The Adventures in Mrs. Ripp's Room

Newsletter Fenruary 16, 2012

2012-02-16T07:48:00.001-08:00

Math – We finished unit 7 with many students successfully completing the unit, though some students are having a harder time with the concepts as they get more abstract and more reliant on prior knowledge. We start unit 8 tomorrow which covers more fractions and ratios, with the test tentatively scheduled for March 7^th.

Science – We are interpreting topographical maps and comparing aerial view photos to them. This week we focused on Mt. Shasta in California which has some pretty interesting features. Since the students are working so hard in this unit and we are getting through lessons quickly, we will have some time before spring break to do some of our own science experiments, which is always a thrill.

Social Studies – This week I got to keep the whole class as we dig into the southern colonies, discuss slavery more in depth as well as tie it in with Jump Ship to Freedom. Although I have lectured more so far, the kids told me they didn’t mind because they found it interesting, phew.

Reading – Jump Ship to Freedom keeps leaving us on cliffhangers and the students are asking to read more. Chapter 7 will be due for Monday as well as the summary for the chapter. I love how this book ties in with our social studies curriculum as well and the discussions it generates.

Writing – We have been sharing our secrets and trying to guess who’s they are. All I can say is that some of these students have some pretty funny secrets. I will be correcting the papers and handing them back to students to polish so that we can share it with you at conferences.

Special Notes –

* What a great week it has been, we are in a groove, the students are working hard and we are enjoying what we are learning. It is a joy to come in and be their teacher every day.

* Thank you so much for an incredible Valentine’s Day Party. The students loved it, the food was incredible and the kids ate way too much candy.

* Thank you all for signing up for conferences, notes will be sent home with available times if you have not signed up yet. Please indicate 3 choices of those times and I will get you scheduled.

* I am sad to be missing the carnival this weekend but will make up for it on April 14^th at Bowling. I hope to see some of you there.

* My literacy assessment meeting went very well and we had some great discussions of how to move forward challenging and reaching all students.

* If your child will miss school around spring break, please let me know.

* We know have more than 2,000 comments on our Kidblog and our map is filled with pins of places we have connected with. If you haven’t been on the blog for a while take a moment to visit it; the students are sharing great writing on there. www.kidblog.org/mrsrippsclass/

* Spelling will be on hiatus soon as we focus on grammar in the morning. We still need to dig into those conventions as seen in our writing assessments, and the morning provides us with time to do so.

*Looking for parent volunteers to help decorate our door for literacy week starting the 27th. I am not very artistic so hoping someone out there will take pity on me!

* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Sub all day Friday, February 17^th, Carnival Saturday, February 18^th 2 PM, and finally The Family Feast February 22^nd at 12:20 PM, Literacy week February 27^th through March 2^nd, PAC Choral Performance Monday, March 12^th at 6:30 PM, Spring Break starts after Friday March 23^rd and goes to April 1^st, No school Friday, April 6^th.

Literacy Week Info

2012-02-10T06:32:00.000-08:00

Monday, February 27-All school DEAR. Following morning announcements, we will have 15 minutes of Drop Everything And Read.

Tuesday, February 28-Read a Shirt Day- All staff and students are encouraged to choose a shirt with words to wear to school.

Wednesday, February 29-Teacher/Book Swap Day (2:10-2:30)- Students will be given an opportunity to sign up to hear some great stories read by staff members.

Thursday, March 1-Book Character Day and Parade (8:30)-Encourage students to choose a favorite book. They can plan to dress in costume or bring a prop that represents the story. It is best if they bring the book to school, as well. Following morning announcements we will do a school wide parade, starting with kindergarten. Teachers will have their students line up outside their classrooms and join in as the parade passes. Once the parade has made an entire loop around the LMC square, students will return to their classrooms.

Friday, March 2-Wear Red for "READ READ (red)" Day-The PTO is planning a TOP SECRET assembly for the kids and they are asking that the entire school wear red. Assembly starts at 1:30 PM.

Newsletter February 10, 2012

2012-02-10T06:10:00.001-08:00

Math – We are almost done with unit 7 and have certainly covered a lot of territory in this unit. We have practiced the concepts a lot and keep being reminded of just how often we use our math facts. The unit test has been moved to the 15^th of February to allow for two days of review. We will not have math on the 16^th due to the assembly and will then start the new unit on the 20^th.

Science – We built mountains this week and started drawing topographic maps. Eric, in particular, had a lot of background knowledge on landform terms for mountains and shared his knowledge. We have also started working on flashcards as a study tool.

Social Studies – We have dissected Benjamin Franklin’s sayings as well as created our own self-chosen project within the Middle Colonies. I was able to introduce Prezi.com to some of the students who are using it rather than PowerPoint with great success. This is a free presentation tool that really takes your presentation to the next level. I hope to introduce it to all students at some point. We start the Southern Colonies on Wednesday.

Reading – We have continued with our Jump Ship to Freedom exploration. Most students are really engaged in the book and are writing very strong chapter summaries. We will be discussing “To My Old Master” – a fantastic primary source document that you should read as well – just Google it!

Writing – Secrets of a 5^th grader were due this week and today we shared our secrets and tried to guess the person. We have also started a small “Heart Poem” unit this week where we discuss what poetry means to us and write our own freestyle poetry. I just ordered materials for our next reading and writing unit, it will be an exciting one!

Special Notes –

* I will be in Michigan on February 17^th to see my sister who will be having surgery. I have requested Mrs. Johnston as my sub. I will therefore not be at the carnival but will miss it; I hope all of you have a wonderful time.

* Don’t forget about our Valentine’s Day celebration. All students can bring in a Valentine to pass out and they can also attach a candy to it if they would like. We will start our celebration on the 14^th at 9:30 AM.

* Spring conferences will be March 12^th, 13^th, and 15th. The link to sign up can be found right on our blog www.mrsripp.blogspot.com If you sign up through here, it will even send you a reminder two days prior. However on the 12^th I have to leave at 3:45 for a dentist appointment, there will therefore be other days available. If you have already scheduled yours after that time I will be contacting you to reschedule.

* This was the week of the cold, we have been hand sanitizing and disinfecting but it seems to be spreading. I also ended up with an ear infection thus the sub Friday afternoon.

* If you haven’t heard the news; Mr. Getz revealed that he and his wife are expecting a baby in June. This will be their 3^rd child and they will have 3 under the age of 3 – wow, they will be busy!

* If your child will miss school around spring break, please let me know.

* Literacy week is coming February 27^th! I have posted more details on our website.

* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Valentine’s Day Party 9:30 AM February 14^th, Early Release February 14^th, Assembly February 16^th, Sub all day Friday, February 17^th, Carnival Saturday, February 18^th 2 PM, and finally The Family Feast February 22^nd at 12:20 PM, Literacy week February 27^th through March 2^nd.

Shhh....Secret Valentine

2012-02-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

As requested by the students we will start a "Secret Valentine" run tomorrow that will last until Valentine's Day. Each student has been assigned a secret Valentine who they will need to leave compliments for as well clues about their own identity. Then every day the students will get a chance to guess who their secret Valentine is. They do not need to give their Secret Valentine anything other than notes.

The Colonial Kids

2012-02-04T06:14:00.000-08:00

Newsletter February 3, 2012

2012-02-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

Math – We are moving through unit 7 with a lot of vocabulary being introduced as well as deeper concepts. We have discussed order of operations (PEMDAS) and powers of 10. Today we even watched the 1977 classic Powers of ten video by Charles and Ray Eames. The test is scheduled for February 14th before the Valentine’s Day Party.
Science – Science was all about student-led exploration this week as they designed their own experiments for the stream tables. It was wonderful to watch them discuss their hypothesis and control their variables. Monday we will be discussing all of our observations to draw conclusions as well as learn how to write flash cards for studying.
Social Studies – What wonderful discussions we have been having in social studies about the big ideas that emerged during Colonial Times that still impact us today; freedom of religion, freedom of speech, all people are created equal, and also how people worship their religion. We have also tried to decipher what in the world Ben Franklin really meant by some of his sayings and will be creating an idiom book written and illustrated by the students. For digital learning day we explored the excellent website http://www.history.org/kids/games/ which has a plethora of colonial day games and information.
Reading – We read chapter 2 of Jump Ship to Freedom and discussed what to include in a chapter summary, the students are also eager to take on research projects to answer all of their questions generated so far. This book explores very interesting concepts of what it meant to be a slave in America after the Revolutionary War.
Writing – Secrets of a 5th grader wrapped up in the classroom this week and is due typed and double-spaced on Wednesday. Students will illustrate their secrets and we will put it all in a class book.
Special Notes –
* What a wonderful opportunity the students had on Wednesday showcasing their blogging to the State Superintendent as well as other educators. At some point, the webinar will be released and I will put it on our website for you to see. I will also be blogging about the experience later.
* Students are slowly handing in their Read to Succeed Six Flags logs, please hand them in before March 1st.
* Conference sign up has started. Please see our website for the link. These conferences will be 15 minutes and will focus on how the goals are being met as well as middle school readiness. All students are expected to attend their conference.
* We skyped with a kindergarten class on Wednesday as well. They had prepared questions for us regarding our winter. It was their first time skyping and our class was a wonderful role model.
* Thank you to all who volunteered for the Colonial Feast, whether you cooked, shopped, cleaned or donated. The students had a wonderful time, the food was delicious and it added one more layer to our instruction.
* The twins are healthy and growing at the right rate. We got a lot of new pictures of them, which I shared with the kids even though they just look like little aliens. Thea continues to give us ideas for names, usually Sheeno and Keemo, or something along those lines. We will be taking her to the circus for the first time soon and she believes she will be riding all of the animals.
* Danny moved to Mr. Meinholz’s classroom this week but will continue to have PE and one music class with us. We certainly miss him.
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Valentine’s Day Party 9:30 AM February 14th, Early Release February 14th, Assembly February 16th, Carnival Saturday, February 18th 2 PM, and finally The Family Feast February 22nd at 12:20 PM.

Spring Conference Sign Up

2012-02-02T10:54:00.001-08:00

Please click on the VolunteerSpot button to sign up for your conference!

