E-2 Excellence

Dear E-2 Families,

On Wednesday, March 22nd, Reed’s Fourth Graders will attend an ArtSpark field trip hosted by Symphony San Jose. Here’s more information, that was not on the field trip form:

“Music happens across time, so it makes sense that musicians have a kind of language about time that enables them to read music and then perform it. ‘It’s About Time’ will explain some of this language and help open the door to musical understanding for you and your students.”

The field trip form indicated that chaperones were not needed for this trip-but we can take 15 parents with us. The caveat? Adult family members need to be set up with San Jose Unified School District per SJUSD’s regulations. Read more here: https://www.sjusd.org/your-resources/parent-resources/volunteer/377/

I would love to have five E-2 family members chaperone our trip. It means so much to your children. If you are already a registered volunteer or will be able to get yourself set up before the 22nd, AND would like to chaperone this trip, please get in touch with me ASAP at sseyan@sjusd.org or by calling 408.535.6247 x. 37143. 

Thank you, families!

Ms. Seyan

February 15, 2023

Hi there families,

Students enjoyed playing an educational game about salmon migration at BioSite today. Be sure to ask your child about it! If you would like to be able to participate in the conversation more fully, here’s a link to a page with fun facts about salmon migration: https://tinyurl.com/2p92fme5

We also took home Book A of Stepping Stones, our math curriculum. Be sure to ask your child to show their copy to you (before they can throw it out). Classes rarely do every activity in a module, and there are “Maintaining Concepts and Skills” pages that we almost never do but would be useful, fun review. 

Tomorrow, Thursday envelopes go home with information about a Reed Dinner Night Out at Pizza My Heart (one of my favorites!) as well as information about Girls on the Run, the self esteem and social skills group for girls in grades 3-5. Reed’s group will start Monday, February 27th right after school. We have room for more sign ups, and sliding scale payments as well as scholarships are available. Your girl not sure? Participation for the first 2 weeks’ practice is open to any 3rd-5th grade girl who would like to try the program and see what it is like. Starting Monday, March 13th, only fully registered participants may attend. Look for the flyer tomorrow in Thursday envelopes, or reach out to me at sseyan@sjusd.org.

Warmly,

Ms Seyan 

Hi Fourth Grade Families,

Just a quick reminder that students will be attending the BioSite Field trip tomorrow, Wednesday, February 15th. 

It’s helpful for students to wear or bring:

-Walking shoes that can get dirty-ish;

-A warm jacket and layers for changing temperatures, and

-A water bottle

As always on BioSite days, our lunch will start at 12:15 and the bus will depart Reed at 12:45. Students work with their teams at BioSite until 2:30, are back at school at around 2:45, and are dismissed right on time. 

As always, please reach out with any suggestions, concerns, or questions at 408.535.6247 or sseyan@sjusd.org.

Warmly,

Ms Seyan :o) 

On Tuesday, February 14th from 2:15-3:01 PM, we will be having a card exchange in our class. 

• We have 27 students in our class. 

• Every student in class must receive a card. 

• Cards are to be signed by the giver but not addressed.  (Easier to distribute)

• Valentines with candy or suckers attached will not be consumed at school, but may be distributed in class. Please remember we have students with severe allergies in our class. Please NO nuts.

February 3, 2022

Hi E-2 Families,

We had a great week. Here are some of this week’s “roses”:

•The Informational WPA went really well. Your students sat down and got to work, and I really enjoyed reading (and scoring!) the results. Be sure to ask your child about their chosen topic and the challenges of writing to a timed prompt. 

•The monthly Istation ISIP also went really well! After a break from Blended Learning in class, students were ready to get into it and focus. It was wonderful to have students raise their hand to share their score with me because they did better than expected! Be sure to ask about the ISIP, as well. (By the way, these score reports will be going home with homework packets on Monday.)

