Week of 1/3/11 - 1/7/11

I'd like to thank the PTO for providing us with a wonderful lunch on Tuesday and a fabulous appetizer spread on Thursday for the cookie exchange. Thank you to all the parents who baked cookies and provided those wonderful appetizers for the cookie exchange. My family was thrilled with all the delicious treats I brought home. Also, Too Good For Drugs (TGFD) begins this week with an officer from the Dupage County Sheriff's Department. This is a substance abuse prevention curriculum. There will be a total of 9 lessons that focus on the dangerous substances that are used widely by young people. A letter will be sent home explaining this program in more detail after our first session on Thursday. At the end of the program, we have a graduation ceremony!

Finally, I wish you all a wonderful holiday season – stay safe and warm and enjoy your families; I will be enjoying mine!

Coming up the week we return:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class:
When we come back from break, we will be learning more about the structure of a story through story mapping! Our class will read the story Elena, from our anthology.

Spelling: Lesson 14/Pretest on Monday, test on Thursday. Homework due on Thursday. (We are Maps testing with our homerooms on Friday...)

English: We continue our study of adjectives, specifically, comparing with good/bad and proper adjectives. English test on adjectives will take place on Wednesday, 1/12.

Social Studies: We will start chapter 8, probably the most exciting chapter of the entire year! Our first lesson is entitled “The Road to War.” The colonists are fed up with being under Britain's rule. They say, “No More Kings!” which just happens to be our first Schoolhouse Rock.

Science: Chapter 6 will be finished up this week with lesson 3, which discusses humans and the environment. After another “quick study” on lesson 3, a test on the entire chapter will occur on Friday. I can't stress enough how important it is for the students to keep all their chapter 6 information in their science pockets.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We will begin chapter 24 this week which focuses on area of squares, rectangles, triangles, and parallelograms. It's not a long chapter, so a test will probably happen the beginning of the following week.

Important Dates:
12/20 -- Winter Break Begins

1/3 -- Classes Resume after Winter Break
1/6-- TGFD begins

1/17 -- M. L. King Birthday -- No School

Have a wonderful holiday! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 12/13/10 - 12/17/10

We are entering our final school week of 2010. Hard to believe, but true... Don't forget about our Holiday Service Drive. We are looking for donations such as new toys, new games, toiletries, and food for the needy families in the Darien area. All donations are due on Monday, December 13. Thank you for opening up your hearts to help make the holidays a happy one for those who are less fortunate.

Coming up this week (and what a wonderful week it will be:)

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class: This week we will continue to practice summarizing and predicting with skill pages and fiction reading material. We will also be writing an extended response for A Boy Called Slow, using the IEIEIE method.

Spelling: Holiday words: Pretest on Tuesday. Homework due on Friday; Test Friday.

English: We continue our study of adjectives, specifically, articles and demonstratives. We will also be comparing with adjectives.

Social Studies: After reviewing chapter 7 on Monday and Tuesday, there will be a chapter test on Wednesday. We will start chapter 8 after our break.

Science: I moved up the open book/open note assessment for lesson 2 (succession) to Tuesday. The third lesson will be covered after break and the test will follow so it is imperative that all notes stay in the science pocket of the binder.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We will finish up our chapter on perimeter Monday with a lesson on circumference. There will be a homework check on Monday for PW150. Pretest and review on Tuesday, test on Wednesday.

Important Dates:
12/13 – All school concert @ 9:30
12/13 – 7:00 concert at LV
12/16 - 5th grade bowling
12/17 – Holiday outing at the Tivoli (How the Grinch Stole Christmas)
12/17 – Holiday break begins at 2:25!!

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 12/6/10 - 12/10/10

December is here and we've already seen some snow. Please make sure your child is dressed warmly every day for outdoor recess. Our reading incentive celebration will be Wednesday; I hope to see all the permission slips returned by then! Also, don't forget our holiday food and toy drive here at PV. With regard to our paper recycling program, a note from our office: "NO" cardboard boxes please -- there are many that we had to remove from the bin.

It was great meeting with you all during our conferences. I hope I answered all your questions and put any fears to rest. You have terrific children and I am proud to be their teacher.

Coming up this week:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class: This week, all fifth graders will review the skill of drawing conclusions. They will also be introduced to the skill of Author's Purpose. Students will learn how to read a text and decide if it was written to persuade, inform, or entertain. They will use the acronym PIE to help them remember these three important terms.

Spelling: Lesson 13: Pretest on Monday. Homework due onThursday; Test Friday.

English: We won't be starting our next unit until Friday. On that day, we will be “unpacking our adjectives.” Get ready for another Schoolhouse Rock song!

Social Studies: Lesson 2 will be studied this week, “French Explore the Mississippi.” We will take notes and discuss before starting lesson 3, “The French and Indian War.” I am planning our Chapter 7 test for Wednesday, 12/15.

Science: We continue Chapter 6. We will learn about succession as we read and discuss Lesson 2. There will be an open book/open note quiz on this lesson on 12/15. I know it's the same day as the social studies test, but this one is short and open book, so lots less stress. I also want to finish up this lesson before break. The third lesson will be covered after break and the test will follow so it is imperative that all notes stay in the science pocket of the binder.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We have been studying mean, median, mode, and range. We will use some of Chapter 9 and also some creative mimios and worksheets to learn this valuable statistical skill. A quiz is planned for Tuesday. We will then begin our chapter on perimeter.

Important Dates:
12/3 – Day off (conferences)
12/6 – Buffalo Wild Wings fundraiser (see school website)
12/13 – All school concert @ 9:30
12/13 – 7:00 concert at LV
12/16 - 5th grade bowling
12/17 – Holiday break begins at 2:25!!

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza