Horton

April

We are reviewing and working hard to prepare for the upcoming CRCT test which begins on Tuesday, April 21st.   Please have your child do practice tests on line.  Some upcoming reminders are spring break next week, as if I had to remind you!   The Friday after spring break, April 17th we will be taking our fifth grade "All Around Atlanta Field Trip".  

I did not send home reading requirements for parents to sign for this last nine weeks.  The students know they are to read five books as usual during the nine week period.   They are taking chapter notes as they read.   These notes are turned in to the book report folder when they finish a book.   This is to help learn how to make chapter notes as they will need to do on the books they are required to read over the summer for middle school.

Thank you for sending the Dodgen and Daniell enrollment cards back so quicly.   Simpson enrollment cards have not yet been sent to us.  We will get those out to you as soon as we get them.

We could use some snacks if you would like to donate.

Remember you can always contact me at debra.horton@cobbk12.org.

March

I was very proud of the effort all the students put forth on their writing test.   I have my fingers crossed that we did well.   Those scores will take some time to get back to us.  It will be before school is out, hopefully.    This week ends the 3rd nine weeks of school.  Hard to believe, isn't it?   I have reminded the students daily about getting their historical fiction book report written along with the book wheel.   The students have been doing a great job of writing up or sharing the five books they were required to read this nine weeks.   Many of the students have already met the independent reading requirements.  Way to go, students!

We will be taking the post test on the current math unit on Friday.  It includes measurement, graphs, and multiplication and division of fractions with models.   The best way to prepare for this test is to review all tests or quizzes in the math section of their notebooks along with daily practice papers.

All students will also have a science test over the unit they are currently studying on Friday.  The teachers will be sending home study guides for this test tomorrow.   Please remember that all the grades from their current science teacher will be averaged along with the final test from their previous teacher.   This is because the nine weeks started before we tested the last science unit.

If you would like to send some snacks it would be much appreciated.  We are getting low.   The students enjoyed the animal crackers that were sent in.  They also really like Cheese Its.  I want to brag on my students for doing such a nice job of filling out their agendas every single day and getting them signed.   I feel we have good communication between school and home because of this.  They are getting ready for middle school with this great organization.  It won't be long now.  Parents, are YOU ready?  Students, if you read this blog with your parents whisper the secret word in red to me to earn five fast bucks for your team.

Conference Week

First of all, I want to brag on my students' invention projects.   They were awesome!  We had such a good time with them.   Each student was given $1,000,000 to invest in someone else's invention.   They took the presentations very seriously since they had money to invest.    Some students surprised themselves by getting over $2,000,000 from investors.   It was a great lesson to help the students see how business works.

I want to thank all the parents that sent in snacks for our classroom.   That is so helpful and very much appreciated.

This week is conference week.   The students will be dismissed at 2:20 so teachers can begin their conferences at 2:40.   Another big thank you goes to  parents for making the scheduling of conferences so easy for me.   I had to only make a couple of changes in times and dates.  

Our science classes ended on Friday with a review for the upcoming test on the current unit on Wednesday.  Our last rotation will begin after conferences.   My class will be going to Mr. Glass for a unit on cells.   In social studies we will finish chapter 8 this week with a test over lessons 3 and 4 on Friday.    The students will begin studying difference types of graphs in their math classes this week.    We will be working on narrative writing and will continue daily grammar practice.   I am so very proud of the great job my class is doing with daily grammar practice.   They are doing some pretty complicated diagrams and getting more comfortable with parts of speech.   This will help them so much in middle school in their language arts class.

Be sure to talk with your student about the books they are reading for their independent reading log.    They should have finished at least one book by now.    The book reports and book wheels that many of the students have already turned in for their historical fiction books are very very good.   Remember, this is a good chance for your child to use their keyboarding skills to type the book report.

I just want my parents to know how much I enjoy teaching your children each day.   They are well behaved and work so hard.  They have wonderful personalities and huge hearts.   I tell them all the time that they make teaching fun for me, and it is very true!!

You can contact me any time with questions or concerns at debra.horton@cobbk12.org.

January

Happy New Year!   We are starting the last half of fifth grade.  Hard to believe, isn't it?

First of all, I want to thank my class for the gift certificate to Home Depot that you gave me for Christmas.   I will buy spring flowers for my patio.   Thank you also for all the sweet gifts and treats you gave me during the weeks prior to Christmas along with a wonderful birthday lunch brought by my room mom.   I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your families.

The students will be bringing home the independent reading requirements for this nine weeks on Tuesday.   Please read that over, sign, and return it to school.    We will be giving our pretest for the next math unit on Tuesday.  The students will start those new math classes on Friday.   Our target day has been changed to Thursday so we will be having our science classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesdays starting this week.  The students will remain with their present science teacher for several more weeks.

