my students' adventures over the break!

The first week back at school will be fun. We will be holding a persuasive writing workshop in our classroom! Students will learn the importance of being able to influence readers and some of the strategies that writers employ to acheive their goals.

All grades will have spelling words this week. On that note, congratulations to Oriauna Henry, Neuse Charter Schools' spelling bee champ. She will be competing in the Johnston County Spelling Bee. Well done, Oriauna!

The week of January 11th, students will be taking pre-EOG practice tests.

Please remember: homework, for all classes, is ALWAYS to read for 30 minutes, write page numbers and a short summary. Many students are not getting their homework turned in. Late homework is not accepted.

Welcome back to school in 2010! I have a feeling, it's going to be a great year; full of learning, growing and good times!

Week of Dec. 7th

Last week, all grades and classes presented the first theme book activity. It was a great learning experience. Students taught their peers about dogs, sports, horses, we learned a pirate game, how to draw a variety of new things, were treated to a modeling show, learned about Hannukah and sang "We Shall Overcome". The list goes on. What a talented group of students. Everyone who presented managed to overcome their stage fright and put on a wonderful show. We have a few more to see this week and I am really looking forward to them.

This week 5th graders will be enjoying a visit and workshop from the Burning Coal Theater out of Raleigh! (6th graders are next week!) Shakespeare in the Modular will take place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and it promises to be a terrific treat for all involved!I will supplement Burning Coal with some in-class activities.

6th grade will learn about argument, persuasion and propaganda. We will examine old War posters, modern advertising directed at teenagers, we will write persuasively and create our own posters and perhaps, have a debate. These activities will take us into the Christmas break.

One note about Theme book #2, title due Monday Dec. 7th, we will not be able to have a feast on the 8th of January. Regulations preclude bringing any food product into a classroom but store-made food, so we will have to forego that activity. Book II, non-fiction, will not have an activity associated with it. Just the book report.

This week is Spirit Week
Tuesday: Sports Day
Wednesday: Twin Day
Thursday: School Spirit Day

Should be an exciting couple of weeks!

This week we will begin the school-wide examination of the book "Talking Walls" by Margy Burns Knight. All classes and all grades will read the book this week. Be sure and ask your student about it. The book reviews walls in different countries and the different meanings of those walls for each culture. The walls are as various as the The Great Wall of China, The Vietnam Memorial Wall, The Wailing Wall and the Lauscaux caves drawings in France.
In my classes, we will work in pairs to research one of the walls. (I will assign pairs and walls.)Each group will be given a country and a wall. They will then find proverbs, flags, languages, and fables from their country. Then we'll present all the information to each other, along with the wall story from the book. We'll also make our own "wall" in the classroom.
We will also review comprehension skills, have a spelling/vocabulary test and continue in class reading and writing.
Should be a good week.
E-mail me at: lberner@neusecharterschool.org

Hello everyone!
I hope you all enjoyed a terrific Halloween and Fall Festival. I know I enjoyed seeing all the ghosts, goblins and princesses. On October 22, 6th graders enjoyed an afternoon in the sun, playing games and socializing with other Middle school students. It was a delightful reward for a great first semester. On Oct. 30, 4th and 5th graders also celebrated the end of the semester. They enjoyed parties during class-time, complete with the Monster Mash, the Time Warp and a little Michael Jackson thrown in for good measure. And plenty of treats! A good time was had by all.

For the next week or so, 5B and 6A will be working on the 5 elements of a short story. They will write a scary short story, have a test on their notes and participate in literature circles, delving into some of the finest short stories written. The students will present their findings with their groups to class.

5A will be comparing and contrasting two short books, "Pink and Say" and "Faithful Elephants", that explore how war effects innocent bystanders. This is a continuation of our readings from the textbook based on the theme" why do people risk their own safety for others?" We will work in small groups to create a summary ABC book.

Should be a fun week!

It is difficult to believe that the end of the first quarter is upon us! Time flies when you're working hard. On Thursday, 6th grade enjoyed an end of the quarter field day. Both 5th grade classes will be having a little respite from their toil this Friday, as we will spend a period enjoying treats, crafts and, weather permitting, a bit of time outside. Parents are encouraged to send treats to share with the class on Friday morning. Students have earned a break.

Reports cards will be issued on October 28. I am happy to answer any questions you might have. E-mail at :
lberner@neusecharterschool.org.
I am at school everyday by 7:30 a.m daily and we can meet after school too. Let me know what works best.

Next week 6a and 5b will finish up our Edgar Allan Poe unit. It has been a great deal of fun. We rae writing scary stories and poetry dedicated to the master of macabre. We have expanded our vocabulary, too.

5a has been working on a story from the Reading Street book titled' "Inside Out", about an immigrant that gets bullied at school. We have enjoyed spirited discussions about what motivates bullies and the difficulty of starting out in a new place. Students created an acrostic poem to summarize the story. We will finish up this week.

Remember Fall Festival on Friday, Oct. 30.


I hope you all enjoy the 4 day day weekend!