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.

Week two was a hot one but lots of productive time!  We were treated with popsicles and ice cream to help keep us cool.

Students are doing a great job of adjusting to classroom expectations and routines.  Next week we will pick up the pace. Spelling words will be in our folders on the first day of the week and the test is given the last day of the week.  These words need to be practiced at home.

Please take advantage of reviewing lesson plans on the blog for daily lessons. Remember these plans are a guide and the pace of the week is dictated by the understanding of the students and unexpected interruptions. 

State reports:  Students have been talking about state reports.  I am very excited to hear that they have started their research.  Students will save information on their thumb drives and as we work through expectations begin to piece their project together.  Tri-fold boards will be provided at school. I will not expect students to cite resources.  This will happen next year.

We made models of cells this week and enjoyed our water painting project.  No school on Monday so the activity will begin again on Sept. 3rd!

Please save salt containers when you empty them.  We will need them for an art project in October. Box Tops can be sent to school any time too!!!

 

Time for me to get into the swing of the blog!
    My lesson plans are linked to the right of our updates.  I try to post on Fridays and put any updates here when I can.  Please feel free to call if you have any questions. 458-2892 ext105.  Spelling units and Health lessons will be completed at school.  We will learn to prioritize our workload and manage time to complete all projects.  If your child seems to have excessive homework, we need to talk about strategies to help reduce any frustration.
     Please contact the school to get Powerschool username and password for your child.  You may choose to have your child's grades emailed to you each week.  The secretaries are more than willing to help you through this process.  Your child was also given a username and password to access their online Social Studies book.  I am hoping this will reduce the number of books that need to be carried home.
    Keep an eye on the school announcements as it will update you on all school activities.  The blog will keep you up to date on classroom activities.
     Students have been given their state report packets.  These are not due until the beginning of October.  Some of the work will be completed at school.  Research and planning will be done as homework.  Students were asked to pick their states this week and I am excited to say that work has begun!
    We have had a warm start to our school year but I am very pleased with the production of the students!  We are completing our second week already.  This school year is on a fast pace!

What an amazing first day of school!  I am very impressed with this group of students.  They were asked to set goals depending on the objects in their bag.  Creative and insightful goals were set.
 
Here is a sneak peak of our goal setting.

http://ndcurriculuminitiative.org/media/common_core/ela/g_ela_5_nsd20_npta_parent_guide_20120629.pdf

Please take time to look at this website.  It will help understand the Common Core Standards that have been adopted by our state.