Weekly Update May 18-22

Announcements:

-STAR Testing: We have STAR Testing this week for Math and ELA. The Math test will be Monday, May 18 from 9:45-10:30. The ELA test will be Tuesday, May 19th from 1-1:45.

-Elementary Music Rehearsal: On Wednesday afternoon, we will be watching and encouraging K-5 students at their concert rehearsal. This will take place in the DCA from 1-3pm.

-Library: The last day students are allowed to check out books from the library is May 22nd. There will be a few shelves of free books students can take and keep! Great for summer reading!


-Our JDRF Walk is fast aproaching! It will take place on May 22nd out on the track from 1:30-3. There will be free beverages and healthy snacks to enjoy. There will be a JDRF merchandise booth where all proceeds will go to Diabetes research. A raffle will also be set up with GREAT prizes donated from the community! The public is welcome to attend and walk for as long as they would like.

Please share the link from the post below with friend and family!





What are we learning???

Math:
We are continuing Unit 7 this week on probability. Our focus will be on using tree diagrams to calculate probabilities, using Venn diagrams to solve problems, and determining fair vs. unfair games. The Unit 7 test will be Friday, May 29th and the Written Response will be Monday, June 1st.

Science:
We have begun a mini unit on Animal Classifications. We are taking about a day to learn about the specific Domains, Kingdoms, etc. Next week, students will get to choose a classification level they want to learn more about and complete a project to share with the class.

ELA:
As somewhat of a read aloud until the end of the year, Mr. Burress and myself are reading a personality identification book to our classes titled Strengths Finder. After reading a little about each personality type, or theme, we post a brief statement describing them individually on the board in our hallway. Our hope is that at the end of the year, the students will be able to identify three themes that fit them best. They will write a reflection about those three themes and how it relates to them.

For poetry this week, we will be analyzing poems that contain hyperboles, similes, and metaphors. Students will then take what they have learned and apply it to their own freely written poems. Last week, the students were asked to share ONE poem that they have written over the course of this unit at the Poetry Slam on Friday, May 29th from 2-5pm. The Poetry Slam is a fundraiser for Door Cancer organized by Mr. Burress' class.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Our JDRF Walk Website

I am excited to share our official JDRF Walk website! By following the link below, you can read further details about our walk, see our sponsor list, and even donate to our walk!

Gibraltar JDRF Walk

Weekly Update May 4-8

Announcements:

-Math Study Group:  With various schedule conflicts through the end of the year, I will need to cancel math group starting this week. Thank you for your understanding! 

-Point Beach Energy Center: We will have an all day field trip this Wednesday to the Point Beach
Energy Center. We will leave at 8:15 and return by 3pm. Students MUST bring a bag lunch.

-Badger Testing: Below is the Badger Testing schedule that was also sent home last week.

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
May 4: 10-10:30 Math  Classroom Activity	May 5: 10:00-11:00 Math Activity Test	May 6: Nuclear Power Plant Field Trip	May 7: 10:00-11:00 Math Test	May 8: 10:00-10:30 Math Test
May 11: 1:00-2:00 ELA Test	May 12: 1:00-2:00 ELA Test	May 13: NONE	May 14: NONE	May 15: NONE
May 18: Make Up Testing	May 19: Make Up Testing	May 20: Make Up Testing	May 21: Make Up Testing	May 22: Make Up Testing

-JDRF Kids Walk: Our class is so excited to organize the annual JDRF Kids Walk. JDRF's goal is to improve the lives of individuals with type 1 diabetes all while finding the cure. We are partnering with a JDRF representative and have already had two Skype calls with her and her staff member. Your child is on a specific planning committee. Here are some things the students are working on: creating a website for our event, contacting businesses for donations, planning the assembly and an educational presentation, creating posters, planning entertainment for the event, and booking the venue for both the walk and the assembly! They have really taken ownership of this event and are enjoying the process!
There are the two important dates for the JDRF Walk: May 8th is the 3-8th grade assembly in the DCA from 1:30-3 and May 22nd is the actual JDRF Walk out on the track from 1:30-3.


