Week of 8/31/09 - 9/4/09

Summer vacation is over and we have now completed our first week of school. We had a wonderful first week together in room 208. My new students are respectful, polite, responsible, and oh-so-nice. They make me happy to be a teacher. I am getting to know their individual personalities and talents; I really think this is going to be a great year. Let the games begin!!

A note from Mrs. Cushing: 4th and 5th grade intramural games will be starting the week of September 14th. Permission slips will be handed out next week. Forms are due to Ms. Stainman by Friday, September 4th.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 1, final silent e words and suffixes. Test Friday.

Reading: I have explained the reading incentive program to my students and passed out the folders. Ask them about it! I hope they discussed with you their goal sheet for first trimester. We will begin the skills of predicting and previewing this week with the story The Fear Place. Other activities involving predicting will also be done.

Language Arts: After completing our bio poems early in the week, we will begin Chapter 1 in our English textbooks entitled "What is a Sentence?" We will be meeting Mr. Morton, one of our Schoolhouse Rock characters.

Social Studies: We have already begun Chapter 4, Lesson 1, "Voyages of Columbus." This week we will take notes, and write a letter as Columbus convincing the King and Queen of Spain to send us on more voyages to the new world! We will begin Lesson 2 later in the week entitled "Aztecs are Conquered" and make some cool Aztec masks.

Science: After finishing our “What is a Scientist” activity, we will dive into our textbook starting with the first chapter, “Getting Ready for Science.”

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
Our first chapter covers place value. After we study Lessons 1 & 2 on Monday and Tuesday, the students should plan on taking a short, open-note quiz on Wednesday. Another quiz on Lessons 3 – 5 will take place the week after next. I think it's a good idea to assess smaller amounts of material before we get to the test at the end of each chapter.

Important Notes:
* 9/3 – Curriculum Night in 5th grade 6:30-7:30
* 9/11 – Magazine drive kick-off
* 9/11 – Back to school Bingo 7:00-8:30
* 9/22 – Early Dismissal

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 8/24/09 - 8/28/09

WELCOME BACK TO PRAIRIEVIEW!!

I am so excited to be back in Room 208 with a new group of fifth graders. It will be an exciting year for all of us. I look forward to meeting you all on Monday at Open House. It will take place from 9-11 and feel free to bring in your supplies.

This week we will be getting to know each other with lots of activities. We will also start getting into the curriculum, especially toward the end of the week. Gym, art, music, and IMC all begin this week; don't forget your gym shoes on Tuesday!

See you on Monday in Room 208!

Mrs. Klacza