We survived Keystone with fun stories to tell and a renewed appreciation of how living things are interconnected.

This week we will spend a lot of time working on our research projects.  Please make sure your child comes to school each day prepared for that.  Students should have collected general information on their topics, and should be ready to start looking for more detailed, more unusual information.  This might require an extra trip to the library.

We will have some time each day in the computer lab for students to begin working on their bullet page.  If your child has something to save it on, it will make it easier to work on both and home and at school.

We leave for Keystone this morning and should return by 2 p.m. Wednesday.  Please contact the front office after 12 p.m. of Wednesday for a more accurate return time.

Things are going very well in our homeroom.  The students and I all became so comfortable with each other so quickly, we feel as if we've always been together.  We all comment regularly how quickly the year is going!

In today's Monday Folder are forms required for Keystone.  Please fill them out as soon as possible, as there are several and some may take a little hunting for information to complete.  Please let me know if you would like the paperwork to apply for a scholarship.  We know that this is a difficult time of year to have a big expense.  We want all the kids to go to Keystone (it is such a memorable experience) and would hate to have money stand in the way.  If you have been meaning to volunteer to chaperone the Keystone trip but just haven't gotten to it, please do so this week as we are notifying the chaperon ...

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men...  There is a student in 5-6 who is allergic to birds, so they must leave the room.  We are working on an alternative plan, but if it does not work, the finches will be going home on Friday.  The kids are disappointed, but understand that we need to look after each other and that a student's health comes first.

See below for an interesting website - fun shared activities on a variety of topics.  Ever played matter battleship or matter hangman?  Here's your opportunity!

We have finally finished all the testing we will need to do this fall.  I think I'm as excited about that as the kids are.  We are off to a really good start.

If you scroll down to the bottom of this web page, you will see a section for attachments and weblinks.  Each week I will attach the Monday Letter (just in case) and any other documents you might need (like field trip forms).  Under weblinks, I'll put sites that are interesting or useful for the students and parents.

Reminder: E Book orders are due back to school Tuesday, Sept. 11.  If you don't sell the enclosed E Book, please return it in the envelope on Sept. 11.  

According to district and school policy, teachers are required to notify the parents of the students in their classrooms if animals are present. 

I plan to keep 2 zebra finches (a mated pair) in the class all year.  They are home bred (from my birds and from a former student’s birds).  They do not require vaccination.