Mrs. Keebler's Blog

International Holiday Project – This is probably your child’s first research report. This is a very important skill that they will be using throughout all of their schooling in the rest of elementary, middle, high school and college. It is important that if you are helping them or having someone help them that they are teaching your child how to do it not doing it for them. If they are doing it for them, they will not learn this important process and the child will not be able to read it on Monday when it is presented to the class.

International Holiday Research parts, dates and grades – We started this back in November. Remember I need a separate copy for the final draft. Don’t make the corrections in the rough draft. I need to see all the parts. I am also including examples of what each should look like, my examples are not 100% complete but they give you a good idea of what to aim for. There is also a rubric of the expectations. Here are the parts again:

1. Pick a holiday and start taking notes – November 26, 2019
2. Take notes Example– due December 4, 2019 20 Points
3. Complete your Blueprint Example (Graphic Organizer) – due December 6, 2019 20 Points
4. Write a 1st draft Example– due December 10, 2019 20 points
5. Edit using your Informational Writing Checklist due December 11, 2019
6. Create a final draft Example in Google Docs- due December 13, 2019 20 points
7. Create a presentation with pictures, videos or audio clips in Google Slides. Example– due December 16, 2019 20 points
8. They will present their presentation to the class. due December 16-20, 2019 20 points

Presentation – Every student will be presenting their Google Slide presentation next week. It should have all of the words from their final draft and picture, videos or audio clips to take us on a virtual field trip to celebrate this holiday. Please have them practice their presentation at home. You might want to print their final draft or notes to help them remember what to say or how to say it so they can give eye contact to the audience. They will be graded on presentation, eye contact and how well they are able to read it to their audience.

Next week’s Star of the Week – Merlin  He will make a poster board (NOT foam board) for Monday, bring a favorite book on Tuesday, bring sharing on Wednesday, and invite a guest to lunch on Thursday. Friday have the star’s parent writes a letter about why they are so special to them. The days maybe switched around except the poster board. Only one thing per day. The Next Star of the Week after break is – Hadi

Publishing a book – I would like to publish our International Holiday research papers into a book. I published a hardcover book with my class last year and it was wonderful. I will bring a copy of last year’s book to the sign along and Gingerbread house holiday party so you can see it.

Gingerbread Houses and Holiday Party – HELP NEEDED For our Holiday Celebration we will be creating Gingerbread Houses.  The celebration will be December 20th at 2 PM.  You may start sending in the materials to create the houses right away so that I can  make sure we have enough of everything. Parents are welcome to join us for the celebration. We will be needing supplies to make the houses and treats for the party. – Sign up Here

IXL Winter Challenge – December 13 – January 16

Complete all IXL activities during the challenge and you will get an invitation to a class party on January 16th. Winners will have their name posted on the board in the hall if they win the challenge.  Your assignments are highlighted in your packet. This can be done at school and at home. Packets are going home today. They should check off their work as they complete. Please keep the packet in the red folder so that we can use it at home and at school.

The Dearborn City Librarians are excited to come in and present to classes on electronic resources available to Dearborn students from the Library.  This will be a 30-minute in-school field trip. 

Lanyard Sale – For a fundraiser Mr. Hesch (the chess coach) will be selling Howe School lanyards. Each lanyard includes an I.D. holder. The cost is $5. Available for students and staff.  The leftover proceeds will be used to fund our classroom cooking projects.    Lanyard order form

Next Week will be Holiday Spirit Week December 16-20 

Monday– Dress to Impress- New Years Eve Attire
Tuesday– Winter wonderland white out! Wear white & wish for snow.
Wednesday– Twin day
Thursday– PJ day! Wear your favorite holiday pjs to school!
(Please also bring in a new pair of pajamas or a monetary donation for our school’s Girl Scout troop who is doing a pj drive)
Friday– Wear Red or Green for our school’s holiday sing along.
Holiday hats or headbands are included.

No School – December 21-January 5th Holiday Break

Holiday Boutique – Your help is needed for the Holiday Shop where students buy gifts for family and friends. Volunteers are needed for all days, but especially on Tues., Dec. 10 (preview day). Please consider volunteering a few hours of your time. You can sign up at

Holiday Boutique Volunteer Sign-Up!