What a Great Digital Learning Day We Had

2012-02-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

Today was the first Digital Learning Day that I have participated in and it was fun to see what the students were involved in. Often we have so much technology integrated into our day that I don't even think about how much technology is used in our room. The big moment was definitely when the students did their webinar; I was quite the proud teacher seeing them run through their script, do the filming and everything else. They have worked so hard on it. In the afternoon we then got to Skype with a Kindergarten classroom in Lakeland Florida. They had never Skyped before and we got to show them how to do it. They had prepared questions for us regarding our weather and thought Wisconsin sounded very cold, even with our 40 degree weather. Finally in social studies, my group went to the computer lab to play various games centered around Colonial America. What a great day of learning.

Video of the Students' Webinar

2012-02-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of how the students did at the Webinar today. There was a lot of nervousness but I think they nailed it. The State Superintendent Tony Evers even gave us a "good job" on Twitter! David filmed this behind the scenes of the actual webinar.

Newsletter January 27, 2012

2012-01-27T06:02:00.000-08:00

Math – We finished unit 6 with flying colors and started unit 7 today. So far the test is scheduled for February 14th before the CRT. Students continue to improve in their math facts, which show in their math work.

Science – Students are changing variables in our stream tables. Wednesday we added slope to our table – that sped things up! And today we will change the water source to a flood cup. Next week students get to create their own experiments, which is always a blast.

Social Studies – Students were placed into new groups this week and we will be learning more about the Middle Colonies. In my group we have also been discussing voting rights and writing letters trying to persuade others to come to New Netherland.

Reading – We started “Jump Ship to Freedom” this week. All of the kids so far find the book fascinating and I look forward to the discussions surrounding the events in the book. We will also be focusing on summarizing chapters as well as finding keywords.

Writing – Writing took place mostly in social studies as committees have been busy at work on various video projects for our classroom. Today we again focused on secrets of a 5th grader and we are seeing great progress there.

Special Notes –
* We have been blogging about traveling in time which just happens to coincide with this year’s contest theme for Doodle for Google. This annual contest is one the kids look forward to! The grand prize winner will get a $30,000 scholarship, their school will receive a $50,000 scholarship and their Doodle will be featured on Google’s homepage for a day. Students were given contest rules yesterday and have until March 15th to submit to me, their submissions do require parent signatures so be aware of that.
* I also received the fun news this week that our class will be featured in a 6 minute webinar on Wednesday for the Wisconsin Digital learning day. A committee is busy planning the script and setting up the blogging showcase for educators around Wisconsin. We will give you more information when we have it.
* We are hoping to go sledding next Thursday with our buddies depending on how much snow we have left. Students will be asked to bring in their sled for the event.
* We also were introduced to our virtual collaborator Meagan Amy this week. She is an education major from Canada who will be following our class virtually and collaborating with the kids through Skype, she is very excited to get started.
* Congratulations to Eric, David and Kyra for their success in the Yahara River Writers Contest. I am also excited to see student art work submissions for the covers and insets.
* This week Thea named the twins Keemo and Hippo, she also now has told me she has 3 babies in her stomach. We didn’t realize she was such a one-upper.
* Again a reminder that I will be out of the classroom until 10 AM on Thursday. Ms. Bodell will do attendance and then the students will go to math. If they have me, they will go to Mr. Getz. I will be back before recess.
* Fashion show video is up on our website. The kids were so creative and funny.
* Guidance will continue to send Team Up slips home every week. Please make sure to go over them with your child and then sign and return them to me. A lot of students are still missing the first one that was due Tuesday.
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Colonial Feast January 31st, No Mrs. Ripp 8:15 AM to 10 AM February 2nd (students will have math with Mr. Meinholz instead), Valentine’s Day Party 9:30 AM February 14th, Early Release February 14th, Assembly February 16th, Carnival Saturday, February 18th 2 PM, and finally The Family Feast February 22nd at 12:20 PM.

5th Grade Fashion Show

2012-01-26T11:08:00.001-08:00

Very Exciting Opportunity for the Students

2012-01-25T12:46:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled to share with you that the students will be showcased by WI DPI next Wednesday as part of their Digital Learning Day initiative. Our part will be a 6 minute showcase through a webinar. 5 students have been selected to script and get the webinar ready but some details are still not determined. Here is the news release that they are sending out:

Pernille Ripp and some of her students from West Middleton Elementary School will demonstrate their blog project using the webinar software and their web camera. The students will show their blog, talk about how they blog, and they and Mrs. Ripp will talk some of their experiences with "blog pals," especially their pals in Cairo during last year's revolution.

The total event is from 10-11:30. I will give you more details when I have them.

Newsletter January 20, 2012

2012-01-20T09:12:00.000-08:00

Math – We are close to finishing unit 6, the test remains scheduled for Wednesday with the new unit starting Friday. The next unit is about exponential notation and the subtraction and addition of positive and negative numbers.
Science – Students are getting acquainted with the stream tables and building models of canyons, deltas, and erosion processes. We will be using video cameras to document our learning in this unit and then share it on our website.
Social Studies – We are delving deeper into the middle colonies and students are getting ready for Colonial Day Feast. They are particularly keen to figure out their costumes for the feast. We encourage them to dig through closets of parents or grandparents to fin d the proper attire, please see our website for ideas.
Reading – We moved “Jump Ship to Freedom” for next week so that the students instead could use the reading time to explore comparative adjectives. One of the videos will be published on YouTube as well as our website.
Writing – We are almost done with our secrets of 5th graders project and I am getting excited to see what the students have written. Next week we will do the district writing assessment to be discussed at my literacy meeting in February.

Special Notes –
* Thank you all for your congratulations on the news of our twins. It will take some time to adjust for sure but we are over the moon at the prospect of two little babies. The kids have been so funny this week with their questions, such as “Does this mean you cannot get a pie in the face?” (No!) “Do you throw up all day?” (No) Are they kicking? “(Not yet) and my favorite “How huge will you be?” (Huge hopefully!) The students have also been very creative with their name suggestions even offering up their own names as choices.
* We will be going sledding but just have to wait for a day with warmer temperatures. I will give a heads up as soon as we pick a day.
* For Valentine’s Day students can bring in a Valentine, however, if they do, they need to bring one for everyone in the class. They can attach a candy or trinket to their Valentine but this is not expected. There is a class list with first names on it on our website.
* We are still looking for donations of snow pants; if you have any old ones to donate please just send them in.
* Congratulations to Sophia Bo for representing us at the district spelling bee – how awesome!
* Please check Friday envelopes as the students have “Team Up” letters from our guidance counselor. Students should read these with their parents/guardians, sign them and return them to me on Tuesday.
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: No school Monday, January 23rd, WM PTO meeting Thursday, January 19th 7 PM, Math test unit 6 January 25th, Colonial Feast January 31st, No Mrs. Ripp 8:15 AM to 10 AM February 2nd (students will have math with Mr. Meinholz instead), Valentine’s Day Party 9:30 AM February 14th, Early Release February 14th, Assembly February 16th, Carnival Saturday, February 18th 2 PM, and finally The Family Feast February 22nd at 12:20 PM.

Class list for Valentine's Day

2012-01-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of all the names of the students:
Ava
Jordan
Sophia
Sophia
Nate
Sean
Keller
Anna F
Ryan
Will
Alysha
Abby
Anna K
Emily
Kyra
Alex
Eric
Danny
Jacob
Karina
David
Michael
Priyanka
Sarah

A Little Bit of News

2012-01-18T06:16:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I are thrilled and a little bit astounded to announce that we are expecting twins this August! While this may mean I slow down a little physically, my energy for these kids and this classroom will still be there and I cannot wait to share the lives of the new babies with all of the kids. I have therefore shred the news with the students today but wanted to also share it with all of you.

Thank you for all that you do for our classroom, we truly are lucky at West Middleton to have such incredible families.

How we found out - two beating hearts

Students Explain Evaporation in a Salt Solution

2012-01-17T12:04:00.001-08:00

Art Contest for the Yahara River Writers Anthology

2012-01-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

The students are invited to partake in a contest for the cover or the category divider pages for the Yahara River Writers Anthology! The requirements are as follow:

The cover should have a river theme or a writing theme.
The following words must be included on the cover: "Yahara River Writers" and "2012."
For the divider pages: each page should have the category name: Short Story, Editorial, Cartoon or Poetry.
Pages should be created in a medium that photocopies well such as black/white so black pen, sharpie or dark pencil.
Regular 8 1/2 X 11 paper will be fine.
Leave a margin around the edges.
Due March 1st to Mrs. Ripp.

I have encouraged all of the students to enter.

Colonial Day Feast Information

2012-01-17T08:45:00.000-08:00

On January 31st at 1 PM we will be having our Colonial Day Feast. Mindy Sabol is spearheading all volunteering before the event and during. Students should donate $3 by January 20th to cover the cost of food.

Here is what has been signed up for so far. Note we are still looking for 5 volunteers to be there from 12:30 PM to 2 PM or so who can help make food, set up, serve food, and clean up. We will be feeding 80 kids in the lunch room. Set up will be at 12:30 and we will be cleaned up by 2:00.

Food Needed	Parent 1	Parent 2
Mashed potatoes (2 people)	Ann Keenan	Preeti Bais
Succotash (1 person)	Niki Wood	N/A
Cornbread muffins (2 people)	Karina Burkard	Lisa Bote
Pumpkin pies (2 people - 2 pies each)	Rebecca Tirabassi	Wendy Albert
Apple pies (2 people - 2 pies each)	Gwen Schwartz
Molasses Ginger Snaps Cookies (2 people - 4 dozen each)	Holly Baggott	Heidi Jagoe
Snickerdoodles (2 people - 4 dozen each)	Maria Bavishi
2 Nesco’s
3 Crockpot’s	Holly Baggott
1 large bowl		N/A
1 large basket for rolls		N/A

Students are encouraged to dress like Colonial Times and will be given time to change before the feast:

Sweat pants/slacks pushed up like knickers or tucked into socks
Long skirts or dresses
Vest, sweater or jacket
Tube socks
Cravat (scarf)
White long sleeve shirt or turtleneck
Warm layers underneath
Comfortable shoes
Tri-cornered hat- We’ll make these in school!

