Sunday, September 29, 2013

Email home (History Update)

I sent this via email, to make sure I am reaching my full audience, it is being posted here as well.

Hello everyone,
       I hope this email finds you all doing well and to the start of an excellent weekend.  I just wanted to give you a quick update on the happenings in history.

This has been another fantastic week.  5th grade has finished their studies on Mesopotamia and will be moving on to Egypt in this next week.  I was so pleased to see that the vast majority of the students received A's and B's on their tests.  It has been encouraging to see the students work so hard, and then be successful.  Even students that had been struggling with content put the work in where it counts and did very admirably on their test.  These tests went home with students today and are awaiting your signatures.  Make sure to give you child a pat on the back for their hard work.
When we study Egypt we hopefully will mummify some chicken legs.  I will request a few supply donations closer to the time comes.

6th grade is almost finished with their "Crash Course in Ancient History."  We have now covered the Neolithic Revolution, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece.  We will discuss the Roman Republic and Empire this week and then finally get to move on to Medieval History.  I, of course, would love to go over every detail of ancient history with them, but I think the material we are covering will give them a sufficient foundation to understand the Medieval world.  Today we a quiz in which many of your children were quite successful.  These will be returned on Monday and will be awaiting your signatures as well.

There have been a few students that have been neglecting to complete their homework.  I have individually contacted the respective parents and have arranged time for them to stay after and complete work. I have been so thankful for the incredible support I have received from all of you.  I cannot do my job properly without all that you do at home, so thank you.  Please encourage your children to work hard on completion of their assignments.  For a few, it was painfully obvious today that not completing homework correlates with poor quiz performance.  The assignments are specifically geared towards mastery of content for the students.

As for assignment length and time taken, for the most part it seems most students aren't having to take too much time to complete the assignments.  Every now and then I may miscalculate how long something should take.  That I am sorry for.  If you see your child is spending a very long time on an assignment make sure they are using the proper strategies to complete the work.  For example, last night's study guide seemed to take an average of thirty minutes for the students when I polled them.  Some more, some less.  Ideally, a study guide should simply remind students what they need to know.  Therefore, students should be mostly completing that work from memory, and only going to the book or notes when they are stumped.  As always, never hesitate to contact me with feedback or questions.  It is never my intention to consume all of your children's time (Hopefully catching the Wordly Wise vocabulary reference :)

Last but not least, the Walters field trip.  Wow, I am not used to having so many parent volunteers to chaperon.  At my old school, I often had to beg, even having my own mother chaperon twice.  I took volunteers on a first come first serve basis.  In the future I shall switch to a random selection since I can see the interest is so high.  I have already contacted the eight parents who volunteered first (4 5th grade and 4 6th grade.)  If any of them cannot make the trip, I will make sure to randomly select another parent and make them aware.

Thanks again for all you do.  Looking at pinnacle and TAC I can see all of my students being successful; I am very blessed to get to work with such a great group of students and their families.  Have a fantastic weekend.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Test and quiz!


5th Grade will be having our Rise of Civilizations test on Friday 9/27/13.  It will cover the Paleolithic Age, Neolithic Revolution, and Mesopotamia (including Sumer, Hammurabi, the empires, and vocabulary.)

6th Grade will have a quiz on the Neolithic Revolution, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece.  (Remember, we are only doing a brief overview of those places/times, so look for the big ideas)

Ancient Civilization Jeopardy

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Constitution Day!

Happy Constitution day folks.  It is a great day to be thankful to be an American citizen.  Don't forget our rights!

Monday, September 16, 2013

A letter home

I sent this home with my homeroom class, but figured I would share it with you all here as
Hello,
                I thought I would send a message home with all of my homeroom students.  I hope this letter finds you well and just as excited as I am to be seeing the progress of your child in history.  Hopefully we have already had a moment or two to discuss your child and his or her particular progress.

                I have been absolutely taken a back with the amount of generosity I have seen from you all with donations of tissues, band aids, wipes, hand sanitizer, and so much more.  I apologize, I have not individually thanked you.  The first two days had such hustle and bustle I did not even always see what students put on my desk.  So once again, thank you.
               
As you may have noticed, we hit the ground running during the first weeks of school.  I am so happy to be getting to know all of the students and their families.  The relationship between the teacher, parent, and child is the foundation of your child’s success.  I look forward to continuing to build a positive relationship of trust and respect with you and your student.  

Our first few weeks of school has certainly gone quickly and well, but were not without various bumps along the road.  I know it has been difficult without having a parent handbook available from the beginning of the school year to help quell misconceptions and rumors about policy and procedure.  I know since I copied some of the papers myself, what I’ve sent home to your student has not always been the easiest to read.  I also know how frustrating it can be waiting in car line, as I’ve been on the other side hoping for it to go faster as well.  I know those are just a few of the hardships we have endured together, but nothing without great labor, right?  This is my seventh year of teaching, and despite the rocky road we have already endured, I have never been so excited, proud, and sure I am taking part in something great that truly will be a fantastic opportunity for you, your child, the teachers, and Frederick County.  Seeing the success I have already, I think we are on to something big.

In history we have been learning about the rise of civilizations and are currently learning about Mesopotamia.  We have looked at cuneiform, which their art teacher will guide them in creating their own.  We will spend another week or two in the land between two rivers examining the culture, the empires, and other achievements.  After that, we’ll be on to Egypt.

The best way to get a hold of me is through email.  I tend to be tethered to my email on many devices, much to my wife’s chagrin, so I will typically respond quickly.  I, of course, can also be reached by phone at 240-236-1230.  This number will not ring during the school day, so please leave a message and I will call you back as soon as I can (typically after 3 p.m.)  Don’t forget my website, MrdotKenny.Blogspot.com, is a fantastic resource to you and your child.

 Thank you so much for your time, support, and parenting of such wonderful students.  Please never hesitate to contact me with questions and concerns.  We have embarked in a journey together; may it continue to be as exciting and positive as it already has.

Nil Sine Magno Labore,



Collin Kenny

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

To all my dancer students

I have many dancer students, so when I heard this podcast in Stuff You Missed in History class, I thought they would enjoy it too.  Here is a quick article on her.  She pioneered the point dancing, so I am sure many of you may be either super happy (or mad, due to to foot pain) that she did!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Field Trips!!


I am very happy to announce that I have scheduled two field trips for the classes.  Now, of course these dates are tentative and subject to change, but it looks like we will be going to the Walter's Art Museum on these dates:

Ancient World, 5th and 6th grade (80 students)
        Classroom visit: 10/1/13
        Museum visit: 10/8/13, 10am-12pm

Ancient Egypt, 5th grade (40 students)
        Classroom visit: 5/19/14
        Museum visit: 5/21/14, 10am-12pm

World of the Samurai, 6th grade (40 students)
        Classroom visit: 5/19/14
        Museum visit: 5/21/14, 10am-12pm

I will be creating permission slips to send home soon.  The Walters is a fantastic place that you and your family can attend.  The website is here for more information!

Thursday, September 5, 2013