It's finally February!  We're a little bit closer to spring.  I'm sure we are all tired of the cold & snow, but it's nice & cozy in the 5th grade classroom.

Here is what's happening this week...

1) Interim Testing - Due to the snow, the Interim Tests have been pushed back.  ELA is Thursday, February 5 and Math is Friday, February 6.  Please send your child in with plenty of sharpened #2 pencils.

2) Frindle - please make sure your child has the novel Frindle by Monday, February 2.  I want to make sure all the students have the book before we start reading it.

3) Totem Pole Project - I will be giving out the guidelines for the totem pole project this week.  I have the cardboard rolls from paper towels that I will give out the students.  This project is due Friday, February 27.

4) International Lunch - This has been moved to Thursday, February 5.  If you are sending in a dish, please send it in Thursday morning.  If you want your Tupperware back, please label it with your child's name and grade.

5) 12:00 Dismissal - Friday, February 6.  Please pick up your child on time.  If your child is after-school, please send lunch.

6) Bake Sale - There is NO BAKE SALE on Friday, February 6!

7) Valentine's Day Dance - Friday, February 6.  Please send in the signed permission slip and money in by Thursday MORNING!  No money will be taken after this.  Please send in the money & slip in a labeled envelope.  I will not take any money or slip that is not in an envelope!

8) Midterms & Report Cards - Midterms are finally over!  The midterm exam grades & Quarter 2 grades are all in the SIS system for you to check.  Report Cards will be given out to the students on Wednesday, February 11.  I do not have to meet with all the parents for this report card, but there are some I definitely need to see.  Please make sure you take some time to meet with me in regards to your child.  Quarter 3 is here and goes quickly.  Before you know it, the year will be finished & I do not want you to deal with any surprises in June.

In regards to the Midterm Exams, I was disappointed with some of the results.  We reviewed everything and I gave the review sheets the week before.  There were absolutely no surprises.  The students really need to pick up their game for Quarter 3.  Like I said above, June will be here before you know it, and summer school & retention are a real possibility for some students.  6th grade is middle school and the year that high schools look at when making their decision to accept a student.  So I'm asking the parents, please get on your child in regards to putting 100% effort into their work, to not be lazy, and to do the best they can.  I can only do so much.  The students needs to be responsible for their behavior and their grades.

Also in regards to report cards, please make sure you are financially squared away with Mrs. Gwin.  If you owe any money, your child will not be able to get their report card or award.  So if you are unsure about what you owe, please see Mrs. Gwin as soon as possible!

Happy 2015!  I hope everyone had a relaxing & fun vacation.  I enjoyed visiting with family & friends, sleeping past 5:30 am, and unpacking boxes in my new house.  I even graded and worked on things for the classroom too. While I definitely enjoyed my vacation, I'm anxious to get back to my students.  We have a lot to do in the new year!

I hope everyone completed their Religion and Reading worksheets. They are due Monday, January 5 and they will be graded.  I also hope everyone worked on their Science projects.  They are due Tuesday, January 20, so you still have time, but I hope the majority of the work was done during the vacation.

We will also begin preparing for the Midterm Exams.  I will give the students the exam schedule and study guides.  I know this is the first time the students are taking midterms, but don't worry so much!  Everything on the midterms are things they've already been tested on and know.  We've worked on these concepts in class and reviewed them before their chapter tests.  So nothing on the test will be new.  If any student has any questions, the next few weeks are a great time to ask me!

So enjoy the next two days and be prepared & ready for Monday!

Here are some reminders for this week...

1) Christmas Sale - Items will be sold on Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11.  Prices are $5 and up.  Please send in money with your child if you are interested in purchasing anything.

2) Winter Show - Tickets are on sale!  Please send in ticket money as soon as possible as seats are filling up quickly.  Many of the 5th graders are in the Nativity play, part of the Angel Choir, & in Band.  Please support our children as they take the stage on Friday, December 19.

3) Door Contest - The students and I discussed our ideas for our classroom door for the contest between grades 4-8.  I won't go into detail here (again...spies), but the students know what they should be doing.  Please make sure your child works on his/her project and brings in it by Thursday, December 11.  The door must be decorated by Friday, December 12!

4) Donations - Please send in donations for the animal shelter, blanket drive, & toy drive by Monday, December 15.  Thank you to everyone who has donated! 

