February 2-6

Good afternoon, parents!  I hope you've had a nice week!  I was out for a couple of days this week with a sick child, and let me tell you, these kids got excellent reports from BOTH substitutes!!  We have such a great community of learners in here and they are so responsible and hard working even when I'm out.  I'm very proud of the kids and all their efforts.  They've earned several stars this week for great behavior and hard work!

Social Studies Test
This afternoon I sent home the graded social studies test and extended response.  I was so impressed with the kids' efforts on the extended response question!  Many of them wrote 2 full pages!  Wow!  Please look over this test, sign it, and return it on Monday.

Math Test
Since I was out Tuesday and Wednesday, I was not able to review with the class or be there the day they took the math test.  When I graded the test, I noticed some mistakes and felt that a little more review and another opportunity to demonstrate their understanding would be a good idea.  To be fair, I gave a math test supplement after reviewing with the kids on Thursday.  When you receive their math tests on Monday afternoon, please look at the grade assigned to the first page of the test.  I took the highest grade between the original test and the supplement as their final test grade.

BOB Competition
Our class BOB competition will take place on Monday, February 9th!  That means we have 1 week left to read and prepare!  Please encourage your child to read extra at home in preparation for the competition.  Each child was asked to read at least 2 books for the competition, but many students have read far more.  The winning team from our class competition will have the opportunity to compete against the winning teams from the other 5th grade classes on Tuesday, February 10th.  Also, any child who has successfully read at least 7 BOB books this year will have an opportunity to try out for the district competition which will take place in early March.

Bullying Lesson
As a culmination to Mrs. Hammons' lessons, our campus police officer, Richard Whittaker, will be coming by to talk with the kids about bullying on Friday, February 6th.

Overdrive
Have you hear of Overdrive?  It's a cool new way for kids to check out e-books!  Mrs. Clark will be coming into the classroom on Monday to explain it to the kids.  This will be a great tool for those who love to read on personal devices.

Here's what's coming up in our curriculum next week!
ELA:  The students will use their ELA block next week to draft, edit, and revise a Civil War essay about a famous person or battle's impact on the Civil War.
Word Study:  During word study, we will be exploring root words and prefixes to help the kids expand their vocabulary and decode unfamiliar words.
Math:  In math next week, we will be adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions and mixed numbers.  Today's initial lesson on adding went very well and most of the kiddos caught on quickly!
Social Studies:  Next week's social studies topic will be the U.S. Constitution.  We will break down the meaning of the Preamble and beginning studying the powers and purposes of each branch of government.