Big Announcements For Next Week 3-25-13 to 3-29-13

Due to a surprise meeting this morning, I was unable to get the progress reports printed off.  However, They will be out on Monday, and I will extend the day to have all late work in to Wednesday.  Next Tuesday, we have a half day of school with the kids attending the afternoon only.  Also next week, we will not have school on Friday, March 29th as this is the first day of Spring Break.  Conference forms have been sent home on Friday, March 22nd.  Please look for these and fill them out to return to school as soon as possible.  The Mobile Dentist is coming to our school.  Notifications and sign up forms have been sent home on Friday, March 22nd.  Next week we will not have a reading log or spelling list due to the short week.  Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you soon with the last newsletter before break!

A Few Important Details This Week!

On Monday, reading logs and spelling lists went home for this week.  We will have the second round of Smarter Balance Testing tomorrow, so please make sure your child is in bed early, well fed, and remind him/her to behave and try his/ her best.  Testing will take place in the afternoon Wednesday.  Progress reports went home today, Tuesday.  Students have until Friday for requests for missing work.  All work is due to me by next Tuesday.  An additional progress report will go home on Friday of this week.  Monday will be the last day to request missing work from that progress report.  Any work turned in after March 26th will not be reflected in the report card for third quarter as it will be too late.  Hope this helps everyone and have a good rest of the week!

The Week of 3-18-13

Today, Friday, we had to postpone our scheduled spelling and vocabulary tests to do the Smarter Balance Computer Practice Test.  The spelling and vocabulary tests will take place on Monday, March 18th.  Wayne Westland Schools have been chosen to do the Smarter Balance Tests next week as a pilot program for the real tests coming up.  We needed to go into the test system to work out any bugs we might have run into on the official test date Friday.  Students will be taking the Smarter Balance ELA Tests on Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon.  It is imperative that your children are at school on time Tuesday, March 19th as we will begin testing at 8:45 a.m., and the test will take the entire morning.  We have a book swap going on at school.  Students can donate as many lightly used books as they want, and in exchange, get a ticket to pick out a new donated book for each book the student brought in up to ten books maximum.  We will have a half day the week before Spring Break for teacher records day, a lettter will be sent home regarding this.  This day will also mark the end of the marking period.  This means that students have a week and a half roughly to get all of the work turned in to me to get counted on the third quarter grades.  Progress reports will go out on Monday or Tuesday afternoon.  Students have until Friday to turn them back into me for missing work, but all the work will be due by Tuesday, March 26th. 

Reading News
Students will receive a new reading log on Monday at the latest.  This week, we looked at genre, and also mastered identifying Author's Point of View.  Next week we will master identifying the genre and move onto recording notes in the margins of informational text.

Math News
On Friday, March 15th, the kids took the mid chapter test for chapter 6.  This week, we also mastered dividing fractions and mixed numbers, and solving algebraic equations with fractions.  Next week we will do measurement conversion, perimeter, and circumference of a circle.  Look for a web quest project coming up as we move further into geometry.

Writing News
This week, we studied single word modifiers and modifier phrases.  Modifiers are adjectives or adverbs that modify a noun, verb, or another adjective or adverb.  Next week, we will continue working with this, but the week will be shortened for writing due to Smarter Balance Testing.

Science News
This week the kids did experiments on momentum, force, and motion.  Students studied pendulums and did an experiment on roller coasters.  Next week, the kids will do an experiment on inertia using raw eggs, and begin building prototypes for the balloon car experiments.

S. Studies News
The students will wrap up their study of Mexico next week and take a test on Thursday or Friday.  We have a few craft projects to get through before the test as we study Mexican culture.  This week, students learned common Spanish words, did a Mexican Hat Dance contest, and wrapped up their study of Mexico's history of revolution and reform.

New Wiz IQ Tutoring Tonight 3-14-13

There will be a new tutoring sesssion tonight for Wiz IQ!  The session will start at 7:30 p.m., and last until 9:00 p.m.  We will be covering all of the first five lessons in chapter 6 to prepare for the mid chapter test in math on Friday, 3-15-13.  Hope to see you there!  Here's a link to the sign in: http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/1167560-chapter-6-mid-chapter-test-for-math