Tutoring Starts

Good Monday morning!!  Friday was Read All Day in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, and we were crazy busy so I didn't get a chance to update the blog.  I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

CRCT tutoring begins today.  Please remember that if your daughter is staying and you are going to pick her up, you need to be here right at 3:45, or she will be sent to ASP.  Thank you for your cooperation with this, and I also really appreciate you allowing your daughter to stay after school.  I am hoping this tutoring will be beneficial. 

Last week was benchmark testing.  It was the last benchmark we will take this year since the CRCT is next quarter.  I was happy with the way the girls performed on this.  It also helped me see that we definitely need to go back and review our fraction work.  :)

This Wednesday is the fifth grade writing exam.  We have been working really hard on our writing skills, and I am anxious to see how they apply what they have learned this year.  The test starts right at 8:15, so please make sure your daughter is present and on time Wednesday.  The results of this test should be in in the beginning of May.

With testing last week, our schedule was a little off.  We got to read out of our novel Bread and Roses Too almost every day, and we got to review our writing skills.  This week we will get back on an almost normal schedule.  We received CRCT coach books, so we will begin working out of those two times a week.  They cover math and reading/language arts skills.  In math, we will be working on algebra skills, such as solving for the unknown variable.  In social studies, we will continue our work on the Civil Rights unit.  We will be doing segregation day Thursday.  Make sure to ask your girls about it.  It is always such a fun experience for them. 

Last week Leitisha and Debora celebrated birthdays on the same day.  Happy birthday girls!!! 

Have a wonderful week!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone!  We had a great, although short, week here.  I hope everyone enjoyed their 4 day weekend.  That is the last break until Spring Break, which is 30 short school days away!  Another crazy factoid, the CRCT is 35 school days away!  Where has this year gone?!?

Speaking of CRCT, I sent home a note about a free tutoring opportunity I am starting a week from Monday.  Thank you to those of you who have sent them in already.  I will be tutoring every Monday, starting March 4, until the test.  It will be from 2:45-3:45.  We will be reviewing everything we have learned this year, and work on some test taking skills.  You have to pick your daughter up by 3:45, or I will have to place her in ASP.  Unfortunately, I will put your child in ASP right at 3:45 because I have a small group I meet with every Monday night.  I look forward to this extra time I can have to help everyone exceed on the test!!

This week, we finished up our work with decimals in math.  We will begin some algebra work the week after next.  We finished Number the Stars today.  We will start Bread and Roses, Too next week.  We started our Civil Rights unit this week.  That will carry over into next week.  We will also be doing writing review, and working on certain skills we are still struggling with, such as depth of development and transitional words.

We have benchmark testing next week.  The past two quarters, we have spread them out over two weeks.  This quarter we are going to knock them out in one week, so we will be testing each morning for two hours.  The following week, on March 7th, we will have our formal writing test.  Although they do not have to pass this test to move onto middle school, it is imperative they do well.  Middle schools use this grade as a factor of which class your daughters will be placed in. 

Next Friday is Read All Day day in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday.  If your daughter has some Dr. Seuss books at home that we could use for some fun activities, I would greatly appreciate it if they can bring them in.

The girls have been earning letters every time they receive a compliment outside of our classroom.  Their goal was to spell out Sunset Sweethearts.  They finally did it!  Today they got pizza and we watched "Judy Moody and the Not So Bummer Summer" this afternoon.  I'm so proud of them!

Our Marla has a birthday tomorrow!  Happy birthday sweet girl!!

Have a great weekend! 

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from the Sunset Sweethearts!!  Thank you so much for all my sweet presents!  I love being your daughters' teacher!

Just a reminder, there is no school tomorrow or Monday.  I will see you back on Tuesday, February 19.  That day is spring picture day.  Your daughter does not have to wear her uniform.  Even if she isn't getting pictures taken, please let her wear a cute outfit.  We are getting our class portrait that day as well. 

