January 27, 2014
Hello Families,
We can still see the supernova at the top of the cup on the big dipper! Have you stopped by the Riparian Preserve by the Southeast Regional Library (Greenfield/Guadalupe) to look through their telescope?(check hours online) It is NEAT and COOL and AMAZING! The Riparian is an awesome outdoor walk. You would be amazed at the variety of birds that live there! Bring your camera and your walking shoes! You won't be disappointed.
Have you been looking at your bookshelves wondering how did you get so many books? Please consider donating these to one of the teachers here at ASU Prep. WE would love them! Have you found any extra books at your house that have one of our names on the outside? Please have your child return it to our classrooms!
If you don't want to donate them to the classroom you can resell them at the 2nd Hand Bookstore on Southern/Power. It is a way to earn a tiny bit of money to buy more books! Or consider a donation to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or Deseret Industries. It is a great way to give back to our community!
Amazing weather! Before we know it, it will be in the triple digits! Enjoy your time exploring and playing in our great state of Arizona! Keep a watchful eye when you are out in the desert for wildlife and be sure to keep your distance. And don't forget the Leavitright rule - leave it right where you found it: unless it is trash. Carry your trash out and dispose of it properly when you leave the desert.
Yours in science,
Mrs. Biggs
Monday, January 27, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
STAR gazing TONIGHT! Jan 23
January 23, 2014
Hello Science Families,
Tonight in the northwestern sky you should be able to see visible signs of a supernova that exploded yesterday. You can see it without the aid of a telescope.
Also, if you have a SMARTphone look and see if you have a STAR app or if you can download one of the STAR sights for FREE! The apps are amazing. You can also use an iPad for nightly star gazing.
Enjoy!
yours in science,
Mrs. Biggs
Hello Science Families,
Tonight in the northwestern sky you should be able to see visible signs of a supernova that exploded yesterday. You can see it without the aid of a telescope.
Also, if you have a SMARTphone look and see if you have a STAR app or if you can download one of the STAR sights for FREE! The apps are amazing. You can also use an iPad for nightly star gazing.
Enjoy!
yours in science,
Mrs. Biggs
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Missing Classroom Books
January 15, 2014
Please help return books to my classroom! I allow students to borrow my books, and I'm happy to share. I love to share great literature with them! I tell them they have to return the book to me. My bookshelves are looking empty. Can you please check around your house, in your child's bedroom, in your child's backpack, the back seat of your car, etc. I would be so happy to have my books returned to my shelves. Thanks in advance for your help! I appreciate your efforts on my behalf!
a BIGGS thank you,
Mrs. Biggs
Please help return books to my classroom! I allow students to borrow my books, and I'm happy to share. I love to share great literature with them! I tell them they have to return the book to me. My bookshelves are looking empty. Can you please check around your house, in your child's bedroom, in your child's backpack, the back seat of your car, etc. I would be so happy to have my books returned to my shelves. Thanks in advance for your help! I appreciate your efforts on my behalf!
a BIGGS thank you,
Mrs. Biggs
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
January 14, 2014
Hello Families!
A great goal for all of us to consider: Be More Organized! Everything in our lives needs a place. Our dishes, our clothes, our food, our mail, our backpacks and purses and keys. It frees up so much time for us...instead of hunting for that bill, piece of paper, shoe, backpack or ingredient for dinner...we can trust that it will be in its designated spot. It really only takes an extra second to put something back where it belongs. We all get so busy multi-tasking that it is easy to get distracted, put something down, and tell ourselves WE WILL REMEMBER! But we don't! Maybe some of the time we will remember where we placed it, but most of the time we go searching for it.
So, consider taking a look at your daily routines with your kids and ask yourselves how you can reduce your frantic searching time. What are the things that you use most often? You need to have quick access to these things. What do your kids need to be successful at school? Where do you keep lunch boxes, backpacks, school supplies? Do your kids spend time searching for jackets, socks, and shoes? Are you hoping you can find your car keys quickly in the morning? Whatever it is that seems to be stealing your time, I would encourage you to take a look at how you can improve your efficiency at home.
When my children were younger I had a cabinet that I designated for school supplies for homework/projects. We still use the system even though my youngest are in high school and junior high. They became self-sufficient at a young age at getting what they needed to complete their homework out of the cabinet. It took a few minutes to sort out the craft paper, lined paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils, graph paper, scissors, tape, glue, extra folders/binders, etc. It also saved me those late, last minute runs to the store to get supplies for the project that was due the following day! "Surprise I have a project due tomorrow" is never fun to hear at 10:00 pm!
Try finding a place where you can always put your keys, wallet, purse, etc. When you need it you will always know where to find it. Don't slack...just take an extra second and put it in the same spot. Have your kids always put their backpacks and school stuff in the same spot, so as you leave in the morning you know exactly where it is. When my kids were younger they always put their backpacks by the front door once homework was finished. It worked like a charm...but I had seven in school at one time, and I needed a quick and easy solution.
While I'm on the subject of having seven in school at one time (now I have only 4 in school), I will tell you my kids would always forget socks and shoes upstairs. And hair stuff upstairs. So, I moved all the socks downstairs into a boys and girls bucket. I also had two sets of everything you needed to "fix" hair in the morning...hairspray, gel, ponytails, bows, combs, brushes, etc both upstairs and downstairs. On those days when we needed a little extra time it saved us time by not having to run up and down the stairs.
Maybe these really aren't organizational strategies...but they helped our mornings run a little smoother. My kids could get ready quickly on their own, and I could still keep an eye on their progress. I'm embarrassed to tell you that we still have the boys and girls sock bucket downstairs. Now that my kids are older they have special socks that they don't want to share, so I tell them to put them in their room. But they don't. They have become experts at sorting and matching socks.
