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!!