Happy New Year!

    We hope this finds all of you well rested and ready for a new year!  2015 is sure starting out cold!  Be sure to bundle those kids up before they head out in the mornings as we are in for some COLD days.  We had a fun end to 2014 with lots of neat extra things.  The first was a visit from a former RIS/PHS grad who is now in the Marines.  Jarrod Ellis came and spoke to the students about his experiences in school and in training for the Marines.  It was wonderful and the students had great questions for him.  With all of your help we were able to give a family of 9 a wonderful Christmas.  The students were all amazed at what we can do when we work together.  The family was very grateful and the mother had tears in her eyes when we packed her car with the items we had collected.  Thanks for your help with that project.  We were able to watch our fellow 5th graders in their Christmas program. (Our team has a program in the spring)  We also had a fun day on Friday and had some yummy treats!  Thanks for all of the wonderful goodies!
    We are excited to finish up our Native American project and the books are looking very good!  We can't wait to see them all finished and get them recorded.  Our friends at WDA will be happy to get these wonderful books.
    We are going to be starting a unit on compost in science and we are in need of 2 liter bottles (empty), twigs, leaves, soil, banana and apple peels  We need these for next week if you are able to send them in just put them in a Ziplock baggie and bring them to Ms. VanDerWeele.
    Reading calendars for December are due no later than Friday, December 9.  As we get back into school Achieve 3000 is still a weekly requirement as is reading nightly.  Thanks for all of your help.

Last week of 2014

   Well, tomorrow starts the last week of school for this calendar year.  It is so hard to believe.  This past week we finished up our project on Sun, Moon and Shadows and the City of Ember.  The students did a great job presenting and we appreciate the help from the parents who were able to attend and hep up out.  On Thursday, we kicked off our new project dealing with Native Americans. Our students will be writing and illustrating books for first graders at Washington.  They are going to work with a parter on this one and we hope to have this project finished by The first week back after break.  The students have already been learning about these groups during Humanities so this should be a quick project.
    On Friday, we will be having a Holiday party.  Students will be allowed to bring in a snack to share with their homeroom that afternoon.  Look for a paper to come home and talk to your student about if you would like to volunteer to send something in for the party.  We are going to watch a Christmas movie together and then have snacks with our homerooms.
    Our new "Pink Slip" discipline system has been going pretty well for most students.  We are really working on making students responsible for this on a daily basis.  If your student gets their pink slip signed it is their responsibility to get it signed by a parent and brought back to school.  We appreciate your help with this system.
     This is the last week of the grading period and we will be finishing up lots of things this week.  Students need to continue to read daily and record it on their reading calendars.  Also, Achieve 3000 needs to be completed weekly (75% on two articles each week with Thought Questions).
    Have a great week!

December Already??

    It is hard to believe that there is only two weeks until the start of Christmas Break!  This school year is flying by so quickly.  Hopefully, your student has shared the letter about the family we are adopting this Christmas season.  We will be having the students draw tags for items they wish to bring in to help this family.  There are a wide range of items.  This is a fun project each year and a very rewarding one as well.  This is an optional activity.  Mr. Hunter is going to have a big jar of candy and students my purchase "guesses" for a quarter and the money we raise will go towards a gift certificate for groceries for our adopted family.
     We are wrapping up our latest project on Tuesday.  We could still use some more parents to come in and listen to the students presentations on Tuesday afternoon from 1:30-2:40.  Please let us know if you are available and willing to help us out.  (We have 5 and would really like 12).  The students have been working hard and are excited to share their presentations.
      With this busy time of the year please help your students remember that there are only 2 weeks left of this grading period and they need to make sure they are getting their work done.  If  they want to have fun they have to have their work done!  Achieve 3000 each week and reading 30 mins and recording on the reading calendar are things that should be routine by now.  We really appreciate any help and encouragement you can give.
      Students will be going out to recess much of the time this winter so make sure they are dressing appropriately for the weather.
      Photos this week are from science class where they are working on measuring volume through water displacement of various objects.  Have a great week!

November 23rd Already?

     It is almost Thanksgiving and wow has the time flown by.  We are finishing up the reading of the City of Ember and the students have really enjoyed this book.  The discussions have been fun to listen to.  We are excited to see what they come up with for the next part of this project.  Students have an individual writing piece due on Tuesday based on the end of the book. After Thanksgiving we will work on the handbooks and kits for the end of this project.
     With November coming to an end students can turn in their November Reading calendars any time that they finish their requirements.  Also, Achieve 3000 needs to be completed weekly.  (This short week we will be requiring one article.)  Students have been working hard on learning their math facts.  If your student brings home a half sheet of paper with math facts they are still working on passing certain levels.  Please encourage them to practice with their flash cards or online!  Practice is the only way they will tackle these facts.
     This past week was our Exploration week and students had a good time learning new games or activities or even just reading.  A nice time to meet other people and other teachers in our building.  Our United Way Penny War has been extended to December 5th so please send in change to help our local United Way.
     Photos included this week come from the November 11th Veterans Day program and a few from Explorations.  Have a great week!

Snow?? Already??? It is November!

      Well, we are hoping for a better winter than last year but the forecast is not looking the best for mid-November!  The cold weather means students need to dress appropriately to go outside for recess.  They go outside unless it is too wet or the wind chill is around 10 degrees.  So, helpful reminders in the morning about coats, gloves, hats etc are appreciated!
     This coming week is our first Exploration classes.  This is a time the students look forward to each year.  They get to go to different classes and be with students from different teams.  It is a fun time to be with some different people.  These classes happen M-Th this week from 2:20 until the end of the day.  Be sure to ask your student what exploration they are going to this week!
     We have been having a lot of issues with students following the Norms for our team.  We feel like out TRUST card system is not working effectively with this group.  We are going to be implementing a new system soon.  Look for some information to come home with week about the PINK SLIP system.  We want everyone to have a successful year and we have to make sure everyone is following the Norms.  We have also had a lot of trouble the past few weeks with students completing homework.  It is very important that students complete their assignments when they are given.  We have been getting a lot of excuses of being too busy with lots of activities.  Students should not have that much to do on a daily basis and if they use their time wisely they should be able to get a lot done here at school.  If your child is bringing home a overwhelming amount of homework please contact their homeroom teacher.  We try very hard to keep the amount of work at an amount that fifth graders can handle.  Thank you for your help.  Students who do not get their work done go to catch up cafe and then if it is still not done it is their responsibility.  You can always check Echo to see if your child is missing anything.
     We will be finished with The City of Ember this week and groups will be working on the next phase.  With Explorations this week work time will be shorter.  We hope to have this project wrapped up right after Thanksgiving.
     Here are some photos of the 5th grade first boys basketball game and of students working on using a scale to measure some different objects.  Have a great week!