Week of January 23, 2012

Hello students & families,

Please continue to study for next week's Spelling Bee! We have been practicing in class, but the only way to get down all of the words is to continue the practice at home! Ask a parent, sibling, cousin, or anyone available to quiz you on the spellings of the words.

Next week is Catholic Schools Week. The theme is "Faith. Academics. Service". Think about what it means to go to a Catholic School and develop your faith, have high expectations for academics, and give back to the community & those in need, too.

This Sunday is Family Mass and Open House! Come dressed in school uniform and support our school community!

The new spelling and vocabulary words for our story "Yang the Second and her Secret Admirers" have been posted on the blog. The spelling & vocabulary packets are due on Monday. 

Let's have a great week!

Computer Lab Assignment 1/24

Look through the following websites and answer the questions on the form at the bottom of the blog.

• http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/colonialtimes.htm
• http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/graphics/13mapnew.htm

Then, look through the website below, and in the window that will pop up try to understand how colonial life was different from our lives now in the year 2012. On the form, one of the questions will ask you to compare one part of colonial life (church, school, farm, park, food) with what it is like now.

• http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/13colonies1.htm

Week of January 16, 2012

Hello students & parents,

Welcome back from the long weekend! Here's what we have in store in the coming weeks:

• Friday is noon dismissal
• Next Wednesday, January 25th, is mass with the 1st grade
• The Spelling Bee is the week of January 30th, also Catholic Schools Week

Language Arts
In Language Arts, we have taken a break from our Houghton Mifflin Reading Program and have started a writing workshop wherein we are working on Persuasive Essays. The students have chosen their own topics and it is their job to convince the reader to believe what they do throughout the essay. Your child should be completing a new draft with corrections from the day's peer editing workshop each night. Visit the following websites for help with Persuasive Essay writing at home:

• http://www.slideshare.net/cindytko/5th-grade-writing-strategies-classpersuasive-writing
• http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr4.htm
• http://www.writeexpress.com/persuasive-essay.html
• http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/king/native/persuasive_essay.htm
• http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/minilessons.asp?topic=Persuasive

Social Studies
In Social Studies, we are studying the original 13 English Colonies in the Americas. We have studied the geography of the colonies as well as the New England Colonies. This week we will be learning about the Middle Colonies, and eventually the Southern. Visit the following websites for some 13 colony fun!

• http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/graphics/13mapnew.htm
• http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/13colonies1.htm
• http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/colonialtimes.htm

Let's have a great week and remember the values Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us!

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." -MLK

 

Week of January 3, 2012

Dear students & parents,

Welcome back from the break! I hope you had a very blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year! In class, we will be working on our New Year's Resolutions, so start thinking about some goals you would like to work toward in 2012!

This Friday is whole school mass & early dismissal--make sure to make arrangements to pick your child up on time at 12:00PM!

In Science, we are continuing our journey through weather & climate and discovering how certain parts of our environment affect our climate. Please explore the following websites to learn more:

1. http://climate.nasa.gov/kids/bigQuestions/greenhouseEffect/
2. http://www.clean-air-kids.org.uk/globalwarming.html
3. http://www.brainpop.com/science/populationsresourcesandenvironment/greenhouseeffect/preview.weml 

In Social Studies, we are looking at the beginning of European colonies in the Americas. We have already looked at Roanoke, Jamestown, & the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Now we are going to explore the original 13 colonies. Have a look at the websites that follow:

1. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/interactiveadventures/john-smith/\
2. http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/graphics/13mapnew.htm
3. http://www.congressforkids.net/games/thirteencolonies/2_thirteencolonies.htm

In math, we are learning how to divide decimals by decimals. The following websites can give you some extra support:

1. http://www.math.com/school/subject1/lessons/S1U1L6GL.html#sm1
2. http://www.coolmath.com/prealgebra/02-decimals/10-decimals-dividing-by-decimal-01.htm

  

Let's have a great 2012 :-)

Week of December 5, 2011

Hello students and families!

Here are some announcements for the week:

• Please make sure to sign your child's report card and have them return it to me! 
• We will be beginning Good Touch/Bad Touch this week--thank you for returning all of the permission slips in a timely manner!
• Remember to continue studying for the Spelling Bee!
• This Friday is a full day w/ dismissal at 3:00pm.