Holiday Sing Along – Our annual Sing-Along will be held on Friday, December 20 in the Gym at 9am. This year we will be inviting All Howe Montessori and Center-Based students and their parent to participate in on special event which will be held in the gym. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to wear red or green and wear Santa hats, reindeer antlers, Christmas light necklaces, etc. and decorate student wheelchairs. Please bring any jingle bells that you might have (or find at the Dollar store) for your students. Let’s make this a festive event!

This week’s Star of the Week is Sophia. She will make a poster board (NOT foam board) for Monday, bring a favorite book on Tuesday, bring sharing on Wednesday, and invite a guest to lunch on Thursday. Friday have the star’s parent writes a letter about why they are so special to them. The days maybe switched around except the poster board. Only one thing per day. Next week’s Star of the Week – Merlin

Star Parent Letters – If you did not get the chance to write a letter to your student about why they are so special to you I HIGHLY recommend that you do this. I almost cry each time I read one of these to the class they are so wonderful to read and such a precious gift to your child. I have started doing these for my own children. It is a great way to let your child know how much you care about them.

International Winter Holiday Project We have been working hard on our research project. We are trying to finish up. Please check your child’s project. Your student may need your help at this point. I have been doing writing conferencing with students everyday but only one person. At this point they should have completed their notes on Google classroom, their Blueprint(Graphic Organizer ) on paper and the Rough Draft on Google Classroom. I have put in grades for the notes and Blueprint and will be doing grades for the rough draft over the next couple of days. Here is the timeline we are following:

1. Pick a holiday and start taking notes – November 26, 2019
2. Take notes – due December 4, 2019
3. Complete your Blueprint (Graphic Organizer) – due December 6, 2019
4. Write a 1st draft – due December 10, 2019
5. Edit using your Informational Writing Checklist due December 11, 2019
6. Create a final draft in Google Docs- due December 13, 2019
7. Create a presentation with pictures, videos or audio clips in Google Slides.- due December 16, 2019
8. They will present their presentation to the class. due December 16-20, 2019

Each section will be a grade for the report card. This research paper can be worked on in school and at home.

Publishing a book – I would like to publish our International Holiday research papers into a book. I published a hardcover book with my class last year and it was wonderful. I will bring a copy of last year’s book to the sign along and Gingerbread house holiday party so you can see it.

Gingerbread Houses and Holiday Party – HELP NEEDED For our Holiday Celebration we will be creating Gingerbread Houses.  The celebration will be December 20th at 2 PM.  You may start sending in the materials to create the houses right away so that I can  make sure we have enough of everything. Parents are welcome to join us for the celebration. We will be needing supplies to make the houses and treats for the party. – Sign up Here

The Dearborn City Librarians are excited to come in and present to classes on electronic resources available to Dearborn students from the Library.  This will be a 30-minute in-school field trip. 

Lanyard Sale – For a fundraiser Mr. Hesch (the chess coach) will be selling Howe School lanyards. Each lanyard includes an I.D. holder. The cost is $5. Available for students and staff.  The leftover proceeds will be used to fund our classroom cooking projects.    Lanyard order form

Next Week will be Holiday Spirit Week December 16-20 Monday– Dress to Impress- New Years Eve Attire
Tuesday– Winter wonderland white out! Wear white & wish for snow.
Wednesday– Twin day
Thursday– PJ day! Wear your favorite holiday pjs to school!
(Please also bring in a new pair of pajamas or a monetary donation for our school’s Girl Scout troop who is doing a pj drive)
Friday– Wear Red or Green for our school’s holiday sing along.
Holiday hats or headbands are included.

No School – December 21-January 5th Holiday Break

Parent Connect App -Here is a press release about checking grades and attendance on your phone. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1

Holiday Shop-is next week 12/10 preview and 12/11 Shopping. Volunteers still needed.

PTA Meeting– Our next PTA meeting is this Thurs., Dec. 5 at 3:45 p.m. in the cafeteria. All parents are welcome! We will be discussing our upcoming events, including the Holiday Shop, Movie Night and LEGO club. We hope to see you on Thursday!

Picture Retake day – This Friday 12/6, if you are not satisfied with your pictures please return them with instructions on what should be changed for the new pictures.

