Learn & Serve 6

Today after signing in to the office, I walked upstairs to the Computer Lab to find the students and Mrs. Capatosto using the program Fast ForWord. This time, Mrs. Capatosto asked me to sit with a student to make sure she completes ten correct answers in a row, and that she pays attention. Meanwhile, Mrs. Capatosto was listening to another student’s computer as they played the program. I noticed that the teachers here are more casual in their attire. For example, today Mrs. Capatosto wore jeans with the G.J. Mann School sweatshirt. I’m not used to seeing teachers dress this casual, because when I was in elementary school my teachers always dressed up, except on Fridays. It was a half day for the students today, and four students were absent; whether it was because they were sick or because it was a half day, I’m not sure. When most of the students were done with the program, Mrs. Capatosto asked me to stay in the Computer Lab with four students while they played the demo of the program on Fast ForWord to which they had the most difficulty with. When the four students finished, we walked back to the classroom and everyone was enjoying their snack time. Also, some students were counting their October tickets. The goal is to earn the most tickets in order to win recess in the gymnasium for only their classroom. This gives the students responsibility and to be accountable to one another in their behaviors. When snack was done, the students began reading silently by themselves or with a partner. One of the students read a book about puppies to me. About ten to fifteen minutes later, a couple of students shared their reading worksheet which told about which book they had chosen to read from a different day. I’m guessing it was a homework assignment for the 25 Books Club. Before I left, the students were given lunches in paper bags, which were distributed by aides of the school. Whenever there is a half day, the school must give each student a lunch before dismissal. As the students were accepting their lunches, I left the classroom to sign out in the office.