OK Class, well it looks like Mrs C’s blog is blocked from our homes… what a pain! Unless your parents have a vpn/tunnel set up, you won’t be able to access the blogs unless you are at school.
But we will get onto her kids first thing Monday so that we have all left comments for the kids by the time they start school Monday, sorry to disappoint you all, I hadn’t realized this was the case.
Have a great weekend without homework except for you Marvelous Monday Manuscript Masters (Monday Readers!)
http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf
Come along and feel the Pudong School Spirit as our Middle School presents the Halloween Musical Bats
Show Times:
Wednesday, October 27- 5:00pm
Thursday, October 28- 3:15pm
Friday, October 29- 3:15pm
Tickets
– 30 rmb and go on sale today outside of the cafeteria or anytime in the middle school office
– 10 rmb discount given at the door on Friday for anyone in a Halloween costume
– Show runs about 1 hour and 30 mins.
– Wed show buses run ASA routes after the show
– For Thur/Fri shows audience can catch ASA buses at 5:30 or Staff bus at 5:00
– Show is appropriate for all ages
HI 5KP
IF you check the blog over the ‘typhoon day’ take note of some of its features and see what you can set about doing on your blog.
If you are having trouble, don’t despair, set up a word document and start a list of questions you want to ask Mr Power and me, things you want to do on your blog and MOST IMPORTANTLY, start writing!
Read, study for Friday’s math test and keep safe…
See you Thursday 5KP
It was a wonderful week of learning and adventure in 5KP and we are looking forward to it continuing as we start our second full week together. Thank you students for your effort in remembering our morning routines, our classroom rules and the way we behave and manage our daily schedules.
As of this week, if students do not complete homework; there will be consequences that involve them losing their recess time and copying out our classroom homework policy. The second time homework is forgotten I will contact the parents in the hope that there will not be a third time. The students know that I do not set a lot of homework and I expect what is set to be done, on time, and with care and effort. I try and make the consequences as boring as possible, the homework as meaningful as possible and our classroom time as valuable as possible.
Check out who your children share their day with below and take the time to comment on the blog if you care to.
Introducing 5KP
http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf
News around the School
Please click on these blog posts from Mrs Boyer regarding library volunteers and from our Principals regarding our Open House activities for September 8th for more information.
Class Pet
It was a surprise on Thursday morning when our class pet, a ‘male’ hamster named Shadow, gave birth to not one but six baby hamsters!!! That was certainly an interesting way to start the day and 36 hours later as I write this, the six babies are alive and well, small and pink with their eyes still closed. I wrote the information below before the babies were born… the only thing that has changed now is that we won’t start letting Shadow go home for weekends until the babies have been weaned. If you are interested in a pet hamster, just send me an e mail and in a month or so… voila!
The children are very excited to have a class pet and we will develop a list of responsibilities to go along
with having a pet that enables them to take turns playing with him, providing him with
fresh food and water and cleaning his cage.
Shadow has a travel cage and is allowed to go home with your child over the weekend IF you write
to me giving permission for this to happen, it is purely an option, not a necessity so do not feel any
pressure. (“Yeah, right” I hear you say… so I will re-phrase that; don’t feel any pressure FROM ME!)
My only concern with Shadow coming home with your child is that he be protected from undue stress at home
and especially on the bus ride.
I have discussed this at length with the students and they are forbidden to take him
out of the cage between school and home and encouraged to just keep a low profile on the bus and
set the cage on the floor at their feet or on their lap. The bus experience will be noisy and busy enough
without any extra attention.
I will provide the hamster food for the weekend but feel free to also give small pieces of fresh carrot
etc. The cage can be cleaned out again by the student once they return it to school on the Monday.
Hamsters can be very noisy at night time; very entertaining too. They tend to sleep for most of the day.
I find having them run around in an empty bath
with a few small bits and pieces to play with (empty toilet paper rolls are ideal) is fun to watch and
they cannot escape… Make sure they don’t go down the plug hole!
Over and Out from 5KP!
Math
The final math assessment is coming tomorrow on Probability, Ratios and Rates. Make sure you take home all your materials to study this week. Remember, if you need to practice any of the skills below, take a look at your Skills Link practice booklet.
