Long time, No BLOG!

We are still alive at Calhoun Academy in Mrs. Bracken's Social Studies class!!! We have been so busy since we have been back since Christmas Break. The New Year has started off great, and we have really hit the ground running since MIDDLE SCHOOL is right around the corner. Can you believe it? We just celebrated the 100th day of school, and we only have a couple of  months left to get all of the content in before it is time to go to middle school. The students are doing great as they know the pace is pretty quick right now. We have so much to be excited for!!

BARRIER ISLAND- THIS MONDAY! Make sure if you are going that you are at school at 6:00am this MONDAY, February 6th. Make sure you have followed the packing list. We will call or text parents when we arrive, so make sure you provided your child's homeroom teacher with the correct numbers and whether or not you text or not.

If you are not going to Barrier Island, you are still required to come to school for those 3 days. We will be in class while we are there, so you will still have class here at Calhoun.

Remember to check your child's homework/Friday folder DAILY to make sure they are being RESPONSIBLE and keeping up with all of their assignments, tests and quizzes. Also, check parent portal as we update grades weekly. The Assignment Sheet that they bring home every Friday for the next week has all of the Spelling words and info about what we will be doing for that coming week. PLEASE help us out and stay connected with us by reading, helping with homework and returning necessary papers. Thank you so much for your support as we continue to get the FIFTH GRADERS ready for Middle School and LIFE after elementary school! You guys are AWESOME!

Big Fan

So as a child, I always wanted to be a teacher. At one point I thought, maybe a nurse, but I knew I had the calling to teach. I was raised to always do my best at everything I did, so I knew once I "officially" decided to become a teacher that I was going to do my job and do it GOOD!!! In college, I concentrated on learning everything I could to be a better teacher from how I could teach certain content areas to really being involved in students' lives. I wanted to be a teacher that students would remember down the road- just like teachers I remember from my childhood- TOO MANY GOOD INFLUENCES to even name in fear of leaving someone out- I am blessed and was blessed to have so many good role models and GREAT educators in my life.

So, with that being said, in college I was introduced to Ron Clark. I had never met him until a couple of years ago and still adopt his methods in my classroom TODAY. His story is amazing if you have never heard it. (Watch The Ron Clark Story and read The Essential 55 and his newest book The End of Molasses Classes as well as check out his school's website to get a feel of how he does what he does!! UNBELIEVABLE!- http://www.ronclarkacademy.com)

Anyway, I wanted to provide you with a few things from the Ron Clark Academy so you could see how blessed your students are to be at Calhoun Academy of the Arts. The students at RCA come to school in the middle of a not so nice neighborhood in Atlanta, GA (to say the least.) Their is an application process for rising fifth graders and the school runs 5th-8th grade. Middle school is tough years, and Ron wants to inspire them at that age before it is too late. I try to tell my students all the time of how blessed they are to be able to come to school because so many kids around our world are not so lucky. We really do take our education for granted.

So, with that being said, here are some really good articles and an amazing video I wanted to share with you and WHERE I get some of my INSPIRATION! Thank you RCA for your passion and DRIVE to help students and PARENTS be successful because we are all on the same team!!




First day of School 2011 at RCA- pictures and captions


First day of School STEP SHOW from the Faculty and Staff

Article to parents written by Ron Clark

Article about the first day of school

First Week!!!!

WOW!!! I cannot remember a first week that has gone so smoothly and FUN as much as this one. I can truly say Calhoun is the best school around and I love the students, teachers and all the faculty and staff! This first week has been a blast getting to know everyone and learning their outgoing personalities. I don't think I've ever had a more "spunky" group of students- and I say that in a good way. I can tell this year is going to be AMAZING! Our buccaneers are really going to find some treasure this year that will make them successful in school and in life in general.

This week will be our first full week of switching classes and really teaching our content areas. This week in Social Studies we are going to review the end of the Civil War and being "Reconstruction." My Social Studies class is quite different- we will be singing, dancing and acting A LOT to help the students learn the material. We have a lot of fun, but the students have to remember their rules in order to do the fun things.

