A Trip Back in Time

We had an amazing time in 1917! The students quite enjoyed our day on Monday at Ye Old Schoolhouse. In addition to experiencing components of a traditional day at school, we also toured the Heritage House. It is a turn of the century farmhouse with many authentic artifacts. Ask your student to share some of the most interesting parts of their day.

To connect this field trip with our curriculum, students are currently working on a compare/contrast Triple Venn Diagram. This will help them organize and develop ideas to write about in the Compare/Contrast essay we will start in class today. As a way to get started, students brainstormed how they might describe qualities of school in 2010 and have begun comparing them to 1917 and when their interviewee attended school. It's been fascinating to see how many differences and similarities there are from generation to generation.

Here are some photos of our trip! Enjoy.

And a few class pictures:

**Missing Matt from our pictures! Wish you could have been there!**

Field Trip Fun!

On Monday, September 27th, our class will be stepping back in time. We are headed to Ye Olde Schoolhouse to learn about school life in 1917. Students will explore learning through completely different eyes.

Our adventure is an all-day (8:45- 2:30) learning extravaganza! Please pack a bag lunch for Monday. Lemonade will be served during lunch. If your child would prefer a different drink, please make sure it does not require refrigeration as that is not available to us in the turn of the century schoolhouse!

To allow for an authentic experience, we love to see students dress up in "old time" outfits and bring lunch items from the time period. For suggestions on what to wear and eat, click here. There is a sheet, which was also on the back of your information sheet, that you can download for reference.

It is going to be a fantastic day! We will extend our learning from Ye Olde Schoolhouse into Literature and Social Studies. Students will compare the YOSH school experience to their grandparents (though the interview) and their own.

Please note: No electronics for the bus ride. Thank you!

On another rockier note:

The Rock Quarry field trip is quickly approaching too. On October 13th, we will head out at 9:00 to learn all about rocks. We are set for chaperones! Thank you for all of you volunteers. The field trip includes a tour of the Halquist Rock Quarry, trip to Sussex Rock Shop, and finishes with lunch at McDonalds. We will return to school around 1:00 p.m.

Thank you and enjoy your evening!

A Round of 'E'-pplause!

Congratulations to our 'E's. Elly is our new class student council representative! Emily was voted in as her alternate. Our four student council candidates did a wonderful job campaigning. We're looking forward to their role in giving our class a voice!

Deadline and a Date!

Good Evening Families!

Please note:

PTO Fundraising Materials are due TOMORROW. I apologize if there was any mix-up on this date. The date was confirmed today. Please return the envelopes even if your student didn't sell any items.

Secondly, picture retakes are this Wednesday.

1) If a student wants their picture retaken, they have to bring in their original photos that were taken, and turn them in. They can also bring in the original order form that was mailed to them with their registration packet if they haven't had any pictures yet.

 

2) If a student wants more of the same pictures that were originally taken, they can order more through Mortenson, by either calling 262-754-8889 or turning in another order form on September 22nd. Mortenson Photography will have extra forms on picture retake day, we have none left at the front office. 

 

3) If parents want picture re-touching, they would have had to select that on their original picture order form, or just have their child take another picture on retake day.

 

Thanks and enjoy your night!

~Ms. Angel

Rocks and Minerals Webquest

For today's lab time, please complete the Rocks and Minerals Webquest. With this webquest, use your time wisely and answer the questions using detail. You will need the following links in order to answer the following questions. Please read the passages carefully!

All That Glitters
Gold Properties
Language of Gold
Star of India
Rocks in Your Cabinet

Enjoy your quest!

Spelling Preview

These words may seem easy, but they provide a preview of some of the word patterns we'll be working with this week. Here are your words:


grew, listen, ask, single, clear

Scientific Method

In Science class, we started discussing the Scientific Method. Our first step was to "Ask a Question". So, our question was, "Which solution, vinegar or water, will make the color come off of M&M's faster?" As a class, we gathered predictions and then ventured off into groups to test the hypothesis.

