February 22-26,2016

February 15-19,2016

PALS Poster Contest

Marshall County PALS (People Against a Littered State)

Local Poster and New this Year, Recycled Art Contest

Marshall County PALS (People Against a Littered State) hold a Local Poster and Recycled Art contest in association with Alabama PALS State wide contest. We have different deadline dates from Alabama PALS,  so that we can judge the Posters and Recycled Art for local Marshall County  winners. The contest is for K-3 and 4-6 grades for the posters and 7-12 grades for the Recycled Art contest.

Local winners in K-3 and 4-6 can each win 1^st, 2ⁿ , 3^rd and honorable mention.

1^st Place winners receive $100.00, 2^nd Place winners $75.00, 3^rd Place winners $50.00 and a certificate for honorable mention.

Local winners in 7-12 grades for the Recycled Art win $100.00 for 1^st place, $75.00 for 2^nd place, $50.00 for 3^rd and a certificate for honorable mention. On the recycled art contest students may work in groups of 1 to 5 with the prize money being divided between all working in the group.

First places winners in each category are then sent to Alabama PALS in Montgomery for the State Wide Contest. First Place winners in each category in the State contest win $250.00 and 2nd, 3rd place and honorable mention receive a plaque at the State level. These are presented to all winner and honorable mention winners at the Governor’s Awards in November held in Prattville, Alabama.

The deadline for posters and recycled art to be received for the local contest is April 26, 2016. These are to be at the local MCPALS office, 424 Blount Av., G-17, Guntersville, Al. by 3PM. Should you have trouble getting the posters and/or recycled art projects to the office by that date, please call 256 582-1918 or e-mail mcpals@marshallco.org and we will arrange for someone to pick up posters and/or recycled art.

The guidelines for posters and recycled art are as follows:

Poster Theme: “Litter is___________________________.”

Categories for Posters K-3 and 4 – 6 Grades

1.  Standard White Poster Board or Foam Board (May be split in half)

2. Back of Poster must include:

       Student name, Grade, Telephone number of Student/Parent, E-mail of            Student/Parent, Teacher name, School, telephone Number of School and e-mail

of Teacher/School

February 8-12

Work on Writing

A HUGE focus in our classroom is writing. Writing allows me to assess grammar, spelling, and gives the kids  an outlet for self expression. So far we have really had to focus on the basics; capital letters, end marks, and complete sentences. We do about 2 published writings a week. One during their "Work on Writing" centers and one during our Writing lesson. The writinga below are not perfect but students are still learning and getting better with each writing! I am proud of their progress and know that will continue to improve!

Farm Day

As you can tell by the lack of posting...we have been super busy getting to know each other, learning school and classroom routines and procedures, and getting settled into a new year. It seems like this year is flying by already so I really wanted to start sharing about what is going on inside our classroom and at APS!

Farm Day:

The kids had a great time with hand-on learning at Farm Day. I wanted them to remember the fun they had so we immediately came inside and wrote about "A Day on the Farm".

Check back soon to stay up to date on the fun were are having in Room 211!

A New Crew

As much as I have enjoyed soaking up summer, reality set in when.....I got my class list last week. Summer flies by but I really do get excited about the new school year, new kiddos, and thinking about all the fun we are going to have. During the summer I try to reflect on the past year; the positives, the challenges, my growth, student growth, etc.....Then I move my focus to the upcoming year. I am a very "goal oriented" person so it would only make since to set goals for the upcoming school year as well.

Mrs. Busha's 2015-2016 Goals

1: LOVE them FIRST

 I know this seems like duh, of course I love my students but I find myself getting caught up in teaching, learning, tests, grading papers, staying organized, classroom management, etc. I don't want to end the day and think-I wonder if they new I loved them today

2: Lead by Example

I want to make sure that all of the words I say to my students are backed up by my actions. If I tell my students to, "keep up with your things" then I say "has anyone seem my red expo marker?" I am NOT leading by example.So, in other words.... I want to "Practice what I Preach" so to speak.

3:Listen and Learn

I have to take time to listen to my students. Whether it is a story they have written, a question about a topic, or something about their personal life. So many times teachers become consumed with the things that "have" to be done and we fail to listen. Along these line, I think we will learn a lot about our students and from our students when we take the time to listen.

No-none of these are "Academic" goals; however, I believe my students will be more motivated to learn when I am meeting their social and emotional needs first. So, with my goals set and the first day of school right around the corner,I guess the only thing left to do is  enjoy the remaining days of summer.