Mrs. Keebler's Blog

Dearborn Public Schools

Computers

Dear Parents,

We had a problem today with one of the students popping the keys of the computers.  There are now 8 keys missing from 2 computers.  Since students don’t know how to touch type yet these computers are now useless since the students don’t know what keys they are.  Please discuss respecting property with your students and make sure they understand how important this is.  Our school does not have the hundreds of dollars that it would take to replace these computers.  Everyone is denying that they were the one who did this.  Please ask your student if they know anything about this.  I only want to know about what they actually saw, not blaming someone they think did it or someone told them that someone did it.

Thank you for your help!

Katie Keebler

No Comments »

Class News

Fire Safety talk and Fire house permission slip – On Friday I sent home the permission slip for the Fire Safety House field trip on October 19th.  If you are interested in chaperoning make sure you have completed your paper work in the office.  This week a Wednesday a firefighter will come to our classroom and talk to the students about the trip and fire safety.  The trip helps students to know what they should and shouldn’t do if you have a fire in your home or at school.

Book bag and contract – Your child’s book bag and book bag contract were sent home on Friday.  Please sign and return the contract.  Please have your child read the book and use it to complete one of the sections on the reading log.   Please return the book bag on Thursday.  There will be a charge for lost or damaged books and bags.

Blue shirt Day – Monday is Blue Shirt Day – have your student wear a blue shirt to show they will stand up to bullies.

Zane is Star of the Week – Please see the Star of the Week tab for more details.

Curriculum – In class this week we will be working on : Science – Building bridges,  Social studies- we are talking about land and water forms, there will be a Land and Water forms quiz on Friday.  Study guide will go home Wednesday. Math – graphs, study guide will go home on Monday for a Unit 1 Math test on Thursday 10/5. ELA – finishing our essay on standing up for what you believe in.

Marks on papers – I wanted to explain the marks on papers.

  • Every student should have their number in the upper right hand corner.
  • A left handed check in the right corner means that it has been recorded in my gradebook.  If you get a paper without a check then you should send it back to school.
  • A number with a circle is your child’s grade on that paper.  1=100-95%  2=94-80%  3=79-70%  4=69-0%.  If your child gets less than 80% on an assignment, I will ask them to redo the assignment.  I will give them most of their points back if they redo the paper and get them all right.

Extra Recess – 15 students earned their extra recess by completing all of their work.  You can see their picture on Class Dojo.  Congratulations to student number: 1, 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Missing Assignments – There were quite a few students with missing assignments this week.  Please check the back of their red folder for their missing assignment sheet or check Parent Connect.  If you have any questions about what is missing let me know.   I generally don’t like to reprint papers they should try to find the papers they were given the first time.  Or you may print it again at home.  Most assignments are attached to my lesson plans which are on my blog.  The following students still have missing assignments: 3, 4, 6, 8, 13, 16, 17.  Please help them to find and complete all missing work so they can have extra recess next week.

Popcorn reward – this is given out each week to students who have 80% or better behavior on Class Dojo.  If your student isn’t getting popcorn please review with them the things they need to do to earn popcorn next week.  Class Dojo tells you what they were doing when they lost a Class Dojo point.  There is a picture of everyone who got popcorn on Class Dojo.

Communication – I’m always happy to answer questions.  Here is the best way to reach me:

Email -just a reminder the very best way to communicate with me is through email I am to check this a couple times a day.  I will not be able to see email while I am teaching so I will not usually see email sent in the middle of the day.

Class Dojo – The second best way to communicate is Class Dojo.  I have this open all day and will often see messages sent during the day.  I don’t usually have it open after school so it is not a good way to communicate something after school.

Not the Blog – Do not use the blog to try to communicate.  I only look at the blog usually once a week when I am sending the Class News.  You are also sending your comment to the whole class, not just me.

No Comments »

Class News

Reading Logs – Oops!  I was supposed to pass out the reading log today and it didn’t happen.  They will get it tomorrow.  If they want to write their response on a piece of paper tonight they can staple it tomorrow when they get the log or just copy it over.  Please stress that they must write in the best penmanship, all title and authors must be capitalized. I must be able to distinguish between the capital and lowercase letters.  No caPitAl LEtteRs in the miDDle of wORds!Spelling – We are going to try a new way to do spelling next week.  If this works well it will replace the spelling homework.  You can still practice them at home but most of the spelling work will be done in class.   I will give you more details soon.  We will start the new spelling on Monday.