Parents- this week you will see how we do our assignment sheet. Please check this on a daily basis and hold your students accountable for their work. On Friday we will send home the first behavior sheet so you will get to see what that looks like as well. Please sign and return the following Monday.

I hope you have a wonderful week. I look forward to working with the students this week.

Second Nine Weeks Coming to an End

Well, the fifth graders made it to and back from Barrier Island last week. We had some changes with the weather, but everyone had a great time and LEARNED A LOT!!!! We did have a whole week off from school last week because of snow, so this week we are finishing up the second nine weeks. We are in the process of completing 2nd nine weeks "Benchmark" testing. We will take Writing today, ELA tomorrow and then Science will be next Wednesday, Social Studies on Thursday and Math on Friday. Make sure you are studying through your notes a little each night. This will also help with PASS testing at the end of the year! (It will be here before we know it!)

Writing PASS is in March, so we are working a good bit with writing. This week we started with a fictional writing where the students are creating their own narratives. They are in the process of developing characters. They have had some interviews with other characters in the class to help develop their protagonist and antagonist even more! They are some very creative students.

We just wrapped up Becoming a World Power and WWI in Social Studies. The students learned a new song for that unit as well. The song will be posted in the next post, so you can enjoy it, too!
Second Nine Weeks test in Social Studies will cover the Industrial Revolution, Immigration and Reforms and Becoming a World Power and WWI. To review, the students have great notes and 3 GREAT songs to study for that!

Report cards will go home next week, so please review these with your child to see what needs to change for next semester. Middle school will be here before we know it!

5th Grade Procedures

5th Grade Procedures

DOL

Every morning when the students arrive, they complete a DOL. DOL stands for Daily Oral Language. The students are given 2 sentences that have mistakes in them. The students copy the sentences the way they are written on the board. Then, the students use their red pen and proofreading marks to show the necessary changes that need to be made to make the sentences correct. After the changes are made, the students will write the 2 sentences correctly in cursive. After 5 days of completing a DOL and going over the sentences in class, the students will take a DOL quiz that has the EXACT same sentences that were given in class the previous 5 days. The quiz will have anywhere from 5-15 questions where the students either have to correct a sentence from that week’s DOL, choose the correct sentence from 3 or 4 multiple choice options, or make corrections to a couple of sentences in paragraph form. As the year progresses, the students will be given new sentences they have never seen to correct.

Spelling

At the beginning of each week, students are given an assignment sheet that lists 5 “Word Wall Words” (5th grade high frequency/commonly misspelled words from the Anderson School District Five 5th grade curriculum), 5 roots/stems, and 5 example words that use the 5 roots and stems. Every Monday, students take a pre-test on the first 5 words only. If a student misspells any of 1-5 on the pre-test, that student will have to respell the words on Friday during the post-test from 1-5 that he/she missed. EVERY STUDENT WILL TEST ON 6-15 (the roots/stems and the example words). Learning the roots and stems in 5th grade prepares the students for what they will learn in 6th grade and beyond. These skills are also helpful in building vocabulary!

Weekly Spelling Homework (This stays the same EVERY WEEK!):

Monday- Definitions with the example words (7, 9, 11, 13, 15)
Tuesday- Write sentences with the ones YOU missed from 1-5 on the pre-test and EVERYONE writes sentences with the example words (7, 9, 11, 13, 15)
Wednesday-Thursday- Study for post-test on Friday.

It is YOUR responsibility to practice your words on your own. Use http://www.spellingcity.com for extra spelling activities. Also, practice writing them over and over! The more you practice, the better you will become. Sometimes you just have to MEMORIZE facts and spelling is a lot of memorization. Break your words into chunks, prefixes, suffixes, roots/stems, and syllables to help you with the spelling! Parents, help your students by quizzing them with a practice test. You can do this on your way to and from school, going to a practice or out to eat.

