Feb. 9

Hi Families,

Monday is our Mondovi field trip in the morning--students should come either dressed up or in school uniform. They will need a sack lunch also.
Tuesday 11-12 is our  Valentine Party. You are welcome to join us--we are making cards, decorating cookies, maybe playing a trivia game, and exchanging Valentines (this part is completely option--either bring them for all or none)

We finished our Colonization Simulation this week. Ask your students what it was like to be a colony and what they learned. I was really impressed with the cooperation and leadership they showed. Lots of great lessons in this one!

Lastly, don't forgot to the use the calendar on our class website.  We have all of the upcoming events and important dates that you will need. 

Jan. 6

Hi families,
Hopefully your student gave you a bright colored flyer when they got home today--its the update on our new plan for the overnight camp now scheduled for June 11-12. I've also attached a copy. Please let me know as soon as possible if you aren't not planning on having your child participate. Our reservation is contingent upon 48 committed students with paid deposits ($25 due next Thursday). Please let me know if you have any questions.

This has been a great week back in school. The kids took off with their cross stitch projects and have doing great! We've also almost completed the states puzzle. It will come home next week and can serve as a great visual as we prepare for the weekly regional quizzes starting next Friday. Students will need to identify the state on a blank map, and write the 2 letter abbreviation and capitol city. We did lots of songs and games this week and they are well on their way to mastering the western states. We are scanning in the blank regional templates and uploading them this weekend on our website.

Please check student's calendars as the dates for math and state quizzes are on there. Our January reading logs have not come back from the copier yet, so students are logging their nighly reading minutes/pages in their calenders. (at least 20 min. Mon-Thur).

Have a great weekend,

Oct. 24

As you probably know by now, we are knee deep in our persuasion planner--especially with the launch of our Marketing teams that will create a product and an ad campaign. The students established their company name and this week they will create a product, logo and marketing plan for their product.  The groups will be marketing their product at the Halloween Parade on Monday at 2pm.  This project will be done at school, unless they have decided to dress alike.  For example, the group might all decide to wear blue pants and shirt with a logo taped on to their shirt.  This is not a costume that is being bought!  

Check out important info below:

•  Math Test – Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 (Study guide went home for homework today, due tomorrow).
  

• Optional Math Club – Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7:20 am.  Door locked at 7:30 am.

• Vocab (Roots) Review Quiz – Friday, Oct. 28. (Website has study guide), There is not any spelling/vocab homework to turn it.
  

• Art Docent this Friday, Oct. 28 – POP Art.  Pop Art favored figural imagery and the reproduction of everyday objects, such as Campbell Soup cans, comic strips and advertisements.  Please send in a package/label from home by this Thursday.  Examples are a soda can, candy package, canned good, and toothpaste package.

•  Halloween parade – Monday, Oct. 31 at 2 pm. 
  
  
• Speeches--students should be reading aloud their speech at least once to you this week and get feedback on how to improve it. Does the opening "hook" catch your attention? Do they clearly express the purpose of the speech? Are the supporting reasons compelling? How's the ending? is there a call to action (what they want Mrs. Sloane to do). They need feedback from a real audience (you!). Next week they'll rehearse, rehearse, rehearse so they can communicate effectively without having to read word for word from the index cards. If you aren't sure they are ready, please let me know. I've met with several today for speech conferences and I'll do the same for anyone else who needs it tomorrow and Wednesday.
  

Sept. 27
Hi families,
Today we had a terrific visit with Laura Skirde from CBS13 News. We got tips on how to give a weather forecast, learned about how weather information is gathered,  and our students asked her some great questions! One of the questions will be featured on her Weather School segment on Monday at 5:45 am and 6:45 am (yes both times are a.m.!!). Check us out then!

Thursday, we will be going to the National Weather Station in Sacramento to learn more about weather instruments, forecasting, and prediction. Chaperones have received a confirmation email with the updated departure time of 11:00 (due to our tour guide conflict). We should arrive back at school by 2:15. Please send in a dry snack for your student to eat before getting back on the bus after the tour. We will eat a very early lunch at 10:30.

Students should be working on the following this week:
-nightly math homework from the reteach packet
- reading for Friday's Lit Circle meeting (if reading has not been done in class)
-Completing the Lit Circle Week 2 Response (in Lit. Circle packet--time is available in class, so it may not need to be done at home)
-Vocabulary/Spelling homework due Thursday (15 sentences unless he/she received a homework pass for 100% completeness last week)
-Multiplication math facts practice (most have passed, but a few are still trying)--see homework folder for form to initial
-Weather Forecast Speech Practice (practice cards 1-2  tonight, 3-4 tomorrow night, whole speech--1-2 min.--on thursday--about 10-15min a night). Speeches will be delivered next week.

Please let me know if you have any questions,
Stephanie
Sept. 8th 

Hi families,
This week we have spent time working on our team weather event projects, learning weather terminology, and writing our first response to literature on The Big Wave. We also started our new read aloud, The Blizzard. Students have done a great job remembering water bottles and proper PE shoes. Thank you for your help with it. A couple things to know:

• Spelling Test #2 is tomorrow. Test #1  is in homework folders (please ask student to show folder to you regularly)
• Math test on Sept. 23, math club before school Sept. 22. 
  
• Literature Circles are starting Sept. 23--students will receive their books and group assignments next week.
• Scholastic book order forms came home yesterday. September we get double class points so please help out and order a book! If you do it online, we benefit even more. go towww.scholastic.com/bookclubs , our class code is GY6B3 (also written on the magazine).
• Information about a email correspondance program with Intel called PC Pals will be coming home tomorrow. I've attached the info in this email as well. Students will email a "pal" weekly to practice email writing skills, and receive encouragement from a mentor. We will need your permission for your child to participate as well as permission for a school email to be set up. Both forms will come home tomorrow. We will meet our Intel pals on Fri. Sept. 23. Thank you Diane Rudolph for connecting us with this program that benefits our students and our school (we receive $$$ for participating). 
• Picture Day is Thur. Sept. 15

Have a great week!
Stephanie