Happy Holidays!

CUPS from First Tee fundraiser are here!

The BRAX fundraising cups are finally here!  Parents must pick them up  (sign for them) Monday from 3:30-4:30, Tuesday 8:30-4:30, or Wednesday 8:30-9:30. Remaining orders will be sent home with the students (if the cups are sent home with the students, the PTA cannot be responsible for lost or damaged items).

We will also have sample cups for sale at $3 each. Spirit Wear will also be available.

Thanks again for supporting our fundraiser. We made enough to buy the First Tee Program and have about $4500 left over for playground improvements!


Revolutionary War Test and Root Word Test
Thursday, Dec. 19 we will be having two tests.  I have posted both study guides to this website.  Click Revolutionary War Essay Study Guide and the Mis/Mit/Port Root Words Study Guide to study for the test.


Christmas Party
Friday, December 20
2:30-3:50pm

Friday is Ms. Baker's last day as our student teacher and we will miss her dearly!  Please feel free to come by and give your well wishes during our party.

For our Christmas Party, students voted on having celebrating with Friendship Stew, Hot Chocolate, and watching a movie.  We seem to have enough crockpots and gallons of chocolate milk.  We are still in need of marshmallows, cups for cocoa, and a holiday table cloth.  Also, if any family has a holiday movie that is "G" rated, we would love to vote on the movie we will be enjoying.   Below are details about the Friendship Stew in which students are to bring a snack to add to the mixture.

 

 

 

P.A.C.E.

This week, students will be provided a list of possible American heroes to be researched for the P.A.C.E. report and presentation.  Click the link to learn more about it:  PACE Documents

 

 

Happy Holidays!

I'm sure you are all aware, we have a full day on Friday, December 20, with no school the next two weeks.  School will resume Monday, January 6, 2014.

 

Want to learn more about PACE and about helping your child with math homework?

Wednesday, December 11 is Parent Night (5:30-6:30pm)

We, the Fifth Grade Teachers are hosting a Parent Night in which we will have three (3) - 20 minute sessions providing important information about PACE and strategies for modeling multiplication and division of fractions and decimals.

I will be providing information about PACE requirements, rubrics, and due dates.  Mrs. Bonebrake and Mr. Spenner will be modeling strategies of multiplication and division of fractions and decimals, which are quite different that just using the standard algorithm.  The models will include, but not be limited to:  fraction strips, number lines, ratio tables, arrays, and more.

Please join us Wednesday evening! 

Report Cards, Holidays, and Parent Education Night

Report Cards
Yay!  Report cards are on their way.  Can you believe we have already finished the first trimester of school?     Report cards will be sent home on Thursday, November 21.  Please keep the report card,
but sign the yellow card and return it in the envelope it will come home with . 

Thanksgiving Break
There is NO SCHOOL the week of November 25-29.  Enjoy  Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

Penny Drive for the Holidays
Bring in your pennies for the Give Joy campaign, benefiting families in need.  The Give Joy penny drive will run from Nov. 23rd-Dec. 18th with a pizza party on the 20th.

Box Tops
We are continuously collecting Box Tops as a fundraiser for our school and classroom.  Every Box Top clipped gives .10 cents to our school....which adds up to purchase much needed supplies.
Discovery thanks you (and your scissors).


Parent Education Night

Are you feeling like you don't know how to help your child in Math because the method for solving problems looks foreign to you?   Do you want to know more about what to expect with P.A.C.E.?  We, the fifth grade teachers, are going to hold a Parent Education Night in early December to educate parents how to "do" the math that we teach, so you can help at home.  We will also be discussing the P.A.C.E. process so you have an idea of how you can be helping your child in the process.  As soon as the date is set, I will notify parents. 

Happy November

Moms and Muffins

This Friday, November 8 from 8:00a.m. to 9:00a.m. is our annual Moms and Muffins event.  Please come enjoy a free muffin and juice with your Discovery Elementary student.  Thank you, PTA for sponsoring this great event!

