Baltes Buzz

Come on and move it move it!

Dear Parents,

If you have ever seen the fantastic movie, Madagascar, you will recognize our theme for next month as it was song by the cuddly lemurs.  March is national nutrition month and our class theme is “come on and move it move it!”  We want to enable our students to make informed decisions, regarding nutrition and health in general.  You might have seen the letter we sent home the other day requesting healthy snacks to be sent in for the rewards drawer.  By offering a healthy alternative to a chocolate or sugar reward, we hope to see increased energy and focus in class and maybe the students will feel better about themselves.  Talk to your children about healthy food and how a balanced diet can increase academic and athletic performance.  Keep an eye out for letters concerning extra credit assignments relating to nutrition.

Best,

Mrs. Baltes and Mr. Shekell

Be Subject Savvy

Science and Social Studies – We are wrapping up our electricity and magnetism unit in Science and embarking on our journey back in time to World War 1.  We will discuss the implications that the war had on the economy and political arenas in America.  This should lead us into the Great Depression.

Math – We are taking this week and next to review what we have taught throughout the year before moving on to further examine fractions, algebra and volume.

Important Dates

3/7 – Picture Day

02/07/2008

What to look out for

This past week we talked a lot about the presidential elections and how every citizen should be utilizing their right to vote.  I hope some of the students had an opportunity to participate in the elections this week, seeing as how this might prove to be a truly historic time in our countries history.  Continue to talk to your children about the candidates and issues that are confronting our country.

Crunch Time

The end of the year is fast approaching and that means that the CRCT is right around the corner.  This is the most important time of the year for all the students.  Make sure they are getting enough rest to be wide awake at school.  A healthy breakfast is also essential in optimizing their performance.  Attendnace is crucial for the rest of the year.  Since we are doing a lot of review and covering new material, missing just one day of school can set a student back significantly.  Be aware of how your child feels in the morning, we want all of the students at school, but a sick kid can infect a number of other students too!

Be Subject Savvy

Reading/ Language Arts – Sequencing and theme are complete.  We will now examine the literary elements and how they are applied to fictional writing.  We are going to begin comparing and contrasting fictional texts next week.  For the readers response this week, the strategy is sequencing.

Math – The graph project is due tomorrow.  Everyone has a good looking graph and we are excited to hear how well the students interpreted the information.  We will be moving into fractions again next week. 

Science – We are now learning about electricity.  We will examine circuits and magnetism.  Talk to your kids about electricity in the house and how important it is to your life.  We will take a look at how circuits work and even do a few experiments with them.

This past week we talked a lot about the presidential elections and how every citizen should be utilizing their right to vote.  I hope some of the students had an opportunity to participate in the elections this week, seeing as how this might prove to be a truly historic time in our countries history.  Continue to talk to your children about the candidates and issues that are confronting our country.

Crunch Time

The end of the year is fast approaching and that means that the CRCT is right around the corner.  This is the most important time of the year for all the students.  Make sure they are getting enough rest to be wide awake at school.  A healthy breakfast is also essential in optimizing their performance.  Attendnace is crucial for the rest of the year.  Since we are doing a lot of review and covering new material, missing just one day of school can set a student back significantly.  Be aware of how your child feels in the morning, we want all of the students at school, but a sick kid can infect a number of other students too!

Be Subject Savvy

Reading/ Language Arts – Sequencing and theme are complete.  We will now examine the literary elements and how they are applied to fictional writing.  We are going to begin comparing and contrasting fictional texts next week.  For the readers response this week, the strategy is sequencing.

Math – The graph project is due tomorrow.  Everyone has a good looking graph and we are excited to hear how well the students interpreted the information.  We will be moving into fractions again next week. 

Science – We are now learning about electricity.  We will examine circuits and magnetism.  Talk to your kids about electricity in the house and how important it is to your life.  We will take a look at how circuits work and even do a few experiments with them.

2008 A New Year

Parents and Guardians,

We hope that you enjoyed your break and spent some quality family time together. Now that the break is over, we can focus our efforts on the progression to middle school. There are only 92 days left in the school year, making our timeline shorter and shorter to prepare for the future. We look forward to meeting with you during conference week. Please see the attached schedule for conferences and verify that you can attend. Please be reminded that we have 26 students to schedule conferences for in a one week period, and 20 of them have siblings, making this a scheduling nightmare. If you must reschedule, know that you may have to come on more than one day to meet with all of your children's teachers. Thank you in advance for you support over the upcoming months.

