*Room 401 Weekly News!*

* Room 401News! *
http://www.myschoolrocks.blogspot.com
Happy United Nations Day!!!

October Announcements:
What a fabulous week! Room 401 has established a dedicated Current Events & Garden Project committee to educate as well as beautify our community. The dedicated members of the Committees are as follows:

Current Events Committee Members:
Business News/Editor: Ramola
Animal/Science News: Izabel
Local News: Shilpa
War of the Worlds/Sports: Eric
War of the Worlds/Sports: Perry
School News: Nithya
International/Narrator: Nicole

Words from the Committee:
*Daily meetings at 2:30 at the classroom library and announcements held at Workshop time.
*Notes, ideas or special guest announcements are to be turned in the Black Box. Funny jokes are welcomed!

Garden Project Members:
Committee Co-chair: Alyssa
Committee Co-chair: Karen
Members: Michael, Kenny, Alvin, Ramola, Kevin, Kevin, Shilpa, Emma, Alex, Cindy, Levina, Perry, Justin

Garden Project Announcements:
On Friday, the Garden Project Committee put on their gloves and frantically pulled out most of the weeds and grass under the sun. The students who finished their Math test early got out their early, but everyone had fun and some even returned sweating! Sorry Little Snails. We hope you find another home soon!
*Please remember to label plastic bags containing your shovels and gloves. Always wear gloves when you garden and please try to stay quiet while other classes are in session!

In the Spotlight: Alvin

What's Happening in Our Classroom?
Building Community: Our class is working together on fabulous Unit 1 plays and a magazine. Thanks for working hard!
Writing: This week, we have worked on personal narratives. I hope you continue to write in your journals.
Science: Since we have been ahead of Mr. D, we will postpone the chapter next week.

Dates to Remember:
‡ Monday, October 23
*Geography: Southwest State Capital Quiz!

‡ Tuesday, October 24
*Science: Unit B, Ch. 2 Pop Quiz?

‡ Wednesday, October 25
*RLA Quiz #7
*SS: Unit 2 Lesson 3 Pop Quiz?

‡ Thursday, October 26
*Spelling/Vocabulary Quiz #7

‡ Friday, October 27
*Math Chapter 4 Test

Remember: Mandarin (FLEP) classes are Mon., Weds. and Thurs. from 10:30-11:00.

Library is Tuesday!

**Drink lots of water and why not begin flossing your teeth regularly? -Miss Lou

See food

Field Trip to....

Room 401: Vice President

Justin became vice president the same time as the other 401 officers, but we were not able to publish his picture until now. He is responsible, reliable, friendly, hard-working and so cool!

Congrats Justin!

Challenge: What is wind?

I. Experiment

Inquiry-based learning is most effective if you can determine what you already know about the subject. For five days, walk outside and take a series of one-minute field trips around outside your house and around a nearby park to observe and record their observations of wind during different times of the day.

1. Use all of your senses to describe wind. Can they see wind? feel it? smell it? hear it? taste it? How do we know it's there? What evidence can they provide to support their temperature and descriptions of wind?

2. Good inquiry is based on exploration of materials, observation, collection of data, and reflection. A journal provides a medium through which the process of inquiry can occur. You should compile a journal with very specific details. In this case, have students list observations by senses each time they explore the wind:

     DATE OF OBSERVATION ______________
    Time of day: _________________

  I can see___________________________
  I can feel__________________________
  I can smell_________________________
  I can hear__________________________
  I can taste_________________________

Today's temperature: ___________________

Today's Wind Activity (Circle): High Medium Low

Short journal entry of any changes,
differences or patterns you see (minimum 1/2 page):

After a number of one-minute field trips for a total of five days have been completed, you should begin to look for patterns in these observations. Do these observations raise any additional questions in the your mind? If so, record them in the journal.

3. After you feel confident that you have had ample opportunities to describe wind individually in their journals, share the descriptions and record the group's best thinking so far on chart paper.

4. Document all these entries together neatly and turn into INBOX for two generous "E" points!

Room 401: Class President

Congratulations to Margaret for winning this trimester's election. It was close, but the majority of the class believes she will do a fantastic job!

Go Marge!

Room 401: Class Treasurer

What a close race! This trimester's Class Treasurer will be Andy! He is great with Math and fast with calculations. Will he keep our class in good financial shape? I believe so!

Great job, Andy!

Room 401 Election Day

Official Ballot
Circle ONE candidate for each category.

President:
1. Perry
2. Ramola
3. Margaret

Vice President:
1. Justin
2. Leigh Anne

Treasurer:
1. Andy
2. Vivian

The 5th grade students of Room 401 eagerly lined up behind the ballot booth and voted for the candidates above who stood up and made convincing speeches in front of their class. These brave (possibly soon-to-be) students will meet, manage, organize, represent and make decisions to better our class as a whole.

