December 17-21

Here is what’s happening in the classroom in the upcoming week. Monday: Phy Ed (Pacer Test) and music Tuesday: Music Wednesday: No Specials - Bounce House Activities: Early Dismissal Day at 1:10 pm Thursday: High School Run-Through for Music Friday: LMC Reading: Our theme will continue to be “How was America founded?” Our focus question this week is “How were people’s ideas changed by historical events in early America?” The vocabulary words of the week are: disappointment, celebrate, and courage. Our writing focus will be on a compare/contrast essay. The students have been assigned a holiday bookmark project. They have chosen a name and will write five nice sentences about that person. The reading goal for the month is to read at least one book. Spelling: We will be using the Unit 3, week 3 words which will be tested on Tuesday. These words are compounds words with our review and high frequency words. No new spelling words this week. Math: Students should continue to work on learning multiplication and division facts. They are also working on decimals. We are continuing to work on our math boxes. We have also started going into the computer lab to use ixl.com. Students can go on IXL at home to practice their math. Science: Due to a social studies project, we will not be having science for the next two weeks. Social Studies: We will continue our social studies project on the different regions (New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies) of the thirteen original colonies. Notes: For the holidays, the class has agreed to make bookmarks for each other and not do a gift exchange for each other. Bookmarks are coming along well. We will have a holiday party on Friday. I will let the parents know who is signed up to bring a treat. They also thought it would be nice to sponsor a child in need. They thought giving a dollar a piece would be appropriate in helping with the gift giving along with the teachers giving a donation. Participation of the gift giving of the child in need is optional. Our PBIS goal is 30 stars. We are progressing well with 25 stars. Upcoming Dates for you: -12/18/12, 5th grade program rehearsal at 8:15 -12/19/12, Bounce House Party, Early Dismissal at 1:10p.m. -12/20/12 Holiday Concert Dress Rehearsal at 10:00 a.m. in the high school auditorium -12/20/12 Holiday Concert at 7:00 pm in the high school auditorium. Please have the students at the high school cafeteria by 6:45 We wish you a happy holiday season! Have a great day! Let me know if you have any questions. Ms.Hagen and Ms.LeGros

Week in a Peek December 3-7

Here is what’s happening in the classroom in the upcoming week. Monday: Phy Ed Tuesday: Music Wednesday: LMC with skills and checkout Thursday: Phy Ed Friday: Phy Ed and Music Reading: Our theme will continue to be “How was America founded?” Our focus question this week is “What did America mean to the first European settlers?” The vocabulary words of the week are: rebellion, patriot, economy, and constitution. Our writing focus will be on a compare/contrast essay. The students have recently completed the Quarterly Benchmark Assessment which helped us place the students in reading groups. Spelling: We will be using the Unit 3, week 2 words which will be tested on Friday. These words are homophones along with our review and high frequency words. Math: Students should continue to work on learning multiplication and division facts. They are also working on decimals. We are continuing to work on our math boxes. Science: We will continue our unit dealing with microorganisms and microscopes. We have taken the opportunity this week to look at everyday things. The students are learning more about the microscope and the importance in life. Social Studies: We will begin learning about the development of America beginning our units on the colonies. They will have connections in both reading and social studies. We will be learning more about the thirteen colonies, Plymouth and Jamestown Colony. Notes: Our PBIS goal is 30 stars. We are progressing well with 21 stars. The students have been enjoying a snack time. Here is the snack schedule I have for the month of November and December. November 26-29th: Families with last names beginning with H-P December 3-7th: Families with last names beginning with Q-S December 12-17th: Families with last names beginning with T-Z Thank you for your cooperation. Upcoming Dates for you: -12/07/12, 5th grade choir in the Christmas Parade at 6:00 pm in downtown Sparta, Meet at 5:45pm at the corner of Water Street and Franklin St. by Park Bank -12/18/12, 5th grade program rehearsal at 8:15 -12/19/12, Bounce House Party, Early Dismissal at 1:10p.m. -12/20/12 Holiday Concert Dress Rehearsal at 10:00 a.m. in the high school auditorium -12/20/12 Holiday Concert at 7:00 pm in the high school auditorium. Please have the students at the high school cafeteria by 6:45 Have a great day! Let me know if you have any questions. Ms. Hagen

