Week 16

HOMEWORK MONDAY
Read Ch. 2-Bridge to Terabithia
Finish Math L78/92
COLONIAL MUSEUM EXHIBIT DUE TOMORROW

HOMEWORK TUESDAY
Read Ch. 4-Bridge to Terabithia+Lit Circle
Finish Math L80/99
Study Spelling+10 Vocab words
Begin to search for Fun Science Project Ideas

HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY
Read Ch. 6-Bridge to Terabithia(Quiz Thursday)
Finish Math L81/100
Choose News Teams Story/Summary/Speech Due Monday
VOCAB/SPELLING QUIZ THURSDAY
Begin researching Science Project ideas

HOMEWORK THURSDAY
Read Ch. 7-Bridge to Terabithia
Finish Math L82/102
Do News Teams Story/Summary/Speech Due Monday





WEEKLY QUOTE
"Come, come thou bleak December wind,
And blow the dry leaves from the tree!
Flash, like a Love-thought, thro'me, Death
And take a Life that wearies me."
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834

WEEKLY RIDDLE
What word can be written forward, backward or upside down, and can still be read from left to right?

Dear Parents,
Wow! What an awesome break. I hope everybody enjoyed a little time off from school and homework. We certainly have A LOT to be thankful for. Speaking of which, I have posted a couple of pictures from our amazing feast last week. Thanks again for taking the time to contribute some scrumptious food.

Since we are back in school for a three week stretch, here are some updates about what is happening in Room 12.

* This coming Tuesday our Colony Exhibits are due. Each child has had a lot of time in class to research and work on these so I hope they are able to finish them up. We will only have reading homework tomorrow so our class should have enough time to finish these fun projects.

* In reading our class will be starting The Bridge to Terabithia and will finish it by the last week before our break.

* We will take our assessments this week on Thursday because of the field trip on Friday.(Spelling/Math/Reading Comprehension)

* Our field trip will be on Friday, December 5th when we go to the Tech Museum first thing in the morning. We will have a Science Lab in the morning followed by an IMAX movie about Lewis Clark, which is perfect for American History. I will send a reminder e-mail on Tuesday about the drivers and details.

* The book orders are due this Friday, December 5th. (The books will arrive before the break)

* We will have a White Elephant Gift Exchange Party the last day before the break. Details will follow soon.

See you at school!

Mr. Sweet

Thanksgiving Time! ...Week 15

HOMEWORK MONDAY
Finish Heritage Report
Thanksgiving Dish
Book Orders

Thanksgiving Quotes
"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving." ~H.U. Westermayer
"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." ~W.J. Cameron
"Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day." ~Robert Caspar Lintner

THANKSGIVING MENU THUS FAR:

1. Sophia-Mashed Potatoes
2. Dante-Salad
3. Angela-Fruit Salad
4. Nick-Sweet Potatoes
5. Adam-Lasagna
6. Graham-Caeser Salad
7. Rachel-Dinner Rolls
8. Christopher-Pumpkin Pie
9. Jack
10. Thomas-muffins
11. Joe-Ham
12. Haley-Pasta
13. Jade-Pasta
14. Kate-Gravy
15. Nicole-Chocolate Truffle Pie
16. Taylor-(ABSENT)
17. Daniel-Celery Surprise
18. Jackson-Turkey
19. Olivia-Stuffing w/cranberries
20. Sydney
21. Jennah
22. Gabby-Apple Pie
23. Chas
24. Ryan-Pecan Pie
25. Rachel S.
26. Alyna(CHICKEN POX)
27. Jefferson-Cranberry Sauce
28. Jaiden
29. Kallee-Biscuits
MR. SWEET-Special Salad

Week 14

Homework Tuesday
Read 20 minutes-optional
Math L71/89
P. 36+42 in wkbk
Heritage Report-Due Tuesday, November 25th/Exhibit on Colonies-Due Tuesday, December 2nd)

HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY
Math L73/90
Heritage Reports/Colonial Museum Projects
Social Studies Wkbk p. 54+55 in cursive

HOMEWORK THURSDAY
Math L75/92
Heritage Reports/Exhibits
Writing-Finish Final Drafts of Fall Poem
THANKSGIVING FEAST FORMS RETURNED

Dear Parents and 5th graders,
This is our last full week of school prior to our Thanksgiving Break. We will be revisiting the first Thanksgiving celebrated and how it connects with what we are learning in American History. In addition, we will be writing about all that we are thankful for these days along w/an accompanying poem. There are also seven groups working as a team on their Museum Exhibit. These will not be due until after the Thanksgiving Break. Each child chose a writing component, an art project and a graph/chart of some sort to share about their specific colony. The projects will be put together and there will be a museum exhibit tour for the class and parents. The new stories that we are reading in our Literature Book come from the colony days in America.
This week there will be little homework so students can finish up their Heritage Report. Here are the directions again:
Family Heritage Report outline Due: Tuesday, November 25th

Purpose of the Report:
a. To learn more about your family (ancestors) as well as when and why they immigrated to the United States.
b. To become familiar, through your own family's history, with America's history.
Task:

To interview as many members of your family as you can. Include grandparents, great grandparents (if possible) aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins, and other people who know your familiy's history. Learn what you can from both your mother's and your father's sides of your family.

