Week of May 5th

 Hello! I hope you all enjoyed the lovely weather over the weekend. I really enjoyed spending my days outside getting my backyard organized and ready for the summer months. :)

ISATs:

This is our final week of ISAT testing. We will be taking the Math CAT on Tuesday and the Math PT on Wednesday. Please help your child get to bed early this week and eat a good breakfast filled with protein and complex carbs the mornings of the tests. 

IXL has an ISAT test prep with skills that I am encouraging my students to work on to help them remember the things we have learned this year and also to work on things that they may be struggling with. I will offer 10 points of math extra credit for students practicing those skills at home for an hour this week. 

ELA:

This week we will get back to our Native American research project. Your student should have completed their informative essay individually and submitted that a couple of weeks ago. The next part of the project will all be completed in class as they will be working with their group to put together a presentation that they will be sharing with the class to teach everyone about their assigned tribe. 

April Reading Calendars were due today. I am sending home their May Reading Calendars today as well. These will be due on Monday, May 19th. They only need to read 250 minutes for full credit this month. 

Math:

Because of Math ISATs this week, there will not be any assigned math work. We will be working in class to review everything we have learned this year. We are also looking at the practice ISAT test to help review what they will be asking. 

Please continue working with your student if they have not mastered their multiplication facts yet. This is still a homework grade each week for those that have not mastered it. They will bring home a certificate when they do so that you know as well. 

Wagons Ho!:

Wagons Ho! is next week on Wednesday, May 14th. They are asking for 12-15 parents per class to help out. I currently have 7 parents signed up to help. Please plan to be at the school around 7:45 with your ID. You will need to check in at the front office with your ID and they will give you a sticker name badge that you will need to wear on your chest for the duration of the day. Staff will stop you if you don't have it on. :) 

Parents will also need to plan on bringing a lunch. It's best if you have a lunch that doesn't require heating up as there are limited microwaves available to us. We will be eating at the students' normal lunchtime, 11:20. You will also need to bring a water bottle. 

One of our Essential 44 is "Dress for success!" We have been talking in class about how that looks different depending on what we are doing. Students (and parent volunteers) need to wear closed toed shoes like tennis shoes or boots. Please do not send your student in sandals or Crocs. They also need to wear long pants and dress in layers. I will try to remember to email parents the night before about the weather. Last year the temperature in the morning was near freezing, please pay attention to that and make sure your student has a coat, sweatshirt, and tshirt. It's easier to take off layers when they warm up, than to be freezing and have nothing to put on. Hats and sunscreen are also a great idea!

Students are asked to bring a bundle of firewood and a large button that has 2 or 4 holes. I have extra of these if your student does not have access to them. 

Library Books:

All of my library books are due this Thursday, May 8th. This allows me time to make sure I have all of them back in. Students who have lost or damaged books from my library will need to either replace them, pay to replace them, or do community service to replace that book. :)

Science Fair:

Our science projects should be wrapping up within the next week. Your student's presentation board is due next Monday, May 12th. Your student will be presenting their project to the class starting Monday. Please do NOT send their boards in before that as I have very limited space in the classroom and I don't want any of their hard work to be damaged or ruined. Please help your student "grade" themselves using the rubric that I sent home by circling in pencil what they think they scored in each category. They will turn this in and then I will use that rubric as I grade them. 

They should have added another category for "Presentation" down at the bottom. I am including a picture of what they should have written on the rubric with me in class in case they were gone, or didn't get it written down.