Monday, January 21

field trip reminder...

On Thursday, January 24, we will be traveling to the Gallagher-Bluedorn Arts Center in Cedar Falls to see a play, "Walk On:  The Rosa Parks Story."  Please read the notes below.

*The bus will leave promptly at 7:45.  We will be in the front hall meeting students at 7:30.  

*If your child ordered a sack lunch from school, we will have those ready.  We will have a cooler for drinks (please label.)  We will be eating in the UNIDome.

*Breakfast will not be available that day.  If your child normally eats breakfast at school, please make other arrangements.  

*We are not allowing electronic devices (DS's, ipods, cell phones, etc.) to be taken.

*We are not planning on stopping along the way.  Please watch what your child drinks on Wednesday and Thursday morning.

*Your child is welcome to bring a snack to munch on.  Please, no drinks except for those with lunch.

*This is a unique opportunity for students to experience the true theater experience.  We are asking students to dress in "theater attire."  Keeping in mind that we will be on a bus for 4 hours, we are not asking for uncomfortable clothes, but we would like the kids to kick it up a notch.

social studies news...
We have spent a lot of time focused on civil rights this past week, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday and also as preparation for our field trip on Thursday.  We have had great discussions about Jim Crow laws, segregation, Rosa Parks, boycotts, marches, peaceful protests, and standing up for what we each believe is right.

We were also able to have another mystery skype, this time with a school in Orlando, Florida.  The questions asked were great...the kids are really catching on.  They also realized that they can use visual "context clues" when they noticed that the other students were wearing shorts and t-shirts and their room was decorated with palm trees.  We have two more skypes scheduled with classes in...ooops! You will have to hear that from your child.  We are going to try using "Today's Meet", a website that serves as a backchannel, allowing students to have a conversation with the other class while we skype.

math news...
We finished Unit 4 last week.  It was a difficult unit, focusing on decimals including tenths, hundredths, and thousandths.  Tests will be sent home on Friday.  Please review these with your child.  We will be moving on to multiplication, both single digit and multi-digit numbers.  Please practice basic facts at home as knowing these will make multi-digit multiplication much easier.

spelling reminder...
When spelling packets come home, please double check to make sure your child is following the directions for the writing portion.  The directions vary from week to week, often asking students to write a paragraph, but sometimes a list, a letter, a poster, etc.  This allows students to practice writing in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons.