Happy Holidays!!

I cannot believe half the school year is over!   It has been a wonderful first half, and I am so excited to see what the second half has in store for us.  I love having the honor and privilege to teach your daughters everyday.  They have become like daughters to me, and I love each and every one of them with my whole heart.  Thank you for allowing me to be a part of their lives, and trusting me with their education every day.  I also want to thank each of you for your support so far this year.  I love how involved you all are, and I know that will continue through next semester as well. 

I want everyone to enjoy yourselves these next two weeks.  In light of recent events, please take time to hold on to your precious girls this holiday season and let them know how special they are to you.  As much as I am looking forward to the break, I will miss them everyday and can't wait for us to be reunited next year.  I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

I am sending home two reading logs for the girls to complete over the break.  These are required.  I am also sending home some science and social studies weekly readers.  There are activities for the girls to complete.  If they do these, I will replace their lowest reading, social studies, and science grades with a 100.  Also, please make sure that they practice their math facts daily. 

When we get back from break, we will review World War I, the roaring 20s, and the Great Depression, and take a unit test over it.  We will then start our next science unit on magnets and electricity.  In math, we are going to learn about multiplying and dividing fractions.  In reading, we are going to start a new novel, called Esperanza Rising.  Finally, in writing, we are going to work on narrative writing.

Please remember that Jekyll Island will be here before you know it.  Please make sure to get your money in ASAP.  We will be having a meeting right after the break to finalize all the details of the trip.  We will also have our final trivia games in January as well.

Again, I hope you all enjoy your break and I will see you in 2013!

Love to you all!!

Another month down!

I can't believe there are only 9 days left of the first semester!  It has flown by!!!  Before you know it, it will be summer time. 

It's been a busy week here at the beach.  We had benchmark testing over language arts, reading, social studies, and science.  The girls all did a great job!  Next week, we are taking the benchmark over math.  Tuesday's field trip to the Cobb Energy Center for the symphony was so much fun.  They did a selection of music to chronicle America's history.  We all really enjoyed the show.  This week, we really didn't have time for math with the test.  I did give a pop quiz to see what we need to continue working on with volume for next week.  The test isn't as lengthy next week, so we will be able to get back into that unit.  In reading, we finished Where The Red Fern Grows.  We started a new novel called Journey to America.  We are watching the 1970 version of Where The Red Fern Grows for recess this week.  In writing, we are continuing working on our college letters.  In social studies, we started talking about World War 1.  That will carry into next week, and then we will move on to the Great Depression. 

Last Saturday, the Brumby family suffered a great tragedy.  Both parents of 3 children (2 who are currently at Brumby, and 1 who is a former student) were killed in a car accident off of Paper Mill Road.  Luckily, the children have family near by, so they will be able to stay at Brumby.  Unfortunately, the parents did not have life insurance.  We are taking donations to help this family out.  If you feel inclined, please go to the Brumby foundation website and donate.  Just click on the Lombardo Family link.  I know times are tight with the holidays coming up, but we will be taking donations all year.  Thank you in advance for helping this sweet family.

Next Thursday is International Night.  It will be from 6:30-8.  We will be selling food from all around the world, the 4th grade will be performing, and so will chorus.  I hope to see you all there!

You can start sending in the socks and snacks for our white elephant exchange Monday.  We will be doing the exchange Thursday before break.  I can't wait to celebrate with the girls!

On Tuesday, December 11, the cafeteria will have a family holiday lunch.  I will be sending home fliers.  I  hope you can attend.

Finally, the following girls had perfect behavior for the month of November: Aniya, Debora, Ariana, Marla, Genia, Elizabeth, Yemi, Shara, and Leitisha.  They will get a pizza lunch Monday.

There were no birthdays this week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Movember!

Happy Movember day!  Everyone looks amazing in their mustaches.  Thank you all for donating to this great cause!

We had a busy week back from break!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  We only have 14 school days left until Christmas break, and they are going to be jammed packed!

