Whipkey's Weekly Update ~ 1/25-1/29/10

Dear Families,
Before I get into the regular, old learning objectives and upcoming/on-going events bullet points, I wanted to address a few important things. First, report cards are coming home tonight. I am very pleased with the overall progress of my students. Please keep in mind that 2nd quarter is often a more challenging experience and expectations are naturally higher. Overall, grades tend fluctuate down or remain the same. Remember that a report card is just a small snapshot of how your child is doing. Grades reflect progress towards the end goal - mastery of 5th grade essential learnings. That being said, participation at school and personal responsibility for education should be encouraged at home.
On another note, I have decided to deactivate my classroom Facebook account. I am finding that the blog, e-mail, phone calls and in-person meetings are successfully addressing our need for easy, open communication. Facebook tends to be a more personal social network and keeping it that way seems like the best plan to me!
Finally, our classroom is in need of your support in a few different ways. Our Valentine's party will be on February 12th at 2 p.m. I have sent home the volunteer sign-up sheet to those of you who signed up at the beginning of the year, but for those of you who would like to get involved, please let me know. Next week, 5th grade is beginning a new, guided reading schedule. We have put together reading groups based on skills and needs and will be "switching" for reading, much as we do for math. Your child may have me as his/her reading teacher or one of the other 5th grade teachers. In order to make this idea fly, we are hoping to have a parent volunteer in each afternoon, to help with management of the groups. We need at least one volunteer from 1:30-2:30 on Wednesdays and on Thursdays. If you are interested, please contact me as soon as possible. Finally, for our new science kit, "Ecosystems," we are in need of clean, empty 2 liter bottles. If you have any that you would like to donate, please send them in with your child. If you would make sure the labels are removed, that would be a big help too!
Thanks for all you do at home to support and encourage your child's success at school!
Sincerely,
Chris Whipkey

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Reading: New reading groups begin Tuesday! Novels, Reader's Theater, games and skills based worksheets will abound!
• Math(Whipkey Only): A bit of this and a bit of that - Division, Geometry, Measurement
• Language Arts: DLR(grammar & mechanics)Inspiration Projects, Comic Life Fiction Writing
• Social Studies: Inspiration Projects, Chapter 6 - Early English Settlements
• Science: Ecosystems

UPCOMING/ON-GOING EVENTS:

• 2/1/10 - NO SCHOOL, Professional Development
• 2/4/10 - Class Pictures
  
• 2/12/10 - Valentine's Day Party
• 2/15/10 - NO SCHOOL, Presidents' Day