We are back in full swing! I hope that our snow days are over :) I wanted to update everyone on the make up days so far:
SNOW DAY MAKE-UP: The amended calendar for the snow days from Jan. 5-6, is as follows: February 17th will be make-up day #1 and March 17th will be the second makeup day. As of today, the last day of school for the year will be May 25th. TRANSPORTATION INFO: We have made a change in the time we can receive daily transportation changes. Any transportation changes must be made to the office no later than 3:00 p.m. This will assist in making sure all students get where they need to be safely and in a timely manner in the afternoons. We appreciate you helping us increase the ways we can keep our children safe here at Overdale. Attendance Rewards: Students have been allowed to "dress up" on Tuesday's for the prior week's perfect attendance. We felt that we needed to change up the reward system so the new schedule is below. Please note that these theme's are in addition to their uniforms. So on 1/31 students may wear their sport shirt with their uniform pants. Tuesday Day’s 1/31- Favorite Sports Shirt 2/7- Super Hero Day 2/14- Pajama Day 2/21- Dress Down 2/28- Mismatch Day 3/7- UL/ UK Day 3/14- Backwards Day 3/21- Silly Socks Day 3/28- Hat Day 4/11- Dress Down 4/18- Super Hero Day 4/25- Mismatch Day 5/2- Pajama Day 5/9- Dress Down This Week in Academics:
I'm sure that students have mentioned this, but we are quickly approaching Baby Valdez's due date. He is expected to arrive on March 6th. My plan is to work for as long as the Doctor is ok with. With that being said, there are ONLY 26 more instructional days that I have with students until my due date!! Where has the time gone?!?!?!!? I'm very confident in the substitute that will be filling in. His name is Reece Peerce and he has been with the students on days that I have had doctor's appointments, and days that special area teachers have been out. He is a certified teacher and has taught 5th grade before. He and the students will keep the momentum up for sure! As always, please feel free to send me any questions, comments or concerns you may have!! Please use the button below to sign up for Spring Parent Teacher Conference Night on February 9th at 4:30. If you have any problems signing up please let me know. We only have 10 instructional days remaining until we leave for Christmas Break!!! I cannot believe how quickly this year is FLYING by. Please read below for our classroom update and details about our classroom party.
Our party will be on Friday, December 16th. The students voted on our party activity and they chose decorating sugar cookies. Please follow the steps below to sign up for the decorating materials or snacks for the party. I truly appreciate your help with donating items for the students. I know they are very much looking forward to the party. Here's how it works in 3 easy steps: 1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/AuLbdr 2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like. 3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com. Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually. Yankee Candle Update: We have received confirmation that the orders were ready for shipment on Friday. The boxes will hopefully arrive at OES sometime this week. As soon as they arrive, I will send out details on how to pick up your orders. Thank you again for working so hard to fundraise for our students. MAP Testing: We will be taking our MAP tests this week. We will take Reading on Monday at 12:45 and Math on Tuesday at 9:10. Please make sure that students are getting a well rested sleep so that they have the best opportunity to show what they know. These MAP tests help show the growth in learning that students have made since the beginning of the year. Santa Shop: Our class will be attending the PTO's Santa Shop on Tuesday from 12:30-1pm. In last Wednesday Folders there was a flyer that was sent home with an envelope stapled to it. Please use this envelope to send your students money in with them. Another helpful tip is to create a list with your student of who to shop for. This helps them be more prepared to shop :) Upcoming Dates: Operation Santa Toy Donations due by Wednesday, Dec. 14th 9am Texas Roadhouse Night- Tuesday, Dec. 6th Dress in Yellow- Thursday, Dec. 8th WinterFest- Friday, Dec. 9th 6pm Skate Party- Wednesday, Dec. 14th 6-8pm Talent Show Performance- Thursday, Dec. 15th 6pm Dress in Purple- Thursday, Dec. 15th Classroom Holiday Party- Friday, Dec. 16th Christmas Break- No School for students Dec. 19th - Jan. 3rd (Students will return to school on Wednesday Jan. 4th) As always, please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns you have. I hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season relaxing with family and friends! First, I would like to start out by sending a HUGE thank you to those of you that participated in the Yankee Candle Fundraiser!!!!! Our class sold $1,080 which gives us a profit around $450 :) WOOO HOOO... These funds will be going to purchasing the last few Chromebooks for our classroom so that we can be 1:1 with technology for every student. Overdale is the first elementary school in the District to reach this achievement :)This would not have been possible with out your support. I received conformation from Yankee today that they have all of our orders. These should be shipped to the school for pick up before Winter Break.