This week we started our unit on volume.  They built the cutest cities with 3-d buildings to show they understood the formula for volume.  We will continue work on volume until the break.  In writing, we started our big project of the nine weeks.  To incorporate persuasive and informational writing, they will be writing letters to colleges.  They get to choose two colleges.  One must be a large university, and one must be a small college.  In the letters, they will tell the admissions officer all about themselves, why they want to attend their college, and ask questions about life on their campus.  They will then ask the school to send them some sort of souvenir.  I will send these letters off the day before break.  Throughout the rest of the year, we will hear back from the schools.  It is my favorite project of the year.  The girls have already selected their schools and gotten their addresses.  We have also learned the proper way to format a letter and how to write addresses.  They are now working on the bodies of the letters.  In spelling we studied sort 14.  We will move onto sort 15 next week.  In social studies, we are studying immigration, the great depression, and World War 1.  This unit will go until break.

The December trivia game was supposed to be next Thursday.  However, we know everyone is really busy with holiday stuff coming up, so we are postponing until January.  We will have two games in January though.  At one of them, we will have the second parent meeting with all the final information you will need for the trip.  Keep a look out for more information about it soon!

Next week is benchmark testing.  That is the county assessment that the kids take half way through the quarter to see what skills we need to work on.  It is not a grade, but it is important that your daughter is here on time everyday, and that she tries her best.  The test next week is integrated language arts, science, and social studies.  The next week is math.

We have a field trip to the symphony at the Cobb Energy Center next Tuesday.  The trip is free, and the permission slips are due Monday.  If they do not turn the permission slip in Monday, they will not be able to attend.

Talent show auditions are next week.  5th grade goes Wednesday.  Please make sure to pick your daughter up by 3:45 if she is participating and is a car rider.

Don't forget to be on the lookout for fun socks and treats for our holiday party.  You can start bringing them in the week of December 17.

There were no birthdays this week.

Our dear friend Rebeca moved this week.  We will definitely miss her!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello all!  I'm going to combine last week and this week into one blog.  We have a lot to cover!!  First and foremost, I want to thank everyone for making my birthday so special.  Just being able to teach your girls is gift enough, but I really appreciate all the lovely gifts and cards.  Turning 29 never felt so nice!

Remember, there is NO SCHOOL all next week in observance of Thanksgiving.  I hope each of you has a very happy Thanksgiving.  If you are traveling, please be safe.  I will be in Chicago from Tuesday to Saturday, but you know you can always reach me via text or email if something should arise during the week.  I am sending home a packet of things for the girls to work on.  There is a writing piece on how to set a Thanksgiving day table, a Mayflower math problem sheet, and some work out of their grammar book.  It is not mandatory as I know that this is a busy week, but if you daughter does the work, I will replace their lowest quiz grade with 100s in social studies and math.  They will also receive extra credit in language arts. 

When we get back from break, we will have 4 weeks left until winter break.  We will be having a party the week before.  I know that is a while off, but I wanted to get this out there so you can start thinking about it.  One, I will need refreshments brought in.  I told the girls if they wanted to make the food from their recipes for the class recipe book, they could.  We will also need paper goods, drinks, and other snacks.  Please send me an email letting me know what you can bring.  We have 22 girls in our room.  Second, we will be doing a white elephant exchange.  I am asking each girl to bring in a pair of NEW socks.  They can be holiday socks, or fun crazy socks.  With the socks, she also needs to bring her favorite snack or drink.  It can be a king sized candy bar, a big bag of chips, or a soda.  Please wrap them together, but do not label anything on them at all.  We will put all the gifts in the middle of a circle.  We will draw numbers and open presents in order.  In white elephant, if you want to use your turn to "steal" a gift you can.  The person who gets stolen from get to open another or steal from someone else.  We do this until everyone has a gift.  It is a lot of fun!

This week we worked on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.  After the break we will start our volume unit.  In science, we are wrapping up our unit on matter and physical/chemical changes.  After the break we will begin our unit on The Jazz Age, The Great Depression, and World War I for social studies.  We have been having a lot of fun in writing with informational writing and our recipes.  We will continue work on that after the break.  I am hoping to have Where the Red Ferns Grows finished by the week after Thanksgiving as well.

Talent show auditions are coming up.  A permission slip will be sent home Friday.  Have your daughter think about her act over the break.  The slips are due to me or Mrs. Wood by Friday, November 30.  Please make sure it is school appropriate and your daughter must provide music for her act or she will not be able to audition. 

There are no birthdays this week, but our Chadea will celebrate a birthday over the break!  Happy birthday sweet girl!  I am so proud I have been able to be your teacher for a second time!!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I am so thankful for each and every one of you!

Rollercoaster of Emotions

This week we were so happy to welcome Ayrika to our room!!  She fits right in with our class and we love having her.  On the flip side, we were saddened to lose our Jessie to another school.  We will certainly miss her!!!

