Last Week!! June 12 - 16

It's hard to believe this is the last week of school. Most of the kids are saying how quickly it has gone by. I have to agree with them!

Items due: Please be sure that your child has turned in or payed for all library books. I will be collecting social studies books, calculators, and templates on Tuesday. Your child will need to turn these items in or pay for them.

Field trips: All field trips are on as planned. The weather looks a bit dicey on Wednesday but we'll see what happens. If we need to, we will make a plan for an activity to do at school that day. I will not be going with the students to Rolling Hills on Monday due to meetings that I have to attend. Other fifth grade teachers will be there though.

Promotion ceremony: The ceremony will be at 2pm on Thursday. I will be out part of the morning on Thursday. My own daughter has her promotion ceremony that day.





Just in case this happens to you, here are a few options around town...


Ann Arbor District Library Summer Game: http://play.aadl.org/ Use your Library this summer and earn points towards useful AADL stuff, all thanks to the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library!

Ann Arbor Observer: http://annarborobserver.com/calendar/family__teens____kids_stuff_170529.htmlEvents for families, teens, and kids.

Association for Library Service to Children’s Summer Reading List: http://www.ala.org/alsc/publications-resources/book-lists/2017-summer-reading-list

Morning Movies at Quality 16 Ann Arbor: https://www.goodrichqualitytheaters.com/morning-movies Those belonging to the Frequent Moviegoer Rewards (FMG) will be able to see any movie in the series free-of-charge when they present their FMG card at the box office. Each member will get up to 6 free admissions with their FMG card per show. Non-members will be charged $1.00 per ticket. It's easy to become an FMG member for FREE.

Morning Movies at Rave/Cinemark  Here’s how it works:
Purchase a 10 movie pass in advance from your local box office or online for $5. (While supplies last.) If you don’t plan to go every week, you can also see individual movies for $1 each. http://www.thesuburbanmom.com/2017/04/24/cinemark-summer-movie-clubhouse-2017-schedule/

If you are interested in going a little out of town:  
http://www.dailydetroit.com/2017/06/03/30-things-to-do-detroit-summer-2017/

Week 37 - June 5 - 9

We have several field trips coming next week. The forms went home on Monday and it would help us out a lot if they could be signed and returned right away.

Rolling Hills - Monday, June 12
Students will need:
- a sack lunch
- swimsuit, towel, sunscreen
- quarters for the lockers (if they choose to use them); remember that they need a quarter every time they open it and need to lock it again
- money for the snack bar if they want anything from this
Click on the link below to see the water park location, features, etc.
Rolling Hills Water Park 


Dairy Queen - Tuesday, June 13
We will walk to Dairy Queen after lunch. Students should wear comfortable walking shoes and may bring sunscreen to apply before leaving. Students will be allowed to purchase one item. Although it can be tempting, I encourage the students not to get the largest items. As much as I love ice cream, walking back to school in the hot sun after eating a lot of ice cream does not always end well! Please let me know if you need assistance purchasing something for your child at DQ.

Buhr Pool - Wednesday, June 14
We will be walking to Buhr Pool. Students will need:
 - a sack lunch
- swimsuit, towel, sunscreen
- comfortable walking shoes, flip flops would not be appropriate
There are vending machines at Buhr Pool. Students can bring money to purchase items if they choose but they should not plan on this as a substitute for lunch.

Electronics morning - Thursday, June 15
Students may bring in electronics to play on Thursday morning after they have returned all items and cleaned their area. Students are responsible for anything that they bring in. Any games played must be school appropriate (no weapons, PG-13 or higher games, etc.).

Promotion ceremony - Thursday, June 15
The promotion ceremony will take place in the afternoon at 2pm. There will be a small reception in the gym afterwards. The ceremony will take place in the cafeteria and it gets very warm and crowded in there so be prepared! Many students will wear comfortable clothing in the morning and change into something nicer after lunch for the ceremony.

Please be sure your child has turned in all library books. All students were given a calculator, History Alive book, and template at the beginning of the year. These must be returned or paid for. We often find missing items when the room is cleaned at the end of the year.

Please check the lost and found by the office. There are many nice items there!

Week 35 - May 22- 26

NWEA reminder and change
This week is the NWEA math and reading testing window. We will take the math on Monday and the reading on Thursday. Reading was previously scheduled for Tuesday. Due to a meeting that has been scheduled for me I had to make a change. If this interferes with any appointments, your child will be able to take the test with another class. Just let me know.

Baby pictures
Please email a baby picture of your child for the end of the year slide show. We also need a current picture of your child. Toddler or younger tends to be the best. We like to guess who it is before we see the current one! You can send a digital copy that you have or scan and send that to me. The due date is June 1.


No School - Monday, May 29 - Memorial Day

Math - We are wrapping up Unit 7 and will take an end of unit test this week. It is hard to understand all of the testing that is required for the students this month (M-STEP, NWEA, benchmarking, SRI, and unit tests)! Please help them get plenty of rests and have snacks. They have been doing a fantastic job with all of this.

Snacks - The students have been enjoying fruit during the day as a snack. I try to bring in a bag of clementines but you can imagine that it goes quickly! If you would like to donate a bag of clementines/halos/cuties to the class, it would be greatly appreciated!

Week 30 - April 17 - April 21

M-STEP testing continues...

We are continuing to have the M-STEP testing this week. We are testing Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Please help your child by making sure they eat something in the morning and have a snack for our testing break. I have some snacks to share and am accepting any that you would like to donate!