Even though the third nine weeks is starting,  report cards will not be sent home until you have your conference the week of January 26th.  If you are concerned about a grade, please contact me and I can discuss that with you.   I plan to send home notices about any grades we are concerned about so that you will be aware of this before your conference.  As you are making schedules for the month remember that Monday, January 19th is a holiday for MLK.   The week of the 26th will be early release at 12:30 so that teachers may have their conferences.

We are completely out of snacks for our class.   We really need to build our supply back up.  I bought a bag of pretzels for the time being.   If you could send in cheese nips, crackers, gold fish, pretzels, etc., it would be so greatly appreciated.   It seems that about half the class rarely has a snack, so it would also be helpful if you could encourage your child to pack their snack the night before.  This will help on the amount of snacks that I have to provide to the students. 

We are starting guided reading groups this week.    I will try to meet with each group at least three times a week.   Please be sure that the books for these groups always come back to school each day.  I do not have extra copies.    We will be doing comprehension work, vocabulary work, and using various reading strategies in these groups to help the students advance in their reading no matter what their current level is.  We are also starting chapter 8 in social studies.    The students will continue to work hard on their writing in preparation for the state wide writing test on March 4th.   We will also be continuing English grammar through Daily Grammar Practice several times each week.

I hope this updates you as to what is happening at school this new nine weeks.   Always feel free to contact me anytime at debra.horton@cobbk12.org.  Students, if you are reading this blog with your parents come whisper the secret word in red to earn five fast bucks for your team.

November 17th

It's hard to believe that this week will end the half way point of the second nine weeks of school.  We are all looking forward to a whole week off for Thanksgiving.   Academic alerts will go out this week for any students who have a lower than expected grade in any of their subjects.  The nine weeks will end at our winter break on December 19th.

I am very proud of the work the students in my math class did on their M and M project.  They worked very hard in class as well as at home.  Way to go, students!

We are beginning a new chapter in social studies about connecting the east and west.   We have been studying about the Transcontinental Railroad and the hardships the workers faced in completing this railroad.  The students will be reading a story related to this, and they will also be doing informational writing about what it would be like to ride on the Transcontinental Railroad.  We will be stressing the use of strong verbs and  sensory words in our writing this week.

Our science classes will end this first rotation on Friday.  All students have a test over their unit on Friday.   Watch for study guides to come home this week in preparation for this unit test.  Our new rotation will start when we return from Thanksgiving.   My students will be moving to Ms. Reid's class for science at that time.

We celebrated checking our social studies notebook section on Friday.  This was an unannounced notebook check and almost all the students made an A on their notebook section.   We are getting organized!!!   Congratulations,students!!!  These came home on Friday for you to sign. Students, if you are reading this with your parents come whisper the word in red to me and earn five fast bucks for your new team.   We will be trading fast bucks,making our new teams, and moving on Friday.  That is always fun to look forward to.

A very important notice also came home on Friday.   This was for parents to place an order for a page in the yearbook to honor their graduating fifth grader.   Be sure to include your money, a baby picture, and a message to your child when you return the order.  The students are thrilled to see what picture has been chosen and the message their family writes to them.   Be sure to seal this in an envelope and keep it a surprise until they see it in the yearbook.

I want to wish each of you a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families.  I am thankful for wonderful students with kind hearts, great minds, and  joyous personalities. They inspire me every day.

November 3rd

Remember this is election week and  students will have a holiday on Tuesday, Nov.4th.   Teachers have a work day.   The students did really well on their Civil War social studies test.   They came home to be signed on Friday.  Some  of the students, however, are not showing the study guides for tests to their parents.   We require that you sign all study guides.   I was disappointed that many of the students that didn't do well on the test did not show the study guide to their parents.   I always give a study guide at least 3 days before the test.  We will be talking about reconstruction after the Civil War in our classes this week.

My class will continue in science with Mrs. Cassell through Thanksgiving.   We do get the entire Thanksgiving week off to spend with our families.   The students are studying fractions in their math classes.   They need to be able to reduce to lowest terms, convert improper fractions to mixed numbers, and find common denominators to add and subtract fractions.   We continue to work on parts of speech and diagraming sentences in English.  We will also be working on narrative writing.   All students should have finished reading one of their books, taken an A.R. test, or completed the one required book report. 

Week of October 20th

This week brings us the Fall Book Fair.   We did some window shopping on Thursday and the students made their wish lists.   You are invited to come eat lunch with your child on Tuesday and then shop at the book fair.  This week is also healthy choice week sponsored by our PTA.   Let's all remember to bring healthy snacks to eat this week at school.

