Room 109 Riverside

Time for Testing

2009-03-12T09:12:00.004-06:00

Hello Parents/Guardians,

I hope everyone is coping with this winter freeze. By the weekend we should be seeing some milder temperatures. Think spring!

The Riverside students are now involved in the MontCAS testing. Yesterday they started the reading sessions. Today they will finish the reading. On Tuesday they will complete the math sessions. Please remind your kids to do their best. Also remind them that they are not graded on these. These will in no way affect their school grades. This may alleviate some of the stress.

The 8th grade Language! students have taken over the literature blog for the next couple of weeks. Our new post is concerning Joan of Arc. This relates to the book we are using for Read Aloud. We invite you to visit 109reading.blogspot.com and leave your comment.

Language! students have also been using a new internet program called Google Docs to review concepts in collaboration with other classes in the building.

Social studies students have finished their projects on Central America and are presenting them this week. Two of the students are presenting with Powerpoint.

Riverside will have it's spring choral concert on Monday, March 16th at 7:30 p.m. Students in the concert need to be here by 6:45.

The girl's volleyball season has also started. You can call the school for game times. Come support our volleyball teams!

One more thing. Please encourage your kids to bring their Riverside planners to school everyday. They really are a great organizational tool.

That's all for now. Till next time.

Marjorie Zeedyk

February: A Time to Honor American Presidents

2009-02-09T08:27:00.002-07:00

Hello Parents!

Thanks for checking out Room 109 Riverside!

Today the Riverside 8th graders are attending a Chinese acrobatics live performance at the Alberta Bair. It should be a wonderful experience! The students in 109 Language! will be writing about it tomorrow.

Both Language! classes are studying pronouns in depth. Besides designating them as first, second, or third person, we are also talking about whether each pronoun is singular or plural.

Pronouns, pronouns, pronouns!

We have also been working on some new prefixes (non, com, col, cor, ex, ef, mis, etc.). Students will be getting on nettrekker.com to practice their prefix skills. Should be fun!

Seventh grade (periods 6 and 7) Language! students be visiting their literature blog this week to comment on the book Red Midnight by Ben Mikaelsen. Check it out at 109reading.blogspot.com! Eighth graders will be blogging again in a couple of weeks.

Social Studies students have returned to the countries of Central America for more in-depth study. They are working with their partners, studying and researching one Central American

country of their choice. Some of the them will be creating Powerpoint presentations.

Just to let you know, Riverside will be having a Valentine's dance on Thurs. (Feb. 12th). It will be held from 3:30 to 5:00. Admission cost is $2.00.

That's all for now. Have a happy Valentine's day!

Till next time,

Marjorie Zeedyk

As we move into February . . .

2009-01-30T18:26:00.002-07:00

Parents/Guardians,

Hello to all! We are now well into third quarter. So much to get done before school is out!

The Language! classes both started a new English concept today, that of singular and plural pronouns. They will be reviewing it on Monday. I am giving more homework this quarter than I did last. I'm sad to say that I am not getting it all turned in. Please ask to see your child's completed homework. If a homework assignment is given, it should be written in the Riverside Planner that all the students should have. Hopefully, we can get all the students to do and turn in their homework. We have been working on writing using transition words - first, secondly, thirdly, next, then, now, finally, etc. Some wonderful writings were turned in! Bravo to your kids! This coming week we will again be commenting on our literature blog - 109reading.blogspot.com. Check it out!

The Social Studies class has just completed a chapter in our textbook on oceans, rivers, and lakes. They will have a quiz on the material on Tuesday. The kids will be bringing home a handout to study from Monday. Please encourage them to study for it.

We will be having an all school assembly on Friday.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is staying warm during this winter freeze.

Till next time.

Marjorie Zeedyk

Happy New Year!

2009-01-07T13:46:00.002-07:00

Dear Parents,

Language classes are busy again! We are working hard on dividing words into syllables using the "Conquer and Divide" technique. The students continue to read from their independent reading books. In the J&J practice book, we are reading a story called The Fire. Seventh graders are listening to the book Red Midnight. Eighth graders are listening to a biography about Joan of Arc. Both classes continue to practice writing masterpiece sentences. Fluency Builder sheets (#2) were given for homework. Please ask your child about these.

