HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I have been blessed this year with parents who provide for my every need.  This is the first year in a while that I haven't had to plan and purchase everything for Halloween and I am so thankful (so is my husband who complains about my purchases all the time).  Thank you MOMS and DADS for giving so willingly!!  I love your children and will do anything for them.  School has become a place of testing and strict guidelines that must be followed from "the man" and me being able to do little extras like movie nights, campfires, service projects, dinners, and singing make our days go so much smoother and it let's the kids know that they are loved and cared for.  With that being said, I thank each and every one of you for being so supportive and kind!!!!

AR-WOWSER!!!!  I am overwhelmed at the number of kids who made their AR goal-20 out of 25 and those that made challenge 17/25.  This is amazing.  Mrs. Young gave them their second STAR test for AR this week and the reading levels were unbelieveable.  We had a huge increase from the first STAR test.  She said she was VERY impressed!!!  Keep on reading!!!  It's just like I said, "The more you read, the better you read!"  Keep up the good work.  If you encourage your child now, they will have a desire to read on their own eventually-really.  I know it's hard work but never let your child give you the excuse, "I don't like to read" POOH, everyone loves a good story, so I don't believe that for a minute.  We are a technology world right now and reading has been pushed aside-Let's bring it back-IT'S COOL TO READ AND IT'S COOL TO BE SMART!!!! 

Love ya'll!!  I'm headed to Boone in the morning to watch AppState kick some tail and then I also get to visit my daughter.  I'm putting the school work aside this weekend and cleaning my filthy house.  The dust is about an inch thick and I won't even tell you about the bathrooms :)

Have a great time Trick or Treating and be safe (and remember I love Almond Joys and Peppermint Patties-hahaha)

NEWS!!!

The interim reports came home today to EVERYONE-not just at risk children (Jarred was having a stroke!!).  As a mother I would want to know so I just did them for everyone.  I did not do them for Science or S. St. only reading, math, and spelling.  NOTICE all of the low grades for reading logs and spelling homework.  This is one are that should be improved.   We can do it!!!

AR is over on Thursday-several children are working on their challenge goal right now.  I gave the kids extra time in class today to read AR books, please continue to encourage this at home. 

SMORES at my house on Friday, Nov. 5 from 5:30-7 for AR challenge goal people only!  I will send directions and permission slips out next week. 

RED RIBBON WEEK-
Tomorrow-Wear Crazy Socks
Thursday-Support your team!!!!  Wear your favorite sports team jersey, t-shirt, or sweatshirt
Friday-Wacky Tacky Day!!!  Wear clothes backward, different color socks, and different shoes.

Thanksgiving Dinner-there has been a nice response so far-send in the forms by Friday so I can start planning the program and food.

Operation Christmas Child-Don't forget!!! 

Love Ya,

Mrs. C

Have A Happy Weekend!! Read this for lots of general information!!!

No homework over the weekend except to read Science Pages C10-C13.  Please sign the planner saying that you did this with your child.  They will get 5 extra points for this.  It is just a review of what we have been talking about in class.

Enjoy the weather BUT make plans to come to the Reading Night next week (Thursday) at 6:30.  This will take place in the auditorium. 

Get ready for the Thanksgiving Dinner.  This will take place on Friday night, Nov. 20 @ 6:00 in the cafeteria.  Please try and attend.  The kids are looking forward to this and we have started planning our program for the night.  Look for the sign up letter on Monday.

We will watch a webcast on Wed. with Taylor Swift.  She will have a private concert for school aged children as well as talk to kids about the benefit of reading.  We are really looking forward to this. 

Please fill out the form for Mr. Drye about the Thanksgiving performance that the whole fifth grade will be doing.  It is in the work folders this week and must be returned on Monday. 

Blue and White folder reminder-Sign the back, look at the work, send back everything on the send back side, kept everything on the other side.  Let the kids peel off the stickers and save them for the school store on Monday. 

