Friday, January 28, 2011

January 28, 2011 Classroom News

Academics:
Reading/Writing: Students are reading their literature book, Shiloh. They are making connections and writing in their literature logs.

Book Report: The genre for the book report is mystery. The book report is due Friday, February 4th. I have loaned some public library books to students with the caution that they do not lose them because they will have to pay for them.

Spelling: The unit this week focused on words with the /sh/ sound as well as specific endings.

Giovana Almaguer did a great job representing our class in the all-school spelling bee this week.

Math:
Saxon Math concepts this week: 2 and 3-digit multiplication, long division, fractions, decimals and mathematical vocabulary.

Please encourage your child to correct math homework errors. They have the opportunity to earn a ½ point for every error corrected on math homework. This is their responsibility. I do not “nag” them to turn it back in. Students know that by correcting errors, they can significantly impact their grade.

Science: In order to practice the scientific method, students conducted a bubble gum experiment this week. They loved being able to test different brands of gum.

Science Fair: Students should have conducted their experiments at home this week. This next week they will need to analyze their data and figure out a way to present that data on their display board, perhaps with a chart or graph. They will also need to make their conclusions. The completed project and display board are due Thurs., Feb. 17th. You many pre-order the display board for $5.00 at the front office. The deadline to order is next week.

S.S.- Students learned about keeping an open-mind and the consequences of first impressions in our “fairness” lesson this week. They interviewed a partner, analyzed what they learned, and drew a portrait of their classmate.

Counseling: Mrs. Russell worked on respect and safety with students this week. Students planned and acted out skits.

Notes to Parents:
Blog: Please remember that you can always check my teacher blog to stay up to date with classroom information. Go to http://mrsdenny.blogspot.com

Fieldtrip: We will be taking a trip to the rodeo on Tuesday, Feb. 22nd. We will need 3 volunteers. Your child will bring home a permission slip in the near future.

Detention: Please remember your child will have after school detention for missing homework assignments, late classroom assignments, or long-term class or homework assignments. Your child will notify you that day if they must stay after school. Detention takes place from 3:30-4:30.

Science Fair: We are getting closer to the final science fair deadline. Your child should have conducted their experiment by now and should be collecting data. There is still time to re-test if results seem a bit skewed.

Love of Reading: Love of reading week is Feb. 7-14. If you are interested in reading a favorite book, sharing some favorite poetry, or sharing some excerpts with our class during this week, please contact me. We would love to have you!

Marble Jar Party: The class was excited to earn a marble party. They must work collectively to earn marbles for such things as attendance, behavior, good manners and character, etc. We will be in need of some donated snacks. Your child may ask you about this.

Mid-Quarter: Now is the time to encourage your child to work hard to keep up with their grades. Mid-quarter ends February 4th. Progress reports will come home Feb.7th.

Important Dates:
February:
2- Duds for Dollars-$1.00

4- Character Lunch/Movie

4- Mid Quarter ends

7-14- Love of Reading Week Begins

14-Dentist

17- Science Fair Project turned in

18- Student Council Dance

18- Science Fair Judging

23- Grandparents Day K-3
24-27- Rodeo Break. No School

**Talent Show Auditions in Feb.

Science Fair Deadlines:
1/31- Experiment Completed
2/2- Data Due
2/4- Conclusion Due
2/8-Analysis Due
2/11-Abstract Due
2/17- Final Display Board Due
2/19- LPA Science Fair Judging









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Thursday, January 20, 2011

January 21st Classroom News
Academics
Writing: Please remember to conference with your child about their writing portfolio. Please read the letter your child brought home, and fill out the response form. I would like all folders with parent response form returned to school now, please.

Reading: Students continue to read Shiloh by Barbara Parks. Our focus this week was point of view.

Book Report: The mystery book report is due Feb. 4th. I have loaned some public library books to students with the caution that they do not lose them because they will have to pay for them. I will need the library books back before the due date…so read, read, read!

Vocabulary: Vocabulary test will be Friday, Jan. 28th. The words to study are hypothesis, procedure, data, variable, conclusion, and scientific method.

Math: Concepts this week include: Expressing numbers using decimals, comparing decimals and fractions, 2 and 3-digit multiplication and division.

Science Fair: Students should be following the due date calendar and completing the requirements for each deadline. The next deadline is Feb. 1st . Students’ experiments need to be completed by this date so they may start to analyze their data. The completed project and display board are due Thurs., Feb. 17th.

Mrs. Russell: In light of the Tucson tragedy, our school counselor discussed safety and safe behaviors.

S.S.- Most of the state ABC books have been handed in. We are nearly through all of the state tourism speeches. What fun facts students learned about our 50 states.

Parent Notes:
Thank you again to those who chaperoned our fieldtrip to Lakeside Park. Our next fieldtrip will be to the rodeo on Tues., Feb. 22nd.

Fairness is our character trait this month. Students will be learning what being fair means and how to have an open mind.

