May 11, 2020

 

Dear Target S.T.A.R.s,

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This is the last week I will update the blog with new activities.  It's almost summer vacation time and I know you are all ready for a break.  I have 2 new Kahoots for you this week and both are challenging.  Are you ready?  I turned off the timer so you don't have to rush. 

Primary: Easy Logic Puzzles   pin number: 05646367

Intermediate: Logic Puzzles   pin number:  08041300  

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Congratulations to our Kahoot high scorers from last week:

• Seraphim, Goodnews & Dezzalynne

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Don’t forget about the Wild Robot chapters if you are in grades 2-4.

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Check out this fun new website called "Mystery Doug."  Mystery Doug answers all kinds of questions, but this episode is called “How do magicians trick people?” 

 

This is a fun issue of the Daily STEM Newsletter – it's a special STAR WARS edition. And here is the SPANISH version.  There is a cool feature about robotic cameras disguised as animals in order to film wild animals up close.  There's also a segment about the speed of STAR WARS laser blasters and some awesome STAR WARS snowflake patterns.  My favorite is the Yoda design.  Find yours.

 

We will have our final Zoom meetings this week.  If you want to share a special message or picture with your classmates, create it ahead of time and have it ready for our Zoom meet-up! 

Wednesday – 1st grade at 1:00, 2nd/3rd at 2:00                                         Thursday – 4th grade at 1:00, 5th at 2:00

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A special shout-out to our fabulous 5th graders!  I am going to miss you SO much!  Always remember that you have what it takes to ALWAYS be a S.T.A.R. (Scholar, Thinker, Achiever, Risk-Taker)!  And your Compton Family will always be cheering for you!  Dream BIG!   

 

Love you always, 

Mrs. R. 

   

 

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May 4, 2020

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Hi Target S.T.A.R.s,

I hope you are all doing well; I say I miss you every week but it's true!  I really do.  We have 2 weeks of Zoom meetings left, continuing with our same schedule.  I'll send out invites a day ahead.  

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Wednesday – 1st grade at 1:00, 2nd/3rd at 2:00                                         Thursday – 4th grade at 1:00, 5th at 2:00

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New things to do:

• Try out this brand new Creativity Calendar for the month of May.

• Check out the 4th & 5th Grade Dollar Challenge projects. 

• There is a new Kahoot for this week - use the code 09889570 to play:  It Always Has. 

• I finished reading & uploading the final chapters to The Wild Robot.  Don't miss the ending!  Look on the Unit Resources page or click HERE.

• Go on Clever to Book Creator and read some of the amazing books created by your Target peers! Or try a new one of your own!

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Congratulations to our Kahoot high scorers from last week:

• Intermediate Common Bonds: Naomi, Kimoni, & Dezzalynne

• Primary Common Bonds: Naomi, Lucas, & Seraphim

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Have a great week!

Love, Mrs. R.

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April 27, 2020

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Dear Target S.T.A.R.s, 

I miss you very much!  It has been great seeing you on Zoom meetings.  We are going to continue with the same schedule.  I will send your parent an email link to the meeting a day ahead of time.  

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Wednesday – 1st grade at 1:00, 2nd/3rd at 2:00                                         Thursday – 4th grade at 1:00, 5th at 2:00

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For convergent thinking practice this week, here are some cool Coin Logic puzzles to solve. Click HERE for the PowerPoint. 

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There are also two new Kahoots for you to solve:

Primary Common Bonds - Code 07865026

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Intermediate Common Bonds - Code 08367652

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Don't forget to check out Book Creator on my Clever page.  It's at the top with Newsela.  The code you need to access this app is in the email I sent to your parents this morning.    

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Congratulations to our Kahoot high scorers from last week:

• Seven Habits – Nicole, Goodnews, and Seraphim.

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I love and miss you,

Mrs. Ricketts

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April 20, 2020

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Hi there Target S.T.A.R.s!

It was so much fun meeting on Zoom last week and we will continue this week with the same schedule.  I’ll send your parent an email link for the meeting a day ahead:

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Wednesday – 1st grade at 1:00, 2nd/3rd at 2:00                                         Thursday – 4th grade at 1:00, 5th at 2:00

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I’ve added a cool new program called Book Creator that you can access through my page on Clever.  We will talk about it during our Zoom meetings this week.  If you want to try it out ahead of time, feel free.  Also, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders still have active accounts on code.org if you want to get even better at coding and programming.

