Friday, January 29, 2010

Both grades had their heritage studies quiz/test today. We reviewed over the information for both classes before taking it.

Both grades had enough time to complete their science vocabulary in class and should have all of it done.

We covered new lessons in math. Both grades should have finished all of their classwork in class. They will get the practice worksheets on Monday and have the test Tuesday.

Thursday, January 27, 2010

Tomorrow is the HCS homecoming game for basketball. The game starts at 5:30, but it will fill up quickly so you should get there early enough for a seat. Any student who purchased this year's homecoming shirt is allowed to wear it tomorrow with jeans. It has to be this year's t-shirt. If you or your students pruchased a spirit ribbon, don't forget to bring it so you can get the discount for the game.

Both grades had new math lessons. The majority of 5th graders finished all of the classwork in class. The others have to finish it for homework. Some of the 6th graders finished all the work, but Chapel took up some of their class time. If they did not finish it is for homework.

Both grades had the science test today. We did have time to review for the 5th graders today. We had reviewed already for the 6th graders yesterday and did not have time to today. We will start the chapter on the earth and the universe next week for both grades. To go along with this lesson, Jerry Dixon, the custodian/maintenance man for the school has set up a day for the students to view the night sky. He is an amateur astronomer and is offering his time and equipment for the 5th and 6th graders. The date is next Friday. Check for updates next week because it does depend on the weather. More info will be sent home later.

We reviewed the information for heritage studies for the 5th graders but did not have time to go over it again for the 6th graders. We will try to review before the 6th graders quiz tomorrow. 5th graders have a test on the information. For both grades, it comes from a small study guide and a worktext page.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

We started new lessons for both grades in math today. We covered two lessons in each grade, but the 5th grade lessons have the same steps to solving and the 6th grade lessons are basic.

We had a pop quiz for bonus points as review for the 6th graders. They could get up to 5 extra points. We started review for the 5th graders, but it didn't work out so they completed a comprehension check in the book for a grade and as their review. We will try again to review the science before their test tomorrow. Both grades have had the study guides since Monday and 5th grade has had the vocabulary since Friday.

5th grade got their heritage studies study guide today but it is only half a study guide. The worktext page they did last night is also part of their study guide and we went over the correct answers today. The 6th graders also have a short study guide and a worktext page to study for Friday's test.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Just a reminder: This week, the students are able to buy spirit ribbons for the homecoming game Friday and Valentine's Day hershey kiss roses.

A letter went home today about Haiti. There is a list of items that the students can donate to be sent to Haiti. Mrs. Jodie is giving bonus points for Bible on Friday if the student brings in ten items. This can be a box of band-aids, a canned food item, etc.

Both grades had the math test today. We reviewed over all of the problems they had to do last night for the pratice worksheets before the test.

We went over all the answers for the science study guide today. The students were told to finish it last night. Thsoe who did not finish last night have to finish it on their own time. We will review tomorrow and have the test Thursday.

6th graders got their heritage studies study guide today. We are only covering one lesson this week for them. The 5th graders had to work on a page in the worktext today. That is part of their study guide. The rest of it they will get tomorrow. What they did not finish in the worktext is homework.

Test folders went out today. If I did not have the folders in time to send them home with the rest today, they will not be sent home until next week.

Monday, January 25, 2010

This is a busy week for the whole school. There are a few basketball games and the basketball homecoming game is Friday. The high school students have specific dress up days throughtout the week, but elementary are not allowed to participate in those. For the homecoming game, we will be having a pep rally at the end of the day.

Notes went home with the students today. The first was to announce that the cheerleaders are selling spirit ribbons this week. They cost $3, but will get a student into Friday's game for free is he/she is wearing the ribbon. For parents, it will mean getting into the game for only $2 instead of $5. they will be for sale during lunch. Also, Hershey kiss roses are being sold as a fundraiser for the seniors. The order forms must be turned in by February 11. Please make sure to fill in who they are for and who they are from so that they are able to get to the right people.

Both grades got their math worksheets today. What they did not finish in class is for homework. We are going to review them tomorrow before the test.