Learn:

Where your ancestors came from originally. Find out:
*When your ancestors came to America.
*Why they moved to the United States.
*Why they moved across the United States to different states. (if they did)
*How they moved-modes of transportation.

Find Out:
*What kinds of work they did or jobs they had.
*Where any of your family members famous politicians, scientist, athletes, inventors, explorers, educators, outlaws, or movie stars?
*What kinds of interesting things have your ancestors done?
* How your family and you came to be.

Suggestions: Write letters to your relatives who live far away. (Do this ASAP) Make phone calls, or email them. Have a list of interview questions ready to go. (we will make these together) If your relative live near-by have them over and interview them one on one. Finally, if any of your family members have written a timeline or book you may use that.

Required Parts:

* Illustrated cover, make sure the title of your report, your name, the due date, and your teacher's name are neatly written on the report.
* Table of contents.
* Introduction to the report-separate page or section.
* Main body if the report.
* Conclusion-separate page or section.
* Glossary of new words. (this is required, do not say there are none)
* Bibliography with list of who was interviewed, including the whole name, the location of the interview, the date of the interview and the time. List the people in alphabetical order by last name. If there are any books about your family, list them by author, then title, publisher, city of publication and date.
* Please include the interview notes that you used. (they do not need to be in good condition.)

WEEKLY RIDDLE
If three cats catch three mice in three minutes, how many cats would be needed to catch 100 mice in 100 minutes?

Week 13

Dear Parents,
It is my hope that everybody had a wonderful 4 days off together with family to rest and play. My family and I certainly enjoyed our time together.
This coming week we begin our new trimester together. Each student will be taking a new reading assessment to determine their reading goals in Accelerated Reader for the 2nd trimester. In American History we are still learning about the original colonies. We will begin a new museum exhibit project in class/home about a colony that their group is doing together. The handout will go home on Wednesday. We will finish Sign of the Beaver this week.

Potential Interview Questions for the Heritage Reports:
1. Why did your ancestors come to America?
2. Where did they come from?
3. How long ago?
4. How did they manage to support their family? What job/trade did they have?
5. Did they gain citizenship through Ellis Island?
6. Where in the U.S. did they first settle?
7. What was their cultural heritage?
8. What language(s) did they speak?
9. Who came with them?
10. How did they get here?

Weekly Quotes on Veterans' Day
"It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you." ~Dick Cheney

"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers." ~José Narosky

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." ~Elmer Davis

Weekly Riddle
A woman was horrified to find a fly in her tea. The waiter took her cup and went into the kitchen and returned with a fresh cup of tea. She shouted, "You brought me the same tea!" How did she know?

HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY
Read Ch. 18+19 + Lit. Circle
Math - Finish L66/83
Heritage Reports Due: Monday, November 23rd


HOMEWORK THURSDAY
Read Finish Book Lit. Circle
Math - Finish L68/85 + p. 28+38
Heritage Reports Due: Monday, November 23rd

WEEK 12

HOMEWORK MONDAY
Read Chapter 2 + 3 of Sign of the Beaver+ Lit. Circle Job
Math L 62/76
Finish Social Studies Wkbk. p. 44+45 in cursive
PICTURE DAY TOMORROW

HOMEWORK TUESDAY
Read Chapter 6 & 7 of Sign of the Beaver+ Lit. Circle Job
Math L 63/78
Memorize and recite poems

WEDNESDAY
Read Chapter 10+11 of Sign of the Beaver+ Lit. Circle Job
Math L 64/80
Vocab Due Friday
MEMORIZE AND RECITE POEMS for Friday's Recital
CONGRATULATIONS TO SYDNEY AND KATE! Our new class leaders

THURSDAY
Read Chapter 12&13 of Sign of the Beaver
Math L 65/82 odds
Vocab Due Friday
MEMORIZE AND RECITE POEMS for Friday's Recital

Weekly Quote
“Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear.”

Weekly Riddle
What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?

What's Happening in Room 12?
We had quite a party on Thursday. A special thanks goes out to Tara O'Boy and all of the moms who came by the class to help with the chaos...I mean party. Back to learning... This week our class will continue to delve into the original colonies in Social Studies. The good news is that we will not have a traditional test. Instead, they will work together on the review and get a group grade. In reading we will begin reading Sign of the Beaver and we will do Literature Circle Jobs. This week we will be learning and writing poetry. We will skip News Teams this week so we have time to share our Milk Carton Reports.
I will be sending home the permission slip this week for the upcoming field trip to the Tech Museum on Friday, December 5th.

