Homework

Your homework is to learn something new everyday... about yourself, your family, your friends or the world. Your homework is to eat something healthy, AND something not-so-healthy. Your homework is to be kind to the world around you, and to the people and strangers around you. Your homework is to be serious and to be goofy many, many, many times of the day. Your homework is to be happy at being you.

Current Events

* Room 401 News! *

June Announcements:

Calendar

9-13 Family Life Education
11 Forest Park Basketball Game
12 Forest Park Baseball Game
16 Volunteer Tea-2pm (Early Dismissal)
17 Field Day (Early Dismissal)
18 Awards Ceremony (8:30)
18 Last Day of School! (1:15pm)

Room 401 Track
This week will be our last Friday Run!
Please come join us. Let's hit a 401
Track record by making it 27! Bring
breakfast items for our last buffet and
wear your t-shirt! Photo op!

Athletes of the Week: All students!

401 Global Project Students have been
logging on to the Room 401 website for
their research. Each night, Miss Lou will
post a task. Congratulations to all for
performing with intellect, research and
brilliance. Each morning, we have been
debriefing and sharing with each other
about their new findings and knowledge
about their assigned country. Thanks!!!

Last Days Celebrations
We are asking for a $15 donation to cover
for BART tickets and end-of-the-year Chinese
and Buddy celebrations. On Monday, June 16th,
Miss Lai’s class and Room 401 will be having a
special Chinese treat at 11:00. Please make sure
you have turned in your permission slips and
money. Hooray!


Dates to Remember:

‡ Monday, June 9
*Spelling Pre-Test #35 (Last!)
*Family Life Education Begins

‡ Tuesday, June 10
*P.E. (1:55-2:55)


‡ Wednesday, June 11
*Computer (10:30-11:20)
*FP Basketball Game

‡ Thursday, June 12
*Science with Mr. D (9:30-10:20)
*Unit 5, Lesson 5 Quiz (Last!)
*FAME-ous

‡ Friday, June 13
* 401 Track – 8AM (Last Friday!)
* Spelling #35 Quiz
*Math Test Chapter 23

Our Fearless Leader

Welcome to the endless year in Virtual 401….the fantastic all-grader classroom!

As I mention every year, I want to personally thank each you for your effort and commitment to our blog. I believe the success of our online community is because of your visit here. There is never too much encouragement or too many (clean) comments, so keep them coming!

About Me:

I am excited to be a virtual all-grade teacher as well as my last five years at a dynamic Fremont community at Forest Park Elementary. This will be my seventh year teaching elementary school. My teaching experiences include grades 2, 3, 4, 5 as well as training and tutoring English to foreign language students from all over the world. I have taught primary grades in Heredia, Costa Rica and London, England. My last teaching assignment was at The Chinese Education Center for newcomers of China in the center of San Francisco’s Chinatown district before joining the Fremont school district four years ago. My educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education with a minor in Chinese and a Masters in Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adult.

About My Summer:

As many of you have heard from two summers ago, I was stuck in a few countries after a two and half-month journey visiting more than 7 different countries spread across Asia. (Hence the beautifully laced Afghan burka I am wearing in my profile pic...ha,ha...you can't see me!) I was touring due to my crazy curiosity for culture and languages as well as learning all about NGO work with implementing ICT (Information Communication Technology) for development. I visited Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Nepal and Singapore. Thank you for all your encouragement and support during the logistics and transition back to civilization! I am excited to be safe on the ground and back in the safety of the classroom.

From then on, I had fairly calm summers. I spent my 2007 beginning triathlons by swimming in the San Francisco Bay at the Aquatic Park and on chilling Saturday mornings at Treasure Island's Pirate Cove.

More About Me:

When I'm not swimming, biking and running with my 9-lb Chihuahua Veda Bee, I love to read and learn long, hard-to-spell vocabulary words because I believe language is one of the most powerful tools to succeed in life. With a strong foundation, I can transform language into so many incredible things such as art, writing, poetry, music, paintings...and most of all, the gift of communication. Life can sure suck when nobody understands me! (I can now see why Veda gets frustrated with humans.)

Currently, I am taking a leave of absence to pursue graduate studies in Boston, MA.

OK...enough about me. How about you?!?

Sincerely,
Miss Lou

Fish! Philosophy

The staff of Forest Park Elementary met up on this special day before the excited energy of the students filled the hallways and classrooms. Besides the catching up on each others' summer projects and vacations, we complimented one another at how rested we all looked.

For this particular staff development day, I was pleased how this particular style of community building was encouraged. Isn't this how the world should work?

"Choose your attitude."
"Be with the people moment to moment."
"Be in the present."
"You're here now. Do what you have to do."

Perception=Reality (Do your students know you care?)

Stinky Fish--Reminds the students of the fish philosophy. Our classroom is a shared ownership and we must converse, define and agree on rules and consequences. It's "our" job and not mine.

It's not a discipline problem, it's a learning situation.

F.A.M.E.

Fine Arts Music Education

We draw, paint, doodle, cut, paste, bind, scratch...
our heads.

We dream, create, imagine, think...
but not too much.

We sing, play, dance, hum, feel...
free and giddy.

I hope you are still doing all these things.