Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a delicious Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday, November 17th.  Thanks to all the parents and Grandparents that came to eat lunch with your child.  The children loved having you here!

Volunteers Needed!

We will need a volunteer from our classroom to work the Turkey Trot on Friday morning (11/18) from about 8:15-10:30.  If you are available please let me know! Also, we still need someone to sew some lace on handkerchiefs for Colonial Day which is on Wednesday.  I have someone lined up if we can't find anyone else, but we will have to pay this person so I was hoping a parent would be bale to do it. :)

Updates

I'm so sorry it has been almost a month since my last update!! Seems like I have been playing "catch up" for weeks between my twins and myself being sick.  Hopefully November will be a much calmer month for my family.  You all know how that is. :)

November Important Dates:

• Tuesday, November 8th: Mrs. Hardin's Classroom Spelling Bee
• This will be on all spelling words we have learned from lesson 1-10 in reading.
• Thursday, November 10th: Veteran's Day Program @ 1:15 in the gym
• Friday, November 11th: No School, Veteran's Day Holiday
• 5th Grade Colonial Day on Wednesday, November 16th.  More info. to come very soon!
• Thursday, November 17th is our Thanksgiving Lunch
• Friday, November 18th will be our Annual FVES Barbara Bradford Turkey Trot
• Wednesday, November 23-Friday, November 25th: No School for Thanksgiving Holdays 

Fun in Science!

Update From the Desk of Mrs. Hardin

Sorry it has been awhile since my last updae! I was out several days last week with my 2 year old son who was in the hospital for dehydration from a nasty stomache virus. He is 100% better!

Our UWA intern, Sara Fair, has done a wonderful job these past two weeks teaching.  Her last day with us will be Thursday, October 6th.  We will miss her when she is gone! If you would like to send a few dollars, I will get her a gift certificate to Learning Experiences Parent/Teacher Store. 

In science, we will be starting chapter 5 after Fall Break and we will need a few items for experiments.  If you have any of the following supplies you can donate, it will be greatly appreciated!

Science Wish List

• A few small bags of birdseed
• Plastic spoons, knives, and forks
• 2-3 lbs. of lima bean seeds
• small plastic cups
• 4 small plastic containers with lids
• modeling clay

Important Dates

• Lesson 7 Reading and Spelling Tests on Thursday , October 6th
• Chapter 4 Science Test on Wednesday, October 5th
• Music Test on Wednesday, October 5th
• Thursday, October 6th is Family Fun Day at FVES from 5:30-8:00.  I hope to see you there!
• The Book Fair will be Tuesday, October 4-Thursday, October 6th.   
• Friday, October 7th is Parent Conference Day.  No school for students!
• Fall Break Monday, Oct. 10-Tuesday, Oct. 11!!

More Technology Available!

Check out these web-sites to help your 5th grader with science, history, and AR requirements!

Science: http://www.eduplace.com/science/hmsc/5/

History: http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/al/books/bke1/

Tuscaloosa Public Library: http://www.tuscaloosa-library.org/library_departments/children/accelerated_readers.aspx

Important Reminders

• Theme 1 reading and spelling tests will be on Wednesday, September 21st. These tests will cover all spelling words, vocabulary words, and comprehension skills covered in lessons 1-5.
• Chapter 3 Science test will be on Wednesday, September 21st.
• Don't forget to send 2 proofs of residence ASAP. 
• PTO meeting Tuesday, September 20th at 6:00 pm.
• $30.00 deposit for American Village field trip due by Sept. 30th.

I am really enjoying your children!

Don't Forget...

• Science Test on Ch. 2 Monday, September 12th!
• Social Studies Test on Monday, September 12th!

I'll try not to schedule a science test on the same day as a history test on a regular basis.  We have reviewed for the past 3 days though so they should do well as long as they study a little at home.  Don't forget to study your diagrams! I hope everyone had a great weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone in the morning!

Announcements

Don't forget:

• School pictures are Friday, September 9th.  These will be the pictures used for the yearbook!
• My homeroom students need to return their parent conference letter by Friday, September 9th as well so I can start making a schedule.
• The totem pole assignment for social studies is due on Friday. 
• Chapter 2 Science test will be on Monday, September 12th.  The students also have a social studies test that day.  
• Lesson 4 Reading test will be on Tuesday, September 13th.  

Tomorrow is Friday! :)

News Update

Important Dates to Remember:

• Friday, September 9th will be Fall picture day at FVES.  This is the picture that will be used for each student in the yearbook.
• Progress reports will also come home on Friday, September 9th.  These need to be signed and returned the next school day. 
• I will be scheduling conferences during the weeks of Sept. 19-23 and Sept. 26-30. Miss. Fair will be teaching these two weeks so I can conference anytime from 8:00-3:30.  I can't drop my twins off at preschool until 7:30 each morning so it's hard for me to meet before school, but if this is the only time you can meet we will work something out.  Phone conferences will also be available.  Be looking for more information in your child's green folder very soon. 

We are excited to start art class this week!  We will have art every other week on Thursdays from 9:15-10:00. 

More Classroom Technology Available!

I am excited to inform you that in addition to our new classroom blog the students also have access to a web-site that will allow them to access their reading and math textbooks on-line, take their reading tests online and have them scored immediately, and let them play games to review reading and math skills that we teach in the classroom.  The website is called Think Central and is located at: https://www-k6.thinkcentral.com/ePC/start.do   If you forget the site you can always search "Think Central Log-in".  Each student has a log-in user name and password that I have placed on a label in their reading folder.  I have taught the students how to take their comprehension and vocabulary tests on this site and they will take lesson 3 tests on the computer on Friday, Sept. 2nd.  You can even have them log-in at home to check their scores!  They tests are only available during school hours so the tests can not be taken at home.  If your child is ever absent on a testing day, please do not have them take the test at home.  All tests must be taken at school.  Please be patient with us as we all learn a new way to take tests at school.

Dissecting our First Living Organism in Science!

Today we dissected our first living organism in science class....a flower. Please remember to send in $2.00 so we can order owl pellets to dissect in a few weeks.  We need the money by Friday.  Thanks!

Welcome!

Students and Parents,
    This blog was created to easily communicate with you.  Please check this blog regularly to keep up with announcements and assignments.  We are having a great year so far! Thank you for donating items and money for our science experiments! We are all having fun completing the experiments while we learn new concepts.  I would like to say a special thanks to Dr. Philip Smith, who owns Indian Hills Animal Clinic, for donating gloves for the students to wear during the owl pellet experiment we will do in a few weeks.  We also need to thank Mrs. Mary Beth Hinton for getting a local florist, Flowers by Wendi, to donate flowers for the students to dissect.  The students will be writing thank you letters to Wendi this week. 

FYI:

·         Lesson 3 Reading/Spelling Test will be Friday, September 2^nd.

·         There will be no school on Monday, September 5^th due to the Labor Day holiday. 

·         September lunch menus are coming home today.

Thanks for sharing your children with me!