Social Studies
We are studying the first English colonies in the New World (Americas). Specifically, we are looking at the exploration of John Smith. Look into the following website for a fun adventure to learn more about John Smith: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/interactiveadventures/john-smith/\

Science
We are studying the Greenhouse Effect & Global Warming. Look at the following websites to learn more on your own time!

• http://climate.nasa.gov/kids/bigQuestions/greenhouseEffect/
• http://www.clean-air-kids.org.uk/globalwarming.html 
• http://www.brainpop.com/science/populationsresourcesandenvironment/greenhouseeffect/preview.weml 

Students are also working on research projects on severe weather conditions. They must research the weather condition and then create a PowerPoint presentation that they will present to the class. Students can find information on these weather conditions at the following website:

• http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-climate.htm 

Math
Students are working on multiplying decimals. View the example below:

Let's have a great week & remember to reflect on the time of Advent!

Week of November 21, 2011

Hello students & family!

Here are some announcements for the week:

• Please continue bringing in boxtops & canned goods! 
• This Wednesday is whole school mass at 8AM! Come join us!
• We have no school this Thursday or Friday to honor Thanksgiving Day.
• PLEASE complete and return the "Good Touch, Bad Touch" consent form ASAP. We need to begin the program next week! 
• Progress reports will be going out next week--look for incomplete work slips!

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving, read the following website to learn more about the history of the holiday: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/history/first-thanksgiving/

In Social Studies, we are about to begin studying about the first English colonies in the New World, Roanoke & Jamestown. Join Captain John Smith on his wild adventure with this interactive online game: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/interactiveadventures/john-smith/

Feel free to visit the websites posted on last week's blog entry, too!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving and remember to give thanks for all of the wonderful blessings in our lives!

Week of November 14, 2011

Hello students & parents,

Here are some announcements for the week:

• Tonight there is a wonderful parent meeting in Elijah Hall from 7pm-8pm on problem solving. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to learn about activities and techniques to use with your child at home!
• We are currently having a food drive so please bring in any canned goods to help feed the hungry!
• We are participating in the Box Tops for Schools program. Please look in your cabinets to find box tops to support our school so that we can earn funds toward field trips and supplies!
• Next Tuesday is noon dismissal and the start of our Thanksgiving Break. Make sure you pray in thanksgiving every night for all of the blessings God has given you! 

Great Websites to Visit:

Social Studies 
Map out the routes of the explorers we are studying!
Science
1) http://climate.nasa.gov/kids/bigQuestions/greenhouseEffect/
2) http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/air/global.htm
3) http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/green/warming4.htm
Language Arts
1) Fun Facts & Games about Space and Zero Gravity
2) Vocabulary Word Game

Thanks for visiting and congratulations on filling up your marble jar!!

Week of November 7, 2011

Hello students & family,

Here are some announcements for the week:

*There is no school this Friday, November 11th due to Veteran's Day.
*Please return the parent surveys that you will be receiving in the Wednesday envelope to school as soon  as possible.
*We have mass with 1st grade this Wednesday, November 9th. Please be on time.

Social Studies
In Social Studies, we are learning about the contact between the first European explorers (like Columbus) and the Indigenous people (Native Americans) that lived in the Americas. We are working on our geography and map skills to understand where the explorers traveled from. Visit the following website to explore some fun map activities: http://eduplace.com/kids/socsci/books/applications/imaps/maps/g5s_u2/index.html

Science
In science we are starting our unit on weather & climate. We are going to be learning about the greenhouse effect. Visit the following website to learn more about it:
1) http://climate.nasa.gov/kids/bigQuestions/greenhouseEffect/
2) http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/air/global.htm
3) http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/green/warming4.htm

Computer Lab Assignment: 11/8/2011
Scroll down to the bottom of the blog and take the Columbus & the Taino quiz. Then visit some of the websites I've posted above.

Here are some photos from our classroom to share with you from "Reading Buddies"when our fifth graders read to the first grade to get them more excited about reading & literacy: