Sadowski update 1/27/15

Math night! Tomorrow night at the performing arts center!  (High school auditorium)  An instant alert should have gone home about this today.

Conferences!   They start this Thursday.  The conference schedule is the same as last semester... though I haven't received all conference notes back yet.  

Thursday January 29th                              Tuesday February 3rd

4:30 Karyna L.                                           

4:45 Kayla L.                                                  Tyson H.                              

5:00 Kyler D.                                                  Gunnar L.

5:15 Norah P.                                                

5:30 Alexis P.                                                 Maddox P.

5:45 MacKenzie L.                                         

6:00  Maya P.                                                  Connor B.

6:15                                                                 Annalee H.

6:30 Lennon L.                                                Kayla M.

6:45 Chloe B.                                                  Caleb J.

7:00                                                                  Jacob W.

7:15 Benjamin P.                                              William C.

7:30 Brendan O.                    

If you don't see your name on this list, it is due to the fact that I had after school conferences with you last marking period. I just sent out an email  to you personally to get that time scheduled.

                        

Spelling for this week is as follows:

clearing

noisy

refuel

beginning

chrome

sheer

convoy

rethink

continued

cucumber

warning

fountain

co-worker

friendliest

conceal

cinema

earlier

drown

lore

prepackage

Thanks so much!

End of the Year Field Trips

Mark your calendars! We FINALLY have the dates for our two end of the year field trips.

The first is to the Kalamazoo Rock and Mineral Show at the Kalamazoo County Fairgrounds on May 1st.

May 1st is also the same day as the Economics Sale AND the Walk-a-Thon.... so it will be a VERY busy day!

We will plan on boarding the bus and leaving for the fairgrounds at 11:30... which means we will plan on eating lunch that day at 11:00.  Any student who gets a school lunch will get their school lunch early that day.  

We'll stay at the Rock and mineral show a little over an hour. We'd like to be on the bus and ready to go by 1:30 so that we can get back for the Walk a Thon at 2:00.

  What is the Rock and mineral show?  It's AWESOME! The show features table after table of dealers selling precious and semi precious raw stones, polished stones, jewelry, fossils, and just about every specimen you can think of that has to do with gems, rocks or minerals.  There is a geode area where kids can buy geodes for $2 - $10.00 and have them cracked open right there. There is a "Mine Car" area where they kids can pay $1.00 to send a car into a mine.... when the car comes out they can use and old fashioned sifter to separate their gems from the sand.  This is a favorite!  

     

    Ladies! If you like your gemstones, there is no better place to buy them! They are all hand cut, and just as beautiful as the jewelry stores, WITHOUT the jewelry store prices. Stones are sold by current market Carat weight, not on how much the rent and overhead for the store is!  Sapphires, Emeralds, Rubies, Citrine, Peridot, Garnets.... you name it... it is here!

     The Show goes through Sunday. Typically some of the dealers leave portions of their tables covered up as when some of the other rowdier schools go through they've had things come up missing due to theft.... so if you go back on the weekend there is not only much more available to see, but tons more activities that are child centered to do. 

  If possible, we would LOVE to take only one bus. That would mean that like the ski trip, kids would be allowed to ride to and from  the show with their parent or parents as long as you fill out a liability release slip.  If we have to take a second bus, we will, its just crazy expensive to take two busses.  I would much rather use that money to buy activity tickets for the kids so that they can do at least one fun activity at the show free!

I'd like to get a rough count BEFORE I fill out the bus slip.  If you would like to drive your child to and from the show, zip me an email or a text before Friday January 30th.  Email me at tsadowski@vicksburgschools.org or text me at 269-501-3969.  If you text, please tell me who you are when you say "yay" or "nay" to driving your own child to the Rock and Mineral show.

More details on the show itself will be sent as the show gets closer.

NEXT.... The end of the year trip to Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery and South Haven will be Friday, May 22nd. I know that is the weekend before Memorial Day... but it was either that or May 8th. May 8th is just typically too early, too chilly or too stormy to be enjoyable so we went with the 22nd.

Due to the abundance of parents that attend THIS trip we only take one bus. This "drive your child" option was on the permission slip at the beginning of the year and we already know that we will only need one bus for this trip. We will send home the official release forms as May approaches. More details about the trip will be sent as this trip gets closer.

Thanks so much!

Tiffany Sadowski

Sadowski update 1/19/15

 I talked about math frustration a bit with a few of you at conferences.  The math night has finally been planned for January 28th from 6 - 7:00 p.m.  There is a letter going home tomorrow that states :

    "Superintendent Glaes will begin the even with opening remarks which will be followed by Danielle Seabold, the KRESA math consultant. Ms. Seabold will discuss the Common Core State Standards and share ways in that parents can support their children in math. Following her presentation, parents will be encouraged to attend grade level breakout sessions (mini lessons) to learn more about your child's math instruction in the classroom".

   There is a form at the bottom of the letter that is due back to me by this Thursday (since we don't have school on Friday) so they can get a count of how many to expect.

    Also on Thursday..,.before holiday break the kids filled their reward marble jar..... with three snow days in a row one week and a ski trip the next Friday we just haven't had the time!

So!  this Thursday afternoon the kids can bring in blankets to lay on, electronic and non electronic games to play. Some of the kids have volunteered to bring in a particular snack or beverage... they wrote letters today informing you of this.  If you cannot donate at this time no worries!   We also have a birthday treat coming in that day that should more than make up for what didn't come in!

    Owl pellet dissection was today and will continue tomorrow. Rest assured everything they are dissecting has been thoroughly sterilized by the company and again by me!  Kind of a cool side note... the company I order from when I don't have enough of my own from my box is from a rehab facility on the coast of California.  One of our pellets that we dissected today was full of mini crab claws!  Nice to know that in California even the owls are eating well!

