Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
Today we have entered into the last phase of our Modern Woodmen of America Speech Contest - the judging! Mr. Lenz from the School Board and Mrs. Sumner joined our class as judges. A great thank you to them for helping out for this event. The students researched, wrote and memorized a 3-5 minute speech on the topic of "If I were President". They all did a fantastic job! First place was awarded to Emma G., second place was awarded to Danielle, and third place was Madalyn. Wonderful work for all!
Our annual retreat with Deacon Dennis is scheduled for this Thursday. Have you done your "homework" for the portion of the retreat? Our school "lock-in" is tentatively scheduled for May 28th. A letter from Mrs. Wilinski will be sending a note home with more details!
Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Thank You Grandparents and Parents!
Grandparents Day 2010 has been another success! Thank you to all of you who visited our classroom today (March 26th). The students sang for Shadow Stations BEAUTIFULLY, worked on tissue paper crosses and butterflies for our door decoration (welcoming Spring and Jesus' Resurrection), and shared their terrariums. It was a wonderful day to see families around ABVM!
Remember to pack your lunch for April 5th! We will be going to Fallen Timbers for our spring field trip. It should be an enriching and fun day!
The week back after spring break will be a busy one! Woodmen speeches, "how-to" book report, Social Studies test, Safe Environment for Children lessons, a walking field trip, UNburying the Alleluia, AND report cards will be going home on April 9th! There won't be a dull moment beginning the 4th quarter!
Have a blessed, safe and joyous Easter and we'll see you in a week!
Keeping Busy in 5th Grade!
We've been keeping busy getting ready for our upcoming Health and Wellness Fair 2010! Our topic is being explored in many new and exciting ways - the digestive system, respiratory system, circulatory system - come and check out what we've been working on! I'm very impressed with the creativity and information going on in our classroom. Open house is from 9:30 - 11:30. Feel free to join us for lunch!
Everyone has also been working hard on their Black History Month speeches. Our book report this month was to read a biography on a notable African American. After reading the book, a report was written and then a speech was created from the major points of the report. I am eagerly awaiting all of the speeches to be made this week.
Being that everyone learns in their own individual ways, I have decided to take a different approach with our current literature choice - The Watson's go to Birmingham - 1963. I am reading some of the chapters aloud while the students are practicing active listening by completing various graphic organizers. Everyone is enjoying the book and it's nice to switch up different learning going on in the classroom like always!
We are preparing to lead Stations of the Cross on Friday at 8:15. If you get a chance, please feel free to attend this reflective prayer practice. We will be attending Stations of the Cross on Fridays during Lent at 8:15. Parents are more than welcome to attend!
Watch for midquarters to come home on Wednesday (February 24th). Included with your son or daughter's midquarter report will be a parent survey. Please complete the survey and return in with your son or daughter's report. Thank you for taking the time to fill this survey out!
Have a wonderful week!
Catholic Education Week - "Dividends for Life"!
Make sure to get in the school spirit next week and dress up for our themed days to show support for our school, and add in some more fun!
Don't forget about the Parents-v-5th grade student basketball game on Friday, January 29th! Try to make it out for a great time! Even as a 'benchwarmer'! The students look forward to this great event every year! See you there!
We are going to take a walking field trip to the Pulaski Library on February 3rd. Please send your son/daughter's library card to school as soon as you can find it at home. If you've lost it, or don't have one, please let me know ASAP! Thanks!
I look forward to seeing all of you in the next coming week. Have a wonderful weekend!
It's About Time for Another Update!
I haven't written an update to the website in quite some time. Christmas has come and went and now we are finishing up 2nd quarter! It's so hard to believe that we are almost 1/2 way through our school year, yet we have so much to learn! I had sent home an updated list of events coming up in January and February last week. If you haven't received one, please let me know. We have been busy, busy, busy! Here's an overview of what we've been up to:
- We have been concentrating on living a virtuous and morally sound life. Ask your son or daughter to share some of the virtues that we've been learning. We have also been discussing how we can use what we've learned at ABVM and at home, and bring that to our Middle School lives next year.
- In Literature, we have begun reading, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe literature circle style. We share different "roles" to discuss and have conversation revolved around the reading that has been chosen for the next class meeting.