Newsletter Janaury 13, 2012

2012-01-13T13:29:00.001-08:00

Math – We are getting through unit 6 with flying colors. I like how the first part is heavily focused on working with data and then the second half is all about adding and subtracting fractions. To make fractions more tangible please point them out outside of school such as in cooking or shopping. The unit test is so far scheduled for January 25th.
Science – We are adding new vocabulary in our landforms unit and this week got to build a model of the playground in our stream table, as well as map it out, thus becoming cartographers. Next week we start to make models and add water to them to explore the effects of erosion.
Social Studies – The 13 colonies are pretty fascinating and in my session of social studies/reading we have been working on note taking skills as it relates to our reading. The students have been asking questions and then using text clues to help answer them. We will do Mystery Skype on Wednesday and then a small simulation Thursday and Friday to finish the chapter.
Reading – We finished Harry Potter and were sad to see him go. The students have already asked if the second book can be our next read aloud but we are still discussing it. We start our next literature unit with “Jump Ship to Freedom” next week where we will do a combination of small literacy groups as well as whole group discussion. This book ties in well with our social studies curriculum as well.
Writing – Our super secret writing project started this week titled “Secrets of a 5th Grader” and the students have excitedly been writing and hiding their secrets. These will all be published in a classroom book for people to guess whose secret is whose. Spelling is on and off the month of January but we are working on other skills for morning work.
Special Notes –
* What a wonderful week of learning. I am thrilled every day with the way these students work together and how eager they are to explore.
* Congratulations to Sophia Bo. and Kyra for representing the class in the geo bee – those are some tough questions!
* The Colonial feast will be January 31st at 1 PM. The students are encouraged to dress like in colonial times with more information to come. The fantastic Mindy Sabol has volunteered to spearhead the coordination of this even and she will need more help. Please contact her if you are interested.
* Do you have any old snow pants that the kids no longer use? Please consider donating them to West Middleton, we always have students who need some.
* Did you see the carnival is coming? Thea and I love coming to this even and we hope to see you there February 18th!
* Thank you so much for book orders, I will place the order later today.
* We did our first MAP test with no surprises. We do our math portion on Wednesday and then we won’t do another one until May.
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: MAP testing January 11th and 18th, No school Monday, January 16th and Monday, January 23rd, WM PTO meeting Thursday, January 19th 7 PM, Math test unit 6 January 25th, Colonial Feast January 31st, Valentine’s Day Party 9:30 AM February 14th, Early Release February 14th, Assembly February 16th, Carnival Saturday, February 18th 2 PM, and finally The Family Feast February 22nd at 12:20 PM.

How We Tire Thea Out

2012-01-11T17:09:00.001-08:00

Calling All Filmmakers!

2012-01-06T13:51:00.001-08:00

Students of all ages are invited to submit short films to be considered in the school district's first film festival. All students in the District are eligible. The deadline to submit films is Feb. 20. Submission forms are available here, on the website or in the main office of each of the schools in the district. You can also e-mail or call Deanna Kruger at 829-9668 for the forms or more information. The winning entries will be shown in an evening program during the high school's Fine Arts Week.

Newsletter January 6th, 2012

2012-01-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

Math – We have started unit 6 which is about data collection and further work with fractions. Students are still expected to be secure in math facts and although great leaps have been seen some students are not making enough gains. I cannot stress how much it slows down a child in math when they do not know their fact. The test for this unit will be somewhere around the 25th.

Science – We are moving on to landforms next week were we will discuss erosion, mountains and create maps. This unit will last us until spring break where the students will have a special culminating project.

Social Studies – We are onto chapter 5 discussing the formation of the 13 colonies. We are working on study skills and note taking skills so there will be fewer projects. We are trying to foster the beginning of a note-taking independence, wherein students know when they should take notes and when they shouldn’t without always relying on a teacher prompt.

Reading – We are finishing Harry Potter here shortly and then move into “Jump Ship to Freedom.” Focus skills for this book will be vocabulary and summarizing skills. Students have requested more silent reading time so we have switched two journal writing times with silent reading time instead. Students are still expected to read a minimum of 30 minutes a night.

Writing – Most students have handed in their Yahara submissions and selected works will be passed on to Ms. Weber and the judging team. I do not know when results will be made public. Our next writing project is short but a lot of fun and will focus on word choice, sentence fluency and conventions.

Special Notes –
* We have discussed and set 2nd trimester goals. These will be sent home to parents today. Please take a moment and read your child’s goals as they spent a lot of time brainstorming them. Periodically we will use these to check in on our progress in 5th grade.
* I came across a neat reading incentive for the students from Six Flags. If they read 6 hours recreationally between now and March 1st they will get one free admission to Six Flags in Illinois. The form for parents and students to fill out is coming home today and is due back to me by March 4th.
* Literacy assessments will not require a sub this time since I only have to meet with 4 students. They will be happening in January.
*Congratulations to Sophia Bote and Kyra for representing us in the geography bee on January 14th.
* MAPS testing for us will be Wednesday January 11th and 18th 8:30 to 9:40 AM. All students will be taking these computerized tests as part of our assessments, please see the letter going home today.
* I will have a sub in the room Monday morning as I meet with special education all morning.
* The Colonial Feast is coming either at the end of January or the start of February. Please keep your ears tuned for more information, Mindy Sabol has graciously agreed to spearhead the effort but will need lots of help!
* Due to shorter weeks, spelling packets will be limited in January. I am instead giving the students other morning work, this week it was on homophones.
* Thank you so much for all of the holiday goodies and gifts for my family and me. I already feel blessed having all of these incredible students.
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars, , Geography Bee Friday, January 13th at 8:40 AM, MAPS testing January 11th and 18th, No school Monday, January 16th and Monday, January 23rd, WM PTO meeting Thursday, January 19th 7 PM.

Try Again Daddy!

2012-01-05T06:03:00.001-08:00

Our Next Science Unit

2012-01-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents,
Human beings make their homes at the surface of the planet we know as Earth. The shapes that decorate Earth’s surface include a variety of landforms, including mountains and valleys, canyons and ridges, volcanoes, basins, hills, sand dunes, and moraines. Each landform is the result of one or more processes that create and change Earth’s surface.

In the FOSS Landforms Module students begin to look at ways to represent the features of Earth’s surface at smaller scales. First, they work in three dimensions by creating desktop models of their schoolyard. They learn to transfer the features in their models to a two-dimensional map. Along the way, they learn that symbols can represent landforms, structures, and other features of an area. They continue their study of the landforms by investigating the effects of water running over Earth’s surface. The Grand Canyon is the focus of their investigations as they set up a model plateau in a stream table. As they observe the effects of water running over solid earth materials, they learn new landforms and vocabulary, including canyons, deltas, erosion, and deposition. They design and set up investigations to study how changes made by people affect the processes of erosion, deposition, and stream flow.

You can extend your child’s experiences in the classroom in a number of ways. Take trips to nearby parks that feature landforms common to your region. Watch the erosion and deposition that take place during and after a rainstorm. Visit your local library and check out books that include information about the local landscape. Have your child help you plan the route and destination for your next family vacation, keeping in mind the interesting and unusual landforms you could encounter along the road.

This unit will go all the way until spring break.
Best,
Mrs. Ripp

Thought I Would Share; A Gift For My Brother

2012-01-04T10:07:00.001-08:00

Disclaimer: Due to Paul's excitement he does say the "S" word in this video, please do not show it your child if this is not dismissible.

In November, I wrote a post asking for help in giving my brother Paul a very special Christmas. He was at the time deployed to Afghanistan and expected to come home before Christmas. Besides being an incredible trauma nurse and studying to be a doctor, he is also the biggest Maple Leafs fan I have ever seen. So in my post I asked if anyone could help me get a shirt for him and lo and behold it all happened due to the power of Twitter. Watch the video below how it all went down and thank you again if you were part of the journey in getting the word out.

Newsletter December 16, 2011

2011-12-16T06:03:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all of your condolences at the death of my grandfather. The kids were spectacular as well and every day is a new day. He was a great man and will be greatly missed.

Math – We are almost done with unit 5, my favorite unit, and will have the test on Wednesday. If your child will be absent please let me know so that they can take the test before the break. We will also celebrate the end of the unit with a pizza lunch on Wednesday. Please send in $3 with your child to cover lunch. The next unit is about collecting and processing data.

Science – We are finishing up mixtures and solutions with discussion of concentration as well as trying to get the vocabulary straight. There will not be a test but rather a check-in with tools to see how much the students remember.

Social Studies – I continue to be impressed by the students’ ingenuity, enthusiasm and ideas for further exploration. In my social studies class we have discussed Pocahontas Facts vs. Disney as well as had the students decide on a mini-project. To say I am impressed with their ideas is an understatement; an English settlement created in Minecraft, an Animoto presentation on their journey, various foods, and presentations all concocted by the students.

Reading – Yahara continues to dominate but we are checking in with our Harry Potter. Also, this is a new trimester which means we start book talks again after break with the students needing to read at least 1,000 pages.

Writing – The Yahara final drafts are due to me on Friday January 6^th. Some students are closer to finishing than others; please help them with their editing. I am teaching them only to rely on spell check as a tool not as the only way to check their spelling!

Special Notes –

* We are working hard in 5^th grade and I love seeing how the kids are banding together to form their community. I have the best job in the world and it is because of these kids!

* Winter party will take place Wednesday, December 21^st at 1:00 PM. It does not look like there will be any snow for sledding so we will just hang out instead in our classroom.

* There will be no homework over break, I hope the students will blog and read but that is it. This is their chance to gear up for the second half of 5^th grade.

* Congratulations to all of our students in the spelling bee. I heard it was quite the intense spell off.

* We have pen pals from London now. Mrs. Clarke contacted me and wondered if we would write back and forth; the kids seem to love the connection. Matthew is also using our blog to stay in touch; he left a long post detailing his new school.

* Thea is actively pointing at every single toy she sees and asking Santa to get it for her. We love the holidays and cannot wait to see her face on Christmas.

* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Winter Party is December 21^st at 1 PM, winter break is from December 22^nd through January 2^nd, New math groups and social studies groups Tuesday, January 3^rd, Yahara final versions are due to me Friday, January 6^th, Geography Bee Friday, January 13^th at 8:40 AM, No school Monday, January 16^th and Monday, January 23^rd, and WM PTO meeting Thursday, January 19^th 7 PM.