Friday, November 8 is also Spirit Wear Day and Popcorn Friday. 

 

Report Cards
The end of Trimester 1 is November 15.  Report cards will be sent home on Thursday, November 21.
Also, we don't have school on November 15 due to Teacher Inservice. 



Thanksgiving Break
No school November 25 - 29 due to Thanksgiving break.

We have a lot going on at Discovery....

 

Book Fair is this week!

Red Ribbon week is this week!

Let’s UNITE TOGETHER to celebrate RED RIBBON WEEK!!!!

 

We want to show our support to one another for making good choices and being DRUG FREE!  October 21^st through 25^th please show your support by joining in and wearing themed clothing designated for each day: 

Monday:  My future is bright, I won’t do drugs:  Wear Neon/Bright colors and sunglasses

Tuesday:  Team up against drugs:  Wear your favorite team jersey, sweatshirt, or t-shirt

Wednesday:  Follow Your Dreams, Don’t Do Drugs:  Wear school/weather appropriate pajamas.

Thursday:  Put a cap on drugs:  Wear your favorite hat

Friday:  I’m a ‘jean’ious-I’m drug free:  wear jeans and a red shirt

 

 

 

Penny Drive for Thanksgiving....

October 22 - November 13, Discovery is teaming up with Albertsons to raise money for families in need this holiday season by collecting pennies or other denominations of change. 

 

Our Halloween Party is coming together!  Thank you to all parents for volunteering treats, activities, and/or time.  Those parents will be receiving an email this week with further details.   Remember:  Costumes need to be school appropriate....no weapons, gore, blood, face paint, masks.

 Curriculum Items

 

 

 

Math:   Identifying, ordering, adding/subtracting fractions and decimals

Word Study:  Spelling practice, Root Word: Dict

Language Arts:  Identifying parts of speech; writing Narrative stories;  Rough draft of Narrative is due Thursday, with the final draft due on Friday.

Social Studies:   Review Colonies; Identify Latituted and Longitude

Art:  Student Art Portfolios are due this week, with the front and back completely covered in mosaic paper tiles or any material they choose to use.

Conferences and more...

Conference Information:
Conferences are being scheduled for October 9th and 10th.   A conference slip with the specific time and date for your conference will be sent home this week.  Teachers will be collaborating to ensure sibling conferences are back to back, so parents can attend all of their children's conferences within a certain time frame.  Conferences will be no longer than 20 minutes.  If you feel you would like more time, please contact Mrs. Wright in advance and arrangements will be made for a longer time slot.  Discovery strives for 100% attendance during conferences, so please let your child's teacher know if a conference time doesn't work so it can be rescheduled.  

Wednesday, October 9:   
9:00-3:50 Full day of School
4:00-8:00pm  Conferences Scheduled

Thursday, October 10:
No School
8:00am - 8:00pm  Conferences Scheduled

Friday, October 11:
No School
No Conferences


Student Responsibilities:
Parents should be checking student homework folders nightly for homework and work that has been graded.  Please take time to look at all work that comes home, assisting your child in understanding the concepts he/she may have missed on the written work.  It is crucial that students begin to think critically, using skills to solve problems.  This also includes developing the ability to read, understand, and follow directions completely.  As I have been grading classwork, I am finding students are not completely answering the questions that were asked and students are not proofing or checking their work before handing it in.  Reading to obtain information and writing to provide information are skills we are developing  this year.  Please encourage your child to interpret the directions and/or the questions being asked before you tell them what it is asking.  This will help students to think critically, while taking ownership of their learning.

Lunch Bunch:
At Discovery, we really only have three rules: 

Act Safely,
Be Respectful, And
Care Enough To Be Responsible In All That You Do.

