Mrs. Myers' Target Mailbox

Current News and Notes!

Thanks for visiting our TARGET BLOG!

Check back frequently for updates,announcements & assignments!

Mark YOUR CALENDARS!

America's Got Talent! Of course...Nicholson students do too! If you submitted an application please remember there are auditions in February so get practicing and good luck to everyone!

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HOORAY! TARGET testing is coming to a close and we can resume with ALP classes this week. The days of service have not changed for TARGET students previously in the program but the new first grade TARGET students will begin having classes on Monday! I want to welcome ALL the newly identified students in each grade level and let parents know we will be holding an Open House meeting in early February to discuss the details of our program. Just so everyone knows......

Monday = First Grade TARGET

**'P.A.C.E UNIT' *NEW THIS YEAR**

Tuesday = Second Grade TARGET

'HEART' UNIT

Thursday = Fifth Grade TARGET

'PREDATORS OF THE AQUATIC BIOME' UNIT

All students need to clean out their TARGET binder (leaving in the tabbed sections) and replenish supplies for a productive spi=ring semester! We will have lunch at 12:24 - 12:54 so don't forget your snacks! I can't wait to get started!

Friday, January 27th is the 100th Day of School! Congratulations to all the students that made the 100 and 100+ Clubs! Remember you can make it into these clubs and have your name announced on W.S.T.R. anytime between now and May so never give up!

Posted at 04:45 PM in Points for Parents, TARGET Newsletters | Permalink

January 26, 2012

5TH GRADE TARGET BEGINS NEW UNIT TODAY!

Today in TARGET we kicked off a new unit called Predators of the Aquatic Biome. We pretested to assess our prior knowledge and even looked at a site of tagged sharks in the Pacific Ocean.

QUESTION: If you were a shark for 24 hours...which one would you want to be and why?

WRITE THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER THEM IN COMPLETE SENTENCES FOR 'GOING BEYOND' CREDIT. GOOD LUCK!

Posted at 12:29 PM in Question of the Week | Permalink

The fifth grade TARGET students started their new unit entitled, "Predators of the Aquatic Biome"by taking a pretest. We always want to maximize our time together by finding out what we already know about sharks and their water habitat. We also played a game of 'Believe it or Not'! This encouraged all students to become affective learners of a classroom community. Word Plexers were the puzzle of the day and enjoyed by all. A review of the importance of the TARGET tally was necessary and I'm expecting the tally to serve as a communication tool between school and home in addition to this blog. The students do have a bit of homework over the next week. They should click on the link below. Explore the site and then be prepared to discuss what they saw in class next week.

http://las.pfeg.noaa.gov/TOPP_recent/index.html

The students did have to return to homeroom classes at lunch time since I have pending evaluation for TARGET. We will test our toothpick bridges next week! Don't forget to sign tally sheets and view the link. It's going to be a fantastic spring semester!

Posted at 11:23 AM in Homework / Assignments, Points for Parents, TARGET Newsletters | Permalink

January 17, 2012

FREE COPY OF GIFTED QUARTERLY AVAILABLE NOW

"We are now in a major political battle with federal and state governments to maintain gifted education programs in the public schools. We're making Gifted Education Press Quarterly a resource available to all educators and parents who want to maintain and expand programs for gifted students!"

Members of the National Advisory Panel for Gifted Education Press Quarterly are:

Dr. Hanna David — Tel Aviv University, Israel; Dr. James Delisle — Kent State University; Dr. Jerry Flack — University of Colorado; Dr. Howard Gardner — Harvard University; Ms. Margaret Gosfield – Editor, Gifted Education Communicator, Published by the California Association for the Gifted; Ms. Dorothy Knopper — Publisher, Open Space Communications; Mr. James LoGiudice — Bucks County, Pennsylvania IU No. 22; Dr. Bruce Shore — McGill University, Montreal, Quebec; Ms. Joan Smutny — National-Louis University, Illinois; Dr. Colleen Willard-Holt — Dean, Faculty of Education, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario; Ms. Susan Winebrenner — Consultant, San Marcos, California; Dr. Ellen Winner — Boston College.

Simply EMAIL: gifted@giftededpress.com and request your free copy of the 25^th Anniversary of Gifted Education Press Quarterly. It contains excellent articles on Advocating for Gifted Education. During this time of budget cuts. parents and teachers need to be informed on national issues and funding for gifted education! Thanks!

Posted at 08:59 PM in Points for Parents | Permalink

December 15, 2011

Many Thanks to Parents!!!

Many many thanks to ALL of the Parents that attended the presentations of our power point shows. Each student felt empowered having an audience that genuinely showed an interest in their learning! I, too, appreciate the time you committed both today and during the entire research process. We will complete the toothpick bridges today and test them next week. However, students will NOT need to bring a binder to TARGET since we will only meet briefly due to homeroom class celebrations.

I wish each and everyone of you a very blessed holiday with time to relax and recharge for 2012. We will resume TARGET classes at the end of January due to system wide testing of new TARGET students.

Posted at 11:14 AM in Points for Parents | Permalink

December 14, 2011

Congratulations to......

A great BIG congratulations goes to Hannah, Nicholas, Austin, Ravyn, James, Cameron, Paige, Christopher and Nolan who all completed the satellite homework last week! You are OUT OF THIS WORLD! Way to go!

Posted at 01:50 PM in Homework / Assignments | Permalink

December 11, 2011

Here is a sneak preview of the Bridge Power Point Presentations that will be showcased on Thursday!

Posted at 09:42 PM in Student Work | Permalink

August 03, 2011

Welcome Back to Nicholson Everyone!

It is difficult to believe that a few short months ago we were wishing our 5th graders best of luck and looking forward to summer vacations. I hope that each of you had some time to try a few new adventures with family and friends. I know I'm ready to get back to the comforting routine of school!

As it has been for the last 20 plus years, I begin planning lessons and activities well before the first day of school. Reflecting on feedback provided by the students I am constantly searching for innovative ways to challenge each TARGET student to their full potential. Interesting enough I came across an article recently in which students were asked about the TOP 5 things they wanted from their education. An excerpt is included below. It is my goal to challenge each of the TARGET students to increase their critical thinking skills and problem solving abilities while promoting leadership qualities and empathy for others.

I hope you'll read the short article and let me know your thoughts as we greet another year of adventures together. See you in two weeks!

Five things students say they want from education ESchool News July 2011

With so many education stakeholders debating the needs of today’s schools, student voices aren’t always heard when it comes to what they want from their education.

And while it’s important to note what businesses would like to see in their future employees, at the end of the day it really comes down to the students themselves.

We recently asked eSchool News readers: “What’s the one thing you hear most often from students about what they want in school?”

Though the responses were numerous, students repeated these five things the most.

5. Interactive technology ~ Students want to use technology that they are comfortable with leaving the old overhead projector behind!. They also want more time to reflect on what they learn...drawing conclusions and forming opinions based on individual experiences.

4. Teacher mentors ~ Students say they want a teacher who respects and cares about them, a teacher who engages them in learning rather than constantly ‘telling’ them what they should learn, and a curriculum that explains the ‘what’ and ‘why’ and connects it to their lives.

3. Innovation ~ Students indicate an ongoing desire to learn—but in more fun, creative ways.

2. Choice ~Students want choice within the class. They have better 'buy in' when they are stake holders in the decisions they make.

1. Real-world application and relevancy~ Students want more practical, hands-on experience and not just lectures and homework.