Wishing you the best in getting organized. If you are already organized...CONGRATULATIONS! Now, if I could just find my car keys I'll head home to my family. Oh look, they are right where I left them this morning.
Enjoy your families.
Yours in science,
Mrs. Biggs
Hello Families!
A great goal for all of us to consider: Be More Organized! Everything in our lives needs a place. Our dishes, our clothes, our food, our mail, our backpacks and purses and keys. It frees up so much time for us...instead of hunting for that bill, piece of paper, shoe, backpack or ingredient for dinner...we can trust that it will be in its designated spot. It really only takes an extra second to put something back where it belongs. We all get so busy multi-tasking that it is easy to get distracted, put something down, and tell ourselves WE WILL REMEMBER! But we don't! Maybe some of the time we will remember where we placed it, but most of the time we go searching for it.
So, consider taking a look at your daily routines with your kids and ask yourselves how you can reduce your frantic searching time. What are the things that you use most often? You need to have quick access to these things. What do your kids need to be successful at school? Where do you keep lunch boxes, backpacks, school supplies? Do your kids spend time searching for jackets, socks, and shoes? Are you hoping you can find your car keys quickly in the morning? Whatever it is that seems to be stealing your time, I would encourage you to take a look at how you can improve your efficiency at home.
When my children were younger I had a cabinet that I designated for school supplies for homework/projects. We still use the system even though my youngest are in high school and junior high. They became self-sufficient at a young age at getting what they needed to complete their homework out of the cabinet. It took a few minutes to sort out the craft paper, lined paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils, graph paper, scissors, tape, glue, extra folders/binders, etc. It also saved me those late, last minute runs to the store to get supplies for the project that was due the following day! "Surprise I have a project due tomorrow" is never fun to hear at 10:00 pm!
Try finding a place where you can always put your keys, wallet, purse, etc. When you need it you will always know where to find it. Don't slack...just take an extra second and put it in the same spot. Have your kids always put their backpacks and school stuff in the same spot, so as you leave in the morning you know exactly where it is. When my kids were younger they always put their backpacks by the front door once homework was finished. It worked like a charm...but I had seven in school at one time, and I needed a quick and easy solution.
While I'm on the subject of having seven in school at one time (now I have only 4 in school), I will tell you my kids would always forget socks and shoes upstairs. And hair stuff upstairs. So, I moved all the socks downstairs into a boys and girls bucket. I also had two sets of everything you needed to "fix" hair in the morning...hairspray, gel, ponytails, bows, combs, brushes, etc both upstairs and downstairs. On those days when we needed a little extra time it saved us time by not having to run up and down the stairs.
Maybe these really aren't organizational strategies...but they helped our mornings run a little smoother. My kids could get ready quickly on their own, and I could still keep an eye on their progress. I'm embarrassed to tell you that we still have the boys and girls sock bucket downstairs. Now that my kids are older they have special socks that they don't want to share, so I tell them to put them in their room. But they don't. They have become experts at sorting and matching socks.
Wishing you the best in getting organized. If you are already organized...CONGRATULATIONS! Now, if I could just find my car keys I'll head home to my family. Oh look, they are right where I left them this morning.
Enjoy your families.
Yours in science,
Mrs. Biggs
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
January 7, 2014
Welcome back to ASU Preparatory Academy! I hope your winter break was wonderful, relaxing, and better than you anticipated. I enjoyed the time with my family.
I spoke with all the 5th and 6th graders today about how this is the time in their lives when they are developing that traits, habits, and routines that will help them during their high school years. I told them that not only are academics important but the things they do outside of school are important, too. We talked about earning scholarships to college for academics, for sports, for dance, for music, for service and student government, etc. I told them it is amazing how colleges will pay them money to come to their schools. We also talked about the service academies(West Point, The Air Force Academy, The Naval Academy). We talked about becoming inventors, small business owners, and going to trade school. We also talked about minimum wage jobs and the lower pay and higher physical demands in these jobs.
I had students rate how they are doing in school both academically and socially. Then I had them set three goals for either/or/both academics and social. I believe that even though colleges don't generally look at the grades for elementary/junior high; but the skills, traits, habits, and routines that children are learning in these grades will contribute to their success in high school.
ASU costs over $10,000 a year. The top three schools in the United States are Princeton, Harvard, and Yale. Can you believe these schools cost over $40,000 a year to attend? Wow! Let's support our kids in their academics and encourage them to work hard in school and do their best and work towards earning a scholarship to college.
Yours in science,
Mrs. Biggs
Welcome back to ASU Preparatory Academy! I hope your winter break was wonderful, relaxing, and better than you anticipated. I enjoyed the time with my family.
I spoke with all the 5th and 6th graders today about how this is the time in their lives when they are developing that traits, habits, and routines that will help them during their high school years. I told them that not only are academics important but the things they do outside of school are important, too. We talked about earning scholarships to college for academics, for sports, for dance, for music, for service and student government, etc. I told them it is amazing how colleges will pay them money to come to their schools. We also talked about the service academies(West Point, The Air Force Academy, The Naval Academy). We talked about becoming inventors, small business owners, and going to trade school. We also talked about minimum wage jobs and the lower pay and higher physical demands in these jobs.
I had students rate how they are doing in school both academically and socially. Then I had them set three goals for either/or/both academics and social. I believe that even though colleges don't generally look at the grades for elementary/junior high; but the skills, traits, habits, and routines that children are learning in these grades will contribute to their success in high school.
ASU costs over $10,000 a year. The top three schools in the United States are Princeton, Harvard, and Yale. Can you believe these schools cost over $40,000 a year to attend? Wow! Let's support our kids in their academics and encourage them to work hard in school and do their best and work towards earning a scholarship to college.
Yours in science,
Mrs. Biggs
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)