Volume 7 Issue
8
October
6, 2009
Civil
WarÉ
Our study of
the Civil War has begun. Students
have been given a project, which covers the life of a Civil War historical
figure to research and ultimately teach.
More information will be available on our class website on
Wednesday. http://www.flyparsons.org/unitsscivilwar.html
Upcoming
EventsÉ
There are lots of upcoming extra-curricular activities! The student council is also sponsoring
a food drive next week, October 12-15 (originally scheduled for this week) to
benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank.
Please send any non-perishable food items to our classroom, and student
council reps Ana & Noah will take it from there. Mr. P is recording the number of food items and the student
donating the most food wins a $50 MM shopping spree in the general store. The Red Cross is sponsoring a
blood drive here at Meigs in November.
The Red Cross will also reward the class with the most adult
participants with a pizza party!
LetÕs work hard to help these good causes and be a winning class! FYI: we are still in desperate need
of clear two-liter bottles and parent volunteers to help cut them for our
Ecosystems unit!
Invest in
ExcellenceÉ
Our annual INVEST in EXCELLENCE campaign continues. If you
havenÕt received a pledge card, please ask for one in the office. Our class has sent in about
one-half of our pledge cards. We
need more! This Friday, is the
deadline for being the class with the largest percent contributed to win a coke
with lunch. If we win, that coke
reward will happen on October 15.
Our class goal is $2520. We
have through October to pledge and collect the rest of our donations! There are random drawings over the next
few weeks. On November 6,
the 5th grade class with the most students with pledge cards and
money collected receives an ice cream party at lunch. There are other rewards from the PTO and rewards from Mr. P
if we can meet our goal of donations and 100% participation (returning pledge
cards and collecting as much money as possible). Check out the INVEST-O-METER on our class webpage at http://www.flyparsons.org/investinexcellence.html.
Academic
UpdateÉ
1). Check out the Fifth Grade webpage on our class
website. Each textbook has a
website and two of the textbooks have an on-line text available there. Links for the math and social studies
on-line textbooks are both accessible with usernames and passwords.
2). In science we
are working with two science kits, Motion & Design and Ecosystems. Again, we are still in need of clear
two liter soda bottles for Ecosystems.
http://www.flyparsons.org/motiondesign.html
3). Our study of
algebra and multiplication continue in math.
4). We are writing personal narratives using the Six Traits + One writing
model.
Mr. PÕs Class
Wish ListÉ
Some of the materials that Mr. P needs for upcoming general
stores are:
o
Candy
o
Drinks
o
Small toys
Mr. PÕs
Student of the WeekÉ
¥October
5-9, 2009
Josef Garcia
Be sure to read about Josef on the electronic ÒStudent of
WeekÓ board in Mr. ParsonsÕ room and on the web in the password protected area
soon.
Next weekÕs student
of the week. . . Alexis Gillow
Items to
Bring. . .
Ÿ Red
Tuesday Folder Signature ChartÉ
Ÿ CORRECTED
WORKÉ
Dates to
RememberÉ
10.07.09 Kilowatt
Ours presentation & Hatchet TestÉ
10.09.09
Begin Ecosystems & GENERAL STORE #4É
10.12.09 Spelling
TestÉ
25pts: Secret Word = ¥see the
websiteÉ
For Additional News Items &
Info Check:
On The WEBSITE ONLY:
EXTRA EXTRA
EXTRAÉ
It pays to check the website, tooÉ
This WeekÕs SECRET WORD
(Oct 6):
25pts: Secret Word = ÒEcosystemsÓ
Mr. PÕs SECRET INFORMATION
LEAK:
www.flyparsons.org/grade5.html
TEAM SHIRTSÉ
As always, please watch the website to know which days our
class will wear our class shirts in the future! By the way, the next date to wear class t-shirts is
Wednesday, October 7, and maroon class shirts is Friday, October 9 if you are
not participating in Spirit Week!.
[GRADESPEED]: Check it OutÉ
UPDATE!
Gradespeed.com will update again later this week The updates will reflect the past
week. Late work has been recorded
as of Monday, September 21. Notice
any missing assignments. Please
submit them each week with the Tuesday Folder Sheet.