Way to Go Quiz Bowl Team!

2011-12-16T05:38:00.000-08:00

Fifth-graders from the six MCPASD elementary schools definitely have their thinking caps on.

District teams from all six schools participated in Wisconsin's Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl competition, which took place on Nov. 15. Students competed online with other teams from around the state. The contest included 100 multiple choice questions in categories including history, spelling, math, science, English, current events, children's literature, government, sports, geography and more.

Each team was given two tries on each question, with speed and accuracy on the first attempt building the highest score. Team members were chosen based on the results of a screener given to all interested fifth graders. The screener had question topics similar to those covered on the actual statewide quiz bowl.

CONGRATULATIONS to the West Middleton Quiz Bowl team, which earned first place in the state!

Merry Christmas from Us

2011-12-03T07:18:00.001-08:00

Newsletter December 2nd, 2011

2011-12-02T09:45:00.000-08:00

Math – We finished unit 4 and this so far the most laborious test with plenty of opportunities for the students to have silly mistakes. We were thrilled to see how many kids felt more secure in division and know that we will continue to keep an eye on all the skills. So far the test will be December 21st. Since the trimester ended, all students have to test out of fact tests again. We started these today.

Science – We continue working with mixtures and solution and today discussed saturated solutions. Do you know how many grams of salt it will take to saturate 50 ml of water? Your child does!

Social Studies – We finished chapter 3 “The Explorers” today and start new groups on Monday. The next chapter moves into the British explorers and will take us through break. In my room we did an hour of wonder yesterday, which was like a mini innovation day.

Reading – We are focusing on discussing grades this week as well as working on the Yahara Writers Contest. Students have had little time to read in school outside of the read-aloud where Harry just got sorted by the sorting hat.

Writing – I wrote more about the Yahara River Writers Contest on our website, the first draft of the short story is due on Wednesday the 7^th and the final draft is December 16^th. The other three categories will be discussed the week of the 12^th with that week as work time.

Special Notes –

* I will be in San Francisco next weekend to visit relatives. Mrs. Johnston will be our sub.

* Thank you so much for box tops, while I think Mrs. Hannam’s class did beat us we ended up with 1,001 boxtops for the school which is wonderful news for the new swing sets!

* Snow gear is a necessity at this time of the year. Please help your child bring in everything they need to stay warm. If students need help acquiring gear please let mw know or contact Miss Rose.

* Our winter break celebration is scheduled for the 21^st of December so far. We are hoping to have pizza lunch and then go sledding after recess. It will, of course, be snow-dependent. Mrs. Sabol will be contacting those who signed up to volunteer/donate food.

* Winter tea is this Wednesday, do join us if you can!

* We said goodbye to Matthew who is on to new adventures in Illinois. He will be missed.

* Spelling bee is next Friday. Kyra, Sophia Ba, Sophia Bo, and Priyanka will be representing our class at 8:40 AM in the multipurpose room.

*The pie in the face assembly is next Friday which I am sad to miss. If I do end up needing to take a pie in the face, it will be at another time.

* Report cards go home this Thursday, I have already met with all students to discuss their grades. They have to decide them first and then we discuss them and make adjustments. Please sign the envelope and send it back to me ASAP.

* A two-page article about the Global Read Aloud was published in “Learning & Leading” which is the official magazine for technology in education. This discusses the first year and even has artwork from some of the kids from last years 4/5 class. If you would like to read it, let me know.

* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Report cards Thursday, December 8^th Human Growth and Development is, Dec. 7^th and December 14^th, the Winter Tea is Wednesday, December 7th 10:35-11:00, Sub (Mrs. Johnston) for Mrs. Ripp December 9^th and 12^th, Winter Party is December 21^st at 1 PM (we are hoping it will be a sledding party) and winter break is from December 22^nd through January 2^nd.

Thea's Spreads some Christmas Cheer

2011-12-01T17:46:00.001-08:00

Yahara River Writers Contest

2011-11-30T10:15:00.000-08:00

December is dedicated to working on our submissions to the Yahara River Writers Contest. All students will be submitting a short story to me and then they will be able to pick one other type of writing to submit: poetry, editorial, or political cartoon (to be discussed and taught the week of December 12th).

The first draft for the short story is due to me by December 7th and the Final draft is due the 16th of December. Students are encouraged to work on this outside of school as class time will be limited.

Formatting Requirements for short story:
Maximum 850 words
Font is Times New Roman, 12 point size
Margins: 1 inch on all sides
Double-spaced
Title: Times New Roman, boldface; 14 point
NO NAME should appear on the final version

Formatting Requirements for editorial:
Maximum 475 words
Font is Times New Roman, 12 point size for body
Margins: 1 inch on all sides
Double-spaced
Title: Times New Roman, boldface; 14 point
NO NAME should appear on the final version

This is a county-wide contest where 33 school districts in the area send submissions. All entries will be judged and the top ten in each category, per grade level, will be selected. From each top ten group, a first and second place entry will be identified. All top ten entries will be published in the Yahara River Writers Anthology. and all authors of top ten entries will be invited to attend a workshop on the UW Campus.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Some Late Pictures from Our Harvest Party

2011-11-27T18:17:00.000-08:00

Newsletter November 22, 2011

2011-11-22T09:28:00.001-08:00

November 22, 2011

As Thanksgiving approaches, I have much to be thankful for. The incredible students that are so eager to share their learning, the support of parents for all of our adventures, a team that meets every day and puts the kids first, and a school where we feel like a family. Thank you for everything that you do for me and for us.

Math – We are almost done with unit 4 and the test is scheduled for Wednesday November 30^th. New groups therefore start December 2^nd. This unit is all about division and those math facts are important. The next unit is my favorite topic; fractions!

Science – I absolutely loved seeing the students’ thinking in their research paper. Some really hit the mark where others missed a couple of things. Since learning is a process, all students have the opportunity to resubmit missing components to me on Monday. We continue science with our dry mixture challenge on Monday.

Social Studies – This week we discussed whether Christopher Columbus was a hero or a villain and it was wonderful to see the nuanced perspectives that started to show up. Perhaps history isn’t as clean-cut as we would like it to be? Students also had a chance to create a route using a compass outside with a video to be posted soon.

Reading – Harry is getting to Hogwarts and the kids are disappointed every time I turn it off. We have also been using reading for our How To presentations, which have been wonderful. We have learned so many things this week.

Writing – Writing has been focused on the How To presentations this week but we have started a longer writing piece on whether teachers should assign homework or not. The first paragraph is under revision and we continue with it next week.

Special Notes –

* Please make sure you get our website updates or check the website regularly. This is where I post extra directions, information, and videos for the classroom. If a new project is introduced it often has a post attached to it on the website.

* Congratulations to Sophia’s, Priyanka, and Kyra for representing us in the school spelling bee on December 9^th. Matthew would also have been a representative but will have moved before then. We are very sad to see Matthew go and will miss his creative spirit.

* Also congratulations to Jacob, David, and Sophia Bo. for representing our class in The Thinking Cap Bowl. Their team took 1^st in the state and now move on to nationals! This is the first time a West Middleton team has placed first.

*Thank you for all of the box tops, we were in first place last week by about 200 but Mrs. Hannam’s fourth grade is gunning for us. Rumor has it now it might be the top 3 classrooms that get to throw a pie, we shall see.

* The students are creating snowman holiday cards to send around the world. We have 29 cards we have to make and send to other classrooms before December 9^th.

* Thea thinks Santa is coming every day and has discovered that you can put x’s in toy catalogs and Santa may bring it. She has also discovered Christmas music on the radio and has gotten quite adept at Jinglebells. We are now not allowed to listen to anything but Christmas music in the car.

* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: CRT Early Release Wednesday, November 23rd, No school (Happy Thanksgiving) November 24^th and 25^th, First Trimester ends Nov. 30^th, Human Growth and Development is Nov. 30^th, Dec. 7^th and December 14^th, the Winter Tea is Wednesday, December 7th 10:35-11:00, Winter Party is December 21^st at 1 PM (we are hoping it will be a sledding party) and winter break is from December 22^nd through January 2^nd.

Starling Murmuration

2011-11-15T12:48:00.001-08:00

Another amazing video we watched today

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Cool Time Lapse of the Earth

2011-11-15T12:47:00.001-08:00

We watched this video at the end of the day

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Holiday Card Exchange

2011-11-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

We will be taking part in a holiday card exchange with 29 other classrooms in the world. The students will each be creating a snowman themed holiday card by December 7th, so that we may mail them by the 9th. The students can choose what to write in the card and then we will sign all of them. then we just wait and see what we get in the mail, it will be great fun for the stduents to see what shos up and how toehrs celeberate their holidays.

Newsletter November 10, 2011

2011-11-10T09:56:00.001-08:00

We survived WKCE week with flying colors. The students did their best and then we went on with our explorations. Results will be sent home some time in the spring. Thank you to all who donated brain food for us, the kids were so excited and felt very spoiled.

Math – We finished unit 3 with ease and then took a break from math class this week. Today we did math challenges all day, see the video on our website, and it was incredible to step back and let the students work though problems. We have some very creative thinkers in here. We start math again on Monday with new groups and the test will be Tuesday, November 29^th.

Science – We started mixtures and solutions and are working on separating a saltwater solution. I love all of the background knowledge they students share as well as the inferences they make throughout the process. They are true scientists. I have also checked in with students regarding the upcoming science research paper. It is due next Friday.

Social Studies – This week we built background knowledge as we did a simulation on the Explorers. I love hearing the rich discussions on which choices the ships should make as well as reading the daily journals. We did lose a few students to scurvy unfortunately. We start switching for reading again on Monday.

Reading – I introduced conflict this week as it ties in with Harry Potter and we also discussed the roles of protagonists vs antagonist. It is wonderful to see the added layer of perception this adds to the book and the students hate when I turn off the read aloud. That J.K. Rowling is a genius.

Writing – I love seeing the creativity on the students’ blog posts and especially how these students inspire other classrooms around the world with their ideas. I am leaving private comments for students to tighten up their spelling and ideas. We also briefly discussed the Yahara River Writers Contest which we will start on in December.

