Newsletter: February 28

We have reached the end of the second trimester. Report cards will be sent home on Friday, March 7. Along with report cards, you will receive your student’s AR Report for the trimester and a ClassDojo behavior report. If you have any questions about grades, AR, or behavior, I would be happy to meet with you! 

School Carnival 

The annual School Carnival will be held March 21 at Syracuse Elementary. 

5-7pm Dolphin Diner open 

5-7pm Raffle and Silent Auction 

5:15-7:30pm Games 

Room parents will contact volunteers. 

Silent Auction Basket 

Our class will be partnering with Mr. Stewart’s class to put together a basket for the silent auction. Our theme is Wawasee/Sports. We are asking for donations of sports equipment, Wawasee wear, and athletic bags. If you would like to donate, please send things with your student by March 14! 

ISTEP+ Testing 

We will be taking the Applied Skills portion of the ISTEP+ test March 10-14. Testing will take place each morning. If your son or daughter needs to have any appointments, please try to avoid these mornings. This prevents them from having to take any make-up tests and miss class time. Also remember to make sure your student gets a good night of sleep and eats a healthy breakfast! 

Trimester 3 

We are entering the final trimester of the year! These next 12 weeks will fly by! Let’s finish out the school year strong: making goals, working hard, and prepping for Middle School!

Newsletter: February 21

This may go down as the craziest winter of all time! I apologize for not keeping up on newsletters better. Despite all of the crazy schedules and happenings in our room, the kids have been AMAZING!!! Our trimester ends Friday, February 28. All work must be turned in on that date to receive credit. 

We have a new student! 

Brian Kurdimanov has recently moved here from Cheboksary, Russia! He has been in the US for a little over 2 weeks. We are SUPER lucky to have him in our class. Language has presented a bit of a barrier, but we are all adjusting to the use of google translate and other means of communication. I am sure you have heard much about him! It has been a great first 3 days for all of us. The class has welcomed him and not let language be a problem. 

Visitor 

We had a guest student yesterday, Hayden Anderson. He is a homeschool student who took a field trip to our class yesterday. The purpose was for him to get perspective on what public school is like. Again, the class welcomed him with open arms. 

 Both of these experiences have been AWESOME! We are blessed to have had the opportunities! 

Fighting Sickness 

I know that sickness is moving through the school in full force. Good sleep, plenty of water, and nutritious meals are the best ways to combat! If your student is out sick, please help him/her to get work made up in a timely manner. I always send make-up work home in an orange folder. 

Science Fair 

The Science Fair will be on Feb. 26. Science Central will be here from 5:30-6:30 in the gym for some family fun activities! Come and see what’s happening!

Newletter: January 31

Winter is definitely making its mark this year. The kids have done a FABULOUS job of “going with the flow” as we have navigated many delays and closings. They have all been reminded to be sure to have an AR book with them at all times...many will benefit from reading on those days that school is delayed or closed. Hang in there...warmer weather will be here eventually :) 

Valentine’s Day Party 
We will have our class Valentine’s Day party on February 14. Students ARE NOT required to bring in valentines. However, if they bring them, they bring them for the entire class. If you would like to send in a treat that day, just sent it with your student! Your student has a class list and names of specials teachers. We have 23 students in our class. 

Help a teacher out... 
Needless to say, the weather is crazy this winter...I LOVE IT! It does make for crazy days at school. You can help by making sure that students are getting work done (lots of late work recently), reading for AR on delay/cancellation days, and keeping track of school stuff. 

Snow Make-Up Days 
Due to the unusually hard winter and school closings, Wawasee Schools will be in session on the following dates: 

 February 3rd for the September 30th closing 

 February 24th for the January 8th closing 

 March 24th for the January 23rd closing

 May 30th for the January 28th closing 

Monday, February 24th was originally scheduled as a Teacher Work Day. The Teacher Work Day is now cancelled and classes will be in session. The last day of the second trimester will be February 28. The first day of the third trimester will be March 3rd.

Newsletter: January 17

Our first full week was a SUCCESS! We hit the road running Monday. We are in the second half of the school year: expectations are higher, pace is a bit faster, and work load has increased a bit. The kids did really well! We have many new things happening in 5th grade for the second half of the school year. Read on to find out what’s going on! 

Success Time 

This is new to 5th grade. We have had an allotted Tier 2 intervention time all year. However it has recently been restructured and now called Success Time. During this 30 minute time period, the 5th grade is working on Language Arts skills. Each student takes a pre-test and is then placed according to their results. Check with you student to see what they are doing during this time. Many of them go to Mr. Brady or Mr. Stewart for Success Time. Groups will be flexible, changing every 2 weeks (approximately). 

NWEA Testing 

We will finish testing next week. Our final test is scheduled for January 21. We will be testing in the morning. Please do your best to make sure your student is here! 

Conferences 

If you were unable to make it to conferences last night, your student will be doing their conference with you over the weekend! 

Snow Make-Up days! 

We will have school on January 27 and February 3 to make up for missed days (days missed were September fog day and January 8). The IDOE has granted a waiver for January 6 and 7, so we do not have to make those up. 

Preparation for Middle School 

It is the time of year when we make a shift in our classroom. Prep for middle school becomes a focus. Expectations are higher, work gets a little harder, and consequences are handed out quicker. I really begin to push the students to be more self-accountable for work, grades, and goals. Any help from home is GREATLY appreciated. This will help make a smooth transition for next school year!

Newletter: January 10

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! This week was a nice, easy start back after a wonderful Christmas Break and the Blizzard of 2014! I hope you all had a wonderful, extended time together. We are jumping in full-swing on Monday. We have gone over rules and procedures and enjoyed catching up with one another this week. I sure did miss these kids!!! 

Student Led Conferences 

January 16, 4:00-7:00 The 4th and 5th grades will be doing student-led conferences again. If you are not seeing the "regular" conference sheet come home, that is why. A note came home with your student TODAY! I hope to see you all there! If you know that you will want to meet one-on-one with me, we can schedule a time when you come in. 

NWEA Testing 

We will begin testing next week. Our testing dates are: January 15, 17, and 21. We will be testing in the mornings one those dates. Please do your best to make sure your student is here! 

MIDTERMS 

Midterm grades will be available at your student's conference. Remember, this is just the half-way point of the trimester. 

Snow Make-Up days! 

We will have school on January 27 and February 3 to make up for missed days (days missed were September fog day and January 8). The IDOE has granted a waiver for January 6 and 7, so we do not have to make those up. 

Preparation for Middle School 

It is the time of year when we make a shift in our classroom. Prep for middle school becomes a focus. Expectations are higher, work gets a little harder, and consequences are handed out quicker. I really begin to push the students to be more self-accountable for work, grades, and goals. Any help from home is GREATLY appreciated. This will help make a smooth transition for next school year!