Conferences

Please confirm your time regarding the aforementioned conferences. We will be giving out report cards during conferences. If you do not attend your conference, it will be distributed after conference week is over. Promptness is essential during conference week. Because of numerous back-to-back conferences, there is a 25 minute timeframe. If you are late, you will only have the remaining time to conference. We look forward to meeting with everyone and sharing your child's progress.

Be Subject Savvy

Social Studies - Our Essential Question for the unit is: How did Immigration and the Industrial Revolution affect the United States? We will examine the economy and political events of the late 1800's and how inventors and immigrants transformed the United States into an industrial giant. Talk to your kids about the economy now and discuss supply and demand, as well as producers, consumers and how you invest money.

Math - Our Essential Question for the unit is: How do I use the characteristics of geometric figures to determine congruent shapes? Geometry is in full swing. We are examining area of polygons, such as parallelograms and triangles. Find geometric shapes in your house and manipulate them or discuss how they are similar and different.

Writing - Our Essential Question for the unit is: How do I tell a story using narrative writing? There is a contest going on to see which student can create the best movie script. Talk to your children about what makes movies so good and how to incorporate that into their writing.

A quick announcement

Holiday Party!

The holiday party is only one week away.  If you haven’t paid the $3 to assist in purchasing food and goodies, please send that in as soon as you can. Also, any items that were asked to provide for the party are needed by next Wednesday December 19.  Cookies and Brownies need to be brought in on Wednesday, so that they do not get stale before the party.

Tolerance Talk

It would be naïve to assume that the children of this generation do not notice differences amongst themselves.  Our classroom is an accurate depiction of the diverse community we live in.  Parallel to society, there have been instances of prejudice and intolerance in our classroom.  Our personal and professional philosophy regarding diversity is in line with the county policy.  We embrace the differences and similarities of each individual student.  Please, have a discussion with your child about being tolerant of others’ appearance, beliefs, and cultures.  This is essential to our ability to function cohesively as a class.  They must be able to see past such differences to appropriately interact in today’s diverse world.

Field Trip

The second installment of Field Trip money is due before the Holiday Break.  This second installment is for $11. 

Be Subject Savvy

Reading/ Language Arts – We are finishing up inferences and expository writing this week.  Next week will consist of numerous read alouds and written pieces. 

Math – Fractions are put on the side burner for a bit.  Geometry is the focus of instruction for the rest of the grading period.  We will focus on polygons and finding the area and perimeter of certain polygons. 

Science – Bring out the animal in you.  We are talking about classification this week.  Talk to your kids about how King Phillip Came Over For Good Spaghetti (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species)

The Holiday Season

The Holiday Season

The halfway point is approaching and we are pumped up for a two week vacation. Let’s cover our bases before thinking about our time apart.

The Holiday Party Thursday 12/20

This is the most convenient and festive time of year to bring all of our beliefs and cultures together. We are celebrating our embracing the diversity within our classroom with a holiday party on the last Thursday before vacation. You received a memo requesting your assistance with the party. We are asking for a $3 donation to cover the cost of pizza, perishables and prizes. If you cannot make this donation, please contact us so we know to cut back on our purchasing. There was also a request for a food or drink donation. Your specific request is highlighted. If sprite was highlighted on your memo, please note that any citrus soft drink will be accepted as long as it is clear. If there are parents that would like to assist the room parents in serving or decorating you may contact us. Party on!

Be Subject Savvy

Science – Nucleus, Vacuoles, Cells, Oh My! Our living organisms unit is almost over. Keep looking out for test grades.

Math – I will miss the priceless looks on our students’ faces when we first showed them adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. Rest assured that progress is being made. We will finish up our fraction unit for now and move on to Geometry (Shapes). It’s time to find our future engineers.

Reading and Language Arts – Keep reading at home with your children. We can see a marked difference in reading levels from the beginning of the year. We had 13 students pass their individual reading goals for the month of November and all 13 will be having a McTastic Friday. A McDonald’s small fry or apple pie will be catered for each of the students that passed their goal – extra recess will be considered to burn off the extra few calories.

Social Studies – Who isn’t proud of their heritage? Our next unit lets students examine their ancestry through the immigration unit. They will consider what it was like for Europeans and all immigrants coming through Ellis Island . Talk to your kids about the roots of your family and how you ended up in Atlanta , Georgia , or even the United States .

Safety and Procedures

Roads may get icy, and temperatures might drop. Check your local news listings for school closures or turn on the radio. IF YOU DO NOT HEAR THAT SCHOOL IS CLOSED, DO NOT MAKE THAT ASSUMPTION. If you have any doubts, call the school and there will be a recording giving you an update. We might have recess in the cold so be sure students are coming to school in appropriate clothing; i.e. pants and coats.

Thanksgiving you an update...

With Thanksgiving around the corner, we would like to take some time to reflect on different things we are thankful for, including:  an extended weekend away from school, time spent with people we love, turkey, friends, family, sweet potatoes, pilgrims and football (especially the Buffalo Bills).  Wherever you may be next week, be sure to tell the people you love that you are thankful for them.  Take some time and give someone you care about a hug.  Remember that it's not where we are, but who we're with that truly matters the most around the holidays.  We are grateful for being surrounded by loving families and friends, as well as a special class full of amazing students during this special time.

Classroom News!

Today there is a letter being sent home in reference to the end of the year, 5th grade field trip.  Please read this letter carefully.  The cost of the field trip is consistent with past years, $55/student.  If you are unable to make a one time payment, there are specific instructions in the letter for establishing a payment plan.  No one wants to think about money at this time of year, but the further in advance that you know about this cost, the more time you have to prepare.  We are available to field any questions about the field trip.  Again, email is the best way to reach us.

Be Subject Savvy

Social Studies - Our living museum was a huge success!  Some of the members that were present included; Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Dred Scot, Harriet Tubman, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee and General William Sherman.  The students portrayed these leaders perfectly and learned a lot about each one of them.  By the end of the day, parched, tired and out of breath, each student displayed a deep understanding of how some important Americans affected the Civil War. 

Science - The holiday season is the best time to celebrate!  In light of the season, we are cell-ebrating with a unit about cells and organisms.  Students will be looking through microscopes for differences between plant and animal cells, exploring the organelles inside a cell and building there own edible cell.  I don't know about you all, but my idea of a perfect snack is a cell wall, smothered with cytoplasm and topped with vacuoles, a nucleus, mitochondria and top it off with some sprinkles of chloroplast - Yum!

Math - Fractions.  You name it, we'll do it - add them, subtract them, multiply and divide them.  We'll also reduce them, simplify them, find equivalents for them and explore what they mean.  This is arguably the most difficult math unit we will teach this year.  Please look over your child's homework and reinforce what they are doing in school with some support at home.

Reading

 - Do it - Every night. 

Thanksgiving you some football advice...

The Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots are playing this Sunday night.  The Pats are undefeated and the Bills are on a recent streak.  No one likes to see a team dominate every game they play, put on your Blue and Red, deep fry some hot chicken wings and smother them in

Buffalo

sauce.  While you are watching the game and eating your wings, remember to stand up and yell, "The Bills make me wanna shout" followed by a "Let's go Buffalo" chant every time the Bills charge down the field and score on the Pats.

Thanksgiving you some important dates:

There is no school from Wednesday November 21 – Friday November 23.  Enjoy your time off!

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon week is almost over.  Talk to your children about the consequences of drugs and alcohol in their lives.  Open communication is the most important aspect of any relationship, so be open to any conversation.  Drugs have ruined the lives of numerous people, including celebrities, athletes, and ordinary people alike. 

World Series

As a history buff, and baseball guru, Mr. Shekell's favorite month of the year is October because of Playoff baseball.  Get out your "chowda" (clam chowder), turn on the television and share America's pastime with your children.  Go Sox!

Be Subject Savvy

Math - Move over decimals, you are no longer the only part of a whole.  Enter fractions.  We are continuing to discuss the various ways you can represent parts a whole.  With the introduction of fractions, students will be examining numerators and denominators.  They will also begin to manipulate fractions through adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.  Talk to your kids about what a fraction means and when you order pizza for dinner ask them questions about what the slices represent.