Tomorrow morning, we will find out who our next 401 President, Vice President and Treasurer will be!

Tune in...

Students waiting to vote...

Happy Birthday, Alex!

Today is October 4th, 2006. Alexander Chan turns ___ years old and to celebrate, he brought two boxes of _________ to share with the class. Miss Lou forgot to lead the class for a cheerful birthday song, therefore, Room 401 students must remember to sing Alex TWO rounds of this popular jingle.

What will be Alex's birthday wish this year? Will it come true? Last year, Alex wished for __________ and a _______________ . All those wishes _______ and even better, ____ _______________________ happened also. Lucky Alex!

Thanks Alex for the treats and Happy ____th Birthday!
__________________________________________________________

Birthday Trivia: (Yes, you will receive an 'E' points for this one.)

1. What year was the popular "Happy Birthday to You" song written?
2. Who wrote this song and what city did this song originate?
3. How many words does this song contain?
4. How many stanzas does this song have?
5. Write a clever Happy Birthday song to go along with the same tune. Your new version must be a clean (no dirty words of violence, etc.) and not one that has already been replicated! (And must not have anything to do with smelling like monkeys and living in zoos. Ahem...!)
6. Teach it to the class.
7. Can you translate it to another language?

Clearing Out...

Upon clearing pictures, I have come across a few that I recognize. Anyone else?

Guess Who?

Wow...it seems like a decade ago when I took this picture. Tell me which year this picture was taken and something you remember about this year.

How well do you know your classmates?

Check out this quiz Miss Lou created online for us. Do you REALLY know your classmates? See how much you know about your friends (or "friends) at F.P.S.

Click here and give it a try. First enter your first and last initial. For the password lock, type our 3-letter room number to get inside!

-If you get a score of 7 or higher, you can receive an E point! Don't cheat and you only have an hour and 2 minutes to finish. Oh, stop complaining! That is more than enough time--even time for you to call a friend to ask for these answers.

Good luck!

50 U.S. State Capitals

There are 50 United States capitals. How many have you visited? How many do you know? Not sure? Then...

Test yourself and you can sing the song (you learned in Music class) while you play (...ha)!

Click here to play an online game to see how much you know. Good luck and report back to me for ONE giant E point!

Gotta go! I want to see how much I know...

(This picture is the capital city of an Island. Can you guess which island?)

Special 401 Report: Global News

About this Photo:

_ _ _ _ _, Afghanistan

Miss Lou took this picture during her Summer 2006 nomadic adventure. Once upon a time, this was the local cinema theatre where the people of this capital city would go to watch the latest films and movies. (We Americans called this place a movie theater.) Anyway...can anyone guess what happened to this place and why it has not been restored for more than a decade? (over 10 years!)
____________________________________________________________

During our brief discussion on Current Events happening around the world, I asked some of the students to announce what they have heard from their parents, from the news, radio, Internet or what they have read in newspapers or magazines.

1. One student updated us on the latest in regards to bagged spinach. Care to share more? Click the **comment** below and write down your contribution. (Poor Popeye the Sailor man?!? Is he going to die?) Find out more...

2. Another student asked about the infamous and dangerous Osama Bin Laden. He is said to be hiding in and around the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Where was Osama Bin Laden born and when, and most importantly, why is he the one of the Top 10 Fugitives WANTED by the world?

3. Any other news reported by our class last week? **Comment** below.

**(Don't forget to type the "word verification" - the funny letters they have you repeat. This is for security purposes as well as eliminating spam mail. Who needs annoying advertisements from unnecessary companies? I need to hear from you! And YOU only.)**

Ocean Water and Fresh Water: Challenge Questions

Challenge Questions for Science

1. Where does salt come from and how did our Earth's fresh water become saltless?

2. Where does the salt in your kitchen come from and how did it get onto your table?

3. What kinds of things do you do with the salt on your table? What does it do to your food and why?

4. What happens to your body if you swim in the ocean for an hour versus swimming in a pool for an hour?

5. Write the scientific name for salt. How would you write it in a chemical formula.

(This picture was taken by Miss Lou upon her visit to Koh Samui Islands in Thailand. What a beautiful place this is, isn't it?)

401 News!

* Room 401 News! *
September 15, 2006

Welcome again to 5th grade in Room 401! This will be an exciting and challenging year. Thank you families for purchasing supplies, reading notices, and completing school forms and the Student Information Survey. For those who have not returned it, the same survey will be passed out next week at Back- to-School Night. I appreciate that parents have been willing to share with me and help me learn more about your child. I look forward to seeing you next Tuesday!

