Notes from the inside...

Dear Students,

The 20 states you have already quizzed on are:

State	Capital
Connecticut	Hartford
Delaware	Dover
Florida	Tallahassee
Georgia	Atlanta
Maine	Augusta
Maryland	Annapolis
Massachusetts	Boston
New Hampshire	Concord
New Jersey	Trenton
New York	Albany
North Carolina	Raleigh
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg
Rhode Island	Providence
South Carolina	Columbia
Vermont	Montpelier
Virginia	Richmond
West Virginia	Charleston
Tennessee	Nashville
Kentucky	Frankfort

The next ten will be posted soon.

This Week's Update

Hello Parents and Students,

I would like to thank you for all of your prayers, emails and warm wishes for the health of my father.  My father sustained a bad fall (lugging a shelving unit... in his 70's) while on stairs.  He was hospitalized for three days with the original diagnosis of a "broken back".  He has gone back for a second opinion and is recovering and resting.

Thank you for your support during this difficult time.  It meant a lot to my family and to me.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Lennon

P.S. See the "State Project Brochure update" in the right column for additional instructions (:

State Brochure Update!

So, due to technical difficulties, the students did not receive the "example/instruction page" for their brochure. Both my printer and the internet went out at separate and needed times. I believe someone up there is testing me!  Please accept my apologies and find the needed information below, for those of you who want to get a jump on the project this weekend.

Brochure Requirements: 

• Your Name 
• Date 
• (State Name) 
• A paragraph or two describing an interesting place to visit in your state.
• Another paragraph describing something else that might persuade someone to visit your state (recreational opportunities, national parks, museums, etc.)
• Make the cover page interesting  – you want to encourage people to travel to your state 
• 2 Graphics 
• 1 related to one or both of your paragraphs
• 1 State flag, map, interesting landmark, or state seal, etc.

General Facts 

1. Capital: 
2. Population (year): 
3. Population Ranking: 
4. Size (sq. feet): 
5. Nickname: 
6. Motto: 
7. Date of Admission: 
8. State Flower: 
9. State Bird: 
10. State Tree: 
11. Bordering States: 
12. Highest Elevation: 
13. Lowest Elevation: 
14. High/Low temperature: 
15. Main Products: (list 3) 
• **All of these facts must be included, however, if you have extra room you may include more facts. 

Did You Know? 
Here you include interesting facts about your state. You may want to include information about famous people from your state, facts about the state quarter, or information you find in your research.
• Use bullet format.

State Brochure Project

As many of you know, we have begun memorizing the states, capitals and locations of each state on the map.  The class started their quest on the eastern seaboard and will continue traveling westward as we learn about the colonization of America. 

For our brochure project, we recently traveled to our St. Jerome computer lab to learn how to create a "travel brochure."  Students learned about the template feature and how to edit and process the information in an organized manner.  Students will create a state brochure that solicits potential visitors to the state.

Due Date: Friday, February 25

•  Below please find helpful websites.   
• As soon as I learn how to post a pdf. sample file, I will post it... 
• For now, I will give this to the students in class.

http://www.netstate.com/states/index.html
Information on each state – includes maps, geography information, facts, and much more!
http://www.50states.com
Select your state to find out more information
http://www.theus50.com/
Click on the map to learn more about the state you are researching
http://www.infoplease.com/states.html
Learn more facts by clicking on the map
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/state/
Here you can find more information, including the Congressmen from the state you are researching

Weekly News

Important!!!

Students went home without weekly work! I will copy the word problems below and reading logs can be started on lined paper.  My apologies!

• Please purchase (or check out of the library), the novel Caddie Woodlawn .  We have delayed the start of our novel because not all students yet have the book.
• Please check your son/daughter's school supplies.  I have many students in need of notebook updates as well as pens and pencils.
• Weekly work (Reading Logs and Math word problems) are sent home on Fridays.  Students may begin their work on the weekend and have more time during the week.  
• For those students struggling with the Math word problems, if they begin on the weekend, they may come to me during the week for help on problems they do not understand (before it is due on Friday).

