May 9, 2024

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday!! I am on the countdown. Only 1 more blog after today. I may send you messages on important information but you will only get one more full blog from me next week. Again, I amazed we are at this point of the year already. It is safe to say I am not ready to say good-bye to this group. They have grown as a class so much. Our 3 new students are no longer "new". They are just a part of the class. They have been a great addition. I am just so proud of this group. I act like they are "my" kids.

Language Arts

We are working on chapter 19 -20 in Charlie and Chocolate Factory. We only have 10 chapters to go. We should be done next week which gives me the option to show the movie anytime during that last week. I show the 1971 movie. I am not a fan of the Johnny Depp version. If you have not seen the newest movie called Wonka I recommend seeing after we watch the movie here. I loved it and felt that Timothee Chalamet did an excellent job of making you believe he was a younger Gene Wilder. I had some students get late slips today for not finishing their crossword in the packet. Just a reminder that my room is open in the mornings for students to come in and finish their work. I did have 2 people in early to finish and not get the late slip. My plans when we finish this book is to read the Tall Tales we were to read in the next module in our book. We will just read them for fun, there will be no testing over it.

Math

We are finishing up our division topic this week. The students took their tests yesterday and today. We will correct them tomorrow. I will start fractions next week. I do not plan to test over fractions, I just plan to spend the rest of the year learning about fractions. If you are looking for anything to work on over the summer, I would push for division and fractions. You can find websites that will help with this on the computer. You can also order books form Amazon to help with it. I recommend you make sure they are 4th or 5th grade level books.

Social Studies

We are moving through the Southwest region. I am only covering the lessons that I feel are important to understanding the area and what it has to offer. They took their map test over this region already. I had a few mix up Texas and Oklahoma. That is the only test they will take covering this region. Soon we will move on to the West and I will do the same thing. They will only get one shot at labeling the map. During the last week of school they will take a test over all 50 states and capitals.

Dollars for Scholars

The essays the students wrote have been voted on and the winners will be announced next Wednesday the 15th right after Mass.

Last Day of School

We have a 3 hour early out on the last day May 24th. That means Noon dismissal. They will need to bring some extra bags on the 23rd to clean out their desks. I will give more information next week about the last week.

Last Mass

The 3rd and 4th graders are in charge of planning the last Mass of the year on May 22nd. Father Patrick will be gone on vacation so Father John will come celebrate with us. The students will get their parts next week on Thursday. I am sorry to say not every student will have a part. We have 41 kids total. That is a lot. At the end of that Mass they will also give awards to the Middle School students for their participation in sports and band activities at the public school.

Absence

I will be gone on Monday the 13th. I am taking my personal day to go to Ames and move Molly into an apartment for the summer. I am sad to do this because I love having her home for the summer but her job requires her to live there. I will be happy to go visit her though. I will be back and ready to go on Tuesday.

My wish is that it would stop raining for a while. I am ready to sit outside and read a little bit. I have not been able to do that yet because of rain or it being chilly. I may only be ready for summer because this is my favorite thing to do. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels