“Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself.” -John Dewey

 

 

May 13, 2012

This week, students are going to work on 5th Grade Time Capsules! I found 20 canisters to use as capsules, but if your child has anything they’d like to bring to decorate them, that would be great. I’d like students to bring things from throughout the school year that they want to remember or use to signify what happened in their life this year (photos, ticket stubs, letters from friends, awards, nominations…the sky’s the limit). These do not have to be items strictly from school. I want them to be items that represent their 5th grade year of life  Please have your child start bringing in those items on Monday. I look forward to this really fun project and seeing what the kiddos create

 

This week will be the last week for spelling words and homework. We will also continue with BizTown lessons as we prepare for our field trip next week!

 

Hope you have a fabulous week 

 

 

April 22, 2012

 

First, I want to start by telling you how proud I am of my students for working so hard last week during AIMS testing. I know that it is exhausting and requires a lot of mental exertion. A few students will continue to work this week, including any students who missed a day of testing last week. If this is your child, please continue to make sure that they are well rested and nourished.

 

This week, spelling words and homework are back! The students and I will work hard to review and solidify concepts before our last round of Benchmark and MAP testing, which begins next week. I will offer students the option to stay in with me during afternoon electives should they wish to receive additional support in preparing for the math portion. We will continue working through our economics lessons as we prepare for Biz Town and the students will be excited to find our that we will have another Art Masterpiece lesson this Friday!

 

On Monday, we will celebrate Earth Day at our school by kicking off our recycling program. Please remind your child to wear green as a reminder of their pledge to recycle and care for our Earth In addition to wearing green on Monday, this week is Spirit week! Please see the schedule is below:

 

Monday: Crazy Hair

Tuesday: Career Day

Wednesday: Opposite/Backwards Day

Thursday: Sports Day

Friday: Crazy Hat Day

 

Also, don’t forget that this Tuesday the Scientist Biography Rough Drafts are Due so that students and I can work together through the revision and editing process.

 

Reminder that this Wednesday is a half day for K-7. Hope you all have a fabulous week

 

Mrs. Anderson

 

 

 

April 16, 2012

 

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend! This week is AIMS testing. There is no homework, but I recommend your child continues to study for math each night. Please make sure that your child is well rested, eats a nutritious breakfast, and arrives to school on time.

 

Dates (for the remainder of the year!) to mark on your calendar:

April 16-19: AIMS testing

April 20: NO SCHOOL

April 21: FEC Golf Tournament

April 23-27: Spirit Week

(Monday: Crazy Hair,  Tuesday: Career Day,   Wednesday: Opposite/Backwards Day,   Thursday: Sports Day,  Friday: Crazy Hat)

April 24: Scientist Biography Draft Due

April 25: Half-Day K-7

April 30-May 11: Benchmark and MAP Testing

May 8: Scientist Biography Written Report Due

May 9: Half-Day K-7

May 18: Scientist Final Project Due (Written report, pictures, timeline, etc in file folder)

May 22: Learning Celebration (and BizTown?)

May 24: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

 

***Student Council is working on a family skate night and another Dance (grades 5-7). More information to follow.

 

 

April 9, 2012

 

Greetings 5th Grade Parents,

 

Just a quick note regarding the upcoming week. We will spend much of the week preparing and reviewing for AIMS, which begins next Monday (April 16th). For that reason, I will not be introducing new spelling words (no WTW homework) and math homework may look a little different this week. Even if your child does not do nightly homework, I strongly suggest that your child works to prepare for AIMS. My best advice would be to study for math. I will be sending home the AIMS math practice test that your child took. We have worked in class to review some of the problems that your child missed, but with only 4 more school days until testing, there just isn’t enough hours to go over every problem with your child. For this reason, the practice test will be sent home on Tuesday. Please have your child review the problems that they missed and, if possible, help your child to understand any errors. I want to make sure that they are familiar with the vocabulary and understand what each question is asking them to do. I found that, often, the students knew how to compute the problem, but they didn’t understand how to solve it (what they were asking them to do!) If there is a particular problem that they need me to do with them, just send it back to school with them the following day.

 

 

We will also continue to do AIMS reading and writing prep activities this week. In addition, we are going to continue our BizTown lessons and student will work on their Scientist Biography Report rough draft (due next Tue, the 17th).

 

 

If you have any questions, please shoot me an email. Hope you all had a wonderful, long weekend!!!

