DMS 5th Grade Newsletter
Friday, April 8, 2016
Important Dates
April 22 Watch the 6th grade present Peter Pan (p.m.)
April 29 Save the Date- all day field trip- more info here
May 6 Save the Date- all day field trip- more info coming
May 25 NOT a late start on this Wednesday
May 27 Last Day of School (dismiss at 1:30)
ATTENTION:
From: Jeanne Luzum R.N. [email protected]
*There have been a number of cases of Pink-eye in the last 2-3 weeks. State guidelines recommend that students stay home from school during the acute stage. This means that a student is contagious when the eyes are watery, there is drainage, itching and generalized discomfort. It may take 1-2 days for symptoms to subside. See your physician if the symptoms are severe or there is pain.
*Since the first day of school we have had several cases of head lice-not to an epidemic level by any means but just more than we have experienced in the past. I am asking that you become more vigilant in checking your child’s head. It is a parent’s responsibility to check their child’s head at least 1x per week, especially during the school year. We have been checking heads when we have been notified of a case in a classroom-this is very time consuming for us and takes away from learning time for your child. We are asking that everyone help out with this at home so it does not get to epidemic proportions. I can send you a brochure about head lice and how to take care of it if anyone would like-just call me. If you find head lice on your child, please take care of the environment but MOSTLY keep checking the head as this is where they live. You need to make sure EVERYONE in the household is checked and treated. As always, please let us know if you find any on your child so we can also assist you in getting it taken care of.
*Questions? Please call—563-382-8427
Middle School Parents Still Make a Difference- NEW April Issue
The Parent Institute (Education’s #1 Source for Parent Involvement Information) provides a free resource for parents of middle school aged students. The monthly publication provides articles relevant to issues middle schoolers (and their parents) face. Check it out out here.
Safe School Reporting Form
Just a reminder- you can find a confidential online form to report bullying on the Decorah Middle School web site! Locate it here.
CODING CONTEST (through NASA)
“Imagine Cup Earth” is open to ages 6-18 with two categories. Register by: June 15. Tutorials and information are included when you visit the web site for more information and to register. https://www.imaginecup.com/earth?__af3b91cc=_af3b91cc Cash prizes are available. For more information contact Kathy Hay at [email protected].
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mr. Peterson: In science, we are learning about the rock cycle. In reading, we have been looking at point of view in fictional narratives. In writing, we finished up with book review and are back to some free-writing on Kidblog.
From Mrs. Nowack:
About every other week, students have been spending time reviewing their goals (that were set at SLC back in February). You might want to pull out that goal sheet (it was on yellow paper) and discuss those goals with your child. Some students needs to set new goals and some need to make efforts to keep working on their original goals.
Science: Students continue to modify their jet toy cars with balloon engines and are testing out a variety of variables. Students have a paragraph, using key terminology, explaining their learning from this activity due Tuesday.
Reading: Lessons this week focused on fluency and synonyms. Students finished and shared their Great Turkey Walk timelines.
Language: Students continue to revise their persuasive letters. Grammar lessons have been on participial phrases.
VIP: week of April 11- Evan
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies -We finished up our unit this week on the Constitution. Next week, we’ll look further in the Bill of Rights.
Language - In language class, we will continue working on writing and proofreading skills. We will do more work on sentence types (toward correct use of punctuation). We also will do some brainstorming and work with friendly letters to the upcoming 5th graders.
From Mrs. Halweg: In math this week we began our study of volume. We learned how to find the volume of rectangular prisms. This unit will continue next week as well with a focus on real-world examples. The tentative date for the next math test is Wednesday, April 20.
From Mr. Kelley: We have been working on a short poetry unit. Students have learned about types of figurative language and are studying various poems. We are copying various styles in our writing as well. In social studies students are learning about the U.S. Constitution. Students will be testing over The Bill of Rights (chapter 15) on Tuesday.
Friday, April 8, 2016
Important Dates
April 22 Watch the 6th grade present Peter Pan (p.m.)
April 29 Save the Date- all day field trip- more info here
May 6 Save the Date- all day field trip- more info coming
May 25 NOT a late start on this Wednesday
May 27 Last Day of School (dismiss at 1:30)
ATTENTION:
From: Jeanne Luzum R.N. [email protected]
*There have been a number of cases of Pink-eye in the last 2-3 weeks. State guidelines recommend that students stay home from school during the acute stage. This means that a student is contagious when the eyes are watery, there is drainage, itching and generalized discomfort. It may take 1-2 days for symptoms to subside. See your physician if the symptoms are severe or there is pain.
*Since the first day of school we have had several cases of head lice-not to an epidemic level by any means but just more than we have experienced in the past. I am asking that you become more vigilant in checking your child’s head. It is a parent’s responsibility to check their child’s head at least 1x per week, especially during the school year. We have been checking heads when we have been notified of a case in a classroom-this is very time consuming for us and takes away from learning time for your child. We are asking that everyone help out with this at home so it does not get to epidemic proportions. I can send you a brochure about head lice and how to take care of it if anyone would like-just call me. If you find head lice on your child, please take care of the environment but MOSTLY keep checking the head as this is where they live. You need to make sure EVERYONE in the household is checked and treated. As always, please let us know if you find any on your child so we can also assist you in getting it taken care of.
*Questions? Please call—563-382-8427
Middle School Parents Still Make a Difference- NEW April Issue
The Parent Institute (Education’s #1 Source for Parent Involvement Information) provides a free resource for parents of middle school aged students. The monthly publication provides articles relevant to issues middle schoolers (and their parents) face. Check it out out here.
Safe School Reporting Form
Just a reminder- you can find a confidential online form to report bullying on the Decorah Middle School web site! Locate it here.
CODING CONTEST (through NASA)
“Imagine Cup Earth” is open to ages 6-18 with two categories. Register by: June 15. Tutorials and information are included when you visit the web site for more information and to register. https://www.imaginecup.com/earth?__af3b91cc=_af3b91cc Cash prizes are available. For more information contact Kathy Hay at [email protected].
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mr. Peterson: In science, we are learning about the rock cycle. In reading, we have been looking at point of view in fictional narratives. In writing, we finished up with book review and are back to some free-writing on Kidblog.
From Mrs. Nowack:
About every other week, students have been spending time reviewing their goals (that were set at SLC back in February). You might want to pull out that goal sheet (it was on yellow paper) and discuss those goals with your child. Some students needs to set new goals and some need to make efforts to keep working on their original goals.
Science: Students continue to modify their jet toy cars with balloon engines and are testing out a variety of variables. Students have a paragraph, using key terminology, explaining their learning from this activity due Tuesday.
Reading: Lessons this week focused on fluency and synonyms. Students finished and shared their Great Turkey Walk timelines.
Language: Students continue to revise their persuasive letters. Grammar lessons have been on participial phrases.
VIP: week of April 11- Evan
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies -We finished up our unit this week on the Constitution. Next week, we’ll look further in the Bill of Rights.
Language - In language class, we will continue working on writing and proofreading skills. We will do more work on sentence types (toward correct use of punctuation). We also will do some brainstorming and work with friendly letters to the upcoming 5th graders.
From Mrs. Halweg: In math this week we began our study of volume. We learned how to find the volume of rectangular prisms. This unit will continue next week as well with a focus on real-world examples. The tentative date for the next math test is Wednesday, April 20.
From Mr. Kelley: We have been working on a short poetry unit. Students have learned about types of figurative language and are studying various poems. We are copying various styles in our writing as well. In social studies students are learning about the U.S. Constitution. Students will be testing over The Bill of Rights (chapter 15) on Tuesday.