February 22, 2010

As you can see by the
picture below,
Julius Caesar is under way!



It is our last week before our spring break! Students will return to class on Monday, March 15, 2010. Enjoy your time off and time with your family. Intersession activities will take place March 1st to March 5th. All-day care is available the second week of intersession so please contact Valarie Weyer for information.

Thursday, March 4th is the second annual Ice Fishing Event for the 5th and 6th grade students. Please have permission slips given to Mr. Thole as soon as possible for your child to attend.

In science students were given their next project to work on. This will be due at the end of March. Information will be sent home in the Thursday folder in case your child would like to work on it during break.

In language we have finished up Act I, scenes 1, 2, and 3. Students will be answering questions related to what they have read and new vocabulary they are learning.

Please make sure to have all work in by Friday so that you are all caught up when you return to school.

Don't forget Family Fun Night, March 19th, 2010, from 5-8pm. We look forward to seeing everyone there. Remember this is how you earn money towards your trip to Wolf Ridge.

February 16, 2010

Congratulations on a job well done at the spelling bee and a special congratulations to Meghan Moran for her 1st place position.


Social: Sixth graders are starting "The Enlightenment" unit. Students are in groups of 4 based on the individual they wanted to report on. They could pick from Isaac Newton, Rene' Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, or John Locke. Each group will be putting together a power point to present to their classmates along with an assessment of their individual of choice.


Science: This week students will learn about the layers of the Earth and receive their final project of the quarter, the 3D Earth Model. This will not be due until after break. Due date will be announced after break. Students will also watch a video on Rocks and Minerals on Friday. The science biography project is due NEXT TUESDAY! February 23rd!


Language Arts: Both classes will be finishing up our Julius Caesar movie this week and then learn a bit about William Shakespeare. No spelling or grammar this week due to the short week. If you would like to work ahead and start studying now, that would be a good idea.


Math:

Ms. Wallwork's class is taking their first test from Course 2 on Tuesday and will be covering ratio boxes and identifying geometric solids.



Ms. Swanson's class started the week by taking their next test. They will then work on constructing perpendicular bisectors and bisectors of a given angle, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing units of measure, and area of the base and volume of rectangular prisms. The next math packet #25 was handed out and will be due February 26th.


Reading:

Ms. Wallwork's reading class is well under way traveling across the United States with Charlie and John Steinbeck. We are also continually working on building our vocabulary. Ask your son or daughter about some of their new words they are learning.


Updates and Reminders:

Monday, February 22nd from 4-8 is our Five Guys benefit. Be sure to stop in for a delicious bite to eat!


-The 2nd Annual Family Fun night is March 19th from 5-8pm. Be sure to mark your calendars for the event. It is a great time for family fun.



-Thursday, March 4th is the next Ice Fishing event. Remember this event is FREE for students in grades 5 and 6. Dress rehearsal for the event is on Friday, February 19th. Students should come dressed in all the items they will wear this day.



-PE class this week and next week are completing the C-Motion dance unit.

Big event coming up here at STRIDE, the annual Spelling Bee Monday night at 6:30 was rescheduled for Friday morning.



Social: Students are exploring Greek/Roman gods and goddesses this week and sharing with classmates. On Friday we will begin "The Enlightenment Period." Students will be preparing Power Points and assessments for each chapter and presenting to classmates.


Science: Monday and Friday for science students will teach their classmates about specific vocabulary by becoming the expert of one vocabulary word and sharing it with the class. The focus of these vocabulary words is on the parts of the plates during movements, the types of pressure put on the plates, and what the plates are made of and from. Don't forget to have your child continue to work on their biography project. This is due February 23rd.


Language Arts: Reminder that the students are buying their own copy of Julius Caesar and should turn in $5.11 to Ms. Wallwork this week. If this is a hardship, please let me know and we will take care of it. We will be teaching this unit a bit different, Ms. A and myself will be combining classes. This will allow for a much broader range of discussion and sharing of information. Students will be creating journals with pictures as we read and answering comprehension questions through the play.