 

 

 

March 24, 2012

 

• I have added a Science Tab and attached the Scientist Biography Guidelines so that you can stay abreast of all upcoming dates to help your students stay on top of his/her project/report. The students have already selected a scientist and most students have started completing their research notes outline. I have also included the attachment that has your child’s name next to their chosen scientist. If you are able to make a trip to the library this weekend to checkout books about their scientist, that would be fantastic! I will do my best to get to a library to do the same, but the more books, the better!!! Please view the attachment and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Please also keep in mind that students will be dressing up like their scientist for their Learning Celebration presentation on May 22nd

 

 

• We are working VERY HARD to prepare for AIMS testing, which occurs the week of April 16th. In addition to our current geometry and probability lessons this quarter, I have added an additional math session in the afternoon to work on reviewing previous concepts. Thank you so much to the parents that are working to provide home support as well, I am seeing the benefits at school! IF your child likes bringing home the AIMS Buckle Down book to work on at home please help them remember that is must come back to school with them each day. If your child is working on it at home, encourage them to choose lessons from Unit 1, which focuses on Numeration and Operations as that makes up nearly 1/3 of the entire 5th grade math AIMS test. If you need additional ideas on how you can support your child at home to prepare for AIMS, please do not hesitate to email me

 

 

• Our golf tournament is just around the corner and each grade is putting together themed gift baskets for the silent auction. Funds raised will go directly to our Growing Brilliance program, which helps fund the teachers and staff at San Tan Learning Center. The kiddos are very excited to help with this. If each parent could donate anything related to our classroom theme, that would be wonderful.

 

Our Theme: Spa luxury and spoil yourself

 

This is your chance to show the hard-working parents of San Tan Learning Center how much they are appreciated. Spoil a parent with any items you think might provide them a special relaxing day!!! The items could be sport themes for Dad and pampering for Mom. You know what makes them happy… use your imagination to show them!!! We are accepting donations starting immediately and appreciate anything that you can donate to help us make our sponsored basket a huge success!!!

 

Thanks so much,

Allison Anderson

 

March 9, 2012

 

I hope you all enjoy a safe, fun Spring Break. I’ll see you when school resumes on March 20th! Please see below for some important upcoming events

 

The golf tournament is quickly approaching on April 21^st!  If you are interested in golfing in the tournament, or have family that may be interested, golfers that register before March 21^st receive an early bird discount.  Please see the attached flyer for additional information.  You may also visit www.stlcgolf.com to learn how to get involved with our largest event of the year that supports the teacher bonus program.

 

Also….

 

The Noetic Learning Math Contest is a biannual math challenge for elementary students. The goal of the competition is to encourage young students’ interest in math, to develop their problem solving skills, and to inspire them to excel in math.

During the contest, students are given 45 minutes to solve 20 problems that can cover a broad range of mathematics skills taught in school, including:

• Computation and number properties
• Pattern and algebra
• Geometry and measurement
• Probability and statistics

Noetic Learning provides problems that challenge students to think creatively and to apply problem solving skills.

The contest is for students in grades 2, 3, 4 and 5. Noetic Learning Math Contest will April 12^th and will be held during school hours.  There is a $15 fee to participate.   Please register in the front office by March 30^th.

 

And…

 

The Roadrunner Support Committee is hosting a community garage sale on March 24th. The Service Club will be sponsoring a Bake Sale during the event.

 

Lastly….

 

Please keep donating your used athletic shoes! We are still in need of nearly 300 pairs of shoes by Earth Day (April 22nd).

 

Have a great break!

February 27, 2012

 

Just a couple of quick reminders and things happening this week:

 

The week is benchmark testing. It is very important that students arrive to school on time and, if possible, stay at school all morning, which is when we get most of our testing complete. Please help your child get a healthy breakfast and pack brain-boosting fruits, veggies, or healthy proteins for snack

 

If students have extra time at night, I strongly encourage them to spend some time each night reviewing previous concepts. Students that receive math homework, have been sent home with either a fraction review packet, which will help re-teach some difficult concepts, or a geometry packet, which will help pre-teach them some of the upcoming concepts. Also, because of testing, there will be no spelling words this week.

 

Just a reminder that Wednesday is a half-day and Friday is our all-school music field trip. If your student has a STLC t-shirt, please have them where that to school on Friday. Also, because the field trip is happening during our typical lunch, each child must pack a sack lunch. Please pack a good size snack (it doesn’t have to be just fruit and veggies for this special circumstance) that they can eat prior to leaving campus around 11:30 in addition to the lunch they will each when we return to campus around 1:30.

 

Last, but not least, please be on the look out for an upcoming conference sign-up! Please contact me if you have any questions

 

 

February 21, 2012

 

 

 

We are taking an all school music field trip next week. Permission slips will be sent home with students on Wednesday and they are due back this Friday. Students need to bring sack lunches on the day of the field trip. This Friday is also Jump Rope for Heart day during PE classes. Also, don’t forget that next year’s registration forms are due back by February 29th to secure a spot for next year.

 

Next week, benchmark testing begins and conferences are coming up March 8th and 9th. A conference signup will be coming out shortly. On another note, our classroom is in desperate need of hand sanitizer if you are able to donate a bottle! Help us fight all the sicky germs flying around!