The Social Studies class has been studying earthquakes and volcanoes this week.

Boys basketball is in full swing at Riverside. The end of the quarter is Friday, January 16th.

That's all for now.

Marjorie Zeedyk and Thomas Chapman

It's time for Christmas break!

2008-12-19T16:42:00.003-07:00

Parents/Guardians,

Hi!

Students who have Room 109 as their homeroom will have a Christmas party on Monday, December 22nd. Students may participate in a gift exchange - boys bring a boy's gift and girls bring a girl's gift. Please do not spend more than $7.00. Students are also encouraged to bring a treat to share with their classmates.

Students who have first and second period Language! will have their Christmas party on Tuesday. There will not be a gift exchange for this one. But please have your child bring a treat to share.

Students will be dismissed for Christmas break on Tuesday at the normal time.

My next post will be in the new year.

Till then.

Marjorie Zeedyk

Season's Greetings!

2008-12-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Parents!

Sorry I've been away from the blog for awhile. I ran into some technical problems.

Things are very busy at Riverside this time of year. One thing I really want to mention is that Riverside's Christmas choral concert is this Tuesday evening at 7:00. Please come and enjoy the singing and music.

Another important reminder is that school will be dismissing early on both Dec. 1lth and 12th.
We will be having parent-teacher conferences on the 11th from 1:00 to 4:00 and again from 4:30 to 7:30. See you here!

My Language classes are moving right along. We have done a lot of work on words with long vowels, mostly the cvcv pattern. Right now we are also studying possessive pronouns. And for Read Aloud we are doing Red Midnight by Ben Mikaelsen, a Montana author.

Among other things, the social studies students are learning about the Central American countries.

That's all for now. Look for a new post on the 12th.

Marjorie Zeedyk

2008-10-10T10:53:00.002-06:00

Hello parents!

Sorry I missed last week's post. I was out of school ill for several days. But I'm feeling much better now.

The Language classes continue to be hard at work. All students commented on our literature blog this week - 109reading.blogspot.com - check it out. I'm sure your child would like to read you his/her comment. We also used "Inspiration" software this week to do a good review on contractions (we'll, isn't, can't, etc.). Another English concept we worked on was verb phrases.

Independent reading and one-to-one reading conferences continue!

The social studies class is wrapping up the unit on Native Americans in Montana. This week we concentrated on the Fort Peck reservation. The students should know some facts. Quiz them on this if you get a chance. Every Thursday the students have a short oral report due on some current events story. They just need to have a few sentences written down about the story.

Remember that the students do not have school on October 16th and 17th (Thursday and Friday). These are Montana Teacher Conference days. I'm going to the state reading conference in Great Falls. Hope to come back with many great ideas and some great books to add to our classroom library.

Have a great weekend!

Marjorie Zeedyk

As always, please encourage your child to do extra reading at home.

Another week gone

2008-09-12T11:55:00.003-06:00

Hello Parents!

It's once again time for a new post. We had a productive week.

As we are really into a unit on Native American Studies, my Social Studies class this week had a guest speaker come in to talk to us about the Blackfeet culture. Our guest was Mrs. Marcia Beaumont. She did a wonderful job and we all learned a lot from her. Did you know that the Blackfeet have 15,000 registered members?

In the Language classes today we all started working on some new non-phonetic words. Please ask your child to explain to you the difference between phonetic and non-phonetic words. All students in my Language classes will be having a Fluency Builder timing on Wed. They will be bringing these home on Monday to practice. It will be their homework for that day. Students all had an individual reading conference this week. You might also want to ask them what their independent reading book is about. We also did some work with poetry and legends this week.

We try to hit on all genres of literature in this class. For the English concepts portion of this class, we did a good review of pronouns. Today they had to write a masterpiece sentence in collaboration with their partner. Students will change partners next week.

