November Happenings

Happy Halloween everyone!! I hope you have the best day today, if you celebrate Halloween!! ENJOY!!

There are a ton of events happening in November, so make sure that you look over at the Upcoming Events box and copy the dates and events down on your calendar at home!!!

Also, be sure to check out the Link for the Week area as I will be posting some great sites to ENRICH the study we are doing in class, especially on our explorer study and word study!!

Thanks!

Homework today

Due to our excellent behavior as a class, we have earned some Game Time for tomorrow. This will take place at the end of the day and the class is invited to bring games from home to play. The games can not be electronic. Board games are fine. Any students who have notes or tests missing that were supposed to be signed and returned will not participate.

Here is our homework today:
Spelling - Unit 9 sheet (most kids finished in class), contract (10 sentences and 2 other activities), test

Math - 5RK - 3.6 5G and 5W - Lesson 3.3 sheet, study only Study Link 3.3 (don't write on link 3.3 - we will do this in class tomorrow)

Social Studies - read pages 100 - 101. Prepare for a 3 - 2 - 1 tomorrow as your Entrance Slip to class.

Fluency - make sure you have the William Cosby passage in your home folder tomorrow. Could mean some big bucks for you!

Also - Tomorrow is RED DAY. Wear your red to support Red Ribbon Week (meaning we are pledging to be healthy and take care of our bodies by not doing anything harmful like using drugs).

Finally, if you are participating in our fundraiser - be sure to bring the pledge sheets and money in by Thursday. Thank you for supporting our school!

COAT DRIVE AND WINTER ACCESSORY DRIVE!! DO YOU HAVE ANY COATS OR WINTER ACCESSORIES IN GOOD CONDITION AT HOME THAT THOSE IN NEED COULD USE? Consider donating them to the needy! Thanks!

Thanks, Moms!!

A HUGE THANK YOU to Mrs. Widd, Mrs. Mack, and Mrs. Sebastian for EVERYTHING you did to make our fall party so much fun. We had fun playing the shoe race game, pictionary, and the candy corn guess! Thanks for all the yummy goodies you brought that we got to take home and enjoy! It is a lot of work putting a party together and we REALLY appreciate all you do for us.

Red Ribbon Week!

Hey everyone! It's Red Ribbon Week! A week to focus on making positive, healthy decisions to keep our bodies in tip-top, blood pumping shape! We are going to do a physical brain break EVERY DAY! Do you have an idea for a fun, physical break? Let me know!

This week, we are asking all the kids to join in the fun and each day will have a different way of celebrating making good choices:
Monday - Be a team player! Wear your favorite team jersey or t-shirt!

Tuesday - Be comfortable with the good choices you make! It's Pajama Day - MY favorite!! We don't have any specials, so if you'd like to BRING your slippers to wear in the classroom - fine by me! Do not wear them to school.

Wednesday - I believe it is Wear Red Day! Wear your red to show that you care about what you put inside your body! Be healthy!

Thursday - Crazy Hair Day!

Friday - Show your school spirit by wearing your Cowlishaw wear (or school colors of blue, green, and black!)

See you tomorrow!

PICTURE DAY and more!

Picture Day tomorrow! We are taking our picture right before lunch, so no chance for lunch showing up on the school photo! I will do my best to make sure there are no stray hairs or collars sticking up!

Due tomorrow:
Spelling - contract and spelling sheet (ample time given this morning to have completed most of the sheet in class) Test tomorrow over Unit 8.

Math - 5th grade has boxes due tomorrow. We are also working on writing about math.

Literacy - Frayer boxes due for the following words: accompanist, grimaced, and simultaneously. This is a worksheet the students were given ample time to complete in class today.

See you gorgeous kids tomorrow!

What?? More talk about culture??

This week's reading selection is titled "Yang the Third and her Impossible Family." In the story, we are going to see how Yang is challenged by her family's culture and customs and how they fit into the American culture. This week, our test on Friday will not be the standard multiple choice test. We are focusing on the strategy of self questioning this week and the students will need to be able to explain how this strategy helps them as readers and how it helped them understand the selection. More will follow tomorrow about this process. We may even post our first video of some kids practicing this strategy! We'll see if I can figure this out!

Here is our work for tomorrow/Wednesday:
Spelling - contract due on Wednesday/test on Wednesday

Language: We are studying subjects and predicates

Math - my class, #5,10, 15, 20, 25 on the worksheet - also math boxes are due on Wednesday

IMPORTANT!!
School pictures are on Wednesday - be sure to send in your money by Wednesday if you want to order pictures! Sending money in Wednesday with your child is fine!