Spelling list is as follows.. the test will be Thursday morning due to no school on Friday...

Chorus

create

suitcase 

cereal

recent 

practice

company

expect

jacket

frantic

choir 

grocery

recite

celebrate

exercise

correct

comic

select

plastic

stomach

Thanks and have a great week!

3rd marking period science extensions

Forces and Motion tests are finally done! We had quite a few who were absent before break and I wanted them to take the test before I passed back the results.  You will get an email next week letting you know if your child has to retake the test or not.

Owl boxes!    

I sent home a packet today the details and explains how to build several different kinds of owl boxes.  Students who wish to "go above and beyond" for their science grade for the upcoming marking period (meaning they can earn a "4.0" instead of a " 3" ) can choose and build the box of their choice with their parent(s) and then hang it up for owls to inhabit. The front page details all the reasons as to WHY we build owl boxes, where to hang, them, how to hang them etc.

    I did this project for the first time last year and had so many parents ask me to do it again this year that we're doing it again!   Owl boxes are due March 20th... but they or pictures of the box can be turned in anytime after the 3rd marking period starts.  I can provide a list of place to hang them if you are not able to hang them in your neighborhood.

I also sent an "owl sound hunt" packet home.  For those that don't want to undertake building a box, this project gives specific directions on how to identify the different kinds of owls in Michigan as well as locations for you and your student to go to listen for owls in the night!  Directions are on the front of the packet.   C.D's with owl calls on them will be available on Monday.  I need them back after you download them so that I can keep passing them out to other students who are working on the same project. 

   The great horned owl's breeding season starts in February... and I've already heard our pair at the back of our property calling back and forth at night.  Barred owls breeding season starts mid February to mid March.  

Thanks so much!

ski trip info 2015

Happy New Year!

  Kids are doing their best to get back into the groove with all the snow days we've had!

Our 5th grade ski trip is THIS Friday January 16th.  Weather is supposed to be warmer and not so bitter cold but the kids still need to bring layers to wear. We recommend an extra pair of socks as sometimes rental boots are a bit damp inside and damp feet = cold feet!

Parents who are skiing with their students and who have kids that have skied before that they can vouch for can leave to ski on their own as soon as instructions are given to the whole group. This is easiest if you have your own skis.... if not once you have your rental skis and boots you can go.

All other parents and children who have not skied before will be divided up and given lessons with instructors. Any students who has not skied before or who has skied only a couple of times MUST have a lesson.

Friday, students will meet in the gym so that I can take their attendance.  Students can then either ride the bus with their friends or ride up to Timber ridge with their parents.  On the way UP friends of students must ride the bus for liability reasons, but on the way home it is permissible for another student to go home with another parent as long as a form has been filled out turned in to us BEFORE the ski trip giving that child permission from their parent to do so. 

Kids will get their lift tickets in the gym. Parents will get their lift tickets at Timber Ridge as they only give us enough for our kids until we hand over a check at the resort. If you filled out your forms and turned in $, we have a record of who turned in what and will bring all of that with us.

Snowboards..... If your student has an APPROVED snowboard with metal edging and have snowboarded successfully at least 10 times they can snowboard. If they however have just received the snowboard recently and are still learning we prefer that if you as their parent are not going to be on this trip that they get skis and learn to ski with everyone else.

Students who have snowboards but no boots... .I'm not sure how this works as I don't and have never snowboarded..... so I don't know if their boots are compatible with commercial bindings?  or do snowboarders not have bindings?  If you have this dilemma, please call Timber Ridge yourself before Friday and find out!

Any student who has their own equipment must have it transported by an independent vehicle... there isn't any room on the bus for equipment.

There is a large, heated glassed eating area for parents who are not skiing to sit and watch the shenanigans of the lessons.  Bring a camera.... even though the bunny hill has very little slope to it, there are visually alot of little bodies laying in the snow at once for the first part of the day!

Students will be required to check in with teachers (Mrs. Vandermei who is not skiing) twice during the day. Once during lunch, and another time during our 15 minute mid afternoon break. An announcement will let students know about the mid afternoon break. Lunch is immediately following lessons. Have the kids eat a good breakfast... there is no time for snack and the span from until they actually get lunch is long.

Upon arriving at Timber Ridge, we have all students take all their lunches, bags and things that they don't need to ski upstairs to the viewing/cafeteria area. We try to snag the tables closest to the windows as sometimes other school groups are there, so if you get their first, grab and hold them with your stuff for us! 

Kids will then go back downstairs and find a seat in the rental room to listen to instructions.  Parents are then asked to help get the kids into their boots before they put on their own. It just helps everyone to have a better day when we get them suited up and out first!

We recommend that if students are bringing a lunch that they pack more food than they will usually eat. Bodies that are moving all day and out in the cold trying to stay warm burn through a lot more calories and they eat more than normal.

Parents who are skiing with their children and taking their children home do not have to turn in their skis at the end of the day when the rest of the Sunsetters are called in.  Passes are usually not good for the evening ski but most of the time the lift operators really don't pay too much attention.

We try to plan on having the kids back by 5:30 but in the last two years delayed busses returning to pick us up at Timber Ridge have caused us to not get home until almost 5:45.  Please do NOT sit in the car and wait for your child to come out to you.... we have to visually see that you are there picking them up rather than just sending them out to a car.

The kids will be briefed on gear that they need to bring (extra socks, gloves, hats, etc) as well as how they day will go, how to put on skis etc on Thursday afternoon following recess.

I think that's everything.. if I missed something call or text me 501-3969.  I apologize in advance for typos... no time to proofread!