Mrs. Whitley's Classroom Blog

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Welcome 5th Graders!!!

Welcome, everyone!!! Whether you are new to Harmony or you've attended our school in the past, I would like to personally welcome you! We already have a lot of exciting plans for the school year and I can't wait to meet you! If you haven't gotten your school supplies yet, please remember to do so before Open House. I hope you can all make it to Open House so we'll have the opportunity to meet in person and so you can find your seat and put away all of your materials prior to the first day! Open House is Monday, August 18 from 5:00-7:00pm! Hope to see you then!!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Week of May 26-30

Whitley Class Picnic

We have had a fantastic year together and this class gets along so well! To celebrate such a great year together I would like to extend an invitation to all the kids and families to meet my family and me at Wendell Moore Park this Friday evening, May 30th from 6:30-7:30. This is just a fun casual event where the kids and I can spend some time together just enjoying the warm weather, the playground, and the park. I will provide ice cream treats for all who attend! If you can make it, please RSVP to me to let me know how many in your family to expect. I hope many of you can make it. I apologize for the late notice. I've been watching the forecast carefully before planning this and Friday looks like one of the best evenings in the next 2 weeks.

Yearbooks

Yearbooks will come home tomorrow. Please be sure to look over your child's yearbook carefully. If there are any problems with your yearbook, you may contact picaboo for assistance. We will have a 5th grade yearbook signing in the cafeteria Friday morning, so please send the yearbook back to school with your child on Friday.

Zoo Field Trip

Our Zoo field trip is next Tuesday, June 3rd (rain or shine). Please send your child to school wearing sunscreen. He/she will also need a sack lunch (that can be thrown away) and a water bottle. Chaperones will need to bring their cell phone and a backpack to carry lunches. Unless you are riding the bus, we will meet you at 10:00am just inside the gates near the first aid area (by the membership office). Be sure to get there early because it will be packed! Please remember that in order to be fair to everyone kids may not buy anything while we are at the Zoo.

5th Grade Recognition

Our 5th Grade Recognition is next Thursday, June 5th at 8:00am in the cafeteria. A short reception with cake will follow and parents are invited back to our classroom for a quick peek at the iPad activity your kiddos are working on this week. Please have your child dress nicely for Recognition, but be sure to send a change of clothes for outdoor activities later in the day. :o)

Progress Reports

Your child's final progress report of the year will come home on the last day of school, June 6th.

Jumpies in the Gym

To celebrate our last day of school we will have jumpies in the gym during our related arts time. Please send your child to school wearing socks and tennis shoes! We will also have some outdoor fun on this afternoon as well!

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Only 8 days left...

Monday, April 21, 2014

Student-Created Narratives/Plays

Below you will find links to several great stories, plays, and performances written, read, and performed by our students! In class we read and analyzed the theme of the popular tale, The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Then the kids were tasked with writing their own narrative (real or imagined) based on a common theme. They were very excited about this task and requested the opportunity to co-author. Then, several requested the opportunity to write a play with the same theme rather than a story. I was inspired by their enthusiasm and creativity and decided to go with it! As a result, they produced excellent work and the room was buzzing with energy as they planned, practiced, and performed! Some chose to work in pairs, some independently, and some in groups, but it was all centered around student choice and I was very impressed with their final products! Please click on the titles below to view their performances/readings. I apologize for the poor video quality.

The Girl Who Cried Liar
written and performed by Addie and Audrey

The Odd Dream

written and performed by Haley and Lauren

The Honey Village

written and performed by Sammy, Marshall, Colyn, and Mitchell

The Banana Burglar

written and performed by Savannah, Emily, and Meredith

The Fish Who Cried Shark

written and performed by Colin B. and Andrew

Paul Revere Who Cried British
Henry’s Story read by Mitchell

I Cried Battlefield Four

Isaac’s Story: Also a true story based on actual events :o)

The Boy Who Cried Tiger

Colin R.’s Story

Monday, April 7, 2014

Week of April 7-11

Good afternoon, parents! I hope you had a nice Spring Break! Here are a few important dates to remember.

Middle School Transition Activity

We will have another visit from Teresa Forrest, the 6^th grade counselor, on this Thursday where she will do a lesson to help prepare the kids for the transition to middle school.

Bardstown Colonial Days Field Trip

Our field trip to Bardstown is this Friday from 8:30-2:00pm. Our chaperones will be Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Pike. Please send your child to school with a sack lunch and with appropriate clothing for being outdoors.

Upcoming Test

Math Test-Next Monday over measurement of area, perimeter, capacity, and volume

Scrimmage Testing

Scrimmage Testing will take place next Tuesday and Wednesday. This will be our last scrimmage prior to the actual testing dates. Testing this year will be May 21, 22, 23, 27, and 28. Please make every effort to ensure that your child is here on these dates.

Lunch with Someone You Love

Parents/grandparents/loved ones are invited to have lunch with your student here at school on April 23 followed by shopping at the book fair. This will be our final book fair of the year.

HELP Project

A letter will come home today regarding the HELP Project. This is a joint effort by each hallway to create a product and sell it in order to earn money for Relay for Life. Please read the letter and the brochure of items to see if you and your student are interested in purchasing something. Orders will be accepted from now through April 16.

The Water Step

We will be collecting shoes in any condition throughout the month of April as a service project to help provide clean water for people in impoverished countries.

Here’s what’s coming up in our curriculum this week!

Math: We will be learning about measurement including the use of the U.S. Customary system, the Metric system, and we will be reviewing how to find area, volume, and perimeter.

Social Studies: This week we’ll learn about the levels of government and their roles including local, state, and federal. Ask your child about the Larry the Lion activity they did in class today!

Word Study: We will examine how Greek and Latin roots can help us to learn measurement conversions.

Writing: This week will include a study of passage-based On Demand writing.

Reading: We will continue reading The Little Prince aloud in class and the kids will learn to analyze characteristics of poetry and plays.

Have a great week! :o)

Friday, March 28, 2014

Our day at JA BizTown

On March 25, we went to Junior Achievement BizTown. BizTown is where kids learn what adult life is like and we have jobs, we trade, we buy toys, supplies, and much more. It was very fun and we all want to go back! Here are some picture of us in BizTown!!