Gingerbread houses and Holiday party 12/20 at 2:00 PM – Please sign up to bring supplies on previous post.

International holiday notes were due today – I will be grading them tonight. If they are not done they are homework.

Congratulation to Amelia is our November Student of the Month – She is a great student, always kind, friendly and completes all her work.

November reading logs are due.

Lanyard Sale – For a fundraiser Mr. Hesch (the chess coach) will be selling Howe School lanyards. Each lanyard includes an I.D. holder. The cost is $5. Available for students and staff.  The leftover proceeds will be used to fund our classroom cooking projects.    Lanyard order form

Holiday Shop Volunteers Needed- Our holiday shop is next week, Tuesday-Thursday.    This gives the students the chance to shop for presents for family and friends. Please help make this event fun for the kids.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c45abab2caafa7-holiday3

Holiday presents – speaking of holiday presents I wanted to let you know that I never expect any gifts from anyone, but everyone is always very generous around the holidays.  I need to let you know I have lost 35 lbs since April and I am working hard to keep it off and lose some more so please do not send any food or candy gifts this year.  I also have very sensitive skin and can’t use regular soaps and lotions.  I love to get things for the classroom like office supplies (sheet protectors, card stock, markers, paper)  or things for the students like prizes for the prize box or contests, Legos, educational games, science activities, or magnets.  I also enjoy gift cards to Amazon, Target, Kroger or any gas station.  Thanks for your understanding!  Again I’m not expecting anything.

International Winter Holiday Project The 3rd grade will be working on a research report and project. The students will be given a list of International Winter Holiday with links to articles about those holidays. Each student will pick a holiday to research. The students will:
Pick a holiday and start taking notes – November 26, 2019

1. Take notes (here is a video about taking notes) – due December 4, 2019
2. Complete your Blueprint (Graphic Organizer) – due December 6, 2019
3. Write a 1st draft – due December 10, 2019
4. Edit using your Informational Writing Checklist due December 11, 2019
5. Create a final draft in Google Docs- due December 13, 2019
6. Create a presentation with pictures, videos or audio clips in Google Slides.- due December 16, 2019
7. They will present their presentation to the class. due December 16-20, 2019

Each section will be a grade for the report card. This research paper can be worked on in school and at home.

Gingerbread Houses and Holiday Party – For our Holiday Celebration we will be creating Gingerbread Houses.  The celebration will be December 20th at 2 PM.  You may start sending in the materials to create the houses right away so that I can  make sure we have enough of everything. Parents are welcome to join us for the celebration. We will be needing supplies to make the houses and treats for the party. – Sign up Here

No School – November 27-29 – I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful long weekend .

Next week’s Star of the Week – Ahmed- He will make a poster board (NOT foam board) for Monday, bring a favorite book on Tuesday, bring sharing on Wednesday, and invite a guest to lunch on Thursday. Friday have the star’s parent writes a letter about why they are so special to them. The days maybe switched around except the poster board. Only one thing per day.

No Writing homework for the month of December – I am cancelling writing homework for the month of December, so that students can work on their International holiday research. We will work on this in class and at home. Students have already picked their holiday and should start taking notes in the Notes doc in Google classroom.

Drop off/Pick up – All students that are in 2nd-5th will now be dismissing at the back door. Younger siblings will be picked up by their older siblings and exit out the back as well. You should have gotten a note today explaining the new procedure and why.

Annual Holiday Boutique – Preview 12/10, Shop 12/11-12/12 All gift $2

Extra time – if you students have extra time this weekend, have them work on their research report, IXL, MobyMax or Zearn.

Research Assignment -We are starting our 1st big research report of the year. Students will choose a winter holiday. Learn about by taking notes on 2 or more articles, fill our a graphic organizer, write a rough draft, final report and Google Slide presentation. Students will then be presenting their research to the class. There is a Google classroom assignment with all the directions and due dates. If you have any questions or concerns please let me know at keeblek@dearbornschools.org

Short Week – We are only in school on Monday and Tuesday. We have the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving. I hope you have a wonderful, safe holiday. No school November 27-29.

No Spelling or writing homework due this week– I will open them both up in case you would like to get started, but nothing is due until when we get back from break. We will also have no new star of the week. Ahmed will be the star of the week when we return on December 2nd.