Here are some highlights for this week:

 

Language:

• Poetic Devices
• Writing Poetry
• Daily Grammar
• Finish Idiom book and Persuasive Letters

Math:

• Begin new unit: Graphing Equations
• Equations with more than one operation
• Patterns and Equations
• REVIEW and Practice for Benchmarks and AIMS!!!

Social Studies/Science:

• State Projects
• Writing Bibliographies (to go with state project)
• Intro WWI –> WWII
• Civilizations

Art Masterpiece on Friday!!!

 

 

February 12, 2012

We will be celebrating the Arizona Centennial this Tuesday, February 14th, by decorating our classroom door with iconic Arizona images. Please remind your child to wear red, white, and blue that day. Here are some other things we will be doing in our academic areas:

 

Language-

• Continuation on persuasive techniques in writing and advertisement.
• Persuasive letters (supporting persuasive argument)
• Figurative Language
• Poetic Devices

Math-

• Review math test with intervention/review lessons and practice
• Properties of Equality
• Solving Equations (addition/subtraction and multiplication/division)
• Problem Solving: Using pictures (and equations)

S.S./Science-

• Students are working on a research project on their chosen state. A short written report and product of choice (details coming soon).
• Ancient Civilizations (Eras of Civilization)
• Natural Disasters and how people respond to them

 

 

February 6, 2012

 

 

Greetings 5th Graders and Parents,

 

Last week was a busy week and this week will be no different! On Tuesday, we have a Dental Assembly and on Wednesday, a half day. On Wednesday, students also have the opportunity to show their new algebra skills when they take a math test. Students will be coming home with a math practice test (which we will work on together in the beginning of the week) on Tuesday evening. I encourage you to go over the practice test with your child to help them prepare.

 

We will also be continuing our geography lessons. This week, students will be learning how to read and construct population pyramids. The next couple of weeks, we will be reviewing some ancient civilizations before  a brief introduction to WWII.

 

In language, students have been practicing their persuasive techniques and I expect they will be bringing home a funny letter or two in the next couple of weeks. By the end of this week, students should be able to tell you some of the techniques they have learned (i.e. Bandwagon, peer- pressure, testimonial, loaded words, etc).

 

On a final note, habitual tardiness has become quite a problem in our class. Not only is it distracting for students to have constant interruptions, but it is difficult for tardy children to feel settled in the morning and to catch up on missed announcements and directions. I understand that everyone has the occasional late morning or scheduled appointment, but please work with your child to have them in class when our day begins at 8:40 Thanks so much for your continued support!

 

Last, but not least, in case you missed Haughan’s Highlights please read below:

 

February 8^th- Half-Day

February 17^th- Middle School Information Night

February 20^th- No School

February 24^th- Jump Rope for Heart Day sponsored by Coach Dickerson and Coach Tina

Week of February 27^th- Third Quarter Benchmark Testing Begins

 

Also, we have an important announcement for all parents this week.  Please do not approach the gate from the outside to speak with children on the playground before, during, or after school hours.  If your child has left any items at home, we ask that parents come to the front office to drop them off for the child.  This is a safety concern as we teach the children not to talk to anyone walking outside of school grounds, but it is a confusing message for them if parents they know approach the gate to chat.  We appreciate working with such an involved parent community, but for everyone’s safety ask all parents to check in at the front office to come on campus for volunteering or to speak with their children.

Have a great week!

 

 

January 29, 2012
Greetings! We have a another very busy week planned! Here is a look at a FEW of the things we will be doing this week: Students will make their own topographic maps, using the landforms that they constructed out of salt dough last week. This week, we are also working on persuasive writing techniques, while we focus on generating ideas with a logical organization. In math, students will learn how to solve equations using variables as we plan for a math test next week (be on the lookout for a study guide on Friday).

As always, please check the Words Their Way tab for student’s spelling words Math homework will be coming home this week as a packet due back to me on Friday. Email me if you have any questions regarding our upcoming week!

 

 

 

 

January 22, 2012
I want to start by thanking all of the students, parents, and teachers that made the first STLC middle school dance possible. It was a huge success!

 

In language this week, students will be completing their Student Treasures book. I will continue mini lessons on comma usage and 6 + 1 Traits of Writing. You can find new spelling words on the Words Their Way tab. Please keep in mind that your child may be receiving a repeat spelling list if testing has not shown an adequate grasp of the spelling pattern.

 

In math, we will continue to practice order of operations and use of the distributive property. We will also begin lessons on solving equations with variables.

 

Students will be finishing their study on regions this week and produce a skit with their small groups to “sell” regional tours. We will continue our study on geography by learning about different types of maps. This week, students will be creating their own topographic map!

 

Hope you all have a wonderful week

 

 

Allison Anderson

 

 

January 16, 2012

 

Greetings and Happy MLK JR Day!

