R.K. FINN RYAN ROAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - G.O.A.L.S.

PROGRAM

FEBRUARY 2015

NEWSLETTER
A Message from Mr. D
Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians:
I hope everyone has stayed safe during this weekends snowstorm! It is hard to believe
that we may get more snow later this week. I wanted to share with you some the exciting
things we are doing here in the GOALS program. All of our students worked diligently on
their study of Penguins before winter vacation and after we came back. They really
enjoyed some of the learning activities we used: flashcards with built-in video definitions,
short National Geographic clips, and of course non-fiction stories.
Depending on their grade, our students have also been working on the following math
units: Fractions, Area, U.S. Currency, and Word Problems. In English-Language Arts our
students have been continuing their hands-on phonics instruction (making words), developing comprehension
strategies, as well as guided and independent reading. If you would like some copies of the stories we have been
practicing at school, please let me know and I will be happy to send a copy home to you.
As always, if you ever have any questions, concerns, or feedback about your child or our school please dont hesitate
to call me at 413.587.1550 or to e-mail me at jdickson@northampton-k12.us. I always enjoy talking with students,
parents, and families.
Sincerely yours,

Upcoming Dates and Events

February 9

Natures Classroom Meeting for

4th grade Parents

February 11

6:00pm - School Council

7:00pm - PTO

February 13

Pajama Day
Movie Night

WORKING TOGETHER TO FOSTER INDIVIDUAL GROWTH

Ryan Road is a community of diverse learners. It is our
goal to recognize each of our students strengths and to
provide them with the resources, tools, and strategies they
need to be successful. As each child is unique, they may
require dierent tools to accomplish
the same job.

My goal, as your childs teacher, is to provide a safe, engaging

and cooperative learning environment that acknowledges
and embraces their unique dierences. By recognizing each
childs strengths and challenges we are able to work
collaboratively to promote a community of respectful
learners.

DONT FORGET TO VISIT OUR CLASSROOM WEBSITE AT WWW.MRDICKSON.COM

R.K. FINN RYAN ROAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - G.O.A.L.S. PROGRAM

FEBRUARY 2015

Learn About
Penguins

Virtual Field Trip

Muesam of Natural History

Our students used QR codes to listen to

definitions of key penguin vocabulary words
such as hatch, incubate, rookery, and beak.
Although many of the words were challenging,
when the students scanned the QR codes they
were directed to a video that read the
definition of the word to them.

Our students took a virtual field trip last week

to the Natural Museum of History in
Washington, D.C. During our conversation of
community and the Puritans our text book
asked us the question, Have you ever been to a
museum? Many of our students were not sure
what a museum was, so we took a short trip to
see one up close and personal. We discussed
what a museum is, why they are important,
what we can learn from them.

Students also used QR codes to record their

Pre-Reading facts about penguins. Using Siris
Speech to Text or the keyboard, students were
able to record their facts using QR codes,
which made reading each others facts that
much more engaging! Some students elected to

Read About
The Solar System

Learn About
Fractions

Our fifth grade students began their study of

equivalent fractions! We used a combination of
food, manipulatives, and role-play activities to talk
about sharing equally!

Using Planet Fact Sheets, one of our fifth grade

students worked on creating a Read About: The
Solar System reference chart for our younger
students.