PBIS Cheer!

Friday we had our second to last PBIS day at DES! 5S worked very hard on their cheer and they were so proud of themselves, as was I. Most importantly they had fun with it and showed great sportsmanship cheering for the other classes! Great job 5S! We'll get them next time :) Congrats to Mr. Lane's first grade class for taking home the big W!! Everyone at DES did a great job showing Duanesburg and PBIS pride! GO EAGLES!!!!

Reading Incentive- Under Armour

Reminder: students should continue to log their reading. The reading logs will be be due Friday, June 5th!!! The break down is as follows (150 pages read= 1 book logged). 

25 books= water bottle

50 books= draw string backpack

75 books= tshirt

100 books= sweat shirt

Happy reading!!!!

This is what the students earned last year:

Visit from Mark Rust

Mrs. Waltz had folk music extraordinare Mark Rust come to our school today. He had a workshop with grades 3-5 in the morning and then a performance in the afternoon. They all got a chance to try out some of his instruments and learn the history of folk music. It was so nice to hear the kids' cheerful voices singing and the sound of spoons being played from down the hall (yes I said spoons). They are also seeing how music connects to the history of our country as we learn about the Revolutionary War in class. These hands on experinces are wonderful opportunities that will last a lifetime.

Proud teacher alert!

I just wanted to take the time to say I am so very proud of your children! They have been working so hard on their reading group books and have been pushing themselves to increase their comprehension. The following pictures show two groups' final projects:

The above students all chose the project "draw your soul". They read Walk Two Moons and in the text the main character's teacher asked her to draw her soul. Our class took it a step further and they wrote a detailed explanation of what the pictures symbolized to them. We then placed them on the star worthy work wall and their explanations were posted face down so their peers could guess whose was whose and then check by flipping over the paper. They really enjoyed this project and their creativity shows that. 

Above we have a reading group that read Hatchet, which is one of my all time favorites. These students chose to write a summary using a comic strip, create a game board for the text, and one student not pictured wrote a letter to Gary Paulsen. They all did an amazing job representing their comprehension of the book. The game boards included cards that players had to answer before moving that were all comprehension questions they created regarding the book. The comic is a visually stimulating depiction of a novel that provides no pictures, which makes these detailed comics remarkable! Finally, the letter to the author was never a project choice I provided, but this student took it upon himself to pitch this great project to me. He was so moved by this book that he wanted to write a letter to the author to tell him so. It is independent thinking like this that makes my job exciting! Due to this child's creative pitch I will now provide "write a letter to the author" as a new project option. Way to go 5S!!!! Have a great February break! Don't forget to read, read, read and log it for under armor points as well as the Ronald McDonald House fundraiser!!!!

Math games

We love playing math games to practice fluency! We can now divide decimals by whole numbers! 

News 1/12/2015

1/12/2015

ELA:  We are focusing on specific spelling concepts. There are five groups all focusing on spelling lists/concepts that are unique to the child. They are asked to complete a packet of activities and return them on Thursday. They are focusing on writing summaries currently in their reading groups. They are also learning about the three tenses of verbs. Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home daily. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every FRIDAY on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder.

Social Studies:  Students are being introduced to the Early Explorers Unit. They will be collaboratively learning in groups and sharing their findings with the class.  Students will be using this information to complete a project at the end of the month.

Math:  Students are completing Chapter 3 with a mini test on Tuesday on 3.10 & 3.11. They will be introduced to Chapter 4 this week, which covers Multiplying Decimals. This week we are focusing on multiplication patterns with decimals, and multiplication with decimals and whole numbers. They should be practicing their multiplication facts at home daily as they have division and multiplication checkups on Friday.

Important Dates:

·      Martin Luther King, Jr. Day- No School – Monday, January 19

winter recess news

ELA:  We are focusing on specific spelling concepts. There are three groups all focusing on spelling lists/concepts that are unique to the child. They are asked to complete a packet of activities and return them on Friday. They are focusing on writing persuasive essays currently and learning to type them as well. They cannot WAIT to share them with you! Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home daily. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every FRIDAY (this week it is due Thursday) on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder. THEY NEED TO BE TURNED IN ON TIME! This has been a struggle for about half of the class recently.

Science:  Students are finishing their unit on Engineering and the design process. When we return from break students will begin a social studies unit and work on an in class project.

Math:  Students will complete Chapter 3 next week, which covers Decimals. This week we are focusing on rounding to the whole number as well as benchmarks. We will be reviewing material from all of Chapter 3 Friday to prepare for Monday’s Mid-Chapter Test. They should be completing their homework on their own or with minimal support and they can refer to their math notebook. If they come home with problems on the Review Page incorrect they should go into their notebook or work pages and practice problems from the corresponding lesson to prepare for Monday’s Test. They should be practicing their multiplication facts at home daily as they have division and multiplication checkups on Friday.

PARENTS INTERESTED ON COMING INTO THE CLASS: Tuesday morning would be the time you can come in at 9:30 until lunch when we do the sing-along and crafts until lunch at 12:30.

Important Dates:

·      Math Mid-Chapter Test Ch. 3- Monday. Dec. 22

·      Holiday Sing-Along & Winter Crafts- Tuesday, Dec. 23

·      Interims go home Tuesday, Dec. 23 (NOT EVERYONE RECEIVES THEM)

·      Winter Break (No School)- Wednesday, 12/24/14 - Friday, 1/2/15