 

 

This week, students will continue working on becoming published authors. I encourage students to work on finishing their rough draft at home so that we can edit during class this week and work on a final draft. Students are welcome to bring in pictures for their book (personal photos or printed from the Internet), but please keep in mind that originals will not be returned.

 

We are continuing our unit on Geography by completing group research on a region of the United States. Students will be independently turning this into a travel brochure and then creating a group presentation to “sell” the rest of the class trips to their chosen region. You can find the link under the Web Quest tab on my website.

 

In math, we will review Order of Operations and Variables while we continue with our algebra units. Please keep printing those intervention pages based on your child’s needs. If you’d like to print hard copies, please email me as this can be arranged. Contact me if you need more information regarding this.

 

Students will be returning to Words Their Way spelling words and homework this week. Please note that your child’s spelling group might have changed as indicated during conferences and on his/her ILP (I will also have each student write their new spelling level in their character agenda on Tuesday). Like usual, you can find this week’s words on the Words Their Way tab and then click on the attachment that is named as your child’s group (i.e. Wacky). Nightly spelling homework is still listed on that pages as well.

 

Please check your child’s agenda nightly to ensure completion. I use this area to write notes to parents and for students to indicate their nightly homework. This is also the area where students should be indicating their nightly reading and having it signed or initialed by a responsible adult. (If your child is choosing to complete class research at home, they can count this time toward their 20 minutes of nightly reading, but it must be indicated. Also, pleae don’t forget that if your child has an SRC goal, they should be reading their SRC book for their 20 minutes!) If any concerns arise, please don’t hesitate to email me!

 

Last, but certainly not least, Student Council is hosting the First STLC Dance this Friday, January 20th from 6:00-8:00pm in the gymcafetorium. Student Council is accepting donations of small items to sell at the dance such as small bags of chips, water bottles, sports drinks, packaged cookies, glow sticks, etc. Please consider donating! All proceeds are going toward Student Council for future school events. Thanks in advance for your support!

 

Like usual, please contact me if you have any questions and have a wonderful week

 

Allison Anderson

 

January 7, 2012

 

 

Greetings and Happy New Year!

 

 

I am pleased to announce that a new dance date has been posted to our school calendar! In an effort to get it onto your calendar asap, I’d like to share that the dance will be the evening of Friday, January 20th.I hope that all 5th-7th graders will be able to attend with short notice. Student council will be working hard to finalize details and to plan
for STLC’s first dance. Please look for a follow-up email early next week with more information regarding this exciting event!

 

Students that are interested in participating on a decorating/set-up or clean-up committee
should find a student council officer for more details upon your return to school.

 

I hope that all of you are enjoying a wonderful Winter Break and I look forward to seeing you bright and early Tuesday morning

 

P.S.  Did you get new shoes over break? The athletic shoe drive is still running….donate your old ones!

 

Mrs. Anderson

 

 

 

December 17, 2011

 

 

 

Greetings! I’m happy to announce that we are finished with this round of testing…I’m proud of how hard all of the students worked the past two weeks to wrap up testing and to be respectful of those finishing testing.  If you have not yet signed up for a conference, please check your email for a link to do so as soon as possible. I understand how busy this time of the year is and that many of you are traveling for the holidays. Please contact me if you require a conference in January when we return. Thank you to everyone for coming to our Learning Celebration. The students learned SO much and produced some awesome work Here are some important dates to remember:

 

December 19 (Monday)- School Spelling Bee…. wear your Yellow and Black!

December 19-22 (Monday- Thursday)- Half days for K-7

December 23 (Friday)- No School…Enjoy Winter Break!

January 10 (Tuesday)- Students return to school

 

On a side note, please keep bringing in old athletic shoes to donate to the Nike Reuse-A Shoe program. You will find collection bins in the front office

 

Enjoy Winter Break,

Mrs. Anderson

 

 

 

December 15, 2011

 

 

December 6, 2011

 

 

 

 

Hello Parents,

 

Just a reminder that we are working on Benchmarks and MAP testing this week through next week. It is very important that your child is getting a good night’s sleep and eating a healthy breakfast. Also, please do your best to get your child to school on time. Students do not have any Words Their Way homework this week, but I would still like them reading 20 minutes per night if nothing else!