Nov. 26-30th Happy Thanksgiving

Here is what’s happening in the classroom in the upcoming week. We have safety patrol this week. Please remind students to come prepared for the weather. Students will need snow pants, coats, boots, hats, gloves or mittens for duty when the weather changes. Monday: Music Tuesday: LMC with skills and checkout Wednesday: Phy Ed Thursday: Phy Ed and Music Friday: Art Reading: Our theme will continue to be “How was America founded?” Our focus question this week is “What was life like for Native Americans before new settlers arrived?” The vocabulary words of the week are: artifact, abundant, resource, and prosper. Our writing focus will be on a compare/contrast essay. The students have recently completed the Quarterly Benchmark Assessment which help us in placing the students in reading groups. Spelling: We will be using the Unit 3, week 1 words which will be tested on Friday. These words are homophones along with our review and high frequency words. Students should have a new “orange” reading log for the month of November. I will be discussing their goal for the month. Math: Students should continue to work on learning multiplication and division facts. They are also working on fractions. They will receive a study guide this week to study for the test on Friday of Unit 1. Please watch for the study guide and have them study. We are continuing to work on our math boxes. Science: We will continue our unit dealing with microorganisms and microscopes. We have taken the opportunity this week to look at three live microorganisms: volvox, blepharisma, and vinegar eels. The students are learning more about the microscope and the importance in life. Social Studies: We will begin learning about the development of America beginning our units on the colonies. They will have connections in both reading and social studies. Notes: We have completed our WKCE testing. Thank you for having your child in school on those days for the testing. We appreciate the help in making sure that all students are tested. Our PBIS goal is 30 stars. We are progressing well with 17 stars. The students have been enjoying a snack time. Here is the snack schedule I have for the month of November and December. November 26-29th: Families with last names beginning with H-P December 3-7th: Families with last names beginning with Q-S December 12-17th: Families with last names beginning with T-Z Thank you for your cooperation. Upcoming Dates for you: -11/22, 23, No School: Happy Thanksgiving to you! Community Thanksgiving at Meadowview on November 22nd. -12/19 Early Dismissal -12/20 Holiday Concert at the high school Have a great day! Let me know if you have any questions. Ms. Hagen

Hello All, We have been busy with WKCE testing in the subject of reading. The students have been giving it their best work. I wanted to give you a quick update about Friday. We will have a Veteran's Day Assembly at 10:00am on Friday, November 9th in the Meadowview Gym. We will have the posting of colors and Pledge of Allegiance, students and choir singing, recognition of Veterans and Military Families, a speaker, student speakers, a moment of silence and TAPS. Please join us if you can. Have a great day! Ms. Hagen