Mr.
PÕs Class Website
Students use the class website each day. At this point, the only parts
students need access are the red buttons at the top of the page. Those
buttons are Fifth, HW, and TASK. Students will check the HW (homework) webpage
each day and complete a TECH TASK.
Questions each day on the TECH TASK will support learning that occurs in
class and will serve as a way for Mr. P to formatively assess student
understanding. The TECH TASKS on
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are to be either saved as a WORD DOCUMENT and
e-mailed to Mr. P as an attachment, copied on a home printer, or simply written
on notebook paper. The TECH TASKS
on Tuesday and Thursday are GOOGLE DOCS and are completed on-line.
TwitterÉ
Parents have another way of staying connected to our
class. Log on to www.twitter.com on your computer or cell
phone and follow our class. Mr. P
posts daily updates about whatÕs happening at www.twitter.com/meigsmagnet. It is not necessary to sign up a
twitter account to view our class tweets.
Weekly
ReaderÉ
Our class will be using Weekly Reader News: Senior Edition
this year in class. The
subscription for each student is $4.00. Donations of $4.00 cash to cover the
subscription will be appreciated!
Thanks to those who have already sent in $4.00!
THE
100% CREWÉ
Each Monday, students with all assignments turned in and on
time are eligible for the special 100% CREW. Students can check Mr. PÕs door to see if they have made the
CREW each Monday. This info, as
well as the special rewards to be given each week, can also be seen on the
class website!
A
Special CouponÉ
Print and clip this coupon below for a special REWARD the week of October 12. To get the reward, please obtain a parentÕs signature that
states your parent has checked gradespeed.com the week of October 5.
COUPON
StudentÕs Name ______________________________________________________________
ParentÕs Signature
______________________________________________________________
Date:
_____________________ Secret Word:
_______________________________________
More
About Which to Mark Your CalendarÉ
BettyÕs Brain begins October 15.
The October Monthly Book is due October 30.
INVEST in EXCELLENCE due by November.
TuesdaysÉ
Students receive graded papers in the Red Tuesday Folder
every Tuesday. All papers do go home on Tuesdays. If for any reason they do not arrive, let Mr. P know. Students may correct any and all
assignments and assessments for some of the credit (points) back. Those
corrections are to be stapled to the Tuesday Folder Signature Sheet. Mr. P then re-grades the corrections
and put the points earned in a category on Gradespeed labeled extra
credit. The original grade does
remain, while the points earned by making corrections are cumulated in that
extra credit category. As
mentioned, student grades are on-line at https://gradespeed.mnps.org. Parents and students have a password to
check each subject in order to view grades. This should be done each Tuesday and recorded on the
Tuesday Folder Signature Sheet.
HOMEWORK
WORDS = Special RewardsÉ
Kids, be sure to check the ÒHWÓ webpage for the HOMEWORK
WORD each day. Each week a special
reward will await those who follow through! By the way there are also chances
for secret words on Twitter and the Tuesday Note Home from time to time! Please look and donÕt forget!
https://gradespeed.mnps.orgÉ
Grades are on-line at gradespeed.mnps.org. Parents and students have a password to
check each subject in order to view grades. This should be done each Tuesday.
Mr. PÕs
ProceduresÉ
Students, the following are reminders of specific classroom
procedures:
o
Push your chair in when you leave your desk.
o
Have your agenda signed daily.
o
Locker breaks are 7:45AM, and 2:45PM. Students should remember to take all
materials from the locker at that time.
Keep all materials in your locker until needed.
o
7:45AM morning work is posted on the television each
morning as you arrive in the classroom.
This is due at 8:15AM along with your daily tech task and all
homework. Students, be sure to be
prepared everyday and be on time with all of your assignments.
NotesÉ
¯ Hey
kids, remember to send your Tech Task (Monday, Wednesday, & Friday) via
e-mail. Please send it to Mr. P
[james.parsons@mnps.org]. Your tech task should be saved on your computer as a
MICROSOFT OFFICE WORD DOCUMENT with your name and date in the title. Attach the document to an e-mail to
send it to Mr. P. DonÕt forget to
include your name and the date in the title of the e-mail. Doing this will save paper!
Bye ByeÉ