Look at all these goofy kids! As preposterous as it seems, we actually found fourteen excellent candidates for student council. We then narrowed it down to six exceptional finalists, and from these two students were voted by their peers to represent Room 15 on the CPE Student Council. Congratulations to Llobani D. and Grace M. for being selected. Paige B. will serve as alternate should either of our representatives have to be replaced. In order to continue in office, representatives are expected to demonstrate excellent citizenship, good attendance, and solid academic performance. CPE staff can remove a member at any time for failure to uphold these basic principles.

In Room 15 this week, students will be starting their first play groups. These plays, The Birth-mark, Odysseus versus the Cyclops, and The Monkey’s Paw are tentatively scheduled for performance sometime near Halloween (as the content would suggest). Note that these are all advanced scripts (all originally appearing in Scholastic’s Scope magazine, which is aimed at 6th and 7th graders). Consequently, it is essential students read their lines every night (silently, aloud, and to an adult as well). Working with play scripts is a proven way to build reading fluency and comprehension while giving students an engaging and active classroom activity. (To hear performances by former students, click on the Podcasts link above). During this period of working with scripts, students will be expected to read for at least twenty minutes from their script and a book of choice. They’ll be asked to write a book review (following specific guidelines) on their book of choice at some time in the next month.

This Friday we’ll be undertaking our first Adopt-a-Street clean-up of Hopkins Street. If you’d like to join us, please check in at the office by 8:45 on Friday morning. Students are required to return their signed permission slips for both the city and the school by Wednesday.

In math this week, students are studying decimal place value, which culminates with a quiz on Wednesday or Thursday. They’re also well underway on their Fact Car Rally Race. Students should be practicing their multiplication facts every night at home by writing out at least one multiple from the times tables. Here’s the homework for this week: Monday, Sept. 24; Tuesday, Sept 25; Wednesday, Sept 26; Thursday, Sept. 27th.

Students have been scored for their first perfect paragraph (Vote for Me), their first Super Sentence test, their first vocabulary exam, their first Book Club (quizzes), their first Reading Guide, and their first math test. Students are instructed to keep these items behind the “saved-work” tab in their binders. If they don’t appear their, perhaps it’s time for a visit. Finally, my apologies to parents for being so slow at getting our e-mail communication system up and running properly. I soon hope to be sending a weekly e-mail out to all parents and a Thursday night e-mail out to individual parents as necessary. Thanks for your patience.