Nov. 5-9

Here is what’s happening in the classroom in the upcoming week. Monday: Phy Ed Tuesday: Music Wednesday: LMC with skills and checkout Thursday: Phy Ed Friday: Phy Ed and Music Reading: Our theme will continue to be “Why do people seek the unknown?” Our focus question this week is “What happens when scientists make discoveries?” The vocabulary words of the week are: survey, befriend, and mission. Spelling: We will be using the Unit 2 , week 3 words which will be tested on Friday or Monday of the following week. These words have the spelling pattern of “vowel + ‘r’ sounds. Students should have a new “orange” reading log for the month of November. I will be discussing their goal for the month. Math: Students should continue to work on learning multiplication and division facts. They are also working on fractions. Science: We will continue with the concept of magnetism. We will be discussing the earth’s magnetic field this week. Students are enjoying using the magnets in class. At the end of the week, we will begin studying about human eyes which will lead into our next unit dealing with microorganisms and microscopes. Social Studies: This week we will be starting our discussion about exploration including Christopher Columbus, Cortes, and other explorers. Notes: We now have added a new student to our room so we currently have 23 students. Our student teacher, Ms. Jamie LeGros will be starting on Monday, November 12th after she returns from her student teaching experience in Germany. She will be with us in the classroom until the middle of January. We met our goal of 25 stars and now our PBIS goal is 30 stars. We are progressing well with 10 stars at this point. The students were very pleased to receive the Spartan Doll for the week after showing great behavior. Thank you to the parents who provided snack for our Fall Party. WKCE Testing will be November 6, 7, 8 and November 13, 14, 15 in the morning. Our schedule will change slightly during this time. Please try to avoid having appointments on these mornings. Thank you for your assistance. We will also have free breakfast at school on these days. The students have been enjoying a snack time. Here is the snack schedule I have for the month of November and December. November 12-16th: Families with last names beginning with A-G November 26-29th: Families with last names beginning with H-P December 3-7th: Families with last names beginning with Q-S December 12-17th: Families with last names beginning with T-Z Thank you for your cooperation. Upcoming Dates for you: -11/9/12, Vet’s Day assembly at 10:00 am -11/14/12, Early Dismissal at 1:10 -11/19/12, PTG at 6:30 -11/22, 23, No School Have a great day! Let me know if you have any questions. Ms. Hagen

Oct. 15-19

Ms. Hagen’s Week in a Peek for the Week of October 15-19th Here is what’s happening in the classroom in the upcoming week. (Box tops for Education Collection Turn In before October 22nd – it is a contest to bring in the most.) Monday: Phy Ed and Music Tuesday: Art Wednesday: Phy Ed/ Early Dismissal Day/ Scarecrow Dress-up Day –flannel shirts and overalls Thursday: Music Friday: LMC with skills and book exchange Reading: We will begin the next unit on Wednesday. Our theme will be “Why do people seek the unknown?” Our focus question this week is “What motivates explorers to find new places?” The vocabulary words of the week are analyze, navigate, and deliver. We will be completing our writing prompts on Monday and Tuesday. We will be working on the words with Greek and Latin roots. Spelling: We will be using the Unit 2, week 1 words which will be pretested on Wednesday and test the next week. These words have vowel sounds of : “oo” and “yoo”. Students have been shown the site Spelling City on the computer. It is a great resource for studying the words: www.spellingcity.com Math: Students should continue to work on learning multiplication and division facts. Science: We are learning about magnetism. Social Studies: We will continue studying the regions of the United States along with learning about the states in each region. Students are doing a terrific job researching their regions and getting ready to start working together to put the presentation together to share with the class. We are working on putting presentations together and will start presenting Friday. Notes: We have been working hard on our class PBIS goal of 25 stars as a class. They earn a star for each “5” they earn in Music, Art, PhyEd, and LMC. They can also earn extra stars by having positive comments or compliments from others. We are currently at 23 stars so far this year. I am proud of how much they have accomplished. Thank you for taking the time to join us for conferences. It is so important to have the communication about student learning. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns in the future. The students have been enjoying a snack time. Here is the snack schedule I have for the month of October. October 1-5th: Families with last names beginning with A-G October 8-12th: Families with last names beginning with H-P October 15-19th: Families with last names beginning with Q-S October 22-26th: Families with last names beginning with T-Z Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Summer birthdays: We would like to acknowledge all summer birthdays in the month of October since we have no student birthdays in October at this point. Upcoming Dates for you: -10/12/12, No school for students -10/15/12, PTG meeting, 6:30 -10/17/12, Early Dismissal, 1:10 Have a great day! Let me know if you have any questions. Ms. Joanne Hagen

October 8-12

Here is what’s happening in the classroom in the upcoming week. (Box tops for Education Collection Turn In before October 22nd – it is a contest to bring in the most.) Monday: Phy Ed Tuesday: Music Wednesday: LMC day with skills and book exchange Thursday: Phy Ed Friday: Phy Ed and Music Reading: Our theme will continue to be “How do we achieve common ground?” Our focus question this week is “How can others help broaden our view of the world?” The vocabulary words of the week are to review the following words: cooperate, famine, culture, generation, similar, eager, incident, gaze, mentor, and perspective. We are reviewing the topic and stories we have read. We will also examine the small group readers and identify how they all help develop common ground. Spelling: We will be using the Unit 1, week 4 words which will be tested on Friday of next week unless the schedule changes and it will be the following Monday. These words have long vowel sounds. Students have been shown the site Spelling City on the computer. It is a great resource for studying the words: www.spellingcity.com Math: Students should continue to work on learning multiplication and division facts. Science: We have finished the first chapter in health and will begin learning about magnetism. Social Studies: We will continue studying the regions of the United States along with learning about the states in each region. Students are doing a terrific job researching their regions and getting ready to start working together to put the presentation together to share with the class. Notes: We have been working hard on our class PBIS goal of 25 stars as a class. They earn a star for each “5” they earn in Music, Art, PhyEd, and LMC. They can also earn extra stars by having positive comments or compliments from others. We are currently at 19 stars so far this year. I am proud of how much they have accomplished. MAPS testing will be completed on Friday, Oct. 5th and I will be able to share your child’s results at conferences. Conferences are set for Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday this week. Please let me know if you have difficulty with your scheduled time. I look forward to seeing you at conferences. Book fair will be going on this week. Watch for future updates about WKCE testing dates and times. The students have been enjoying a snack time. Here is the snack schedule I have for the month of October. October 1-5th: Families with last names beginning with A-G October 8-12th: Families with last names beginning with H-P October 15-19th: Families with last names beginning with Q-S October 22-26th: Families with last names beginning with T-Z Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Summer birthdays: We would like to acknowledge all summer birthdays in the month of October since we have no student birthdays in October at this point. Upcoming Dates for you: -10/9, 10/11, 10/12/12, Parent/teacher conferences -10/12/12, No school for students -10/15/12, PTG meeting, 6:30 -10/17/12, Early Dismissal, 1:10 Have a great day! Let me know if you have any questions. Ms. Hagen

October 1-5

Here is what’s happening in the classroom in the upcoming week. Monday: Music Tuesday: LMC skills with Book Exchange Wednesday: Phy Ed Thursday: Phy Ed and Music Friday: Art Reading: Our theme will continue to be “How do we achieve common ground?” Our focus question this week is “On what are friendships built?” The vocabulary words of the week are gaze, incident, and eager. We are reading a fictional story about a family living in a new place. Spelling: We will be on our Unit 1, week 3 list that has long “i” and long “o” sounds. If you want a program for the students to practice spelling, you can go to www.spellingcity.com and go to Meadowview fifth. They can review words and have several activities for learning. Science: We will finish the chapter of health on Friday, September 28th and then have a review on Tuesday and test on Thursday. Social Studies: We will begin studying the regions of the United States along with learning about the states in each region. Students are divided into 5 different regions and each group will be expected to present their information to the class when we are done. We will be finding information on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week. Notes: We have been working hard on our class PBIS goal of 25 stars as a class. They earn a star for each “5” they earn in Music, Art, PhyEd, and LMC. They can also earn extra stars by having positive comments or compliments from others. We are currently at 16 stars so far this year. I am proud of how much they have accomplished. I have rescheduled MAPS testing on the following dates: Monday, October 1 before lunch for Language Arts; Wednesday, October 3 from 2-3 for Reading; and Friday, October 5 from 1-2:30 for Math. The students have been enjoying a snack time. I am hoping to set up a snack donation calendar for the month of October for families to send in a snack for sharing with the class. If you can send in a snack to share with the class, it would be very much appreciated. Here is the schedule I have for the month of October. October 1-5th: Families with last names beginning with A-G October 8-12th: Families with last names beginning with H-P October 15-19th: Families with last names beginning with Q-S October 22-26th: Families with last names beginning with T-Z Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Summer birthdays: We would like to celebrate all summer birthdays in the month of October since we have no student birthdays in October at this point. Upcoming Dates for you: -10/9, 10/11, 10/12/12, Parent/teacher conferences (Book Fair will be held 10/8-10/12: Volunteers Needed) -10/12/12, No school for students -10/15/12, PTG meeting, 6:30 -10/16, 10/18, 4th grade to logging camp -10/17/12, Early Dismissal, 1:10 Have a great day! Let me know if you have any questions. Ms. Hagen

