And we're off....

We had our very first fire drill of 2009/2010 last Friday, and we are happy to report that we did a great job! We finally understand volume! This is a great thing combining our Math and Science units to help us really "see" what volume is (beside l x w x h)

scissors (check), tape (check), cubes (check) student made packages (check)

This is how we spend rainy day recess :-)

or building things, as Tony did right here!

Working together makes learning fun! We have accountable talk that lets our teachers know we are working together at solving problems.

We gotta work, work, work together! We gotta work together for our team!

Tony and Cameron work to determine volume in a box they made, and then added another section.

David ran to first, slipped in the mud, and tried to brush it off. There is nothing like orange baseball field clay.

Well Mrs. Underkofler... there was lots of mud and Jared seemed to bring some home to you!

It has been a busy first week of school. We are settling in and learning how to work in groups, handle science equipment, use manipulatives to solve math problems, and use the text books to find answers for our open book tests.

We did make our 100% PTA membership first! Mrs. Rowan collected a lot of donations over the summer to support our class. However, we still would like to have all of our parent join. It is $5.00 and if you have kids in more than one class it is still just $5.00 :-) It is a great organization that supports our school.

We are traveling to the Marine Science Center on Thursday, September 24. We can bring as many parents as we would like. There is no cost for this field trip, students just need to bring a bag lunch and a drink. The MSC also has chips, soda, shark's teeth, t-shirts and other items for purchase. We will pass out information at Open House this Thursday.

OPEN HOUSE THURSDAY AT 7:00 PM

Please join us this Thursday in Room 138 for our OPEN HOUSE. Get all your questions answered about expectations for 5th grade. Hear about changes in 2009-2010. Students are welcome to attend with you. Come early (you know how bad the parking situation is) and carpool with neighbors if you can. We are excited about teaching your child! See you at 7:00.

Mrs. Rowan & Mrs. Yadon

Day 3 ) - Done :0

Make sure you join us NEXT Tuesday at the CiCi's on Baymeadows for Beauclerc Family Night! This is a great time to come out and meet other Beauclerc families. (It doesn't hurt that you can eat all the pizza you want!)

Well, we have completed our third day of school, and have we been working hard. Monday we started building boxes and trying to determine the number of cubes that would fit inside the box. Let's just say over the last three days we have s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d their minds into thinking about math. Today we shared the formula for volume (l x w x h) and you could just see their little minds clicking!

Today we also finished our first level reader in reading. This allows students to build fluency and increase comprehension. Most students were able to finish in one class period. We will work on these each week, and students will be amazed at how well they can answer the questions asked of them. Tomorrow we are actually going to work in our literacy centers so be sure to ask your student which center they picked!

In Science we are learning how to use science tools. Today, we looked at sugar under a microscope, and observed what 1000 ML looks like in different containers. We learned that a containers shape could be deceptive. We also used pan balances and double beam balances! We are creating budding scientists.

Social Studies is teaching us about land forms and Earth's climate as a result of certain land forms. We will be exploring how our nation was developed and who were some of our first settlers.

Yes, we have been busy! Friday is our first spelling and vocabulary test-- study those words!

Planners arrived today, so students were busy filling them out. It is the expectation of our Principal and ourselves that these are signed nightly by a parent. Please make sure to sign your student's planner daily.

Work Together We DID!

And the line of cars just kept on coming! There were many car riders today because of the reduction of transportation (that was mandated) by the School Board. As the week progresses, we will see if we have more walkers. Our school is land locked, so please be patient!!!!

Calendar Math started today,- make sure you tell your parents this expectation! It is a very easy Math grade.

Did you know that tests in Room 138 are Open Book? Yes, and today we talked about what good readers do to become experts at taking these test. Just because you have the resource doesn't mean you will automatically be successful.

Working on "What does a scientist look like?"

This was a great activity. The kids actually graphed their answers. We had a lot of adult male mad scientists with glasses and wild hair!

What a great first day back! We accomplished so much today, and even managed to get in some homework. In fact, at dismissal we learned we were the only 5th grade class that assigned homework in multiple subjects! Students received their new spelling and vocab lists, we listened to our first story on tape, worked a little in Science and started a math unit! We have hit the ground running so to speak.

We know that drop-off and dismissal was a little (well a lot) crazy today. We hope as the week wears on that many students will start walking, and the car pool line will dwindle some. For students to be a car rider, they must be picked up in a car at a cone. If they are not a car rider (getting picked up at a cone) they will be released at 3:00. Please be patient as we are responsible for dismissing 1250 students each day. Safety FIRST!

ARE YOU R-E-A-D-Y

for the 2009 / 2010 school year?
First, we would like to wish all of our students from Room 138 a great first day at middle school. Don't ever let them tell you YOU ARE NOT SMART!!! You guys rocked last year, and are WELL prepared for anything those middle school teachers give you this year. Remember this - You are a STAR - Stop, long enough to Think, take Action, and then Review your outcomes. We are so excited for you, and know that you will blow through these next three years. Try to go to bed at a reasonable time tonight, even though some of you will not be starting school until 9:45! YIKES... you will not have to worry about getting up too early!

