For the week of December 1st - 5th

Welcome back from Thanksgiving Vacation!  I hope everyone got to enjoy their family and catch up on some much needed rest.  Here are some dates to know for this week:

1. November Reading Calendars are due no later than Wednesday for full credit.

2.  The Dream Giver Story is due Wednesday.  Parents, please help your student look over the story before sending it to me.  Spelling, grammar and story line count.

3.  December Book Orders are coming out Monday and must be placed by Friday to ensure getting books before Christmas Vacation.

4.  Spelling Test on Friday.


This week in class we are starting on several projects:

The first of which is a service project.  Each week we will be writing letters, making cards or small gifts to give to those in need at Christmas.  The first week will be a letter writing campaign to thank solders overseas who can't be with their families over the holidays.  The second week will be making Christmas cards for the elderly in nursing homes.  The third week we will be making small gifts for children who have to spend Christmas in the hospital.

The second is a math project that focuses on using perimeter, area, ratio tables and writing about math in real world scenarios, much like an architect or an engineer.  The students will be designing a customized zoo where they will be taking measurements and figuring out what animals can fit in the given spaces.  Most of the work will be done in class.  As we get near the due date, I will be sending updates and expectations, along with photos of what we are doing in class.  If you are interested in learning more about this project, click the link below.
                                                           
                                                                    Building a Zoo

Mrs. Evans Spelling List #9

Test on Friday, December 5th

	Word	Level
1	outside	Basic
2	several	Basic
3	activity	Basic
4	reading	Basic
5	beard	Basic
6	appeared	Average
7	brown	Average
8	o'clock	Average
9	taking	Average
10	didn’t	Average
11	ice cream	Average
12	Tuesday	Average
13	finally	Average
14	merely	Average
15	fluorescent	Challenge
16	necessary	Challenge
17	international	Challenge
18	difference	Challenge

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year.  It's that time of the year where home seems just a bit warmer, scarfs and sweaters keep us cozy and we think about things we are grateful for.  I wanted to say how grateful and appreciative I am for my wonderful parents and my amazing students!  I also need to take the time to say thank you to all those who donated food to our "adopted" family.  Because of you, our family in need will have a brighter and happy Thanksgiving feast.  Another big thank you shout out goes to all those who donated food for our classroom feast.  The biggest shout out goes to those brave souls, Mr. Crawford, Mrs. Warr, Mrs. Ashby, Mrs. Woodruff, Mrs. Quinn and Mrs. and Mr. Brown, who came in to serve food to ravenous pre-teens.  :)    I feel very blessed to have you all in my life.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do to support my class and our school community.

Things to do over break
1.  Over the break, don't forget to keep reading.  November reading calendars are due the Wednesday we get back.

2.  The students also have a writing project called the Dream Giver.  They watched a "story starter" video from a website called the Literacy Shed.
                                                 The Dream Giver story starter clip 
The students had to pick up the story where the movie clip left off.  They can write from any character's perspective, even the eggs. ;)   There isn't a limit of pages, but the story must be a complete tale.  I told the students no cliffhangers or ending the story with  . . .. .     Spelling and grammar count, as well as story telling and sequencing.  When you read over these stories, ask your student the following:
1.  Does the story flow from one idea to the next?
2.  Does the story make sense?
3.  If the character is speaking, are the words in quotations?
4.  Does every sentence start with a capital letter and end with punctuation?
5.  Is there more than one "and" in the sentence?  If so, you may need more punctuation.
6.  Is there a true ending to the story?

When students are finished and parents have looked over the story, please "share" the document with me.  Final drafts are due Wednesday, December 3rd.

Recipes
During our "feast" several recipe requests were made.  I will be posting those as soon as parents email me.  Here is my apple sauce recipe.

                                             Mrs. Evans Brown Sugar and Spice Apple Sauce
20 apples, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cardamon

1.  Take peeled and sliced apples and put in a 9 by 13 microwave safe baking dish.  Fill with water 1/2 way up and cover with plastic wrap.  Cook on high for 10 minutes or until apples are soft.

2.  Pour cooked apples into a food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Add all other ingredients and pulse until desired consistency.

3.  Serve warm or refrigerate up to a week.  Can also be frozen for up to 6 months.

*Sadly I rarely measure my ingredients so this is an estimate.  Taste as you go and add or cut back on spices and sugar as you like*



                                                               Pictures from our Feast

For the week of November 17th - 21st

Hello all!