Skate Night-Monday, Oct. 25-Let's skate and raise money for Douglass!!!!

UPDATES

There will be no detention due to a meeting that our staff has to attend on Thursday-even though I have about 6 people who need to be there-UGH!!!  You know who you are!!!  Interims will come out next week to those at risk.

Thanks for the Power snacks BUT... not everyone is sending them in when I send home the notes.  If you can't do it just let me know.

THANKS Kyle and Tori for my Scrabble game-now I have 2-I'm so thankful for donations!!!!

HERE'S A SHOUT OUT TO THE ONLY THREE PEOPLE WHO HAD ALL OF THEIR WORK TURNED IN-AARON, MIKAYLA, AND KENNEDY!!!  These people make my life so much easier-Smooch!!!

Please send back the GREEN note from chorus that I am sending home today.

Folders will come home on Friday-I got off a little last time but I want to keep the 2 week schedule going.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD????  Haven't heard back from anyone yet-is this a good sign, a bad sign, or no sign at all?  :)

Thanksgiving dinner for our class and class presentation on Friday, Nov. 19 @6:00.  Letter and food list will be coming home next week.  This is really a fabulous time.  It will be held in the cafeteria even though we have to sit in small chairs-haha.  Please invite your immediate family to come-grandparents, mom, dad, sisters, brothers. 

Let me know if you need me-I will set up my last 6 conferences next week. 

WORKING ON SUNDAY!!!

Getting ready to go to work to get planned for the week.  Remember we will be testing for 3 days, Tues, Wed., and Thurs. Please consider sending in something for our shoe boxes and don't forget the POWER SNACK.  If it was your turn, I sent a note in your child's planner.  I also need baggies for the snacks unless you'd like to bag them for me. 

I need a volunteer who would like to organize parents to send in Halloween snack.  Cupcakes, drinks, chips, just something small for us to snack on.  Let me know if you'd be interested. 

I am going to have after school detention this week.  I have so many kids who owe me work it is unbelieveable.  The detention will be on Thursday from 2:30-3:30.  Look in the planner this week to see if your child needs to stay.  You may pick them up in front of the gym at 3:30 (not in front of the school).  If your child has chorus then they need to miss chorus or miss the work and make a zero-it's up to you. 

I got 1 scrabble game from Tyler's family.  Is anyone looking at yard sales for me?  Just a reminder, if you find a scrabble game for me, please treat our class to this wonderful game.

Don't forget to remind your child to pick their stickers off their work when folders come home.  Some kids say they never get the opportunity to get their stickers because their parents throw their papers away.  Please let them do this on their own too.  Don't do it for them!  It gives them the opportunity to see what they are making on their papers.  We don't always get to see our grades during the week so it's nice for them to be able to see their work.  This is just a baby step to growing up-don't pick their stickers, and make them be responsible for bringing them to school.  Don't bring them for them, they'll get it eventually, really!!!

Love you and have a great week.  Enjoy your families and the wonderful fall weather.  We are going to work hard this week to eliminate a lot of the homework so we can enjoy the weather.  Please make or encourage your child to play outside.  Shut the TV off, put the video games away and enjoy the play time (and extra reading time).

HAPPY WEEKEND-ENJOY THE WEATHER!!

This week we will be taking the Cognitive Abilities tests for three days.  These are a great way to measure children's cognitive abilites and helps with placement for the sixth grade.  Look at the letter that is coming home today.

I'll post again on Sunday night after I spend the weekend grading papers and planning. 

Love ya, Mrs. C

A GIVING HEART!!

