April 16, 2007

Dear Parents,        

I am going to be having surgery on April 30.  This is a major operation so I will not be back to school the rest of the year.  I was planning on having the surgery earlier in the year, but my husband had some health issues and mine issues had to be put on hold for a while.  I have now put it off as long as I can.

Mr. Stewart and I have given much thought to our coast trip, including trying to find a substitute that could accompany the class.  After some thought, we have decided the best alternative is to postpone the trip until next year.  At that time, it will be both fourth and fifth graders going on the trip.  One good aspect of this is it will give us one more year of fund raising to add to what we have now.  This may give us a chance to do more than we normally do due to lack of funding. 

Mrs. Val Taft will be taking my place in the classroom starting the afternoon of April 27.  She has subbed this year for me and really enjoys this class.  I know I am leaving the students in very capable hands. 

I will try to come in periodically depending on how I feel and I intend to try to be here the last day of school, we’ll see how that goes.  I have really enjoyed this class this year and it is hard to leave them before the year is up.

 If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give me a call or stop by after school.  I am happy to talk with you always.

Thank you,

Mrs. Zita

February 12, 2007

Dear Parents,

Well, I thought I was doing so well sending home Valentine’s class list, but forgot to plan our party.  So… several students have volunteered to bring something for our party (see the note in Monday folder).  If you are not able to bring that item, just let me know and we will work out something else.  Valentine’s cards are optional, but I do ask that if students bring them, they bring them for all students.  Our party will begin around 1:00 p.m., students will go to PE at 1:40, then come back and clean up.  We should be done around 3:00.  As always, parents are welcome to attend the festivities!

We will be decorating cookies starting at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday.  We need at least two or three parents to help with this.  Please let me know if you can be there. 

Cookie dough orders are due today, but not many students brought in orders.  We may have to extend the deadline.  We have to have 120 tubs to place an order.  I will let you know more tomorrow or Wednesday.

What’s Happening!

Reading – We will be reading a new biography and in our literature books.  Students should not have any homework this week, unless they don’t get something done in class.

Math – We just took a chapter test today and will begin working on probability this week and the next.

Science – We have finished our unit on volcanoes and earthquakes.  We will begin learning about the three states to matter: solids, liquids, and gases. 

Social Studies – We have been learning about the Constitution and the people who wrote it.  This week we will work on time zones of our country.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Mrs. Zita

February 5, 2007

Dear Parents,

We are starting the state writing test this week.  Students chose their topic and began prewriting this morning.  Rough drafts will be written over the next few days and then writing their final copy.   You can help out with the process by encouraging your child to give it their best effort. 

What’s Happening!

Reading – We are reading biographies about 5 different presidents.  The students are really enjoying them.  Tuesday, we will read an autobiography of Joanna Cole (the author of the Magic School House books) and students will have that story to read as homework.  Some students had work to be finished up tonight.

Math – We have been doing some pretty tough algebra and the students are doing well with this.  Ask you child to show you how many symbols he/she knows to multiplication and division. 

Science – We are just finishing our unit on volcanoes by learning how volcanoes and earthquakes are related.

Social Studies – We are learning about the three branches of government.  Last week, students wrote a letter to the president explaining their feelings about sending more troops to Iraq. 

Let me know if you have any questions regarding the cookie dough sale.  Money and order forms are due back on Monday, February 12. 

Have a great week!

Mrs. Zita

January 22, 2007

Dear Parents,

It was so nice to see many of you at conferences last week.  I am looking forward to meeting with the rest of you this week.  I am so proud of all this class has accomplished so far; they are a great group. 

What’s Happening:

Reading – Students need to read “Gluskabe and the Snow Bird” tonight. 

Math – We worked on median, mode, and range today.  Many of the students did not finish their assignment so this is homework.  It would be helpful if you would check with your child to see if he/she completed this assignment today.

Science – Today we talked about the different types of volcanoes and what causes each type. 

Social Studies -  We will be learning about our country’s early government and comparing federal government to state government.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Zita