Upcoming Tests and Projects:
Vocabulary Test - Unit 5, Tuesday 1/25 - changed from 1/21 to 1/25
Social Studies Test - Ch. 6, Friday 1/21 Changed to 1/25
Simple Solutions Quiz - Lessons 29-34, Friday 1/28
Project:
Design a travel brochure for a state.  More information coming home this next week!


Have a safe and fun weekend!


Math Weekly Work

1. Find two numbers whose sum is 21 and whose product is 98.
2. An adult ticket for an evening showing of a movie costs $7.50. An adult ticket for a matinee costs $4.50. If 4 adults go to an evening show, what is the total cost of their tickets?

3. Julius, Janet, and Jack are making postcards. Julius made three times as many as Janet and 7 fewer than Jack. Jack made 34 postcards. How many postcards did Julius and Janet make?
4. Ms. Johnson put 62 feet of fencing around a rectangular garden plot. The garden plot is 12 feet wide. What is its length?
5. A snowstorm hit Buffalo. It started snowing Tuesday morning at 10:15 a.m. and did not stop snowing until 4:30 p.m. the next day. How many hours and minutes did it snow?
6.  *see me Monday for #6

7. Darla's baby brother weighed 7 lb 13 oz when he was born. How many ounces did he weigh?

8. Sarah is knitting a sweater. She has 4 feet of yarn, but she needs 6 yards to make the sweater. How many more feet of yarn does Sarah need?

9. ZYXW is to VUTS as HGFE is to _?_ .

10. There are 75 fourth-graders at Greenville Elementary School. For every boy in the fifth grade, there are 2 girls. How many boys and how many girls are in the fifth grade?

Classroom News

The new Spanish teacher, Senora Nixon has been a great addition to the upper grade curriculum.  Already, the fifth graders are using what she taught the class to converse with each other in Spanish!  Please help support the program and your son or daughter's success by purchasing a one subject notebook that can be used in this class.

The fifth grade will begin reading the novel Caddie Woodlawn next week.  All students are to have the book in class Tuesday, January 18.  Books may be checked out of the public library or purchased.

Progress Reports will be sent home in the Tuesday Envelope, per subject for any areas where a student may struggle.

Upcoming Tests and Projects:
Religion Quiz - Ch. 5, Friday 1/21
Vocabulary Test - Unit 5, Tuesday 1/25 - changed from 1/21 to 1/25
Science Test - Thursday 1/20
Social Studies Test - Ch. 6, Friday 1/21
Simple Solutions Quiz - Lessons 20-28, Thursday 1/20

Happy New Year!

Interview:
Over the weekend the students were asked to interview their parents, grandparents or other family member.  The interviews, due on Tuesday, January 11, Wednesday, January 12, asked three questions:

1. Was/is anyone in our family involved in civil rights (in any country - not confined to American civil rights)?  If no, What happened during the civil rights era in America?
2. What did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stand for?
3. Is there anything else I should know about it?

Students were asked to turn in a written, audio or video of their interview.  Assignments may be turned in by email, brought to class, or posted on You Tube or other sharing site.

Weekly Work:
Weekly work (Math Logic and Reading Logs) will be now be provided on Friday and due the following Friday, or provided on a Monday and due the following Monday.  This schedule allows for students to use their weekend time (if needed) to space out the work provided each week.

Upcoming ACRE Testing
The fifth and the eighth grades participate in the Archdiocesan standardized testing on Religion, called the ACRE Test.  Testing will begin January 24 and continue through January 28.

Tests this Week:
Vocabulary Review Unit - Thursday
Social Studies Ch. 6 Lessons 1-2 Quiz - Tuesday
Social Studies Ch. 6 Lessons 3-4 Quiz - Thursday
Religion Ch. 4 Test - Friday