Website Update

My new website for room 309 is in the process of getting linked to the EP homepage. Are there any features you would like to have included? Please let me know what you would like to see!

Class Website

I will have our new class website up and running this week. I will update my blog with the web address so you can visit this great site!

Ms. Hansen's Class Joins Blogger!

Ms. Hansen's class is joining in the blogging fun. Visit her 5th grade classroom blog by visiting:

http://mshansensclass.blogspot.com

Snowy Monday

I was personally shocked to wake up this morning and find that school was going to start on time. It took me one hour to get to school this morning which is forty minutes longer than usual. Buses and cars were having difficulties and frustration was at an all time high on the roads.

With the possibility of more snow this evening please be prepared for a wild Tuesday. School delays and cancellations can be tracked by visiting:

http://www.schoolreport.org/

You can also visit websites of major news stations in the area, watch the morning news or turn on your radio. Drive safely and stay warm!

State of the Union

Every year I provide an opportunity for students to learn more about the world we are living in through a simple assignment.

Monday, January 29th is the annual State of the Union address by President Bush. Students will be encouraged to view his speech for at least 15 minutes and report what they learned to the class. Please take the time tomorrow to sit down with your child and discuss the current events.

The speech will begin at 6:00 and last for approximately one hour. The president does not start speaking until about 6:10 due to applause by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Every major news network will be airing this speech on their network.

Teacher Workshop Day

Wednesday, January 30th is a teacher workshop day. Sleep in and enjoy your day off!

See you back at school on Thursday.

Family Writing Night

If you are still interested in attending Family Writing Night please contact the office on Monday or Tuesday. Family Writing Night is Tuesday, January 29th from 7:00-8:00. Different topics will be presented by teachers around the building.

Volunteers Needed!

I am organizing the annual Student Council Candy Gram sale. Last year through the help of parent volunteers and staff we created over 1,100 cards for distribution on Valentine's Day. If you would like to help us create these cards, I would appreciate your help! Either call, email or stop in and talk to me.

Thank you in advance for volunteering your time.

Word Puzzles Galore

http://weeklyreader.com/teens/games/index.asp

This is a great website for fun with words (crosswords, word searches, etc.) and numbers. Enjoy!

Super Bowl XLII

Football has quickly become the most popular game played at recess. This movement to throw the pigskin was started by many of the students in my class.

Our class has a subscription to Weekly Reader magazine. On the magazine website is an opportunity that I thought I would pass along. Weekly Reader is now taking questions regarding Super Bowl XLII. If you submit a question and it is selected, it will be answered by a player from the New York Giants or New England Patriots and printed in the magazine.

Here is the link:

http://weeklyreader.com/wys/askacelebrity.asp

Ms. Buchwald Joins Blogger!

Blogging is becoming very popular internationally for people that would like to keep family and friends updated on their lives. Recently educators have joined the epidemic as a way of maintaining communication with the community. I hope that over the course of the past few months you have enjoyed reading my posts and exploring helpful websites.

Ms. Buchwald has now joined the group of EP teachers blogging. Here is her new blog!

http://msbuchwaldsclass.blogspot.com/

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

There will be no school on Monday, January 21st as we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Enjoy this time off with your children!

More Positives and Negatives

http://www.mathsisfun.com/positive-negative-integers.html

Mr. Johnson sent me this link for more fun with positive and negative numbers. I thought I would pass it along to you. Enjoy!

Positive & Negative Numbers

Our new unit of study in math revolves around concepts such as positive and negative numbers along with pre algebra material. I have listed a website below that offers basic information on working with positives and negatives.

http://cs.gmu.edu/cne/modules/dau/algebra/basicarith/arith1_frm.html

Young Author's Day

Young Author's Day is tomorrow! Students will be working on two different writing themes presented by two different teachers. Instructors for tomorrow include EP staff, district personnel and community members. If you would like to stop by and observe the wonderful writing taking place we would love to see you. Intermediate writing sessions run from 9:30-10:25 and 10:40-11:35.

Roland Smith Assembly

Roland will be presenting life stories and the pursuit of excellent writing tomorrow for the 5th and 6th grade students. The assembly will take place in the gym from 2:10-3:10. Seats will be available in the back if you would like to attend.

Celebrate Diversity

On Wednesday afternoon the choirs of Emerald Park and Kentridge will combine to perform a concert in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Please join us for this concert which begins at 1:45. We are saving a seat for you. See you there!

NASA for Students

We are visiting the Museum of Flight at the beginning of March for our mission to the moon (more information will be sent home in the next few weeks regarding logistics). I have integrated information needed for the field trip into a unit on questioning in reading. We have been reading printed materials and also reading online. Below is the link for the NASA for Students page which students will be able to find interesting topics on all things space.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html

Roland Smith Book Forms Due Monday

Roland Smith is visiting Emerald Park on Thursday. If you would like to order a book please turn in the order form by Monday. All students who purchase a book can have the famous author autograph it as well.

New Hampshire Primary and Beyond

Registered voters will select their choice for president of the United States in November and pass that information onto their state's electoral college. The elections are right around the corner!

With the New Hampshire primary taking place today I thought I would post a student-friendly website that will clear up questions like:

Why are people voting today?
Who is running for president?
Can I be president?

Get all of those questions answered and more by visiting Weekly Reader online.

http://www.weeklyreader.com/election/index.asp

Asteroids Rock!

To follow up on the article we read today, we will continue to examine asteroids and their role in the solar system. Below is the article that we are reading during our next instructional block.

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0609/articles/mainarticle.html

Young Author's Day

Young Author's Day is right around the corner. Roland Smith will be visiting on Thursday, January 17th to talk with students about the challenges writers face in their trade. The following day we will follow up on Roland's visit by working on skills author's use in a small group setting.

Stay tuned for information regarding how you can order Roland's books and get them autographed by the author himself.

http://www.rolandsmith.com/

The Changing Face of Mars

Tomorrow we will be reading the following article in class to prepare ourselves for our upcoming field trip to the Museum of Flight.

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0710/articles/mainarticle.html

In our tour of the solar system, Mars is up next. Enjoy!

Go Hawks!

Mixtures & Solutions

Today we started our first science unit for the new year. Mixtures and solutions will be our area of study over the course of the next month. I have listed a link to the science curriculum website below. There are games and activities for your child to complete at home.

http://www.fossweb.com/modules3-6/index.html

Happy New Year!

See you in just two days. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.