I wanted to give a huge shout out to all the parents who were able to make it to our first quarter brag day on Wednesday.  It was so wonderful to see you supporting your daughters.  I am so proud of each and everyone of them. 

Like mentioned at brag day, our trivia night got moved to next Thursday, the 8th, at 6pm.  I hope to see you all there.  Also, the deadline to pay only $75 for Jekyll Island has now passed.  From now until the trip, it will cost $100.  Remember, you can pay by cash, check, or credit card on our foundation website.

This week in math we reviewed adding and subtracting decimals.  Next week, we will being our unit on volume.  In language arts, we will continue our work with poetry and start focusing on informational writing.  This week in science we learned about the stages of matter and physical and chemical changes.  Next week, we are going to apply what we know in some fun experiments.   In spelling, we are moving on to sort 12. 

Just a reminder, this weekend is day light savings time.  Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour Saturday night, and enjoy that extra hour of sleep.

Next Monday, the 5th, is picture retake day.  Your daughter does not have to wear her uniform if she is getting a picture taken.  If she isn't, she must be in uniform. 

Finally, there is no school for students Tuesday, the 6th, for election day.  Please exercise your right to vote that day. 

We had no birthdays in our class this week.

The following girls went home on partly cloudy or sunny everyday in the month of October, got their agenda signed everyday, and wrote their homework and behavior in their agenda everyday.  Congratulations to Leitisha, Shara, Aniya, Yemi, Debora, Elizabeth, and Rebeca!!  You will get a pizza party on Monday!! :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

BIg Thanks

I wanted to start this week's blog post with a HUGE thank you to everyone for attending conferences this week!  I loved meeting with each and everyone of you.  Open communication between teacher and parents is so important in ensuring a successful year for your daughter.  Thank you again for all meeting with me!

This week our schedule was so crazy!  We had to squeeze a whole day's worth of learning into two hours.  In math, we wrapped up the loose ends of the first quarters standards.  We talked about number patterns, and how to plot them on a coordinate plane.  We also talked about multiplying and dividing by powers of ten.  Next week, we will be working on addition of decimals.  In language arts, we started our poetry study.  We analyzed the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes.  The girls got to rewrite it to the family member of their choice, changing the metaphors in it to their own work.  Next week, they will create a hook to put in between each stanza and then set it to music.  In writing next week, we will begin looking at informative writing.  We are moving on from social studies since we have finished our unit on the Civil War and Reconstruction.  We will shift our focus back to science and learn about matter and physical/chemical changes. 

Remember tonight is the PTA Halloween dance.  You child can come dressed in their Halloween costume. If you are a PTA member, the dance is free.  If not, it costs $6 to attend. 

Our next Jekyll Island trivia night is next Thursday at 6.  Once again, it is free.  We will be selling pizza, snacks, and drinks again.  Remember, if you were on a winning team, you have house cash to spend.  We are really looking forward to another great turnout.

Finally, the deadline for the Jekyll Island payment of only $75 is next Wednesday, October 31st.  If you do not pay in full by then, the price goes up to $100.

We welcomed a new Sunset Sweetheart this week.  Welcome to our class Ashley!!  We are so happy to have you!!!

There were no birthdays this week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

It's Been Too Long!!!

Hey everyone.  I have missed my weekly updates.  The past two weeks have been so hectic.  My experience at the Ron Clark Academy was something I will treasure for the rest of my teaching career.  I learned so many valuable things there, and cannot wait to start using them in our room.  My fiance's surgery went well this past week.  Thank you so much for all the kind words and thoughts.  I am hoping I won't have to miss any school for a while.  I have to say though, I was very happy with note I got from the sub.  I think they are finally getting it. 

Over the last two weeks, we have spent a lot of time working on our division strategies.  We finally have learned all of them.  Hopefully these strategies will help the girls better understand long division.  We had benchmark testing last week and this week.  Because of this, we will not be starting anything new.  We will just review everything we have learned so far.  In reading, we decided not to read Ruby Holler instead we read Titanic Sinks.  We are starting Where the Red Fern Grows next.  Your daughters have been working really hard on their Underground Railroad narrative writing pieces.  Their final drafts are due next Monday.  They can be written or typed.  In social studies, we are finishing the Civil War are moving on to the reconstruction of the United States.  Since I know your girls love facebook so much, they are creating a facebook profiles of an important person in the Civil War.  It's a really cool page.  You can check it out.  It's www.classtools.net/fb/home/page.  We will be doing these throughout the year during different units.