•I have noticed increased cooperation, consideration, and responsibility among students in class. For example, a group of students worked together to sort and file a huge stack of unfinished work papers from the week that I was gone. The paper passers took charge, classmates listened, and they got it done! I have also noticed that students are willing to do their assigned class jobs-including cleaning up around and on top of their own desks. These are just two examples of E-2 students displaying “teamwork that makes the dream work”, and it is very gratifying to see.

As you know, thorns often accompany roses. I promised our current line leaders that I would reach out to families about class behavior when it’s time for us to line up. Please remind your child that the line leaders have a job to do and deserve our kindness and consideration when asking classmates to line up properly. Rather than ignoring or being mean to the line leaders, please just face forward and look ready to go. Thank you for your support!

And thank you for reading. Have a great weekend, 

Ms Seyan :o) 

3 de febrero de 2022

Hola familias E-2,

Tuvimos una gran semana. Estas son algunas de las “rosas” de esta semana:

•La WPA informativa salió muy bien. Sus estudiantes se sentaron y se pusieron a trabajar, y realmente disfruté leyendo (¡y calificando!) los resultados. Asegúrese de preguntarle a su hijo sobre el tema elegido y los desafíos de escribir con un aviso cronometrado.

•¡El Istation ISIP mensual también fue muy bien! Después de un descanso del aprendizaje combinado en clase, los estudiantes estaban listos para comenzar y concentrarse. ¡Fue maravilloso que los estudiantes levantaran la mano para compartir su puntaje conmigo porque lo hicieron mejor de lo esperado! Asegúrese de preguntar también sobre el ISIP. (Por cierto, estos informes de calificaciones se enviarán a casa con los paquetes de tareas el lunes).

•He notado una mayor cooperación, consideración y responsabilidad entre los estudiantes en clase. Por ejemplo, un grupo de estudiantes trabajaron juntos para clasificar y archivar una enorme pila de documentos de trabajo sin terminar de la semana que estuve fuera. Los transeúntes se hicieron cargo, los compañeros de clase escucharon y ¡lo lograron! También he notado que los estudiantes están dispuestos a hacer los trabajos asignados en la clase, incluida la limpieza alrededor y encima de sus propios escritorios. Estos son solo dos ejemplos de estudiantes E-2 que muestran “trabajo en equipo que hace que el sueño funcione”, y es muy gratificante verlo.

Como sabes, las espinas suelen acompañar a las rosas. Les prometí a nuestros líderes de línea actuales que me comunicaría con las familias sobre el comportamiento de la clase cuando sea el momento de hacer fila. Por favor, recuérdele a su hijo que los líderes de línea tienen un trabajo que hacer y merecen nuestra amabilidad y consideración al pedirles a sus compañeros de clase que se alineen correctamente. En lugar de ignorar o ser malo con los líderes de línea, simplemente mire hacia adelante y luzca listo para comenzar. ¡Gracias por tu apoyo!

Y gracias por leer. Ten un excelente fin de semana,

Señorita Seyan :o)

2022년 2월 3일

안녕하세요 E-2 가족 여러분,

우리는 좋은 주를 보냈습니다. 금주의 “장미”는 다음과 같습니다.

•Informational WPA는 정말 잘 진행되었습니다. 당신의 학생들은 앉아서 일을 시작했고 저는 그 결과를 읽고 점수를 매기는 것이 정말 즐거웠습니다. 자녀에게 선택한 주제와 시간 제한 프롬프트에 대한 쓰기의 어려움에 대해 물어보십시오.

•월간 Istation ISIP도 정말 잘 진행되었습니다! 수업 시간에 혼합 학습에서 휴식을 취한 후 학생들은 혼합 학습에 참여하고 집중할 준비가 되었습니다. 학생들이 기대했던 것보다 더 잘했기 때문에 학생들이 손을 들어 점수를 저와 공유하게 하는 것은 정말 멋진 일이었습니다! ISIP에 대해서도 반드시 문의하십시오. (그런데 이 점수 보고서는 월요일에 숙제 패킷과 함께 집으로 갈 것입니다.)