To reward students who continuously demonstrate Safety, Respect, and Responsibility, we have started a Friday Lunch Bunch group.  Each week, students who turn homework in on time, act responsibly in class and out of class (specials, hallway, playground, lunchroom, etc.), and demonstrate respect towards teachers and classmates have the opportunity to each lunch and a treat in the classroom on Fridays.   If you would like to provide a small treat to be shared by the students, please contact me and I will put you on the treat schedule.  Treat ideas can include:  muffins, cupcakes, chips, fruit cups, cheese/crackers, popcorn, etc.

Our goal is to have 100% of our students joining this group each week. 


Halloween Party:
Discovery's first party is just around the corner!  Thursday, October 31 from 2:45-3:45 is the Halloween Party.  Students, staff, and parents are encouraged to dress up to enjoy the "spooktacular" festivities.    Costumes will be allowed from 2:30 to 3:50 and must be appropriate for school. (Skimpy costumes, masks, weapons, hoods, and gore are not allowed.)

We are in need of a few parent volunteer in planning this party.  Planning will include organizing treats and a few classroom activities.  In the past, students have decorated cookies, used toilet paper to wrap a mummy, pumpkin painting, and more.    Please contact Mrs. Wright by October 4th if you
are interested in planning or participating in any of the Halloween party activities.


PTA News:
    

Discovery Night at Farmstead Pumpkin Patch is tomorrow, Monday, Sept. 30th from 4-9pm.  The cost is $4 per person, or $3 if you wear your Discovery Elementary spirit wear.  For directions, visit www.FarmsteadFestival.com or call 922-LOST.

Our next PTA meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 4:05.  Parents are encouraged to come see what is planned for this exciting school year!

Popcorn Friday is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 4 at last recess.  Only.25 cents will buy a bag of yummy popcorn.

Licorice Friday is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 18.  Only .25 will buy two pieces of scrumptious licorice!  This is also our Spirit day!  The classroom with the most students wearing Discovery Spirit wear will win the coveted Discovery Bronco for the month!

Reflections Artwork is due Friday, November 8. 
The theme this year is:   "Believe, Dream, Inspire"
For more information visit:
http://www.pta.org/programs/content/cfm?ItemNumber=2897
or contact Michelle Hall at chicago_halls@hotmail.com

National Walk to School Event:
This year we will be Dancing to school on Wednesday, October 9th.  Below are a few of the details:

• Our walk will begin at 8:00 in the morning.
• We will have two teams. One team will start at the parking lot behind Maverick. The other team will start at the park in the subdivision behind the school. Parents are welcomed to walk too!
• Meridian Police and Fire departments will be located at both locations.
• Meridian mayor will be here to walk/dance with us and will speak when we all arrive at the school.
• There will be at DJ at the school!
• BEST of all...freebies for all students who participate!
• Just a friendly reminder:   this event is a walk TO school event.  We will NOT be walking home FROM school....regular after school routines will be expected. 

   

Curriculum, Volunteers, and Upcoming Events

This week is shaping up to be a busy, productive week!   We will be concluding learning about the regions of the U.S.A., while continuing to explore decimals, fractions, and place value, identifying narrative elements of a story, and writing using dialogue.

Below are a few items of interest:

5th Grade Curriculum:
Please click on the 5th Grade Curriculum link for an overview of 5th grade curriculum.  On the Meridian School District website, you will find valuable information about PACE and student resources for practicing curriculum skills. 

Parent Volunteers:
This year, I have had an extraordinary amount of parents offering to help in and out of the classroom.  I will be contacting each of you soon to plan your assistance.  Thank you!!

Upcoming Tests/Events:
Please note: Reading (fluency and comprehension), Written Language (handwriting, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraph format, etc.), and Word Study (spelling, identifying spelling patterns, understanding meanings, etc.) are skills that are assessed weekly by informal and formal assessment methods.   All of the following dates are on the Calendar tab to the left of this page. 