Detention: There are far too many students who do not turn in homework assignments, classroom assignments, or long-term class or homework assignments (i.e.: writing assignments or book reports). If your child does not turn in homework for the day, or fails to complete an in-class assignment in a timely fashion, please remember that they will be assigned after school detention for that day. Your child will notify you that day if they must stay after school.

Science Fair: Please encourage your child to stay on track with his/her deadlines. Grading will be as follows:
Required work at deadline…
20 pts/each
Completed science fair folder…
100 pts
Completed project & board…
100 pts
Display Boards:
The Teacher Parent Connection at 7641 E. Speedway Blvd. has white science fair display. They can also be found at office supply stores and Walgreens.

Book Order Forms: Scholastic book order forms went home last week. If your child would like to order books, please turn in the form and money by Monday, Jan. 24.

Love of Reading: Love of reading week is Feb. 7-11. If you are interested in reading a favorite book, sharing some favorite poetry, or sharing some excerpts with our class during this week, please contact me. We would love to have you!

*Thanks to Alex and his family for all the extra school supplies!

*Talent Show Auditions in Feb.

Important Dates:
January:
21- Daddy-Daughter Dance 7-9

24- 100th Day of School. Special activities will take place. Free Dress Down.

25- 3rd-8th School wide Spelling Bee

*Talent Show Sign-up in January

February:
2- $1.00 Duds for Dollars dress down day

4- Mid Quarter ends
Character Lunch & Character Movie

7- Love of Reading Week Begins
Mid-quarter grades go home

11- Valentine Dance 5th-8th grades
6:30-8:00 pm

14- Dentist

16- End of cookie dough fundraiser

17- Science Fair Project Due

18- Science Fair Judging

19- Science Fair Judging

24&27- Rodeo Break

Keep up with Science Fair Due Dates:
1/8- Permission slip, Project selected, Question formed

1/12- Hypothesis Due

1/15- Procedure & Materials List

1/29- Experiment Completed

2/5- Raw and Analyzed Data Due

2/8- Conclusion Due

2/12- Optional Written Report

2/17- Final Display Board Due

2/19- LPA Science Fair Judging

Sunday, January 16, 2011

January Classroom Newsletter

ACADEMICS:
Spelling: The unit this week focused on spelling rules and words with endings.
Students received information on our school wide spelling bee. We will have a classroom spelling bee on Friday, Jan. 21st.
The top 3 spellers from our class will participate in the school-wide spelling bee on Jan. 25th. The winner from there will be entered into the county spelling bee.
Please encourage your student to practice the words on the list provided to them.

Writing: Please remember to conference with your child about their writing portfolio. Please read the letter your child brought home, and fill out the response form. Please return only the portfolio folder with the parent response sheet by Tues., Jan 18.

Reading: Students are to be reading independently a mystery book of their choice. The book report will be due on Feb. 4th.
In class, students began reading the novel, Shiloh. They will be learning many good reader strategies during the course of this book.

Vocabulary: Words for this week and next are: experiment, hypothesis, procedure, data, variable, conclusion, scientific method

Math: Multiplication and division math facts need to be memorized in order to perform more difficult computation. Please encourage your child to review his/her facts.
This week students continued with multi-digit multiplication and division, adding and subtracting fractional parts, and estimation.

Science: Students are hard at work on their Science Fair projects. I hope that you have read the packet which was sent home last week…it has lots of important information regarding student projects and science fair procedures. Students should be following the due date calendar and completing the requirements for each deadline. The completed project and display board is due Thurs., Feb. 17th so they can be judged on Friday, Feb. 18th.

S.S.- With the Martin Luther King holiday upon us, we read and discussed information about this historical figure.

NOTES FOR PARENTS:

Science Fair: Please encourage your child to stay on track with his/her deadlines. Grading will be as follows:
Required work at deadline…
20 pts/each
Completed science fair journal..
100 pts
Completed project & board…
100 pts

Don’t Forget….
Ms. Stewart will be collecting money and purchasing science display boards if you are interested. The order form came home with your child this week.

Music/Art: The first semester students were fortunate to have art each week. For 3rd and 4th quarter, students will be engaged in music class with Ms. Kunsie.

Supplies: With the start of a new year, students have consumed most of our colored pencils, correcting pens, and colored markers. We could also use more dry erase markers. If you could donate a package, we would be very grateful. Thank you 

Fieldtrip: It was a wonderful day for our fishing trip! Thank you to those parents who spent the day with us.

Reminder: Please remember that in order to volunteer on one of our field trips, you must have your fingerprints on file with the school. I am sorry about the confusion for Thursday’s fieldtrip. Our next fieldtrip will be to the rodeo on Tues., Feb. 22nd.

**Please remember to sign your child’s student report each Friday so it can be returned on Monday.

IMPORTANT DATES:
January
13- Field trip to Lakeside Park
17- MLK Day: No School
18- Skate Night
21- Classroom Spelling Bee
22- Daddy-Daughter Dance: “Winter Wonderland”
24- 100th Day of School. Special Activities will take place.
25- 3rd-8th grade school wide Spelling Bee

*Talent Show Sign-up in January

February:
2- Duds for $1.00 dress down day
4- Mid Quarter ends
4-Character Lunch
7- Love of Reading Week Begins
11- Valentine Dance 5-8th Grade
14- Dentist
17- Science Fair Project Due!
25- Rodeo Field trip
24-27- Rodeo Break
*Talent Show auditions in Feb.