 

Currently, it is most important that my students are studying and preparing for their math benchmarks.  I spoke to students about things they could be doing to prepare for the sections of the math benchmark that havebeen taught so far this year and I’d like to share it with you as well. As mostof you know, your child can log onto the enVision site via my website or bygoing to pearsonsuccessnet.org (username: first initial followed by last
name  password: student followed by their class number). Once on the site, students can virtually open their math book instead of bringing it home (though they were told they can check one out and do that as well!). I have selectedproblems from Topic Tests located in the book that I think would be valuable to practice/use as a study guide for the sections of the benchmarks we will be taking later in the week. Students who have nightly math homework should be picking 10 of these problems to do nightly. Here are my suggestions (students also have the opportunity to work on these in class once they finish daily
testing):

 

Topic 1 Numeration  pg. 26 # 3,4,7,8,13

 

Topic 3 Operations with Decimals  pg. 88  #
2,3,5,8,9,12,13

 

Topic 5 Number and Fraction Concepts  pg. 138
#2,3,4,5,8

 

Topic 6 Decimals, Fractions, and Mixed Numbers  pg. 156
# 1,2,4,5,8,9,11

 

Topic 7 Adding and Subtracting Fractions and Mixed
Numbers  pg. 180  #2,5,9

 

Topic 8  Multiplying Fractions and Mixed Numbers
pg. 196  #2,5,10

 

Topic 9  Dividing Fractions and Mixed Numbers  pg.
216  #4,8,11

 

 

Other Suggestions:

 

Students are welcome to practice other problems in these
Topics, especially if they have a specific area of struggle.

 

At the end of each Topic Test, there are a couple of pages
of Review and Reteach if your child is stuck or needs extra practice.

 

At the beginning of each Topic is a “Review What You Know”
page.

 

Page 31  #5-12 are good basic Algebra practice. We have
not done Topic 2 formally as we will be delving deeper into algebra in the 3^rd
quarter; however, I have taught the basic idea of plugging in a number in place
of a letter and these problems practice that.

 

Page 120: Divisibility Rules (would be great to review)

 

At the very beginning of the book starting on page xi there
is a Test Prep section followed by problem solving strategies

 

 

Please let me know if you have any questions

 

Mrs. Anderson

 

 

November 20, 2011

 

 

Gobble Gobble….Thanksgiving is almost here! I want to take a moment to remind all of you how thankful I am to be your child’s teacher this year! I look forward to seeing all of you at the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Wednesday. If you have not sent your RSVP yet, please do so asap so that we can adequately prepare for the event. Please remember that dismissal will happen from the classroom on Wednesday and that you are responsible for bringing your family’s main course this year.

 

There are no spelling words this week; however, Monday is our classroom Spelling Bee. Please remind your child to wear black and yellow! In addition to our class Bee, we will begin studying some of the human organ systems and continue practicing fractions and decimals this week.

 

Mrs. Anderson

 

 

November 13, 2011

 

 

Hello Parents,

 

I am so fortunate to have an amazing group of parents that are willing to support their child at home and, in return, support me at school! I wish that I had enough hours in the day to sit down with each child to provide individualized instruction and intervention on a daily basis. Any time that you can spend reviewing and working on math with your child at home is invaluable and the effects are recognized in class!

 

Even if your child does not typically have math homework, it is extremely important
that you work with your child to find some time every night in which they can
do some math practice. This will help reduce current and future frustration and
stress and ensure that they build a strong foundation in which to build their
math skills.

 

Here are some topics in which to practice at home:

 

• Basic Addition Facts
• Adding and subtracting by greater digits (3-6 digits).
• Basic Multiplication and Division Facts
• Multiplying and dividing by greater numbers (ex. 3,456 x 78  or
  3,456/123)…. Most students would really benefit from some long
  division practice!

We are currently working on fractions, decimals, and
percent which is difficult! Practice and support at home would be wonderful.

Here is what we have done so far:

• Adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators…
  finding the equivalent fraction is the tricky part there.
• Multiplying fractions with like and unlike denominators
• Dividing Fractions/Changing fractions into decimals- this is essentially
  long division, but with decimals. Students get hung up with dividing a number by a larger number.
• Converting decimals into fractions (this is where knowledge of decimal
  place value is the key!)
• Operations with decimals (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing)

 

****Exposing your child to word problems would be an
excellent tool as well. Students get to a point where they can do the
computation, but when they see a word problem, they become overwhelmed and
confused. More practice with word problems at home is always helpful

 

Please remember that you do not need specific practice pages to work on these skills. It is just as valuable for you to find or create problems yourself using the skills named above. If students can practice 5-10 per night that would be amazingly helpful. I know what most of you are thinking… “I haven’t done 5th/6th grade math in years!”.
Trust me, I’ve been there before. Aside from purchasing a great math resource
book at a local bookstore, here are some resources to use which you may find
helpful:

 

Go to the mathematics tab on Mrs. Clapham’s website at http://www.santanlearningcenter.com/sclapham/work-topics/mathematics/  and scroll down to her attachments. She has MANY intervention pages that relate
to the above concepts. These pages are from Pearson and correlate to our
benchmarks and enVision math.
Utilize enVision math! Students are able to log-in and open their math
book without bringing it home. They can click on topics/chapters, flip through
the book, use online tools, and watch lessons. In addition to doing any
assignments that I have assigned on the “To-Do” tab, they can click
on “Explore” tab and there is a search button and you can type in
anything to look for games, practice pages, etc. (same thing I do to assign
homework!)

