Mrs. Westdyke’s Class

LITERACY: We will meet for Literacy class on Wednesday and Friday this week. Note that the Cultural Fair will take place on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  Due to the reduced number of Literacy classes and the impending Thanksgiving Break, I have decided to move the remainder of our Mystery unit to January, as our class will be reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens at the beginning of the 2nd trimester so that we can finish the related activities I have planned prior to leaving for the Winter Break.  We will begin work on that selection during class this Wednesday. Students will each be issued a copy of the book and will receive a reading guide to go with the book. Please do not encourage your child to read ahead. We will be working on certain assignments in class that require the use of literary elements such as foreshadowing. Students who have read ahead will skew our predictions. We will also compare and contrast two video versions of this classic tale. These are both rated...

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Mrs. Westdyke’s Class

LITERACY: We will meet for Lit class on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week. Remember that Tuesday is a holiday, and Friday we will be having a special Theme day with individual class activities. On Monday, those students who have not yet presented their book projects will do so. We will have in-class writing activities taking place on Wednesday and Thursday.

MATH: The final draft of the semester book project is due on Wednesday. Students will have class time on Monday to work on and put finishing touches on their books. Students will present their books to the class on Wednesday and Thursday.

THEME: Thank you to our parent chaperones, Mr. Zonies and Mr. Lineham, who helped make our class trip to Keystone Science School a success. The students had a great time learning about geology firsthand. The semester project is due on Thursday. Please make sure that you turn in ALL PARTS of the project, including note cards, bibliography cards, draft of presentation notes,...

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The Cultural Fair is quickly approaching. In addition to the hands-on project, each student needs a tri-fold display board. The board should be used to highlight the best information learned by the student about his/her topic. I would like for the boards to be HALF their regular height so that we can see and easily move around the room during the days they are on display. Typically, the boards are sold as "Science Fair Display Boards" at general merchandise and office specialty stores. They are most often sold in this size:

Dimensions: 48W x 36H open, 24W x 36H folded.

Either buy the shorter size (18 inches in height) or cut it to that height. The second half can be saved and used for another project later in the year.

Our day begins with an all-school parade in the gym at 8:15. All parents are welcome to attend this event. Students will then attend class as usual. My class party will begin at 1:30. Room parents for this party are Mrs. Carlson, Mrs. Kallis, Mr. Cowperthwaite, and Mrs. Galyon. Room parents, please come up to my room at 1:00 to help set up. I will take the kids out to recess from around 1-1:30. Parents who are providing treats or goodies, please drop them off downstairs in the morning. Thanks to everyone for the donations and support!

LANGUAGE ARTS: We will only be in Literacy class on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Mrs. Root’s and Ms. Embry’s classes will be at Keystone Wednesday-Friday. Students will be presenting their Tic-Tac-Toe projects on Monday and Tuesday. Students should be well prepared and ready to present their work.

MATH: We will only be in Math class on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Mrs. Root’s and Ms. Embry’s classes will be at Keystone Wednesday-Friday. We will review the statistical terms of mean, median, and mode. Students had some trouble with the homework last week, so it will be important for them to work through the additional problems and make sure they understand the concepts before we move on to new topics. We will also be peer editing the final draft of the children’s books.

THEME: We will continue to learn important facts about the Maya people, including  geography, culture, religion, art, architecture, food, clothing, games, recreation, and language, as well as other topics.  At this time, students...

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Parents, math classes will not meet again until November 10th. As noted on my calendar page, the trimester project is due on Wednesday, November 12th. At this point, the student should be done with the rough draft of their book. It should be edited by at least two, and preferably three peers. It should also have been edited by me at least once during the process. Please spend some time reviewing the rough draft with your student before he/she starts on the final copy. Help with the basics like spelling and punctuation. Each student needs to turn in the rough draft with peer comments along with their final copy. Please do not bind the book. I will have the covers laminated on the 12th, and then we will assemble the books with heavy staples. Students will be reading their math concept books aloud to younger Stargate students later this year. This project is worth a total of 150 points, so it will significantly impact their grade for the trimester.

Parents, we are nearing the end of the first trimester. Our class will not meet again until November 10th, due to the KSS fieldtrips. About 2/3s of the students presented their trimester book project on October 27 and 28. The remainder of the students will present on November 10. Please take a few minutes to review your student's scores on PowerSchool to make sure that all assignments have been turned in for grading. I offered an extra credit assignment this week to help boost scores. FYI, only one student took advantage of this opportunity. We will have one more assignment for this grading period. It will be an in-class assignment November 11 and 12. Thanks for your support!

Not the best picture your student has taken recently? Pictures retakes are available this Friday, October 24th. The original pictures must be returned in good condition to take advantage of this opportunity.

THEME: We will continue to learn important facts about the Maya people, including  geography, culture, religion, art, architecture, food, clothing, games, recreation, and language, as well as other topics. Students will work on their Maya ABC books this week, completing them on Friday. Students will also be introduced to the guidelines for the trimester project. Their first due date is this Thursday. This assignment is to brainstorm a list of at least five potential topics for the project. We will continue to talk about this year’s election during our Wednesday workshop, and write a letter to the President.

Halloween is Coming to Stargate!

Just a warning to all that ghostly ghoulies, Jedi knights, princesses and more will be roaming the halls of Stargate on October 31st. Kindergarten through 6th grade students will be allowed to come to school dressed up in their Halloween costumes while our middle schoolers will be allowed to get into character in the afternoon following lunch. 

 

Remember the following important costume restrictions:

 

No weaponry of any kind, including light sabers and Sherman tanks. Keep bellies and backsides appropriately covered. Masks can only be worn during the parade and class party. Did we mention the parade? Oh yes. We are going to have an elementary Halloween Parade this year and everyone is invited! You will receive more information about the parade time and route in upcoming editions of the Stargate News, and your teachers will be including details in their Monday Folders. We look forward to making October 31st a memorable kick-off...

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