Open House

Open House is TODAY! at 4pm. Hope to see everyone!

Writing Workshop

Last week, the BES teachers took part in a writing workshop training. This year, all teachers will be working on honing in on our writing workshop routine and skills with our students. The hopes is that we will develop fluent writers who are able to write various types of writing. We will not have a writing SOL this year, so we will have the time to explore the possibilities of writing without feeling the time crunch and pressure that the SOL brings. We will teach 6-week units where students will work on 1 or 2 large pieces of a specific genre of writing. The writing notebook will be a big part of our workshop and potentially will come back and forth from school and home. There is a possibility of some writing homework from time to time.

Stay tuned for more information about how writer's workshop will be run in the classroom!

Summer

Hello! I have been missing all of you guys but I have also been enjoying some very relaxing time off. I have had this view (or a similar beach view) for the majority of the summer:

Sanibel Island, Florida

It has been lovely! I visited Hilton Head Island, SC;  Topsail Island, NC; and Sanibel Island, FL, with various friends and family members. While in Hilton Head, I attended a family wedding.

Me and Dad at a wedding on the beach at Hilton Head Island, SC.

 I also had the opportunity to practice yoga on the beach one morning with a few family members:

Yoga on the beach at Hilton Head Island, SC.

When I was visiting Topsail Island, NC, Hurricane Arthur rolled through.

Topsail Island, NC, the morning of the day that Hurricane Arthur came through

I especially enjoyed listening to the waves in the mornings while drinking my coffee. Mmm.

Coffee on the beach in Sanibel, FL.

When I haven't been away at the beach, I have been spending a lot of time visiting friends or reading at the pool. One day, Ms. Phillips and I went to the Richmond Metro Zoo and completed the ropes/zip line course they offer. We completed a ropes course and then zip-lined through the trees and over the animals.

Richmond Metro Zoo zip-line course with Ms. Phillips

I helped my littlest "brother", Jackson, celebrate his 16th birthday.

Jackson blowing out his candles

As always, I have been running quite a bit. I made a new goal for myself in the spring. I decided I would run the Richmond Marathon in November. I have been training with that goal in mind ever since! I meet a group of my running friends early in the mornings to run. We have been lucky to have the opportunity to watch lots of beautiful sunrises each week! Here is one I captured with my phone from last week:

Late July sunrise in Mechanisville, VA

I am officially back from all of my planned vacations! I will probably spend most of August reading at the pool and starting to think about preparing for YOUR upcoming fifth grade year! I have lots of exciting ideas about how we can have fun together this year.

I hope to see everyone at Open House night on Thursday, August 28th. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Cool Kids

What a great year we have had! I will miss everyone over the summer, but I am excited to think about having the same great group again come September!

Class Picture

What a class!

It's that time again...

It's that time again... SOLs are upon us!

Please remind your students that they are prepared! With a good night of sleep and a proper breakfast, all that's left is to relax and do their best.

Reading Group Project

One of our reading groups, the Sweet Frogs, recently finished a book by Avi titled Something Upstairs. They created a project to showcase the main events of the story (and their summarizing skills) and they shared with the class today. A job well done, Sweet Frogs!