Roller Skating  – Tonight!  6 PM Lincoln Park Skating Center

Blue Shirt Day – October 2, 2017

MondayOctober 2 is stand up to bullying day.  By doing so, we ask to put a blue shirt on your child, if possible to take a stance against bullying!! Our class says NO to bullying.  In the beginning of the year, we all signed a pledge to be an upstander!  Let’s continue this!!

Parent – Teacher Conferences – are in November, if you didn’t sign up for a conference during the Open House please make sure you sign up for one.  The sign up sheets are posted outside my door.

 

No Comments »

Reminders

Extra Recess tomorrow – I finally got a volunteer for extra recess tomorrow.  Thank you Zahraa’s mom!  Your child will get extra recess if all their work is complete.  There are several students that didn’t turned in their reading log: Student number 3, 6, 12, 13, 17, 19, and 21.  If your student forgot to bring it home you can print it from my blog in the homework section, print the easier reading log.

I didn’t get spelling homework from #6 and 19.  And I am missing science classwork from 5, 6, 13, 18.   I will provide some more class time to complete these items, but if they do not finish they will not earn the extra recess reward.    I am listing the missing assignments this week, however, I would like you to start checking for missing assignment in Parent Connect on Thursdays after 5 or 6 PM.

Ice cream social tomorrow – 9-15 at 3:15 in the back parking lot.

Tomorrow is Week 1 – Spelling test – short and long a words –  Please help them study them tonight.  Here are there words in case they didn’t bring their spelling homework back home:

 

lane ate late trap cape
cane south west north east

No Comments »

Class Reminders

Extra recess helper still needed for Friday!  –  If you can’t come every week that is ok.  Maybe we can get several parents to take different weeks.  Can anyone supervise the extra recess students this Friday from 2:40-3:05?

Turn in chaperone/volunteer papers to the office.  These can be printed from my blog under Parent information or can be obtained at the office.  Our first trip will be October 19th.  We will be going to the Fire Safety house.

PTA Ice Cream social – Friday 9/15 at 3:15 by the back door.

Star of the Week

Our first Star of the Week will be Celine.  After that we will go in number order.  You can find your student’s week on the class calendar on my blog.  The date may change if we need to make adjustments.  Please watch the calendar as your date gets closer.

Every student will have their turn to be the Star of the Week.  This a week where your child will get special privilege and have the chance for us to get to know more about them and let them really “shine!”.

Star of the Week Schedule -find your Student’s week on the calendar: The Calendar

Each day of the week will consist of an exciting event or activity to honor him or her and to help us get to know our special classmate.

Monday: Sharing Sack and Poster of pictures: Please help your child collect a few special items from home , and send it back to school with your child on Monday to share with his or her classmates. Try to encourage your child to choose items that have some sort of meaning rather than just a collection of toys. Also, please have your child decorate a poster board with pictures of him or herself from babyhood to the present. If you did a poster last year, you may use the same one, and add new pictures if you’d like. We’ll display the poster in a place of honor on our class bulletin board.

*Tuesday: Favorite Book: Your star student brings one of his or her favorite picture books to read to the class (or have the teacher read to the class) at our class meeting.

*Wednesday: Parent Letter: Parents, you will write a letter to the class telling us how special your child is to you. Send the letter in a sealed envelope to school with your child, and I will read the letter to the class at class meeting. The content of the letter is up to you, but you may want to choose from one of the following ideas: describe special or funny stories about your child for the class to hear, write a silly or serious poem about your child, tell us some neat things we may not know about your child, send silly or special pictures with a letter describing the pictures, or write a short story with your child as the main character. You may also send a special video for the class to watch if you choose. (Sometimes parents have taped messages or choose to send in a funny baby video for the class to see.)