Classroom Work Plans– Each week your child gets a work plan of things they should be completing in class each day. I will be posting this week’s work plan and I will try to post them each week, so you know what should be completed in class. If your child doesn’t complete their work in class then it becomes homework. This will also help you to ask your student if they completed the assignments in class, if not they should complete it at home. Some parents were confused between classwork and homework.

Homework – This is what should be completed for homework each night (there is a blog tab called homework for more details) Reading 15-20 minutes, Math facts 5-10 minutes, Zearn 10-15 minutes (if needed), Writing homework (5-8 sentences per week) 5-10 minutes per night. This should take about 35-45 minutes. Students should not be working longer than this unless they are falling behind on their classwork. If they are not completing their work in class they need to try to talk less and use their time better. If your child is not capable of completing the assigned work and needs a reduced level please let me know.

January testing – We will be taking the NWEA test again in January. The best way for your student to increase their scores is to practice Language Arts and Math topic in IXL. I suggest 15 minutes a day right now.

We must have accurate numbers and payment in order to secure bussing for the Lansing trip. For this reason, payment is due on Friday and exceptions cannot be made for permission slips turned in after Friday.

Thank you for your understanding!

Pizza Sale Cancelled – Since no one volunteer to donate pizzas, there will be not pizza sale tomorrow.

Important Please read a reply right away – Lansing Trip We have had 30 replies to our survey.  Thank you to everyone who replied so quickly.  If you have not replied yet please reply be Sunday 11/17 at noon.  Right now there are only 45 people attending so we will only order one bus.  We would like to have a pizza sale on Thursday to help any students having trouble paying the amount.  If you are willing to donate any pizza for Thursday’s after school sale please let your child’s teacher know.If you have not taken the survey please take it right away.  Here is the link:  Lansing Survey If you have any problems with the survey please email me at keeblek@dearbornschools.org.

Star of the Week – Amelia- She will make a poster board (NOT foam board) for Monday, bring a favorite book on Tuesday, bring sharing on Wednesday, and invite a guest to lunch on Thursday. Friday have the star’s parent writes a letter about why they are so special to them. The days maybe switched around except the poster board. Only one thing per day.

Thanksgiving break is November 27-29th – No school

Pizza Sale Thursday 11/21 after school – we will have a pizza sale to help fundraise for our Lansing trip to help any families in need. If you can donate pizzas please let me know. If your family could use help with the price of the trip please let me know.

Parent – Teacher Conferences – Our last day of conferences will be on Monday. It was great meeting with everyone and talking about your wonderful children. If you did not get a conference yet please contact me to schedule a meeting and get your student’s report card.

Dear Parents,
We are planning a trip to Lansing to visit our State Capital building and the Historical museum.  This is an important part of our government curriculum.  The trip will be January 9th from 8:30-4:30.  Please answer this quick 3 question survey so that we can determine how many buses to order for the trip.  Lansing Survey click here  The survey will be available until Sunday, 11/17.  We would like to book the buses on Monday.  The buses are very expensive and do not offer a refund after they are scheduled, so we need accurate information on who will be attending the trip.  
Thanks, Mrs. Keebler, Mrs. Polster and Mrs. Davis

New Conferences dates will be tomorrow 11/13, and Monday 11/18. I will still be having conference on Thursday 11/14. If you had a conference today please sign up for a new time tomorrow or Monday. The people who need to sign up again are Eve, Layla, Mohammed 2, Batoul C, Batoul M, Hassan, Mahdi C, and Amelia. Here is the link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E45A5AD2FA6FB6-parent

Star of the Week is Batoul C. – She will make a poster board (NOT foam board) – Monday, bring a favorite book on Tuesday, bring sharing on Wednesday, and invite a guest to lunch on Thursday. Friday have the star’s parent writes a letter about why they are so special to them. The days maybe switched around except the poster board. Only one thing per day.

Scholastic Book Fair – this week – tomorrow is preview day, they bring home a wish list for purchases on Thursday and make ups on Friday. The book fair should be open to parents on Thursday during conferences. If it is not it is because they did not get many volunteers this year. If you can help during book fair this week please contact the PTA at ptahowe@dearbornschools.org.

Dates to Remember – No school – November 27th-29th – Thanksgiving Break