Thank you so much for helping me schedule conference week.  Just a reminder, conference week is next week, October 22-26.  It will be early release all week.  You daughters will be dismissed at 12:15.  If their transportation home is going to change, please let me know ASAP.  I am so excited to meet with all of you next week!!

We have not had any birthdays in our room.

Have a wonderful week!

Another month down!

Happy Friday!!  I cannot believe September is over.  It has flown by.  We are already finished with our 6th week of school.  Today, I checked agendas for the month of September.  If you daughter filled out her homework, behavior, had it signed nightly, and was on either partly cloudy or sunny everyday of the month, they get a special celebration Monday.  The following people will get to participate Monday: Marla, Leitisha, Elizabeth, TaKevia, Rebeca, Estefany, and Shara!  Congrats ladies!!  I'm so proud of you.  Poor Shara wasn't in our picture because she went home sick.  :(

This week has been a very productive one at the beach.  In math, we reviewed multiplication of two digits by two digits.  We then learned multiplying three by three.  We then started our new division strategies.  There are four we are going to learn.  We did the first two, repeated subtraction and multiplying up.  Ask your daughter to explain those two ways to you this weekend.  They will learn partial quotient and proportional division next week.  In writing, we learned how to create graphic organizers for narrative writing.  We learned about the must need characters, setting, a problem, actions, and a solution or conclusion.  We used this to create graphic organizers for our Underground Railroad pieces.  We will start with our rough drafts for those pieces next week.  In reading, we finished our shared reading of Because of Winn Dixie.  We are going to watch the film version during lunch next week.  We will be starting the novel, Ruby Holler next week.  In social studies, we finished studying the causes of the Civil War.  We will begin studying the war itself next week by looking at major battles.  Finally, we will be studying Sort 7 in spelling. 

Just a reminder, next Wednesday is our field trip to the Cobb County Supreme Court.  Dr. Richie wants next Wednesday to be the official start of the dress up Wednesdays.  Please try to get a white button shirt over the weekend.  Remember, ties are for sale in the uniform store for $5.  Your daughter may also wear a blue blazer on Wednesday as well.  Our hope is that everyone in the 5th grade can go to the court house in our dress wear. 

Next Thursday is our first trivia night to help raise money for the Jekyll Island trip.  A flier is being sent home today with all the information about it.  I hope you can all make it.  It will be a fun way to reinforce skills we have learned, raise money, and spend some time together in a social atmosphere. It is free to play.  Please ask your daughter to see the flier today.

We had no birthdays this week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Progress Report Day

Today I am sending home the first progress report of the year.  I am very pleased with the work your daughter's have done this year, and their reports show that.  Please review them with your daughter over the weekend, and sign the parent signature section.  You can keep the report, just cut off the signature part.  If there are any questions or comments, please feel free to leave me a note on it and I will be glad to address them.  I hope you are as proud of your daughters as I am!!

This week was a crazy week.  I unfortunately missed a day and a half due to bronchitis.  Monday, the sub left a very nice note.  I came for the morning Tuesday, and left at lunch.  That day must have been an off day because the sub came to me personally Wednesday to discuss it.  We had a big class meeting, and I think we are all on the same page now about behavior expectations.  This class is so sweet and funny, but we need to remember when it is school time and when it is fun time.  Also, please reiterate the fact that all adults that are in our building deserve respect.  Hopefully there won't be a repeat of Tuesday afternoon.

This week in math we were going to move onto multiplication and division.  After doing some informal observations, I realized we still needed some work on expressions and equations.  We will start our multiplication and division unit next week.  In guided reading, we started reading a book called Get on Board: The Story of the Underground Railroad.  I am hoping this book, and what we discuss in our social studies discussions will help the girls with their narrative about the Underground Railroad.  In social studies we started discussing slavery and its effects on our country.  Next week we will look at some of the other factors that led to the civil war.  Finally, next week we will study Sort 6 in spelling.

Thank you so much to everyone who attended our Jekyll Island meeting.  We are going to try to have one more before the trip to ensure everyone has a chance to come and ask questions about the trip.  Remember, the price of the trip goes from $75 to $100 on November 1st, so make sure to pay in full beforehand.  You can pay with cash, check, or on the Brumby website with credit or debit.

