The pictures from the State Reports are AMAZING! Awesome job, students! I'm so proud of all of you.

The Caterpillar Condo

A record 38 caterpillars are now comfortably resting inside cocoons! Unfortunately, we had one casualty. But all of the others survived! Amazing!

The kids have been having a blast checking up on their charges. They take care of them so well, and watch over them like hovering mother hens. Steve, who has adopted the majority of the leftover caterpillars (seven of them!) has earned the name "Papa Steve." He has kept a careful eye on all of his little ones, and takes great pride in the fact that all of them have managed to stay alive during this trying time.

Things the kids have noticed: "blood" or pigment that is basically what the caterpillar has not needed during it's transformation and formation of the wings. Also noticed: "poop" and "spider web things" which is basically...well, exactly that. The silk the caterpillars have spun does indeed look just like spider webs!

We are all hoping they come out to say hello soon. And when we do eventually welcome our newly transformed butterflies, we will need carnation petals and apples. They also like watermelon, apparently...just like the Room 11 students!

LANGUAGE ARTS TESTING BEGINS TOMORROW!

The informal rules of any kind of testing are easy and clear:

1. Go to bed EARLY. Get lots of sleep so you will be well rested for the test in the morning.

2. Eat a HEALTHY BREAKFAST so you won't be hungry during testing. Eat some brain food!

3. Come to school ON TIME. If you are late, you will be locked out of the room. You will be spending a long time waiting in the office.

4. Pay close attention to WHAT THE QUESTION IS ASKING and solve. Do not rush to answer without completely reading what they are asking.

5. DO NOT RUSH through your test, but DO NOT BE A TURTLE and use all your time on one question. You need to pace yourself.

6. DOUBLE CHECK YOUR ANSWERS. Put check marks next to the ones you aren't sure of and return to try it again after you are done with the questions you know.

7. Drink water. BRING A WATER BOTTLE. You need to stay hydrated throughout your test so you don't become tired.

8. DO NOT PANIC. If you are in Room 11, YOU ARE READY. You know everything on this test. You just need to apply your knowledge and put it to good use!

9. I BELIEVE IN YOU. You will do a fabulous job! I HAVE CONFIDENCE AND SO SHOULD YOU!

10. GOOD LUCK! And I will see you all in the morning...ON TIME!

HOMEWORK for April 28

HOMEWORK for April 28 to May 5, 2008

1. Word Search

2. Daily Language Review

3. Daily Academic Vocabulary
a. represent, representative, symbolize, symbol, symbolic

4. Daily Paragraph Editing
a. History: “The Pull of the Pole”

5. Daily Handwriting Practice

6. Daily Word Problems

7. Daily Math Practice

8. Daily Geography
a. Sharing the Colorado River

9. Tic Tac Math

10. Crossword
a. The Tin Lizzy

11. Reading Log

12. Essay: You have already written about what you will miss about Sutro School. Now write a six paragraph essay on why you will miss ROOM 11. What are some of the things you will miss most about your class? Your classroom? Your grade? Be specific and write from the heart.

Amazing Car Wash!

Thank you to all the volunteers for their help with the 5th Grade Car Wash Fundraiser this past Saturday! It was hugely successful, and the highest grossing one to date!  All proceeds will go towards the Baker Beach 5th Grade Picnic as well as the 5th Grade Graduation!

And thank you for washing my car, students. It looks so clean, you can see your reflection!

STAR TESTING BEGINS ON TUESDAY

Yes, it's that time of year again. And here's a little preview for you...check out some of the old questions from STAR tests past!

(Thank you to Qinglin for sending me this very informative link!)

5th GRADE CAR WASH THIS SATURDAY!!

11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the lower yard of the playground!

Hot Dogs or hamburger with condiments and a drink and bag of chips...a STEAL at $5.00!!

All proceeds go towards the 5th Grade Baker Beach Picnic and the GRADUATION PARTY! WOO!

Springtime for Caterpillars!

Along with springtime, the kids welcomed their new pets this week...tiny caterpillars! Each student has their own to care for, and must take responsibility for their caterpillar.

Once the caterpillar eats all the food and cocoons itself, we will place them into the caterpillar "condo" and wait patiently for them to break out and spread their beautiful wings as butterflies.

The kids are very excited about their new wards, and I'm sure they will take very good care of all of them.

ART SHOW TONIGHT!

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!

All classrooms will be open for viewing! See your children's art on display! Have a snack and make a project! DON'T MISS THIS EVENT!!

5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

See you there!

No Smoking, Please...

The students had an opportunity to touch different types of hearts last month. And this week, they had the chance to touch LUNGS. Miss Molly showed them healthy lungs first, explaining the inner-workings of the organs. Then, she brought out the unhealthy lungs...which brought out quite a reaction from the students!

I doubt we will have to worry about any of the Room 11 students ever touching or inhaling a cigarette. The lungs were completely grey and diseased, and left quite an impression on everyone. YIKES!

HOMEWORK for April 21

HOMEWORK for April 21 – 28

1) Spelling List

2) Daily Language Review

3) Daily Academic Vocabulary

4) Daily Paragraph Editing

5) Daily Handwriting Practice

6) Daily Word Problems

7) Daily Math Practice

8) Daily Geography

9) Recipe for Multiplication

10) Vocabulary and Social Studies

11) Reading Log

ESSAY: Please write SIX paragraphs on “The Importance of Reading.” Give examples of how reading has helped you. What about reading do you enjoy most? What is your favorite type of book and why?

States and Capitals and All Sorts of Good Things...