- Moving right along in English...we are currently in Unit 5: Capitalization and Punctuation. Students received parent permission slips to have signed the past Monday to "test out" of material that has already been mastered. Make sure to return the slips ASAP! Thanks!
- A new chapter has been started for Social Studies that is focusing in on Native Americans in North America.
- We will be entering the Human Body to help us prepare for the upcoming Health and Wellness Fair. More details to follow soon!
That's about it in a nutshell! Thank you for your continued work and dedication at home to help your sons and daughters succeed this year! A first time record happened right before Christmas Break - EVERY student scored 100% on their Social Studies test! Woo hoo!!! We celebrated with a cookie and hot chocolate.
One final note...my husband, Brian, and I will be expecting our first child in July. We are truly grateful for all of life's blessings, especially in this new year. Happy new year to you and your families!
2nd Quarter Starts Today!!!
Wow! We are already starting the 2nd quarter today. Our field trip to the Planetarium was a success! I loved hearing the gasps of surprise and excitement during the planetarium show. If you haven't ever been to a planetarium, I highly recommend it! I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend! It was beautiful and will continue to be fantastic the rest of the week! Enjoy it while it lasts!
Today, the 5th graders started writing short prayer services in Religion that we will be sharing on Wednesday. We started our new literature book, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. It is such a classic and I love reading it every year! Unit 3 begins tomorrow in English - Verbs. I am very pleased to announce that every student compacted out of at least 3 lessons for the unit! Please make sure to sign the permission form and send it back ASAP. Students took a math chapter test today. Don't forget about our BIG states, capitals and abbreviations test coming up on Friday! Keep studying at home! We are currently working on our "state fair" exhibits as well. Finally, but certainly not least...our new Einstein Kit came in last week. We took inventory and are going to begin the unit tomorrow!
We certainly have started the 2nd quarter off with a bang! Looking forward to meeting with you at conferences the week of Thanksgiving! Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Busy, Busy, Busy!
This past week has certainly been a busy one! One more full week for the month and then on to Fall Break (October 29th and 30th). We have been busy planning our "Rally for Survival" which is similar to a penny war, but with food/pantry items to be donated to the Pulaski Food Bank! There should have been a note that went home today with your son/daughter. We have also been focusing on incorporating our word of the month - "Community" in our everyday lives. The students did a fantastic job presenting how we can be good stewards for the creatures that God has created for us! Today they presented to us a basketball inspired backboard for the recycling bin, a skit about littering, and recipes to hang in the bathroom to conserve soap and paper toweling. Make sure to ask your student about it!
Next Wednesday we will be saying good bye to our animals for Science. We sent home "adoption certificates" for those students who wish to take in a Dwarf African Frog, Fiddler Crab or Millipede. If you are interested in adopting the animals, please sign the certificate and have the supplies to school no later than Tuesday. Thanks!
We'll be trying hard to finish our literature book, The Westing Game this coming week. It's interesting to hear all of the predicting going on with this mystery book. Here's also a reminder that book reports will be due October 28th. Students will write a BME, a paragraph on their favorite part, and include a "mystery bag". Requirements have been given to all students. Please remind them to look over the checklist. We'll be finishing up on our Language Arts Unit: Nouns next Friday. Southern states are our next area of focus for Social Studies.
So even if your son our daughter doesn't have a whole lot of homework coming home, as you can see, they have been quite busy with the many projects going on at school. Students are also reminded to work on their book reports and "Mastery Club Folders", too!
Have a wonderful weekend!
BOOYAH!!!
October is upon us and our word of the month is "Community". We have started off with a bang! Booyah preparations have kept us busy the last 2 days. Yesterday we helped Mr. Hendzel haul veggies out, and today it was a bake-a-thon! After 2 hours of baking we could almost open up an ABVM Bakery :) Make sure to get your booyah this weekend to help support our school!
This coming week is going to be another busy one. We will be planning the mass on Thursday (8:15a.m.). Good bye Bridge to Terabithia and hello to The Westing Game (a mystery for the month of October). We also chose our book report book genre - mystery! The book report will be due October 28th. We are going to be finishing up our personal narrative stories this week and ready for publishing for Friday. The focus for social studies will be identifying and spelling the states, capitals, and postal abbreviations. Please keep studying at home! Sad news this past week. Unfortunately, one of our frogs for science has died :( Our crabs didn't come as scheduled this past week - but will be here on the 6th!