*Thursday: Lunch Buddy:If possible, join your child in the cafeteria for a special lunch on this day. You may also choose to invite a sibling or a favorite relative to be your child’s lunch buddy. You can have the buddy be a surprise or let your child know ahead of time. If you are unable to make it during our lunch period, please let me know and I will plan a special lunch for your child instead. You can bring lunch from a favorite restaurant to the cafeteria, or you can order lunch at school. Please let me know ahead of time if you are planning to order a school lunch so that I can place your order.  Please only bring lunch for your child.  If your bring lunch for other children then the kids who don’t get any feel bad.

*The events planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday can be swapped in order to accommodate your personal schedule if you are planning to be a lunch buddy during the week.

Email me if you have further questions.

 

No Comments »

PTA News

Howe PTA is hosting a FREE ice cream social this Friday September 15th to welcome our Howe family to the new school year!  Parents & siblings are invited to partake in sweet treats at dismissal time.  CI students and staff will enjoy their treats @ 2:30pm, with Montessori enjoying their treats @ 3:15pm.  We will be outside both front & back doors!  If any parents want to volunteer to help out, email us at howe.schoolpta@yahoo.com.
First PTA Meeting will be during the Open House, September 19th, and will begin at 7:00pm in the cafeteria.  After exploring our awesome school, we hope parents will stick around and meet our PTA board members and hear about our fun-filled schedule of events we have planned at Howe!  We encourage all parents to join the PTA and support your school.  We are always looking for volunteers to help make our events successful, so if you are willing & able to pitch in, let us know!
Family Roller Skating Night will take place at Lincoln Park Roller Rink, Thursday September 28th @ 6pm-8pm!  Tickets are $7.00 each sold at the door.  A portion of tickets sales come right back to Howe!  All family and friends welcome to come!  Look for the flier to come home next week!
Let’s make this an awesome school year!
No Comments »

Class News

Cardboard  Needed – We have started studying Force and Motion in Science.  We will be doing hand-on science activities each week.  For science this week we will need 3 inch by 6 inch rectangles of thin cardboard from a cereal or tissue box.    Please send in 3 cardboard rectangle per child.  Please try to send these in by Monday if possible, if you have extra cardboard please send it.  Thanks!

NWEA testing – We will begin our NWEA testing next week.  Please be sure your child is well rested and eats a good breakfast of protein not sugar.

Homework – On Friday I sent home Spelling and Reading Log home work.  Spelling homework is due by Wednesday, Reading log homework is due by Thursday.  Students should also be practicing their math facts and telling time on an analog (non-digital) clock.  If you have any questions please email me at keeblek@dearbornschools.org.

 

 

No Comments »

Class News

PTA Popsicle sale – Tomorrow 9/8 after school $.50 each.

Homework – Next week we will start homework.   Students will have:

Spelling Homework due Wednesday

Reading Log due Thursday – I will not send home book bags this year.  If you do not have books at home, you may use our online reading resources, the library or let me know your child may borrow classroom books.

Classwork – We try to provide ample time to complete classwork in school.  However, sometime student will not have enough time to finish in class and it will need to be completed at home.  There will also be some at home projects that we do throughout the year.  If your family has any special circumstances that prevent your child from completing the homework please send me a note or email to let me know.

Other homework -Your child should be reading 10-20 minutes each night, and practicing multiplication/division math facts (they should already have addition and subtraction facts memorized to 20).  Multiplication/division math facts should be memorized before the end of 3rd grade.  They must practice this at home to accomplish this. It is also helpful for your child to keep a journal at home and write 5-10 minutes a day about a topic of their choice.

Homework should take 30-60 minutes a day.  If it is taking longer than this please speak to me about ways that we can make it shorter for your child.

Parent Connect – Is a way to keep track of your students on going progress and keep track of missing work.  If you have not already done so please get your password from the office and sign up on my blog.  I will try to have all grades in the computer by Thursday night.

Extra recess – If students complete all their assignment for the week by Friday afternoon they will receive extra recess.  Please help your student keep track of their daily assignments by watching Parent Connect.

Friday helpers – I need a volunteer to help with spelling tests and copying on Fridays (8:45-9:45) and another volunteer to help with extra recess on Fridays (2:55-3:25).