That's it for now! Enjoy the pics.

Mr. Sweet

Week 11

HOMEWORK MONDAY
Read 20 min.
Math L56/70
Writing-Finish Final Drafts
Heritage Reports
EXTRA CREDIT-Write a brief history of where the holiday Halloween comes from. What do the symbols mean? You may do a poster instead of a report, or a powerpoint.

HOMEWORK TUESDAY
Read 20 min.
Math L58/72 odds
Finish Social Studies
Heritage Reports
EXTRA CREDIT-Write a brief history of where the holiday Halloween (DUE THURSDAY) comes from. What do the symbols mean? You may do a poster instead of a report, or a powerpoint.
OR....John Smith, Pocohantus (DUE MONDAY)

HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY
Read 20 min.
Math L60all/76odds
Social Studies Wkbk p. 40
Finish Spooky Story
EXTRA CREDIT-Write a brief history of where the holiday Halloween (DUE THURSDAY) comes from. What do the symbols mean? You may do a poster instead of a report, or a powerpoint.
OR....John Smith, Pocohantus (DUE MONDAY)







Weekly Quotes
"Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title." ~From Scooby-Doo

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
�tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown

Weekly Riddle
Gollum's Riddle
It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
It lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
It comes first and follows after,
Ends life, kills laughter.

Class Update
This week our class will be sharing their Milk Carton Projects together. In Social Studies we will be learning about the early colonies. We will also be going over the Family Heritage Project directions so everybody is clear. See you at school!
Mr. Sweet

Week 10

Weekly Quote
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” Albert Einstein

Weekly Riddle
What word can be written forward, backward or upside down, and can still be read from left to right?

Class Update
It was wonderful getting a chance to meet with each of you last week at conferences. This class is amazing and we are all progressing significantly both socially and academically. I sent home the Science Study Guide today. If your child completes this and studies for the test, they should do very well. Extra-Credit this week will be on Michelle Kwan, the ice skater. Students may write a one-page paper, design a portrait, write a newspaper article, editorial, make a power point, or anything else that extends the learning from class.

Homework Monday
Read 20 min.
Math L 51/62
Spelling-Correct mistakes
Science-Do pages 41 and 49 in the science packet.
Study Guide sent home(TEST FRIDAY)
NEWS TEAMS-Practice Speech on summary of article
Extra Credit-Due Next Monday. Michelle Kwan

Homework Tuesday
Math L 53/64
Science--Study Guide sent home(TEST FRIDAY)
NEWS TEAMS-Practice Speech on summary of article
Extra Credit-Due Next Monday. Michelle Kwan/Experiment using a Chemical Reaction
Leadership Speeches due Friday

Homework Wednesday
Math L54/66
Writing-Finish rough drafts
Science-Finish study guide
Book Report due on Monday

Homework Thursday
Math L55/68 + Multiplication w/100s page
Study for test-Remember to look over the vocabulary words too!
Book Report due on Monday

Week 9

CLASS UPDATE
This week, as you know, students will be dismissed at 12:15 p.m. Conferences start promptly at 12:40 p.m. Please make sure that you arrive on time. Otherwise, your time will be reduced to accommodate all of the other conferences. If we need more time together, we can meet in the upcoming weeks. There will be minimal math and reading this week for homework so students can focus on their new Family Heritage Project and their Milk Carton Book Reports. See you at the conferences!
Mr. Sweet

TOP 10 Signs that your parent/teacher conference is not going well:

10. The teacher asks if your child barks like a dog at home, too.

9. As you arrive, the teacher asks if you can spare a Valium.

8. On behalf of the entire class, the teacher expresses sympathy for your marital problems.

7. The teacher says that you seem very intelligent and asks if your child is adopted.

6. The teacher asks how the snake is doing, and you don't know what she's talking about.

5. The teacher shows you $75 worth of dimes and quarters she found in your son's desk, and you notice how thin the other children are.

4. The teacher encourages your family to take a week-long vacation the week of standardized testing.

3. You spot your missing Weight Watchers records on the bulletin board as a part of the Examples of Graphs display.

2. The teacher has a can of pepper mace stored in a shoulder holster.

1. The teacher tells you that she had hoped your son could be a tree in the school play, but he lacked the necessary acting ability.

WEEKLY RIDDLE
What is greater than God, More evil than the devil, The poor have it,
The rich don't need it, And if you eat it, you'll die?

