Ms. Falace's Blog

Book Fair

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:00:00 GMT

My class will be visiting the Book Fair on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 1:30 PM. Please feel free to send money with your student that day so they can make purchases at the book fair. Remember that sales tax needs to be added to books that are purchased. Thank you in advance for supporting Stargate's Book Fair.

Falace Monday Letter 12/8/08

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:00:00 GMT

LANGUAGE ARTS: Writer’s notebooks are always due on Mondays. Book project #3 is due this Friday, Dec. 12. Students be prepared to present to the class that day. We started working on writing a personal narrative in class this week. The students will be doing most of the writing in class following mini lessons on the different components to incorporate into their story. Tentative due date for this assignment is Jan. 23, 2009. The final piece will be three pages minimum typed and double-spaced. As the due date gets closer, students will need help with adult editing and revision.

MATH: The class will continue with angle measurement and the geometry terms and definitions related to angles and triangles. We will be copying triangles using a compass, ruler, and protractor. We will use geometric properties of polygons to sort geometric shapes into sets according to various rules. We will also look at the history and concept of tessellations and explore regular tessellations.

THEME: We continue with our study of Explorers this week. We will start by looking at the first Americans who inhabited the continent by arriving on foot through the frozen Bering Strait. Then we will look at where they settled on the continent and how they survived. We will also look at latitude and longitude and how they relate to navigation

ANCIENT CULTURES FAIR

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Students will be presenting their projects on their specific Aztec topic on Monday morning from 8:30-9:40. Parents are invited to come watch students present to their classmates in their homerooms. Please plan on joining us for this exciting event!

Monday Letter - Falace

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:00:00 GMT

LANGUAGE ARTS: We have only 2 days of Language arts this week and none next week. We are going to use the two days to get caught up on reading assignments and written work as well.

MATH: Please study multiplication facts with your students for about 10 minutes every night. For the next two weeks, we only have class for two days, due to classes going to KSS. We will use Monday and Tuesday to catch up on assignments that need to be turned in. We will also be playing math games to solidify some math skills.

THEME: Our project is well underway. Please have students bring their resources to school on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week. We will have time to do some research in class. We will also start our study of biomes and the rainforest, and how living in the rainforest affected the Aztec culture. Look for Halloween information on my blog page this week. There will be a whole school parade at 8:15 Friday morning. Students are allowed to wear their costumes all day to school. PLEASE be sure their costumes are in compliance with the Adams 12 and Stargate dress code.

HALLOWEEN INFORMATION

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:00:00 GMT

On Friday, October 31^st at 8:15 AM parents are invited to come see the Stargate Halloween Parade. Students in grades K-8 can come to school dressed up in their favorite costumes this day. Parents do not need to scan their ID’s at the front office for this event. Simply sign your name on a sheet which will be provided in the office and make your way down to the gymnasium where our ghosts and ghouls will be strutting their stuff for all to see. We ask that parents do not follow their child to the classroom after the parade as the students will be heading back for a regular day of learning; That is, until the *classroom parties at the end of the day.

Help your child to remember the following Halloween Day dress code.

-No weaponry

-Sport team apparel is OK for this day only

-Masks may be worn at the parade and the class party

-Cover bellies, backsides, etc.

-Have fun

*Please remember when you send party snacks that we want to keep peanuts / peanut products out of our school for allergy reasons.

Keystone Science School - Additional Required Form

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Your student is bringing a form home today for homework titled -Keystone Science School - Student/Adult Medical Form(required for participation). Please fill out this form and return it to me ASAP. This is the medical form that the KSS instructors have us carry in the field with us when we are hiking. It contains important info about emergency contact information, allergy info and medicines that are required. This form is in addition to the forms sent home in yesterday's Monday folder.

So,to clear up any confusion,I have listed below the items that need to be returned to school for your child's participation at KSS.

1. Bright green permission form

2. KSS student medical form

3. Adams 12 medical form signed by a doctor if medication is to be dispensed.

4. Medication (if required)

5. The Acknowledgement of risks page from the back of the KSS packet sent home in yesterday's Monday folder.

6. A check for $185 made out to Stargate School.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email or call me at school.

