Monday, November 6, 2017

End of 1st Quarter Update

Families~

Thank you so much for meeting with me during conferences.  It's always nice to sit down and talk about the progress made thus far, but more importantly the future goals of each student.  I appreciate your time and support during that process.

In class, we've just gotten started on a lot of 2nd Quarter skills and projects. The students learning their multiplication facts will be a HUGE part of math the entire rest of the school year.  We are still working on any number x0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10.  Most students are well underway with that process as they are hard workers and are excited for the challenge.  Some great study strategies at home include flash cards, the online game called Math Magician, MobyMax Fact Fluency, or one of the best ways is to print off timed sheets (the link is under the Math tab off to the side of this blog) and have the students set a 3 minute timer.  This is EXACTLY what the Friday tests include.  The rest of the year (and 4th grade) is such a struggle for students who do not master their facts with memorization.

In addition, any skills we discussed as potential struggles for your child can be addressed by them continuing on MobyMax and Dreambox, both which cater exactly to the needs of the individual child.  Oh, and keep trying to encourage reading at home, but again, only if you are ready to help in the process of falling in love with reading.  Have conversations about any books they've been interested in and assist them in finding similar books they can get from our school library or Oswego Library.  Don't let them say they don't enjoy books, because they are TOTALLY ENTHRALLED with the books we do as read alouds (BFG, The Twits, Bunnicula, The Whangdoodles). 

Looking forward to a productive middle of the year, even with all the breaks from we school that are upcoming.  As always, we will find a way to RISE ABOVE IT!

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

First Post of 2017-2018


Parents~
If you are receiving this, YOU ROCK!  Thanks for signing up to get blog updates throughout the year. Once again, I promise the updates won't stress you out :) This year has honestly been AMAZING!  I'm sure we'll hit a rough patch at some point, but for right now, we are really cruising through our days. Here’s a few things going on:

1).  While things during the school days are going swimmingly, I'm a little concerned about the follow-up piece at home.  The great news is, we have a very honest class this year.  The bad news is that they are honest about what is not happening at home on a nightly basis.  Last Monday night, we circled to look over our Math Review sheet for our test, and a little less than half the class admitted to looking the sheet over
L.  Then, again last night, we had multiple students bring their Math game back incomplete. I know I've said it a few times, but please make sure you are talking with your child about the day as you look at their planner WITH them.  That element is going to be vital all year long.  Thank you so much for your help with this.

2). Boosterthon FUNRUN is tomorrow at 9:05 for our grade level.  Parents are welcome to come cheer their children on during the run!  Our class alone raised over $1,000!!!!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! That’s unbelievable…thanks for the hard work on your end!

3). I guess I forgot to update our class schedule on the Curriculum Night Brochure (Busted!).  I’m so sorry for this confusion…I promise the Specials tab on the blog is correct!

Sorry to be a little bit of a downer on my first post of the year, but I really want to make sure we are all setting some easy routines for the students that will lead to maximize success.  I promise my next post will be way more upbeat and not so long.  Thanks for reading and have a great week!
~Mr. Buono

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Mr. Buono's Blog!!!

Dear '16-'17 Families~

Hahaha...you thought you were done with me :) Actually, that's what this message is about! I'm getting ready to "roll over" my blog so my new families can subscribe. Your job should be pretty easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Jump below this message to the bottom of the email.
2. Look at the second line that says To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.

3. It will pop up in a second window and just confirm that you will unsubscribe.
4. Smile to know you're finally FINALLY done with me!

Thanks again to each of you for making last year an awesome one. As always, please feel free to stop me or email me with ANY concerns you have this school year! Enjoy your next few weeks!

~Mr. Buono

Thursday, May 25, 2017

TODAY!

Families~
Very sorry I forgot this, but in addition to Field Day, today is also our 4th grade Yearbook signing!  I did tell the students about it, but forgot to remind them of it yesterday :(  If you see this before school, please communicate it with any other classmates as well to bring their yearbooks!  Thanks!

Monday, March 20, 2017

Genuis Hour Presentations

Families~


I am so excited about our information we've collected for our "Genius Hours."  Basically, we've set aside time the last few weeks to research ANY topic that interests each individual student (we have quite the assortment from Area 51 to the Nervous System to the Berlin Wall).  Your child's job is to become an "expert" in the topic they chose.  Starting immediately over Spring Break, the students will start presenting their ideas in ANY STYLE THEY CHOOSE.  Their "grade" is based around the work they put in and the knowledge the rest of the class gains based off the presentation.  It is not at all about a "project" or a materialistic "thing" so please don't think you need to go nuts building a human robot to offer h'orderves during their presentation. However, sticking with the idea of presenting information in a way that will help the other students retain the topic, it may be helpful for them to have some kind of visual (TOTALLY up to the student).  I do want it to be the student's work, so please try to refrain from helping as much as possible...it's about them exploring and creating what THEY think works best.  We will work on these (whether electronically or by hand) over the next few days before break, and the students will be expected to finish over break.  They won't be allowed to read whole sentences off of anything during their presentations, so they will have to rely on their visual and KNOW the information well.  If there's any other questions, please check with your student or me, but my answer is pretty much going to be, "whatever the student wants to do" as that's the idea behind the Genius Hour.  Thanks and have a great Spring Break!

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Fun Happenings Coming Up!!!

Families~


Here's a happy post :)  We've a few fun events coming up in the next two weeks! 


1.  FORE Family Fun Golf Night is January 24th (next Tuesday).  I am resending a form home to every student who didn't sign up just in case you still wanted to (you have until tomorrow to sign up).  I'm super excited and we have 20 students' families who plan on attending! If you can't all make it, but it would be possible for your child to still go, please have them ask a friend to tag along with them!  I just want as many students there as possible!


2. Lakewood Creek Library Night at the Montgomery Library on January 26th (next Thursday). This will be the first time doing a night at the library, but it looks like tons of fun!  Teachers will be reading books every 15 minutes and many other activities will be out for students of all grades!


3. We are 1 more "point" away from earning our next class party, so I should be sending a letter home early next week (hopefully).


***Thanks again for all the continued support throughout the year.  I fully appreciate the kind words, treats, and most importantly sending your child to school every day as well-prepared as possible. Please continue to check those folders, practice multiplication facts, play on Dreambox or MobyMax, and discuss their planners with them daily.  It's the time of the year when most people slip from their routines (students and parents alike :). Stay healthy, and I'll see most of you next Tuesday!