Secondly, we would like to thank all of our parents and students that came out to meet us Friday. We are very excited to start the new year with you, and have a ton of great things planned. Remember we do not have a waiting area in the hallway this year yet, so come on down to Room 138 and unpack and settle in. Remember to know how you are getting home, and parents please be patient with us these first few weeks of school with the dismissal process. We are changing the way dismissal works at Beauclerc and it may take a few days to iron everything else.

We will have some homework tomorrow night, so Get Ready, Get Set, Get Fit!

See you in the morning! (Don't forget your snack!)

Room 138 Starting Line-Up

Destiny B.

Macenzie C.

Refael L.

Zachary R.

Brandon V.

Traivonn V.

Katrina W.

Carter A.

Noor A.

Sabian W.

Angela Z.

Marcus W.

Jared U.

Mario T.

Van T.

Mark S.

Macey R.

Irma P.

Brendan M.

Jaila P.

Kaitlyn L.

Mahnoor I.

Maurisha I.

Stephen H.

David H.

Moana G.

Damijah G.

Gloriana G.

Joshua E.

Megan E.

Tony C.

Sha'kir C.

Rayneis C.

Ethan B.

Janaisha B

Kelsey W.

Welcome to Team

Rowan / Yadon

Get Ready, Get Set, Get Fit~

Working Hard.... and Exercising Too!

Beauclerc teachers know how to get moving!

We had a very busy first day back. It started with a really long meeting this morning (but we learned lots of neat stuff) and had a chance to learn a little about getting fit! We are really going to incorporate "Being Fit" as a model to learn and grow. It will be exciting in Room 138 this year.

After school I went to the post office and mailed all your letters. It was great fun looking you up in the yearbook and reviewing all your pictures in your cum folder! We are going to have a great year.

The next few days we will be busy working to get our room ready. We look forward to meeting you Friday! I will post a list of your classmates tomorrow... I left in a hurry and left the list at school!

The letter is in the MAIL!!!

For all you checking to see if you are "in" are class you will know in a few short days. You should receive a welcome letter from us with all our classroom information. If you don't get the letter, rest assured you are still in a great 5th grade classroom.
We hope you can all come out next Friday at 2:00 to see the room and pick your seat. Mrs. Yadon and I will be busy working (Like CRAZY) next week to get ready for you. We have thought of some great first day activities for you... so bring your creative spirit those first few days.
We are also planting a garden this year.. so be on the look-out for information about that! I am seeing vegetables in our future!

Have a great last week... while your teachers are working hard!

BMI Calculator

When using the BMI Calculator use the side arrow keys to move the box over. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and your will see what a good BMI is considered to be :-)

Get Ready, Get Set, Get Fit!

Mrs. Schmidt is Back !!!! Woo-Hoo

Wow... I do believe we got lucky again! Mrs. Schmidt will be joining Ms. Robinson again this year to teach art to the students at Beauclerc! Many of our incoming 5th graders had the opportunity to work with Mrs. Schmidt last year, and I know you are just as excited as we are to have her back for round 2!
So, how about hopping on over and checking her blog out at:
http://mrsschmidtsartexplorers.blogspot.com

Many Beauclerc teachers now have blogs. We will work to get a rolling list on one of the sidebars soon!

Pardon Our Dust!

Over the next few weeks we will be updating the blog to get ready for the 09/10 school year. Can you believe it is already here? Geez, where did your summer go? Beauclerc's theme this year is Get Ready, Get Set, Get Fit! We will be working on many ways to strengthen our minds and our bodies over the next ten months.

August 24th is fast approaching! We know that many of you have traveled this summer, spent time with your friends and family, and played various sports around the state. We want to be sure you are ready for school Day 1- Congratulations to our 5th graders of 08/09 who will be entering middle school for the very first time. We are excited to be entering another year of coteaching in Room 138. We still do not know who is in our class, but should receive our list the week of teacher planning (August 17th). At that time we will mail each of our new classmates a welcome letter, along with the routines and rituals of our classroom. A supply list will also be included, however it is on the sidebar as well.

JOIN PTA for $5.00

We are asking everyone to join PTA. You know that you do not even have to go to Beauclerc to join our PTA. That's right... anyone can join! We need all the memberships we can get to

assure 100% Class Participation and a FREE Pizza Party!

Beauclerc Elementary

Mrs. Rowan / Mrs. Yadon Room 139

4555 Craven Road West

Jacksonville, FL 32256

Just mark - for PTA

The Kori Road library has a great new display (books) in the Children's Department. Be sure to make a special trip over there and check it out!

If you get a chance, hop on over to Mrs. Plish's new blog http://mysteryislandbartram.blogspot.com She has some really cool pictures up of her new school.

FYI - Just in case you are wondering.... School starts day 1... and yes my friends,,,, that means HOMEWORK!

Sigh now.... UGGGGHHHH..

O.K. - all better... see you day 1- Don't forget summer reading lists!