10.21.2013

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 21st through 25th 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.

9.29.2013

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. 




   

9.09.2013

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.