•수업에서 학생들 사이에 협동심, 배려심, 책임감이 증가하는 것이 눈에 띕니다. 예를 들어, 한 그룹의 학생들이 함께 작업하여 내가 없는 그 주에 완성되지 않은 엄청난 양의 작업 서류를 분류하고 정리했습니다. 서류 합격자들이 주도권을 잡고 급우들은 귀를 기울였고 그들은 해냈습니다! 나는 또한 학생들이 자신의 책상 주변과 위를 청소하는 것을 포함하여 할당된 수업 작업을 기꺼이 수행한다는 것을 알게 되었습니다. 이것은 E-2 학생들이 “꿈을 실현하는 팀워크”를 보여주는 두 가지 예일 뿐이며 매우 기쁘게 생각합니다.

아시다시피 가시는 종종 장미를 동반합니다. 나는 우리가 줄을 서야 할 때가 되면 학급 행동에 대해 가족들에게 연락하겠다고 현재의 라인 리더들에게 약속했습니다. 라인 리더는 해야 할 일이 있으며 급우들에게 올바르게 줄을 설 것을 요청할 때 우리의 친절과 배려를 받을 자격이 있다는 것을 자녀에게 상기시켜 주십시오. 라인 리더를 무시하거나 못되게 굴지 말고 앞을 향하고 갈 준비를 하십시오. 당신의 지원에 감사드립니다!

그리고 읽어주셔서 감사합니다. 좋은 주말 보내세요,

세얀 씨 :o)

February 1, 2023

Dear E-2 Families,

Following are some brief updates about our class; more will follow in the next couple of weeks. As always, please reach out with suggestions, concerns, and questions. My email is sseyan@sjusd.org; my contact phone is 408.535.6247 x 37143. I would also be more than happy to speak in person or via WebEx; just let me know!

Out Last Week

-In case you did not hear from your child, I was out sick all last week, along with a few of the students. 

-I did receive mixed reports from guest teachers last week, who recorded some behavior issues while also praising those students who stayed on task and were helpful. A general trend of inattention or disregard of instructions was also noted; this is something I deal with periodically and am addressing with the class.

Academics Until Winter Break, February 17th

-Writing: Multi paragraph informational essays, then a return to opinion writing with an emphasis on connecting evidence to a claim.

-Reading: Informational text of varying types, using Close Reading (preview, monitor, answer text dependent questions). Annotating as we read, taking notes accurately, and citing sources. 

-Math: Exploring relationships between division and multiplication problems, solving word problems, exploring metric measurement as a context for multiplication and division.

-Social Studies: Spanish settlement in California and beginning to study the missions; the culminating project is an informational paper on one of the California missions.

-Science: Module 3 titled, “Time Traveling Tour Guides” answers the question, “How have weathering and erosion sculpted some of Earth’s most interesting landscapes?”. 

-Social Emotional Learning: Second Step Unit 3 focuses on empathy and perspective taking. We have begun thinking about how different past experiences can shape very different points of view on the same issue or question-even among people who are very close!

More Class News:

-Students will take the Istation monthly assessment, called ISIP, this week.

–Girls on the Run has plenty of room for more student sign ups! Please check Konstella, the weekly principal’s message, or email me for information. Some scholarships are available; please email me for more information.

-Reed will have Gold Rush Day in May this year; more information will follow in the coming months.

-Students are asking about exchanging Valentine’s Day cards this year. I have no issue with it and am happy to include a card exchange as long as every student gets a card, students sign but do not address their cards to other students, and there are no gifts or candy. (I know-where’s the fun?) If you would like to weigh in on this idea, please complete the online survey here: https://forms.gle/4RiZYZEJZ5SshAY19

There’s plenty going on, so expect more frequent communications in the coming weeks and months. 

Thank you,

Ms. Seyan

January 7, 2023

Dear Families,

Happy New Year! I look forward to welcoming your child back to class on Monday, January 9th.

We will get right back into the swing of things, with a writing assignment, reading and spelling assessments, our regular math routine, and lessons on class procedures.

