Promotion Attire

There seems to be some confusion about what students have been told to wear to the promotion ceremony. We have told students that they do not need to be too dressy. They can wear clothing LIKE what they'd wear to school (eg. collared shirt and slacks/skirt). Students DO NOT need to wear uniform colors. No jeans or gym shoes, please. We hope this clarifies any questions you may have.

Thank you! We look forward to seeing you that night.

EXHIBITION RUBRICS

These are the rubrics that I will be using for the students' exhibitions.  The Academic Checklist is only for those students who did not do the "Do Something" Project.  Students who did the project will be scored using the "Do Something" Project Rubric.  


Please review to be sure your child is prepared.

THE AMAZING RACE HAS COME TO UPA!!

We are now into our last session of Social Studies and Mr. Curran and Mr. Wetherbee have come up with an awesome project - The Amazing Race! Students will be working in teams, writing clues for regions of the U.S., and then other teams will need to figure out what the clues lead to!  Follow the progress on the link below.

https://sites.google.com/site/uparace/https://sites.google.com/site/uparace/

FIELD DAY - JUNE 15TH

We will be spending the day at Wayne State’s Athletic Field, where the students will be participating in numerous activities. Students are encouraged to bring their own water bottle to use throughout the day and they are allowed to wear free dress in the form of athletic clothes. NO sandals or tank tops. Gym shoes required!

In order for this event to be possible, we are asking the students to contribute $5.00 to go towards the cost of food (hot dogs, chips, juice, etc). If your child could bring the money in by Friday, June 3^rd, it would be greatly appreciated!

*Participation is a privilege, and its up to the discretion of your child’s teacher. Behavior starting now till the end of the school year is a key factor in the decision.

SCIENCE OLYMPIAD - TUESDAY, JUNE 14TH

Our Annual Science Olympiad returns!!

 We will need donations of the following items for Science Olympiad:

o   Lasagna noodles

o   Spaghetti noodles

o   Play dough

o   Aluminum foil

o   Life Saver candy

o   Straws

o   Cardboard paper towel or toilet paper tubes

o   Balloons

o   Pipe cleaners

o   Paper lunch bags

o   Bamboo skewers

o   Dixie Cups/small drinking cups

o   Several rolls of masking tape

PANCAKE AND PAJAMAS!!!

ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT

PANCAKE BREAKFAST is BACK!!

Served with SAUSAGE, ORANGE DRINK & COFFEE
BY: CHRIS CAKES

LOCATION: Cafeteria of Ellen Thompson
Date: Thursday May 26, 2011
Time: 5:00-7:00 p.m.                                                           
COST: $5.00 per person at the front desk**
$6.00 per person at the door
(Children under 2 free)

Please join us for the evening sporting your pajamas for pancake eating, pillowcase decorating, dancing and reading (with the chance to win some of the many books up for raffle!!).  Activities will be located on the 1st floor village.

**Tickets can be bought prior to the event at the front desk. 

IMPORTANT EXHIBITION REMINDER

Exhibition Reminder

The final part of the "Do Something" project is your child's REFLECTION of the entire project. I did need to see this at Milestone 3, but did not remind the students.  I will be talking with the students about the reflection portion and telling them it needs to be turned in by Friday, May 20th.  I would just like to see what they have thus far, to make sure that they are on the right track. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. This needs to be added to their powerpoint or other visual aid for the exhibition.


Do Something Reflection

MILESTONE 4 REMINDER

MILESTONE 4 REMINDER

DUE MAY 25TH

VISUAL AIDS FOR ALL  OF THE ACADEMIC AREAS

Math, science, reading, writing, and social studies

Checklist for Exhibitions Trimester 3 2010-2011

ART FIELD TRIP!!!

Friday June 3rd the 5th grade classes will be going to the Works: Detroit gallery to see an exhibit staring Ghamba! Who is the paper mache elephant that the 5th grades classes all created together. We will be boarding the busses at 11:00 a.m. and returning for lunch at around 12:25 p.m.  

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail Ms. Seikaly Dseikaly@uprep.com


Danielle Seikaly

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION....

Our Newbery Medal podcast/movies are almost complete!  I hope your child has shared this exiting project with you over the past month.  The students read a Newbery Medal or Honor book, choose one scene from the story, wrote a story board, and then a script.  They learned so many skills from this project and sharpened others, such as revising!  They also discovered how to adapt a story into a movie script, adding dialogue, stating the story from a character's point of view, and interpreting what the author might think is the important point within the scene.  We then did podcasts, found pictures that represented the scene or characters, and are now in the process of putting them into iMovie.  Below is Nadia's finished movie.  Take out some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy!!  (I'll be posting other movies under the "Student Work" tab.