As the holidays approach, I would like for our class to consider giving to others.  As a class, we have very giving hearts and have talked about serving those in need and less fortuate than us.  On a personnal note, my own family has a heart for serving and giving.  My daughter has been on 2 mission trips to Mexico, my son just got back last week from serving on a mission in the Dominican Republic, my parents spent 2 years serving the people of New Orleans with over 20 trips, they have also been to Hungary and Haiti.  My sister went to Guatemala this summer on a church mission trip.  I myself try and mission to our community by helping local families out with clothing, food and Christmas.  I would like to transfer this spirit of giving to our children.  World and community service is so important for our children as they grow into young adults.  Colleges now require that community service be a component of the application process.  Starting at a young age instills a life long love for giving to others, just ask my own children who still have the tradition of giving out food and gift boxes every Christmas Eve, our holiday would not be complete with out this family tradition.  I would like to start out our spirit of giving in the Carroll classrom by participating in Operation Christmas Child which gives shoe boxes out to young children around the world.  The students in our class will ask for donations of money or small gift items to fill the boxes.  These boxes will in turn be sent to other countries for children to have at Christmas.  I just want you to think about this and see if you would like for your child to be a part of this act of kindness.  Shoot me an e-mail or write me a small note saying whether you would be willing to help or not.  I am going to include 3 small videos for you to watch if you have never heard about this before.  Look for a letter coming home this week in your child's planner telling about this wonderful event.  Thanks for listening and hopefully God will lay it on your heart to help out those in need.  Even if you aren't able to help monitarily, please keep us in your thoughts as we take on our first Carroll Classroom Service Project.  Love you-Mrs. C

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUWPJ_QFNQY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1tt7cmJGkA&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC8-wpMrzBE&feature=channel

HAPPY REPORT CARD DAY!!

First report cards are coming home today.  Remember, this is a time to help your child work towards growing academically.  If the report card is not what you think it should be, sit down and discuss it with them and help them make a goal to do better!!  The potential of this class is amazing.  I will also try and send home the folders, if they don't come home today I will send them tomorrow-sorry for the delay in sending home work folders.  This is going to be a busy week!!  Please look in the planners this week to see if I have signed you up for a conference.  I still have a few left to do.  We MUST meet formally at least one time a year.  Have a great week. 

The Reading Bill of Rights, Webcasts and Virtual Field Trips

I found this today and I thought it was very good.  I think we all need to follow this "Bill of Rights" every day, our children's future depends on it.  Check it out.  http://www.scholastic.com/readeveryday/read.htm

I've signed our class up for three web casts, this is something new for me.  I hope the kids will enjoy this new way to learn.  Wed. Oct. 13 we will "travel" to Washington's North Cascades National Park for an electronic field trip.  Our class wil incorporate our study of landforms into this interesting trip led by Jeff Corwin.  On Wed. Oct. 27 Taylor Swift will talk to us about reading and why it is important.  She will also perform live for us.  On Nov. 16 we will "travel" to Plimoth Plantation for a frist Thanksgiving celebration.  This should provide us with wonderful insight into what the first Thanksgiving was actually like.  I love building the kids SCHEMA-background knowledge helps us to grow as learners everyday.  Look at all of the places we are going and we don't even have to leave our room!!! 

Looking forward to a great "real" field trip tomorrow with the class-wear a coat, it is going to be chilly.

HOMEWORK-to have or not to have? That's the question....

I have had a few people say things about homework lately so I thought I would just put my feelings down on paper. 

#1 I do think Reading Homework is essential!!!  If they do not read for 30 minutes a night, what are they doing?  Probably on a computer or video game for 30 extra minutes-READ instead, it's just 30 minutes.  A book will take your child on an adventure that we can not provide.  It can take them to places that they'll never be able to see.  It will expand their knowledge, spark them to explore different Genres of literature and make them retain information to have a broad SCHEMA or background base for retaining, connecting, visualizing and growing.  We need background information to grow and reading does that for children.  That's why we read so many different genres in fifth grade-books, magazines, and newspapers.  The written word is amazing and the possibilites for learning are to inifinity and beyond (think Buzz Lightyear, haha)

#2 YES, I do think class work that is not finished during the day should be done at night-I can't have over half of a class stop the day just because a few kids can't focus or WON'T focus.  Slow and Steady wins the race but slow and slow doesn't!!!