Papers to volunteer or do a field trip –  Please fill out your paperwork to chaperone or volunteer in the classroom.  You must also bring in a copy of your driver’s license.  Here is link to the papers: https://iblog.dearbornschools.org/keebler/field-trip-forms/

Paper turned in by Monday – Please fill out the white “Please Help Me to Get to Know your child” and return it by Monday, some didn’t fill out the back, please complete it even if I had your child last year.  Thanks!

Sign up for blog and Dojo – VERY IMPORTANT – make sure that you sign up for both.  You will be missing information if you do not.  If you need help please email me at keeblek@dearbornschools.org.

Friday Sharing – Everyone who wants, may bring sharing tomorrow.  We will try Friday sharing and I may need to change days or add restrictions if it takes too long for everyone to share.

 

 

 

 

No Comments »

Class News

School supplies –Thank you for all the parents that sent in school supplies, you are very generous.  If you have not sent them in a supply list was sent home with your child’s folder today.

Class Dojo/My Blog – Please make sure you sign up for Class Dojo and my blog.  The information was sent out today.  These are both important forms of communication for our class.  Thanks!

Paperwork – Please complete all papers sent home today and return by Monday at the latest.  If you have any questions please email me at keeblek@dearbornschools.org.

Special Schedule for 2017-18

Mondays

Physical Education 9:00-9:45

Tuesdays

Art 9:00-9:45

Library Check out

Wednesdays

PE 9:00-9:45

Music 9:50-10:35

Thursdays

Music 9:00-9:45

Fridays

Media 10:40-11:25

Snack

Healthy Snack around 10:00 depending on the days schedule

Lunch – 12:30-1:00

No Comments »

Welcome Back!

Hello Everyone,

I hope that everyone had a fun and restful summer.   I am looking forward to seeing everyone!   I also excited to meeting my new students.   I have a fun and exciting year planned for us this year.

For those of you who have not met me yet.  My name is Katie Keebler.  I am married to Fred Keebler, I have two daughters, one is in middle school and one in college at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. I live in Livonia with my family and 3 cats.  I have been teaching for 26 years, this is my 13th year with Dearborn Public Schools and my 10th year at Howe Montessori.

Please visit my blog at https://blog.dearbornschools.org/keebler/.  My blog is filled with a lot of important information.  Please review the information on the different pages.  I am currently working on updating the information.  I will be sending weekly updates on my blog with information on assignments and events.  It is important that you subscribe for these weekly updates with your most current email address.  Scroll down to the middle of the home page and enter your email into the “Subscribe by Email” box.  This will be my main form of communication, so please keep your email current.  If you have any questions please feel free to email me anytime at keeblek@dearbornschools.org.  This is the best way to reach me.

I will be using Class Dojo again this year.  It is a fun way to keep in touch with parents, I will be sharing pictures, updates and wonderful moments in class.  You will also be able to keep up with your child’s behavior in class.  One the first day of school I am sending home a paper explaining how to join, I would like 100% participation.  It is free and it is fun!  I’m going to try to take a picture of myself with your child on the first day of school and put it on Class Dojo.  Be sure to sign up and look for the first picture.  If you were in my class last year you should not have to sign up again.  If for some reason you can’t get on please email me with the problem and I will try to help.

Please read and fill out all the attached paper work.  Please have everything turned in my Monday.

I’m looking forward to an exciting year!

Katie Keebler

Suggested Supply list

Supplies will be shared by the whole class

  •  -A large backpack with your child’s name on it
  • – 4  Compositions books or spiral notebooks
  • –2 pencil sharpeners with enclosed area to catch pencil shavings
  • -1 box of 8 or more colored pencils
  • -1 pair of scissors
  • -1 large box of tissues-girls only
  • – 1 container of sanitizing wipes-boys only
  • -1 accordion file with at least 5 sections
  • -1 box of 8 or more markers
  • -48 SHARPENED pencils
  • -2 large erasers, 5 pencil top erasers
  • -1 package lined notebook paper – wide ruled
  • -1 pack of  printer paper
  • -1 roll of scotch tape

The supply list is also on my blog.

 

 

No Comments »

Skip to toolbar