Science Fair Due Dates:
1/8- Permission slip, Project selected, Question formed

1/14- Hypothesis Due

1/18- Procedure & Materials List

2/1- Experiment Completed

2/4- Conclusion Due

2/8- Analysis Due

2/11- Abstract Due

2/17- Final Display Board Due

2/18- LPA Science Fair Judging

Thursday, January 6, 2011

A New Year!

Welcome to 2011 in 5th Grade! We have been busy this week getting back into the swing of things!

Academics:
Spelling/Vocab: Our spelling unit focused on words specific spelling rules this week. Remember: the weekly spelling list can be found on www.spellingcity.com/denny5The site provides opportunities for teaching, practice, and testing. It is a lot of fun.
Our vocabulary will focus on the scientifc method: hypothesis, variable, experiment, procedure, data, and conclusion.

Writing: This week some students completed their writing portfolio for the 1st semester. Their writing samples will come home on Monday for you to conference with your child about. Please spend some time reading, discussing and providing feedback to your child. Please read the attached letter and return the response form by next Tuesday, Jan. 18. All 1st semester portfolio work can be kept at home.

Reading: Reading of student work was a focus this week. Students did a lot of reading while creating their writing portfolios this week. Self- assessing is part of the learning process.
Students have also been integrating reading and science as they read and research about their science fair topic.
The new genre for student book reports is MYSTERIES. I have checked out books from the public library for the students to borrow. Their book report will be due Friday, Feb. 4th.

Science: We have taken the plunge into the Science Fair process. I hope that you have read the packet which was sent home this week…it has lots of important information regarding student projects and science fair procedures. Students also received a calendar with due dates which will guide their work throughout this process. The science fair is mandatory for 5th graders and will be done mostly at home. However, we will be having mini-lessons on the various parts of the scientific method which will help the students stay on track. The completed project and display board is due Fri., Feb. 18th.

Science Fair: Please make sure to look at your child’s science fair folder and due date calendar this weekend. Please encourage your child to stay on track with his/her deadlines. Grading will be as follows:
Required work at deadlines…
20 pts/each
Organized science fair journal…
100 pts
Completed project & board…
100 pts
Science Fair Display Board:
The science fair project must be completed on a white display board. (These can be found at many locations such as Michaels, Walgreens and teacher stores like The Teacher Parent Connection.
**If you send in display board money, Ms. Stewart will purchase the board for you. I will let you know when the money is due.

Check out this web site to see examples of science fair boards:
http://mset.rst2.edu/portfolios/l/lautz_s/Science%20Fair%20Handbook/displayboard.html

S.S: Our character trait this month is fairness. Fairness is playing by the rules, taking turns, and sharing. Fair people are open-minded and listen to other people’s opinions. A person of character is fair.

Math: Students worked on multiplying and dividing multi-digit numbers as well as fractional concepts.

Music/Art: During the first semester, students were fortunate to have art each week. For the 3rd and 4th quarters, students will now participate in music class with Ms. K.

*Don’t forget…You can visit our class website through the LPA website, or log onto http://mrsdenny.blogspot.com

Notes to Parents

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
Many thanks for all of the holiday cards and gifts I received. Your thoughtfulness was truly appreciated! 

Well, we are already into our 2nd semester of school and into a working routine. We will be very busy learning and having fun doing it!

I have asked the students to start off the new year with a “bang.” On Monday we reviewed classroom rules and expectations. In order to ensure that ALL children succeed in my classroom, students were informed of some stricter consequences for disrespect, defiance, and unkindness. If any student chooses to be disrespectful to me, chooses to be defiant or chooses to be unkind to other classmates, he/she will be given one verbal warning. If that type of behavior continues after a warning, the student will not be allowed to remain in the classroom. Depending on the severity of the behavior, students will either sit in a think-time classroom to create a behavior plan, be sent to the office to sit for the remainder of the day, or possibly have to call home for a parent to pick them up. Please review this policy with your child. Thank you.

IMPORTANT DATES:
January:
4 & 5 Science Fair Introduction

7- Family Event begins at 5 p.m.

10- Dentist

13-Fieldtrip to Lakeside Park to fish.

17- MLK Day: No School

18- Skate Night 6-8 p.m.

21- Daddy-Daughter Dance

24- 100th Day of School

Talent Show Sign-up near end of January

Science Fair Due Dates:
1/11- Permission slip, Project selected, Question formed

1/14- Hypothesis Due

1/18- Procedure & Materials List Due

2/1- Experiment Completed & Data Due

2/4- Conclusion Due

2/8- Analysis Due

2/11- Written Abstract Due

2/18- Final Display Board Due