Important Dates
Nov. 26-27 No School
On Wednesday, November 11th we had the opportunity to view the DHS musical, “The Sound of Music,” which was wonderful! If you have a chance to attend this weekend, we highly recommend it!
We also celebrated Veteran’s Day with an all-school assembly and several special activities- such as making cards for veterans, using an interactive web-site about veterans, and watching, listening, and reading stories about the making of the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial. Students were very engaged and took away a deep understanding of what Veteran’s Day is all about. (Photo by Ines Hegedus-Garcia/ CCBY)
Celebrate History Writing Contest
The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is sponsoring the annual Celebrate History Essay Writing Contest. One winning essay from this area will advance to the state level. Local winner will receive a certificate and a medal.
This year’s topic: “March 22, 2015 marked the 250th anniversary of the Stamp Act. Passed by the British Parliament in 1765, this new tax required all colonists to pay a tax on every printed piece of paper they used. The Stamp Act was viewed by the colonists as “taxation without representation.” Describe a colonial family’s discussion about the new Stamp Act and what role it played in organizing the colonists against the British King and Parliament.”
Requirements: Grade 5: 300-600 words/Grades 6-8: 600-1,000 words. Essays must be typed and include a bibliography of sources used. Deadline for the essay to be submitted to Mrs. Nowack is January 7, 2016.
Nov. 26-27 No School
On Wednesday, November 11th we had the opportunity to view the DHS musical, “The Sound of Music,” which was wonderful! If you have a chance to attend this weekend, we highly recommend it!
We also celebrated Veteran’s Day with an all-school assembly and several special activities- such as making cards for veterans, using an interactive web-site about veterans, and watching, listening, and reading stories about the making of the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial. Students were very engaged and took away a deep understanding of what Veteran’s Day is all about. (Photo by Ines Hegedus-Garcia/ CCBY)
Celebrate History Writing Contest
The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is sponsoring the annual Celebrate History Essay Writing Contest. One winning essay from this area will advance to the state level. Local winner will receive a certificate and a medal.
This year’s topic: “March 22, 2015 marked the 250th anniversary of the Stamp Act. Passed by the British Parliament in 1765, this new tax required all colonists to pay a tax on every printed piece of paper they used. The Stamp Act was viewed by the colonists as “taxation without representation.” Describe a colonial family’s discussion about the new Stamp Act and what role it played in organizing the colonists against the British King and Parliament.”
Requirements: Grade 5: 300-600 words/Grades 6-8: 600-1,000 words. Essays must be typed and include a bibliography of sources used. Deadline for the essay to be submitted to Mrs. Nowack is January 7, 2016.
The Old Creamery Theater 2016 Writing Contest
Each year students are encouraged to participate in the Old Creamery Theatre writing contest. Students are invited to write a creative, original story about a character or characters that learn a lesson involving one or more of the Six Pillars (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship). The selected winners will receive gift cards up to $100 and become the basis for Character Chronicles, a show that will be seen by tens of thousands of students all over Iowa (including Decorah Community Schools). Please visit the following website for requirements, story writing tips, and information about how to enter the contest. All entries must be postmarked or emailed no later than January 15, 2016.
Tech Tip of the Week
Consider this conversation:
Parent: “What do you have for homework?”
Student: “I don’t know.” or “I can’t remember.” or “I don’t have anything to do.”
Sound familiar? Well, look no further than the 5th grade assignment page: http://dms5.weebly.com/assignments.html If you bookmark this site, you will easily be able to access your child’s assignments, even if he forgot to write it in his planner!
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mrs. Nowack: This week in science class we started our new unit on the Solar System and Beyond. Students need to do a nightly moon observation for the next several weeks. I have also asked students to do an activity with their shadows this weekend. Please let me know if you have questions about either of these activities. In reading class, we continue to focus on close reading and identifying main idea and supporting details. You should see your child reading about 20-30 min/night (their IR book and Keynote presentation should be done no later than November 24th). This week in language class, students have been writing stories, poems, or songs to fit with the theme of the 6 Pillars of Character. FYI~ next week’s VIP is Bryar.
