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