This week will be a busy one.  Please read everything in this post to be up-to-date.

1.  Parent Teacher Conference Make-up:
      Monday - Drop ins from 3:15-4:15    
      Tuesday - Drop ins from 3:15 - 5:15
      Wednesday - Drop ins from 2:15 - 4:15
* If you would prefer to conference over the phone or would like to schedule an uninterrupted sit down, please email me with a time and a good number to reach you at.

2.  Report cards will be sent home with students on Monday.  CHECK THE PURPLE HOME SCHOOL FOLDER.

3.  Thanksgiving Basket:
We adopted a family in need for Thanksgiving this year.  I am asking each student bring at least 1 can of food to share.  If everyone brought one thing, we would have 30 items to give to our family. Already, I have a turkey roaster, a pie pan and all the fixings for a pumpkin pie and a box of stuffing.

4.  Thanksgiving Feast:
Every year I throw a Thanksgiving Feast for my class.  I do all the cooking but I ask the food be donated.  Please click the link below to sign up for an item to donate for the party. The party takes place on Friday, November 21st in place of lunch, from 10:45 -11:45.
                                                                       Sign up Sheet

5.  This is the last week for Vision Charter PJ pants and tank orders.  If you lost your form, click this link to download a new form.
                                                                 PJ Pant Order Form


6.  This weeks spelling list

Mrs. Evans Spelling List #8

Test on Friday, November 21st

	Word	Level
1	moment	Average
2	courtesy	Average
3	stock	Basic
4	college	Average
5	whose	Average
6	property	Average
7	hospital	Average
8	treatment	Average
9	towel	Basic
10	peace	Average
11	usually	Average
12	family	Basic
13	doesn't	Basic
14	given	Basic
15	November	Average
16	Pilgrim	Average
17	pumpkin	Average
18	responsibility	Challenge
19	Wampanoag	Challenge

Parent Teacher Conference

Friday, November 14th conferences have been canceled due to inclement weather. Drop in conferences will be held Monday and Tuesday of next week from 3-5pm.  

Indoor Soccer for 5th and 6th graders

CO-ED 5th and 6th grade Indoor Soccer:

Monday, fifth and sixth grade students at Vision Charter School will be receiving information about indoor soccer. Registration and payment must be returned to building A by Wednesday, November 13th at noon. Parents may find out more atiscindoor.com. The registration form is located under "registration info" and then "Kids Kickers Registration Form".  

 

Students will learn foot skills, player positioning, properly striking the ball with the foot for shooting and passing, and on-field communication. Students will play to win; however, winning will be secondary to skills training and fun.  Students will participate in a celebration at the end of the season. The registration form and a check for $65 made out to Idaho Soccer Center are due to the Vision Charter School elementary office by noon on Wednesday, November 12th. 

 

Equipment provided:The center provides team shirts. The center covers referee fees. In this league a player card is not needed.  Equipment needed for games: Shin guards,black soccer socks, indoor soccer shoes or soccer cleats (soccer cleats don't have a toe cleat), and black athletic shorts. Equipment needed for practice: Non-slip shoes that are appropriate for practice in the gym, Shin guards, Soccer socks, Size 5 soccer ball with name written on it in permanent marker. Practice Schedule: Monday and Friday's from 3:20-4:30 in the Vision Charter School gym starting November 17thand running for seven weeks.  

 

Game schedule:Games begin November 29th. Most games are on the weekend. There may be an occasional weekday evening game. Games are played at 1251 E Piper Ct, Meridian.Request "Mike Lower" as the coach on the registration form.

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE SIGN UPS

Hello all!
This week is a short week so I am forgoing  a spelling test.  We do, however, have some due dates, projects and a math test.

Monday, November 10th - Lollipop descriptive paragraph is due

Tuesday, November 11th - Division, Multiplication and Decimal test. Click the link below to see sample practice questions.

Practice Test

Wednesday, November 12th - Watercolor leaf painting due


Friday, November 14th - No School - Parent Teacher conferences.  Click link below to sign up for your time slot.  First come, first serve.  If daytime doesn't work, we have a drop in, no appointment necessary from 6-8pm.  I cannot guarantee that I will be able to really conference with you at that time, but report cards will be available for pick up.  I look forward to seeing everyone on Friday.
                                                 

Parent-Teacher conference SIGN UP link