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NEWSLETTERWelcome, 2013!

With the start of a new year, I cant helpbut look forward to the many excitingupcoming events. These include morewonderful plays, science camp, and 5th gradegraduation (middle school here we come!). That

reminds me, make sure to check the Blog pagefor information on upcoming middle schoolmeetings. But lets not get ahead of ourselves.There are great things happening within the nextfew months.

THE MIXED -UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER

In the month of January we will read our

second class book. Each student will receive acopy of The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E.Frankweiler to read both in and out of class. Thisbook centers around two children who run away... tolive in the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Thisrenown piece of work includes quite a fewadventures and even a thread of mystery. For thoseof you who know Mrs. Hastings, you might be

interested to know that during her year in NYC, she

saw the very bed where our main characters slept!We will have class discussions, reading

comprehension exams, and projects centered aroundthis piece of literature. I greatly enjoy sharing insights and opinions about a book as a class andhope that every student enjoys this work and theactivities surrounding it.

Wishing you a ! a wonderful new year!

A note of thanks:

Thank you all so mucfor your contributiontowards my generous

holiday gift card! It wcertainly unexpected a

it meant a lot to me.Special thanks to Sun

Merchia for organizingI will spend it on

something fun in the neyear. Thanks for all o

your support at homeand in the classroom. have been so fortunatto have you and your

children this school ye

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THANK YOU!OUR VOLUNTEERS

ARE PRICELESS!Our class would notrun nearly as smoothly as itdoes without our parent volunteers. This month I would like to extend a special thank you to thoseparents who purchasedcookies, frosting, preppedmaterials, and/or volunteered to help during our Holiday CraftRotations.

January

7 - Back to school

12 - Marias birthday!

16 - Surya and Kashvis birthdays!

17 - Ians birthday!

18 - Geography Bee

21 - Martin Luther King Day (NO SCHOOL)/ Adityas

birthday!

25 - Shrenas birthday!

February 14 - Valentines Day Ice-Cream Party 17 - Shumis birthday!

18 - 25 - Mid-Year Recess

23 - Maya and Stevens birthdays!

Holiday CraftsWe had a wonderful time

during our Holiday Craftrotations! Creating brightlydecorated cookies, making o rnamen t s , and c r a f t i ng beautiful snowakes were someof the highlights of this fun-lled afternoon. It is our hopethat all of the fth gradersheaded off to their winter break on a good note and had a restfulholiday.

Math Math Math!

S t u d e n t s a r e t a c k l i n g algebraic equations in ourcurrent math unit. One of thefun activities used to understandthe concept of variables wasMenu Math. Students used

variables such as f to stand forfries, s to stand for small drink, h to stand for hamburger, etc.,and took orders. These

orders had to be simplied forthe cook, added up by thecashier, and conveyed by thecustomer. What fun! Please ask

your child to explain moreabout this three-day activity. Wehave moved on to the Propertiesof Addition and Multiplicationand students will be expected toname and utilize each one. Next

up - algebraic patterns! Writing

In the area of writing, weare conquering Persuasive. If

your children can argue forhours, come up with evidence tosupport their views and can

even counter your arguments,they will be extremely successfulwith this writing genre. In themonth of January we will locate

and dissect magazine ads touncover how they try topersuade us and whether wethink they have been successful.Between television, billboards,and printed ads, we see thatpersuasion is truly all around us!We will engage in lively debatesabout whether the school yearshould be extended, if studentsshould be allowed to have cellphones in the classroom, andmore. The students are doing awonderful job of tackling thepersuasive format and coming up with strong arguments. Beon the alert - their powers of persuasion are really improving!

Good work!The work load has stayed

strong over the course of the year. There continues to beregu l a r g r ammar, ma th ,spelling, and vocabulary packetson a weekly basis. On top of this students are studying forsocial studies and sciencequizzes, as well as completing projects, preparing speeches,doing research, and composing pieces of writing. They havedone a wonderful job keeping up with it all, as well asbalancing their after-schoolactivities. Hats off to thesehard-working Gators!

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Enrichment Enrichment has been a very fun-lled rotation

thus far! Lately, we have been tackling the topic of states and capitals. Students are memorizing thelocations of each state, as well as the capitalassociated with each one. The most recent projectinvolved creating a slideshow presentation toeducate the class on various U.S. topics such as pastpresidents, regions, American inventors, and more.We are also continuing to prepare for our big tripto science camp in April. Students have learned

vocabulary related to different types of animal andplant-life, studied mammals versus reptiles, theintricacies of bird adaptation, and watched videosabout marine life. In addition, students havewatched slideshows of past trips, heard about the

yummy meals provided, observed the proper gearand clothing to be packed, and listened intently tothe many adventures that lie ahead. Please be sure

to visit the Science Camp link at the top of thiswebsite so that you and your child are prepared forthis special trip!

Our next holiday is fastapproaching - Valentines Day!During the last 30 minutes of class on February 14th we willpartake in our traditional Ice

Cream Social. Thanks to Room

12, 14, 15 and 8s RoomRepresentatives, our students willenjoy a sundae bar that includes

a scoop of ice cream, hot fudge,bananas, strawberries, nuts,cherries, sprinkles, and more!Students are encouraged tocreate or purchase valentines fortheir Room 12 classmates. Thepolicy is that if they bring a cardfor one Room 12 classmate, theymust bring one for all 33. If students would like to bring acard for a student in another

homeroom, they are welcome to

do that, as well. Again, valentinesare not required, but we want tospread a feeling of friendship and

goodwill to all, so if a childwould like to participate in thisholiday tradition, he or she mustbe prepared to deliver a card toall Room 12 peers. A roster of allfth grade students will beprovided for your convenience.Thank you for your help withthis!

THE WESTING GAMEOur most recent read-aloud, The Westing Game, is coming to an end. We haveall been on edge as the mystery of Samuel W. Westing and his game has beenunraveled. The heirs are certainly not who they seem to be and everyone is asuspect. Talk to your child soon about the ending to this interesting tale!

VALENTINES DAY