Week in review...and looking forward a bit.

We had a busy week last week as we continue to prepare for MCAS and we are wrapping up a couple units of study.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we enjoyed the privilege of having Ms. Patsy Eldridge explain what CONVECTION is and how it affects our weather. On Tuesday we were inside and Ms. Eldridge used hot and cold water as air substitutes to demonstrate the different densities that hot and cold fluids have. Food coloring in the water allowed us to see how cold water will flow to the bottom and hot water rises in the liquid environment, just like hot and cold air.

Ms. Eldridge also used a large water tank with HOT (blue) and COLD (red) water to demonstrate what happens when fronts collide. It is really a cool demonstration. Click on the video below to see the demonstration.

On Wednesday we went outside into the cool spring air to learn about convection using heat (fire) and incense in order to show the movement of hot and cold air. We had to battle the elements but the mission was accomplished.

We also had our first rehearsal for the upcoming choral concert. Hopefully, most of the class members can make the concert this Thursday, May 3rd at 6:30PM. Please remember to get your permission slip back to me if you have not done so.  I'm sure it will  be a fun event for all.

Coming up this week we will be wrapping up units in both Science and Math. The Weather unit will wrap up with an assessment on Thursday, May 3rd and the Math unit on adding mixed numbers and multiplying fractions will end with an assessment on Friday, May 4th.

I will be available for after-school hours on Tuesday and Thursday of this week from 3:15 to 4:00PM. During the next two weeks when we have MCAS for Math and Science, I will not be offering after-school hours as there will be minimal homework assigned during those weeks.

Please don't forget that we have an early release on Wednesday, May 2nd @ 1:15PM.

Back to School!

Wow! Where did that week go? When I was a kid, I remember my parents telling me that time goes by faster when you get older. I thought they were crazy. Now I understand what they meant. In a blink of an eye vacation is over and we head off into the final eight weeks of the school year.

This week we are fortunate to have Ms. Patsy Eldridge joining us on Tuesday and Wednesday to demonstrate some interesting aspects of weather. The two activities that she has the class participate in should be informative to all.

As we head towards the final two weeks of MCAS prep we will be starting up a new unit in Math that will be dealing with addition and subtraction of mixed numbers and multiplication of fractions.

After the final battle reports are presented, we will commence our studies of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

I will be available for after school hours this week on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:15-4:00.

A Field Trip Heard 'Round the World

Boy, did we get lucky. What a beautiful day to visit the Concord Museum and the Old North Bridge in historic Concord, Massachusetts. We enjoyed viewing artifacts of the Revolutionary War period as well as participating in workshops where students took on roles of actual participants in the events of April of 1775. We also had the opportunity to walk over the Old North Bridge where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired as well as viewing the Minuteman monument on the other side of the bridge. All-in-all a great day and special thanks go out to the outstanding staff at the Concord Museum.

Busy Week Coming Up

Here we are, just a week before April vacation, and things just seem to be getting busier and busier. Last week ended with the class being entertained AND enlightened by a visit from Mistress Phebe Bliss Emerson, an eyewitness to the first shots of the American Revolution. The class learned about the reasons for the war from a Patriot's point of view and about the lead-up to the first shots of the Revolutionary War.

Coming up this week, we head out on our field trip to Concord, MA on Tuesday. Please be on the lookout for a notice detailing things to bring or not to bring on the trip. We will be leaving at 9AM on Tuesday, so please don't be late, and and we will be returning around 2PM in the afternoon. The trip goes off rain or shine so please check the weather forecast before heading out on Tuesday.

On Wednesday we will be having a brief assessment on the Revolutionary War period. Do not forget to use the study guide handed out in class last week. We will also be presenting our group research projects on battles of the Revolutionary War later in the week.

On Thursday we will be taking our Unit assessment on Unit 15 in Math. Much of this unit should have been review for us as we have studied area and perimeter of rectangles in previous grades. The assessment will also include area and perimeter of triangles and irregular shapes.

On Thursday and Friday afternoons we will be splitting into groups to watch the videos for the brief unit on Human Growth and Development. Thank you as all permission forms have been received to view the videos.

Finally, we will be presenting our original skits based on the historic fiction novels we have been reading in class on Friday. Students who have been reading Woods Runner, My Brother Sam is Dead, and The Fighting Ground will be participating.

For students who stay after school on Tuesday and Thursday, because of the field trip on Tuesday, this week, no homework will be assigned for Tuesday evening. Therefore, after-school hours will not be offered on Tuesday. Thursday after-school hours, on the other hand, will be offered as usual.

A busy week, so I hope everyone enjoyed a restful long weekend with family and come to school Monday ready to push hard as we head towards vacation week.

Week of 4/2-4/6

I hope you all survived April Fools Day. I can honestly say I don't mind one bit when April 1st falls on a weekend. Due to the observance of Good Friday this week, we will only have four days to cram all of our work in to. Remember, NO SCHOOL on Friday, April 6th. If you show up no one will be there!

I will be offering after-school hours on only Tuesday this week. With Friday being a holiday (Good Friday) no homework will be assigned on Thursday.

Please try and remember to get your permission slips in for the Concord Field Trip and the Human Growth and Development video sessions next week. I am expecting ALL Concord forms in by Wednesday, April 4th.

I have lots of computer lab time put aside this week to work on the Revolutionary Battle reports that we will be presenting the week before vacation. Much of your research should be almost complete and the next steps will be compiling the data and getting the PowerPoint project organized.

For those of you reading Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen and My Brother Sam is Dead by the Collier brothers, we will be responding to a prompt on Monday and Tuesday, reviewing our vocabulary words on Wednesday, and then taking our end of book vocabulary assessment on Thursday.

Don't forget we will be starting our week-long project on weather observation Monday. I will finish up going over the requirements and expectations during Science class Monday afternoon

On Thursday morning, 5W and 5M will be visited by Phebe Bliss Emerson, an eyewitness to the first shots of the Revolutionary War. She does a wonderful job explaining and describing life in Concord, Mass. during the Revolutionary period. This a great introduction to our field trip to Concord next week. The students will not only learn a lot from this presentation they will be amazed at how good Mrs. Emerson looks for someone over 260 years old. To learn more about this presentation please visit this site: http://janturnquist.com/pem.htm