The Week of May 2, 2011

Dear Parents,
I can barely believe it is May! I am glad to see the sun today and hope we have nice weather ahead of us!
Perhaps the saying, "April Showers bring May flowers" pertains to this year!!!

This week we are taking AIMS Web tests in reading and math.
Monday = Trefonas homeroom = taking the Hannah Orleans Math Aptitude Test.
This is a placement test for the junior high.

Tuesday = Trefonas homeroom = MAPs Math testing at 12:30

Talent show slips need to be turned in A.S.A.P. if your child is interested in trying out.
Try outs begin Monday! Your child has been given a slip with all the information.
It requires a parent signature in order for your child to participate.

LifeSaving Grams!!! Project Challenge is sponsoring this fundraiser. It is for the American Red Cross to help victims in Japan. The students need to turn these in before May 25th!
If your child needs extra "grams"....please see our website...the form can be printed!

THIS WEEK IN OUR CLASSSROOM:

SPELLING: Lesson 27 Frequently Misspelled Words

READING: We are beginning a literature unit based on fantasy genre. The students have selected a book that they will be reading, completing activity sheets, and participating in book club discussion groups. We will be reviewing various reading strategies including story structure and questions, character traits, and figurative language.
In addition to the literature book activities we will be having ANALOGY contests!

ENGLISH: Pronouns
We will be learning about object pronuns, how to use I and Me correctly, and possessive pronouns.

SOCIAL STUDIES:
We will be watching NATIONAL TREASURE as a culminating activity for Chapters 9 and 10.
This is a special treat the students earned for having excellent hallway behavior!
Chapter 11 Lesson 1 "Washington as President"

SCIENCE: Chapter 15 Test = Tuesday

MATH: Monday = Lesson 7 Elapsed Time
Tuesday = further practice with elapsed time
Wednesday = Lesson 8 Temperature
Thursday = Homework Sheet and Quiz covering Lessons 4-8
Friday = Measurement Bingo and review
CHAPTER 22 Test will be given the week of May 9th

The Week of April 25, 2010

Dear Parents,
Congratulations to the winners of the Citizen's Bank Essay winners! James David won third place and honorable mentions were awarded to Maggie Reynolds, Drew Dusza, Marc Alvarez, and Kyla Brown!

It was nice to see all of the parents and family members who attended the Too Good For Drugs Graduation. Matt did a great job introducing Deputy K. to the audience.

Thank you Marc and Eve for donating goodies to our ticket prizes!
Also, thanks to Emily's family and Jeremy's family for developing film for our classroom memory books.

**IMPORTANT..... Our class is taking MAPS tests for READING on MONDAY!!!
Your child has set a goal to improve their score! Eating a healthy breakfast and getting a good night's sleep will help them do their best!

This week:
Remember to visit Panda Express on Boughton Road in Woodridge to see 5th grade student's China projects on display.
Tuesday, April 26 = Project Challenge
Thursday, April 28 = Wheel of Wisdom Assembly @ 12:45 Parents are always welcome!
Friday, April 29 = Final Box Top Collection - Will we win a pizza party?

HERE'S WHAT WE ARE LEARNING:

SPELLING: Lesson 26 words with prefixes and suffixes
100% on pretest = challenge words

READING: We are doing an end of the book activity for Jacob's Rescue.

ENGLISH: Unit 4 Adjective Test = Tuesday

SOCIAL STUDIES: Chapter 10 Test = Friday

SCIENCE: Chapter 15 Lesson 4 "How do People Use Energy Resources?"
Chapter 15 test will be Tuesday, May 3rd.

MATH:
Monday - No math due to MAPS testing
Tuesday - Homework sheet which will have problems from the two "Use Your Head" sheets
and wb 22.2. and wb 22.3 1-17.
We will also review for the quiz.
Wednesday - QUIZ - Chapter 22 Lessons 1-3 and doing Lesson 4 Customary Capacity and Weight.
Thursday - No math
Friday - Chapter 22 Lesson 5 Metric Capacity and Weight

The Week of April 18, 2011

Dear Parents,
It was nice seeing all of you who came to Open House. It's rewarding to see the children proudly showing off their work on display in the classroom to their parents. I appreciate the generous book donations from the Book Fair. I was able to start a collection of the Rebecca Caudill 2012 books.