Special Notes –

* Thank you so much for your participation in conferences. So far, the discussions have been rich and I love seeing the student ownership of their learning goals. Please keep me informed if there is anything we still need to discuss or anything I can do to make 5^th grade an even better experience for your child.

* In-class spelling bee has started with the top names going to Ms. Weber by Thanksgiving. This is voluntary n the room but I do love seeing how many students are giving it a go. They are also challenging me to come up with definitions.

* We will be watching “Singing in the Rain” on Wednesday, November 23^rd. Partly because it is my favorite movie but also because Will greets us every morning with the song “Good morning” from there. Students may bring in pillows and blankets if they would like, as well as a snack.

* Congratulations to Jacob, David, and Sophia Bote for representing us at the Quiz Bowl. We wish them all luck when they compete on Tuesday.

*Thank you for all of the box tops, we were in first place last week and the kids are already winding up their throw arm for that pie in the face I may get.

* As part of our global awareness, I play holiday music from around the world in my classroom starting after Thanksgiving. If this concerns you, please let me know.

* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: swimming is 14^th, 16^th, and 18^th, , CRT Early Release Wednesday, November 23rd, No school (Happy Thanksgiving) November 24^th and 25^th, First Trimester ends Nov. 30^th, Human Growth and Development is Nov. 30^th, Dec. 7^th and December 14^th, and finally the Winter Tea is Wednesday, December 7th 10:35-11:00.

Students Do a Math Challenge

2011-11-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

I love these opportunities to share the way the students think - I want to find more opportunities like this!

Quiz Bowl Info

2011-11-09T11:06:00.001-08:00

Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl Participants and Practice Schedule!
Sophia Bo
Jacob NJ
David S.
Liam N.
Jack M.
Sophie W.
Jason Y.
Erik S.

Tomorrow (Thursday) - during math
Monday, November 14 - 9:30-10:00
Tuesday, November 15th - Actual Quiz Bowl (9:30-10:30)

How To Presentations

2011-11-09T06:43:00.000-08:00

One of the goals in 5th grade is to get students ready to present on topics, which definitely counts as a lifelong needed skill. We have therefore decided that the students need to teach each other something through their presentation.

Here are some guidelines:

The presentations can be either filmed and shown to the class or done live in class.
All of the presentations will occur during the week of November 21st (Thanksgiving week)
Presentations do not have to be longer than 2 to 3 minutes
Students will be evaluated on how loud and clear they spoke to their audience, how they presented, and whether they kept itn interesting (rubrics will be provided). This will be a combination of peer evaluation and teacher evaluation.
Topic is student's choice, as long as we learn something.

Introducing Our Lunch Time Book Club

2011-11-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

The 5th grade team is excited to announce our lunch time book clubs starting the week of November 14th. The idea is simple; a book club during lunch recess one day a week. This is a wonderful way for the students to read or re-read a wonderful book and discuss it with their friends.

Mr. Meinholz will be reading The Rangers Apprentice by John Flanagan and meeting on Thursday's

Mrs. Ripp will be reading The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart and meeting on Thursday's

Mr. Getz will be reading Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book One The Capture by Kathryn N Lasky and will meet on Friday's.

Students do need to have their own copy of the book to participate! If you have any questions, please contact one of the teachers.

Sincerely,
The 5th Grade Team

Newsletter November 4, 2011

2011-11-04T05:58:00.000-07:00

November 4, 2011

Math – We finished unit 3 and did the pre-test for unit 4 today. Unit 4 is all about division so the students need to keep practicing their math facts. Many are tested out for the trimester, which helps them greatly during class. We will start unit on Monday November 14^th and the test will be November 29^th. This is only a 7 lesson unit.

Social Studies – We finished chapter 2 yesterday and are doing our awesome simulation right now on the explorers. Students have to travel the sea to get to the Americas for either Portugal or Spain; survival is not guaranteed. We start groups again on November 14^th with chapter 3 that has to do with the Explorers. We also finally did a mystery Skype call with the whole class. It is an incredibly engaging way for the students to use all of their geographical knowledge of the world to determine the mystery place.

Reading – We continue our discussion of main idea and details and have also started listening and reading along to Harry Potter. The narration is impeccable and the students are having fun figuring out the hidden meaning of names, which then transfers into their writing. We work a lot on inference in all of our subjects and have many discussions on what we do as great readers; it is wonderful to hear the kids speak of their reading skills, thus developing their metacognition.

Writing – This week we finished the examples of types of topic sentences we can use and are moving into transitions sentences. The students have repeatedly shown me that they know what a paragraph consists of. However, when asked why they don’t then use that knowledge in their writing, they replied, “Well, we get so excited that we forget!” Fair enough, I love excitement any day. We will continue with our back to basic writing to get them ready for middle school.

Science – We finished our variables unit with the Flipstick Olympics; talk about science thinking in action. The team representing Japan ended up taking the gold. We are in the midst of our first science research paper where we are trying to answer which bubble gum is the best. The students are performing the experiments and trying to either prove or disprove their hypothesis.

Special Notes –

* These kids make me so proud. I am still getting to know them better and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. Through the blogging challenges they are giving me their opinions and feedback, which are duly noted so if you haven’t seen their writing take a moment to check it out.

* Thank you to everyone who will be donating snacks and drinks next week, it really helps us get through WKCE.

* Conferences have started and these are student and teacher led so your child has to come to it. If you would prefer a meeting without your child present, let us schedule another meeting.

* Also, thank you to all of the incredible parents that made our Harvest Party such a success. It was a great time for the kids and the food was wonderful. I am humbled by all of the parent support I get.

* Don’t forget to practice for the in class spelling bee taking place November 7^th through the 10^th. The top 4 spellers will represent the classroom at the school spelling bee on December 9^th at 8:40 AM.

* Dates for your calendar: swimming is November 7^th, 9^th, 14^th, 16^th, and 18^th. Conferences Tuesday, November 8^ththrough Friday, November 11^th, CRT Early Release Wednesday, November 23rd, No school (Happy Thanksgiving) November 24^th and 25^th.

* On a personal note, my brother is finally coming from his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Some of you may remember he came to speak to the kids last year about being a trauma nurse over there and I am hoping I can get him in again. It was a riveting hour long discussion with the kids. To say that we are thankful he is coming home is an understatement.

How to Survive a Zombie Attack

2011-11-01T10:48:00.001-07:00

In honor of Halloween, we watched the following video yesterday.

http://www.commoncraft.com/video/zombies

The Next 2 Weeks

2011-11-01T09:32:00.001-07:00

We have a lot of exciting events happening here in our room the two next weeks so I thought a nice list of dates would be helpful. Almost all of this information can also be found on our website.

Box Tops for Education is happening at the moment, I have volunteered to have a pie thrown in my face if we win. Students can bring in box tops to us until December 2nd.

In class spelling bee will take place all next week with the top 4 going on to represent us at the school spelling bee.

There will be no math and no social studies/reading switches all next week.

Friday Nov 4th - we start our simulation on the Explorers during social studies/reading time 1:40-2:40 PM. For the next 5 days the students will be staying with me during this time.

Monday Nov. 7th - WKCE testing starts and runs through Wednesday November 9th
Below are our testing times:
Monday Nov. 7th
8:30 - 9:30 AM (Math)
1:40 - 2:40 PM (Reading)

Tuesday Nov. 8th
8:30 - 9:30 AM (Math)
1:40 - 2:40 PM (Reading)

Wednesday Nov. 9th
8:30 - 9:30 AM (Math)
1:40 - 2:40 PM (Reading)

Swimming also starts Monday Nov 7th. The dates are November 7, 9, 14, 16 , and 18. the students leave at 9:40 and return around 11 AM. They need to have their bathing suits, towels etc with them.

It's a Harvest Party

2011-10-26T13:56:00.001-07:00

Our First Mystery Skype

2011-10-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

We got to do our first Mystery Skype where we called Joan Young's classroom. The kids are already excited about the next time!

The Kids Thought This was Cool

2011-10-25T12:57:00.001-07:00

WKCE Testing Time Information

2011-10-25T11:19:00.001-07:00

WKCE testing times are as follows for Mrs. Ripp’s room:

Monday Nov. 7th
8:30 - 9:30 AM (Math)
1:40 - 2:40 PM (Reading)

Tuesday Nov. 8th
8:30 - 9:30 AM (Math)
1:40 - 2:40 PM (Reading)

Wednesday Nov. 9th
8:30 - 9:30 AM (Math)
1:40 - 2:40 PM (Reading)

This is a lot of testing for the kids and a way to keep their energy up is to provide fun snacks for them. If anyone is interested in donating a snack or a drink for any of these days, please let me know.

The testing sessions will not take that whole hour but I want to make sure we are not rushed for time.

Note that swimming starts this week as well.

Thea sings happy birthday to Brandon

2011-10-22T07:09:00.001-07:00

Newsletter October 21, 2011

2011-10-21T09:44:00.001-07:00

Math – We are rocking through unit 3 and the unit test will be on November 3rd. The students are working with their protractors and compasses and also learning about angles. I am excited to see the progress in math facts.

Social Studies – The second chapter on the early people is in full swing and the students continue working on comparing, contrasting and working on projects tied in with the text.

Reading – We have been discussing main ideas and details as it ties in with our writing and we are getting better at summarizing. We use these skills in all of our subjects and the students are feeling more and more comfortable retelling something in their own words. We will be starting Harry Potter “The Sorcerer’s Stone” as our next read aloud which ties in with character conflicts, author’s purpose and themes of literature. I encourage the students to bring in their own copy of the book if they have it and have also ordered copies for the class. We will take the time to dig into the mythology of the book as well, I can’t wait!

Writing – This week was all about topic sentences in our writing boot camp. Students have been given 3 different types of topic sentences to use as they write. They have been browsing articles to look for great topic sentences and are getting more critical in their approval of them. We love going back to basics and I get a kick out of “this is so fun!” that I hear in the classroom.

Special Notes –

* We continue to just have a blast learning. Today, during science when the kids were working on challenges it just was incredible to see them work together and also to hear all of the great ideas. They are becoming critical problem solvers and learners, what an adventure it is.

* Next week will be a short one with a lot of learning packed into 2 ½ days. We will watch Tuck and compare it to the book, we will wrap up flip sticks in science and get ready for the flip stick Olympics, we will continue our boot camp delving into concluding sentences and of course have a lot of fun.