#3  MATH homework-NO, I don't always think it is necessary to have math homework every night BUT if we can't finish in class we will do it at night.  Most kids are on that path already (of not having any), some are halfway there and only have a few math problems to do at night.  It's not been that bad for math, believe me, I've given more.  I've relaxed over the years (mellow Carroll, just ask my former students, who by the way, love me-just ask them)

#4  SOME kids really like homework!!  REALLY-these are the kids that usually ask for more and I give them a few extra things to do-I don't do that for everyone though, only the askers.

#5  IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT-Kids are out of school by 2:30 and go to bed around 9:00-why can't we fit in an hour to read and finish up a little studying-that's 6 1/2 hours of free time (video games and trash TV rot the brain).  PLUS, I am a firm believer in this-IF YOU CAN MEMORIZE VIDEO CONTROLS AND ALL OF THE RULES THAT GO WITH THEM, THEN YOU CAN MEMORIZE MULTIPLICATION FACTS-OK, I've said my peace!!!

#6  Learning to study is a life long skill especially if your child is going to college-If they understand the concept of studying for a test now, they will transfer that as they mature in to middle and high schoolers and eventually college-isn't that what we want for our kids?  My daughter studies ALL of the time-she wishes her high school teachers and teachers through-out the years would have taught her better study skills-it has been a struggle to gain them (but she's done it !!!)

Our children are going to have to be competitive for jobs as they grow into adults.  Times have changed and are changing more every day.  Our kids will have to be college grads to compete in the 21st century.  We have to instill in them a desire to go above and beyond what we did when we were children.  It's just that simple!!!  A little homework never hurt anyone!!!  Some nights will be easier than others, but there will ALWAYS be something to do to keep school on the mind and our education a TOP priority.  YES, I LOVE SPORTS and I think evey kid should play something BUT I also think we should place that much focus and dedication on our education.  If we can practice for 3 hours a day for a sport, them we can read and study for 1 hour a night-sometimes less, sometimes more, but always a necessity!!! 

#7  So I guess YES is my answer for Homework, not too much, not too little, BUT just right (think Goldilocks-hahaha)

LOVE YA and I  LOVE YOUR KIDS!!!!!!  Now let's get ready for school :)

OOPS!!!

My mistake-Big Bad Musical is next Friday, not this Friday!!!  I guess I was just excited.

I've spent most of my day planning DC-I'm excited, can I get a "WHOOP, WHOOP".  It is going to be a great trip.  Please say a little prayer for our entrance into The White House-our request is being made by Richard Burr's office tomorrow. 

See you bright and early!!!!

I LOVE FALL!!

I have had a great weekend hiking and spending time with my two nephews.  We went to Mabry Mills for breakfast and went hiking to Rock Castle Gorge.  I took lots of pictures of FUNGUS since we are reading about it in our National Geographics, plus I brought home some cool samples. 

Monday is a much needed teacher work day.  I will be planning and doing report cards all day.  Mrs. Belter and I love TWD's because we get to drink mochachinos and eat at Big Mikes or Dicks for lunch.  It doesn't take much to excite us-haha!!!!

Wednesday we travel to Heritage Theater and we will eat a picnic lunch at the park in Walkertown.  Friday we get to see The Big Bad Musical at RCC, this should be a treat!!!!

We will try to get a little school work done this week-haha!!  I think we will not do DLR this week since we will be gone so much.  Plus everyone needs an end of 6 week break, even me!!!  I will probably throw in a paragrah editing quiz just to keep the kids on their toes though :)

Enjoy the great weather-we even had a fire and smores last night.  Hey, that might be the AR challenge goal party for the first nine weeks-SMORES at my house on a Friday night-YEAH!!!!

LOVE my kids in the fifth grade!!!