Anyone who is interested in volunteering to help set up for the 5th grade dance on May 21st can email Deborah Hill at ed_deb@bellsouth.net. Also, Deborah Hill and Connie Stafford will be in the cafeteria this Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. getting a head start by getting some decorations cut out for the dance. All are welcome and anyone who comes, needs to bring scissors.
We have two more days of CRCT testing on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Thanks to those of you who have so generously donated snacks, juice,mints, and water for testing. Everyone seems to be trying their hardest and I am anxious to see how well everyone does. I still have several students who have paid for their Rock Eagle trip BUT have NOT turned in all of the necessary paperwork. Since it is an off campus field trip I AM REQUIRED to have all paperwork turned in, so that the student can attend. The time is drawing nearer (May 5th). If you are unsure if you have not turned everything in please email me or send in a note ASAP. Thanks and have a great weekend!! paul.watson@cobbk12.org
4/1- 5th grade photo
4/5 (Saturday)- Start of Spring Break Week
4/17- 5th Grade Forensics Day
4/23 (Wednesday)- Start of CRCT
4/26- Health Fair/Blood Drive
5/5- Rock Eagle
5/7- Field Day (3-5)
5/8- McClure Field Trip (no cost, permission slips to be sent home this Thursday)
5/9- Morning News Crew members to CNN Center
5/20- 5th Grade Awards (5:30 @ McClure)
5/21- 5th Grade Luau/ Dance
5/23- Last Day!
Please remember... all dates are tentative and could be subject to change
Spring is in the air... the first day of spring was this week, spring pictures are Monday, and spring break is just a couple of weeks away. Monday, March 24th, is spring picture day for Bullard. We will be doing both class and individual poses. If you plan on purchasing either you must send in the money for the picture on Monday. The envelopes and prices were sent home last week.
As we are nearing the end of the long stretch between winter break and spring break please assist me and make sure to remind your child that this is "crunch time" for our fifth grade year. Many kiddos have not been making the best decisions recently in regards to both completion of homework assignments and behavior. Believe me, I totally understand that everyone is getting a touch of spring fever, but we must remain vigilant in our efforts make sure everyone is doing the best they can every day. :-)
If you have not already done so... PLEASE BEGIN TO HAVE YOUR CHILD SPENDING REGULAR TIME AT HOME DOING THE ON-LINE CRCT PRACTICE. The website and log-in procedures were given out at conferences. I have also linked other good practice sites that you can find on an earlier blog.
Have a great holiday weekend! paul.watson@cobbk12.org
Hello everyone! This week marked the first week or our last nine weeks of school and the first day of spring (if you were like me... your nose is already giving you fits!). Monday is Spring Picture Day at Bullard. If you wish to purchase pictures, please send in the money in the envelope that was sent home last week on Monday. Also, some more important dates coming up: 3/29-Spring Carnival, April 7th-Spring Break, May 5th- Rock Eagle, May 7th- Field Day, May 20th- Fifth Grade Awards Ceremony (5:30 @ McClure), May 21st- Fifth Grade Luau/Dance, May 23rd- Last Day.
Please remember also that CRCT is coming up shortly on April 23rd. PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD BEGIN DOING THE ON-LINE PRACTICE AT HOME AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE, if you have not already done so. It is very important that everyone feels comfortable with the test and its format before taking it.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend! paul.watson@cobbk12.org
Just a couple of reminders... all money for Rock Eagle is due Monday. I will then draw names for chaperones. I am only allowed six as of now, so not everyone who is wanting to go will be able to. I truly apologize for that, but that is the way it is across the grade level for the trip this year. Spring Picture Day is March 24th. If you plan on purchasing pictures, please send your money in on that day.
We are still working on WWII in social studies and the class is working on "mass" in science. In math, we had a nice little kick off to circles with "pi day" today (the date=3/14... pi=3.14... get it?). We will be discussing area, circumference, radius, and diameter in the coming weeks. Have a great weekend and wear your green on Monday! paul.watson@cobbk12.org
Don't forget that all money for Rock Eagle is due March 14th (including chaperones).
If you requested to attend as a chaperone, all chaperones are being accepted at this point. Depending on how many cabins we get for our whole group some parents may have to sleep on the floor. We will not know for sure if we are going until after we have received payments on Monday. Money will be refunded if we do not get enough children attending or not enough students to pay.
This will be a busy week for our class. We have been doing lots of writing prompts over the last couple of months in preparation for the GA Writing Assessment. Well, the time is finally here... it is this Wednesday. I am excited to see how well the class does. I have been impressed with their writing and can't wait to see how their hard work pays off for them. The testing will begin at 8:00, and no tardies will be allowed into any fifth grade classrooms until mid morning in order to provide a controlled testing environment. There will be several topics distributed among the class and they will have two hours to compose a short two page essay based upon their assigned topic. Also, this week is the fifth grade musical. It is will be at the PTA meeting on Thursday. I cannot wait to watch them perform. They will have a dress rehearsal for the kids at school on Tuesday during their specials that day. Tuesday is a Cobb County Early Release Day, so please make sure your child knows how they are getting home. We post tested our 9 week math unit yesterday... and overall the class did VERY well. I was extremely happy with the results. As always feel free to contact me if you every have any concerns or questions at paul.watson@cobbk12.org. Thanks!
March 4th- Early release day. Also, practice for Fifth Grade Musical
March 5th- Writing Assessment. Broken up into two 1-hour segments.
March 6th- Fifth Grade Musical at PTSA (also, dress rehearsal at school that morning)
We are still waiting the "official word" on our Rock Eagle trip. The deadline for the first payment was this past Friday. Our class had a decent percentage of participation. Please remember that ALL of the appropriate forms need to be signed and returned as well as the medical form notarized. As far as chaparons go... we had a large number sign up to go along (at least in our class). As was stated at the parent information meeting, it is a possibility that not everyone who wants to be a chaperon will be able to attend the trip. As soon as I receive confirmation on how many chaperons (male & female) I am allowed to take, you all will be the first to know. :-)
Now that we are in the second half of the fifth grade year, I would like to revisit the importance of good organization skills and its relationship to success in school. Organization will be a key factor when your child enters middle school, when there is a higher level of self-responsibility and accountability placed on students. Those of you who have middle schoolers already know how lost, late, or incomplete assignments (and assignments with no names on them) negatively impact grades. Middle school teachers have the daunting task of keeping up with well over 100 students a day (and keeping up with all their papers too). They often don't have the time to track down assignments that are missing or have no names on them. The children will be held more accountable for maintaining good organization to get through each day (maintaining agendas, binders, folders, lockers, assignments, materials, etc.). To help you and your child, I have found some web articles with terrific suggestions for organization strategies. It's never too early to work on getting better organized and staying organized! Check out the following sites:
http://middle-school-life.suite101.com/article.cfm/middle_school_orientation
http://www.education-world.com/a_issues/chat/chat156.shtml
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20425248/
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Helping_Your_Child/
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=2004