Both grades got their science study guides today. 6th grade had time to finish or almost finish in class because they did not get their vocabulary on Friday. Both grades have to finish tonight if they did not finish in class. We will only be reviewing over their answers and will not have time for them to find the answers in class tomorrow. The test is Thursday.

We did not do a lesson in heritage studies for either grade today because I wanted to finish the math practice. We will resume those lessons tomorrow. 6th grade will only have a quiz in heritage studies this week but 5th grade will have a test.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

It looks like we have just enough parents to help with the 6th grade project tomorrow, but I could still use a couple extra hands if more are available. We will be starting around 8:45 tomorrow morning.

Both grades had their science tests today. We reviewed over the material right before they took the tests.

The heritage studies test is tomorrow. We went over all of the study guide and reviewed today. The test is tomorrow.

We began new math lessons today. We still have to keep up with at least 3 math lessons a week, so we covered two new ones in each grade. We will learn one new lesson tomorrow and begin practice problems. Both grades have the math classwork to complete tonight for homework, although a lot of students did finish.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Test folders went home today. Some students had an extra slip of paper saying that their homework grade is already a B in at least one subject. Those slips have to be signed and returned tomorrow. Also, every student received a paper explaining that we are implementing a new way of working our conduct grades. It was supposed to begin already, but it just took some time to work out.

Math tests were today for both grades. We will begin new lessons the rest of this week and have our practice worksheets on Monday.

The science test is tomorrow. We will review for it before the test in both grades. The students have had their vocabulary since Friday and should have completed their study guide yesterday.

Both grades have all of the study guide for heritage studies. They should be working on completing it today if they did nto finish in class. We will be reviewing them tomorrow and take the test Friday.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

This week is going to be a little crammed with the study guides and tests. Since we did not have school yesterday, all of the science had to be finished today. Both grades got the science study guide. The 5th graders did not have time to work on it in class because we also had to learn all of the lessons. There are only 8 items on the study guide that were not part of the vocabulary they did Friday. The 5th graders need to finish the study guides tonight. We had enough time and went over the science study guide for the 6th graders. We will review for both grades tomorrow.

5th graders got the first half of their heritage studies study guide today. They had some class time to work on it. They will get the 2nd half tomorrow and we will finish them up tomorrow. 6th grade also got their study guide today. We will finish them tomorrow. The test is Friday.

We had a chance to work math problems in class today. The 5th graders have some problems to complete in their textbook tonight as part of their practice. Both grades got worksheets with examples and step-by-step directions from each new lesson we learned last week. The math test is tomorrow and we will review over their practice worksheets before the test. Both grades should have the worksheets finished for the review tomorrow.

There is a small project I would like to work on with the 6th graders later this week. I will need some volunteers to help. If there are any 6th grade parents or guardians who would be available in the morning, please let me know so that I will know if we can do the project.

Friday, January 15, 2010

There is no school Monday due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

We have been able to cover a lot of new lessons in math this week because most of them were smaller lessons that built on each other. The students will get worksheets to practice on Tuesday and then we will have our test Wednesday.

Both grades got their science vocabulary today. That test will be Thursday. The 5th graders got to do a science project in class today. Since we just learned about windmills and wind turbines, we made our own little versions.

We will resume our heritage studies Tuesday and have our regularly scheduled test Friday.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Today is the PTC meeting. It is important that as many parents as possible attend because the way you pay tuition is changing for the coming school year and will be explained at the meeting.

I know a lot of students like to bring sweets and baked goods when it is their birthday. We had some issues in class Monday when snacks were brought for lunch. I have no problem with students bringing a snack when it is their birthday, but they will not be able to have them during lunchtime anymore. We can either pass them out at snack recess or at the end of the day. Thank you for your cooperation.

Both grades had their science quiz today. We reviewed before they took it.

6th grade has a quiz in heritage studies tomorrow. We will resume our regular heritage studies schedule for both grades next week.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

There is a PTC meeting this Thursday. They will be discussing the new tuition management program for next year.