Today, Tuesday, December 9, I gave the students the outline for the Science Fair Projects.  It's pretty much the same as last year.  It is due Tuesday, January 20, 2015, so they have PLENTY of time to work on it.  I told them that they have two whole weeks off for Christmas vacation, so that is the best time to do most of the work.  Waiting until the week before will cause undue stress for both students AND parents.  So please don't wait until the last minute.

I explained to the students that it needs to be THEIR OWN work.  Parents and siblings can help, of course, but I want the majority of the project to be from the student.  Each student is required to give an oral explanation of their project & if someone else did most of the work, he/she won't be able to discuss it in class.

The students are allowed to work in a group.  There should be only 2 or 3 students in a group.  I must approve the groups BEFORE Christmas vacation!  If your child is working in a group, please make sure that ALL the students in the group play an equal role.  No one should be doing all the work.  No one should be sitting back & doing nothing.  That won't be fair.  Make sure you get the parents' numbers so everyone can work together.  I don't want emails in January stating that you couldn't get a hold of a parent over the vacation.  Please figure out the logistics BEFORE the vacation.  Working in a group is a decision for the student AND the parent.  If you prefer that your child works alone because it will be easier on you, that is fine.

There are many books and websites that can help with the projects, but please don't just copy the experiment.  As with all assignments & projects, I want the students to learn something.  I want them to enjoy working on their experiment.  In my opinion, having fun while working on this project is just as important as learning from it.

If you have any questions, please email me as soon as possible, preferably BEFORE Christmas vacation.  I do not have access to my email from home, so if you email me during the break, I won't be able to reply until we return in January.

Can you believe it's December already?!  Wasn't it just September?

We went to Barnes & Noble on December 2.  The students were very well behaved & had a great time.  Thank you to the parents who met with us at the bookstore.  Your support was greatly appreciated.

Since this Friday (December 5) is first Friday, there is 12:00 dismissal.  There is after-school, so please send lunch if your child is staying.  If not, please pick up your child on time!  You dont want to be charged an after-school fee!

We are also having our usual First Friday Bake Sale.  The 5th graders are responsible for bringing in cake.  Please send in your baked goods by Thursday or Friday morning.  We want to make sure we have enough goodies for the whole school.  We don't want to run out! So please be sure to send something in.

We went to Confessions and Mass today.  Fr. Pergjini came to our class to commend the students on their behavior in Church.  To get praise from the pastor on my students' behavior makes me very proud!

The students & I are trucking along with our studies.  The students did a wonderful job on their Inventors Essays.  Ms. Minneci came into the classroom to commend the students on their papers.  She was very happy with their writing progress.  I am very proud of the students as well.  I can tell that most of them worked really hard on their research and made sure they followed the directions given to them.  I look forward to more of their writing.

We have been reading The Phantom Tollbooth in class.  After every 4 chapters that we read, the students will complete a "Quiz Whiz" worksheet with questions based on specific chapters.

In the novel, Milo notices the coats of arms in King Azaz's castle.  I want the students to make their own coat of arms, using colors and symbols that we will discuss in class.  And yes, they will receive a guidelines paper on the project and a coat of arms template.  This class is creative, so I know they will do a wonderful job!

I have asked the students to bring in a picture of themselves for a school project.  Grades 5-8 are having a classroom door decorating contest.  The students gave me wonderful ideas and I put a few ideas together.  I won't discuss our idea just yet (ya know...spies), but when the door is complete, I will be sure to post a picture!  So please send in a picture of your child (close up, but nothing TOO close!).  We are cutting them, so please don't send in any pictures that you don't have another copy of.  Please get those pictures to me by next Tuesday so we can start decorating our door.  Thank you for helping us win ;)

Speaking of winning, the 5th grade and nursery classes won the Box Tops contest for November!  Yay!  We won a FREE dress down day.  I will let the students know when it will be.  Besides winning a free dress down day, our school benefits from the box tops.  So keep sending in those Box Tops!

I don't know if it's because Christmas is coming up or the weather hasn't been so nice, but the students seem to be slipping when it comes to following the rules & focusing on their work.  Please remind your child that following the rules & having good behavior at school is very important!  I don't want to write any of the students up for behavior that can easily rectified.

Remember to send in donations for the animal shelter and blanket & toy drives!  Thank you to those who sent in their donations!  It's very appreciated!