We have closed the door on November and are excited to see what December has in store.  The students are practicing for the December 17th Christmas concert and are planning to go caroling on Friday the 21st before we break for Christmas. 
     If you have any regular lightbulbs that have burned out or are not using, we would like to use them for an art project.  If we don't get enough we will find another project to do:-)
     On December 6 and 7, the McIntosh county health unit will screen the K, 1, 3 and 5th grade students for vision and hearing.  Will have a flexible schedule to accommodate the nurse's needs to make sure the health screen can be done for the students.  If you have something special that you would like addressed, please let me know.
     Dr. Eric was the quest speaker for Health this week.  We began our chapter on body systems and how they are interdependent.  I am grateful that Dr. Eric was willing to share his knowledge with the class! 



     Thanks for the graham crackers!  We were sent a new supply this morning so we are very thankful for the snack!
      Students were issued school emails.  I invited the students to send the Presidents' reports to me through email.  This will allow me to print them and have a chance to read the report whenever they have finished.  I can also highlight areas that the students can choose to improve on before giving me a final copy. 
      It looks like we will be ready for a Science test on Thursday!  Small review sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday will produce large benefits on Thursday! 
      Have a great weekend!

David Salwei gives a tour of the bee plant in Wishek. 

 









     The fifth graders had an opportunity on Wednesday before Thanksgiving to learn more about the industry of honey.  David Salwei gave us an interesting tour about what is involved with taking care of the bees and the process to produce  the honey.

 

   

Our cookbooks are ready to be ordered!  We are asking for prepaid orders for the Wishek Elementary cookbooks.  We are excited to say that for $12 you get over 450 recipes.  Order for family and friends!  This is a great buy!  I have included a link for order forms. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwTFLlEJIq7ia0cydTVtTHdCOE0
  You can also find a link on the Wishek School website in the announcements if this one does not work.

The students were given the opportunity to be part of a lyceum dealing with positive choices and dealing with peer pressure.  We were able to reflect on how our decisions help us meet our goals in a personal reflection paper.  Some students have taken these home while other placed their reflections in their binders.  It was a great message for these young people to hear.

We have had a short week.  Our spelling unit and Reading story will carry over into next week.  We will also have our Reading Unit assessment before the long break.  The Assessments that we would normally take on Fridays will be spread between Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

Our Social Studies lessons introduced us to technology and industry.  I have been able to arrange a tour of the bee industry in our community.  The class will walk to the bee plant on Wednesday morning and get insight on the industry of honey processing.  I am looking forward to this!

Was nice to have 5 consecutive days for class!  We were able to accomplish most of what was planned!  With the impending arrival of winter and cold weather, I have been concerned about the way students are dressed for recess.  The students are required to go outside for fresh air over the lunch break.  Please make sure your child has boots and warm clothes for recess.

Voting was on the minds of the 5th graders this week.  We were able to watch the process in action.  Students were given an informative explanation by the ladies running the election.  Clear explanations of the ballot counting machine and how the voters are registered were given.  I like to know that our young citizens are aware of the process that dictates what laws and leaders will form their future.

Artificial Maturity: Helping Kids Meet the Challenge of Becoming Authentic Adults by Tim Elmore
 and How Children Succeed by Paul Tough are books that I recently have been given the chance to read.  They are very interesting.  I also know that Tim Elmore has published books dealing with the iY generation.  These books discuss understanding a generation raised on ipods, iphones, ipads and internet.  Opens another way of viewing expectations of our youth and their understanding of how different their world is and will be compared to the world of yesterday.

Wow! Finally got a chance to catch my breath after an incredibly busy week.  It was good to visit with all the parents at conferences and would like your input on the assigned times.  Conferences are a set aside day but invite you to call with questions anytime.

We were able to watch the 6th grade play and were impressed with the presentation.  The Halloween dance was fun.  We had several students dress up and were a little scary.  Sorry about the picture quality. 

The presentation with Brandon Carmichael was thought provoking.  It fit right into our Red Ribbon activity.  This was a powerful message.

The class will be working on president summary paragraphs this week.  Research and writing can begin on their chosen president.  Reports can be turned in at anytime to be proofread before final published copies are turned in.  We will set our due date for the reports for December 14th.  Presentations will be the following week. Complete packets as research is done.  I will grant pace points for the project like we did with the last report.  Doing the pace points keeps students working on the project.  The intent of this process is to keep students from saving all the work for the last week.