This week will also begin our new science and math classes.   Both of these new classes will start on Wednesday.   The students will be taking their pre and post math tests on Monday.   We will let them know who their math teacher for this new unit on fractions will be on Tuesday.  My class will be going to Mrs. Cassell for science starting Wednesday.   Report cards were sent home on Friday along with a letter about the CRCT test in the spring.   Please make sure you signed and returned the report card signature card along with the CRCT test letter.

Week of October 13th

The first nine weeks has ended and report cards will go home this Friday.   We checked our notebook sections last week and those came home to be signed on Friday.   Many of the students did not do too well on these and need to stay more organized this nine weeks.  On Monday the students will get their spelling test and science test back from last week.   These will come home for you to sign.   They will also bring home their writing project on the Class Pet for you to sign.   Remember these grades went on the first nine weeks grading period.

Wednesday is early release.  The students will be dismissed at 2:25.   There will be a voluntary chorus practice on Thursday. Students, if you are reading this blog with you parents, come whisper the words in red to me to earn five fast bucks for your team.

The reading requirement sheet for the new nine weeks will come home on Wednesday of this week.   Most students have already selected a new book to begin reading.   The requirement will once again be five books.   

Remember the easiest way to contact me is by email at debra.horton@cobbk12.org. 

Week of October 6th

This is the last week of the first nine week grading period.   There will be two major tests this week.  Our chapter 5 social studies test is Wednesday.  A study guide was sent home on Friday.  We will be reviewing with the study guide on Monday.   There will be a science test over the chapter on electricity on Friday.   There  will be no study guide for that test.  Instead the students will take the practice test in their books and also a practice test in their workbooks.   If they reread the chapter, go over all handouts in their notebook section, and do these two practice tests they should be well prepared.

Reading logs are due on Friday.   All books need to be finished and shared with the class by Friday.   We will be checking all notebook sections on Thursday and Friday.   Remember... a notebook check grade counts as a quiz grade in that subject, so being organized really counts.

The Penny War for Relay for Life is Tuesday through Thursday of this week.   Send in all those pennies from around the house.  They really add up.   Any coin other than a penny or a bill will take away pennies from another class's jug.    That will REALLY add up for our class!   All checks need to be made out to Relay for Life.   This is for cancer research, a really good cause.  Students, if you are reading this blog with your parents come whisper the secret words in blue to earn five fast bucks for your team.

Parents, if you need to contact me please do it by email.   If you write a note in the agenda the students many times do not show it to me.   If is also very hard for me to leave class and get to the phone during the day.  I can easily email you during the day.   You can contact me through email any time with concerns or questions at debra.horton@cobbk12.org. 

October

We are so glad that testing is over and we can get back to our normal schedule.   The students were so good and did their very best on the tests.

I hope they are working on their reflections entries.   The deadline is this Friday, October3rd.   Notices were sent home this week to any students that were behind on their independent reading.    We have had some wonderful book sharings.   It is hard to believe the first nine weeks will end in two weeks on Friday, October 10th.   The five independent books should be read and shared with the class before then.   Many of the students have already read and shared five books and are reading additional books for extra credit in reading.   Way to go, students!

We will be finishing chapter 4 in social studies this week.   I will send a study guide home this Friday so they can start studying for their test which will be on Wednesday, October 8th.   We will be continuing our study of electricity this week as we talk about circuits and conductors.   The class will also be doing persuasive writing this week as we go over the steps that make up a good persuasive piece.   Please review these with your child at home each night. 

Congratulations to Sydney, our character winner for integrity.  She is an outstanding role model in honesty and doing the right thing every single day.   The character luncheon is Monday of this week.   Congratulations also go out to Jenna and Parker who were elected our student council representatives.

Expect more homework this week because we are back to work on all subjects.   There is a lot to cover.   Remember there should not be more than about one hour of homework each night if your child is using their time wisely at school each day.  Students should also be reading about 30 minutes each night at home.   It is almost time to have notebook checks in all subjects as the first nine weeks draws to a close.   Look at your child's notebook sections at least once a week.  Make sure all folders are empty of loose papers and all the papers that are sent to you in the VIP folder are taken out and kept at home except for tests that are signed and returned.

A big thank you to all the parents that have sent in breakfast snacks for testing as well as regular snacks.    We seem to go through these fast.   The students are so excited about trading their fast bucks on Monday.   They moved to their new teams on Friday and we cleaned our desks inside and out!!   Students, if you are reading this blog with your parents come whisper the secret words in blue to me and earn five fast bucks for your new team!  It's great to be back to normal.   We are looking forward to a great week.