Dear Students:

Thank you all so much for the hard work and dedication you demonstrated for your College and Career and Hero projects.  I was extremely pleased with the academic content and artistic representations in your work.

I look forward to closing out the year with a maniacal devotion to improving our reading, writing, and speaking skills, while continuing to grow our technological skills.  Buckle your seat belts.  It's going to be a fast ride!

Best,

Ms. Wicks

Just a quick note to wish everyone a wonderful New Year!

Best Wishes!

Ms. Wicks

P.S. Don't forget your homework!  :-)

All Destination Success work is due by Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 5:00 p.m.  

Click on "Destination Success" and then "Show All Homework" to find all of the Achieve3000 articles that have been assigned.

Sign into Achieve3000 and compare your "My Lessons" (activities) work to the work that was assigned.  You should have a minimum of 17 articles with scores of 50% or better.

Please contact me if you have any questions!   ~Ms. Wicks

Destination Success class motto: "The journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step." `Lao Tzu

The Beginning

We started our leg of this journey by getting to know each other and making friends.  We learned resiliency, the ability to "bounce back" from difficult circumstances is based on 6 domains: a secure base (home), education, friends, talents/interests, positive values and social competencies.  During the first week, we focused on developing friendships through team building exercises.  We also learned the classroom rituals and routines, and practiced "station rotations" for Blended Leaning (integrating technology in the classroom).

Technology

During the second week, students began learning about technology and computers.  They have already learned the importance of online safety, key technological terms and navigational skills.  You can view just some of these terms by visiting this link:

http://quizlet.com/13180811/computer-basics-vocabulary-i-flash-cards/

Mathematics

Students took a 6th grade math diagnostic and posted some very impressive scores.  Twenty-Eight percent (28%) of students tested as "advanced" in 6th grade mathematics!  The students also began work on an online program called Xtramath to help them become proficient in their math facts.  So far, 11 students have tested out of addition (can answer with 90% accuracy in 3 seconds), so we still have a lot of work to do!   Students also began speed practice in "mental math" by learning to add 9 (difficult for many students) in their "heads" without counting or more importantly, using their fingers :-(.  Students had an absolute blast with these exercises and so did I!

Finally, we are developing our classroom community through Edmodo, a secure online system that allows students to communicate both in class and throughout the day, including weekends.  It's like "Facebook" for the class.

We have already accomplished a lot and there is so much more to do. Next week, we add in English Language Arts (grammar and reading).   I'll try to post something more frequently so that these updates won't be so long!

It is an absolute honor and pleasure to work with these wonderful students.  They inspire me and make me laugh out loud!  We work hard and we play hard as we continue our journey to our Destination: Success. 

Thank you for your continued support of our school community!

Best Regards,

Ms. Wicks