Homework Monday
Read 20 minutes
Math L45/54
Spelling-Study words for test on Friday
* Remind parents of your conference time
* Work on Milk Carton Book Report
* Begin Family Heritage Project

HOMEWORK TUESDAY
Read 20 min.
Math L46/56
Science-p.25-30 in packet (4 pages)
* Remind parents of your conference time
* Work on Milk Carton Book Report
* Begin Family Heritage Project


HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY
Read 20 min.
Math L48/58
Science-p.33, 37 & 38
* Extra Credit-Write a news article on the Presidential Debate
* Extra Credit-Write a brief one-page paper on Richie Valens
Choose News Team Article: Sentinel, msn.com, cnn.com, ksbw.com, etc.
DUE MONDAY


HOMEWORK THURSDAY
Read 20 min.
Math L50/60
Science Test next Friday, October 24th
* Extra Credit-Write a news article on the Presidential Debate
* Extra Credit-Write a brief one-page paper on Richie Valens
Choose News Team Article: Sentinel, msn.com, cnn.com, ksbw.com, etc.
DUE MONDAY
News Team Summaries Due Monday

WEEK 8

Class Update
Here is a brief list of what is happening in Room 12:
* Our class set a record for the earliest party earned! On Monday we will decide what we want to do for our party.
* I have posted our conference times for next week. Please let me know if there are any conflicts or changes that need to be made.
* This week we will be finishing up Crispin and taking our reading quizzes to get A.R. points. Regarding, Accelerated Reader, we have about one more month to take reading quizzes to bring up our grade. I have posted the updated A.R. point chart in class.
* Reports that are due on Monday, October 27th. On Monday and Tuesday our News Groups will present their current events to the class.
* In Science we have begun a new study on the Periodical Table of Elements and Matter.
See you at school!

Homework Monday
Read Ch. 49-51 + Summary
Math L41
L46-Advanced
Everybody: p. 155-157 in wkbk w/protractors
Spelling-Study missed words (no Spelling hw this week!)
Milk Carton Book Report-Due Monday, October 27th. Work on this project during your
extra time this week. THE REPORT IS POSTED ON THE BLOG LAST WEEK.


Homework Wednesday
Read Finish Crispin
Math L43+50
wkbk p. 14+15
Vocab-Finish at home
Friday-Opposite Day/Party/Movie/Bring secret dish to share
NO HOMEWORK THURSDAY!

THURSDAY
Finish Math L44/52
Dress Up for "CRAZY DAY "class party, secret dish
Work on Book Report

Weekly Quotes
"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential."
Illinois Senator Barrack Obama — US Presidential Candidate.

“Glory is not a conceit. It is not a decoration for valor. Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely and who rely on you in rerun.”
John McCain

Weekly Riddle
I am large as a castle, yet lighter than air. 100 men and their horses cannot move me. What am I?

Parent Conference Schedule

Dear Parents,
Here is the schedule for the upcoming parent/teacher conferences for the week of October 13 - 17th.

Monday-10/13
12:40 -Jeffery, K.
1:00 - Lee, T.
1:20 - Sambrillo, C
1:40 - Cruse, N
2:00 - Gaekle, C
2:20 - Fischer, R
2:40 - Feldbrugge,G

Tuesday - 10/14
12:40 -O'Boy, J
1:00 - Russo, G
1:20 - Zuniga, J
1:40 - Jordan N.
2:00 - Quinn O.


Wednesday - 10/15
1:00 - Surgalski, R
1:20 - Calcagno, J
1:40 - Bruce, S
2:00 - Spencer, R
2:20 - Rastatter, S
2:40 - Dorney, A

Thursday 10/16
12:40 -Hurley, J
1:00 - Hayes, T
1:20 - Hopkins, J
1:40 - Hildebrand
2:00 - Tunink, A
2:20 - Mitchener, J
2:40-Sambrailo M.


Fri - 10/17
12:40 -Hougardy, H
1:00 - Chmelicek
1:20 - Harris, J

MILK CARTON BOOK REPORT
Due: Monday, October 27th

This fun book report will combine your artistic skills, creativity and understanding of the book you read. You will be graded on neatness, C.U.P.S. and completing ALL of the components correctly. Please use the computer to type all the parts of the carton. Have fun with this project and make your carton a standout, eye-catching work of art!

Bottom of carton-Name, # and Date

Front panel-Write the title, author, publisher and the illustrator. In addition, make a colorful illustration from a key part of the book.

Back panel-Write a concise summary of the book in your own words. Create a word search, or a crossword puzzle, with key words and any small objects and symbols from the story.

Side Panel – Describe each main character briefly. Also, write your favorite quote by them. If there is enough room, you may draw some pictures of them.

Side Panel 2 – Describe the most important lesson you learned from the story. What do you think the moral of the story is and what did the author intend you to understand?

Top Section #1 - Write and define five key vocabulary words from the story.

Top Section #2 – Describe the setting and time that the story takes place. Once again, you may draw a small picture if there is enough room.