DMS 5th Grade Newsletter
Friday, March 4, 2016
Important Dates
March 9 Attend 7th/8th grade play (a.m.)
March 15 8th grade vs. Faculty basketball game
March 21 6th Grade Science Fair
March 22 Reading Games competition
March 29 Old Creamery Theatre (p.m.)
April 7 NICC STEM Fest (more info below)
8th grade vs Faculty Basketball Game
This game is a fundraiser- all money goes toward a scholarship for the 8th grade DC trip.
When: Tuesday, March 15th- after school until about 4:30
Where: DMS gym
Cost: $2 admittance
Additional info: half-time half court shots- $1
Come cheer on the teachers, as they attempt to continue their winning streak!
Middle School Parents Still Make a Difference- NEW MARCH 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.
Winter Wear
As it gets warmer, students are tempted to not wear coats- remember- we do go outside for recess- please encourage your child to watch the weather forecast and to dress for the weather.
Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival
Families are invited to attend the Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival on Thursday, April 7 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Wilder Business Center, Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar. The festival is free and open to the public.
The goals of the festival are to promote, inspire and engage youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities and to introduce children and parents to STEM careers in their local communities.
More than 30 exhibits will feature hands-on, interactive STEM activities especially for 3rd-8th grade students and their families but all ages are welcome to attend. Attendees can travel a solar system in the digital planetarium, drive a robot, conduct amazing science experiments, explore the nursing field and much more!
The Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival is a community-wide partnership led by Northeast Iowa Region Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at University of Northern Iowa, Northeast Iowa Business Network (in part, by the Iowa Economic Development Authority), Northeast Iowa Community College, Keystone AEA, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, IowaWORKS, and Upper Exploreland Regional Planning Commission.
CODING CONTEST (through NASA)
“Imagine Cup Earth” is open to ages 6-18 with two categories. There are two dates available to enter: March 31 and 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 creating videos to send to the fictitious owner of the Eco Toy Company, Evets Nosretep. (The kids think that he is actually me...hmmm…!) In reading, we are reading some poetry and learning about figurative language. In writing, we are working on our persuasive writing.
From Mrs. Nowack:
We welcome, Miss Arney, a student-teacher from Upper Iowa into our classroom this week. Miss Arney just finished a placement in 2nd grade in Cresco. She will be with us until mid-April.
Science: This week we learned about balanced and unbalanced forces and calculating net force. Students also spent three days doing investigations incorporating their knowledge forces.
Reading: We have continued reading the Great Turkey Walk and our mini-lessons were focused on facts and opinions.
Language: This week’s writing lessons continued with informational writing, elaboration, passive versus active voice, and paragraph structure. Our grammar lesson was on regular and irregular verbs.
VIP: week of March 7- Paige
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - Students will be learning about the Declaration of Independence in Social Studies class. We will learn about when/where/why it was written and what it said! We will have a quiz on March 11.
Language - In language class, we will continue working on writing and proofreading skills. We will learn about indefinite pronouns and the use of apostrophes next week.
From Mrs. Halweg: In math this week we began a new unit on reading, writing, interpreting, and solving algebraic expressions using the order of operations. This is a very short unit, so we’ll be testing over these skills next Friday, March 11. Your students have all of the homework and classwork they’ve completed so far, to begin studying for the test at any time.
Friday, March 4, 2016
Important Dates
March 9 Attend 7th/8th grade play (a.m.)
March 15 8th grade vs. Faculty basketball game
March 21 6th Grade Science Fair
March 22 Reading Games competition
March 29 Old Creamery Theatre (p.m.)
April 7 NICC STEM Fest (more info below)
8th grade vs Faculty Basketball Game
This game is a fundraiser- all money goes toward a scholarship for the 8th grade DC trip.
When: Tuesday, March 15th- after school until about 4:30
Where: DMS gym
Cost: $2 admittance
Additional info: half-time half court shots- $1
Come cheer on the teachers, as they attempt to continue their winning streak!
Middle School Parents Still Make a Difference- NEW MARCH 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.
Winter Wear
As it gets warmer, students are tempted to not wear coats- remember- we do go outside for recess- please encourage your child to watch the weather forecast and to dress for the weather.
Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival
Families are invited to attend the Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival on Thursday, April 7 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Wilder Business Center, Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar. The festival is free and open to the public.
The goals of the festival are to promote, inspire and engage youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities and to introduce children and parents to STEM careers in their local communities.
More than 30 exhibits will feature hands-on, interactive STEM activities especially for 3rd-8th grade students and their families but all ages are welcome to attend. Attendees can travel a solar system in the digital planetarium, drive a robot, conduct amazing science experiments, explore the nursing field and much more!
The Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival is a community-wide partnership led by Northeast Iowa Region Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at University of Northern Iowa, Northeast Iowa Business Network (in part, by the Iowa Economic Development Authority), Northeast Iowa Community College, Keystone AEA, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, IowaWORKS, and Upper Exploreland Regional Planning Commission.
CODING CONTEST (through NASA)
“Imagine Cup Earth” is open to ages 6-18 with two categories. There are two dates available to enter: March 31 and 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 creating videos to send to the fictitious owner of the Eco Toy Company, Evets Nosretep. (The kids think that he is actually me...hmmm…!) In reading, we are reading some poetry and learning about figurative language. In writing, we are working on our persuasive writing.
From Mrs. Nowack:
We welcome, Miss Arney, a student-teacher from Upper Iowa into our classroom this week. Miss Arney just finished a placement in 2nd grade in Cresco. She will be with us until mid-April.
Science: This week we learned about balanced and unbalanced forces and calculating net force. Students also spent three days doing investigations incorporating their knowledge forces.
Reading: We have continued reading the Great Turkey Walk and our mini-lessons were focused on facts and opinions.
Language: This week’s writing lessons continued with informational writing, elaboration, passive versus active voice, and paragraph structure. Our grammar lesson was on regular and irregular verbs.
VIP: week of March 7- Paige
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - Students will be learning about the Declaration of Independence in Social Studies class. We will learn about when/where/why it was written and what it said! We will have a quiz on March 11.
Language - In language class, we will continue working on writing and proofreading skills. We will learn about indefinite pronouns and the use of apostrophes next week.
From Mrs. Halweg: In math this week we began a new unit on reading, writing, interpreting, and solving algebraic expressions using the order of operations. This is a very short unit, so we’ll be testing over these skills next Friday, March 11. Your students have all of the homework and classwork they’ve completed so far, to begin studying for the test at any time.