February 10, 2012
 Valentine's Day is coming up next Tuesday, February 14th!
 
1. This is another FMNV exempt day. This means that kids are free to bring in food of minimal nutritional value to share with the class on this day. The only rule is- you must bring enough for everyone in our class.

2. Students may bring Valentine’s Day Cards (handmade or store bought) to pass out to the rest of the class! I will send home a class list with the students today. (FYI - Some of the boys in my class have expressed that they do not want to participate. While I cannot make it a requirement, I would highly recommend that you encourage your son to bring in the cards – after all this is the last time that they will get to do this as a whole class!)
 
3. We will also have a Valentine mailbox decorating competition! Students can show up to school with their 'fancied' up mailbox for all other classmates to judge! I will have a special V-day surprise for the winner! Get creative and make sure it is not much bigger than a large shoe box. Don’t forget, it needs to have a hole to put your Valentines into.

Of, course all of these activities are optional and will take place in our classroom. The 5^thgrade homeroom moms have planned a fabulous 5^thgrade party that will take place in the cafeteria at about 1:30.

Don't forget to check the Spicewood E-folder to find out what 'other' papers are no longer coming home in Friday Folders.  
e-Friday Folder

Congratulations Spicewood! We won a playground!
The Rally for Recess contest ended last night with Spicewood in first place. We will have more information at the end of the month regarding the new playground and fun recess day! Thank you for everyone's donations and generosity. Go Spicewood!

Study Island Update
Since all of my students at different paces, I have decided to change this up a little.  I am asking that the students work through all of the quizzes at his or her own pace.  All of the math quizzes need to be completed by Friday, March 9.  All of the Science quizzes need to be completed by April 13. Please remind your child to read through the lesson BEFORE trying to take the quiz. Some of them need to slow down while taking the quiz as well.  Most of the time when I see a low score, I also see that the student only spent 2-3 minutes answering 10 questions!  Your child should have paper and pencil at hand to work out the problems before selecting an answer choice - this is true for many of the science questions as well as the math.  Thank you for your support!
Please note that I will be assigning additional homework once the Science Fair Projects are turned in, so please keep this in mind when working out a schedule to complete Study Island.

Class updates:
 Language Arts: We have started working on the PYP Exhibition, so your children may have another teacher you will hear about.  Every 5th grade student has ben assigned to a work group with students from the other classes.  They meet in one of the 5th grade classrooms twice a week to begin researching a world issue or problem.  The groups were able to choose their topics, so be sure to ask your child who s/he is working with and what they are studying.  More information about this process will come home soon, but mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 2.  This will be our Exhibition Day, when the students get to share the results of their research.

Social Studies: We have made it to Oregon! Well, about half of us did anyway.  It was a terrible journey and we lost many friends along the way.  Those of us who survived are exctied about the new kife we will have in the lush green valley! Unfortunately, things back East are heading towards disaster.  There are such disagreements that we are afraid the country will be split in two!

Math: We have started investigating measurement.

Science: 

  

Another Writing Contest:

 

HOME ACCESS CENTER or the “HAC”
The Home Access Center is a browser-based student information system that allows parents/guardians and high school students to view student information such as: demographics, attendance data, class schedules, discipline incidents, student progress, and report card grades. Parents may register online by going to the RRISD website and clicking on the “Log-In” tab found under Home Access Center. Parents/guardians who are unable to register online must make arrangements with our registrar and sign a User Agreement form to receive their username and password. More information about the HAC can be found in the RRISD Student Parent Handbook. This link should take to directly to the log-in page:
https://accesscenter.roundrockisd.org/homeaccess/

From The Spicewood PTA:
PTA WEBSITE  www.spicewoodpta.org
Don't forget to check out the Spicewood PTA Website for lots of important information and announcements about upcoming events!  You also need to sign up to receive the electronic PTA newsletter as well