Open House: "Meet Your Teacher Day" Was A Success!

Thursday, July 30th, was really a fun time as many of the new 5th-grade students returned to Taylor to meet their teachers and get excited about the start of the new school year. It was nice to see so many happy faces! I'm sure a lot of you did some back-to-school shopping afterwards and will spend the weekend getting ready for Monday.......yep, Monday is the first day of school! So, have your last bit of summer fun and be prepared to start the new year with enthusiasm, a good attitude, and an excitement for learning! See you Monday morning!

My First Day Back At School Today

Well, today I was able to get in my classroom and start organizing and setting up the classroom for my students. It was a lot of fun! There are LOTS of things to do before meeting my students next Thursday. That's right NEXT THURSDAY (July 30th) is "Meet Your Teacher Open House from 4-6 p.m. so all of my 5th graders are invited to come by, meet all of us, and find out which homeroom class you are in. Then, the following Monday, Aug. 3, 2009 is the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!! If you need to see a copy of the supply list, just scroll down the page a little and you'll see it listed. Looking forward to meeting you all!

JULY 30, 2009: Meet Your Teacher Open House 4pm-6pm
AUGUST 3, 2009: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Be on time (by 8:05)

Summer Is Moving Fast!

I hope my new students are enjoying their summer. I can't believe how fast the days are flying by. Teachers go back to school next Thursday and Friday. We will be setting up our classrooms and getting things ready to welcome our new 5th-graders. Enjoy each and every day off and be ready to learn a lot this year! I hope you're practicing your multiplication facts and READING over these summer months. See ya' soon!

Supply List For 2009-2010!!!!

Some of the new 5th-grade students may have lost the supply list we sent home at the end of the school year. Here's the list so you can start getting your supplies ready!

*3 inch ring binder (YES you will need one that big!)
*(8) dividers for the binder (do not write on them yet)
*glue sticks
*pencils for personal use (no mechanical pencils please)
*1 pack of 12 pencils for classroom use
*(10) packs of notebook paper
*colored pencils
*crayons
*erasers for the pencils
*(5) boxes of tissues
*scissors
*10 multicolored highlighters
*pencil box or pouch
*ruler
*protractor (the clear, cheap kind)
*(6) packs of 3X5 index cards
*Index card file box
*1 box of gallon-sized ziplock bags
*1 box of quart-sized ziplock bags
*optional: 1 spray can of Lysol disinfectant spray

Have A Safe Summer!!!!!

Well, summer is officially here! YAY! I want to wish all of my students a wonderful, fun, and safe summer! You all have so much to be proud of! Remember, don't let your skills slide away.....READ and practice that Math! You're going to do a great job in 6th-grade and I look forward to hearing wonderful things from you! Keep in touch and feel free to visit the blog often and leave comments in the guestbook! Love you all!

Promotion Day/Ceremony!

Well, yesterday was the 5th-grade Promotion Ceremony and everything went very well. The students sang three wonderful songs and received MANY MANY awards! I am so proud of all of my students and wish them the very very best for their futures. They are a very talented bunch and I expect to hear great things about them in the years to come! WAY TO GO 5th-Graders! (Officially 6th-graders now!) Love you all!!!!!!!!

Our Last Team Day Today!

Well, the year is quickly coming to an end, and today was our very last Team Day! We played Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution, sang songs,danced, had a cookout, played games, and just had fun talking and laughing! What a great day to just enjoy being together and having fun!

5th Grade Picnic Today!!!!!

Well today the 5th-Grade students had a BLAST!!!!!! We had a kickball tournament and a huge cookout! The day started when the students arrived and discovered that the teachers had made them team t-shirts!!!!!!! The three teams were:
Appleton's All-star Alligators
Barr's Blazin' Bulls
Dudley's Dodgers
We had sooooooooooooooooooo much food that we decided to save some of it for Team Day next week! The students played the kickball tournament ALL DAY and thankfully, the weather held out! It rained as we were going inside! YIPPEE! Thanks to all of the parents who sent food items for the cookout! We really had a great time!!!!

Getting Better At Promotion Practice!

The students are REALLY getting good at the songs they are practicing for The 5th-Grade Promotion Ceremony! You can click on the video to see another song that I recorded today.

Promotion Ceremony Practice Started Today!