Reading Log

Every night students are required to read at least 15 minutes or 15 pages. Students need to write the correct information on the reading log EVERY night! Parents, please initial the reading log EVERY night to show that your child did the required reading. The reading logs are not checked every day, but when it is checked, the correct information needs to be on the reading log. Every Monday, the student should have at least 75 minutes or 75 pages of reading completed on their reading log from the previous week. This is why the reading log should be done nightly! Reading is very important!
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” ~ Joseph Addison ~

MATERIALS

For ELA, students use a binder that has divided sections. After we do something in class or for homework, ALL the necessary materials and papers go back to the section in which they belong.
For math, science and social studies, students use a composition notebook. Everything for these classes goes in these notebooks. Parents, if you need to see anything from these classes, please ask your child for that subject’s notebook.
Everyone needs to have a red homework folder that can be purchased from the office for $1.50. All communication to the parent or teacher can be found in this red folder. PLEASE check this folder daily! The students will be in charge of keeping their assignments on their assignment sheet. It is the students’ responsibility to write their assignments down. Assignments are posted on the board in each class, so students need to check the board and write down the assignment on their own.
Every student has a pencil pouch that has at least 3-5 pencils, colored pencils, glue stick, a highlighter and a red pen. Students have to come to class each day prepared with the necessary materials. If the student leaves a notebook, folder or any other type of supply needed for class at home or in another teacher’s class, he or she will lose a star. RESPONSIBILITY is very important in 5th grade, so we can be ready for middle school.

Voice Levels

0- Transition, Test Taking, Hallway, Red Cup
1- Working Whisper, Green cup
2- Soft Conversation
3- Loud, PROUD sharing voice (PEEPs)
4- Outside/Recess Voice

PEEPs

Whenever students are performing, presenting in class, or involved in a dramatic reading, they will use their “PEEPs.”
P- Projection (making the voice carry)
E- Empathy (creating emotion in the voice)
E- Enunciation (clearly speaking each word)
P- Pronunciation (pronouncing words correctly without stumbling)

RULES in Fifth Grade

Students are expected to follow Ron Clark’s Essential 55. If you did not purchase a book at the end of 4th grade, you need to buy one for $10 in the office. It is important that the students learn and follow these rules. Students are also required to follow Calhoun’s rules- “Toolbox for Success.” These rules all go hand in hand in helping each student become successful in and out of the classroom. Each student has a copy of the rules in their ELA notebook.


We have high expectations for EVERY student in 5th grade. We do not allow students to just come to school and do nothing. Every student will participate in all class activities and complete all homework assignments. No student will be allowed to bully or cause a problem with anyone in the class because this breaks focus and spoils the learning environment. LEARNING is the primary focus in our classrooms, so everyone needs to be on the right track TOGETHER!

PARENTS, it is very important that you check your child’s red folder DAILY, go on our class websites and blogs, and stay in close contact with your child’s teachers. Behavior sheets come home every Friday, so please look over how many stars were lost and earned each week. If you ever have any questions, please contact your child’s teachers either by email or by phone at the school. Fifth grade is a YEAR TO REMEMBER! So, let’s work together to make 5th grade a SUCCESS!

Other Spelling Tips

Learning a New Spelling Word
1. Look at the word you want to spell.
2. Spell it aloud while pointing to each letter.
3. Write the word and say each letter as you write it.
4. Close your eyes and try to see the word in your mind.
5. Practice spelling the word from the picture in your mind.
6. Repeat until the word is firm. Then try spelling it backwards from the picture in your mind.