                                                                                              

FAMILY GAME NIGHT - THANK YOU

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Family Game night was a lot of fun and I enjoyed spending extra time with many families.  But I need to give a special THANK YOU to the following students who stayed after school, learned the math games, made signs, and taught the games to others:

Shanna Lawrence

Nadia Bailey

Khalif Hampton

Lance Johnson

Katilynn Palmer

Hailey Edgar

Joshua Stephens

Faith Harper

EXHIBITION REMINDER

MILESTONE #3

Due Thursday, May 12^th 

In order to pass Milestone 3, your child will need THREE different types of visual aids to capture and retain the attention of their audience.  Please refer to the Do Something packet that you received at your child's learning team meeting for examples of completed power points.  

1.    Pictures and/or Video:

a.    Everyone must include pictures or videos as evidence of them “doing something”

b.    If students volunteered at a location, it is expected that they have pictures for every visit. They were supposed to visit the location at least 2 different times

2.    Flyers/Posters/or Pamphlets:

a.    Any flyers, posters, and/or pamphlets that were created to advertise their event or effort

3.   Power Point or Glogster:

a.    This should be used to help organize and present all of the information from Milestone 2 (vocabulary, statistics, history, interview questions/answers etc…) and their RELFECTION in an interesting manner

FAMILY GAME NIGHT!

REMINDER:  FAMILY GAME NIGHT IS THIS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27TH FROM 5:00-6:30.


Come learn fun math games you can play with your family to help improve students' math skills while having fun at the same time. Mr. Curran will be hosting an Internet safety workshop at 5:00 in his room. Math games start at 5:30. There will be a giveaway of numerous math games and flashcards at 6:30. You must be present to win. Snacks and drinks will be provided. We hope to see you all there.

NOTE FOR MILESTONE #2 - DUE THURSDAY, APRIL 28TH

Students are expected to have:


1.  Notes in an outline with facts about the problem they want to fix for their Do Something Project


2.  Interview questions and answers from the interviewee (minimum of 10 questions - YES/NO questions are not allowed.


3.  Completed words and stats sheet (5 words form their resources and definitions and at least 3 statistics about the problem.


All sheets of the project can be found at http://www.scribd.com/doc/50823607/Do-Something-Project-Updated-Version-2011

FAMILY GAME NIGHT!

The third floor is sponsoring a Family Game Night on Wednesday, April 13^th at 5:30 p.m. We will be focusing on math games that the family can play as a whole. This will not only support the benefit of family time, but also enhance academic knowledge.

I hope to see all of my families there, especially since OUR floor is sponsoring it. Snacks will be provided and we will be raffling off the games that are played that night. Be one of the lucky winners to leave with a FREE game!

Exhibition Reminder

Milestone 1

Due THIS Thursday, April 14^th 

In order to pass Milestone 1, THREE things are needed in addition to 

filling out the Milestone 1 form:

1.    3 Books:

a.    the actual books need to be brought in

2.    3 Websites:

a.    printed off pages from the actual websites

3.    Interview:

a.    Interviewee ‘s Contact Information- on the Milestone 1 form

b.    Interview Questions- at least 10

*The actual interview does NOT have to be conducted until Milestone 2. However, the interview questions and the interviewee’s contact information are due for Milestone 1.

“Do Something” Proposal:

Due THIS Thursday, April 7^th 

Write your design proposal on the proposal form. Once you submit your proposal it is FINAL!

Proposals are due THIS week and it is CRITICAL that each student spend enough time conducting research to ensure that they have the following items solidified BEFORE they turn in their proposal on April 7^th:

1.    A location for their “Do Something” project confirmed

AND

2.     Contacted an expert who has agreed to an interview

MEAP Reports

Look for the MEAP reports in your child's Friday folder tomorrow, April 1st.  As always, please contact me if you have any questions and/or concerns.

FREE DRESS

Free Dress is tomorrow, Friday, April 1st.  We had discussions today in class regarding dress for tomorrow's performance.  Their clothing needs to be nicer than what they would typically wear on Free Dress day, and shirts should not have any wording or graphic designs on them.  

