Busy Times are Coming!

Three weeks left in the third quarter-it's hard to believe! I think we may have our first full week of school since getting back from winter break. (Now let's hope I haven't jinxed it...)

I have been working with the students on utilizing their time management skills, especially when it comes to homework.  I do not give homework nightly. Rather, I give the students long term homework which they have anywhere from one weekend to a month to complete. Lately here it seems they have been procrastinating more and more.  When this occurs all of a sudden they have a TON of homework to complete and they become overwhelmed. The purpose of giving them a period of time to complete it is so they can do just a little at a time and steadily complete it without being overburdened. I feel time is better spent reading and studying for tests when at home. In reality, we just don't always have enough time at school to get the things done that need finished. I try to give the least amount possible, but starting this week I am going to try a new strategy with the students. Let's see if it works!

This week:

English: We will begin our Adjective unit and continue working on our Crosswalk book.

Reading: We will continue to work on Comparing and Contrasting and Point of View. Book reports are due Friday. Next month we will begin working on non-fiction books rather than fiction.

Science: Quiz on Light Energy is Monday, and then we move on to Sound Energy! This should also be short and sweet like the Light Energy unit, and will conclude with a quiz rather than a test. We will then do Force and Motion, and then move on to Life Science!

Social Studies: We have started our Interactive Notebooks which the students seem to enjoy so far! This week we will finish up the French and Indian War, and then begin looking at what led up to the American Revolution by focusing on the Stamp Act.

Pennies for Patients begins this week. The students really impressed me when we talked about it last week! When I mentioned the fundraiser, someone asked if there was a "prize" for winning. Before I could answer, a majority of the class began answering with comments along the lines of "it doesn't matter, we are doing it for a good cause to help those in need!" Needless to say, I thought it was a very impressive way of thinking for fifth graders!

The testing time is upon us. Starting in the first week of March we will begin our MAP testing, followed by PARCC tests at the end of March, then OAAs at the end of April, and more PARCC testing in May. Plenty of rest and a healthy breakfast will go a long way in success for all students on all of these tests!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Perkins

President's Day Week

Well what do you know-another short week with more snow coming our way! Hopefully there are no delays or cancellations from the snow!

This week we are finally moving on in most subjects.

Science we are working through our Coach books to get ready for the tests-that-shall-not-be-named in May, as well as learning about Light Energy. The quiz for this concept will likely be at the end of this week or beginning of next week.

Social Studies we are taking somewhat of a hiatus to work on test preparation and catching up on other subjects. I really like social studies,  though, so I want to do a little bit with the students even if it's only one day a week.  This week or next week we will begin interactive notebooks focusing on pre-Revolutionary War events.

English we will be moving on to adjectives this week as we took the verb test at the end of last week.

Reading focus will be on comparing and contrasting and point of view. We are also doing some test prep during this time-oh boy.  I might start sending home some practice tests for the students!

We begin our Pennies for Patients campaign this week. Bring in any kind of loose change you can find!

The students did an awesome job with the box tops! I was very happy with how many were brought in to support the school!

I believe that is it for now. Only a few weeks left in the third quarter. Everyone wish for warmer weather soon!

Mrs. Perkins

11 days and counting...

        Right now we are sitting at 11 missed days with more bad weather to come in the near future! Luckily we are currently able to utilize 8 calamity days, with a possibility of more if the legislation decides to add up to possibly 4 more days. If that is the case, hopefully we will not have to make up too many days at the end of the year.

        Due to the amount of days missed, we really have not moved much in terms of where we are in each subject. However, we do have a lot of tests coming up. Our next day of school we will have a Science test on Electricity, followed by a Social Studies test on the 13 colonies the next day. The English test on verbs will then be right behind the Social Studies test by a day or two.

        We also have Parent-Teacher conferences this week on Thursday, February 6, and then on Monday, February 10.  We will keep you updated on conference scheduling if school is cancelled.

        The annual Snowball Box Top competition is in full swing at school. For every 10 box tops your child brings in, they can get a "snowball" to throw at another classroom's door. The classrooms with the least amount of snowballs on their door win a classroom party. The kids really get into this, so cut up those boxes and bring them on in! It is all for a good cause.
        *On that note, please make sure to cut out the Box Tops right on the dotted line. If anything, just make the kids do it! It will save our office ladies an awful lot of energy and time. Thank you!

        Although it may not seem like it, we are already halfway through the third quarter. Please make sure your child is keeping up with their work and studying for their tests, as we definitely will not have as many grades to put into the books this quarter.

        Please be safe out on the roads! Hopefully we will get back to school on a more consistent schedule soon!

Mrs. Perkins