Perseverance

This morning, I competed in the Educators in Training Sprint Triathlon for NPS employees. The race was a 1/4 swim, a 15 mile bike ride and a 5K run. I am a former runner, but I am not a strong swimmer (basically, I can doggie paddle) and haven't really been riding my bike much at all. I entered the competition with the intent of training all summer - then, life got in the way. So, I entered the pool at 8:40 a.m. and swam my 18 lengths, fighting tears of exhaustion and frustration. It is pretty hard to swim 1/4 mile alternating the back stroke, doggie paddle and side stroke, but I did it. I ran to the changing room to get ready for the bike portion. Of course, something always has to go wrong, and I realized I forgot to pack my running shorts. Ms. Taylor and Ms. Alton scoured the locker room for me, but I ended up borrowing a pair from lost and found! The bike race was the most challenging. I felt very isolated on the road, as other bikers passed me. They shouted words of encouragement, but I felt horrible. My frustration with myself was overshadowing me just enjoying the experience. I cried several times on the bike, wanting to stop but not wanting to let my family or my students down. I had told the class I would finish, and I would! As I approached Mrs. Lajoie and Mrs. Harlow at their cheerleading station, they informed me that I wasn't last - there was one biker behind me. Soon, that biker passed me, along with the "sweepers," as they are called. The sweepers go around to make sure no one is left behind. An amazing woman talked me through the last mile of the bike ride, as I rode through tears and smiles. I approached JFK as the last biker, knowing I still had a run ahead of me. I dropped my bike and headed out to Look Park. I have never run after a bike ride and swim, so my legs would not let me run. I jogged a bit, and as I approached the rotary in front of Look Park, Superintendent Brian Salzer rode down to get me. Mrs. Bennett and Dr. Brown had sent him to check on me, and they wanted to walk me back to JFK. What an amazing group of people I work with! I reached the parking lot of JFK, and I still had two laps around the fields to finish. Staff were still in the parking lot, cheering me on, even though the race was over, awards had been presented and every other team had finished. My sweet daughter Elyse ran to me and she and I walked the two laps, then ran to the finish line. My amazing colleagues formed a bridge for Elyse and me to run under. She felt like the most famous kid on the planet! I finished! As I hugged my family, my friends and colleagues, I thought back over the past three hours, and remembered every time I wanted to stop, give up and go home. I thought about our students, and how I am sure they feel like that at times, if work feels too hard. I remembered something a mentor of mine taught me at my first teaching job: "You can do it. I believe in you. I won't give up on you." I hope to make sure my students always feel that way. Perseverance is a pretty powerful thing.

Late Start Professional Day

This morning, the third grade team met to discuss the data from the 2012 MCAS results. We examined the test and scores from last year, and made a solid plan of action to teach our current third graders the skills needed to succeed on the 2013 MCAS. More info to come.

Movie Day

Today, we watched "The Tale of Despereaux" (thank you, Zev!) to compare the film version to the book. We noticed many changes in the film, and the children will be writing about why they believe those changes were made in the film tomorrow. What a fun day of popcorn, pumpkin seeds (thanks, Alli!) and a movie!

Homework, 10/23/12

Tonight's homework is page 54 in the purple folder. REMINDER: tomorrow is a late start, so our school day will begin at 10:50 instead of 8:50.

Word Sorts, week of 10/22/12

We have three word sort groups in the class. Here are the three sets for this week.

Homework, 10/22/12

Tonight's homework is page 48 in the purple folder. Also, children have a new word sort. I will begin posting the sort words each week, in case they go missing. :)

Homework, 10/16/12

Homework tonight is page 45 AND a writing/editing assignment. Students have an excerpt from the book "Lon Po Po," and they have to determine where they think paragraphs should be inserted.

Sad News

Hello families, I am very sad to report that our annual trip to Plimouth Plantation and the Mayflower II is not happening this year. I told the students last week that it may not be happening, and I was told today that we are not able to go. I highly encourage you to research this amazing destination to experience Massachusetts history first-hand, and take a day trip this fall, if you can. The third grade team is hoping we can plan some amazing field trips for your students this year, so we will keep you posted.

Homework, October 15, 2012

Tonight's homework is page 29 in the purple math folder. Also, your child has a writing assignment. It is an excerpt from a picture book to give them practice with creating paragraphs in their writing. The directions are attached.

Homework, 10/10/12

Tonight's homework is page 17 in the purple math folder. Tomorrow's date is 10/11/12. Do you know when the next time is that the date will be three consecutive numbers?

Homework, 10/9/12

Hello families! Homework tonight is page 15 and 16 in the purple math folder.

A few reminders...

Homework tonight is page 4 in the purple folder.
Community Meeting is tomorrow at 9:10.
Picture Day is Friday, October 5.
Information for our upcoming trip to Plimouth Plantation will be coming home this week.

Oddballs for Word Sort

For those students sorting the long u and short u words this week, there is more than one oddball. Thank you, Mrs. Fournier! "Sew," "do," and "truth" are all oddballs. Do you agree? Why or why not? :)

Homework, 10/1/12

Welcome to October! Wow, we are in our second month of school already. Today, we started a new math unit on data collection, surveys and graphs. Your parent letter in the front pocket of the purple math folder explains all the objectives we will meet this unit. Also, I sent home Unit 1 with your child. Homework tonight is Page 2 in the purple folder, and to begin working on the new word sort.