Anne Frank play

On Friday, we'll be going to see the Anne Frank play. Everyone in the class said they didn't need a lunch from the school. So, there will be no school lunches for our class--we had to submit numbers of lunches today. Please make sure your child has a lunch on Friday. In addition, lunch will be much later in the day (at approximately 1:00). We will not have any time for snacks, so it is imperative that all students eat a hearty breakfast that will hold them over until 1:00.

Students must be on time for school both days! We will be leaving around 8:30.

Anne Frank Play Field Trip

On Friday, April 1, 2011, the fourth and fifth graders will be traveling to the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn to see the play, The Diary of Ann Frank. The cost for the play is $5.00, and is due by Thursday, March 24th.

Please have your student to school on time, as we will be leaving school at 9:00 a.m., and returning around 1:00. There will be bag lunches for those students who normally get school lunch. All other students should still bring their lunch. 

Field trip to UPA Middle School

On Thursday, March 31st, we will be taking a field to UPA Middle School from 9-11:00.

This weekend please encourage your child to spend some time researching an area of concern in regards to their “Do Something” project.

Proposals are due in three weeks and it is CRITICAL that each student spend enough time conducting research to ensure that they will have the following items solidified BEFORE they turn in their proposal on April 7^th:

1.    A location for their “Do Something” project confirmed

AND

2.     Contacted an expert who has agreed to an interview

It is extremely important to have these two items secure BEFORE their proposal submission because remember, once your child submits their proposal it is FINAL!

That is why I am giving them more than THREE weeks to complete this task.

Any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS

Take a look at what the students are writing these days!  Click on the STUDENT WORK tab at the top of the page to read their writing.  Both are from weekend writings and they showcase how much the students have grown in their writing with specific examples and details.  The writings also give you an idea of how our kids view and understand what is happening in the world around them.

HOMEWORK ALERT

Students are responsible for Book in the Bag every week. They are due on Mondays. They are too read, summarize with one or two sentences, the number pages that have been read, and a parent's initials.  Students have NOT been turning these in and many are missing recess and lunch privileges.  Please monitor your student's reading and support their reading growth.  Thank you.

Shanna's UM Elite Experience

Nadia, Jalib, and Shanna have experienced workshops at U of M three times this year.  They have learned about different engineering programs, computer labs with statistics, and explored the animation studio.  They have also been involved with diversity workshops with students from other schools at U of M.  Shanna has written an interview piece that describes how she experienced U of M.  Please click on the Student Work tab at the top of the page to read this fabulous interview.

DO SOMETHING PROJECT

Here are a couple of notes that I want to mention about the third trimester exhibition project.

1. The project needs to be something that the child cares about and can do something about. It is not a project where they can just say, "I'm going to pick up trash on the street with my friend."

2. For Milestone #1, if students are unable to find books on their topic (if it's too new or obscure), they can use newspaper articles or magazine articles to substitute for the books. Chances are, if your child thinks it is a problem, someone else has too and has written about it somewhere. Try going to news websites and checking their archives for old articles/stories.
The websites listed below are good places to start looking.

• www.cnn.com
• usnews.com
• http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids

3. Stay away from money fund raising. Those projects are difficult to manage, but if they are interested in helping with relief to some place like Haiti or Japan, they can do a project getting people to donate needed items (do an online search for items disaster relief locations need if that is going to be your child's focus on the Do Something Project.

4. This project should be kid-focused and based on things that your child can actually do.

5. Creativity and action are key to this project!

Do Something Project

Students will be choosing a service project for their 3rd Trimester Exhibition.  Please view the presentation for examples and ideas.

Do something project presentation

Exhibition Rubric 2nd Trimester 2010-2011

Below you will find the rubric that will be used to score your student's exhibition.  Notice that there are changes to the visual aid scoring and to the delivery.  Students will be scored on neatness and speed.

2nd Trimester Exhibition Rubric

Rubric Tri. 2 3-11docx

Exhibition Schedule

Wednesday, March 9th          9:00  Larry


Thursday, March 10^th           9:00  Joshua

                                            10:00  Jalib

                                              1:15  Alexus

Monday, March 14^th             9:00  Tailor

                                            10:00  Lance

                                             1:15  Hailey

Tuesday, March 15^th            9:00  Kaitlynn

                                            10:00  Khalif

                                              1:15  DeShawn

Wednesday, March 16^th              1:15  Faith

                                                 2:15 Kacie

Thursday, March 17^th           10:00 Shanna

                                                1:15  Brandi

                                                2:15  Renardo