Miscellaneous:

• The Spring Book Fair is right around the corner, March 11-15.  The flyers have been sent home with the students already this week. Our preview is set for Monday afternoon from 2:00-2:30 with our shopping day on Wednesday. Don’t forget the tax

• Parent shopping hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until 6:00 p.m. and Friday morning from 8:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.  

• We have an assembly on Wednesday called Readers are Leaders that takes place in the morning.

• On Friday lunch information for our Middle School Visit will be coming home, be on the lookout for this.

• We will be doing our chaperone drawing this week for 5th grade camp. Check for information on next Friday’s blog about who’s going.

Miscellaneous:

• You should have received a camp balance form.  Camp fees are due February 28.  Please get those in so we can know exactly what we have to work with.  If you need a balance for your child contact your child’s teacher.

• On Tuesday, February 19th the fifth grade will be going on a field trip to listen to the Grand Rapids Symphony.  We will be leaving about 10:15 and returning around 12:30.  Each class is allowed to bring 3 chaperones on this trip.  If you have an interest in chaperoning this trip contact your child’s teacher. Also, every student will need to have a sack lunch because we will not be back to the school in time for our normal lunch.

• We are still taking volunteers for being a camp chaperone, if you are interested please give those forms to your child’s teacher.

• Conferences are coming up on March 4, 5, 6. That is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. If you remember in the fall, we didn’t have conferences on Tuesday because of the election.  Therefore, we have shifted the parents that had conferences on Wednesday to Tuesday and parents that had conferences on Thursday to Wednesday.  If this causes a problem with your schedule, please let the teacher know and they can make the necessary arrangements.  You will be getting a conference time and date form coming home on Monday to confirm when your conference is as of now. Thanks for being flexible in this change.

Math: We have started our unit on multiplying and dividing fractions.  By using comparison bars and number lines we have been able to solve multiplication problems involving fractions.  This unit also involves using area models to learn how to multiply and divide fractions.  Keep checking your child’s math teacher’s blog for homework assignments.

ELA:  We have moved into our study of historical fiction.  As we transition from one unit to the next we have been reading aloud from historical fiction novels, beginning book clubs reading historical fiction, and soon we will begin our writing of historical fiction.

Social Studies: The kids all had fun doing skits on the original 13 colonies.  The students became experts on the geographical features, location, and push and pull factors about early settlement and then created skits to share information with their classmates. So much fun!  Next week we will wrap up this unit by comparing colonial regions, and review for the upcoming unit test.  Watch our blogs for a test date.

Science: We have just finished our first three body systems and our pig dissection. It was a great learning experience for all of us. This week and next we will be getting into the nervous system, the endocrine system, and the excretory system. Be on the lookout for short quizzes coming after each unit.