Today we started practicing for the Promotion Ceremony which will be held on the last day of school, June 19th, beginning at 9:00 A.M. How exciting! Students are reminded to pay attention, stay quiet, and take it seriously. Remember to sing out loud on your songs and follow directions that the teachers give you. This is an important day that we are preparing for. Parents are reminded to be there early on that day so that you can get a good seat in the gym. Students are to wear "Sunday attire" for the ceremony and my leave with their parents after the ceremony. If students plan on leaving with someone besides their parents, they MUST bring us a note telling us who they have permission to go home with that day. Parents, I think you will REALLY enjoy the songs that we have lined up for them to perform for you and there will be lots of awards and recognitions given out! (Click on the video below to see the 5th grade students singing one of their songs for the ceremony!)

Enjoying Recess Today

Our 5th-graders had a great recess time outside. Recess is our time to get some fresh air, some exercise, and have fun with our friends!

Our Visit To O.T. Bonner Middle School

Today our entire 5th-grade group traveled over to visit O.T. Bonner Middle School where many of them will be next year for 6th-grade! We were presented with a Power Point Presentation that told us about the dress code, rules, and supplies for next year. We were then led on a tour of Bonner by some former Taylor students who are in 6th-grade now. Thanks TyAsia, Kyla, Antoinette, and KeyAira! Our students were soooooooooooooooooooooo well-behaved and really showed that Taylor Pride!

Reptile Assembly Today!

We really had a wonderful time seeing all of the reptiles that were shown at the assembly today! A turtle, lizard, and 3 snakes! We even got to touch the Albino snake!

A 3-Day Weekend!

I hope all of my students have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend and get some much deserved rest and relaxation! They all worked so hard during SOL Testing and I am so proud of them! Have fun and I'll see you all on Tuesday!

YIPPEE!!!!!

We Took The Math SOL Test Today!

Congratulations to my 5th grade students who finished their Math SOL Test today! YAY! They worked hard and I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo proud of them! Now we can start learning some 6th-grade material.

You Can Help Us Get Materials For The Classroom

If you know of any businesses or individuals who would like to help fund this proposal for my classroom, please send them a copy of this. I want to get these materials for my students!!!! Please help!

Susan Appleton thought you'd be interested in the classroom project "Creating A Literary Dream World In The Classroom!!!!": http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=202182&utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=project&utm_campaign=TellAFriend

This and all other projects at DonorsChoose.org have been submitted by public school teachers who seek resources that will help their students learn.

Contributions are tax-deductible and donors hear back from the classroom they choose to support.

Hoping you'll join us to help bring a classroom project to life,

The DonorsChoose.org Team

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DonorsChoose.org, 347 West 36th Street, Suite 503, New York, NY 10018.

SOL Reading Test On Thursday!!!!!

Well, it's time for our students to SHOW WHAT THEY KNOW! On Thursday, 5th-grade students will take the Reading SOL Test! Please remind your child to get a good nights' sleep, a good healthy breakfast, and to come to school with a winning attitude; ready to work and make a PERFECT 600! They can do it!!!!!!! They need to remember to use good test-taking skills and to take their time on this test because they have ALL DAY!

Danville Braves Reading Competition

Today we had a visit from The Danville Braves and the mascot, Blooper! It was at an assembly to start a new reading competition! In 5th grade, students are required to read 4 AR books, take the tests and pass them, and then let the teacher know so it can be recorded on the students' bookmarks. Students will then receive their bookmark to take to Sylvan Learning Center where they will receive tickets to a Danville Braves game!!!! They will also be eligible to win other prizes. So let's all get busy!!!!! Please note that the students MUST pass the AR tests and the teachers will ONLY take the tests off ONCE if they do not pass them. Their bookmarks are kept in a pocket chart at the front of the room so they can bring them to me to update. A poster in the hall helps us keep track of how many books each student reads! So......come on 5th graders and READ, READ, READ!!!!

A "Teacher's Basket" For Miss Worsham!

We had a teaching assistant from Averett, Miss Worsham, helping in Math classes for the past few weeks. As a "thank you" for all of her help, the students and I gathered materials to put into a basket for her. Next semester she will do her student teaching before graduating from Averett and becoming a teacher and we wanted to give her some things that she could use in her classroom one day. We FILLED the basket with paper, pencils, highlighters, folders, paperclips, glue, glue sticks, post-it notes, and MANY MANY other things! It was a HEAVY basket and Miss Worsham was so surprised and wanted me to make sure that I told each and every student who contributed to it how much she appreciated such a wonderful surprise! All of the 5th-grade students also signed a card for her! What a wonderful and caring thing for them to do for her! She is going to be an AWESOME TEACHER!!!!!!