The Room 11 vs. Mr. Wong challenge has proven an overwhelming success! Last week, Mr. Wong dared the entire class to beat him in scoring on the states and capitals test, where the kids had to place the states and capitals in their places on a blank map...this included the Great Lakes, oceans, inset maps, etc. Spelling counted!

Today, the kids took the test, sitting alongside Mr. Wong.

Mr. Wong missed a total of 16, which earned him a B-. This is how the kids scored:

13 students received an A
9 students received an A-
2 students received a B+
1 students received a B-
3 students received a C-
2 students scored 50% or better
2 students scored under 50%
1 student was absent, and will need to take the test later in the week.

NOT TO SHABBY, STUDENTS!! Mr. Wong and I are very proud of all of you who studied so dilligently. Congratulations!

HOMEWORK for April 14

HOMEWORK for April 14 – 21

1) Spelling List

2) Daily Language Review

3) Daily Academic Vocabulary

4) Daily Paragraph Editing

5) Daily Handwriting Practice

6) Daily Word Problems

7) Daily Math Practice

8) Daily Geography

9) Recipe for Multiplication

10) Vocabulary and Social Studies

11) Reading Log

ESSAY: Work on your State Report, which is due on MONDAY. Do NOT forget to make a brochure. The sample is available for you to examine if needed. EVERYBODY MUST TURN IN THEIR REPORTS ON MONDAY. DO NOT FORGET.

Please write SIX paragraphs on “What I will miss most about Sutro School.” Give examples of how Sutro has helped you. What are your favorite memories of Sutro? How did you feel when you first started compared to how you feel leaving? What has Sutro taught you? How has Sutro taught you to be a better student? How will you remember Sutro later on in Middle School? What is the importance of your education at Sutro?

Science with Miss Molly!

Wow!  Science sure has changed since I was in 5th grade.  The kids look forward to Wednesdays, because it means they have an hour with Miss Molly, librarian and ex-6th grade science teacher extraordinaire.  The love learning about science in general, but with Miss Molly, it's truly a treat.

Throughout the year we have been learning about various concepts and subjects, including the Solar System, the weather, the different systems in our body, the vascular system in plants, classifying, and now we are learning about the Periodic Table and formulas.  Yes, you read correctly...the Periodic Table!  

It's a challenging concept for anyone, and for 5th graders it's a giant topic.  They are required to know about how the Periodic Table works, but are not going to need to memorize the table.  Miss Molly has been going through this lesson with them during our Wednesday sessions and the students are doing their best to soak up as much information as possible before testing beings at the end of April.

Yes, TESTING!  It's coming up.  Room 11 will be ready for the challenge!

HOMEWORK for April 7th

HOMEWORK for April 7-14

1) Spelling Words

2) Daily Language Review

3) Daily Academic Vocabulary

4) Daily Paragraph Editing
a. News Article, “Waverly Residents Prepare for Tornaadoes”

5) Daily Handwriting Practice

6) Daily Word Problems

7) Daily Math Practice

8) Geography
a. A Product Map of Nebraska

9) Fractions Beyond Compare

10) Reading Log

RESEARCH:

You are to have at least 12 drawings for your state report. You should have your state drawn already. You should also have your state flag drawn. You should also draw your state flower, state landmarks, and anything that distinguishes your state from the rest. Remember to DO YOUR BEST WORK and to USE COLOR.

Zooming through Harcourt Math!

The kids are jamming through Harcourt math! We have landed on Chapter 24, and they are doing a fabulous job with all the concepts of ordered pairs and graphing. Last week in Chapter 23, we learned about integers, which included adding and subtracting. which can be a very difficult and confusing concept.

For those of you who need a refresher: Positive integers are all the whole numbers greater than zero: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ... . Negative integers are all the opposites of these whole numbers: -1, -2, -3, -4, -5, … . We do not consider zero to be a positive or negative number. For each positive integer, there is a negative integer, and these integers are called opposites. For example, -3 is the opposite of 3, -21 is the opposite of 21, and 8 is the opposite of -8. If an integer is greater than zero, we say that its sign is positive. If an integer is less than zero, we say that its sign is negative. Whew!

However, the kids did well, and their Chapter 23 tests reflected their efforts. Good job, students!

Coat of Arms

Having read The Phantom Tollbooth, the kids learned about something called A Coat of Arms, also known as a family crest. Each Coat of Arms is specific to a unique family, and is carried through generations of that family until present day. The students had a chance to make their own Coat of Arms today, and so far they are lovely.

To create a Coat of Arms, you must choose symbols and colors, all of which have specific meanings. The color red, for example, means "warrior or martyr; Military strength and magnanimity."

Each person chose three things to add to their coat, which identified their family and themselves in some way. I believe they truly enjoy the art projects, because they are always so beautifully colored and drawn. I think we have a slew of budding artists in the classroom!

HOMEWORK for April 1st

HOMEWORK for April 1-April 7

1) Spelling Words

2) Daily Language Review

3) Daily Academic Vocabulary

4) Daily Paragraph Editing
a. Book Review, “Dinotopia” 1
5) Daily Handwriting Practice

6) Daily Word Problems

7) Daily Math Practice

8) Geography
a. A Cultural Map

9) The Factor Factory

10) Reading Log

RESEARCH:

DRAW YOUR STATE for your research report. Do your BEST WORK.
DRAW YOUR STATE FLAG for your research report.

Research your STATE for your report, which is due on April 21st
Find: Famous people from your state, anything particularly interesting about your state, Continue working on your list of things to find, from A to Z.