 

Go to AIMS practice test (you can do this for other subjects as well). Here is the
link to the math practice test http://www.azed.gov/wp-content/uploads/PDF/AIMS5MathematicsSampleTestsandItemThink.pdf

 

Go to Khan Academy and learn just about anything for free http://www.khanacademy.org/

 

Thank you in advance for your support! Please let me know if you have any questions

Mrs. Anderson

 

November 4, 2011

 

Hello 5^th Grade Parents,

 

Happy November! I hope that this email finds everyone in good
health! On any given day this week, I had about 1/3 of my class gone…I hope
everyone returns healthy on Monday!!! Please remember that if your child is
going to be absent for any reason, the office needs to be notified in the
morning. I appreciate the parents who also let me know that their child will be
out for the day. In addition, if your child is going on a vacation, I would
appreciate advanced notification so that I can prepare some work to do while
gone. I understand that there are times you want to give your child days off,
but, if they are missing a school day, they do need to make up a portion of the
work. It helps them if they can do it prior to returning to school so that they
are not “behind” when they return. It is difficult for the students to feel like
they are constantly trying to play “catch up” in addition to new information
coming at them. Another advantage is that if homework is completed prior to
returning, those absences can count as half days rather than full days missed.
Please keep in mind that if your child receives special services at school,
those services are compromised. Excessive absences can result in being
disqualified. Of course, if your child is truly ill, please keep them home!

 

This week, I found a lot of candy wrappers in the garbage and
noticed students sneaking candy at lunch. Please remember that per STLC’s
nutrition policy, candy should not come onto campus. Many of the candies taken
contained nuts as well. ANYTHING containing peanut or tree nut products are not allowed on campus…this includes almond milk.

 

Last, but certainly NOT least. If your child is going home
with anyone other than you, I must be notified! This is for the safety of your
child and we must follow through on this guideline even if a child is going home
with a friend on half day (I have been having a real problem with this on half
days!). Knowing, in advance, that your child is being dismissed with another
person helps alleviate confusion and frustration in the dismissal line. It is
very helpful if I am notified, but at the very least, the front desk needs to be
made aware of changes in pick up. This also helps me keep tabs on who is left in
the dismissal line and heading to after-care. If no one shows to pick up your
child and I have not been notified of a pickup change, I have no idea that
anything is off and assume a parent is just running late, at which time they are
signed into after-care. Like always, let me know if you have any further
questions and have a fabulous weekend

 

Thanks for all of your help,

 

Allison Anderson

 

p.s. Your child does not need to print and fill out the
Reading Log anymore, they can write the title and time amount in their agenda
and have you sign it. This seems like it will alleviate some confusion and the
hassle of printing at home.

 

 

 

October 30, 2011

 

Can you believe that it is already almost November?! Just a reminder that our school does not celebrate Halloween so students should not wear costumes to school tomorrow. Also,
remember that candy should not be packed in lunches per the nutrition policy.  We are seeing some candy coming in, especially in the Lunchables.  Please take this out of the Lunchable before sending it to school with your child per our policy, especially since as many of these candy bars contain nuts and/or peanut butter. Also, many students are coming to school with snacks that do not follow the school’s nutrition policy. Please make sure that the only snacks you pack are fruits or vegetables.

 

If your child collects a lot of Halloween candy and you would like to get some of it out of your house, San Tan Learning Center is continuing our partnership with Seville Family Dentistry this year. Parents can bring any candy donations to the front office during drop-off or pick-up (please do not send it with your child). The Brauer family then sends the candy to the troops overseas via their dental practice

 

Mrs. Anderson

 

October 23, 2011

 

We had a wonderful week back after Fall Break!

 

We continued our Life Science unit by learning about Food Webs and Symbiosis as well as creating Food Chains. On Friday, students had a great time building terrariums. We will continue observing the terrariums the next few weeks and we may have the opportunity to introduce more living organisms into them.

 

In History, we began learning about the Middle Ages. The students started their first Web Quest in which they learned about feudal life and they even designed their own Coat of Arms! The next couple of weeks, students will be working collaboratively in small groups to become an expert on a topic related to Medieval times by navigating another Web Quest. They will be responsible for creating a group presentation to share with the class on November 4th.

 

In math we have been reviewing benchmarks, which we will continue to do this week. Additionally, students practiced fractions and division. This week, I will be introducing fractions into decimals. This quarter, our primary focus will be fractions, decimals, and percent.

 

As mentioned during conferences, our primary focus in Language will be informational and functional text. This week, students will continue to read informational science text. We will also continue reviewing our last language benchmark this week in small groups.