* The harvest party is On Wednesday with food and games. The students may go to any classroom to participate; Mr. Meinholz will be playing kickball, Mr. Getz will have board games and we will have other types of games.

* The students are busy blogging and we have been asked to be blogging buddies with a classroom in England who are just learning how to blog. Please take a moment to leave the kids a comment; they work so hard on their blogs.

* Spelling Bee word lists went home this week, I do not require the kids to participate in the classroom spelling bee, but if you would like your child to participate please let me know. The top 4 will go on to represent us at the school spelling bee on December 9^th.

* The tie-dye shirts went home yesterday and instructions on what to do next are posted on our web site. Tuesday is wear your tie dye t-shirt to school so mark your calendars.

* Thank you for signing up for conferences, most of you should have received a confirmation from me, if not, you have either not signed up or we are still figuring out a time.

* WKCE info went home today and dates have been set: November 7^th – 10^th we will be testing math and reading.

* Dates for your calendar: CRT is Wednesday, October 26^th and No School Thursday October 27^th and Friday, October 28^th, swimming is November 7^th, 9^th, 14^th, 16^th, and 18^th. Conferences Tuesday, November 8^ththrough Friday, November 11^th

To Rinse Out Your Tie-Dyed Shirt

2011-10-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

Keep the dye in the shirt for 24 hours, or overnight. (In the plastic bag).
To rinse it out you need a basin or a bucket and a source of running water. (Outside with a bucket and a hose, or inside with a bucket and laundry sink are good places to rinse). It will probably take at least 5-10 buckets of water to rinse it. Lots f dye will come off in the water.
Fill the bucket with water and put the shirt in, rubber bands still on. Wear gloves or your hands may be stained! Squeeze the water through the shirt about 20 times, vigorously. Then empty the bucket and fill again with clear water.
When most of the dye is out you can take off the rubber bands. The easiest way is to clip them with scissors - but be extremely careful not to make a hole in either your gloves or the shirt.
Continue rinsing and vigorously squeezing water through the shirt until the water is almost clear. (Changing water in bucket as necessary). Then wash the shirt in the washing machine on warm water with detergent to get out the rest of the dye. If you have old towels of similar color to the shirt you could dry them together so the shirt doesn't wrinkle so much. If you have rinsed it out well no more dye will bleed out after this.
The dye is fiber-reactive dye, It becomes a part of the cloth, You do not have to wash it in any special way after this. It is a good idea to wash it with "similar" colors like you would any other bright colored garment. It will not fade unless it is washed with bleach. Also, don't wear it in a chlorinated swimming pool, because this will make it fade. Enjoy!

The Midwest Region

2011-10-19T10:03:00.001-07:00

Written, performed and created by the students.

The Southwest Region

2011-10-19T08:53:00.001-07:00

As a culminating project on chapter 1, students created a video on the Southwest Region using all of their facts.

Spelling Bee Info

2011-10-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

The annual spelling bee is coming up and today the students were given the word list to study from Ms. Weber. In our room participating in the spelling bee is optional, however, if you would like to have your child participate and study the words, please let me know.

The top 4 will be representing us at the school spelling bee on December 9th at 8:40 AM.

Remember Back to the Future?

2011-10-18T13:19:00.001-07:00

The 3 Sheep and the Big Bad Wolf 300 Years Ago

2011-10-17T13:08:00.003-07:00

The 3 Little Chicken and the Big Bad Alligator Mystery Style

2011-10-17T13:08:00.001-07:00

The 3 Little Pigs in the Future

2011-10-17T13:07:00.001-07:00

The 3 Little Humans in Space

2011-10-17T13:06:00.001-07:00

The 3 Little Pigs Underwater

2011-10-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

Character Week

2011-10-16T18:03:00.001-07:00

This week we are asking all of the students to wear certain colors to represent great character traits. The colors are as follows:

Monday: Citizenship, Purple
Tuesday: Responsibility, Green
Wednesday: Respect, Yellow
Thursday: Honesty, Blue
Friday: Caring, Red

Thea plays piano

2011-10-15T07:31:00.001-07:00

This was our house on Saturday morning

To sign up for a conference, click on the button below!

2011-10-14T14:53:00.001-07:00

Newsletter October 14, 2011

2011-10-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

Math – We started unit 3 today which is back to geometry and angles. The students therefore switched groups today and their math tests went home today. Please sign the test and send it back for Monday. Students are able to get a secure, developing, or beginning on skills. If a student has a beginning they may receive a 2 week extra does of this skill during resource time. Today a blanket permission slip went home to cover this. This is so we can ensure that all students are secure by the end of the year. Please sign and send back in.

Social Studies – We start our next chapter on Monday, The Early People. I am excited to dig into the early history of the United States and have some fun projects planned to go along with the reading skill of compare and contrast. We are also reading with a purpose, gather details to support our topic sentences and main ideas.

Science – We are done with planes and moving on to flipsticks. This has given us a wonderful opportunity to put on our teacher hats and evaluate ourselves and our work. This is much more helpful for the kids than me just handing them a score. The kids will be creating their own variable experiment in school as their final assessment.

Reading – This was the final week of the Global Read Aloud and we finished the book yesterday. The kids were surprised at the ending. We now get to watch the movie to compare and contrast it to the story (it is quite different!). We are also working on summarizing and synthesizing, which led the students to act out the 3 Little Pigs told with a different lens. I will be videotaping these performances and putting them on our website for you to see.

Writing – This week we started writing boot camp. In the next few months we will be working on the basics of writing such as paragraphs, topic sentences, details, how to write introductions and conclusions and more. I am excited to get the kids writing even better.

Special Notes –
* You can reach me by calling my voicemail at 829.9374. Please don’t hesitate to call me with any questions and/or concerns. Communication between us is REALLY important to the success of your child. Please don’t hesitate to call or email me!
* Thank you so much for all of the book fair presents, almost all of the books have been snatched up by the kids. The kids have also started recommending more books to each other and it is fun for me to see which books are the must reads.
* When we watch Tuck Everlasting, the students will be allowed to bring already popped popcorn in. I will send home more details once I have the movie.
* If you have not signed up for a conference please contact me to make sure you do.
* Our video from NBC 15 is on our website along with other goodies from our classroom.
* Finally, a huge thank you to all of you for supporting this classroom and me. I have the best job in the world and I am thrilled to be the teacher of these incredible children.
* Dates for your calendar: Picture Re-Take day is October 21st , CRT is Wednesday, October 26th and No School Thursday October 27th and Friday, October 28th, Swimming is November 7th, 9th, 14th, 16th, and 18th. Conferences Tuesday, November 8th through Friday, November 11th

Our First Week Video

2011-10-12T19:07:00.001-07:00

Students Work on Synthesizing as a Reading Strategy

2011-10-11T10:56:00.001-07:00

This was reading today, on Thursday they finish creating and then perform (which I will tape and share).

Thea tells me how she really feels

2011-10-10T17:53:00.001-07:00

Newsletter October 7, 2011

2011-10-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

Math – We are in the midst of multiplication practice and although the book says to use certain methods the students may use whichever method that works best for them. I cannot stress enough how they need to practice their math facts if they are not secure in them. It really slows down their math progress if they don’t know them. The unit test will be on Wednesday and Friday new groups will start.

Social Studies – I love how we are doing social studies/reading and so do the kids. The big strategy we are working on is compare/contrast and also reading with a purpose. There are many different projects happening all meant to challenge the students at their level. The groups will be reshuffled Monday October 17th.

Reading – The third week of the global read aloud meant skyping again with the 4th grade class in Virginia. This time we lead the discussion and students had created wonderful discussion questions. We love putting our teacher hats on and facilitating the discussion. We also worked on determining importance, which again is something we already do but just didn’t know it made us better readers. A reminder that students are expected to read 1,000 pages in the trimester, this gets shown via book talks, so they need to sign up for those.

Writing – We continue to journal focusing on setting our text up correctly and supporting our opinions. We are also working on how to properly discuss without raising our hands. Some of the topics discussed have been how old someone should be to get a cell phone and also whether students would want everything to live forever.

Science – We are working on planes and the variables that determine how far they fly. Super fun. We also put on our teacher hats and evaluated our own science responses and determined how one gets their point across effectively. The next lesson will be the flipsticks.

Special Notes –
* You can reach me by calling my voicemail at 829.9374. Please don’t hesitate to call me with any questions and/or concerns. Communication between us is REALLY important to the success of your child. Please don’t hesitate to call or email me!
* Thank you so much for all of the support regarding the contest. It certainly was exciting to have the camera crew in here and I am so proud of the way the kids were shown. We have gotten a lot of positive response from the community. I will know this weekend whether we made it into next week. The contest ends October 31st and I appreciate all of your votes.
* It was so fun to see all of you at the dance, Thea had such a wonderful time dancing with the students and I love catching up with all of you.
* Please make sure you get those Human Growth and Development permission slips in. the classes are November 30th, December 7th and December 14th.
* Swimming is coming! Permission slips go home today, please send them ASAP.
* Book fair is next week so I will not be sending home an October book order. I will be in a class on family night, I am sorry I have to miss it.
* There will be a half day sub next Friday as I will be in the assessment meeting. I do not know who this sub will be.
* Dates for your calendar: Scholastic Book Fair runs October 10th through the 13th with family night on the 11th, Picture Re-Take day is October 21st , CRT is Wednesday, October 26th and No School Thursday October 27th and Friday, October 28th.

Pretty Cool

2011-10-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

Screenshot from NBC 15's homepage

We Are On the News

2011-10-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here is our video from NBC 15

Internet Safety Discussion and Video

2011-10-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

Today due to a great debate piece in Time For Kids, we discussed internet safety and how old students should be to get on Facebook or other social media sites. It is wonderful to see how aware the students are already about how to create an online identity, as well as how to protect themselves. We are also learning how to discuss appropriately without raising our hands, which is a life skill. We finished the discussion with watching the video below which is slightly creepy but really gets the point home of how to stay safe.