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I hope everyone will take a look at the Unit Resources page and see the fantastic 5th grade projects!  Younger stars, you can learn some really cool things from this amazing 5th grade class. 

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I mentioned during our Zoom meetings that I would give you some links to some online jigsaw puzzles since we can't be in the Target classroom to work on a puzzle together.  

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Start with this 20-piece one:  Ski Resort

Then try this 50-piece puzzle:  Lego Bricks

And if you're really up for a challenge, a 100-piece one: Magnificent Landscape

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This week’s Kahoot game is the same for everyone, and it’s based on the 7 Habits of Happy Kids.  Click HERE and use this code: 0276399.  It will be active until Friday, 4/24, at noon. 

 

Congratulations to our Kahoot high scorers from last week:

• Number Patterns – Dezzalynne, Goodnews, and Nicole

• Primary Analogies – Nicole, Lucas, and Goodnews

• Analogies Practice – Jacob, Naomi and Katelyn

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I love and miss you!

Mrs. Ricketts

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April 13, 2020

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Hi Target S.T.A.R.s!

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The first thing I want you to know today is that I love you and miss you very much!  I miss your smiles, your jokes, your creative ideas, and the way you support one another.  I am excited to tell you that we are going to try Zoom meet-ups this week with our Target classes.  Originally, I thought we would meet on our regular Target days, but after looking over the homeroom teachers’ meeting schedules, I’ve decided we’re going to try this schedule:

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• 1st grade – Wednesday, April 15th, at 1:00 PM

• 2nd and 3rd grades – Wednesday, April 15th, at 2:00PM

• 4th grade – Thursday, April 16th at 1:00 PM

• 5th grade – Thursday, April 16th at 2:00 PM.         

 

The day before our meeting, I will send your parents an email with the link you will need to use   when it’s time to meet.  I’m not posting it here for privacy reasons.  The link works great if you’re on a laptop, but if you’re on a phone, you’ll need the meeting ID and password.  That will also be in the email.  Please join us if you can.  It will be great to get our learning communities together.  

 

It was so awesome to see so many of you online with Kahoot the week before Spring Break!  I have some new Kahoot games for you to try this week, 1 for primary, 2 for intermediate. Try them all if you want. I’ve extended the time for each question to 60 seconds so you’ll have more time to think.  The challenges will be open until noon on Friday, April 17th. You can play whenever you’re ready, and it will save your score.  I’ll report the highest scorers here on the website. You will need this number to play: 

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1st and 2nd - Primary Analogies 08229127

3rd – 5th – Analogy Practice 03602362  and Number Patterns 03930542

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Remember instead of a nickname, use your first name only.  Click here to find Kahoot.  It is also on the “Build Your Brain” page of this website, at the bottom of the middle column.

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Congrats to Nicole, David and Gabe for being the highest scorers the week before Spring Break!!! Check out the Winners' Podium for "Odd One Out." 

 

I added a “Daily STEM” newsletter to the specialist newsletter this week. I’m posting it here as well; I think you’ll find it fascinating! 

 

Daily STEM 

Daily STEM (Spanish)

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5th TEDEd project update – Our wonderful media specialist, Mrs. Cable, spent several days over Spring Break editing your projects, matching up your video segments with your background slides. We had a few questions about a couple of them that went off-script, but we did the best we could. We are so proud of you and how well they turned out, a great learning experience for us all.  I will email your parents a link to your movie so you will have a copy to keep.  They are now posted on the "Unit Resources" page.  Check them out!  

 

Love,

Mrs. R.

 

 

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March 30, 2020

 

Hi Target S.T.A.R.s,

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It’s the beginning of a brand new week and I have some new things to tell you about. First, I've made a Kahoot game for us to play this week. The topic is “Odd One Out,” where you choose the item that does not belong with the other three items. Instead of everyone playing at the same time, I’ve set it up as a Challenge. It will be open until noon on Thursday, April 2nd. You can play whenever you’re ready, and it will save your score.  I’ll report the highest scorers here on the website. You will need this number to play:  06596

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Instead of a nickname, use your first name only.  Click here to find Kahoot. It is also on the “Build Your Brain” page of this website, at the bottom of the middle column.

