Electronic FCAT (5th Grade)

http://www.pearsonaccess.com/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Florida/flPALPLayout&cid=1205461226846&pagename=flPALPWrapper

This is a great place to go to help prepare your student for the FCAT!

Please remember to practice multiplication with your students- The State expects them to be fluent in multiplication :) 

Multiplication and Division

Monday begins our Units on Multiplication and Division. We will be working on timed tests for basic facts (0-12). Students are expected to know these with expert fluency. Flash cards are a great way to increase your students memory.

In Science we will begin our Units of study in Earth's Resources Unit and Water, Weather, and Climate Unit. We are finishing up our moon journals. Please make sure your students have been keeping up with their journals! We have already had a few grades from these. You might want to take a look at these (not all were up to date!).

In Reading we are practicing The Daily 5- We are working on comprehension and fluency on a daily basis. We are spending some time with Patricia Polacco and Leo Lionni. The most important thing we can do is read daily at home (to ourselves and to an adult). We will continue to take 1 AR test a week.

The end of the first 9 weeks is fast approaching! October 22 is the last day of this quarter. Friday, October 26th is a Teacher Planning Day- No School for Students!

Monday, October 29th is our field trip to UNF to watch 2 shows by Slim Goodbody! Remember to pack a lunch!

Progress Reports

Progress Reports were sent home last week. By now, they should have been signed and returned. Please check to make sure these come back by Friday.

PMP's will be completed in the next week. Please be on the lookout for conference dates in your student's planner!

We are sending home another field trip form for Slim Goodbody. This was not included with the original form - there will be an additional $13.00 that will need to be collected.

We are entering the middle of week 6- It is crazy to think we are almost done with the first 9 weeks! Please be sure to read with your student each night and talk about their reading. Compass Odyssey is a great "home / school" connection!

Decorated Jug

We're Going to the BEACH!!

Next Tuesday, our class will be going to the Marine Science Center. Students will need to bring a bag lunch and drink FROM home!! We will be a the Marine Science Center all day, only leaving to take a walk on the beach. Student will need a "jug" to collect shells. Milk jugs, OJ jugs, Washing Detergent Jugs are AWESOME! Keep the handle on. We ARE NOT allowed to bring plastic bags for shell collection! 

 Let's get creative- just make sure you leave the handle on. Have an adult help cut-out or cut-off the top!

 

Reading Logs, Planners, and Field Trip Money

Please make sure you are signing your student's reading logs each night. It is so important that they reading each night. We are working to build fluency and stamina.

Planners contain vital information: conduct grades, homework, teacher notes, etc. Please make sure they are signed daily.

Field Trip Money is due this Friday! Please make sure to send in your student's $15.00. Our first field trip is to the Marine Science Center next Tuesday. Students will need to make sure they bring a bag lunch and drink that day.

We will continue with Benchmark Testing this week.

Next week we will start "The Daily 5". Our first strategy will be Read to Self. This is a great program for our students so I can't wait for us to start.

Room 45 Parent Updates

Room 45 Parent Updates

·     STAR contracts need to be signed and returned along with Code of Conduct Acknowledgement.

·     Field Trip Forms were sent home and need to be returned with $15.00 by September 14^th.

·     Marine Science Center Field Trip – Tuesday, September 18^th- STUDENTS MUST BRING A DRINK AND BAG LUNCH. They may also bring money to purchase shirts and or necklaces.

http://msec.duvalschools.org/

·     Please send in a daily snack with your student. Pretzels, crackers, cookies, chips- We do not eat until 1:10 and your students are quite hungry around 10:00.

·     Please join PTA - $5.00. They do many things for our school ALL YEAR LONG!

·     Day 15 is Monday- our attendance is looking GREAT. Remember, that your student will not master the learning gains we have set if attendance is poor. If a student misses one day of school each week that is 36 days of school!

https://totalcalm.blogspot.com

Open House

Open House

Thursday August 30th

6:30

We can't wait to see you there!

By now your student should have completed one chapter book. Please follow-up with them so that they will not fall BEHIND our reading quarterly goals.

 

Read Alouds

This year we are really going to focus on Read Alouds. It is so important that we read to our students. It models great fluency, allows me to talk through the automatic strategies good readers use, and it exposes students to some excellent children's literature that they may have never read.

So far, we have read Two Bad Ants and Stellaluna- two of my favorite books. Both of these books give different perceptions on friendships, scary situations, and the ability to deal! It was also neat that some of the students had never read these stories, and yet they could make a connection with the theme of the story!

Dismissal these first three days have been somewhat hairy to say the least! The rain has been CRAZY!! We did get outside today, but the drops were already falling as we were heading in. I am thankful that we have had 100% of our students at school each day- just being present accounts for so much!

The students may have grumbled about all the testing we are doing right now! I promised them today it will end soon! It is all for their benefit! We are still exploring some of our other subjects, but are really focusing on reading this week. It is so IMPORTANT that they are reading every night for at least 20 minutes!

Open House is next Thursday! I hope to see you there!!!

13 Hours and Counting!

I don't know about you-

but I am 

TERRIBLY EXCITED

about tomorrow!

When we met on Friday

YOU

confirmed my 

suspicions-

YOU GUYS ARE REALLY

SMART!!

The FUN that WILL BE

had this year

begins

PROMPTLY

at 8:30am

in the morning!

Can't wait to see you!

Going to try and get some sleep-

but if tradition holds...

There will be little sleep and lots of 

THINKING

about all the wonderful things

YOU

will 

DO AND ACCOMPLISH

this year!

A New Year Begins Shortly!

Welcome to STAR

(Students Taking Academic Responsibility)

It was great to talk to all of your parents and meet some of you already. We have a very busy year ahead of us, and I want to make sure you take full advantage of this year! 

STAR is very different from the regular classroom. It is designed to remediate learners that are at least 2 years behind. It is very challenging, and may require you to change some habits. For instance, in STAR we work all day- there is NO downtime, and you never have the option to not participate! Each day you will be working towards your personal goals. Not sure what your personal goals are? Don't worry - we will cover and assign those the first week of school. 

For the first time, many of you will be challenged like never before. Many times in the past, you may have given up because the work was too hard, you didn't understand, or you simply checked out. That CANNOT, let me repeat... THAT CANNOT happen this year. STAR has so much to offer you- but YOU have to take advantage of the opportunity.

We (Mrs. C. and I) will work really hard to build a community of learners. We will provide you with all the instruction and materials that you will need. We will work with you all day every day to help you learn skills that may confuse you, help you become a more fluent reader, and assist you in maintaining grade level and above work.

Our goal is to make this the year that YOU take control of what you learn. This is a fresh start! There will be days when you are so frustrated, and yet there will be days when you are so proud of your accomplishments! Everyday Mrs. C. and I will work to make you successful. 

Please try to attend orientation Friday, August 17th at 2:00. We will have a special welcome for you! If you are not able to make orientation, please plan on being in attendance August 20, at 8:30!

We can't wait to work with you this year!!!!

Friday and Saturday Night Fun

Hey Kids!!! Enjoying your summer?
Believe it or not I am sitting in a Wendy's in Lumberton, North Carolina waiting for my family to pick me up! I just stepped off our tour bus from the DC Patrol Trip! That trip was so much fun!!

I had a great officer with me on the trip. Officer McEwen- She was the best. I wish I would have known her this year, I would have invited her to one of our lunches. She works with the Jacksonville Park System.

Anyway.... she told me the best information about summer fun for KIDS your AGE!!!

Every Friday and Saturday night at the following parks they are going to have FREE fun nights!!! It sounds so much fun, that I am going to try and make a few! The first being next Friday at Pine Forest!!!

Pine Forest, Clanzel Brown, Emmett Reed, Mitchell Center and Charles Clark is where the fun can be found! You can swim, play games, meet people in our communities!

The first one starts TONIGHT... but I will certainly be at the one next week!!

Have a great summer!

You Made It

Congratulations STAR Students! You finished a year!

Take some time this summer and reflect on what you learned- remember you are responsible for everything you get out of your education!

I'm am proud of the things that you accomplished this year. Remember your CHARACTER drives a lot of people's perception of you - RIGHT, WRONG, or INDIFFERENT!

I know each of you have the ability to make the right choices- often those are not the MOST FUN, or the MOST POPULAR, but they are the RIGHT thing to do!

I hope to hear GREAT things about you in Middle and High School! I BELIEVE in all your POTENTIAL and I know that even when it seems no one cares ABOUT YOU.... We in ROOM 45 will always CARE about the choices YOU Make!!!

Have a great summer- visit the PUBLIC LIBRARY- I may see you there!

I will certainly bump into those of you that go to duPont, or attend the Wolfson games!!!

I LOVE each one of you! Thank you for challenging me to grow as an educator!!!

Much Love,
Mrs. Rowan

Make the last 4 Count!!

We are busy wrapping up the year! We are reflecting and spending a lot of time talking about Civics and what it means to be a productive citizen. We are remembering that our actions big or small do have consequences. The choices we make can effect us for years to come.

That being said, we have quite a few activities planned for next week. Tuesday will be the end-of-year 4th grade cook-out and Wednesday will be the end-of-year 5th grade cook-out. 4th graders remember you are to bring an item in for your entrance ticket. 5th grade- you are to pay $5.00.

Thursday we will have a noon dismissal! Summer starts for you THEN- but remember I have requested that many of you attend summer school so DO NOT lose that paperwork!

Double promotions will not occur until FCAT is in. This may be after school. Please make sure I have good contact information for you!!!

It has been a challenging year for us for many reasons, but as we come to the end, know that the struggle was well worth it if you can truly leave knowing more than you did when you came!

