Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Remember tomorrow the kids need to have a sack lunch and drink. The older kids may bring a pop, but shouldn't be larger than the 16-20 oz bottles. They should also wear their tennis shoes for field day!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Your child's Iowa Assessment scores are on a sheet of paper in your child's Take Home Folder. 
Language Arts- They have taken their unit 6 test this week. Tomorrow  (Friday) I plan on giving them their end of the year test. If they need to make any corrections on this test, they will do that next Tuesday. 
Math- Well, we are finishing up the chapter, but not in time to take another test. I will still score them in the area of fractions on their progress reports based on their work in class. On Tuesday, they will take an end of the year test. This will cover a little bit of everything. 
Religion- They took their test on Monday. It is in their take home folders. We started a new chapter, but we won't be testing over it.
Field Day, May 29- Students should wear tennis shoes for the last day of school so they can easily participate in the field day activities. They should also have a sack lunch with drink for the day. 
I know they are basically "finished" with school, but I am trying to keep the learning going until they leave my room. I don't think I will have a blog next week, so this is my final one for the year. It has been a great year with your children! I have so enjoyed being their teacher and working with them every day. It is always hard for me to let them go knowing that I will only see them in passing next year. :( I am sure they will enjoy their new adventure in 6th grade and the middle school. Thank you for allowing me to be part of their lives for the last 3 years. They have left a mark on my heart. I hope everyone has a great summer! I hope the kids stay active and continue to do some reading!! If you're traveling, have fun, but be safe! I will heading to Doon on June 1 to spend it with my mom. We are in the process of getting her house ready to be put up for sale, so I am guessing this will be my last summer at home. I will see you next fall! 

Monday, May 20, 2013

What sweet kids I have in 5th grade!!! I was surprised this morning! Two of my girls had a bake sale this weekend and made $34! They gave the money to me for my mom's medical bills. I was overcome! I love your kids so much,and it made me realize our time together is coming to an end! It was a crazy year with my mom, but I am so thankful that I had your kids with me! They have always been so supportive and loving! Thank you so much for your wonderful children! 

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Language Arts- Next week Monday we will be reviewing for our last unit test! Can you hear your kiddos cheering???We will test on Tuesday.  Later that week we will review for an end of the year test. We will possibly begin testing as well. I will see how things go. There won't be any spelling next week!
Book Reports-- They did a super job on those! I still have them and the grading process has been slow due to schedules, etc. I will return them as soon as I possibly can! Again, they did a great job on them! I love those reports because I always learn something new!
Math- We are working like crazy on those fractions! They did much better on the subtraction than I would have guessed! We are working on multiplication now of fractions and mixed numbers. We will most likely get to divide them too!!! I don't know if I will fit in another test over this chapter, but I hope to before the year is done! They will take an end of the year math test too. This is basically the same test they took on the first day of school. It lets me know how much they have learned. 
Religion- They will go over their study guide on Friday with me in class. They will take their chapter test on Monday. We had a lot of great discussions on the Ten Commandments. I was impressed!
Middle School- I believe they had a great day with the 7th graders! They were given a small taste of what moving around that building is like and how the teachers run their class periods. I know I enjoyed watching them. They had a lot of good questions for them. I think their biggest disappointment was recess was shorter by 5 minutes and no more swinging. :) If that is the worst thing....it will be a great time! 
Iowa Assessments- I have the scores on their tests for you. Please stop in some time to pick up your child's scores if you want to see them.
Field Trip- We had a great time at DMACC, and our weather wasn't that bad! Yahoo! Thank you Sally and Amy for driving us there! 
Mass-Next week Wednesday will be the last mass of the year. We will not have mass on the last day of school. The 1st graders and 5th graders did a great job at mass on Wednesday! I was very proud of them! 

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

My bad... your kids are supposed to pick out their EVENTS not days for the Elk's Track Meet!
Elk's Track Meet- The kids who signed up were sent home with an information sheet on Tuesday. They are to choose their days and let Mrs. Weihs know by contacting her on her cell phone. 
Substitute-  I will be gone on May 13. Mr. Bartling will be my sub! I am spending an extra day with Mom for Mother' Day weekend! 
Language Arts- We have one more story to read next week! That means only one more week of spelling! This means our final week of school will be spent on the last unit test as well as the End of Year test.
Math-We worked on adding and subtracting mixed numbers! Whew! The addition was pretty easy, but they have a hard time remembering to change improper fractions into mixed numbers or to simplify answers when needed. The subtracting is a little more difficult due to having to borrow from the whole number and then turn that into a fraction. For example: 1=2/2 or 1=12/12 or 1=8/8. I have looked ahead in the chapter. I am hoping I can finish it before our time is up! If so, they will also get to multiply and divide! 
Book Reports- They will present on Friday!! Don't forget the project and costume at home! 
Religion- We are finishing up our chapter on the Ten Commandments. I believe they will be testing sometime next week.
Wednesday, May 15- is our mass with first grade! Your kids will have their parts on Friday. Please practice the readings with them. They will also spend the rest of that day with the middle school kids!! It will be a mini-field trip for them! They will get a taste of middle school life!  
Mother's Day- I hope every mother has a terrific day on Sunday!! You deserve it! I know you may not hear it enough, but your kids love you and treasure you! I can tell from their conversations! I am heading to Doon to spend the weekend with my mom! 

Monday, May 6, 2013

Field Trip on Thursday, May 9, 2013. I told the kids to be prepared for rain! Dress appropriately, bring an umbrella and a jacket! No sack lunches needed. We are leaving at 8AM!!!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Field Trip- I am sending home a permission form for our field trip next week. Please fill it out and return by next Tuesday, May 7. I have enough drivers, thanks!!! The 5th graders should be at school on Thursday before 8 a.m. We will leave then. I don't think we will be back much before 4 p.m. The water festival is a science based day meant just for 5th graders! There will be about 2,000 kids on the campus that day. They will get to go to workshops throughout the day and learn different things relating to water and/or animals. It happens rain or shine, so the kids should dress for the weather that day! We walk the campus, so they should wear comfortable shoes. I recommend tennis shoes because sometimes they play games that will involve running. This is sponsored through UNI! They do NOT need to bring a sack lunch. One will be provided for them with a drink, water! 
Math- We are working on adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers this week! Chapter 7's work is coming in handy this week. I would say most mistakes I see are because they are forgetting to simplify their answers or they aren't paying attention to the math sign they need to be using. On Wednesday, we worked on estimating fractions and mixed numbers before adding or subtracting. I was pleased and surprised how easily they picked up on that! Wahoo!!!
Religion- We have really been discussing the Ten Commandments in our current chapter. We have had some very interesting and frank conversations about them. It has been a good week. While we talk about ways to break those commandments, I am also trying to focus on how to live them out the way God would want them to. 
Book Reports- These are coming up very soon! They are due next Friday, May 10. The students need to remember to bring their report or poster, their costume, and any props for their report that day! This is one of my favorite days! They have been sharing information with me as they read, so I am excited to learn more! 
Middle School Day- On Wednesday, May 15, the 5th graders will be shadowing a 7th grader. They will spend the morning, lunch, and recess with the students in grades 6-8 to see what a day in middle school will be like next year. This is an early out day, so they will only spend time with them in the morning before getting dismissed! 
Have a great weekend! I am hoping to go to Waterloo tomorrow for the weekend. We will see what Mother Nature does to mess with my plans! :)