May 14 through May 18……….and beyond!

  Farewell, and on to the Junior High!

Special activities on the agenda…..

• Monday May 14-Awards Day -5th grade 2:30 (Gym)
• Wednesday, May 16-”Dave and Abe’s Great Adventure “(@ the David Davis Mansion- pack a sack lunch)
• Thursday, May 17-Rocket Launch/Picnic (@Maxwell Park-Lunch will be provided)
• Tuesday, May 22-Last full day of school!
• Wednesday, May 23- 15 minute Day (Note: Report cards will be mailed home)

Dear Parents,

This week we will be preparing for our visit to the David Davis Mansion, building our rockets, finishing up our novel study…..etc.

Basically, we will be working on wrapping up a truly awesome year together as the 5-M community in Room 205!   What a really special opportunity we have had in learning together this year!

We will be having a movie, Read-In, and a few other tid-bits before the year is completed.  Check in with your children about what to expect each day from here on out! (Any daily information will be posted as always, under the “Homework Assignments” tab on this web page.)

I can’t thank you enough for the great students we have had in our class this year.  Each is a remarkable individual!

For some, Irving has been your home since Kindergarten, for others, perhaps only a year or two.  Either way, your children will take with them many things from their time spent with us.  Watching them leave elementary and move on is bittersweet.  I wish your families the best.

Have a wonderful summer, enjoy the years ahead with these kids, and keep in touch!

Signing out for the 2011-2012 School Year~

Respectfully,

Joy Mucci

What’s Happening 5/7 to 5/11?

On Friday, May 4, the 5th graders enjoyed a visit from former Irving alum, Mike Jones, Vice President of State Farm.  Mike enjoys sharing his energy, enthusiasm, and experience to motivate the students to achieve and succeed.  Mike stresses the importance of reading, trying your best, and good citizenship.  The students had many good questions for Mike, and came away inspired to do well!

In history, we will be finishing up this week with the battles of Vicksburg, Gettysburg, the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse as well as Lincoln’s assassination.  Civil war journals will be due on Thursday, and our test will be that day as well.

Our historcal fiction novel, Charley Skedaddle, has taken us from the battlefields of the civil war to the mountains, where some new adventures await Charley Quinn.  Several surprise twists are in store before our travels through this book come to an end!

An important letter came home in your child’s Friday Folder on 5/4.  Please read it and keep it as a reference to the year-end activities for the following week (last full week of school)!  It is sure to be a busy week full of fun experiences for these 5th graders before they leave us and move on to junior high!

Up next week:

• Monday May 14-Awards Day -5th grade 2:30 (Gym)
• Wednesday, May 16-”Dave and Abe’s Great Adventure “(@ the David Davis Mansion- pack a sack lunch)
• Thursday, May 17-Rocket Launch/Picnic (@Maxwell Park-Lunch will be provided)
• Tuesday, May 22-Last full day of school
• Wednesday, May 23- 15 minute Day

                                  

Enjoy your week! 

Lots to Explore..the week of 4/30 to 5/4!

Things to be aware of during this last month of school:

• No school on Monday 4/30 (SIP Day)        
• Monday May 14-Awards Day -5th grade 2:30 (Gym)
• Wednesday, May 16-”Dave and Abe’s Great Adventure “(@ the David Davis Mansion- pack a sack lunch)
• Thursday, May 17-Rocket Launch/Picnic (@Maxwell Park-Lunch will be provided)
• Tuesday, May 22-Last full day of school
• Wednesday, May 23- 15 minute Day

In history we will continue to move along in our study of the American Civil War.  Reading/language arts finds us reading through Ch. 11 in Charley Skedaddle.  (We have had numerous absences.  The students know they are responsible for reading the novel and writing in their journals, regardless of whether they are in school, or absent.)

Students will be composing pages for their Book About Me.  These are done in school (no homework).  I will be available for any who want to come in as  early as 7:45 a.m. to do some typing or work on these.  (If there is a morning when I am unavailable due to a meeting, etc. I will let the students know ahead of time.)  Many students have really taken advantage of this.  I have read some very informative, creative, and well-written journals for both the civil war and Charley Skedaddle!

Have an enjoyable week!

Mustang Spirit Week…..4/23-4/27!

Monday: P.J.Day

Tuesday: Twin Day

Wednesday:Wacky Dress Day

Thursday: Sports Team Day

Friday: Blue and Gold Day

 

 

History- We have been building background for our study of The American Civil War.  The students will be writing in journals, mapping locations, and keeping information organized on a matrix.

 

 

Reading/LanguageArts- We will be building vocabulary, applying comprehension skills, plotting story elements, and responding to historical fiction literature.  We are reading Charley Skedaddle by Patricia Beatty, which integrates perfectly into our study of the civil war in history.  Students will be writing daily journals.

(Some of the students are using the laptops for journalling.  I have told them they are welcome to come as early as 7:45 in the morning  if they need more time.)

Dates to Note:

• Wednesday, May 16-”Dave and Abe’s Great Adventure “(@ the David Davis Mansion)
• Thursday, May 17-Rocket Launch/Picnic (@Maxwell Park)

Also:

**Please return signed Friday Folders as well as Rocket Activity notes

**Continue encouraging homework completion and reading at home.

**Keep those boxtops coming!

Have a wonderful week!

Activities aplenty …..4/16 to 4/20!

Unbelievable how much we have left to accomplish in so little time!