A few reminders for students:

1. Charge your Chromebook and bring it to school fully charged.
2. Wear a warm coat and cozy shoes and socks, if possible. Even if it’s not raining, it can still get pretty cold at recess!
3. Breakfast and lunch service resumes; all students may have a breakfast and a lunch, free of charge. January menus can be found below.
4. Complete COVID testing before coming to school on Monday using the kits all students received and took home before the break (or other kit, if you prefer.) If test results are positive, follow SJUSD procedures, linked here.

Thank you for your attention, and welcome back to school!

Ms Susan Seyan
Educator

Hi E-2 Families,

There are many updates that I need to share soon, but tonight’s is very brief:

4th graders will go on their 3rd BioSite field trip tomorrow, from 12:45-2:30.

Please remind your child to wear clothes that they can be outside in the autumn weather in.

Thank you for your attention. Please reach out with any suggestions, concerns, or questions at sseyan@sjusd,org or through Reed’s main switchboard at (408) 535-6247.

Ms Seyan ;o)

November 1, 2022

Conferences:

There is an updated, view-only copy of the conference schedule with a conference time for all E-2 families included. If your day or time will not work for you, please let me know at least a day ahead of schedule so I can respond and keep my other conferences running smoothly.

Please look for an email from me with your conference day and time. You may let me know if there are any changes by replying there.

I look forward to meeting with you all, whether in person or online!

School Schedule Next Week:

Reed Elementary will observe minimum days for conferences next week. School will start at 9:05 and students will be dismissed for the day at 1:01 PM on Monday, November 7th through Thursday, November 10th.

There is no school Friday, November 11th in observance of the Veteran’s Day holiday.

Class News:

Halloween was super fun with the Reed costume parade and a class party hosted by E-2 parent Julie Barrese with the support of parent Lenae Lukens. The crafts and activities provided really made an impression on the students. Thank you, generous parents!

We started music classes on Monday. The students did an awesome job of listening to their new music teacher and adapting to a new milieu and expectations. I could tell they were very much into it. I predict our fourth graders will get a lot out of music this year.

Academics and Social Emotional Learning:

ELA:

While officially SJUSD 4th graders are moving into Informational reading and writing, we will finish up Narrative by next week.

We have been working through first drafts and early revisions where we focused on characterization. This week we will move toward more revision with an eye to developing a narrative arc, and start final drafts in Google Drive after conferring with a peer and responding to feedback.

We have already started Close Reading of informational text with some thematic readings and Social Studies text so we can move into the next Reading unit ahead of the game.

On Wednesday, our class will take the Istation ISIP monthly assessment.

Math:

We are mid way through Module 3, having spent more time practicing rounding and ordering larger numbers. Wednesday we delve into factors and multiples and will finish Module 3 with area and perimeter next week. Expect a module test and a unit test shortly thereafter.

Social Emotional Learning:

In addition to the Second Step curriculum, our class develops their inter- and intra-personal awareness through whole-class dialogue about routines and procedures, review of Reed ROCKS expectations, and experience with self-management practices such as “box” breathing, expressing gratitude, and responsibility for class jobs.

This week we have been evaluating our classroom bathroom procedures, trying new GoNoodles for focusing, and working on coloring a mandala for display in the class. Applying for new class jobs and moving seats are on the agenda for later this week.

Thank you for your attention! As always, please reach out at sseyan@sjusd.org at any time.

October 25, 2022

Hi Families,

Reminder that we have picture retakes and a BioSite Field Trip tomorrow.

Picture retakes will happen in the morning. Prints can be purchased through the school link: EVTH473CD. There are also paper order forms in the office for those who prefer it.

For the Field trip:

•Lunch is at 12:15-12:45.

•Wear comfortable shoes, clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty, and an outer layer you can carry or tie around your waist if it gets hot. 

•It’s OK to bring your water bottle this time, but you are responsible for it! 

Thank you for your attention! Please call me at 408.535.6247 x 37143 or email sseyan@sjusd.org with comments, questions, or concerns.

Warmly,

Ms Seyan