Midterms: These will be sent home today in Data Binders. Please sign and return them by Friday. If you have any questions please feel free to write me a note on the Midterm or send me an email. Relay for Life Fundraiser: Every Thursday, from now until Winter Break, students may dress in a cancer awareness color for $0.50. Overdale's school goal is to raise $1,000 for cancer research this year. The schedule is below-
Upcoming Important Dates:
PTO Information:
As always, please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns you have!! I cannot believe that we are already almost halfway through the year!! I hope everyone has a fabulous time over the short break enjoying time with friends and family :) UPDATE: To sign up for goodies for our Halloween Party please use this link http://signup.com/go/BGqBwF The students are very much looking forward to all the treats!! Thank you in advance for any donations you can send :)
Where has the time gone?!?!?! I cannot believe it is this time of year already. Fall Festival is this Friday, Report Cards and conferences are next week. This year Mrs. Brown would like us to give the Report Cards in person at the Parent Teacher Conference. If you are not able to make it to a conference or the time slots do not work for your schedule please email me ASAP. I will be sending Report Cards home the following Wednesday, November 2nd, if I have not met with you prior. Thank you to everyone that sent in items for our Fall Festival basket. We have an awesome basket put together! Fall Festival Timeline: 5:15- 5:30 Pick up pre-sale tickets and buy tickets 5:30 Fall Festival begins 6:15 Corbin’s VMA Demonstration 7:30 Basket Auction goes live 8:00 Fall Festival ends Parent Teacher Conferences: (October 27th, 5-7pm) Please use the link below to sign up for your 10 minute conference. Spaces are limited and our time is very short. Please be mindful of your time slot and the others after you. I am looking forward to meeting with as many of you as I can. http://signup.com/go/QTUG3X Looking Ahead in Instruction: Reading- We have just begun our new Novel Study, Esperanza Rising. This is a favorite for many students in years past and students grow tremendously with this novel! Students will now be coming home with reading homework on a nightly basis again. Students will most likely be given at least two days to complete the reading assignments. Math- We are continuing with decimals. We will soon be moving into adding and subtracting decimals. Social Studies- Students have spent time learning about the early explorers. We are now moving into the first settlements in the New World. Please ask your students about the "Lost Colony". Important Dates: October 24-28th- Red Ribbon Week (Info was sent home in Wednesday Folders today) October 25th- Yankee Candle Fundraiser Kick Off October 28th- Halloween Party Day (Students may where costumes, please no masks. We have 27 students in our class.) October 31st- Students may where Halloween PJ's to celebrate the holiday November 2nd- All Report Cards sent home Fall is by far my FAVORITE season, and October may be my favorite month of the year!! I hope you are enjoying this beautiful Sunday relaxing with your family. Here is the Classroom News and Updates for the next few weeks :)
We have five instructional days left before our Fall Break I know students are getting very excited but please spend a few moments with them to make sure they understand we still have a lot of learning to do over these next five days! This Week: Thursday, October 6th is Picture Day- Mrs. Brown has asked that all students be in uniform. I believe this Picture Day is just for the headshot for the yearbook and the Spring pictures will be taken later. Last Week of the Grading Period- Students should still be bringing home their Flashbacks each night to review with you before we grade them the next day. Please follow up with them to make sure this expectation is making it's way home to you. Students should also be bringing home their previous weeks Flashbacks in the Wednesday Folder each week. If they do not have it in their Data Binder it is most likely because they did not turn it in to me for grading. You can also check your student's most recent grade online through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. If you do not have this set up, please see the front office for that. Texas Roadhouse Fundraiser- This is a new fundraiser this year. I hope to have more details to you later this week. Wednesday, October 5th through November 2nd we will be running this fundraiser. Fall Festival Pre-Sale Tickets are available until Friday. You may purchase your tickets early to receive a discount. The form went home two weeks ago in Wednesday Folders. If you need a new form please let me know. Looking Ahead: October 17th- No School for Students Fall Festival- Each class or grade level in the school puts together a basket of donated items to sell at Fall Festival. 5th Grade's basket theme is Coffee Lovers. Profits from the basket sales benefit the PTO. The PTO does amazing things for our school. In fact, Overdale's PTO purchased all of the Chromebooks that your students use in the classroom on a daily basis. If you are able to help us out and donate items for the basket we would greatly appreciate it. Last year, our 5th grade basket had so many items it was overflowing and had to be separated into two baskets. We would LOVE to see that again! Some items that would be great for the basket are coffee mugs, coffee, coffee cakes, coffee flavored candy, etc. Please do not send in items that must be refrigerated. So far our classroom has only had two students donate. As always, please do not hesitate to ask me any questions! Data Binders: Students brought home their Data Binders tonight. Please review their Flashbacks and the results from their Reading MAP scores. We will be taking Math MAP in the morning. Students will be bringing home their Flashbacks on a weekly basis. I have several students that I am concerned are not taking these home to check each night. Students who received a C or higher on their mid-term I am not too concerned about as long as they continue to turn in flashbacks that are at a passing score of 9/12 (C) or higher. Students who are scoring in the D range need to have someone look over their answers at home to ensure their success. We will working on test corrections together, but truly we have no extra time in the day to work on flashbacks. Students are free to ask questions and I am happy to check over them in the morning. I have told students they need to be bringing these home for parent support so if you are not seeing them, please talk to your child.