What are we learning???

Math:
This week, we will be completing the Badger Test during math class. Due to this, there will be no homework for math this week.

Science:
Last week, each class performed an audit on how efficiently the 6th grade classes use energy. The students will take that information to create a plan for each class to save and conserve energy/resources.
We are excited to visit the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant this Wednesday! We will complete a few activities to prepare for the field trip and debrief what we learn while at Point Beach.

ELA:

Two weeks ago, we finished reading A Wrinkle in Time. Last week, we watched the 2004 Disney version of the book. Moving forward, we will be completing compare/contrast essays on the two versions of the story.

As somewhat of a read aloud until the end of the year, Mr. Burress and myself are reading a personality identification book to our classes titled Strengths Finder. After reading a little about each personality type, or theme, we post a brief statement describing them individually on the board in our hallway. Our hope is that at the end of the year, the students will be able to identify three themes that fit them best.

For poetry this week, we will be analyzing and discussing just one poem to look at rhyme scheme: “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out” by Shel Silverstein. Throughout the week, we will continue to write various types of poems and publish them in our Poetry Notebooks

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update April 20-25

Announcements:

-Math Study Group:  There will be math group this Thursday, April 23rd as well as Thursday, April 30th. 

-Report Cards: Thank you for your patience with the quarter 3 report cards. The Skyward issue has been resolved and report cards will be coming home this Monday, April 20th.

-Badger Testing: I will send home a Badger testing schedule with the times for the test next week. Until then, here are the dates for each test:
Math: May 4th,5th, and 7th
ELA: May 12th and 13th


-JDRF Kids Walk: Our class is so excited to organize the annual JDRF Kids Walk. JDRF's goal is to improve the lives of individuals with type 1 diabetes all while finding the cure. We are partnering with a JDRF representative and have already had two Skype calls with her and her staff member. Your child is on a specific planning committee. Here are some things the students are working on: creating a website for our event, contacting businesses for donations, planning the assembly and an educational presentation, creating posters, planning entertainment for the event, and booking the venue for both the walk and the assembly! They have really taken ownership of this event and are enjoying the process!


What are we learning???

Math:
This week, we will be finishing up unit 6 with equivalent fractions and inequalities in math class. As always, I will be updating the Student Links page with games and lessons to review these skills at home. The Unit 6 test and written response will be this Thursday and Friday, April 23-24.

Science:
The students will be completing a project in which they need to research energy saving strategies for their fictional first home. They will each be researching a different component of the house and will create a poster listing energy efficient options relating to their topic. Later this week, the students will have the opportunity to do a poster walk and read each other's research. From there, they will be able to choose what energy saving upgrades they would want to do to their house. It will be very interesting to see what they come up with!

ELA:

For poetry this week, we will be analyzing and discussing three poems: Dream Keeper /Dreams by Langston Hughes (We didn't get to this one last week), Harlem Night Song by Langston Hughes, and The Amherst Train by Emily Dickinson. Throughout the week, we will continue to write various types of poems and publish them in our Poetry Notebooks




Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update April 13-17

Announcements:

-Math Study Group:  There will be NO group this Thursday, April 16th. Looking ahead, there will be group Thursday, April 23rd and Thursday, April 30th. 


-Visiting Author: Buck Wilder will be at Gibraltar this Monday, April 13th! He is the author of the series Buck Wilder Adventures, and many more titles! The message he hopes to get across to students is that it is ok to make mistakes as well as how we can learn from them!

-Vaccines: The Public Health Dept. will be at Gibraltar this Tuesday, April 14th for 6th grade student vaccinations.

-Report Cards: Quarter 3 report cards are expected to go home on Wednesday, April 15th.


-JDRF Kids Walk: Our class is so excited to organize the annual JDRF Kids Walk. JDRF's goal is to improve the lives of individuals with type 1 diabetes all while finding the cure. We are partnering with a JDRF representative and have already had one Skype call with her to begin planning. Your child is on a specific planning committee. We will be working on this in class, but somethings may also need to be done at home. I will keep you updated on our progress! The walk is tentatively planned for the end of May. 