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - We’ve started a new unit entitled: Routes of Exploration to the New World. We’ll be learning specifically about 8 explorers, the routes they took, and their contribution to the world at the time.
Language - Students are working on their Memoir drafts. We’re starting to wrap up the Memoir unit. They are getting their drafts ready to type. We still need to work on a couple formatting things like writing and punctuating dialogue and indenting paragraphs.
From Mrs. Halweg: We wrapped up our unit on division this week with an assessment. I will be grading these over the weekend and hope to return them to your student on Monday for them to share with you. We will not be starting a new unit, but instead will be taking the time now until Thanksgiving to review all of the skills we have learned so far this year. If your student has a 1 or 2 on a skill, I will be working with them in a small group to re-teach that skill. They will then have a chance to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the concept to potentially improve their rubric score.
From Mr. Kelley:
Reading and Language - Students are writing an informational article using Wonderopolis.org as a source for mentor texts. The articles each begin with a question surrounding an informational topic. In reading, students are learning about how details support a main idea.
Social Studies - Students finished their study about the early explorers. We read and discussed how the Columbian Exchange changed life for us today. We will begin studying early English settlements next week.
Each year students are encouraged to participate in the Old Creamery Theatre writing contest. Students are invited to write a creative, original story about a character or characters that learn a lesson involving one or more of the Six Pillars (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship). The selected winners will receive gift cards up to $100 and become the basis for Character Chronicles, a show that will be seen by tens of thousands of students all over Iowa (including Decorah Community Schools). Please visit the following website for requirements, story writing tips, and information about how to enter the contest. All entries must be postmarked or emailed no later than January 15, 2016.
Tech Tip of the Week
Consider this conversation:
Parent: “What do you have for homework?”
Student: “I don’t know.” or “I can’t remember.” or “I don’t have anything to do.”
Sound familiar? Well, look no further than the 5th grade assignment page: http://dms5.weebly.com/assignments.html If you bookmark this site, you will easily be able to access your child’s assignments, even if he forgot to write it in his planner!
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mrs. Nowack: This week in science class we started our new unit on the Solar System and Beyond. Students need to do a nightly moon observation for the next several weeks. I have also asked students to do an activity with their shadows this weekend. Please let me know if you have questions about either of these activities. In reading class, we continue to focus on close reading and identifying main idea and supporting details. You should see your child reading about 20-30 min/night (their IR book and Keynote presentation should be done no later than November 24th). This week in language class, students have been writing stories, poems, or songs to fit with the theme of the 6 Pillars of Character. FYI~ next week’s VIP is Bryar.
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - We’ve started a new unit entitled: Routes of Exploration to the New World. We’ll be learning specifically about 8 explorers, the routes they took, and their contribution to the world at the time.
Language - Students are working on their Memoir drafts. We’re starting to wrap up the Memoir unit. They are getting their drafts ready to type. We still need to work on a couple formatting things like writing and punctuating dialogue and indenting paragraphs.
From Mrs. Halweg: We wrapped up our unit on division this week with an assessment. I will be grading these over the weekend and hope to return them to your student on Monday for them to share with you. We will not be starting a new unit, but instead will be taking the time now until Thanksgiving to review all of the skills we have learned so far this year. If your student has a 1 or 2 on a skill, I will be working with them in a small group to re-teach that skill. They will then have a chance to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the concept to potentially improve their rubric score.
From Mr. Kelley:
Reading and Language - Students are writing an informational article using Wonderopolis.org as a source for mentor texts. The articles each begin with a question surrounding an informational topic. In reading, students are learning about how details support a main idea.
Social Studies - Students finished their study about the early explorers. We read and discussed how the Columbian Exchange changed life for us today. We will begin studying early English settlements next week.