Spring Break

     Well, we finally made it to Spring Break!  I was not sure it was every going to happen with this crazy winter we have had.  This bring to a close the third nine weeks and leaves us with one more grading period to go.  This has been such a crazy few months we all hope to end this year with no more missed days!  We hope to get back into a good groove here at school.
    This coming week is a big week for our team.  We are going to be putting on our play that the students have been working.  They have written the scenes, made props, helped with scenery etc.  They have impressed us beyond our wildest expectation!  We are partnering with Mrs. Briles and this will also be our spring music program!  We hope that you can all come and watch on Thursday, April 3rd at 6:30.  Students need to be here by 6:10 in their homerooms for attendance.  They know the dress expectations depending on their part in the play.  We are all very excited!
    With this last grading period brings a lot of busy things so please encourage your students to get on their Riverside Reads requirements early.  Weekly Achieve 3000 is still expected as well.  We have one more round of ISTEP at the end of April and a couple of field trips planned.  It should be busy so getting a jump start on things would be great! 
     We had gotten away from our Trust cards a bit with the crazy winter but the students know the expectations and that we are going to get back on this program.  They need to keep up with the team norms and do what they need to do to finish strong this year. 

 End of the Floating and Sinking unit in science

 Some photos of our practice on Friday

Another Week---Another Snow Day

     Well, that was a strange week of weather!  We were able to get through three of our four ISTEP tests this week.  We will be finishing up the last test for this round tomorrow, Monday, March 17th.  The students have been working hard and we are very proud of their effort.  They have taken the test seriously and they have had great attitudes about our different schedule during the testing days.  We really appreciate their flexibility during this crazy time. 
     We are getting very excited about the play that the students have researched, written and are producing.  The date once again is April 3rd.  The evening performance is at 6:30pm.  We need all students here for this performance.  This is also part of their music grade as well.  We can't wait to see the final product.  We hope you will be able to attend to see all of the work the students have put into this production! 
     Students in the Digits math group need to have their permission slip to take the placement test turned in as soon as possible.  Also, this group needs to remember to bring their airplane prototypes to school on Thursday, as our pilot is coming in to help them test them. 
      Remember that Riverside READS papers are due on Friday, March 21.  None will be accepted when we return from break.  Also, Achieve 3000 needs to be done weekly.  Reading Calendars need to be turned in monthly, as well.  These are all things that help make up the language arts grades.  These are the biggest factors in lower grades.  Students just need to make an effort and do their best on these weekly/monthly/quarterly tasks! 
     This last week before Spring Break is always busy and crazy, we hope to keep everyone focused and working hard so that we are ready to hit the last grading period hard as soon as we get back from break.  Have a great week!

    

March is Here!

    Well, I hope that the crazy weather we saw last week counts as March coming in like a lion.  I am ready for it to go out like a lamb.  Last week we saw some great progress on our Revolutionary War Play,  The official date of our play is going to be Thursday, April 3rd and our evening performance will be a 6:30.  This counts for their music grade as well as we are tying it all together.  (Our team did not do a Christmas program so we worked with Mrs. Briles to tie both the play and a music program in together.  We will have a dress rehearsal during the day for the other Riverside Students as well.
    Another important date is our night at the Silver Hawks for those students who participated in that reading program.  Our date is May 10th and the game starts at 7:05.  Students who participated will receive a slip with a phone number to call to reserve tickets to the game.  The student ticket is free and other family members can purchase tickets at this time as well.  This is only for the date of May 10th.  Transportation to the game is not provided.  We would love to see lots of families up at the game.  It is always fun to see our students outside of the school setting.
     We will be taking the first part of the ISTEP test starting on Monday.  We will be testing on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of this week.  We will be testing each morning until about 10:00 am.  Please make sure your student is here at school and on time so that they can test in their classroom setting.
     On Wednesday, we will be having Junior Achievement for the Day!  (This day was scheduled way before we missed 10 days of school this winter !) This is a new program and we are very excited to be having community partners come in and help us with this day.  Students will be going through the Junior Achievement program for their grade level throughout that morning.  Each classroom has two community members who have been trained and will be leading these hands-on activities. 
     Achieve 3000 and Riverside READS is still going strong!  Please encourage your students to be working on these weekly.
    We here at Riverside work hard and we also like to have some fun.  Last Thursday we had an ISTEP pep rally and we had a visit from Captain ISTEP and his side kick Test Buster!  It was a lot of fun!  On Friday, we had a Relay For Life kick off!  The sixth grade is doing this project for the rest of the school year.  They have invited the fifth grade to join in on some of the activities they are planning.  Former PHS student and cancer survivor Eric Day spoke to the students as well as the Marshall County Relay for Life director.  After that we had a cutest couple contest with some teacher pairs.  This was so much fun and the kids really enjoyed it.  This week students will be able to vote for the "cutest" couple with their change in jars outside of the office.  All money collected will go toward the schools donation to Relay for Life.
     Have a great week!

Here are some photos from this fun week!  

Last Week of February

    Well, we made it through February!  It has been a crazy month but we think Spring is just around the corner.  We have been working hard on our latest projects.  This week each group did a run through in front of the team and we discussed how we can make each better and what props or scenery is needed.  We were so impressed with what the students have so far.  We cannot wait for you to all come and see what these students have created themselves.  We are looking at the first Thursday after Spring Break as our performance date.  We are just waiting on approval for this date.  As soon as we know for sure we will let you know.  

     We are getting geared up for the first round of ISTEP which will begin on Monday, March 10th.  This is the applied skills part and the students will be answering questions in Language Arts and Social Studies online but they will have to type their answers.  This part is not multiple choice.  We have been practicing this with them all year and we hope that they all do their very best on this part of the test.  The math portion in on paper and they are to show their work and explain their thinking.  This is also something we have been working on and we hope that they are ready to show the people grading their tests that they are ready and know what they need to do.  Please help us by making sure your child has a good night sleep and has a good breakfast before the testing days.  

     We are working on volume and surface area in math and science.  In humanities we have been reading a book "Daughters of Liberty" and working on verb tenses.  We also are three weeks away from the end of this grading period and students need to make sure they are working on their Riverside Reads.  

     Have a great week! 

 Discussing Symmetry

 Finding Volume