Thank you to everyone who turned in the their permission slips and money for the Supreme Court field trip on October 3rd.  If you paid before I sent out the email the other day informing you of the the pricing change, I need to know if you want a refund of the extra $5, or if you would like that money put towards your daughter's Jekyll fund.  Please email to let me know.  Our very own TaKevia was selected to be the defendant in the mock trial.  I am so happy for her.  I know she will do a great job.  I will post pictures after the field trip. 

We had no birthdays this week.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

TESTING IS OVER!!! YAY!!!!

What a busy week we have had!!! I am so proud of the girls for handling the fact that testing rolled over into two weeks.  Like I told you guys last week, results should be in around the beginning of November.  Despite testing, we have had a very productive week of learning.

In math, we are moving on from order of operations.  This is a topic we will cover throughout the rest of the year, so I want to move onto the next topic.  We are going to learn multi digit multiplication and division.  I know that the girls have been learning about this since the third grade, but we are going to go really in depth with it.  They are going to learn how to draw out the problems, and they are also going to be able to write explanations as to how they got their answers.  This topic is new to our curriculum, and we will be spending the rest of the nine weeks on this. 
In language arts, we finished learning about conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections. We also began learning about similes and metaphors.  We will continue similes and metaphors next week.
In writing, they are getting their final writing assignment of the nine weeks.  They are writing a narrative story on the Underground Railroad.  In their story, they are telling about a slave (or family of slaves) who travel the Underground Railroad to try to get to freedom.  They will get to choose if they make it, or get caught.  This will be the longest piece they have had to write this year, so they won't have to turn it in until Friday, October 12th.  We are going to be talking a lot about the Underground Railroad in the next few weeks, but I am going to suggest they start doing some research on their own to help them start preparing for their story.
In social studies, we wrapped up our unit on citizen rights and responsibilities by doing some mock trials.  They were all based on the nursery rhymes, and it has really helped the girls understand the judicial process.  We have one more play to do Monday, which is the case of Humpty Dumpty: was it really an accident? Starting Tuesday, we will begin our Civil War unit that will last until the end of the nine weeks.  I will give you more information on the unit next week.
In spelling we will be studying Sort 5.

I have a couple of important announcements about upcoming events.  First, we are having our Jekyll Island parent meeting Wednesday, September 19 at 5 pm.  We will going over what your girls will experience on the trip, as well as answer questions you may have.  If you cannot attend, just visit the Jekyll Island 4-H center website to see what we will be covering.  The site is www.jekyll4h.org.  Remember, the cost of the trip is $75 if you pay before October 31.  After October 31, the price rises to $100.  I hope to see you all there.  Second, we are sending home permission slips today for our first field trip of the year.  On October 3, we have been invited to the Cobb County Supreme Courthouse to witness a mock trial.  The trial is based off a real case of shoplifting at Walmart.  Some of the 5th graders will even get the opportunity to be part of the jury.  After the skit, they will get to tour the holding cells, jury deliberation room, and other parts of the courthouse.  We need all permission slips and money in by next Friday our we will not be able to go.  Please get those in as soon as possible.  Finally, first quarter progress reports go home next Friday.  Please remember that these are strictly to let you know where your daughter is half way through the nine weeks.  These grades are not going on their permanent records.  It is just a heads up so you know where they are excelling and where they need help, if any.  There will be a place for you to sign saying you received them and you can leave comments if necessary.  They will be due back Monday.  The grades are yours to keep.  Just cut the signature slip off and send that in with your daughter.  Thank you!

This week, our Arianna celebrated her birthday.  I hope you had a wonderful birthday sweet girl!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Testing Fun

Happy Friday!!  ITBS testing has officially begun.  Today the girls took the vocabulary and reading comprehension tests 1 and 2.  Monday they will take spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and language arts.  Tuesday is math, Wednesday is science and social studies, and Thursday we wrap up with map skills and reference materials.  Test results should be in the beginning of November.  I can't wait to see how awesome your girls all do on this test!

