Friday, October 20th, 2016

Hello Families!

Fall is in the air and Halloween is just around the corner!  Our students continue to work extremely hard to learn our target concepts and are picking up and practicing strong study skills they have learned in the classroom!  Thank you for your continued support at home.

Here are the targets / concepts we are tirelessly working to master:

Literacy

Our students are quite invested in our classroom read called The Road to Freedom.  It is narrated from the point of view of a young girl who is traveling on the Underground Railroad with her mother in hopes of making it North to freedom. The kids are highly engaged with the text and we are continuing to have many valuable discussions related to topics raised within the story.

Writing

We are using The Road to Freedom as a springboard for various writing samples. Our students are practicing how to write short-constructed responses based prompts from the story.  We are also in the planning phase of our opinion essays which are based on topics/issues related to slavery from the book.

Math

Our students are currently working through division using a four-digit dividend and and a two-digit divisor.  We emphasized the partial quotients, area model, and long-division algorithms to solve these problems. Students were given a common formative assessment (CFA) in order to monitor their progress.  Next Monday, our students will move on to our next concept, which is adding and subtracting decimals.

Social Studies

Our discussions continue to revolve around how indentured servitude affected the growth of the early American colonies.  

Science

We are continuing to learn more about various ecosystems. We are exploring what makes an ecosystem healthy or unhealthy, how ecosystems change, and how humans change ecosystems.

Reminders

**Completed October reading logs are due Tuesday

**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

**Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

HALLOWEEN PARADE AND CLASSROOM PARTY INFORMATION

Please be sure to read the Principal's Message for school guidelines around appropriate costume attire for our Halloween festivities.  If you are unsure about whether or not something in your child's costume is appropriate, please contact me.  Also included in Mrs. Gluck's blog are the guidelines around students going home for lunch on Halloween.  If you plan on bringing your child home for a costume change, please be sure to review the procedures.

Parade:

Our Parade Route begins at 1:20PM outside of our southeast doors (near our gymnasium and the buffalo) and the students will continue north on the sidewalk and then head west past the district office around the building, past the playground and end back at the Buffalo.  Please keep your fingers crossed that we have great weather!  In case of inclement weather, we will have an indoor parade for teachers and students only.

Classroom Parties:

*THANK YOU in advance to all of the volunteers who are sending items and/or helping at the parties!                                                                                               *Parties will begin at approximately 2:00pm and end at 2:45pm.    
*Only PTO approved parent party volunteers may attend classroom parties. No siblings are able to attend. 
*If you are a volunteer, it is recommended that you have your driver's license scanned into our security system prior to party day so that your badge can be ready for you upon arrival.  *All party treats must come from the Approved Snack List and brought in to be checked by the nurse. These need to be at school by 9:00am on October 31st. They can be brought in prior to that and will be kept safely in the office. 

Can students go home for lunch to get into costumes?

Students are able to be picked up to go home,  it will be during their own grade level lunch period. See below for details:

*Students will meet their parent/grandparent/family member in the foyer of the school.
*Please write a note stating that students will be going home for lunch. Students will give their “going home for lunch” note to the staff members who are supervising pick-up. 
*Students need to return to school by the end of their lunch/recess period.  5th Grade lunch and recess runs from 12:00pm - 12:40pm.  

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Have a fantastic weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, Octber 7th, 2016

Happy Friday Families!

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weather and are looking forward to the weekend!  If you are traveling, have a safe trip. If you are staying home, I hope you are able to relax a bit.

BOOK IT! starts this week!

Reading is the heart of education, and the only way to get better at reading is to do it!  To encourage your child to “read their heart out” this year, our classroom is participating in the BOOK IT! Program. I remember participating in the BOOK IT! program as a child and it truly helped to motivate me to read more. 

Each month from October through March, I will set a reading goal for students.  This goal will be based on independent reading in class, as well as reading at home.  When their goal is met, I will celebrate the achievement by recognizing your child with a Reading Award Certificate.

Be a role model by reading yourself and reading to or with your child to show that you, too, value books and love reading.  When your child achieves their monthly goal, make it a celebration! You can redeem your child’s Reading Award Certificate for a free, one topping Personal Pan Pizza, Passport to Reading and a sticker at Pizza Hut.  So, make it a date! That special one-on-one time can make your child’s reading achievement even sweeter. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” –Dr. Seuss

It's Party Time! Classroom Party Parent Volunteers Needed!

Each classroom's Room Parent will be organizing three parties this year, and you're invited to help! Each party needs parent volunteers to help out with crafts, games and snacks. To sign up, please click here for more info and to add your name to the list. Room Parents will make every effort to provide all interested parents the opportunity to attend at least one party this school year.

A few things to note:
-For safety reasons, only one room parent and three parent volunteers are allowed at each party. No exceptions. No siblings may attend the party with a parent volunteer.
-Because the volunteer parent positions are so popular and fun we do sometimes have waiting lists. Please consider volunteering as a Party Photographer for your child's grade as an alternative!  It's fun and there is NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! There are other opportunities to help, including sending party supplies and snacks.
-Please sign up for ONLY ONE classroom per party if you have multiple children at Ivy Hall. You may also sign up as an alternate for another party in the classroom under the Alternate section.

Here are the targets we are currently / planning on working to master over the next couple of weeks:

Literacy

* Students are currently working on finding the theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic.

Writing

* Students are currently conducting research on an endangered animal, and creating a brochure or Google Slide show discussing why they are endangered, and what the world can do to save them from becoming extinct. Have your child tell you some fun facts about their endangered animal.

Math

* Students are currently multiplying 2-digit by 2-digit numbers, as well as 3-digit by 2-digit numbers.  Students are working on solving multiplication problems using multiple strategies (Area/Box, Partial Products, Expanded, Tradition/Standard, etc.).  Take a few moments to have your child explain 1 or 2 strategies that they use to solve multiplication problems.  Next week we will begin division.  We will then move into multiplying and dividing decimals.

Social Studies

* Our discussions will start to revolve around how indentured servitude affected the growth of the early American colonies.

Science

* We are continuing to learn more about various ecosystems. We are exploring what makes an ecosystem healthy or unhealthy, how ecosystems change, and how humans change ecosystems.

Upcoming Events

**Monday, October 10 - No School (Columbus Day)

**Tuesday, October 11- No School (District Holiday)

**Wednesday, October 12- No School (Yom Kippur-District Holiday)

**Tuesday, October 25-Early Release

**Monday, October 31-Halloween Party & Parade—more details to come

Important Links:

Math Night for Parents

October Lunch Menu

District 96 Safe Snack List

Community Events

Friendly Reminders

**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

**Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you and enjoy the extended weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan