New Orleans Trip

Can you believe the best field trip of the year is only a few days away? Here are some important reminders: Transportation- We will depart from the OLD Madison Station at 5:45 a.m. We will begin boarding at 5:30. If you are late, you will be left! Remember to wear your New Orleans T-shirt. I will pass those out this week at school. You will need snacks and a sack lunch for the zoo. You will also need some spending money. It is going to be so much fun! I can't wait.

I hope you all had a wonderful spring break. Did you tell your parents how we are learning about propaganda in class? It was hilarious that everyone knew the free creditreport.com commercial. We decided that company did a great job with marketing!

We have also been studying New Orleans' artists and created some really cool "Blue Dog" paintings after reading Why is Blue Dog Blue? We are going to watercolor New Orleans architecture this week as well. We are going to read and study the rhyme scheme of some New Orleans poets in language. Remember that you need an ultra-fine point sharpie and a new pack of markers for our book writing project. We will be filling out job applications to be editors and art directors. I have missed you all and I can't wait to see you tomorrow!

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!