Because of testing, our schedule will be different all next week.  Testing will be from about 8:20-10:00 everyday.  We will have 1 hour between testing and specials, and an hour after lunch.  Because of this, I am going to just do one subject a day instead of trying to squeeze it all in each day.  Monday will be writing and language arts.  We are going to continue working on conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections.  We will learn how to incorporate those into our writing.  I will also be doing a brief introduction into narrative writing as they will have a major narrative story assigned to them the week after next.  Tuesday we will be doing math.  We are continuing our work on the order of operations and being able to write mathematical expressions based on reading word problems.  Wednesday will be reading.  We will continue reading out of our shared reading book Because of Winn Dixie and I will be pulling small cooperative groups to work on finding main idea and supporting details.  Thursday will be social studies.  We started our unit on citizenship and civic responsibilities.  We talked about The Bill of Rights this week, and Wednesday we will be looking at jury trials and even doing a skit that involves a mock trial.  Friday, we will do a review of everything we have worked on this week to wrap it all up.  We will still have a spelling sort (sort 4) and a reading log for the girls to complete, but I will not be assigning any other homework throughout testing so they can relax each night to prepare for the next day. 

Yesterday I had to take a day off due to illness.  I hate missing school, especially this early on in the year, but I was happy with how the girls behaved with the substitute over all.  I am bringing them a little treat Monday because of it, although they do not know about it yet.  I do know for sure I will be out October 5th to observe at the Ron Clark Academy for the day.  I was selected to go so that I could see all the wonderful things they do there and bring it back to our classroom.  If you are unfamiliar with Ron Clark and his wonderful school, please check out his website, www.ronclarkacademy.com.  I will also be out half a day on  October 11, and a full day October 12 as my boyfriend is having surgery.  I am expecting their best behavior these days, and since I know in advance about being out, I wanted you to know as well so you can remind the girls that class rules, procedures, and expectations do not change when I am gone.  Thanks so much!

I am attaching a video the girls made on constructive and destructive forces.  They did such a great job with it, they played it to the whole school after the Brumby News yesterday morning.  I was so proud!! I hope you enjoy!

Finally, I want to wish Estefany a Happy Birthday Sunday!!  I hope you have a wonderful day sweetie!!

Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis....Oh my!

What a fun week here at the beach.  We wrapped up our unit on constructive and destructive forces with a bang....literally.  We made homemade volcanoes, so please tune into our videos to see them in action.  We had such a great time with them.  We are in the process of making one other video, and I should hopefully be able to upload it to next week's post.  The girls were split into groups and given a force they had to illustrate.  They essentially made a flip book, but instead of flipping through it to see the effects of their force, I am going to take a picture of each of their illustrations in order, and put them into a movie maker.  They worked really hard on their drawings and showed me they have a full understanding of the forces, and I can't wait to show you their hard work!  This week we also wrapped up place value and moved on to order of operations in math.  Next week, we will continue our work with order of operations.  We are starting our first social studies unit of the year next week, and we will be studying citizen rights.  Finally, we will be studying Sort 3 in spelling.

A couple of big announcements for next week.  As a reminder, we have no school Monday in observance of Labor Day.  Please enjoy your long three day weekend.  Iowa Tests of Basic Skills start next Friday.  You daughter will be tested in all subject areas, and results should be in around the beginning of November.  The test will be from next Friday to the following Thursday.  It is vitally important that your daughter is here and on time everyday.  We will begin testing right at 8.  I know they will all do great!!!  One last thing, I am asking for everyone to get a flash drive to keep at school.  We are doing so many projects that involve the computer this year, and our network is not reliable.  If your daughter has a flash drive, we can guarantee that her work won't get lost.  Plus, if need be, she can work on those projects at home as well.  You can get them at Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and even Walgreens.  They are around $5.  Thanks so much!!

We want to wish our Shara a very happy birthday Sunday!  We hope you have a wonderful day!!

I hope everyone has a nice, relaxing long weekend!

What a wild and crazy week here at the beach!

2 weeks down, 34 to go.  ;)  This has been an interesting week, to say the least.  First and foremost, I want to welcome Yemi, Zakiyah, Debora, Rebeca, Hannah, and Aniyah to our class!!  I am so terribly sad that Mrs. Bowlden was taken from us, but I am thrilled to have each and everyone of you become Sunset Sweethearts!!  I know this is a huge change, but luckily it has been done so early in the year that the move will hopefully be as smooth as possible.  If you are the parent of one of our new girls, please read the previous posts to get caught up on what has been happening in our room.  As always, my door is always open.  Feel free to call, email, or stop by whenever. 