Don't forget to study for spelling, unit 18 or 8 (Wallwork) lesson 17 for both levels in Ms. A's class. Don't forget Ms. Wallwork's students need to finish Grammar Rule 23, vocabulary packet, and sayings and phrases.

Sayings of the week: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Don't lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen.


Math:
Because Ms. Wallwork's class did so well on the end of unit exam and bench mark test we will be skipping 60 lessons and start with lesson 61 in Course 2. We will cover polygons, classifying triangles, symbols of inclusion, and adding positive and negative numbers. I expect we will come across new math concepts, because of skipping so many lessons, and we will stop to be sure there is complete understanding of any new concept.


Mrs. Swanson's class is working on comparing fractions by converting to decimal form, finding unstated information in fraction problems, capacity, area of triangles, and using a constant factor to solve ratio problems.



Reading: Ms. Wallwork's class has begun Travels with Charlie and will be plotting his travels across the United States and we will also continue with daily journals.



Updates and Reminders:

Physical Education Skatetime/C’Motion Reminder


From February 16th-22nd, the K-3 Physical Education classes will be participating in a program called Skatetime and the 4-6 Physical Education classes will be participating in a high energy dance driven program called C’Motion. These units are being implemented because of there emphasis as “Lifetime Activities.” If you have not yet turned in your permission slip or fee please do so as soon as possible. Due to insurance purposes, we will be exclusively using Skatetime’s skates, so please do not have your children bring skates to school. Students skating are encouraged to bring all the safety equipment they wish. Wrist guards will be provided.
Skatetime will be a great opportunity to earn volunteer time and also have fun. It would be very nice to have a few extra sets of hands to help tie skates and assist children who may be having a hard time. Contact Mr. Lutterman if you are interested. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns


Luke Lutterman
STRIDE Academy
PE/DAPE & Activities Director
Please return the Wolf Ridge questionnaire.


The St. Cloud Police Department is visiting sixth grade on Wednesday, February 10th. Students are taking part in the KEYS program that offers them knowledge and skills to resist drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure.


There is no school on Monday, February 15th.

February 1st, 2010

Big event coming up here at STRIDE, the annual Spelling Bee Monday night at 6:30. If you are able to attend I know the students appreciate it.


Social: We are finishing up our Ancient Greece and Rome Unit this week with a test on Thursday. Remind your child to have their note-card ready. We will be starting next week with The Enlightenment Period. Small groups of students will be presenting a chapter using power point.


Science: There is only one day of science this week. Students will demonstrate how heat, pressure, and time create a metaphoric rock using starbursts. Don't forget to have your child continue to work on their biography project. This is due February 23rd.


Language Arts: We are finishing up our Descriptive Writing Unit this week and we will be starting Julius Caesar next week. Reminder that the students are buying their own copy and should turn in $5.11 to Ms. Wallwork this week. If this is a hardship, please let me know and we will take care of it. Don't forget to study for spelling, unit 17 or 7 (Wallwork) spelling review (Level 6) and 15 (level 7) for Ahmed's class.


Math:



Ms. Wallwork's class officially finished course one this week, CONGRATULATIONS. All of the students did excellent on the end of unit test and benchmark test. These tests determine where we start in course 2. Looks like this class will be skipping quite a few lessons. I am very proud of the work they have done. Keep it up!!



Mrs. Swanson's Course 1 class is working on exponents, writing decimals numbers as fractions, writing fractions and ratios as decimal numbers, and writing fractions and decimals as percents. They will have a test on Thursday and enrichment day on Friday. The Course 2 class finished the textbook and started on Course 3. Be proud of them.


Reading: Ms. Wallwork's class presented small biographies about different members of the secret annexe where Anne Frank hid. This was a very interesting novel and I think we all learned a lot. We will start out Travels with Charlie by exploring different focal points of the United States. We will continue with our journals each day. I see the students evolving in their journal writing as time goes on.



Updates and Reminders:



Please return the Wolf Ridge questionnaire. Another copy will be sent in your child's Thursday folder.



The St. Cloud Police department is visiting sixth grade on Monday, February 1st, Thursday, February 4th, and Wednesday, February 10th. Students are taking part in the KEYS program that offers them knowledge and skills to resist drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure.