Paws Team Update

Grade cards were handed to students today. Please sign them and return them by Thursday (11-5-09). All students that were present at school today received one. After your student has been marked as returning the grade card, it will be handed back to them so you can keep it for your records.

Paws Team Update

Remember the fieldtrip is Monday. Make sure to bring a sack lunch, drink (not soda), and a light snack. Dress appropriately for Monday—pants, tennis shoes, long sleeves, and jacket. It looks to be a beautiful day on Monday.



In Social Studies, we are beginning our study of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Kush/Nubia. Students will not have homework for the next few weeks. However, students need to be completing their Ancient Egypt or Ancient Kush/Nubia projects that they will be presenting to the class on Monday, 11-16-09 for Gold classes and on Tuesday, 11-17-09 for Blue classes. Students have received information about the projects.



In Mathematics, we will begin testing chapter 3 next week. Please remember to study vocabulary words for the test! We will also test multiplication again for those that need to improve their score. The students have done a great job on division in chapter 3!



In Communication Arts, Mrs. McFarland's classes will be working from the novel, Trouble River by Betsy Byars. The main character, Dewey Martin, meets many challenges in this book in which the setting is back in the wild frontier pioneer days. He is forced to escape with his grandmother and travel to safety down the muddy and dangerous Trouble River. The novel will be read in class with activities and writing assignments. For those students who don't get finish during the class period, they will be allowed to finish their work at home and they may check out a book if needed one night at a time. Encourage your child to tell you the story of Dewey Martin from Trouble River and ask him/her to tell you what they would do in that same situation. This book will take about four weeks to complete.



In Science, the student took their first rock cycle quiz. Some did really well and others need to study. They will have the same quiz again. We are exploring how mining is related to minerals and how minerals are used in our daily lives.



In Reading Exploratory, please make sure that your student is reading 100 minutes per week, writing three complete summaries, and having you sign the Reading Log. Please have students proofread and edit their summaries if it is not their best work. Reading logs will be due every Friday except Log 10 will be due on next Thursday (11-5-09) there is no school on next Friday (11-6-09).

Mrs. McFarland's Language Arts Classes

All Paws Team students were told this afternoon that due to the weather our field trip has been cancelled for Thursday, October 29th to the Leadership Ranch in Republic. We are currently trying to schedule this same trip for Monday, November 2nd. We will let all students know by Friday before they leave school what the final plans will be. Thursday, October 29th will be a blue day and all the regular classes will be held as usual. If you need more information call Mrs. McFarland at 523-6919. Remember to bring a sack lunch on the field trip day!

Mrs. McFarland's Language Arts Classes

In Communication Arts, the students should have turned in their final copy of the Spooky Scary Story. As soon as all of them are turned in, a classroom anthology will be compiled for each child to receive. Mrs. McFarland has just completed reading the novel, Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen to the students. They are currently working on a writing activity in which they have to decide what five items they would want in a survival kit if they were stranded in the Canadian wilderness like the main character, Brian Robeson. These will be due next Monday (gold classes) and Tuesday (blue classes). A final test over the novel will be given to all the classes except for the gold second block group. Our next adventure story is Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen. There will be no spelling words assigned for next week. A new list will be given out on the week of November 2nd. These words include: barge, berth, blockade, clammy, cruise, fathom, galley, gusty, harpoon, intersect, jettison, latitude, marine, naval, navigate, and retaliate, scuba, shallow, submerged, and unceasing. These words will be tested on November 12 (gold classes) and November 13 (blue classes).

Mrs. McFarland's Classes

In Communication Arts, the students are starting a unit on the writing process and how to use word choice to enhance their writings. A spooky scary story rough draft is due Monday( blue classes) and Tuesday (gold classes). The students have already filled out a graphic organizer called, "Things That Go Thump In The Night" and are to use one word from each category in their story. Mrs. McFarland will be putting all their stories in a classroom anthology for each child and will also submit this to the Language Arts Fair for judging in April. There will be no Spelling Tests for the next few weeks because the students will be working on their stories and beginning a new novel, Trouble River.

Mrs. McFarland's Classes

In Communication Arts, the students are finishing up the fall journal project. Each student should have all 10 writing assignments completed and in a folder to turn in on October 16. No late fall journals will be accepted. Our next writing activity will begin Oct. 15 and 16 and the students will be writing using excellent word choice, vivid and precise language, and going through the formal writing process for a Spooky Scary Story. These will be published in a classroom notebook to be entered into the spring Language Arts Fair. This gives every Paws student an opportunity to have a piece of writing in the LAD fair.