Second, I want to thank everyone who was able to make it to Parent Orientation last night.  I loved being able to meet all of you.  For those of you who were unable to make it, I am sending home all the information with your daughters today.  Please review our class rules and procedures/behavior plan.  The powerpoint and behavior plan are yours to keep.  I just need you to sign the top saying you have reviewed it and send that slip back on Monday.  I am also sending home the medical release forms for our Jekyll Island trip.  That serves as the permission slip.  The trip costs $75 this year, and you can pay in installments between now and January.  We are asking to get all the money in by November 1st, if possible, because we learned this morning the price may go to $100 after that.  Finally, a title one packet is going home, and there is a sheet on the front for you to sign.  Please send that in Monday as well.

This was our first week working strictly with curriculum.  We working on place value of whole numbers and decimals in math.  We learned about to write the numbers in standard, expanded, and word forms.  Next week we will learn how to compare and order numbers with decimals, and then move on to order of operations.  Your daughters have already started working on some persuasive writing for me.  Our class pet, Roger the betta fish, passed away Tuesday morning.  The girls wrote me a short piece convincing me to get another pet.  They did an excellent job, and we now have Toby the betta fish.  The girls even named him.  They are also still working on their volcano papers.  In science we talked about the Earth's plates and how they move.  We went in depth with what happens to Earth as forces such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.  Next week, they will be doing hands on activities with forces.  We will be creating our own volcanoes and letting them erupt.  We are also going to make stop motion videos of earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and floods and how they effect the Earth (especially in cities and towns).  The girls studies Sort 1 in spelling this week and learned how adding the suffix -ed changes the spelling of words.  Next week they will study Sort 2, which deals with a review of the prefixes re-, un-, dis- and mis-.  Remember, they must chose 3 activities from their speller's choice menu to complete throughout the week.  Two must be activities requiring writing, and one can be a nonwritten activity.  They will turn in their spelling on Friday before their tests.  Finally, please make sure your daughter is reading at least 20 minutes a night, and that she completes her reading log (which is due every Friday as well).

We have no birthdays in our class next week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Happy birthday and first week pictures

I forgot that I wanted to add a birthday segment each week to recognize the birthdays celebrated throughout the week.  We did not have a birthday this actual week, but our Elizabeth celebrated a birthday on August 1st.  Happy birthday sweet Elizabeth!!  I hope you had a wonderful day. 

Awesome First Week

Well, the first week is under our belts.  I just have to say....this week has been FANTASTIC!!!!  Your girls have come in ready to learn all about each other, have had all of their supplies and forms when I have asked for them, and are already great examples of Brumby Ambassadors!!  If this week is any indication of what our year will be like, we are going to have a wonderful year!

First, let's cover some housekeeping items.  We are having open house next Thursday, August 23, at 6:30.  You will get to come see our room and what we have done so are, as well as learn about how is year is going to flow through the curriculum.  If you are not a member of our PTA yet, you really should join.  It is only $6 a family.  Membership gets you free entry to all PTA functions, and there will be one of the night of open house.  They will be having a movie night with the film "Spy Kids 4" showing.  If you are a member of PTA, it is free for your children to watch the movie while we have our meeting.  They will also be selling pizza, drinks, and other refreshments.  Due to class size issues we are asking that your children do not attend the class meetings, so movie night is a great way to avoid hiring a babysitter.