It was amazing to see the process live. In almost all cases, it seemed the water was the winner. In other cases, it wasn't completely evident as to which took the color off more quickly. Funny enough, we had seen in a short Brainpop video that when your results aren't easily identifiable, you would test it again. As much as we would have liked to test again, it was time to wrap things up so we could head to Spanish.

Our next Science Lab will be about Collecting Information; yet another step in the Scientific Method. Until next time!

Adam and Charlie use their best Scientist skills to determine the results of their experiment.

One group closes in to get a closer look at the samples. Of course, they were sporting their safety goggles!

The mystery of the floating 'm'.

Hmm....looks a little like tie-dyed milk!

The one in the foreground was vinegar, while the other cup holds water.

Spelling Core Words

With our Sitton Spelling program, we start every unit with a list of core words. These are not the week's spelling words, but words that are high frequency words. Practicing them will help students gain spelling confidence and recall of commonly used words. Not only that but these words also align with the word patterns we are working on for the week.

This week's core words are:
music, buy, mark, window, heat

Tie-Dyed Milk?

Although the title of this post may sound like a new-fangled beverage, it is in fact a lesson in cooperation. Yesterday, we explored Cooperation with a box a Cooperative Community Members, a Big Bottle of Cooperation, a tray of milk and a little discussion.

Each member in the box of Cooperative Community Members represented a person or group of people.

Yellow = Students
Red = Parents
Green = Teacher
Blue = School Support (Specialists, Friends, Administration)

Each color had it's own individual spot around the tray. However, with a drop or more of Cooperation, the colors began to move away from their respective posts and swirl together. Over time, the colors began to dance in the milk and form a beautiful tie-dyed picture. This was a visual representation of how teamwork can create beauty.

I was excited this morning to hear the students' reactions to our "experiment". Many of them connected the pinwheels of color to how we need to cooperate in our classroom. It's imperative that we develop our skills as communicators, problem solvers, and collaborators. This group of students is spot on!

Here are a few pictures of our Tie-Dyed Milk.

First Day!

Hooray! It's the first day of school!

It has been a spectacular day! I know that our class is going to have a fantastic year together. As I told the students today, I am thoroughly impressed with how polite and respectful everyone has been today. I know that it will continue on as our year progresses. Being a fifth grader holds many new responsibilities and, of course, rewards. Our class is now acting as role models for our building's new 4th graders. With their experience and knowledge of our procedures and expectations, I know that these students will soar to success!

Today, we had an all-school assembly introducing our theme, CODE NAME: HORIZON. Who doesn't love a good secret agent theme? As teachers, we are the Master Agents, assisting our agents in training on the quest for the SUPERBRAIN. Balancing academic, social, and independent skills is at the root of our mission. We hope that it will be an effort supported and reinforced with the family.

In addition to our kickoff, I overloaded our agents brains throughout the day with a lot of critical information. We discussed procedures, expectations of both teacher and student, classroom logistics, and our calendar. Phew...there was more but these are at the heart of what we talked about. All of the students were receptive and seemed to follow through.

We are going to do a lot of learning and growing together. I am excited to learn from my students and hope they are ready to learn from one another, as well as me. It's going to be an unforgettable mission!

FYI - Super Parent Agents:

Here are a few nuggets of information for you. Your student will be bringing home a form that discusses our 5th grade behavior plan. This plan has been implemented across the level. Please read over this with your child and discuss. After discussing, please sign and return by Friday, September 3rd. If you would like to check the behavior plan, it is accessible at any time. Please click here.

While discussing the Assignment Notebooks, we put in important dates, as well as our homework for tonight. This can also be found on the blog page above, "Homework? Wait....what Homework?" I update this on a regular basis, in most cases nightly. I have asked that students have a parent or guardian sign the assignment notebook nightly. This allows for you as a parent to see what homework was assigned, as well as spark a dialogue about the events of the day.

If you have questions, please contact me at angeama@pewaukee.k12.wi.us or call 262.691.2100 x3135.