Crystal Check-in

Good Afternoon Families!

Right before our very eyes, crystals are appearing! Students enjoy checking in throughout the day to see if any new peaks or valleys have formed. As a test, I did the experiment too. However, I decided to add a smidge (or another 10ccs) of water. OOPS! I was hoping to model that not measuring accurately - which connects to our Math unit, as well - will directly affect results. My poor sad bucket is far behind in the crystal making process. Hopefully over time, I'll catch up. Here are some pictures of our newest developments!



Thursday - Ms. Angel's poor, sad crystals. Look closely, there are only two!



Ms. Angel's crystals on Friday!

That's a pretty noticeable difference!

Crystals

Yesterday afternoon, our group of agents donned the lab coat again to create crystals. We mixed equal parts of ammonia, salt, water, and bluing liquid and poured them over our host sponges. As the air started to work its magic, we hypothesized on what color the crystals might be, what shape, and how long it would take to develop. We had quite a range of guesses! Here is our prediction sheet below:

Last night, as I was packing up, I stopped by the crystal corner to see if there were any indication of crystallization. Our experiment was finished at about 2:15 yesterday, and just over 4 hours later, there was a sign of growth! Each bucket had a different phase of crystallization. Take a look:

Upon walking in this morning, 12 hours later, this is what I found:

What will happen next? Stay tuned...

Update!

Good Evening Families!

I know it seems there is a barrage of posts heading your way! I just want to keep you updated! Here's the skinny, super agent families:

Reading:  We just completed Jerry Spinelli's novel, Crash. It's themes of friendship and sticking up for others resonate throughout the book. We see our main character, Crash (aka John Coogan), face an internal struggle between making friends with Penn Webb, the new kid on the block, or bullying him in an attempt to seem cool with his 7th grade peers. It's a book with a dash of humor, a pinch of sadness, and a handful of messages! Ask your student what they liked best. To complete our unit on Crash, students will be receiving an assignment on Wednesday that will be due Monday, November 15th. Next up...mystery. Dun dun DUN!

Math: In Math, students finished their Unit 1 test. Our class average was a 93.66% Way to go, kiddos! Amazing work. We are setting out to explore Area and Perimeter just a little bit more closely. With WKCE testing this week, we will be moving into our new unit slowly. Get ready!

Social Studies: Do you know what sort of housing the Iroquois lived in? Who was responsible for making the decisions in the Eastern Woodland tribes? If you aren't sure...ask your student! They can tell you. Our class is just finishing up a quick unit on the Eastern Woodland tribes. Today, we did a little quiz review to prepare for Thursday's True/False quiz. Students finding themselves with a question mark popping up above their head were encouraged to take their textbooks home to reinvestigate some of the main points covered today. Next up, Explorers!

Science: We have been busy digging in and learning all about Rocks and Minerals. If you think of it, ask your student to list the types of tests done on minerals...let's see what they remember! In addition to identifying and classifying minerals, we will soon be classifying rock samples into three categories: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic. Do you know what the differences are between these rock types? Ask your students to give you a theatrical demonstration of sedimentary rock...very interesting! Today, we began the process of creating crystals. Did you know that the size of the crystal is dependent upon the speed at which it forms? Watch for pictures as we watch them grow!

Other Important Things: 

• The end of the quarter is nearing! November 5th is the last day for missing work to be turned in. Students received a list early last week noting any missing assignments. Another list will be passed out Thursday morning with an opportunity to finish work up that afternoon.
• We are still collecting soda tabs this week. The students are collecting them by grade to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. This is a Student-Council organized event.
• AND Box Top collection is up and going again. Keep checking your food boxes and labels for them! Last time, we collected 1, 056. The top winner in the district had 5000! Let's see if we can do it! This runs until December 17, 2010. Get your scissors ready! This is a cute video about some of the products on which you can find Box Tops. Click here.

That's about it! Watch for some pictures...coming soon!

Unit 6 Core Words

Hello Families!
Your students have written these five core words into their planner this evening. These words are sight words that students in fifth grade should be able to spell without a struggle:

mountain*, caught*, bird, hair, wood

*starred words are ones that provide a challenge for many of our fifth graders. Practice, practice, practice!

Important Meeting for all Parents!

This meeting was brought to our attention today. It might be a valuable meeting to attend, especially if your son or daughter is involved in sports of any kind.

District Nursing Services would like to invite you to an important FREE seminar titled "Concussions: What you need to know." Dr. Scott Walter, Pediatric/Adolescent Sports Medicine Director at Children's Hospital of Milwaukee will be speaking this THURSDAY NOVEMBER 4 in the PHS cafeteria at 6:00.  This presentation is for Pewaukee School District parents of students grade 4-12, coaches and staff.  We hope to see you there.  For any questions please call X6025.

Check it out!