Now for class news! We are diving right into the curriculum next week.  We are setting up our lessons around thematic units.  Our first unit is on constructive and destructive forces of nature.  Your daughters will be assigned 3 projects next week that will all be due on August 30th.  The first is a news article they have to write about a fictional earthquake in LA.  They have to first calculate how much damage the earthquake caused using figures we give them, and then tie that in to an article.  The second is a powerpoint presentation that they will be working in groups to complete.  They will have to create slides about different forces and describe them.  The last is an opinion paper on whether they feel a volcano is a constructive or destructive force.  They will have to create a graphic organizer, rough draft with edits, and a final draft.  They will have ample time in class to work on all of these projects while I am pulling small groups for reading and math, but it will require some work at home as well. 
In math, we will be working on place value with numbers as big as the millions place, and as small as the hundredths place.  We will look at ordering decimals, and writing numbers in standard, expanded, and word forms. 
Our first writing genre will be opinion.  They will learn how to form an opinion and use facts to back their opinion up. 
We will be studying sort 1 in the Words Their Way books for spelling.  They will be responsible for writing their spelling words in their agenda every Monday.  They will receive a speller choice menu Monday that will be used throughout August and September.  There are activities that require writing, and ones that do not.  They must complete two written activities a week, and one non written one.  The non written one they choose will have to be verified by you.  The girls can just write which one they choose on their spelling homework sheet, whichever night they choose, and you need to initial it.  They will turn in the week's work on Fridays. We will take our spelling tests on Fridays.  To do spellingcity.com work, your daughter needs to select Georgia, then the M for Marietta, select Marietta, select B, select Brumby, then select HEATHER SUBER.  My name WILL NOT be on that list.  Mrs. Suber and I work together on that website so it is her name they will choose. 
Their first reading log of the year is going home this afternoon.  The girls are to read at least 20 minutes a day.  She must also complete 4 of the activities on the sheet throughout the week, and turn it in on Fridays.  Please initial the sheet daily after your daughter has read.
Starting Monday, the girls will be responsible for recording their behavior in their agendas.  They will also write down their homework and any other important information I need you to know.  You will learn about our behavior system at Open House, but I just wanted to clarify a few things so there is no confusion between now and Thursday.  Everyday the girls all start on Partly Cloudy.  That means they had a good day.  They have the opportunity to move up to Sunny if they are going above and beyond the expectations of our class.  They can also move down to cloudy, windy, and rainy.  If they move up or down, they will write in their agenda why.  No matter what, their agenda needs to be signed by you every night.  That way I know you are aware of how your daughter is behaving in school.  Since they are in 5th grade, and almost middle schoolers, a lot of the responsibility is going to be placed in them.  If you need to change your daughter's transportation, please put me a note in her agenda. 

Again, we had a wonderful first week.  I hope to see you all at Open House Thursday!

As this is my techincal first day of school, I thought I would update on some things to help have a successful first day of school.  I am really looking forward to meeting your girls and getting started.  Here is a list of things she will need to do before or on Monday....

1. Please make sure she knows how she is going home.  Getting the children home safely is our number one goal for the first day.  If she is riding the bus, please have her know which color bus she is riding.  It is ok if she doesn't know which color, as long as she knows which apartment complex or neighborhood you live in.

2. Do not label any supplies yet, but send in what you can on Monday.  I know it is a lot, so if you cannot get it all here Monday, please try to get it all here by the end of the week. 

3. Make sure you have uniforms ready for the first day.  If you need to order some, you can do so on the Brumby website.

4. I do not allow snacks in the room as we tend to have little critters visit us if I do, but water (only water please) bottles are permitted. 

5. Unfortunately we do not have a pencil sharpener in our room, so please pick up a little one at Walmart or the Dollar Tree.

6. Flip flops are not allowed at Brumby, so make sure you have school appropriate shoes.

7. Your daughter will have a "homework" assignment of making an "All About Me" bag to share with the class so we can get to know one another.  Start thinking of items you would like to share.  You can brings books, stuffed animals, pictures, ect.  Please no electronics or anything of monetary or emotional value. 

8. Come to school Monday ready to have a great year!!

See you all one week from today!

Welcome to 5th grade!  I am looking forward to a great year with your daughters!! 

To start this blog off, I want to introduce myself to you.  My name is Heather Carpenter, and this is my 6th of teaching.  I have spent all 6 years here at Brumby, and I could not imagine teaching anywhere else.  I taught kindergarten for my first 3 years, and this is my 3rd year with 5th grade girls.  Although I loved kindergarten, 5th grade is my passion.  In my spare time, I go to church, spend time with my boyfriend and our two wonderful dogs, and climb Kennesaw Mountain.  

I will be updating this blog weekly.  I will tell you all about the happenings in the Sunset Sweetheart room, let you know about what we are learning, tell you about upcoming projects, and reminders about homework/test dates.  I will also put any important school news, announcements about upcoming events such as school dances and field trips, and tips as to how you can help your daughter at home.  I am going to compile a list of every ones email addresses and will send you all a link to the blog website every week when it is updated. I would also like to post pictures of things going on with The Sunset Sweethearts throughout the year, so I will be sending home a permission slip for me to include your daughter's pictures on here from time to time.  My hope is that your daughter will be able to come back to this site in years to come to reminisce about her final year in elementary school.     

Again, I look forward to working with you all this year. 

Heather Carpenter

heather.carpenter@cobbk12.org