Basic Spelling Rules

1. I, u, and v never come at the end of English words.
2. "I" before "e" except after "c" or when saying "A" as in neighbor or weigh.
3. "S-h" is used to say "sh" at the beginning of a word or end of a syllable, but not at the beginning of a syllable after the first one. "Ti", "si" and "ci" are used then. (shoe or dish but... lotion, tension, and social)
4. "E", "i" or "y" may make a "c" or "g" soft. Put an "e" at the end of a word when you want the "c" or "g" at the end to be soft. (rice or change) Keep the "e" there when adding suffixes that begin with "a" or "o". (changeable, noticeable)
5. All syllables must have a vowel. That is why we have an "e" at the end of apple, bottle, table, etc.
6. At the end of a one syllable word that has a single vowel, "f", "l", and "s" are usually doubled.
7. All, full, and till are written with only one "l" when combined with another syllable. (almost, wonderful, until)
8. Single vowel "y" at the end of a word changes to "i" when a suffix is added, except for suffixes that begin with "i." (cry...cries....but crying. Double vowels do not follow this rule: boys)
9. "X" is never followed by "s". (excellent, excited, boxes.)
10. When a word ends in a silent e, remove the e before you add a suffix that begins with a vowel, but keep the e when you add a suffix that begins with a consonant.

MATH TIPS

MEMORIZE YOUR MULTIPLICATION FACTS!!!!! It is IMPERATIVE that you know your multiplication facts (and of course basic addition and subtraction facts!)
• Set high standards for your child in math. Make sure your child is mathematically challenged and encourage his or her interest and pursuit of math.
• Help children see that math is very much a part of everyday life. From statistics in sports to the sale price of clothing, from the calories in food to the amount of gas needed to travel from one city to another, math is important to us every day. Help your child make these connections to math.
• Point out that many jobs require math. From the scientist to the doctor, from the plant manager to the newspaper salesman, from the computer programmer to the hardware store owner, many jobs require a strong foundation in math. Help your child see that math leads to many exciting career opportunities.
• Stimulate your child's interest in technology. Encourage your child to use calculators and computers to further learning.
• Play games that help children develop decision making and mental math skills. There are many games sold commercially, such as board games, that involve patterns and probability. Play games from your own family traditions such as counting games and games that keep score. Try schoolyard games such as jump rope, hopscotch, and jacks. Games require children to use strategies to make decisions, solve problems, and develop an understanding about numbers and how to use them (number sense) and computational skills.
• Positive attitudes about math will reinforce encouragement. Your feelings will have an impact on how your children think about math and themselves as mathematicians. Positive attitudes about math are important in encouraging your child to think mathematically.
http://www.math.com

Homework and Study Tips

1. Show an interest in your child's homework assignments. Ask about the subjects and the work to be done.
2. Be a role model -- take the opportunity to read a book or newspaper while your child studies. Reading together helps create a learning atmosphere.
3. Teach your child how to be organized. Be sure he or she keeps a homework assignment book.
4. Eliminate as many distractions as possible during study time.
5. Develop a strategy for dealing with homework. Find a plan that works for your family and stick with it.
6. Try to relate the homework to your child's everyday life. For instance, fractions and measurements can be learned as the child prepares a favorite food.
7. Encourage your child to establish a regular time to do homework. Developing a schedule might help avoid procrastination.
8. Meet with your child's teacher to discuss the nature of the approach to reading, spelling and other topics that your child is being taught.
9. Make sure your child has a specific place to do homework that offers ample lighting, minimal noise and plenty of work space.
10. Praise your child for successfully completing homework. Nothing builds self-esteem like praise from parents.
Reprinted with permission from the Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities (CCLD). Call 1-888-478-6463 for important resources and information about learning disabilities. http://school.familyeducation.com/homework/parenting/38545.html

11 Ways to Help Your Child Prepare for Tests

To help children prepare adequately for tests (whether teacher-made or standardized), you can do several things to provide support and create a positive test-taking experience.

1. The best way to prepare for tests is to study, know the work, and take the right courses.
2. If your child is nervous at test time, ask her teacher for tips on helping her relax.
3. Make sure that your child is in school during the testing sessions. Do not plan any doctor or dental appointments on test dates.
4. Make sure that you are aware of your child's performance and that you can help interpret the results when they become available.
5. Remember to keep well-informed about your child's tests. Know how test results are used, and how they will affect your child's placement in school.
6. If there are major differences between standardized test scores and school grades, find out why.
7. Encourage your child to study over a period of time rather than "cram" the night before.
8. Encourage your child to listen carefully to all test-taking directions given by the teacher and to ask questions about any directions that are unclear.
9. See that your child gets his/her regular amount of sleep before the tests and is well-rested.
10. Make sure that your child eats his/her usual breakfast on the day of the test. Hunger can detract from a good test performance.
11. Encourage your child to do his/her best.

http://school.familyeducation.com/educational-testing/teaching-methods/37499.html?detoured=1

Parent Update

August 27, 2010

Attention Parents!!!