Thanks to Lucas, Eric, Kyla, Max, Tyler, and Maggie for bringing in snacks for our classroom.
If anyone wants to donate, we can use more fruit roll-ups and gushers. We can also use the cheese and cracker "handi-snacks". Thanks!

Too Good For Drugs Graduation......Wednesday, April 20th @ 8:30 !!!
It would be great for parents and family members to attend!

Thursday, April 21st....Early Dismissal

Center Cass District 66 - Eat Out - Panda Express http://www.ccsd66.org/PTO/FundRaisers/Panda.pdf
The fifth grade class made decorations. We have several students from our class who made pandas anddragons to dispay at Panda Express!
Maria Davilla,, the manager of Panda Express, will have them on display Thursday, April 21, 2011 for the District Eat Out.

Stop by and check it out!

No School on Friday in observation of Good Friday.

HERE'S WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR CLASSROOM:

SPELLING: None this week!

READING: We are finishing Jacob's Rescue.
While reading the students have beendrawing conclusions, making inferences, and analyzing cause and effect relationships.
The students have been participating in book club discussions and have contributed great connections and thoughts. The insight that has been shared is remarkable!

ENGLISH: Unit 4 Adjectives - Proper Adjectives

SOCIAL STUDIES: Chapter 10 Lesson 3 Ratifying the Constitution
The students will be learning the preamble as we sing along to the School House Rocks...."We The People".
Anyone who memorizes the preamble and sings or recites it in class will get a special "reward" which will help them on the test!

SCIENCE: Chapter 15 Lesson 3 How Heat is Transferred
We will be learning about heat and temperature and thermal energy transfer.

MATH: We only have math on Monday and Tuesday of this week.
We will be covering Chapter 22 Lesson3 Changing Linear Units of Customary and Metric Measurement.
A homework sheet and quiz will be given the week of April 25th!

The Week of April 11, 2011

Dear Parents,
I am looking forward to seeing you at our Open House and Book Fair this Thursday.
You are invited to come and see your child's classrooms with lots of work on display from 6:30 - 8:00.
There will also be many good book selections at the Book Fair.

Some other reminders:
Tuesday = Project Challenge
Friday = Progress Reports to those students receiving unsatisfactory grades.

Save the date:
Wednesday, April 20th @ 8:30 = Too Good For Drugs Graduation
Parents and family members are invited to attend this special event!

A field trip for the Robert Crown Center has been scheduled for June 3rd.
There will be an informational meeting for parents on May 23rd.
Permission slips and more information will be sent home in a few weeks.

HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR CLASSROOM:

SPELLING: Lesson 25 words with unusual spellings
100% = challenge list
Word of the week = bonus point


READING: We are reading a historical fiction novel, Jacob's Rescue.
This novel takes place during the Holocaust. This book is based on real people and events that happened during the Holocaust. The students are gradually being introduced to the hardships Jewish families experienced. There is a strong message of respect for others throughout this book which the students are recognizing. While reading the students are drawing conclusions, making inferences, and analyzing cause and effect relationships.
The students have been participating in book club discussions and have contributed great connections and thoughts. The insight that has been shared is remarkable!

ENGLISH: unit 4 Adjectives
We will be learning about the proper use of adjectives, articles, and demonstratives.
The students will be be applying their knowledge to do a creative thinking activity at the end of the week.
Enrichment assignments will be given to Project Challenge students.

SOCIAL STUDIES: Chapter 10 Lesson 1 "A Weak Government" and Lesson 2 "Debate in Philadelphia".

SCIENCE: We have finished lessons 1 and 2 of Chapter 15. I have strongly encouraged the students to bring home their textbooks and reread the lessons and review their notes.
We will learn more about....Changing Forms of Energy this week.

MATH:
Monday = Homework sheet and Chapter 12 review
Tuesday = Chapter 12 test
Wednesday = Target test and beging Chapter 22 Measurement- Lesson 1 = customary length
Thursday = Lesson 2 Metric Length
Friday = Lesson 3 Change units of length both customary and metric