Announcements:
Our class blog is http://www.myschoolrocks.blogspot.com
You may reach me by emailing me at 4misslou@gmail.com, writing a note and sending it with your child, or leaving a voicemail message at school. I will try to respond promptly.

What's Happening in Our Classroom?
Building Community: We have been spending time getting to know each other and adjusting to procedures and expectations. I think it took this week to get used to having me back in the classroom and reacquainting with old and new faces.

Math: Students took a pre-assessment last week to help me find out more about their strengths and needs. This week, we studied Chapter 7: Analyze Data and Graphs, in the Harcourt Math textbook. So far, students are working with sets of data (groups of numbers) to learn about range, outlier, line plots, frequency tables, mean, median, and mode.

Reading: Students took pre-assessments last week on comprehension, vocabulary, grammar/ usage, and oral fluency. We are beginning Unit 1: Cooperation and Competition in the Open Court Reading textbook. In Lesson 1, we are reading the selection Class President.
Writing: In Spelling, Lesson 1 focuses on words with the short /a/ sound pattern. Students finished a writing piece titled, “This is Me.” The journal is meant to be a safe place for students to practice writing and communicate with me. We are also practicing writing complete sentences and grammar every morning during D.O.L. My goal is for students to move towards writing “5th grade level” sentences that include more details.

Science: This week, we also revisited Unit B: Weather and Space. In Chapter 1: Earth’s Air and Water, we discussed the changes of the Earth’s atmosphere. Will it get warmer with every hundred years or cooler? Our lessons and pacing will follow the weekly science lab activities. Science lab should begin next week with students first learning about expectations and rules.
Social Studies: We have begun our new Scott Foresman’s Our Nation workbooks and read The Argus to learn about national and international current events. We will continue to review geography skills and begin TIME for Kids next week.

In the Spotlight: Miss Lou

Dates to Remember:
‡ Tuesday, September 19th
Back-to-School Night 7:50 pm

‡ Wednesday, September 20th
Reading Quiz/Spelling Test – Unit 1, Lesson 2

‡ Thursday, September 21st
Miss Lou attending FLEP meeting (8:30-11:15)

‡ Friday, September 22nd
Book Orders Due
First Progress Reports will be sent home.

** Enjoy the weekend! - Miss Lou

What is this?!?

However, the REAL questions should be: Who drew this and how long did it take? What type of manipulatives did it take to create this masterpiece on the Room 401 chalkboard?

This - - - graph took a lot of measuring, but most of all, I witnessed cooperation and teamwork first hand. Thank you boys for working together to try to make it perfectly proportional.
_________________________________________________________
Room 401
Sept. 15, 2006

Today was our first Friday Class Meeting. We spent the first 10 minutes practicing how to make a circle by moving our desks to the side and making a circle with our blue chairs (which by the way, many students labeled with masking tape.) Do you remember the three important rules to keep in mind before beginning?

1) Safety First
2) Quiet
3)Efficient

Next, Miss Lou explained the reason for the "conch" (which was actually a porcelain statue given to her by a student.) Whoever holds the conch may conduct the meeting and call on students to speak. Miss Lou passed the conch around the circle and asked the students to each use one adjective to describe how they felt about making a circle and one word to desribe their sibling or neighbors. Words like: fun, weird, fast, super fast, boring, surprisingly efficient and safe were used to describe our circle making technique. Words like: cute, annoying, mean, evil and invisible were used to describe our brothers, sisters or neighbors. One student said, Monster!" (Is that an adjective???)

We played I Like My Neighbor Who and the students got shuffled up. The business portion of the meeting officially began to make announcements (some more important than others) and ended with a long discussion about respect and cooperation. We ended the serious portion of the meeting by going around the circle and making a verbal agreement to (at least) try to work together and create a less "challenging" community within our Room 401 walls and beyond.

Thank you students for a productive first class meeting. Of course, our meeting ended with yet another game we learned in Room 214. This game is called Mask. Five students ended up as the champions for mask and they won two prizes from the prize bucket. Other students received one prize. Then the students had free time after putting their desks back nicely.

Thanks again 5th graders and have a fabulous weekend!

Yummy!

What did we make here? It looks delicious!

Guessing Game

Rules: You can only comment one answer below and tagging on the Tagboard (the one on your right) does NOT count. Each answer right counts for a free homework point.

Good Luck!

1. What is the Room Number of this classroom?
2. What are those funny looking blue and gray things hanging from the ceiling and what is it for?
3. What year was this picture taken?
4. Who is the girl in the background?
5. What did the green little bits of paper say on the door?