Social Studies - Civil War is coming to a close next week.  We will be working on a one week project in which students will delve deep into the psyche of a leader from the time period.  At the end of the week, students will be so engulfed in their leader that they will represent them in a living museum.

Reading - Two new books for Guided Reading - Charlie Skedaddle and Sarah Plain and Tall.  All of the reading groups will be studying one of these books and discussing them in class.

Writing - We are integrating Social Studies into the writing curriculum.  We will work on the aforementioned Leader project in writing as well.  Our persuasive unit ended in a hodgepodge of hair color, as the class persuaded Mr. Shekell and Mrs. Baltes to color our hair.  The new expository writing unit, writing for informational purposes, is underway.

Important Dates coming up

10/31 - Halloween

11/1 - Breakfast of Champions

11/5-11/6 - Student Holiday

11/13 - Dowell Night @ Stevie B's

Strength in numbers

Halloween is around the corner so be safe, please!  I remember growing up, trick or treating in the neighborhood.  Times have changed, so get together with some other parents, and make an event of escorting your children around the neighborhood.   All the dads in our neighborhood would make a huge mug of hot cocoa and grab a flashlight then talk about whatever adults talked about while we ran around collecting pillowcases full of candy!

Resting for Testing

Dear parents and students,

Social Studies is back!

We have almost completed our second full month of school!  Our first full science unit is over,  social studies is in full effect.  Government and policy has such a huge impact on our daily lives.  We are learning about how the government affects the way we live.  We are also testing this week and next.  We have the Cogat and ITBS tests, one of which is an aptitude test and the other a performance test.  These tests are crucial for our placement in after school tutoring services.  It also helps us gage which students are at-risk for the CRCT and gives us target areas to focus on throughout the year.  There is no way to study for these tests; however, students generally do better when they are well rested and have eaten a breakfast.  Please set an appropriate bedtime, and make sure that their bellies are full of scrumptious breakfast.  Thank you for your continued support.

Any questions or comments can be directed to us at:

melisa.baltes@cobbk12.org

ryan.shekell@cobbk12.org

Bi-weekly Events!

10/1/07 - 10/5/07 - ITBS testing every morning

Thursday 10/4/07 - Math Night at Publix

Be Subject Savvy

Math - We are going to continue with Multiplying decimals in the upcoming week.  We will start talking about dividing decimals after that.  It is difficult, but highly effective to model these strategies.  If you have any questions about what we are doing for this, shoot us a quick email.

Social Studies - We are talking about the American government system and checks and balances.  Talk with your children about presidential candidates and policies.  We will begin to discuss the difference between political parties and go through our own voting to nominate a representative from our class for student council!

Spelling - No spelling next week, but look for a new packet and list on 10/8/07

Reading - Let's keep up the good work with 20 minutes every night this week.  Next week, we will increase our recommended time to 30 minutes/night.  If your child does not pass their individual reading goal for the month of September we are going to have a reading contract for you to sign every night stating that he or she is completing the recommended reading time.

Writing - If the students are able to persuade the teachers to dye their hair a funny color then we will have an interesting week.  We are working on persuasive writing.  Have your children debate with you about different things and let them see different perspectives.  Maybe even let them get away with something if they can create a solid argument!

Email Notification Service

Parents
The service that we use to automatically notify you when the blog is updated has changed their terms of service in such a way that an ad will begin showing up at the bottom of the email that comes to you. Your email address is still not being shared with anyone other than the school! The mere placement of advertising in school communications is of concern to us, especially since we have no control over what the ad may be.

We are exploring other means of providing this service to you at this time. For now, we ask your patience as we work through the concern. In the meantime, if you receive an ad that is objectionable to you, we would appreciate your notifying the school, and holding onto it so that it may be forwarded to proper personnel.

Thank you for your patience!

2007-2008 School Year

We are so excited to have such a wonderful class this year.  We will keep this blog updated with important events, and information you need to know so that we can make the best of this school year.  Check back often for updates and give us your email on the right side of the page so you can recieve email updates.