Happy September!
I hope that you all read the newsletter that was sent home on the 5th. Mrs. Williams typed that letter, but it represented all of the 5th grade classes. Attached was a permission slip for our field trip to Mammoth Caves. I am still missing several students' permission slips.
Field trip agenda:
Two buses will leave the school around 9:00 AM on Friday, September 21. We will drive up Cedar Mountain and visit an extinct volcano. Then, we will drive to some lava tubes, called Mammoth Caves. These caves are located across the highway from Navajo Lake.
The cave we will be hiking in is dark and slippery with overhanging rocks. For this reason, we require that all students wear gym type shoes (no sandals or slippery soled shoes), and we need every student to bring a flashlight. A water bottle and jacket would also be a good idea. We invite parent chaperones to come with us. If you'd like to come, just send word with your child. Parents, you will need to bring your own lunch or let us know if you want to order a school lunch. Also, bring your own flashlight. There are outdoor bathrooms at Mammoth Caves, and we will plan on eating our lunches there.
We will stop at Cedar Breaks and hike the Alpine Loop Trail while we look for signs of erosion, weathering, and deposition. This trail is about one mile long. We plan on arriving at the school around 3:00 PM. Let me know if you have any questions about this trip.
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Maturation programs will be held on Friday, September 28. The boys will meet at 1:00 and the girls at 2:15. The school nurse will send a letter home next week so you can read more details. We encourage you to attend with your child. Usually, the boys prefer their dads to be with them, and the girls feel more comfortable with their moms:) If you can't make it, your child can sit with a friend and his/her parent.
SEP (Parent/teacher conferences) will be held October 1-5. I would love you to let me know if one day is better that another. I would also love to hold some of the conferences in the mornings before school, 7:30 or 8:00 AM. Let me know if this works for any of you.
I have divided my students into spelling groups. They will be working with word sorts this year. Some weeks, your child may have an easy list, but the words will have spelling patterns that your child needs to become more familiar with. Other weeks his/her list may be more difficult. We have been working on these lists in class, and they will come home tomorrow so students can review them before the test on Friday.
*We are still working toward a yummy pan of brownies by every student coming prepared with math homework ten days in a row. We did make it to six days, then had to start over again. Please encourage your child to come prepared with math. If s/he is really struggling and it is taking an unreasonable amount of time to complete, then let me know. I would say that 30-45 minutes on math homework is reasonable.
Those are the important happenings this month. Of course, the most important occasion this month is Shaylee's birthday. Have a wonderful birthday, Shaylee!
Sincerely, Mrs. Jeanne Payne jeanne.payne@ironmail.org
