HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I hope all of my students have a FUN and SAFE Halloween! Enjoy yourselves but be safe! Love you all!

2nd Nine Weeks Started!

Monday (October 26th) was the first day of the 2nd Nine Weeks. Students received their report cards for the first nine weeks and have now begun working on the next marking period. Students should remember to do all of their homework, spend time studying notes and old papers/tests every night, and should be reading at least 20-30 minutes every night. Parents can schedule parent/teacher conferences by sending us a note a couple of days ahead of time or may call the school during our planning time to set up a time to come in. Our planning time is EVERY day from 8:45-9:30.

Happy Fall Break! WooHoo!!!!!

Today was the last day of Intersession so Fall Break has officially started! I hope all of my students have a restful, fun and Fall Break!!!!!!! See all of you on October 26th.

Intersession In Progress!

Last week was a GREAT week at Intersession! We are playing lots of review games and practicing with areas in Math that we have been struggling with! Today began the second week of Intersession which I hope will prove as productive! Remember that next week is a vacation week. It will be FALL BREAK!

Interims Go Home Tuesday!

Interim reports will be sent home on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. These are to be returned to school the next day. We still have 4 weeks for your child to improve before the end of the first nine weeks! Grades and behavior CAN be improved!!!!

Week In Review: August 31-Sept. 4, 2009

Mrs. Appleton's Student of the Week: Marcos
Character Kid of the Week: Ashley
Dudley's Homeroom Helper: Aaron
Barr's Homeroom Helper: Amya
Mrs. Appleton's Helpers:

This week in Math we took our first Multiplication Facts Timed Challenge. Students DEFINITELY need to learn those multiplication facts! All students have a chart with the facts in their binders. STUDY AND PRACTICE! We also learned about Adding Whole Numbers and Fractions and reviewed comparing numbers.

In Reading, my homeroom read "Meeting Mr. Henry." We learned about Cause and Effect and did a couple of activities about that. We reviewed Generalizing and learned new vocabulary words.

Students need to make sure they write down homework on the Homework Charts that are given to them EVERY Monday! I am going to start taking those up and checking them on Fridays to make sure that all homework was written down. Parents may also initial at the bottom each day so that I know you are checking for these sheets at home.

Week In Review: Aug. 24-28

Student of the Week: Tomas
Mrs. Appleton's Monitors/Helpers: Lakeeta and Joshua
Character Kid Of the Week: Ashley
Dudley's Helper: Sierra
Barr's Helper: Ashlyn
Top 3 AR For This Week: Shareef, Ray, and Aaliyah

News From This Past Week: August 17-21, 2009

1. My Student of the Week: Zedrick
Character Kid of the Week: Aaliyah
Monitors (Homeroom): Tamia and Shareef
Dudley's Helper: Antonel
Barr's Helper: Saud
2. Top 3 AR (08/21/09):
Shareef
Aaliyah
Ray
3. Students NEED to make sure they know the whole number and decimal places. They are struggling with this in Math and we reviewed for the last time today. They all
made models of this to use as a study tool at home. PRACTICE!!!!!!! On Monday we
are moving on to Rounding but expect pop quizzes on place value from time to time!
4. We have had a LOT of students out sick this week. Please remember to cover your
mouths when you sneeze and wash your hands a LOT!!!!! Take care of yourself so we can all be back in the classroom learning and growing together!
5. Students need to remember to read AR books and take AR tests. In 5th grade students are required to get 4 AR points EVERY week! Don't wait until Friday to try to get your points. Work on it a little every day and read books at HOME so you can come in and take the tests in the morning during Morning Work time. Students are given 40 minutes EVERY DAY to read and take AR tests because, "The more you read, the better reader you become." Students who don't have 4 AR points on Friday will lose 5 Team Day Points and if they have ZERO AR points then they lose 10 Team Day Points! Right now they may read books from ANY level, but once we get their Reading levels, then they will only be allowed to read books that on their levels or higher. So take advantage of the chance you have to read some lower level books now.

"Problems of the Day" Start Tomorrow In Math Classes

Tomorrow my Math classes will start having a few review problems to do when they first enter the classroom. At the end of the week, these sheets will be graded. Students who make an "A" for the week will get a sticker on the chart in the hallway. 10 stickers=10 Team Day Points. This is a great way to constantly review material we have covered in class so that students do not forget anything. Students are encouraged to study their Math notes EVERY SINGLE NIGHT so that they are ready for the Problems of the Day.

Early Release Day On Monday 08/17/09

STudents get out of school early (11:40) this Monday. Please make arrangements for your child for the day. Thanks!

Field Trip On Friday To See The Play: "High School Musical!"

Tomorrow is the day that we go to see the play, High School Musical at the Carrington Pavilion! It should be a great show and all students who plan on attending should have returned a permission form to their homeroom teacher. Students are expected to be on their BEST behavior!

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.