5th Grade at Sacajawea

Whew!  What an exciting start to our school year!  Islandwood was wonderful–even the weather cooperated.  We gained scientific understandings about our environment, made new friends, and reacquainted ourselves with old friends.  It was a truly wonderful start to a new school year.

This year, Ms. Fontaine and I are “the fifth grade team,” and are excited about all the ways we will work together and share students.  Keep watching this page for updates and information.  (However, time-sensitive information will still be sent via e-mail.)

Also, watch for the links on the left and right of this page to get updated–I’ll be sure to note when that happens!

Today, I shared with the class the plan for “celebrating” Valentine’s Day in Room 105.  Although I love the opportunity to express my care, friendship and love for people who are important to me, I’m not very fond of the commercialism associated with kids’ Valentines.  I especially dislike those “obligatory” ones from the grocery store that kids just sign and give away without thought to whom they’re going.

Because of this, we will celebrate a bit differently.  Students who want to express friendship to other students may certainly bring Valentines, and I have encouraged them to make Valentines or at least to write personal messages.  We will spend most of our celebrating creating forms of appreciation for our family.  Then, at the end of the day, I will celebrate the kids with a bit of a surprise.  We don’t need goodies sent, either!

Our mice, Chocolate and Vanilla, seem very happy and healthy.  Whew!  They are scheduled to go home with students this weekend and during mid-winter break, but after that they are available!  If your child may have mousey visits one weekend, please let me know!

As for the other pets–the crawdads may be able to go home for visits, too, but there’s no pressing need.  If you and your child would like to have the experience, we can arrange it.

Sadly, we have not had good luck with the pets in our room.  In fact, many died and so things have changed a little.  I returned the hermit crabs to the pet store (a service they offer, thank goodness,) and have replaced our deceased mice.  I hadn’t planned to do so–I was so sad about them, but they are just so cute, and the kids liked them so much, I decided to try again.  I hope that we will have better luck!

Our new mice, one brown and one white (there weren’t any black ones that day,) are Chocolate and Vanilla.  Although we’re going to go with the obvious, we were tempted to name the white one Chocolate, and the brown, Vanilla, just to make things interesting. 

In order to make sure that our mice get the care they need every day, students now have the opportunity to take them home over the weekend.  I sent an e-mail on Thursday, asking parents who are OK with visiting mice to send an e-mail to me.  I will make up a schedule and post it.

The classroom is decorated, and the projector is ready:  Tuesday, January 20, 2009, is Inauguration Day, and we will be celebrating and watching this historic event in room 105.  Our classroom doors will open at 8:30, the TV will be on, and we will have apple cake muffins (which is on the menu for the official inauguration lunch.)  Families are welcome to joins us!

This is also an official “Spirit Day” at school, and we will be dressed in Red, White, and Blue!

Wherever you are, I hope that you are able to stop and be a witness to this amazing moment.

Well, we sure do have a menagerie in our classroom now!  If I’ve counted correctly, we have 3 very cute female mice, two hermit crabs, 6 crawdads, 5 goldfish (we had 6, but one of the crawdads had a very good dinner last night!) and many snails, red wrigglers, and stick bugs!

As I sit and write this, one of the mice is trying to break out!  After climbing to the top of the water bottle, she is now checking the lid to the cage.  I’ll be putting a book on top tonight!

Each table team has informed us about the proper handling and care for our various pets, although we did discover that the hermit crabs and the crawdads are probably better to look at than hold!

Today, each student created an aquarium that is almost a completely closed system (except for energy,) and in each is a tiny, little snail.  So each student has their own, personal pet after all!  We discussed the various needs each element has, and how the others provide for each other. (the Elodea providing food, shelter, and oxygen for the snail, and the snail providing nutrients and carbon dioxide for the Elodea.)  Although this conversation has just started, students seem to have a pretty good grasp of the interactions.

Nope, that’s not a typo!  Ask your student to show you our hilarious SIMILE book tonight!!  We learned about similes, then wrote and illustrated our own, but even the kids didn’t realize what was in store!!

Brrr!  I sure hope you are staying warm enough!  We are quite warm in our classroom, but disappointed that we can’t go outside and play!  Nope, the playground has been declared “unsafe” because of the ice, so we have spent the day inside.

Although we started our day late, many of us were awakened quite early–did you receive a very early wake-up call?  I did, too, since my younger son is still officially a student, and I was happy to get it!  However, I hear that some of you received more than one call–we’re very sorry about that!  It’s a new system, and the district is trying to work out the kinks.  Unfortunately, the individual schools have no control of the automated phoning system!    On our late-start days, I will always have hot-cocoa for students when school starts–a tradition left over from when I taught at a school where the attendance was under 50% on late start days!  Kids at Sacajawea don’t need a reward for getting to school, but they sure enjoy the cocoa!

We are also awaiting word on this Friday’s field trip–I will let you know as soon as I do what the policy/plan is in case of bad weather or icy streets!

Once again, our school lunchroom will be serving Turkey and Mashed Potatoes, this time on Thursday, December 18.  We will be eating in our classroom and YOU are invited.  We get our lunches at about 12:20, and you may bring your own lunch or you may also have Turkey and Mashed Potatoes from the lunchroom (or the other school option that day, Veggie Ribs in BBQ Sauce.  Hmmm…)

Yes, that’s right, I have jury duty!  I will be gone tomorrow and Thursday and we are so lucky to have Mrs. Alben here in my place!  She has also agreed to come Friday as well if I get on a jury and must continue to be gone.

The best part of having Mrs. Alben in our classroom is that the kids get to do MORE ART!  This is always a big treat. 

I will also be checking e-mail each evening so please e-mail if you have a question or concern.