Upcoming Week of Sept. 24-28

Here is what’s happening in the classroom in the upcoming week. Monday: LMC day with skills Tuesday: Phy Ed Wednesday: Phy Ed and Music Thursday: Art Friday: Phy Ed Reading: Our theme will continue to be “How do we achieve common ground?” Our focus question this week is “What do we share across cultures?” The vocabulary words of the week are generation, similar, and perspective. We are reading a folktale that is similar to Stone Soup. Spelling: We will be using the Unit 1, week 2 words which will be tested on Wednesday or Thursday (if the schedule changes). These words have long “a” and long “e” patterns. Math: The students will be finishing unit 1 and they will be tested on Thursday or Friday. Science: We will continue in the health book reading about friendship issues and emotions including uncomfortable feelings. We will be finishing Chapter 1 in health with a test planned for the following week. Social Studies: We will begin studying the regions of the United States along with learning about the states in each region. Notes: We have been working hard on our class PBIS goal of 25 stars as a class. They earn a star for each “5” they earn in Music, Art, PhyEd, and LMC. They can also earn extra stars by having positive comments or compliments from others. We are currently at 12 stars so far this year. I am proud of how much they have accomplished. I have scheduled MAPS testing on the following dates: Tuesday, October 2 before lunch for Language Arts; Wednesday, October 3 from 2-3 for Reading; and Thursday, October 4 from 1-2 for Math. The students have been enjoying a snack time. I am hoping to set up a snack donation calendar for the month of October for families to send in a snack for sharing with the class. If you can send in a snack to share with the class, it would be very much appreciated. Please remember to send back the parent-teacher conference slips. Thank you in advance for your help. Upcoming Dates for you: -9/24/12, Fundraiser ends -9/27/12, Spaghetti Dinner at Eagles Club for Adopted Grandparents Program -10/9, 10/11, 10/12/12, Parent/teacher conferences -10/12/12, No school for students -10/15/12, PTG meeting, 6:30 -10/16, 10/18, 4th grade to logging camp -10/17/12, Early Dismissal, 1:10 Have a great day! Let me know if you have any questions. Ms. Hagen

Back to School

Greetings Everyone, We are heading into a new school year. It was great to see so many people attend open house. This school year should be very exciting and fun. This year we will continue with the Lead 21 reading program and our math program will be Math Expressions. Students will have passwords to work on the Lead 21 program and will receive login information for IXL.com for math help. I will be teaming with Mr. Atteln this year. He will teach math and I will teach science and social studies on a rotating basis. I have it planned that I will teach Science on one day and the next day will Social Studies depending on the topics of study. During reading, we will be teaming with Mr. Atteln, Mr. Schwarz, Mrs. Lor and myself along with Mrs. Sullivan. It should be a dynamic group. We plan on placement assessing during the first week of school so we can begin the reading program. My class will begin the safety patrol rotation during the first week of school along with Mr. Atteln's class. I look forward to seeing all the students on Tuesday, September 4th. Enjoy the last days of summer vacation. Ms. Hagen