 

I hope that you all have a fabulous week! Please help your child stay on track by completing any and all homework that has been assigned to them

 

Mrs. Anderson

 

 

 

October 9, 2011

 

Enjoy your Fall Break and I’ll see students back on Tuesday the 18th! It was so wonderful to talk to all of the parents who were able to make it to conferences. Thank you for your commitment in your child’s education.

 

 

October 2, 2011

 

It’s hard to believe that it is already October! I love hearing the kids say that they “Can’t believe it’s almost Fall Break!” and to hear “Time flies when we’re having fun!”  . This week will be very busy and exciting! Please remind your child to wear red, white, and blue to school on Monday for our character assembly. This will be a very busy week for all of us so please take note that I will not be assigning homework other than nightly reading.

 

I look forward to seeing all of you in the classroom after school on Tuesday for our first Learning Celebration! In addition, I look forward to seeing all parents during conferences at the end of the week. If you have not yet signed up for a conference time, please check your email for a link to signupgenius.com!

 

Don’t forget that Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are all half days this week! Last, but certainly NOT least, as a class, we’d like to congratulate Joshua for passing his BLACK BELT exam! WAY TO GO JOSHUA!

 

See you soon,

Mrs. Anderson

 

September 25, 2011

 

Our first Book Order is going home with students on Monday! This is a short book order window this time so that I can earn extra bonus points for classroom books. The more you order, the more points I get to purchase books for our classroom! Please have students turn them into me by this Thursday If you ORDER ONLINE we receive extra bonus coupons for classroom books! Keep an eye out for an email with the activation code

 

September 23, 2011

 

Parents,

It just came to my attention that last week’s post was saved, but not actually posted to my site. Please scroll down to see my previous post if you are interested in finding out about LAST week (sorry!).

 

This week, we began working on the collaborative portion of our Learning Celebration and began a new book, Among the Hidden  by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Students also learned about and worked on a chart displaying the Kingdoms of Life.

 

Today, we met with our Kindergarten book buddies (Mrs. Errington’s class) for the first time. The 5th graders helped their buddies create a foldable that tied in with their Johnny Appleseed day. Mrs. Errington and I were very impressed with the productivity and positive interaction we observed. It was a really fun, positive Friday!

 

Next week, student will take their second set of language and math benchmarks. In addition, we will discuss landmark Supreme Court cases regarding Freedom of Speech and Expression. We will also continue our Life Science curriculum by delving into ecosystems!

 

Please look for your student’s school photo in their backpack this weekend (Monday for those who left early). If you are purchasing photographs, they are due back on Friday. Check my “Upcoming” tab for important dates just around the corner and be on the lookout for a link to signupgenius (via Mrs. Jolly) for conferences in a couple of weeks!

 

Have a wonderful weekend,

Allison Anderson

 

September 18, 2011

Hello 5th graders and Parents,

 

Last week was fabulous and busy! Students displayed maturity, respect, and teamwork when the camera was on campus and in our classroom filming footage for the documentary. The students also exercised their “civic duty” as San Tan students to elect new student council officers as well as our classroom representative. 6th and 7th grade officers will be announced Monday morning. This week, we also finished reading People of Sparks! In addition, I hope my 5th graders went home and impressed their parents with their knowledge on comparative vs. superlative adjectives . We will continue grammar, including parts of speech this week…all in fun, creative, and interactive ways!

 

This week, I will be introducing Learning Celebration project options which are collaborative and independent. We will continue discussing government, including famous Supreme Court cases surrounding the 1st Amendment (Freedom of Expression).

 

This week is school picture week (5th grade is Thursday at 9:00am). If anyone is interested in helping out during school photo week, please let me know as soon as possible. Volunteers are needed Tuesday-Thursday. Volunteers are also needed during the Book Fair which is October 4th-7th. Please look for an email from April Jolly with the signupgenius link if you are interested in volunteering.Please check my Upcoming tab to see other important dates coming up in the last few weeks of 1st Quarter!

 

Paper and Toner Drive is still on and we really need help bringing in those donations!!! Toner is worth DOUBLE POINTS! Thank you to those of you who have donated paper, toner, spiral notebooks, and books for our classroom!

 

Hot Lunch Orders for October are due this Tuesday, September 20th. You can pick one up in the office or print from the website at http://www.santanlearningcenter.com/families/school-lunch/.

 

This week is Constitution week! For some interesting Constitution Facts, visit http://www.constitutionfacts.com/?section=constitution&page=fascinatingFacts.cfm (some will be shared over the morning announcements by Student Council Officers and 5th graders!)

 

Kindly,

Mrs. Anderson

 

September 11, 2011

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! Last week, the students displayed wonderful teamwork when they designed and created decorations for our Back to Football Friday. I was so impressed with the amount of student involvement and school spirit my class displayed. I have some wonderful pictures coming soon.