 

The second thing I want you to know about is the 2020 Minecraft Global Challenge. Read HERE if you like Minecraft and want to more about it.   

 

I've included some creativity challenges in the specialists blog this week.  Stretch your divergent thinking muscles and try them out.

 

Look for me on the Compton news show this Friday, April 3rd. I’ll be spotlighting one of you! Spring Break is next week, so put your schoolbooks aside and enjoy some time off. Stay safe and I will too!

 

Love,

Mrs. R.     

 

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March 23, 2020

 

Dear wonderful Target S.T.A.R.s,

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I hope you’ve had a very good week!  It was terrific to hear from so many of you.  I loved the Dollar Challenge project pictures and details I received from some of our 4th and 5th graders.  It’s not too late to turn yours in if you haven’t already sent it.  If you haven’t started, see if you can think of a way to help your family members who are quarantined with you OR think of a way you could help your neighbors while still being socially distant.

 

Some of you emailed me wondering about the solution to the Aunt Minerva puzzle that was hanging in our classroom the week before we left:

These were the words Aunt Minerva liked:

• Cold

• Cloud

• Boots

• Heat

• Heater

• Mittens

• Slipper

 

The answer is that she likes anagrams associated with winter. Remember that anagrams are words you spell by rearranging the letters of another word.

• Cold - clod

• Cloud – could -

• Boots – boost - Can you figure out the rest of these?

• Heat - _________

• Heater - _______

• Mittens - _______

• Slipper - _______

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Here are some new ways you can exercise your brain this week:

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1st graders:

We spent 5 weeks learning about convergent thinking (putting facts together to find one right answer). Now I want you to practice divergent thinking.  Divergent thinking is coming up with new ideas or solutions.  There are MANY possible answers when you are thinking divergently.  Try these activities:

• Create a new invention from an old sock and a shoelace.  Take a picture of yourself with your invention and email it to me.   

• Brainstorm a list of round things larger than a basketball. You can ask your family members to help you think of things to add to your list.    

 

2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders:

• You can continue working on your lessons in code.org. The link is on the Unit Resources page.  Email me if you don’t remember your secret words.  There are a lot of fun activities with the Hour of Code also.  The Minecraft one is very cool!

• You can write a play about your favorite scene from the Wild Robot and then you could persuade your family members to help you act it out.  

• Play the SET game every day and keep track of your times.  Then email me your best time for the week and I’ll share my best time with you.  

 

5th grade:

• Watch a TED Talk.  Here are 2 great ones that I found last week: The Language of Dolphins and Underwater Astonishments.

• Try to solve this TED-Ed Riddle: Can You Solve the Stolen Rubies Riddle?

• Play the SET game every day and keep track of your times.  Then email me your best time for the week and I’ll share my best time with you.  

 

I miss all of you!

Love,

Mrs. R.

 

 

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March 16, 2020

 

Hello Target S.T.A.R.s!

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I’ve added some new links to “Build Your Brain” that I think you will enjoy.  Check them out when you finish the work assigned by your classroom teacher.

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If you want to let me know your thoughts about these new brain games, my email is karen.ricketts@cobbk12.org. I’d love to hear from you. I’ll be online each weekday morning between 9:00 and 10:30 AM and will check email several times throughout the day. 

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4th and 5th graders, if you have finished your Dollar Challenge project, you can email me a description of what you did and your picture if you have one. Try to do this by Saturday, March 21st. Then I will upload everyone’s project ideas into a SWAY that I’ll share with you.  My email is listed above.

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I hope you are reading great books and enjoying time with your family. Here is a list of fun things you can do from home that don’t require a computer:  Non-screen activities you can do at home

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Also, remember that your school number and password work with the Cobb public library so you can access more books if you run out.  

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I have been working on this puzzle for a couple of weeks and finished it today. David and Adam gave it to me for Christmas. It has 750 pieces.  What do you think?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take care and know that I miss you!

Love, 

Mrs. Ricketts  

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Welcome to a new semester in Target!  See below for the

Winter/Spring 2020 schedule:    

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2020 Advanced Learning Schedule:

• ​Mondays - 1st Grade Target

• Tuesdays - 2nd and 3rd Grade Target

• Wednesdays - 5th Grade Target

• Thursdays - 4th Grade Target

• Fridays - Talent Development

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