4/18 - Math computer test (afternoon)
4/20 - Social Studies part 1 (morning)
4/25 - Math performance task (afternoon)
4/27 - Social Studies part 2 (morning)
5/22 - NWEA math (morning)
5/23 NWEA reading (morning)

Earth Day - 
We are celebrating Earth Day on Friday, April 21. Our class will be working in the front of the school deadheading perennials and pulling weeds from 1:30 - 2pm. If you have any garden gloves that you could send in with your child, please do so. We usually only have thin plastic gloves available.

Volunteer Appreciation Event
Join us this evening in the Child Care room at Pattengill from 6 - 7:30pm as we show our appreciation to the parents that have volunteered this year. We thank you for all that you do!

Spring Picture Day is Thursday, April 20th. You should have received a flyer about this.

International Festival - Thursday, April 27th at Bryant from 6:30 - 8pm. If you are interested in purchasing a t-shirt, please click on the link.  International Festival T-shirt order

Week 27 - March 27 - 31

P
Please be sure your child is prepared for the weather. Our playground can get really muddy so a change of shoes or boots is a good idea.

Lost and found - Students were instructed to remove all items that belong to them from the classroom and hallway. There were many instruments, boots, shoes, snow pants, etc. Any items left behind today will be placed in the lost and found. Please look there if your child is missing anything.

Field trip/ Lunch with a loved one - Our field trip to the UM Museum of Art happens to fall on the same day as Lunch with a Loved One. We will leave for our trip around 10:30 and return around 12:30. The students will be eating lunch in the classroom. They can bring a sack lunch or pick up hot lunch from the cafeteria and bring it back to the classroom. If you wanted to come and eat lunch with your child you can join us in the classroom on that day.

M-STEP Prep - We will be doing preparation for the M-STEP in class. There is also a link on this blog where your child can read practice questions at home to be prepared. If they have experience with this, the test may feel less daunting. In the student planner there are lists, such as the Bill of Rights, that students could look over to begin thinking about the social studies portion.

Scarlett Middle School - On Friday, March 24 a principal from Scarlett Middle School came to speak with the students. They should have papers in their backpacks explaining the IB program at Scarlett and why you might want to choose to send your child there. If you are interested, I can send home a form for you to fill out. I've already sent a few home. Scarlett is school of choice.

WACKY WEEK - It's that time! The student council is putting on Wacky Week. Below is a schedule for the week:
Monday -  PJ/Small Stuffed Animal Day (no slippers allowed)
Tuesday - Twin Day
Wednesday - Sports Day (Yup, you can finally wear that hat in school!)
Thursday - 80's/Disco Day
Friday - Movie/Book Character Day

Week 26 - March 20 - 24

It's hard to believe that the first day of spring is almost here. I was hearing the birds chirping as I was shoveling the snow last week. Let's hope that is the end of it!

Report cards - These went home last Monday. If you have not returned your envelope, please do so as soon as possible. I will need this for the end of the year report.

Math - Students will be starting Unit 6 in math. This unit covers measurement, and decimal multiplication and division. Please encourage your child to practice these concepts using Khan Academy or any other online program.

Food drive - We are in the midst of the Rotary Club Spring Canned Food Drive "Rotary Fights Summer Hunger!" It ends on Friday, March 24th, 2017. We need your help to FILL the boxes located near our main office. Please support our annual food drive.  Food collected during this food drives help ensure that our children grow healthy and strong.  The Rotary Club’s goal is to provide 75,000 meals throughout the summer.  We need your help! Food collected is available through Food Gatherers’ network.  Please contribute the following: tuna, canned meats, beans, chili, hearty soups and stews, canned fruit, baby food/formula, Ensure and other nutritional supplement drinks. To learn more about the Rotary Club, go online at www.annarborrotary.org.  To learn more about Food Gathers, go to www.foodgatherers.org. 

Snacks - I have had an unusual number of students requesting snacks from me daily. Your child is allowed to bring in a snack to eat in the morning or the afternoon. The students tend to be hungrier in the morning, it seems. If you would like to send in non-perishable snacks for the whole class I can keep these in my closet and have them available for students who need them. 

M-STEP testing - This testing for the fifth grade will begin April 10 and goes until May 5. When I am certain of our schedule I will send it out to families. 

Week 24 - March 6 - 10

Read-A-Thon - You should have received a read-a-thon packet with all of the information regarding this year's event. Please support your child in reading and filling out tickets to turn in. Students can read independently or read to a younger sibling to add to his or her time.


Math - Students are working on multiplying fraction using area models and algorithms. They will soon be working on dividing fractions. Khan Academy is a great place for your child to get extra practice and support.

Early release day - Wednesday, March 8th is an early release day for students and report writing afternoon for teachers. School is dismissed at 11:53am.

Tappan counselor visit - The counselor from Tappan Middle School will be coming to our school on Tuesday morning. Even if your child is not going to Tappan, he or she will learn a lot about middle school schedules and expectations. Please let me know if your child will not be attending Tappan.

Field Trips - Please be sure to turn in the field trip form for our music trip on March 15th. You will also see a form come home for an art field trip on March 30th. It is helpful if you can return those as soon as possible. The office staff has to make copies of all forms and make sure that they are filled out all of the way.

M-STEP practice - We will be practicing the M-STEP test in class over the next month. I have updated the M-STEP link on the right side of this page. Your child can practice this at home by choosing "grade 5" and choosing an area to practice. This will also give parents an opportunity to see what the test looks like.

Classroom needs - Paper towel and toilet paper rolls are needed for our science unit. We are continuing to study the human body systems.  We also need disinfecting wipes. We are trying to keep the classroom as clean and possible!