We will be going to the Cobb County Fire Safety Village on Monday! This is an all day field trip. Students will take sack lunches from school or they can bring their lunch. If you send a lunch, please put it in something that can be thrown away. It is difficult to keep up with lunchboxes after lunch. Your child will need to wear their new class t-shirt. Our shirts are lime green. If they did not buy a class t-shirt, please have them wear a Garrison Mill shirt. Besides our 5 classes, there will be students from other schools at the Fire Safety Village at the same time and when they all have on the same shirt, it makes locating them quicker and easier.
First In Math
Our class is still 2nd behind Mrs. Beatty's class but we are gaining quickly. The GM challenge for November is to be the class with the most stickers for the month. We really want that trophy in our classroom next month! Your child's goal for next week is 300 stickers. Remember that repetition in math will continue to help them meet our standards.
Wordly Wise
We will begin lesson 10 in WordlyWise on Monday. Her is the web address that I told many of you about at conferences.
http://wordlywise3000.com/games/book04.cfme
Please bookmark the site so that your child will be able to play the review games. I will begin assigning it as homework on Monday. If your child can not access a computer at home, please let me know so that I can make arrangements for them to complete the assignment at school. I hope that the additional practice will begin to make a difference in their test grades and their reading comprehension skills.
Reading
We are beginning new books in reading on Monday. We will have several groups and they will be reading different books in each group. Students should not read ahead of the assigned chapters. Each week, they will read chapters, do activities about the chapters, and work in literature circles to discuss what they've read with others in the class.
Students should still be working on their AR assignments and completing their alternate book project. There are not many students who have taken and passed AR tests this grading period. It is imperative that they do not wait until the last minute, so please encourage them to READ every day. I will accept their book projects any time, up until the Christmas break...the earlier the better!
Math
We have tested on double digit multiplication. Those that are having problems with this skill will continue to work on it, but we are moving on to long division. Again, this is a hard concept, so don't be surprised if homework takes a long time or if you see tears.
Social Studies
We are finishing up our unit on explorers. We have done research and next week we will write our research reports in class. We will complete our study guide next week and test on Monday, November 14th.
Science
We will have High Touch/High Tech next Thursday to begin our unit on simple machines, work, force & motion. Afterwards, we will begin PowerPoint presentations on simple machines in the computer lab. We will be doing a lot of fun activities about force and motion over the next several weeks. I think your child will really enjoy this unit.
Really Important Information
Tuesday November 8th is a student holiday. Teachers will be in meetings all day but please do not send your child to school! They really need this break, so enjoy your time with them.
Giving Tree begins on Wednesday, November 9th.
Science Fair information will be sent home next week.
Book Fair begins on 11/14 and runs all week. This will be in the media center. This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your child to purchase books or for you to purchase books as birthday and/or holiday gifts.
Our Grandparents and Special Friends luncheon will be at 10:45 on Wednesday, November 16th. After lunch, your child will be able to spend time at the book fair with their lunch guest(s). After they check back in with me, they may also be checked out for the rest of the day. I know many grandparents enjoy spending that day with them, so I will not be planning any activities that will affect their grades that afternoon. We will be working all afternoon, but it will be review activities, not new information.
If your child will miss any days that week because they are leaving town early for Thanksgiving, please let me know. We will be doing some testing that week and I need to be aware of who will be here and who will not.
Thanksgiving break will be November 19 - 27. Have a great break and I am looking forward to seeing your child back (rested and refreshed) on Monday, November 28th.
And more important stuff...
There will be club photos taken for the school's yearbook on the morning of Thursday, November 10th for any student who has participated in any after school club.
This may include: Chorus, Art club, Young Rembrandts, Odyssey of the Mind, Drama Club, Chess Club, Golf Club, Spanish Club, Cheer Dance, Club Scientific, Cub Scouts, Student Council, Wee Deliver, News Crew, Safety Patrol, etc. Please be sure to make your child aware of this activity which is strictly voluntary.