Monday Letter - Falace

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:00:00 GMT

LANGUAGE ARTS: Book project #1 is due today and the students will be presenting their book and project to the class. Remember each student needs to write a 1 – 2 page summary of the book to hand in with his or her project. Type written is preferred but it can be hand written if penmanship is neat. On Friday, Oct. 17 we have a read and feed. This is an activity where the students use the class period to read any book or material they choose. This should also help them get a good start on their book for BP #2. Students are asked to bring in a snack food that can be mixed with others in a big bag. Suggestions for snacks are pretzels, chips, cheese crackers, Doritos, Cheetos, Chex mix, dry cereal, mini cookies, raisins, craisins, and nuts. I checked with the students and they assure me that no one is allergic to any kind of nuts. Please send a contribution to our read and feed next Friday with your student. Remember that writer’s notebooks are always due on Mondays.

MATH: We continue to practice multiple digit multiplication using the traditional method of multiplying. Please study multiplication facts with your students for about 10 minutes every night. I am finding that these are not as strong as they should be for fifth grade. Please especially pay attention to facts for 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12. These facts seem to be the weakest. This week we will review statistical landmarks such as maximum, minimum, range, median, mode. We will also practice rounding numbers with decimals.

THEME: Volcanoes will be our geology topic this week. We will also continue our study of Aztec culture this week. We are also going to start to review some geology terminology in preparation for our trip to Keystone Science School. KSS has provided a list of terms they want the students to know before we arrive at Keystone. Please be sure all medication and forms are signed and turned in to Alison Episkopos well in advance of our trip to KSS. This is a very time consuming and cumbersome process for Mrs. Episkopos to complete to ensure our students will have everything they need while they are away from home. Also, if financial assistance is needed to help defray the $185 cost of the trip, please contact me ASAP. I will send the required paperwork home with your student.

Falace Monday Letter

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:00:00 GMT

LANGUAGE ARTS: Writer’s notebooks will be checked for the first time this Monday. It is so exciting as a teacher to see kids writing without being told to do so AND being excited about writing. The expectation for writer’s notebooks is two entries per week, 20 minutes of writing per entry. This week is a short week but there will be a vocabulary assignment related to our reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins.

MATH: Look for a family letter to come home with your student today. Please read it and sign their planners so I know you received it. The letter gives important information about what material will be covered in Unit 2. We will be working on estimation skills, addition and subtraction of whole numbers and decimals and lattice multiplication. We will continue to reinforce traditional multiplication as well.

THEME: Our short week will have us continue our study of earthquakes and volcanoes. We will also continue our study of the Aztec culture. We will be watching a video about the Aztec culture done by the History Channel. It will give a very good overview of the time period and the culture of the Aztecs.

Parent-Teacher Conferences (Falace)

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Parent-Teacher confirmation slips are coming home in Monday folders today. We tried our best to honor everyone's requested time but not everyone was able to receive their first choice. All of our conferences are scheduled back to back so please be prompt. If yu can not keep your appointed time please notify your child's homeroom teacher immediately. Every effort will be made to reschedule your conference at a more convenient time.

Falace Monday Letter

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:00:00 GMT

LANGUAGE ARTS: It was great to meet so many parents of my Lang Arts students. Thank you for taking the time to come to Curriculum Night. The students received their Book Project Packet instructions on Friday. Many of the students have made their first book choice, had it approved by me and have started reading. The first book project will be due October 13. We will start the novel Island of the Blue Dolphins on Monday. There will be reading assignments for homework this week. We will also continue to study complete subjects and predicates in sentences.

MATH: Thank you to the parents who came to Curriculum night last Thursday. It was great to meet the parents of my math students. You should have seen the family letter for unit one last week. This letter contains vocabulary the students will be learning during this unit. The answers to homework assignments can also be found on the last page of the letter. They are for parent use only. Students should work the problems and parents can use these to check for accuracy when checking your student’s homework. Please check my web calendar or your student’s planner for homework assignments.

THEME: Our field trip to Roxborough State Part is this Tuesday, Sept. 16. Students need a sack lunch, filled water bottle, hat, sunblock, comfortable walking shoes and clothing appropriate for the weather. We will be leaving Stargate by 8:45 AM and returning at 2:00 PM. We will be looking at geological evidence when we are down there. We will also be doing some fun activities related to earthquakes this week. Friday, Sept. 19 is a teacher workday. There is no school for students that day.