Mid-term reports came home on Friday.  We have 4 weeks to make any improvements to reach our goals.  For many of the students, it reinforced the hard work they have put forth.  I am very pleased with the way this group has settled in for the year. Please sign the report and have your child return it to school.

Plans are being made to begin the NWEA testing.  These tests are important in many ways.  I get an understanding of the skills that we need to brush up on and it gives information about individual needs.  I will post a schedule when it is available.

Our first Social Studies exam was taken on Friday.  Using our outlines and worksheets works well for studying.  Flashcards can be made at home to learn the vocabulary words and understanding the concepts comes from asking questions in class.  We will begin to move through the chapters quicker now that students understand the process.

Notice that we will take a Science test later in the week coming.  Encourage your child to review the material each evening of the week instead of trying to study all the material in one evening.

Our deadline for state reports is coming quickly.  We began working on our shoeboxes this week.  The students exchanged ideas about what they were going to do.  Students didn't get much of the box done but now have a direction.  All boxes can be returned as soon as they are completed.  The written reports should be completed Oct. 7.  We will then begin the presentations.

Science was our highlight this week so far!  Curt Brandner came to our classroom to talk about the vascular systems of plants.  He explained how people in his industry use this science to color flowers.  Students were given daisies to experiment with in the class.  Thank you Curt for connecting our lesson to the real world.

Curt talked to us about the process for stimulating the plants to draw water.

We were given white daisies and mini sunflowers to color.

We were successful in making some very "cool" looking flowers.

 

The students will be performing at half-time of the homecoming football game on Oct. 4th.  Students will need to be at the north end of the field by 7:30p.m.

A note was sent home with the details today.

Our pictures are here.  Please place your orders by Sept. 20th.  I will collect them and turn them into the office.

Shoeboxes for state reports will be put together on Friday the 20th.  Please make sure your child has their box in school before then.

NWEA testing will be happening in the next couple of weeks as we are starting to prepare for our first conferences.   I will post a schedule when we have it completed.

A few quick notes:
   Scholastic online ordering is available.  Our class code is DRDQ7
      Feel free to order books anytime online!

   A pink sheet of paper was sent home yesterday with usernames and passwords for the ND State Library website.  I am hoping that you post this beside your computer and take advantage of this tool along with your 5th grader.

    I will be in Boise, Id for training.  Mrs. Bettenhausen will be our sub.  She will join us again on Monday as my husband has his cardiac follow-up appointment.  I know my students will be a great help to make the days run smoothly.

    Students will need to have their state report packets with them on Friday.  We will use our computer time to work on and develop our state reports and begin printing pictures for our tri-fold boards.

     We do not have crackers for next week.  If you are willing to send some to school, we would appreciate that.
  
     I will send home mid-term reports next week. (Can you believe it?!!!!

We have completed our third week of school and are nearing our first assessment in Social Studies.  The students will use this week to wrap up Chapter 1 and will review on the sixteen for our first test.  Outlines are being completed by students and will be used as their study guide.

The spelling process is different this year.  Each student is developing their spelling list from words that are dictated to the class from a master list.  Your child is working on ten words each week that are matched to their spelling ability level.  We only test on 10 words a week therefore it is important to practice this list.  The list should be in the orange folder in their backpacks on Mondays.

Steve from the North Dakota State Library came to our classroom and spoke to us about using the tutor program offered free of charge.  Students brought information about the program home on Thursday,  Please ask your child about the program.  Contact me if you would like more information.

We are out of crackers for milk break.  If you are willing to share a box with the class, please send them to school

Box Tops can be sent to school along with any empty salt cartons.  Shoe boxes will be needed for our state projects next week.  Students can put their state "scene" together at school for art class.  Our license plates were completed on Friday.  It is a good idea to make sure your child has started gathering information for the report and we will begin constructing our reports in the next week or so.