Reading/Language Arts:

• This coming week will find us wrapping up with poetry.  Folders are due on Monday, and we will be taking a short poetry quiz.
• Discovery assessments in both math and reading will be given for the final time this week.
• We are beginning a new novel study. Charley Skedaddle, by Patricia Beatty, is historical fiction which coincides with our up-coming unit on the civil war.  This book is loaded with themes allowing the students not only to relate, but to learn more about the events, emotions, and personalities of that period in history.

History:

• Monday-We will wrap up all Revolutionary events by making timelines (which are due Tuesday)
• Tuesday- Students will fasten into their time machines for ”Mrs. Mucci’s Time Travel Event” (Please don’t be absent, or you just might be literally “left behind”!
• Wednesday-Thursday- “Set the Stage” for the American Civil War
• Friday-Official beginning of C.W. Unit (students will be journaling, charting events on matrices, and mapping locations.)

Dates to Note: (As of this moment! More will be added in future posts.)

• Wednesday, May 16-”Dave and Abe’s Great Adventure “(@ the David Davis Mansion)
• Thursday, May 17-Rocket Launch/Picnic (@Maxwell Park)

Also:

**Please return signed Friday Folders as well as Rocket Activity notes

**Continue encouraging homework completion and reading at home.

**Keep those boxtops coming!

Don’t forget to enjoy your week!

Check out the scene…4/9-4/13!

Remember:

• Please return Friday Folders on Monday
• 6th Grade Orientation at BJHS (east gym) on Monday, 4/9 @ 6:30
• May 17th Rocket Launch/5th Grade Picnic (Details to come later.)

This week in History we will discuss the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Bill of Rights.

Our poetry unit finds us moving from free verse poems, into 5-W’s, haikus, acrostics, limericks, and concrete (shape poems).  As we learn about each type, students are composing their own samples to add to their folders.

Through the remainder of the school year, the students will be working on authoring their Book About Me.  It is a fun representation of their written responses to various topics, prompts, books, that we have shared.  This will come home with them at the end of the year.

Please continue to encourage DAILY reading at home!  The class has done a phenomenal job of earning Reading Counts points on their books at school.

Have a wonderful week!  (Keep the box tops coming!) 

What’s in the mix from 4/2 to 4/6?

Welcome back!  Hopefully everyone had a great spring break and we will be ready to enjoy all of the 4th quarter activities we have planned.

In history, we are beginning Ch. 13, The American Revolution (There will be no test on this chapter.)

April is Poetry Month, which brings us to our study of poetry.  We have already spent quite a bit of time on figurative language and poetic devices.  We will revisit these while we read, analyze, and practce writing our own samples of various different types of poetry.

• Please return report card envelopes with parent signature cards and Friday Folders on Monday
• No school on Friday 4/6

Dont Forget:

• 6th Grade Orientation at BJHS (east gym) on Monday, 4/19
• May 17th Rocket Launch/5th Grade Picnic (Details to come later.)

Have a wonderful week!

Enjoy Spring Break! See you back at school on April 2nd!

Please send back Parent Signature cards for report cards (with envelopes), and Friday Folders. Thanks!

Take a look and see……Week 3/19 to 3/23:

The third quarter is officially over!

Friday, 3/23 is an important day:

1. ISAT Perfect Attendance Dance Party!
2. 1/2 day of school 3/23-(12:05 dismissal begins Spring Break)
3. Report cards will be coming home with your child (Please sign signature cards and send back with your child on April 2!)

Other imortant dates to note:

• Thursday, 3/22 -Pizza lunch for students with 100% homework completion in the 3rd quarter!
• Spring Break-3/26-4/1
• 6th Grade Orientation at BJHS (east gym) on Monday, 4/19
• May 17th Rocket Launch/5th Grade Picnic (Details to come later.)

We are enjoying the Tall Tales, and finding out how humorous exaggeration can be! Our class just read about John Henry.  We will work this week on props, scripts, etc., in order to perform our skit with the other two fifth grade classes this week.

Ch. 12 in history is a short one. We have completed both our reading and reading notes together, about the Declaration of Independence.  This week we will work on a small project; a plaque representing Thomas Jefferson’s desk as he was working on his draft of this famous document.

• Monday: Assign Thomas Jefferson Desk Plaque (due Wednesday)
• Tuesday: Work time
• Wednesday: Ch. 12 Study Guide
• Thursday: Review
• Friday: Ch. 12 Test

 

Enjoy a wonderful Spring Break with your family! See everyone back on Monday, April 2!

Check out the scene…3/12 to 3/19!

We have one more ISAT Test to complete on Monday, and we are done!

Important dates and information:

• 3/3- PTO Fund raiser Begins (See information in your child’s Friday Folder!)
• Book Fair Chili Supper -3/15 (On-line Book Fair information:  http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?    method=homepage&url=irvingelementaryschool1
• End of 3rd Quarter-3/16
• Friday, 3/23- ISAT Perfect Attendance Dance Party!
• 1/2 day of school 3/23-(12:05 dismissal-begins Spring Break)
• Spring Break-3/26-4/1
• 6th Grade Orientation at BJHS (east gym) on Monday, 4/19

We will begin studying Tall Tales this week.  This is fun for all of us!  Our studies will include learning the characteristics, some common vocabulary, comparing and contrasting various tall tales, as well as acting out one of our favorites.  Real fun is when all three  5th grades join together to share their productions! We will continue this unit until Spring Break.

In history we will begin Ch. 12 in which we will be learning about the Declaration of Independence.

How was it written?

Why?

What are the main ideas in the Declaration of independence?

We will learn about the individuals who were there at the time, in particular Thomas Jefferson.

 

Please send in those Box tops, Garden Basket items, One for Books Donations!  Thank you for your support!

Have a great week….See you at the Book Fair Chili Supper on Thursday!