What are we learning???

Math:
This week, we will be covering the following topics in math class: order of operations, identifying parts of a number sentence, solving simple equations, and balancing expressions with the pan-balance strategy. As always, I will be updating the Student Links page with games and lessons to review these skills at home. The Unit 6 test and written response will be April 23-24.

Science:
The students will be exploring how much energy they use as a Wisconsinite, American, as well as a global citizen. They will also be thinking critically about current energy issues and use their opinion backed by research to debate with classmates. There will be a quiz on Wednesday, April 15th covering everything we've learned thus far for this unit. On Friday, we will have a guest speaker who will talk about various science-related jobs in the medical field. He is also a Type 1 Diabetic and will share his personal experiences to give us a better understanding of the diagnosis as we continue our planning for the JDRF walk.

ELA:

The students did a fantastic job teaching the 4th graders different poetry styles and analysis techniques last week! I was extremely proud of the way they interacted and taught their younger peers! One 4th grader even asked, "When will we go back to the 6th grade class for another activity?".
For poetry this week, we will be analyzing and discussing three poems: I’m Nobody by Emily Dickinson, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, and Dream Keeper /Dreams by Langston Hughes. On Friday, we will be writing All About Me poems.


Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Babysitter Course Information

Babysitter Course in Northern Door

This is a workshop for youth ages 12 to 15 years old where they will learn how to care for children and infants. Topics covered include child development, diapering & feeding infants, age appropriate games for kids, making snacks, first aid, what to do in an emergency, shaken baby syndrome and how to market your services. Certificates are awarded to participants.  

The cost to attend this 3 hour workshop is $10.00 per child.  Reservations are necessary as space is limited. 

Please follow this link to register

Weekly Update April 6-10

Announcements:

-Welcome Dexter! - We are excited to welcome Dexter to our class this Tuesday! He and his family have moved from De Pere. Let's be sure to give him a great Gibraltar welcome! :)

-Math Study Group:  There will be study group this Thursday, April 9th from 3:30-4:30. Looking ahead, the next study group will be Thursday, April 23rd. 

-Mind Trekkers Field Trip - An informational sheet and permission slip will be sent home on Monday, April 6th for the Mind Trekkers field trip for THIS coming Friday afternoon. Please have permission slips returned to me by Wednesday.

-Brewer's Game: An informational letter will be sent home on Tuesday with your child if he/she is attending the Brewer's Game this Saturday, April 11th, for the D.A.R.E. program. Please be sure to read it over. :)

-Scholastic orders: Scholastic orders will be sent home on Monday. Please have orders in by Friday, April 10th either electronically or in paper form. Our online class code is NFVJ8.


-JDRF Kids Walk: Our class is so excited to organize the annual JDRF Kids Walk. JDRF's goal is to improve the lives of individuals with type 1 diabetes all while finding the cure. We are partnering with a JDRF representative and have already had one Skype call with her to begin planning. Your child is on a specific planning committee. We will be working on this in class, but somethings may also need to be done at home. I will keep you updated on our progress! The walk is tentatively planned for the end of May. 




What are we learning???

Math:
This week, we will be covering the following topics in math class: finding the absolute value of a number and classifying various number systems (integers, real numbers, rational numbers, etc). The students have also been familiarizing themselves with Moby Max these past couple of weeks. Moby Max is an online website that meets each child where they are at in their math skills. We dedicate about 10 minutes of time to Moby Max about twice a week. The Unit 6 test and written response is tentatively scheduled for April 23-24.

Science:
We will be doing a few demonstrations this week on different types of energy and how energy is changed from one form to another. The students will also discover how some energy is lost when converted between different forms.

ELA:
Last Monday, we began our next reading/writing unit on Poetry! We have already completed a few introductory activities and poem writings. This week, we will review figurative language and have a chance to teach a younger grade what we have learned so far!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us