This coming week all students at Riverside will start taking the NWEA tests. They will be tested in reading, language, and math. The change this year is that they will be taking the tests on the computer. Please make sure your kids are getting plenty of sleep and healthy food to help them perform well on these tests.

That's all for now. Have a great weekend.

Marjorie Zeedyk

A New Schhol Year

2008-08-29T11:16:00.002-06:00

Hello Parents!

Classes at Riverside are in full swing.

My name is Marjorie Zeedyk. I publish the posts on this parent blog. I teach two Language! blocks and one Social Studies class. Hopefully, this blog will serve as a great communication

tool for us this year. Please come to this site frequently to find out what is happening in my classes. I will also inform you of other important things happening at Riverside.

Students in my Language! classes need to bring a few things - a three ring binder and a spiral notebook. Some of the students have already brought these in. Thank you!

My Social Studies students need to have one pocket folder. That's all!

All students at Riverside were given a Riverside Planner. Very handy! Each student needs to bring $5.00 to pay for the planner. Again, some of the students have already brought the money. Thank you.

We will be having an all-school Open House on Thursday, Sept. 4th at 7:00. All parents are welcome and encouraged to come. Hope to see you there!

Let's have a great year!

Sincerely,

Marjorie Zeedyk

2008-08-29T11:13:00.000-06:00

Time for Summer Fun in the Sun

2008-06-02T11:07:00.003-06:00

Hello Parents!

It's almost time to let out for summer. (My students are helping me compose this last blog post for the year.) It's that time again!

The Language classes have been very busy wrapping up the things we have learned this year. We have finished reading My Brother Sam is Dead. Please ask your son or daughter to explain to you how this book ended. This will be using their "comprehension" level thinking, which we have also studied. This week we are finishing Unit 20 in the program. This unit focused on short words with long vowels. We also studied, in depth, three kinds of syllables - open, closed, and r-controlled. We have continued reading from our J&J readers and have worked on Fluency Builders. Tomorrow is our last Fluency Builder timing. Please encourage your child to practice for it.

Social Studies students in Room 109 completed their Powerpoint presentations on Earth facts.
They turned out wonderful. Most of the students were able to present them to the class with the LCD projector. It was a great end-of-the-year review.

Now for the rest of this week. On Wednesday morning, the seventh graders will be having fun with the Inflatables. On Wednesday afternoon, the eighth graders will do the same. On Thursday, the Language classes will be having an end-of-the-year "Pig Out." I am asking that the students bring something to eat to share with their classmates. Healthy items are encouraged. I did send a note home with the students explaining about this. On Friday, there will be an All School Awards Assembly. Yearbooks will be handed out after the assembly. Students will eat lunch and then be dismissed early. Buses will depart at 11:40. And that's it for the year!

Have a spectacular summer!

Ms. Marjorie Zeedyk

Spring has sprung!

2008-04-02T11:21:00.002-06:00

Hello Parents/Guardians!

It is again time for a new post to inform you of what is going on in Room 109. All classes in 109 are now involved in projects incorporating some digital photography. The students have taken pictures with a digital camera and turned them into slideshows. They have recently created an "Easter Decorating" and a "Riverside" slideshow. They are very good. The eighth grade Language! class will be starting a digital slideshow depicting what is involved in "synthesis" level thinking. Very exciting!

This week students are taking the NWEA district-wide achievement tests. Please make sure your child/children are getting to bed early and eating a good breakfast so as to perform their best on these tests. They are being tested in the areas of reading, language, and math.

All Language! students will have a Fluency Builder timing on Friday. Please practice the Fluency Builder with your kids on Thursday evening. It is their homework to do this. Thank you.

Next week, when NWEA testing is completed, we will return to literature blogging in the Language! classes. Students will be responding to a post related to the book we are reading in class. It is historical fiction. Great book!

The seventh grade social studies class is studying US landforms. Ask them to list them for you.
Also ask them to describe the southwest part of our country for you. They also have learned about the famous artist, Georgia O'Keeffe, who fell in love with this part of the country and spent a large part of her life painting here.