A Hello from Seoul, South Korea

2011-09-30T19:03:00.001-07:00

Today we were lucky enough to get a video from our buddies in South Korea

Thea helps out Mumford and Sons

2011-09-30T19:02:00.001-07:00

Newsletter September 30, 2011

2011-09-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

Math – We are in the middle of the second unit which is all about numbers. We have worked with adding and subtracting whole numbers with decimals and will soon start to work with multiplication of such numbers. Students need to know their math facts so please have them practice if they are not secure in the.

Social Studies – We started our new social studies curriculum this week with projects, discussion of reading strategies, particularly compare and contrast, as well as projects for some. We love how we are getting to work with smaller groups, really focusing in on the comprehension strategies as well as all of the great information for them to explore. Groups will be reshuffled every chapter depending on how a child needs to be challenged.

Reading – The second week of the Global Read Aloud has been great. We skyped with three 4^th grade classrooms in Ohio, who had wonderful questions for us and we did a lot of predicting and summarizing in here. Our buddies in South Korea also created a video for us, which can be seen on our website. We are currently working on the strategy of asking questions, which the students are very good at.

Writing – We are still blogging, the students know that they can ask to blog during recess and many are taking me up on that opportunity to not have to do it at home. We are also journaling, where I encourage the students to use more difficult words and simply circle them if they are unsure of the spelling. Most kids are finding enough time in the morning to get their spelling work done, however, some are handing it in late. They all have the option of bringing it home and work on it there if they feel they need more time. Spelling is an essential skill for all people and it is something they have to practice.

Science – We are halfway through variables and had a lot of fun with our lifeboats this week. Students created hypotheses, tested them and then graphed their results to make predictions. We are working on using our science language to show our understanding as well.

Special Notes –

* Our video goes live on Monday and I will send the link for you to vote on it (if you want to vote for us). It was incredible for me to hear what the kids would spend the $10,000 on if we won. They had ideas from fun stuff like tree houses, carpet, more computers to things like more books for the library or fixing the gym floor.

* Blogging is going really well and we now have gotten more than 400 comments on the blogs. I am in touch with several teachers across the world that are watching our blog for ideas and to see how the kids are developing in their writing. We had a 3^rd grade classroom constructively critique our blog posts this week, which was a wonderful learning opportunity for all of the kids. We will be doing the same for them.

* We are having some issues with filling out assignment notebooks in the switching of the rooms so for the month of October all students have to have their assignment notebook checked by their math and social studies/reading teacher. This is to secure the habit of writing down your homework in the room you are in but after October the responsibility falls back on the student.

* The students were great with the sub and I am finally feeling better. I am so looking forward to a full week with the kids next week with no sub in our room.

* Dates for your calendar: PTO Back to School Hawaiian Party Night is Friday, September 30^th 6 PM, Scholastic Book Fair runs October 10^th through the 13^th with family night on the 11^th, Picture Re-Take day is October 21^st , CRT is Wednesday, October 27^th and No School Thursday October 28^th and Friday, October 29^th.

A Land Region Report - One Group's Project in Social Studies

2011-09-30T06:05:00.001-07:00

Chapter 1 Writing Activity Guideline

Write a Report

Writing Prompt: Choose two land regions you have read about in this chapter. Then write a report that compares and contrasts the two regions discussing climate, geography, landforms, and lifestyles. Tell about the history of the land regions, as well as what makes them a region. Provide facts, details, and examples in your report.

Step 1. Compare and contrast your two chosen land regions by recording their similarities and differences in a chart. Include differences in climate and geography.

- Look at the region map on page 16 and 17 for clues. Use other illustrations to gather more information.

- In your textbook, find descriptions of what makes a region its own and what sets it apart.

Step 2. Use your chart to make an outline for your report. Think about how to organize the information. Include an introductory and a closing section.

Step 3. Use your outline and chart to write a draft of your report. Make sure you are highlighting similarities and differences between the two regions (compare and contrast).

Step 4. Review your work to make sure you have divided the information into paragraphs by topic. Also, check to make sure that used correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

Step 5. Make all necessary changes and prepare your final report

A Land Region Book - One Groups Project in Social Studies

2011-09-30T06:04:00.001-07:00

Chapter 1 Writing Activity Guideline

A Land Region Book

Write and also illustrate a book comparing and contrasting the Land Regions discussed in the chapter.

Step 1. Decide how you want to organize your book. For

example, you could discuss each region in a section by itself, or you could do a section on climate, one on geography and so on.

Step 2. Use information you learned from your textbook.

- Make a list of all of the regions you will include in your book.

- Use maps and descriptions from your textbook to find out where each region is and what makes them special. Write notes to yourself about the landforms and the climate.

- Study pictures and descriptions from your textbook to find and list details about each region.

Step 3. Use your lists to prepare the pages of your land regions book. Remember that this is an illustrated book, so you should include drawings with captions. You should also include charts, maps, and other types of pictures.

Step 4. Review your work. Does your book illustrate how the land regions are similar and different? Are your text and artwork historically correct?

Step 5. Make any necessary changes or additions to prepare your final land regions book. Put the pages in the correct order.

Step 6. Follow the directions to make your land regions books cover. Remember to include a book title on the cover.

Adventures on September 28th

2011-09-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

Highlights of the Day
1 Finding out what our social studies project is
2 Skyping with a class in Ohio
3 NOT running the mile
4 Having oranges for a snack
5 Finishing the technology project
6 Eating some apple crumble for lunch

Chapters 1-10 Predictions and Thoughts

2011-09-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our thoughts on chapters 1 - 10 for the Global Read Aloud

Mae Tuck says, "Things just are, and fussing don't bring changes."

We feel she is talking about that even if you do complain, nothing is going to ever change. So it is what is and you can't change it. Maybe after living so long, she has gotten wiser, so she just lives with it.

The Toad
Is he sort of the man in the yellow suit? Or is he just a magical creature that was created by a witch? Karina
Maybe the toad drank from the spring too? Anna K
I think the toad can hear what the people are saying so maybe he can do some stuff for the man in the yellow suit, so he is like a spy. Abby
The toad is a spy for the yellow suit guy and he has a secret camera on him to spy on the Foster's and the Tuck's. Sophia Bo

The toad drank the water from the spring. Sarah
The man in the yellow suit and the Toad are working together as spies. Keller
The Toad was sent to keep an eye on Winnie by the man in the yellow suit, so he was trained. Emily

Predictions:
The man in the yellow suit will expose the secret and then they will blame it on Winnie. So something bad may happen to her but in the end they will find out it is not her. Jordan
Winnie is going to go back to her family. Alex
Winnie is going to find the toad somewhere. Kyra
The toad is going to speak to Winnie and tell her to leave. Sean
When Winnie goes back home, she is going to stand up for herself and tell them that she does not like being bossed around. Emily
A tornado is going to come and bring them back into time to when the spring was first there. Sophia Bo

The New and Improved NorthEast

2011-09-24T06:44:00.001-07:00

SouthWest

2011-09-24T06:43:00.003-07:00

Zooming into the MidWest

2011-09-24T06:43:00.001-07:00

The Amazing West

2011-09-23T12:30:00.001-07:00

SouthEast Region

2011-09-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

The kids created Animoto's for the different regions in the USA as part of social studies

Newsletter September 23, 2011

2011-09-23T07:48:00.001-07:00

Math – We had our first math test and the kids did well, the results will be sent home next week with a breakdown checklist for your child’s progress. The next unit and shuffling of the kids takes place on Monday where we go into estimation and computation. Kids are quickly realizing that if they do not know their math facts they are a massive disadvantage; please have them practice when you can.
Social Studies – We are finishing our Animoto project today for the US land regions and then getting ready to start switching rooms on Tuesday for social studies. We are incredible excited to also teach literacy skills through social studies and cannot wait to get our students started on projects and deeper learning.
Science – We are working on variables; what they are and how we control them. We changed variables in pendulums and discovered that so far the only thing that made a difference was when we changed the length of the string. Now we are looking at lifeboats and capacity.
Reading – Literacy assessments went well and I am wrapping them up in the classroom as well. The Global Read Aloud started and the kids are very engaged with Tuck Everlasting. We even get to Skype with a 4th grade class in Virginia today. We have also worked on visualization, connections, and discussed whether we would want to live forever – most of the kids said no. We made a video for our blogging buddies in South Korea too and are excited to hear back from them.
Writing – Most kids have finished their blogging challenges for the week, they are posted Friday night and then due the following Friday. I always allow kids to stay in during recess to get it done if they want. While I do check for spelling on the blogs, they are not graded; the students use them as a way to connect with the world and do receive feedback on them. I will often leave a private comment to the student if they have major changes to make but otherwise the blog works as an electronic trail for me to see their growth as writers as well.
Special Notes –
* Thank you so much for all of the kind words sent my way on the news of my nomination. The kids have been involved in some videos but we also have a lot of curriculum to work on, so there is a fine balance there.
* Thank you so much everyone for the book orders, they are slowly trickling in and I cannot wait to have the kids decide which books to add to our library.
* The back to school dance is next Friday and Thea and I cannot wait to get our groove on. We are incredibly thankful for all of the support we get from the PTO and can’t wait to see all of you there.
* If your child is involved in any after school activities and have a big game, performance or something like that coming up – let me know. I like to come and see and so do other kids in the classroom.
* My door is always open so if you are wondering what goes on in our room, feel free to stop by.
* This classroom is really buzzing with excitement over what we are doing. I am thrilled to see the kids come together as a community and really representing us well wherever they go. I have gotten countless compliments on how well they are behaved from the specials teachers as well.
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Sub for 5th grade planning time on Monday September 26th 11:45 to end of day, New math unit starts Monday September 26th, and new social studies starts Tuesday, September 27th, All of the videos for the Teach Off are due the 28th, PTO Back to School Hawaiian Party Night is Friday, September 30th 6 PM, Scholastic Book Fair runs October 10th through the 13th with family night on the 11th, Picture Re-Take day is October 21st.

Would You Want To Live Forever?

2011-09-22T14:20:00.001-07:00

Adventures on September 22

2011-09-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of fun today. Today, in the morning,we found out that Mrs.Ripp has a chance with nine other teachers to win 10,000 dollars for our school/classroom. She made some video clips with us today for that contest. ( I hope we win!) We read more of Tuck Everlasting for the Global read aloud and were all asked : If you could live forever, would you? Most of us said no. We also had a writing assignment, on how to make a PB and J sandwich. It was very fun!