Well, I think this is about it for now! Have a wonderful weekend!!! Stay warm!
Open House 2009 - a success!
Thank you to all of the families who stopped by our Fifth Grade Classroom tonight! It is always wonderful to see current student families, previous families and students and of course past students who pop in to see what's going on in our room! I love those messages on the board =)
In the recent week we've been pretty busy with our latest S.A.C. (Student Advisory Council) project. Thank you to the 4th and 5th grade classes (and Mrs. Lemke) who worked really hard preparing and leading this enriching activity for our entire school! Our all schooll art project was a success with the great help of Mrs. Ladowski and her wonderful volunteers in the art room! We are truly 'tied to God through our souls'. We continue to appreciate our ENVIRONMENT and are practicing to be good stewards in and out of school!
FROGS! The Dwarf African Frogs have arrived!!! Boy, are we excited! 5th graders are just moving along with memorizing the 50 states! We only have one region left - the West! In the upcoming week, we will be finishing our book, Bridge to Terabithia, and following it up with a movie to compare and contrast the book and movie. We have also started our new unit in Language Arts- writing a personal narrative.
Have a wonderful 3-day weekend!
Our first full week of school!
This coming week will hopefully be healthier than last week! We are going to continue reading Bridge to Terabithia for literature, studying the Eastern states and capitals, and we are singing for Mass on Thursday. It's going to be a busy week!
I handed out the directions for the book report that is due on September 30th, which is going to be a 3-D model of some sort (student choice) with a paragraph explaining it. There will also be a section where students will be including a brief summary on the beginning, middle and ending of the book. Please encourage your child to keep up on their reading. Thank you!
Have a wonderful rest of your weekends!
Week One Complete!
It has been great to get back into the swing of things! The 5th graders are really getting into our "Mastery Club"! I'm glad that they are learning new things and getting some fantastic help at home - thank you!
Next week, we are going to be starting a new novel - Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson (my very favorite book!). Friendship is a theme within the book that we will be focusing upon. Also starting next week...studying states and capitals. We will be learning about different regions around the United States (Mondays), playing some review games (Wednesdays) and being quizzed about the region (Fridays). Thank you in advance for helping to study at home!
I think that's about it for now. Students received their "compacting out" letters today to get signed for Tuesday. If they haven't given you the letter yet, perhaps a gentle reminder will help. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend! We'll see you on Tuesday.
It's here! It's here!
Well, I would like to say that today was good. I'd be lying because it was FANTASTIC! I'm so excited for school this year. We got the "business" taken care of today - rules, rules and more rules...tomorrow we'll get some "learning" done! Thanks to all of my students, fellow teachers and parents for a great day today. Make sure that you look for the packet of information that came home with your son/daughter today. The signature page is due Friday. Thank you!
It's a little like Christmas Eve...
The new year begins with much anticipation, just like that 1st Christmas. We venture to begin a new year. I am looking forward to a new year, new ideas, and new students!
Well, I hope that everyone had a great summer. It always seems like such a long vacation and then before you know it, it's over! I can't believe that tomorrow is the first day of school! I know it will be a fantastic year! Now...if I can only fall asleep...(I just get so excited!!!)
In a little less than a week...
I am very anxious to see many of you on the 27th to drop off school supplies! I've been busy finding new and exciting things to use in room 207! Some exciting things that I've been working on is Homeworkopoly (kind of like Monopoly, but for turning your homework in on time!!!), Kramer Cash (instead of tickets), and Mastery Club (to keep your minds going all year long!). I've been working hard on this and I hope all of you love it as much as I do! Enjoy your last week of Summer Vacation. I can't wait to see and share all of my new information with you! See you soon!
Summer 2009...
Greetings to you from my "mobile office" at home :)
I hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer break. I know I am! I've been keeping busy traveling to Utah for 4th of July, working at Williams-Sonoma during the week and most importantly - working on this website! I hope that we all can have a safe, enjoyable and blessed rest of the summer - see you August 27th to drop off supplies!