That's all for now. Call me if you have questions.

Marjorie Zeedyk
109 Riverside
237-6800

Room 109 News

2008-03-12T09:20:00.002-06:00

Hello Parents!

It is definitely time for a new post on this blog!

How are you? Are you ready for St. Patrick's Day?

Language classes are still busy working on words with "r-controlled" vowels. This week the focus is words with the "r-controlled" o. Fluency builders with these words were sent home for practice. The students are timed on these words.

For Read Aloud we are still on the book My Brother Sam is Dead. Ask you child to tell you what is happening in the book. I'm sure he/she would be glad to tell you. It's a very good Newbery award-winning book (1974).

There are four homework assignments that Language! students are responsible for this week. Please remind your child to get these done and turned in.

Social studies students (7th graders) are now involved in a project using some digital photography. Most of them took a digital picture and were shown how to import it to the computer. We're always learning a few tech skills along the way!

That's all for now.

As always, call me if you have questions.

Marjorie Zeedyk

Room 109 Update

2008-02-18T09:19:00.003-07:00

Hello Parents!

Happy President's Day!

Let me tell you what is happening in Room 109.

In Language! class we have started Unit 19. This unit focuses on reading and spelling words with r-controlled vowels. Today the students used the "Say and Type" technique to practice these words.

We have also started a new story in our J&J practice readers. It is called Gram and Gramps Marks. And it is packed full with words that contain r-controlled vowels.

For Read Aloud we have started reading some historical fiction titled My Brother Sam is Dead. The setting of this book is America during the Revoluntionary War.

In Social Studies (this is just for the seventh graders), we have started a unit on the life of
Abraham Lincoln.

Also, for your information, mid-term grade reports come home this Friday.

Have a great week!

Marjorie Zeedyk

Helo Parents!

2008-01-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already Friday. We've had a busy week.

We're wrapping up Unit 19 in Language. Both classes took a spelling quiz this week on words that contain the "tch" letter combination. They did a great job!

The use of the apostrophe was re-visited this week - both in contractions (can't, won't, etc.) and for showing possession (Ms. Zeedyk's class). Please review the use of the apostrophe with your child. It's an important writing skill.

We started reading a new story today in our J&J readers. We will be practicing it for another three or four days. You could ask your child to "retell" it to you. This kind of activity is good for reading comprehension.

Some of the students had Fluency Builder timings today. If they didn't have one today, they will have one on Monday. They should have brought a Fluency Builder sheet home yesterday to practice. We're shooting for reading at least 50 words in one minute.

For Read Aloud, I have continued to read poems by Native American youth. We will start a new genre next week.

As always, encourage homework completion.

Thank you!

Marjorie Zeedyk

Hello Parents!

2008-01-25T10:55:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year!

2008-01-14T05:36:00.001-07:00

Parents/Guardians:

Hello!

As you probably have discovered, this is my first post for the new year.

The Language classes have started back up full force. The students are learning and doing new things!

We are now exploring some poetry related to the Native American culture. There are two poems in particular that we have been
using for reading practice. Thursday's homework will be to bring these home and read them to you. Please be watching for them. Please sign the poetry papers at the bottom so I know that your child has shared them with you.

Our current phonemic/spelling concept is words that have the "tch" letter combination. Today and Wednesday the students will be using the "Type and Say" technique to practice these words.

Last week all my Language students published a comment to our literature blog - 109reading.blogspot.com. Please check them out.

Remember to remind your child about getting homework completed.

Thank you.

Until Wednesday,

Marjorie Zeedyk

Happy New Year!

2008-01-14T05:36:00.000-07:00

We're Counting Down to Christmas!

2007-12-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hello parents!

The Language! classes have taken a lot of mastery tasks this week. We have a few more to take and then we will be beginning Unit 18! The English concept we are working on and will continue to work on next week is suffixes - ed, ing, er, est, s, and es.

The 7th grade class is almost done listening to the book Number the Stars. Ask your child to tell you about it. It is a historical fiction book by Lois Lowry.

