update 3/18/14

Greetings Parents!

 Good News!
  With all the collected Coke rewards points I just cashed in 1425 more points to get another Barnes and noble gift card!!  Woot Woot! 
As the book fair was here today I just wrote down a list of books that the kids want.... so I've got more than enough to go to the store for!  If you have any ideas for books for the classroom, please let me know.
I currently have three coke rewards accounts going at one time. I'm allowed to enter 100 points a week (it used to be 120.. but I think they caught on to my updated activity!).  The next account that is close to rewards cash in is at 920 points... so another 4 weeks and we'll have a card for that account too.  Thank you SO much for all the reward carton codes and caps! Keep them coming! I couldn't be doing this without your codes!

Tonight is Literacy night at Sunset Lake.  Lit night runs from 6 - 7:30 and there are a number of reading activities you can participate in while you are here, including reading and taking A.R. tests!
The book fair will also be open at that time.
Reminder that the performance at the PAC for music is coming up quick!  The performance is next week March 27th at 7:00. Kids need to be there in the choir room to warmup between 6:30 and 6:45. Parents, please take your kid's coats with you when you drop them off... there isn't any place to pile them in the choir room and they often lock it after we head to the performance.
As with years past, kids will be allowed to go to you after the performance when I see you and can see them going to you. Please wave at me to get my attention when I'm standing by your child and looking for you.

Box Tops!   So far this year Sunset has earned $4,000 from box tops!  WOW!!!!   The last boxtop collection time has started.. keep sending in those boxtops and soup labels!

Wow!  I've already seen 5 REALLY nice owl nesting boxes!  5 students have brought their boxes in to show off their hard work. So cool to see these and see how hard the kids worked on them.

Remember that if you are working on an owl box that either I need to see the box, or pictures of the box by this Friday the 21st.  if you need until Monday, that's alright too... just email me and let me know that it will be completed by then.
For those students who did the owl calls, if they didn't bring home the owl call sheet with their packet, let me know and i can email one for them to fill out.  Even if you went but didn't hear any, they can still write about their experience. If you didn't hear owls I'll give you the directions to my neighborhood... we have a virtual "calling war" going on between the barred owls that live across the street and the great horned owls that live in the swamp out back.
So glad the kids had so much fun with this! Thanks so much for helping them extend and apply their knowledge!


Spelling lists for this week are as follows:
List 1 square group
1. vane
2. cession
3. session
4. palate
5. kernel
6. vein
7. capital
8. coarse
9. pallet
10. verses
11. colonel
12. dairy
13. capitol
14. versus
15. vain
16. navel
17. course
18. bridal
19. diary
20. naval
21. bridle

Spell list 2 - diamond group
1. vane
2. principal
3. country
4. weight
5. kernel
6. vein
7. county
8. coarse
9. invent
10. effect
11. colonel
12. diary
13. capitol
14. affect
15. vain
16. principle
17. event
18. capital
19. diary
20. course

list 3- circle group
1. brake
2. principal
3. country
4. weight
5. break
6. steal
7. steel
8. waist
9. invent
10. effect
11. waste
12. affect
13. principle
14. event
15. county

Week of March 3rd

The book fair is coming!  Our book fair time is Tuesday, March 18th at 1:45. If they forget their money they can go down and shop at 9:00 on Thursday.

Middle School Science night is this Wednesday!  If you have never been to science night, its awesome!  Loads of stuff for the kid to see and do.Science night goes from 6 - 8 p.m. Pizza and pop will be sold prior to 6:00 with all proceeds going to 6th grade camp.  Please contact Allison Lamers (or the middle school) if you are going to eat there so they can order pizza accordingly. The cost is $4.00 and that gets you 2 slices and a beverage.
Presenters this year will be :
Dovetails of west Michigan (pigeon racer)
Critchlow Alligator sanctuary
phizer
Stryker Medical and Instruments
Oranicycle
Earth Explorations
Bridge Organics
Kalamazoo Astrological Society
VMS Robotics club
Khan Academy Computer programming
Kalamazoo County Sheriff Department Forensic Science Lab

Saturday started March is Reading Month! This year's theme is "Go for the Gold"
Kids should have brought home a packet for reading and tallying reading minutes on Friday.  Last year of our class had a combined total of 60,153 minutes!
The two students who read the most minutes for this month will win a free wood burned box from me with whatever they want on it.  3rd and 4th place can pick any item out of the prize box.
AND if our ENTIRE class reads more minutes than any other class, I will be happy to spoil them with either a pizza party or an ice cream sundae party...their choice. (I get just a wee bit competitive during this!) 

At home minutes will not count unless they are signed by a parent/guardian.

As of this morning's email we are officially adding on 3 days in June to make up for the days we've had off beyond our state allotted 6. And because of THAT Angie Getsinger (the PE teacher) and Mrs Moreno are already talking about moving track and field day so that track and field day isn't so far from the end of school.  I"ll let you know when I know.

A.R. dates for this month are as follows:
75% day is 3/18
100% day is 4/2

Owl Projects?  How are they coming?  I was outside late last night... (11:00) and heard 2 barred owls calling back and forth. too cool!
   I have C.D.'s available for those who haven't borrowed it for the owl calls part of the project.

Social Studies Research Project Due this Friday!
Over the past few weeks students have been working on researching a Native American Tribe that was assigned to them. They've had 3 library flex lessons that started the 2nd week in February in which they researched the clothing, shelters and foods that their tribes ate as well as one other choice of study that they chose. (weapons, tools, rituals, stories, etc.)
Two weeks ago they worked on putting all of their information into informative paragraphs. Last week during their Thursday flex they were supposed to work on opening statement and end summaries... but due to the snow day we'll be working on that in here this week. Regardless... their papers are DUE this Friday!  I'll be signing out the chrome books this week so that they an get them typed up here in class.

Spelling lists for this week are:
Square group - list 1
1. categorize
2. mechanize
3. specialize
4. capitalization
5. shaken
6. fertilize
7. fertilizer
8. nationalize
9. quicken
10. summarize
11. strengthen
12. dramatize
13. modernize
14. broaden
15. generalize
16. memorize
17. colonize
18. civilize
19. flatten
20. straighten
21. plagiarize

List 2 - Diamond Group
1. broken
2. frighten
3. specialize
4. organize
5. shaken
6. fertilize
7. awaken
8. realize
9. loosen
10. summarize
11. criticize
12. forgotton
13. modernize
14. stolen
15. generalize
16. memorize
17. frozen
18. civilize
19. flatten
20. straighten

List 3 - Circle Group
1. broken
2. frighten
3. blacken
4. organize
5. dampen
6. harden
7. awaken
8. realize
9. loosen
10. soften
11. criticize
12. forgotten
13. tighten
14. stolen
15. frozen