First, let us take a second to tell you how wonderful the start to the school year has been. We have enjoyed meeting and getting to know your children even though we don’t know all of you, yet! We were really unsure if this year was going to get started on time, but now we are in full swing.

We have a few things on the agenda for 5th grade and for the school as a whole that we need for you to know. Please take a minute to look over the following:

• Back to School Night – It will happen. We are just not sure when. The crews are finishing up the Library and minor details. We want to unveil our WHOLE school to you on that night. Please be on the lookout for information concerning this.
• Materials Fees – Please hold your materials fee until we ask for it. We must locate all of the receipt books from this summer’s temporary office.
• Signed Papers – Please return the medical, internet, lunch, All-Star, and bus papers if you have not done so already. If you would like to sign up for Parent Portal please do so.
• Barrier Island – The first payment is scheduled for Monday, August 30th. Your child received a sheet with payment dates/amounts and a small envelope for Barrier Island in 4th grade. If you have misplaced your copy, or are new, here are some dates with amounts to help make the $200.00 total easier.

Nonrefundable Deposit $35.00 Monday, August 30th
September Payment $45.00 Monday, September 27th
October Payment $40.00 Monday, October 25th
November Payment $40.00 Monday, November 29th
December Payment $40.00 Monday, December 13th

The first payment is non-refundable and reserves the busses to travel to Barrier Island. We must know early how many students are going so we can get the busses we need. As always, feel free to pay what you can at any other time. The schedule is just a helpful guideline. You may pay the whole $200.00 if you would like. Please make checks payable to Calhoun Academy of the Arts and place “Barrier Island” in the memo line. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher.

Thank you for allowing us to teach your child. We hope to make this an awesome year!

Fifth Grade Teachers

New Special Area Schedule

Mrs. Bracken’s Special Area Schedule

Week 1
Monday- Drama-Small
Chorus/Beginning Strings/CADE

Tuesday-Art-Hart
Advanced Strings

Wednesday-Music-Mantooth
CAP

Thursday-PE-Smith
Beginning Strings/CADE

Friday-Library-Jones
Advanced Strings


Week 2
Monday- Dance-Morf
Chorus/Beginning Strings/CAP

Tuesday-Art-Hart
Advanced Strings

Wednesday-Music-Mantooth
CADE

Thursday-PE-Smith
Beginning Strings/CAP

Friday-Computer/Guidance-Rowland/Tritt
Advanced Strings


Beginning Strings students need to go to PE on Wednesdays with Mrs. O’Neal’s Homeroom. Week 1- Cade Members need to go to PE on Friday with Mr. Pearson’s homeroom. Week 2- CAP Members need to go to PE on Friday with Mr. Pearson’s homeroom.






Mr. Pearson’s Special Area Schedule

Week 1
Monday-Library-Jones
Chorus/Beginning Strings/CADE

Tuesday-Music-Craft
Advanced Strings

Wednesday-Dance-Morf
CAP

Thursday-Art-Hart
Beginning Strings/CADE

Friday-PE-Smith
Advanced Strings

Week 2
Monday-Computer/Guidance-Rowland/Tritt
Chorus/Beginning Strings/CAP

Tuesday-Music-Craft
Advanced Strings

Wednesday-Drama-Small
CADE

Thursday-Art-Hart
Beginning Strings/CAP

Friday-PE-Smith
Advanced Strings

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Conference Day

Today was a great day. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to meet with the majority of my students' parents. I have a great class, and it shows because of the amazing parents I met with. Parent involvement makes a huge difference in the success of a child's education. Thank you parents for all of your help. You are wonderful. Keep up the hard work!