This week, we continued our work on multiplying and dividing decimals.  We will continue work on that next week.  In reading, we are reading the novel Number the Stars.  We should finish it next week.  It is such a great book!  We will start Bread and Roses Too next.  In social studies we finished our unit on World War II and the Cold War.  The girls received another integrated squares packet today.  That is their homework over the break.  It is due Tuesday.  We will begin our unit on Civil Rights next week. 

Today, while the girls were at specials, something really cool happened.  President Obama is visiting Georgia today, and while I was outside, AIR FORCE ONE flew right over me!  It was a really cool thing to see in person!

Have a wonderful weekend!  See you Tuesday!!!

Jekyll Island 2013

I can't believe our trip is over!  We had an amazing time!!  This trip never ceases to amaze me.  The girls were so well behaved, we learned a lot, and we bonded even more.  I want to thank all of you again for helping make this trip possible.  Here is a little rundown of the trip.

Monday: We arrived at lunch time.  The kids got their debriefing, and we were ready for classes.  For my group, our first class was orienteering.  They learned how to use a compass and count their paces.  Next, we had beach ecology.  We learned about different animals that live on the beach.  It was really chilly, but absolutely beautiful.  After dinner, we took a night walk on the beach, then took a shark class. 

Tuesday: We went to the marsh for our first class.  The girls had fun putting marsh mud on their faces.  It was like having a facial.  They also had fun falling in the mud too.  After marsh, we did a dock class.  We got to do "belly fishing".  They laid on their stomachs and put their nets in the water.  They caught shrimp, oysters, and algae.  After lunch, we had herpetology.  In this class, we learned about reptiles and amphibians.  We got to pet snakes and turtles.  Next, we went to the north end of the island.  The beach there is covered in petrified trees.  It is absolutely breathtaking.  After dinner, we learned all about marine mammals, then had a fifth grade bonfire.  We made s'mores. 

Wednesday: After breakfast, we went to the maritime forest.  The girls got to climb a 200 year old live oak tree.  For our final class, we got to explore the beach again, by ourselves.

It was a wonderful trip, and I am so glad I got to experience it with your girls. 

If you would like copies of the pictures from the trip, please bring me a blank disc or flash drive.  Thanks!

Just a reminder, there is a four day weekend next week.  We will not have school Friday, February 15, or Monday, February 18. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
 

Ellis Island, Talent Show, and Jekyll Island

Hi everyone!!!  It's been an extremely busy week here at Brumby.  First off, I want to brag on the girls.  I was sick Tuesday and Wednesday with a stomach bug.  The girls were wonderful with the sub.  Especially Wednesday, when we had two 45 minute duck and cover tornado drills.  Thank you so much my lovelies! 

This week I introduced a little bit of our new math unit. We are moving on to decimal multiplication and division.  That will continue the week after Jekyll.  We finished our latest novel, Esperanza Rising.  We started our new novel, Number the Stars.  Its the story of a Danish family who helps their Jewish friends escape the Nazis.  It is a wonderful story!  In social studies we will continue our study of World War II.  The day after we return from Jekyll Island, we will be watching a movie called "The Boy In the Striped Pajamas".  It is rated PG13.  I am sending home a permission slip today.  Your daughter can bring it Monday morning if she is going to Jekyll, or Thursday if she is not.  If I don't get a permission slip back, she will not be able to watch it, even if you don't mind her watching PG13 movies. 

Today was our 2nd annual Ellis Island Day.  The kids did a great job with their costumes, and this hands on type learning is super beneficial for them.  Thank you to all the parents who came to volunteer today.  I will have some photos for you after the Jekyll trip.