From Mrs. Tina: Work Ethic - As you know good attendance is part of having a good work ethic. As a reward for perfect attendance each week we are going to start allowing your child to DRESS UP on Tuesday's. That's right, if your child has no absences or tardies for the entire week then he/she may have a Work Ethic Day the following Tuesday. That means they can be out of uniform to dress up. (No jeans, please.) We are proud of students who have a good work ethic and we want to celebrate them! I'm sure many of you have heard from your student, but my husband and I are expecting our first child together. We are beyond excited about this new journey in our lives!!! We are due the first week of March. I have been in contact with a possible long term substitute. He will be working with the class on the days I have Doctor's visits, etc. I am hoping all goes well and he will be with your students when I am not. Upcoming Dates: Skate Party- September 22nd Picture Day- October 6th Fall Break- October 10th through October 14th No School (for students)- October 17th Texas Roadhouse Fundraiser Night- October 18th We are off to a great start!! We had a fantastic first week getting to know each other and building our Classroom Family :) This week we are moving full steam ahead and beginning our 5th Grade content. Please return any paperwork you might still have from the student handbook and/or agenda.
I wanted to take just a few moments and get you up to date with some school and classroom information: Agendas: If your student still needs an agenda, they may be purchased at the book store for $5. This is a necessity for our classroom and communication between you and I. Most already have it, so thank you!! Here are a few important upcoming dates for OES: Aug. 15th- PTO meeting 6:00 p.m. Aug. 17th-Preschool begins Aug. 17th-Great American Fundraiser begins and will run through August 24th Aug. 17th-Boy Scout meeting grades K-3 at 2:30, and grades 4-5 at 2:45 Aug. 18th-Boy Scout parent meeting 6:30 Sept. 5-6- No school for students Lessons for the Week: Math- Place Value Writing- Narrative Technique Reading- We are launching our very first Novel Study of the year!! Students WILL have Hatchet reading homework starting on Wednesday night :) Social Studies- Geography: Students have been asked to bring in old newspapers to use in a paper mâché project later this week!! Remind: Please use the button below to sign up for the Remind alert system. This is a quick easy way for me to safely send out reminder messages for important classroom or OES information. I have 18 signed up so far!! Thank you soo much for all of you that have already taken advantage of the program :) Welcome to your new classroom!!!
I am so very excited to meet each and every one of you. Please use the link below to sign in :) If you are planning to purchase a fifth grade DVD, the cost is $8 each. Orders for these are due this Friday, May 27th. We can not guarantee we will have any extra copies available for purchase so please pre-order.
Students will also need to have their white t-shirt this Friday for 5th Grade Fun Day. These do not have to be new shirts, many like to use a white Overdale shirts. Students will be wearing these on Field Day and students will be allowed to sign each others shirts. Please make sure the shirt has been washed before it is brought to school. End of the Year Events: May 26th: Mad Science Assembly, 9:30 am; OES Talent Show, 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM May 27th: Fifth Grade Zoneton Trip/Fifth Grade Fun Day May 30th: No School, Memorial Day May 31st: Kindergarten Celebration, 9:30 am and Fifth Grade Celebration, 2:00 PM June 1st: Last Day of School for students, Field Day (parents please know if you plan to volunteer they will need a background check on file in the office) We are officially in the home stretch! We are 5 instructional days away from K-PREP testing. We have all worked so hard and your students have grown so much from the beginning of the year. I know that this time can be full of nerves for some students, please take the time to reassure them that they are WELL prepared from their learning this year :)
K-PREP Letters for Students: I would like to surprise the students with letters from role models or significant figures from their lives :) My vision is to give these letters to students on the first morning of testing. Testing can be a difficult period of time for students and I feel that these letters could be a constant reminder from home for them! Please send these in by a sealed envelope with your student's name on them, NO LATER than Monday, so I know who has a letter. Thank you so much for your continued support. End of Year Project and 5th Grade Fun Day :) Social Studies Showcase- After testing each day, students will be working on an end of year painting that highlights the piece of History that resonated with them the most this year. For this project each student will need their own canvas. I am providing the paint and materials needed. Please do not send in a canvas that is larger than 11x14. You can purchase these in a 2 pack from Walmart for about $6. Smaller canvas sizes may be cheaper. Please send in the canvas NO LATER than the morning of May 11th. 5th Grade Fun Day- Each student will need to bring in a white T-shirt. You may choose to go out and buy a new white T shirt, OR please feel free to send in a white Overdale T shirt with your student. We will tye dye these as part of 5th Grade Fun Day, and 5th graders will wear their shirts to Field Day on the last day of school! Please wash your t shirt before you send it in, especially if it is brand new. The brand new shirts have some sort of coating on them from the factory that makes them want to repel the dye. Looking Ahead and Being Proactive!
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Mrs. ValdezThis is my fifth year teaching 5th grade. This is a very special time of learning for students and I am thankful that I get to be a part of their journey :) |