Some $10,000 News

2011-09-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share some incredible news I received today. I was told today that I have been picked as one of 10 national finalists in the Great American Teach Off.

I have no idea why I was picked out of thousands of nominees but I was and the classroom is now in the running for a $10,000 classroom grant to spend however we like.

While I am humbled, flabbergasted and very excited I need your help. I have a week to create 5 videos, all 90 seconds long, answering these 5 questions (one video each)
-How am I an innovative teacher -
What I'm doing to make a difference -
Best teaching tops for teachers across America
-Endorsement from a parent or peer
-What I would do with $10,000 for my classroom

The videos will then be posted on the website and the American public get to vote for their favorite over the course of 5 weeks. Each week 2 people get voted off from the least amount of votes and so on until one winner stands. (voting doesn't start until October 3rd and I will be sending you the link to vote no worries). I am hoping to feature the kids in these videos since I am not sure I am innovative but the kids certainly are.

I need your help with the fourth video, I have already contacted Mindy Sabol to hopefully get you guys involved in making that 4th video about the parents. So if you would be willing to say something about me and the classroom, I am would be honored. Also if you know of other parents that have anything to say let me know. I am going to have to get these videos together by the 28th and would love any help I can get.

Adventures of Sept 21

2011-09-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

Today we get out of school at 11:00 am.

In science we built life boats
We are are listen to a book called Tuck Everlasting
We went on to a kid science website and did some science stuff
We were playing with weights

Sweet Science Simulations

2011-09-21T08:43:00.001-07:00

We played around with an awesome science site today.

Here is the link

Hello Team Justice in Seoul, South Korea!

2011-09-20T13:42:00.001-07:00

We are so excited to have blogging buddies in Seoul, South Korea!

Adventures on September 20th

2011-09-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

after math I got to blog
we got to work on our social studies project
we started the global read aloud today
we didn't have to run the mile today
my dad is coming home from Chicago tonight

written by,

Keller

Thea Plays a Song for Daddy

2011-09-17T08:33:00.001-07:00

Newsletter September 16th

2011-09-16T08:15:00.001-07:00

September 16 2011
Math – We have our first math test on Thursday and then the students get reshuffled for the new unit starting on Monday the 26th. Math fact scores are continuing to improve by leaps and bounds, keep practicing!
Social Studies – We have big news in social studies as it will be flipped to the end of the day, an hour each day. Our new curriculum is a fantastic way to teach reading strategies, as well as to do guided reading and we are excited to use this as a vehicle to tech the students to be better readers. Students will be in small groups and they may have any of us as their teachers. The grouping will start on the 26th as well. Until then we are working on US geography with a scavenger hunt as well as an Animoto project on the US Regions.
Science – We are working on variables; what they are and how we control them. So far we have been swinging pendulums and will change their variables today.
Reading – We start the Global Read Aloud project on Monday and we shared our predictions yesterday for the book. David wrote a wonderful blog post on our class website highlighting our predictions. We have also been inferring in our classroom looking at pictures and trying to build the story as well as writing an article to the headline “Teacher Throws Student Out of School!” I do literacy assessments on Monday so Mrs. Johnston will be in the room all day subbing for me. We are up to 6 minutes of stamina, we will get to 30 soon.
Writing – We are blogging like crazy. And the kids got 98 comments on the first day of blogging! We have already connected with people from Canada, Guatemala, and New Zealand. We are also journaling almost every day and it is wonderful for me to see the students work on their spelling in their journal.
Special Notes –
* I am still experiencing that some parents are not receiving my emails so for any group emails I will be trying to switch to the Infinite Campus messenger instead. This means you will get something that looks a little strange from school message.
* Please consider leaving your child a comment on our blog, they get so excited to see questions and comments. Thank you so much to those of you who already have.
* Did you see us in the Middleton Times Tribune yesterday? There was a little write up about us starting the Global read Aloud. The journalist will also be coming out to take a picture of us at some point for the paper. The article can also be found on our website.
*Please make sure you read the CRT slip coming home today, they are very different this year!
* The classroom calendar is continually updated, please view it on our website to see when there is a sub, parties, early release or anything else going on. Also, if your child has a cool event you would like to invite others to, let me know and I will put it on the classroom calendar. I try to go to these things as well whenever Thea allows it.
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Sub for literacy assessment on Monday, September 19th. The first CRT is September 21st so there will be early release that day at 11:00, PTO Back to School Hawaiian Party Night is September 30th, Scholastic Book fair is October 10th through the 13th, , Family night is Tuesday, October 11th 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM.

A Message from GT

2011-09-16T08:10:00.001-07:00

Please plan on attending this meeting if you would like to hear about our district-wide gifted and talented programming, as well as a variety of community opportunities available in our area. We plan to hold breakout sessions about the following:

The Value of Games - ages 3 to adult
University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education Outreach – grades 6th -9th
Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY) – elementary-high school
Young Shakespeare Players – ages 7 and Up
BadgerBots and Lego League – elementary-middle grades
Destination Imagination – kindergarten-12th grade
Middleton-Cross Plains Math Programming – kindergarten-5th grade
MadCAP – Creative Performing Arts Center – elementary-high school
Enrichment Activities for Young Children – kindergarden-2nd grade

Evening’s Agenda
6:30-6:50 General Overview of the District’s Gifted & Talented Program
6:53-7:13 Breakout Session 1
7:16-7:36 Breakout Session 2
7:40-8:00 Breakout Session 3

We Are in the Paper

2011-09-16T03:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the Middleton Times Tribune had an article about us and the Global Read Aloud.

Mrs. Ripp's class' predictions about Tuck Everlasting

2011-09-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

We are going to read Tuck Everlasting and here are some predictions by our class.

1. Someone who lives forever but then doesn't want to live forever. Sophia Ba
2. A guy that doesn't have any friends so he doesn't want to live forever. Sarah
3. A turtle that wants to live forever. Kyra
4. It's about a girl who's grandparents die and she hopes they will live forever. Keller
5. It's about a girl who can stay young. Anna
6. A boy that doesn't think he has a future so he doesn't want to live forever but then he meets a girl and they learn that they can live forever together. Jordan
7.A girl who has a toad and he wants the toad to live forever, and the toad's name is Tuck. Michael
8. A boy to which a bad storm happens and his whole family dies but he survives and lives forever. Anna K
9. The girl's mom or dad try to find the secret to eternal life so maybe one of them dies and she is going to carry on their work. Sophia B
10. A girl who can live forever but sometimes she doesn't want to. Alysha

I am really exited about the Global Read Aloud. It sounds really fun and I am really anxious to find out!
David

Prime and Composite Numbers

2011-09-15T11:00:00.001-07:00

My math group kids created a video to show prime and composite numbers around the school

Thea is ready to drive

2011-09-15T10:07:00.001-07:00

Our Classroom Vision

2011-09-09T13:05:00.001-07:00

The students came together today and created their classroom vision for the year. It was a lot of fun to hear what they hold important and how they chose to illustrate it.

Newsletter September 9, 2011

2011-09-09T09:41:00.001-07:00

Welcome to our first weekly newsletter! This should give you an idea of where we have been and where we are going in our classroom. What a journey we are on!

Math – In 5th grade math we started with our regular Everyday Math curriculum Tuesday and also with daily fact tests. This unit is about number theory and we have dabbled with factors and arrays so far. The students have been going to their groups for math and they are reporting that they are really liking the shuffling of teachers. We have also decided to extend our math block into resource time to offer the students a chance to meet with teachers and get help if they need it. 6th grade math kids are working super hard with Ms. Weber since they keep telling me they have no homework, way to go!

Science – Science starts on Monday with some liquid experiments and then we start variables, which is a great unit that allows us a peak into controlling experiments as well as how to write a research paper.
Social Studies – Social studies start next week with our first unit on US geography. This ties in perfectly with the start of blogging as well as we need those math skills to map our connections. I will be out for social studies training on Wednesday afternoon.

Reading – We have slowly started building stamina for reading. It is quite a sight seeing 23 students all sitting quietly and reading and often I get protests when I ask them to return to their seats. We are working on the first reading strategy; monitoring comprehension with class discussion and practice. We will work through all 6 strategies before we start guided reading with flex groups and shuffling. Literacy assessments also start next week so we will have a sub all day on Monday the 19th.

Writing - We did paper blogs this week to get us ready to start blogging on Monday. We had our first discussion on internet safety – the results can be seen on our website. We have also started our daily journals, I asked the students what color 5th grade is and they had very creative answers. The Global Read Aloud starts on the 19th, and we have more than 3,000 kids signed up.

Special Notes –
* You can reach me by calling my voicemail at 829.9374. Please don’t hesitate to call me with any questions and/or concerns. Communication between us is REALLY important to the success of your child. Please don’t hesitate to call or email me!

* We have had an amazing first week and a half together and I cannot tell you how thrilled I am over being this class’ teacher. They are working hard as a group and are already creating a welcoming and exciting learning environment. We have spent some time on procedures and getting to know each other, and I am confident that this is going to be an incredible year filled with growth for all of these students.

* Check out our website for great videos from the classroom as well as other information. From now on the newsletter will be posted there every Friday.

* If you have not received an email from me, something is not working. I have sent group emails almost every day and am getting some error messages. Please contact me if you are not getting the emails.

* The PTO is having their first meeting in the library on September 15th at 7 PM. The back to school dance will be September 30th and Thea and I will be there for sure getting our groove on.

* The classroom calendar is continually updated, please view it on our website to see when there is a sub, parties, early release or anything else going on. Also, if your child has a cool event you would like to invite others to, let me know and I will put it on the classroom calendar. I try to go to these things as well whenever Thea allows it.

* Orchestra will be Friday mornings at 9:30 AM – notes went home this week. Band starts on the 19th and I have all of the schedules here. Let me know if you would like to see the schedule, I can email it to you.
We welcome a new student on Monday. Alysha will be joining us and she hails from North Carolina, we are excited to meet her!

* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Sub on Wednesday September 14th PM only, Picture day is September 16th this year, Sub for literacy assessment on Monday, September 19th. The first CRT is September 21st so there will be early release that day at 11:19, PTO Back to School Hawaiian Party Night is September 30th.