September 21- September 28th

DATES:
Monday, Oct. 1.............FUNDRAISER ENDS
Saturday Oct. 6.............EVERYTHING FOR KIDS SALE - 9am -2 pm
Thursday Oct. 4............SCHOOL PICTURES
Friday Oct. 5.................READATHON
Friday, Oct. 12.............Outdoor Discovery Center field trip


 
READ-A-THON:  4th and 5th grade are having a read-a-thon again this year in order to create more opportunities for field trips. A note was sent home on Thursday concerning this with information about the day and a pledge envelope. Thank you for your support!

Field Trip- We have a field trip to the Outdoor Discovery Center on October 12th. A note was sent home today on a pink half sheet.
4th and 5th grade is going on a field trip together as well- more information is coming. If you want to volunteer you MUST have a WISH form submitted. Volunteers for 5th grade are coordinated by WISH. We are holding a Readathon fundraiser to raise funds for this.


Math:
We continue MEAP review prep. Wednesday we took our first math test. This was new material to our 5th grade curriculum. Students did well. Order of operations can be difficult as there are so many steps- it is easy to make a small mistake. Students who made mistakes in their adding, multiplying, etc, but showed they understood the concept, were given the opportunity to earn back 1/2 point per problem if they could fix work and show all their work. We are now working on finding patterns and function tables. You will have seen some of this come home. I am putting tutorials on my fusion page if your child needs to review. We are also going to work with coordinate graphing

Reading:
We have continued to work on MEAP Prep., comprehension strategies, and reading for information strategies this week. We read several nonfiction articles. We discussed text signposts such as headings, bold print, italics, subheadings, graphs, captions, etc. and searched for them as we read. Students also took the SRI reading assessment Thursday.

Reading at home: I am hoping students have been reading at home frequently. Monday, October 1st we will begin our first monthly reading assignment. Students will choose a novel approved by me and read this over the month of October. They will create a project in order to share their book with the class.Presenting a project to the class can be quite stressful for kids. I try to make this as comfortable as possible!
   
Writing:
  Students' first writing piece, a narrative about something from their summer, will be in Powerschool by Monday. They have written captions for 2 photographs this week which has also allowed them to work on their technology skills. I will make these into a flippable online book which they will put on their personal websites. It will also be on my fusion page.

Spelling:
  Spelling tests are every Friday. Monday begins the new lesson. The skill for Lesson 4 is silent letters. The spelling list will be sent home Monday.  If you go on my fusion page, there are directions to get to Spelling City where students can play games and take practice tests over the spelling lists for each week. I am planning to send a spelling list each week.


Science: 
Students did very well on the quiz Wednesday over lessons 1-4 which focus on the reason for seasons and how Earth's rotation and revolution around the sun make a year and a day. The quiz required them to answer T/F AND explain the reason they answered that way. This way I can see if there are any misconceptions or if they need to be sure to include additional information. We played a jeopardy review game. We will be investigating the moon next week.



Kickball Champions: On Friday afternoons we have Friday Special Activity. We played kickball against Mrs. Maxson's team and won and then won against Mrs. Michell's class. The best part was, all students were respectful and were able to win and lose graciously - we want them to know being competitive is fine and it is great to be happy about winning, but others respect people who can win and lose without belittling others. They did an awesome job!

BACON APPLE CRISP RECIPE: After having a student ponder the question: "Why can't there be bacon pie?" I decided it was time to try out the recipe I have had for a year and never made. Some loved it, some thought it was weird. :) But here is the recipe.

Yield: One 10-inch pie

Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

• INGREDIENTS
Gingersnap Crust
2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup granulated sugar

Apple Filling
4 to 5 medium Granny Smith apples--peeled, halved and cored
Juice of 1 large lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Bacon-Streusel Topping
6 strips applewood-smoked bacon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ¼-inch cubes

DIRECTIONS 1. Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, fold together the crushed gingersnaps, melted butter and sugar. Press the mixture into a 10-inch pie pan until flat and even. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until the edges start to set, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
2. Make the filling: Thinly slice the apples. Place them in a large bowl and drizzle the lemon juice over the slices. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, sugar and 2 tablespoons flour. Fold the mixture into the apples until the apples are just coated. Spoon the apples into the reserved crust.
3. Make the topping and bake the pie: Increase the oven temperature to 375°. In a medium skillet set over medium-high heat, fry the bacon until crisp, about 7 to 10 minutes. Drain the slices on paper towels and set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, mix the butter into the flour and sugar mixture until pea-size clumps form. Crumble the cooled bacon and add it to the flour mixture. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top of the apple filling and place the pie in the oven. Bake until the top is browned and the apples are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.