Seventh grade social studies students have begun their Powerpoint presentations on facts about the Earth. They will be working hard on them next week too. They're learning some new technology along the way.

The seventh grade Languauge! class will be having a small Christmas party on Friday the 21st. The students may bring a treat to share with their classmates - chips, cookies, crackers, etc. I will be providing the beverage. As part of the party we will be
having a gift exchange. The gift exchange is not mandatory. Girls bring a girl's gift and boys bring a boy's gift. Please do not spend over $6.00.

That's all for now!

Happy Holidays!

Marjorie Zeedyk

Where Did the Week Go?

2007-12-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hello parents!

I hope you had a great week.

We're having fluency builder timings today. Your child should have brought these home to practice twice this week. Please ask your child about his/her timing. Hopefully, there was an increase from Tuesday.

We're also having some individual reading conferences today.

The students are commenting on our literature blog today - 109reading.blogspot.com.

For English concepts, we're reviewing verb phrases - identifying the helping verb and main verb.

The Social Studies class is starting a unit on the country of Denmark. The students in this class are going to be using PowerPoint. They are excited about getting started.

Have a great weekend!

Till next week . . .

Marjorie Zeedyk

Have a great weekend!

2007-11-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

Parents/Guardians:

Sorry about this late post. It's been one of those weeks!

My social studies class just left. We had a great discussion on how the tilt of the Earth affects temperatures. After the discussion, the students got on the Internet program "Vozme" and wrote about what they had learned. Vozme will read back what the students have written.

Just a reminder - the Language! classes are assigned homework several times a week. Please check with your child in the evenings to make sure they have completed this.

Both Language! classes are having Fluency Builder timings today. I'm hoping each student gets to at least 50 words a minute.
Some have already gotten to 100!

We continue to read from our independent reading books and have individual reading conferences. Please ask your child to tell you about the book they are reading.

That's all for this week.

More on Monday!

Thanks for logging on.

Marjorie Zeedyk

2007-11-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

Here's hoping that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Christmas will be here soon. We've got a lot to do before then!

Here are the highlights for this week.

The students will have fluency builder timings tomorrow. They should have brought home sheets to practice for this. I do ask them to practice these with their parents.

Both Language! classes started new practice stories yesterday. The title of the story is "The Landfill". They will "partner read" tomorrow.

We are reviewing the use of the apostrophe to show possession - both singular and plural.

Till Friday!

Marjorie Zeedyk

What's Happening on Wednesday?

2007-11-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

Hello to all!

The Language classes use their J&J practice readers everyday to develop reading fluency. Today both classes will be choral reading - reading all together. Our practice reading with our J&J reading takes about 10 to 15 minutes. We practice the same story for at least a week.

Today the students will also all be involved in individual reading conferences. We use their independent reading books for these conferences. Again, please ask your child to tell you about what he/she is reading.

We continue to work on the "Forms of Be" helping verbs.

Homework for Thursday is a spelling sheet for words that end with consonant blends. Please encourage your child to have the paper ready to turn in at the beginning of class.

Please check out the two links I have added to this blog. The seventh graders use the e-learning . . . one often during their SSR class. It has a great course under the "computers" button for learning keyboarding skills. It would be great idea for your child to use this one at home!

Till Friday,

Ms. Z

2007-11-04T03:42:00.001-07:00

What's happening on Monday?

2007-11-04T03:25:00.000-07:00

The Language! classes are moving forward in the program!

Both classes have started a new phonemic concept. Students in Unit 17 are concentrating on reading and spelling words that end with consonant blends and students in Unit 19 are working on words that have an "r-controlled" a.

We continue to work on our silent reading skills. Both Language! classes today will be silent reading their current J&J practice stories. Within the next couple of days, each student will also have an individual reading conference pertaining to the book which they reading for independent reading. Please ask your child to tell you about the book they are reading.

A small homework assignment will be given on Monday. Please remind your child that it needs to be handed in at the beginning of the period on Tuesday.

Another post will be available for you to read on Wednesday.

Till then.

Marjorie Zeedyk

PS Any questions, call 237-6800.