We leave for Jekyll MONDAY!!!!! I'm so excited we were able to raise the money to go.  This trip is a once in a lifetime experience for each and every student, and I cannot wait to spend 3 glorious days at the beach with my girls learning all the cool science curriculum we will be learning.  I will be taking my camera with me, so if you want a copy of my pictures, send in a blank disc after the trip, and I will get them copied for you.  I will remind you again after the trip.  Please remember to be here NO LATER than 5am Monday.  Please make sure that your daughter does not bring any electronics other than a camera and phone.  They will not be able to bring them with us.  Finally, remember, no money will be allowed either.  This is going to be a great trip.  The weather is going to be PERFECT!

Finally, the talent show is tonight.  As head of the talent show committee, I can tell you that this year's show is going to be great!  It cost $2 for students and $3 for adults.  The show is from 6:30-8:00.  Pizza and refreshments will be sold.  I hope to see you all there!

Have a great weekend and see you BRIGHT AND EARLY Monday! 

Three Day Weekend!

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a great week!  I'm sorry I never got to upload the pictures from last week.  The picture uploader on here is still not working.  :( 

I want to thank everyone who made it to Brag Day on Wednesday.  I also love celebrating your daughters' hard work.  Congratulations to everyone who received an award.  Keep up the hard work.

This week we learned all about multiplying fractions by fractions, and fractions by whole numbers.  We also learned how to model these types of problems.  Next week we are learning our last fraction concept, which is division.  We are having a HUGE fraction test next Friday covering everything we have learned about fractions this year.  Make sure they are studying nightly.  They made a fraction book before winter break that they update every time we learn a new concept, so they need to be using that as a reference.  This week in spelling, a lot of people did not do so hot.  As a result, I am starting a new rule.  If your daughter fails her spelling test on Friday, she has to write her words 10 times each over the weekend.  I need you to sign her words, so you know that she had to do them.  Some people who usually do well in spelling are starting to slip, so I want to nip this in the bud.  Thanks for your help with this.  We are finished with our unit on electricity and magnets.  We are starting our unit on World War II.  This is a long unit.  We will probably work on this for about 4 weeks.  We have a lot of material to cover with it.  It is a very moving unit though.  We spend time talking about the Holocaust and Anne Frank. 

I sent home a letter this week about a Jekyll Island meeting we will be having next Thursday, January 24th at 6:30 pm.  We have received a small extension on the money, but we need it all ASAP!  Please plan to attend, especially if you have not paid.  We have a VERY SMALL number of scholarships available, so please attend even if you think you cannot pay for the trip.  I am hoping to see each of you there!

Next Thursday is also our second practice writing test of the year.  The focus will be on informational writing.  The formal assessment is in March, so this practice is extremely important.  Make sure your daughter gets plenty of sleep the night before. 

Just a reminder, there is no school Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day.  Enjoy this three day weekend with your family!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, and WELCOME BACK!!

It was so good to see all my lovely girls this week!  I missed them so much over the break!  I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  We welcomed two new members to the Sunset Sweethearts this week!  Welcome Kaylah and Shay-Shay!  We are so happy you are a part of our family!  We love our big class!

This was a short week for us.  We got a lot accomplished though.  We started working on adding and subtracting mixed numbers, with regrouping, in math.  Next week we are going to continue that, and start working on multiplying fractions.We started our new novel, Esperanza Rising.  It is really good!  In spelling, we studied sort 17.  We will study sort 18 next week.  We started our new science unit on electricity and magnets.  I assigned an integrated project today that is due next Friday, when we take our assessment.  Please ask your daughters to see the project page.  You have to sign it before she turns it in on Friday. 

There is still no final work on Jekyll Island.  I will let you know as soon as we know.  It does not look good though.  :(

Our second nine weeks brag day is next Wednesday morning at 9am. If you daughter is receiving an award, I sent home an invitation with the report cards.  I hope you can attend!  I'm so proud of how hard everyone worked this past quarter. 

We had one birthday over the break!  Happy birthday Yemi!!!  Sharna' celebrated her birthday today, and Zakiyah celebrates hers Sunday.  Have great days girls!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

For some reason the picture uploaded isn't working.  Keep an eye out for two new pictures.  :)