Less Than 20

This time of year seems to fly by with every second crammed with "last minutes"- There is so much to do to wrap-up our year in STAR.  Today we finished SDMT and SDRT testing. This test is the same test that we took at the beginning of the year. We will use this data to help us record the growth of your student. This test is different than the FCAT in that we use the same test in the beginning, and then at the end. We can see real growth over the same material.

Next week is going to be BUSY to say the least. We will be touring FSCJ Downtown Campus Wednesday and will be touring duPont Middle School Thursday.

Please mark your calendars for May 23 (Wednesday) and May 25 (Friday). We will be taking the FAIR test on these days. It is so important that your student is here BOTH of those days.

There is no school Monday, May 28th!

Our end of the year class party will be Tuesday, June 5th, the end of the year 5th Grade Party will be Wednesday, June 6th, and the last day of school is NOON June, 7th.

Double promotions are being talked about, but will not be decided upon until all testing data and work is reviewed. Remember- YOUR TEACHER DOES NOT MAKE THAT DECISION!!

If you have any questions, please feel free to stop by! It has been a long year, but we have accomplished GREAT THINGS!!!

23 Days Left in This Year!

Hi STAR parents!
There are a mere 23 days left in this school year. With that said, it is so important that you are here everyday. We have quite a bit of end-of-the-year testing that we do to help with promotion. We still have 4 big test days left-

May 9th and 10th

SDMT and SDRT Testing

May 21 and May 23

FAIR Testing

Please make sure that your child is present on these days!

Promotion is a District based decision. FCAT is one factor that is looked at.

If you have questions about promotion, please stop by the office and schedule a conference.

1 More Day of FCAT!

Please remember to be on time this week! Tomorrow is our last day of FCAT testing. Students need to arrive at school no later than 8:30. Please make sure they are rested, and have had breakfast.

We are winding down our year with many activities! These last 31 days of school are so important. Please make sure you attend each day!

FCAT is HERE!!

FCAT testing begins Monday, April 16th. We will continue testing until Wednesday, April 25th-
(5th Graders will take the Science FCAT Tuesday and Wednesday 4/24 and 4/25)

Please make sure that your child is in attendance every day. In addition, please make sure he/she gets a good night sleep and has a hearty breakfast.

FCAT data is one factor used in placement options for next year.

If you would like to send in snacks for our testing days, that would be appreciated as well. You may send in: crackers, bottled water (half pints), mints, peppermint patties, cheese sticks, granola bars, cereal bars, pretzels, or fruit!

Thank you!

The End is NEAR!!

I have a couple of updates that you need to mark on your calendars-

* Thursday, March 15th is the annual Beauclerc YAP Night School Carnival- You will need to pre-order your dinner if you would like to eat! The Carnival is FREE! No tickets needed! However, sno cones and cotton candy will be available for $ .50.

* Spring Break is the week of March 19th - March 23rd- Enjoy that time away from school!

* The end of the third nine weeks grading period is Wednesday, April 4th-

* There is no school Thursday April 5th and Friday April 6th.

* Double promotion is based on work all year and only available for 4th graders.

* We are approaching the end of the year quickly- please make sure your student is coming to school prepared each day!

FCAT Writes-

4th Graders will be taking the FCAT Florida Writes test in the morning (February, 28, 2011)- Please make sure your child gets a good night of sleep AND has breakfast before the test.

Thank you!

Wax Museum

We worked very hard on our Wax Museum Boards today. Our presentations will be next Thursday, February 23rd.

Please make sure you child has their costume ready for that day. They will need to bring a change of clothes as we will be finished by 12:00.

Please be on the look-out for conference dates.

Thanks!

Pencils, Paper, and Mid-Year Conferences!

Parents-

Please make sure you students have PENCILS and PAPER everyday- I have run out of my yearly supply.

Mid-year conferences have been sent home. Please make sure you are on time for your appointment. We will discuss promotion, academic levels, and plans for next year.

Thanks!

Where did January GO???

We have been so busy these last 4 weeks! We are really diving into some literacy skills that will, in the end, help us to increase our comprehension. We are learning about vocabulary and fluency strategies that will help us comprehend the stories we are reading.
We are also working on writing to a prompt. 4th graders will take the FCAT Writes February 28.

In Math we are really working on decimals. Remind your students to show you their place value charts.

At the beginning of March we will take a field trip to Marine Science! That is a great day of fun!!

Make sure your student is accessing Compass as much as they can from home. This is a great resource to assist in promotion.

What Teachers Make Final Moviebk2 0001

Spelling Bee-

Congrats to Warren and Keyerra for participating in our school Spelling Bee today! Both did a great job, because we all know how nerve wracking it can be to stand in front of a large group and spell! Congratulations again.

Words like: twig, scoop, shamrock, sparkle, mixer, fashion, wallet, hula, mimic, broadcast and shuffle knocked a few out of the running.

We are practicing our writing daily now in hopes of helping our writing scores. Please ask your student what they have been writing about!

The cold weather is here- please make sure your student has a jacket and gloves!!!

Happy New Year!