OPEN HOUSE!!

Parents,
Please join us tomorrow for Open House from 6:30 - 8:00p.m. Today, we spent a good amount of time listening to our current read aloud, Wednesday Wars. This book takes place in 1967 during the Vietnam War. The main character, Holling, has a special relationship with his 7th grade teacher, Mrs. Baker. He spends every Wednesday afternoon in a private lesson with her reading Shakespeare (while the rest of the class goes off to religious education class at church or temple). It has given the students in 5G an exposure to some of Shakespeare's most famous works. Some of the kids in the class have even checked out a juvenile anthology of his works. If you could foster this appreciation, even to just read a bit of who Shakespeare was or check out a juvenile version of one of his plays at the library, it would be a valuable time to tap into the interest they currently have. It could also create a new level of confidence in understanding a new style of writing. At the very least, ask your child about the book we are reading and what they have enjoyed most about it. One of my favorite parts of the book is the history I can focus on, since this book includes references to, of course, the Vietnam War, civil rights movements, school conditions of the 60's, and more. Today, we talked about the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King - all took place in the 60's. Important for you to know in case your child has any questions about why someone would kill another person. If serious conversations like this haven't taken place with your 5th grader, don't worry - they will come soon enough. Which leads me into my next topic....Robert Crown!

Today, a letter came home regarding the Robert Crown program that teaches your child about human development - where babies come from. There is a parent meeting before the field trip we take to the Robert Crown Center in Hinsdale. The parent meeting takes place in November and December, I believe. Having gone through this experience last year, let me tell you I believe the program is extremely well presented and supported with a follow up visit with a nurse. I cannot stress the importance of parental involvement in this issue. Your child will CERTAINLY have questions and you should prepare now for how you will respond - even if just saying, "Let me think about how I want to answer that one...I will get back to you on Saturday (or whatever day you plan)." I used that response a lot because heavy questions were being thrown to me in odd places, like the grocery aisle or in church. Being able to tell Madison that I would respond to her and WHEN left her knowing that her questions were important and I spent time thinking about my response. Please take time to talk to your child about what is happening and what will happen to their bodies, even if you just focus on the most basic developmental issues. Please feel free to ask me any questions as they may arise!

HOMEWORK for the rest of the week:
Math - 5th grade has a Unit 2 test tomorrow and the study guide is due - signed.

Social Studies - Chapter 2 test (Study guide went home today) the test is on Friday.

No Fluency this week.

Hope to see you at Open House tomorrow night!!

Half Day Tomorrow

As a reminder, there is early dismissal tomorrow at noon. There will be no lunch.

Due tomorrow:

Spelling contract and test over Unit 7

Social Studies - Read lesson 4 in chapter 2 and complete the word descriptions on the worksheet titled, "Lesson 4"

Math - 5th grade has a test on Thursday - please study at home with someone and get a signature on the study guide!

Thanks everyone!!
See you tomorrow (but only for a few hours)!

Links for the Week

A new section will be added above the Links You'd Like section in the right margin. It will be called Links for the Week and I will update it with links to websites directly related to information we are studying for the week. This week, we are doing reading about Native American Tribes and furthering our studies on Weather by researching clouds. Please look there first if you need more information for home support.

New assignments:
Math - create 5 multiplication problems of your own and show your work. Students must show traditional multiplication, but may choose to check work with partial products or lattice method. We provide access to multiple algorithms, but students are expected to demonstrate mastery of multiplication using traditional multiplication (including multiple digit times single and double digit). Those kids who adequately display an understanding should be challenging themselves with triple digit or decimal multiplication. Use your SRB for help.

Social Studies - Read pages 76-80, including all captions and timelines. There will be an "entrance slip" tomorrow to see what you learned from the reading.

Did you take the challenge and create a Preamble for our classroom? This is due tomorrow !

Don't forget! Tomorrow is Walk to School Day!! Save the pollution a car makes and walk to school if you can!

Routine

Orchestra students, you did a great job remembering to come early today. Band students, you have whole group in the morning at 7:50, so be here on time! Chorus, you should plan for Thursday. All of these things to remember! Try reminding yourself a few times a day what you are responsible for remembering. This is good practice for middle school. What are some other routines we have in place this year that are (hopefully) creating good thinking habits??

Here is what was assigned today:
Writing - 3 weekend memories (due Tuesday)

Reading - Extended Response (you can use your book - this is due Wednesday)

Math - Journal page 47 AND link 2.7 (5th grade)

Spelling - Unit 6 test Wed./contract activities due Wed.

Fluency - William Tell passage (read to a parent, study the questions, get it signed, practice fluent reading!)