This week, we will continue our discussion on September 11, 2001. The students showed great maturity and interest when I began to share my memories on Friday. On Monday, we will discuss the event at an age-appropriate level. In class, we have been watching CNN Student News, which is a great way for me to cover current event standards. It seems to be one of the students’ favorite parts of the day, which is so wonderful! I would like to start ending each report with a brief discussion and reflection period. I anticipate that students will be coming home with some interesting questions.

In addition, we will be starting our student news rotation shortly. When it is your child’s turn to “report”, they will be responsible for finding an appropriate current event article in the newspaper. I have many papers in the classroom so this is not something that you have to go purchase. Please be on the lookout for more information and a calendar.

In math, we will also continue learning about fractions while in Social Studies, we will continue discussing government with a focus on separation of powers and the First Amendment.

This week is also student council elections. As I am the advisor this year, my class will be busy helping prepare for elections by making a traveling ballot box and selecting a class representative.

Don’t forget that Wednesday is a half day

Enjoy your week,

Mrs. Anderson

 

September 5th, 2011

I hope you enjoyed your long weekend! Here are some important notes for this week:

Friday, September 9th is our 1st annual BACK TO NFL FOOTBALL FRIDAY! Our class will be decorating our door/hall to represent the San Francisco 49ers. We will have an assembly and  be part of a giant San Tan football photo on Friday. Students are encouraged to dress up in their favorite NFL team’s attire and colors, paint their faces, and bring their pom-poms…the Ultimate Fan of the Day will win tickets to a Cardinals game!!!

Wednesday night is Words Their Way night. This is the best way to learn more about our developmental spelling program as well as daily spelling sorts and nightly homework.

Please note that the Grandparent’s Day Lunch has moved to next Monday the 12th. Our lunch time is from 12:35-1:05.

Reading logs for the week will be sent home with students on Monday. They are responsible for completing and returning one Tuesday-Friday mornings.

Big thanks to the families that donated spiral notebooks…we are now set for the year! Remember, the paper and toner drives are still on!

Hope to see you Wednesday night

 

Aug 29, 2011

Hello Parents,

Last week, students worked collaboratively while learning about the characteristics of a constitutional government and the three branches of government. In science, they conducted experiments that they designed in class with a partner, using classroom objects and supplies. The highlight of our language block reviewed the four types of sentences. Please ask your child about the skit that they wrote and performed! Pictures coming soon.

Students were put into their individualized math groups last week. Students seemed to enjoy and benefit from working in these small groups. This week our spelling groups are under way! Please check your child’s agenda to confirm the group that they are in (Silly, Wacky, or Zany). All appropriate synonyms for upper elementary kiddos  . If you have chosen homework level B or C for your child, you will find their weekly spelling sort (homework) on the Words Their Way page of my website. Homework level A students will find their spelling group on there as well, should they need extra practice. Please mark your calendar for a Words Their Way Parent Night on Wednesday, September 7th.

Math homework is not online just yet, but I will be sending home a nightly math assignment with students who have selected homework level C. This week, please look for your child’s enVision Math username and password. It will be emailed to you as well as written in your child’s agenda when it is up and running!

This week we are continuing our People of Sparks novel study in addition to examining the Bill of Rights. Students will be taking a short quiz regarding the Scientific Method and its purpose.

Please don’t forget that Wednesday is a half-day. Fourth through seventh grades will dismiss at 11:55. The paper/toner drive is still under way. Thank you for your donations!

Have a fabulous week,

Mrs. Anderson

 

August 23, 2011

Paper & Toner Drive Is ON!

The competition is on!  The annual STLC paper/toner drive is officially under way.  Help our class earn lunch with Ms. Haughan by being the class that donates the most copier paper to the school. Copier paper can be white or colored.  Please clearly mark your paper and toner donations with ANDERSON and bring it to the front office. Our classroom printers are Brother HL-2040, so we would appreciate toner cartridges that match the Brother model. If anyone is able to donate a toner cartridge directly to me for use in the classroom right away, it will be greatly appreciated!

 

August 22, 2011

Hello Fabulous 5^th grade families,

Thank you so much to those of you who could attend
conferences. It was wonderful to meet and talk to all of you. This upcoming
week, please consider your child on homework option A (Read a “good-fit book” 20
minutes nightly) regardless if you chose B or C. Please look for a reading log
that needs to be signed and brought back to school Tue-Fri. Students are only
responsible for homework Monday-Thursday nights as I want them to enjoy their
weekends and have some time to recharge for the upcoming week!

If your child has signed up for B or C: This week, we will continue with
a whole group spelling sort to practice expectations; therefore, students do not
yet have spelling words that they are responsible for practicing at home.
We will not have online math homework this week. Math homework via Envison Math should begin next week. Please be on the lookout for usernames and passwords.

If I did not have the opportunity to meet with you last week, I hope that we can set up a time this week that works for you!

 

Mrs. Anderson