January News

We have been very busy at school lately! We had a parade to celebrate the USA and our new President. Everyone dressed in red, white and blue and made signs, banners and shakers. I think the kids had a blast during the parade but it was really cold! It took us the rest of the morning to thaw out! Everyone did a fantastic job on their reading fair projects. Congratulations to the winners in each homeroom: North- Payton, Haleigh and Anders; Dimon- Mimi, Arvin and Cameron; Harris- Nikki, Chance and Kasey. I bet the judges had a tough time making their decisions because all the projects went over and beyond! We have been reading Because of Winn-Dixie. We made watercolor pictures this week depicting the setting of the story. The students wrote singular and plural possessive nouns about their pictures. We also have been learning about predicate nominatives. The students decided that this skill sounds harder than it really is. Ask your child about our current read aloud The Kid in the Red Jacket. This has been one of the most popular books we have read this year. Ask your child how he or she did on the drawing conclusions activity we did today to prepare for the MCT II in May. Don't forget to send those New Orleans deposits in! Have a great week!

The Class Christmas Party

We had a blast at our class Christmas party. Kathy Molpus and Dixie Clay thought it would be fun to let the kids plan the entire thing. I divided the class up into the commitee they were most interested in and they began to plan. It was a huge success! We had pizza, chicken nuggets, brownies and every other goodie imaginable. Next, we played a version of the holiday game "Dirty Santa". The students had worked hard during the month of December writing books about their parents. I hope you loved getting that special surprise under the tree Christmas morning! Thank you for all the thoughtful gifts and happies you blessed me with! I also want
to thank all our guest readers that visited the week before Christmas. What a wonderful treat that was! We will begin reading Because of Winn-Dixie when we return from the holidays and report cards will be going home Weds., Jan 7. Don't forget that Reading Fair projects are due Fri., Jan. 9. We are going to be learning about some New Orleans artists and the style that is common in their works this week. We will be creating some oil pastel masterpieces of New Orleans architecture. Clear a spot in your house because these are always "frame worthy". Check out my other website at Teacherweb.com if you want to start studying your new spelling and vocabulary words early. A great New Year's Resolution might be to make all A's this semester! Happy 2009!

A Holly Jolly Holiday

This is the funnest week of the year for a fifth grader! It's a great day to be a Jag! We have the Honor Choir concert tomorrow. We have guest readers each day this week. Starnes Dees invited his grandparents to read today. His grandmother, a former schoolteacher, read Patricia Polacco's Welcome Comfort. It is a story that certainly puts you in the holiday spirit. If you are looking for a chapter book to read aloud to kids, try Kate DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. It would be a great stocking stuffer. We have the Christmas party this Thursday at 12:30. All parents are invited to attend! I hope to see you there!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

What a fun time of year to be a fifth grade teacher! We have been reading holiday stories and really getting in the Christmas spirit. Ask your child about How Murray Saved Christmas. It was a funny read aloud we enjoyed today. We made the cutest alliteration elves with the students' pictures and oil pastel ornaments which we wrote similes describing. We have guest readers scheduled for every single morning next week and we are going to see A Christmas Carol at New Stage Friday. If you are in my homeroom, don't forget to send a $5.00 gift next Friday for our gift exchange at the Christmas party. Today was the last day to purchase our class Christmas DVD. It was a tearjerker, wasn't it? I think those videos will make a priceless Christmas gift! I hope your days are "merry and bright"!