11th  Individual Picture Day
12th  Ped (root word) Test
13th  Scholastic Book Orders due

17th  Back To School Night 
 19th  Wordly Wise Lesson 1 and 2 Test
16-Oct 4:  MAP testing for Reading and Math


Discovery PTA is on Facebook! 
If you have a Facebook account and want to stay up on the happenings at Discovery Elementary, search for and 'like' the Discovery Elementary PTA facebook page. 

Odds and Ends....

What a great class we have!!  I am so impressed by the dedication and pride all students are demonstrating in class, to myself and classmates, and on the playground.   We are well on our way to earning our first Marble Jar Party!

Please be aware of the following items:

~  This "Home" page is where I will post a "weekly newsletter".  It will contain important dates, notes, upcoming testing dates/info., and much more.    Each time I post in this "Home" page, you can be notified by entering your email address in the box to the left called "Follow By Email".  An auto-generated email will be sent to you with a link to the blog.  This is a great way to be sure you don't miss anything. 


~  Homework Folders:  Every evening your child should be coming home with a "Homework" folder and log in his/her binder.  Please help him/her get into the habit of showing you the homework list.  If a check is by the item, he/she completed it in class.  If there is not a check, then he/she needs to complete it that evening.  This folder must be brought back to class each morning.  If parent and child communicate about the Homework folder items, then homework middle school routines will be established and easier to transition.   Homework that is not turned in when due, will need to be done during recess.

Any work that is not legible, will be redone.  Please stress to your child that neatness and organization in classwork is part of being a responsible citizen in the classroom. 

~Word Study (Spelling):
This year, we will be doing the Words Their Way spelling program.  We will have a pretest on Mondays and a post-test on Fridays.  During the week, students are to complete activities at home as homework.  A letter is in your child's binder, behind the 'word study' tab, that discusses the weekly homework activities. 

~Curriculum Items:
There is so much to learn this year and student's need to be aware of all items they will be tested on.  I will put test dates in the "Calendar" tab as well as on student homework logs.   I will post items that students will be tested on in the "Curriculum Items" tab to the left of this page.   Root words will be found under the "Root Words" tab. 

~ The following items can be found by clicking on the "Calendar"  tab:

+Friday, September 6:  Popcorn Friday ....only .50cents for a bag of scrumptious popcorn!
ABC's of Discovery Mustangs Poster is due this day also.
+Wednesday, September 11:  Picture Day
+Tuesday, September 17, 5p.m.:  Back to School Night.   (Parents only please.)

Day one is done!

We are off to a great start!  I know this will be a great year in which we will prepare for middle school and beyond! 

Today was a day full of expectations/rules/requirements and tomorrow we will be diving right in to our curriculum.   We did complete a Unit 1 pretest for math and we do have homework tonight.  Please be aware of the "Daily Homework" on the left of this page.  There I will post nightly homework.

I am adding all parent email addresses to my contact list, and will be sending an email home tomorrow.  So if you don't receive an email from 'Mrs. Wright', please contact me soon to be sure I have the correct email address.   I email weekly newsletters home and need to be sure all students/parents are receiving them.    Thank you!

Students and Parents,

I would like to welcome all students and parents to a spectacular new school year at Discovery:  A 21st Century School!  I am excited to welcome all students on Tuesday, August 27.

Please browse this site as it is a way for parents, family members, and friends to view the "happenings" in our classroom.  It will be updated daily as a way for students to show pride and ownership in their accomplishments, an informational tool for parents/family/friends, and a record of important activities, due dates, events, and more.

I encourage students to refer to our class blog on a nightly/weekly basis so for future reference, add this site to your "favorites" or add to your browser "toolbar".  Also, on the left hand side of the page there is a link called:  Follow by Email.  By adding your email address to the space and following the simple steps, you will be sent an email any time I update the site. 

It is great to have you as a member of our class!   I am thrilled to meet all of you and I look forward to a great 2013-2014 school year!

Mrs. Wright
5th Grade Teacher
Rm 28