Odyssey Charter School | Heather Ashton RSS

MATH GUIDE

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 12:49:47 GMT

There's a great website to visit at www.mathisfun.com

Statistics

Mode- the number that appears most frequently, the most likely number

Median- the number in the middle. Find this by ordering the numbers from smallest to greatest first.

Mean- the average. Add all of the numbers and divide by the amount of numbers added

Range-the difference between the smallest and the greatest number

Geometry

Quadrilateral- a polygon with 4 sides

Pentagon- a polygon with 5 sides

Hexagon- a polygon with 6 sides

Octagon- a polygon with 8 sides

Polygon- a shape with three or more angles that does not cross, is not open, and has no curved lines

Parallelogram- a quadrilateral with both pairs of opposite sides parallel

Right angle- measures 90 degrees

Ray- illustrated with a dot on one side and an arrow on the other

Line-both sides go on forever, illustrated with an arrow on each side

Line segment- both sides have endpoints

Order of Operations

PEMDAS- parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction

Fraction Equivalencies

1/4= .25

1/2= .5

3/4= .75

1/1= 1

Decimal Place Values

.5 = tenths

.05 = hundredths

.005 = thousandths

.0005 = ten thousandths

Room 4 Bake sale

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:44:19 GMT

Hello Parents,

We are working towards having a guest teacher come in for two days to teach self portraits. In order to do this, we are selling cookies this Wednesday during lunch. We need two-three parent volunteers to come in at 8:15 to help us bake. If you are able to help, please email me.

Thanks!

Ms. Heather

P.S. Great stocking stuffer ideas for your kids are pencils, hand-held sharpeners and erasers!

P.S.S Please contribute to the Annual Campaign if you have not done so already. Every little bit counts, so do what you can. It would be great if Room 4 had 100% participation!

Current Happenings

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:53:03 GMT

Hello Parents,

We recently finished a social studies unit relating to California's geography. We culminated in a block building activity where the students mapped California. You can see by the pictures what a fantastic job they did! Here are a few things we studied: major regions, largest desert, and mountain range, major industries and bordering states. Please ask your child these questions so that they may share their knowledge.

We have begun a science unit on ecosystems and interdependence. Look for opportunities to point out examples in your every day lives. We would love for students to share something they learned at home with the rest of the class.

As part of this unit of study, we are going to take a walking field trip to the Arroyo Seco. I will email the date as soon as possible. We will need plenty of volunteers!

Lastly, it would be helpful if you could supply your child with a large eraser. We seem to go through them rather quickly!

Warmly,

Ms. Heather

Parent Volunteers

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:54:46 GMT

Many of you have so graciously offerred your help in the classroom. I can see where our immediate needs are and would like to share them with you in hopes that you may help.

1. Labeling our room library by reading level with color coded stickers (provided). We need to type the book names onto the scholastic site, and they provided that information. This is a big job, and all of the help I can get would be appreciated. Volunteer for one hour, or three. One day, or several.

2. Labeling our books by subject. Maintaining their order on our book shelves.

The best times to do this is either Monday or Friday mornings from 7:45-9:00. Or Tuesday-Thursday from 2:30-4:00.

If these times aren't possible, but you are interested in helping out another time, please email me. I'm sure we can work something out.

Thank you,

Heather Ashton

What I did this summer...

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:32:08 GMT

For a teacher, the summer is a time to get all of the things done we don’t get to during the school year, like the dentist. Ugh! It’s also a time to prepare for the following year and of course, relax! This summer I did just that. I caught up on all of the things I needed to, prepared my new classroom, read, and had some fun too.

I went to Santa Barbara for a week for a math conference. I learned a lot, and had the best ice cream in the world. It’s called McConnell’s and I would love to eat it everyday!

I also read a few books, one in particular we’ll be reading as a class. I won’t tell you what it is though because I want it to be a surprise.

Perhaps the most fun I had were the times I went to the Hollywood Bowl. I love to see concerts there. We brought a picnic and even saw fireworks.

Now, I think our classroom is ready, we’ll add fun things to it as we go. The main ingredient that’s missing is all of you.

Heather

Our Class Wish List

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:55:04 GMT

Low odor dry erase markers
Wide rule composition notebooks
Plants
Large area rug
Gift cards (Target/Staples)
Reams of paper
Two pocket folders
Kleenex
Erasers
Crayons
Colored Pencils
File Folders (letter)
Body Pillows (6)

Welcome Back!

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:54:33 GMT

Dear Families and Students,

Hello, and welcome to the 2009-2010 school year. My name is Heather Ashton, and I will be one of the new 3rd and 4th grade teachers. I am thrilled to be a part of the Odyssey Charter School community. Prior to coming to Odyssey, I taught grades 4th-6th at a progressive private school in the San Fernando Valley. Additionally, I taught 7th grade at a college-preparatory charter school in East Los Angeles and interned in Culver City, at a school that specialized in special education. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from Pacific Oaks College. I earned a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles. I value collaborative learning of thematically aligned units of study. I strive for academic rigor as well ensuring there are social and emotional connections in our work. I believe that education should be meaningful and relevant.

We will be working on numerous projects throughout the year that will require plenty of hands to be successful. In addition, our learning consists of our experiences, it is relational. We will be reading an abundance of literature, and we will be conducting interviews with friends, family, neighbors, and professionals. You, Friends and Parents, will have much of the information we need. I look forward to your input and expertise throughout the year.

I am excited to get to know each and everyone of you. My door is always open. May we all remain open to new experiences and have a prosperous 2009-2010 school year at Odyssey!

Warmly,

Heather Ashton