Both grades had their math tests today. They also have some homework in math to help bring up their test grades from last week. Even though the test was openbook, the grades were not so good. I want the students to get off to a good start this grading period, so they have problems to work as a graded assignment and they have the opportunity to correct what they missed on last week's test for bonus points. They need to correct or try to correct all that they missed or they will not get any of the bonus credit.

We did not have time for heritage studies in either class today. We should cover a little bit with the 5th graders this week, but they will not have a test or quiz on the information this week. 6th grade still has their quiz on Friday.

The information that the students need for their science quizzes this week come from the comprehension checks that they are working on and the vocabulary that they got Friday. There will not be a study guide this week.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Finally it is starting to warm up, even if it's just a little bit! I hope everyone was able to be protected and kept safe over the extreme cold this past weekend.

We finally got to do our experiment for the 6th graders today. There was not enough time Friday because they went to the high school chapel and several students did not have jars. A parent brought extra, so some of the students were able to use that this morning. The experiment was to see how crystals form by making rock candy. We use a kool-aid mix to flavor them! It will take at least 7 days for enough of the water to dissolve and the crystals to form.

Since we had the experiment, we did not get to do anything else in science class for the 6th graders. for the 5th graders, we only had time to read over the lesson for today.

5th grade did not have time to cover heritage studies, so we will take care of it tomorrow and Wednesday. 6th graders started heritage studies and worked on a page in the worktext. They will not get a study guide this week and all information for the test will come from the worktext pages we will do this week.

Both grades began their practice worksheets for math today. I wrote out the explanation for everything we learned last week and had practice problems for them to do. Most students had time to finish or almost finish in class. I am checking the worksheets as part of the homework grade tomorrow. The math test is tomorrow.

Between Friday and today, some of the students received a certificate for a free kid's meal at Raisin' Cane's. The students got one if they have improved one letter grade on their report card in at least one of the classes I teach or maintained A's and A-B honor roll. They do expire in 30 days, though.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

I would like to remind you of the policies that the elementary students have to follow. They are only allowed to wear tennis shoes in the appropriate colors. Especially now since it is so cold, they will be having P.E. in the gym. It is very important that they do not run around in there unless they are wearing tennis shoes. Also, with the cold weather, some of them have been wearing coats that are not school colors. They are allowed to have a regular coat ONLY while outside(dismissal or recess). They are not allowed to be worn in the classroom or anywhere inside of the school. For more specifics on the colors and styles allowed, please check your policies and procedures manual.

I gave the test folders to the students today, but I realized when I got to school that I had forgotten some of their quizzes from right before the Christmas break. I will give those to the students tomorrow, and just have them keep their test folders for an extra day until you are able to look at the other grades.

We finished the study guides in both grades for science. The test will be Thursday. For the 6th graders, we will be doing a small in class experiment this week. Each student will be responsible for bringing a small jar to class for it. A jar about 12-16 oz. will be big enough. The experiment will work better if the jar is taller. I will have more information for the students tomorrow.

We also finished the study guides for heritage studies today. We will have a little more work to do tomorrow, and then will have our test on Friday.

Both grades had an openbook math worksheet today. It is counting as a 100 point test grade. We reviewed yesterday and also practiced some more problems before the test. The 6th graders did not have much time, so I picked up the worksheets and they will have only a short time more to finish tomorrow.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Welcome back from the Christmas Break! I hope everyone enjoyed their time off and were able to relax. They stuck me in the hospital for three nights right before the break. I was so upset to not be here for the last days and to have to miss the Christmas Program. I'm doing a lot better now and have barely any trace of the bronchitis and asthmatic flairs. Thanks for the prayers and concerns.

We are getting right back to our regular schedule of graded assignments this week. For both grades, we reviewed over the math lessons they had learned while I was gone. Tomorrow, they will have an open book worksheet to complete for a grade.

Both grades received the science study guides today. 6th grade completed most of the vocabulary for it and we will wrap it up tomorrow. 5th grade did not have time to work on it, but we will complete it tomorrow.

We started the study guides for heritage studies today. We will have our usual Friday test this week and will have all the material finished by Wednesday. the 6th graders have a worktext page to complete for homework. They may need a computer, atlas, or encycopedia to finish the map on the page.