The following skills will be assessed in Unit 12:
*understand and use tree diagrams to solve problems
*compute the probability of outcomes when choices are equally likely
*use the multiplication counting principle to find the total number of possible outcomes for a sequence of choices
*find the greatest common factor of two numbers
*find the least common multiple of two numbers
*solve ration and rate number stories
*find the factors of numbers
*find the prime factorizations of numbers
Memoirs
The class have been making greater headway drafting their Memoirs since they were given access to the lap-tops to use. For the last two lessons we have worked on generating a great deal of writing so that the students can look back, re-read their material and ask “what am I trying to say here?” One example they have been given to encourage them to write meaningfully is to imagine this piece of writing was found the day after they passed away, what would it say about them? Would it be the sort of piece they would want representing them after they were gone? Would it be an accurate portrayal of their memories? We will celebrate with our publishing party next Monday, the expectation is that all students will have published their Memoir to their blog by the time we begin celebrating straight after P.E. at 11.40 a.m. We will be bringing our lunch upstairs from the cafeteria (or home lunch) and we will eat together in our classroom and watch a movie instead of eating in the cafeteria that day. The students have also been asked to bring in some popcorn/soda/cookies/chips to share after lunch. If you have any questions about what your child might bring to class just e mail me; I will be discussing it with them but I know sometimes the message might not always make it home and I don’t want parents to have to go to a lot of trouble for the party. As a working mother, I know how busy life is so I am hoping the students will try and take on some of the responsibility themselves.
Invention Convention Unit
It has been great to watch the class at work trying new things lately for the Invention Convention Unit. We have had several small presentations in class where the students have presented their ideas to others and received constructive feedback. We have all learned about how hard it is to make something original or even to adapt what is already in place. We will be filming our presentations during next week at school and uploading them to our blogs. Well done 5KP for being so courageous and enthusiastic with this unit.
Puberty
Dear Parents,
The Grade 5 students will soon begin their adolescence unit. We have invited Dr. Bristol to speak with all Grade 5 students on June 2nd. Dr. Bristol is an Attending Pediatrician as well as the Chief Medical Officer from Shanghai United Family Hospital. The title of the presentation is “My Mind and Body are Changing: What Gives?” Some of the topics Dr. Bristol will talk about include:
– Normal adolescent growth and development, including physical changes
– Normal weight and height ranges for teens
– Acne and other rashes
– Internet safety
– How to avoid risky behaviors
– Ways to deal with peer pressure
– Career planning for the adolescent
This is a great opportunity for our students. If you have further questions or concerns, please contact me.
Regards,
Sharon Pantoja
School Nurse
Email: Sharon.pantoja@saschina.org
Tel no: 6221 – 1445 ext 3309
http://photopeach.com/public/swf/story.swf
Thanks to Misha’s Mum for so many of these fantastic photos. It was a great day and will give our Boston Buddies the chance to see some of the people they have been writing with.
What a wonderful sunny day it is, a terrific day to start the weekend. We have had a short but very productive week back.
Most of the students were extremely successful in the recent Unit 10 Math Test with 8 students earning 100% and 7 students scoring 96% with only one error… OUCH! The class median score was 96%, our highest thus this year and the class average was 94%, also our highest average for 2009 – 2010.
This week also saw 5KP begin phase two of the Invention Convention Unit. During this project, the students will be looking closely at the process involved when you invent something. The focus is more on the process rather than the product. In past years we have found that this project has sometimes taken on a life of its own and many students have ended up with their parents doing a large part of the work for them rather than the student actually understanding all of the trial and error actually involved when you are trying to invent something.
Here are the essential questions that we will be aiming to answer and understand during the course of the 4 week project.
Essential Questions
Where are inventions located?
What steps are involved in the invention process?
What implications do these inventions have for people?
Are new inventions always better than those they replace?
How do inventions change and adapt to suit their environment?
The deadline for handing in yearbook money has been extended to May 12th.
In Writer’s Workshop the class are starting to make some breakthroughs with the Memoir Unit of Study. It is a difficult concept for a 5th grader to get their head around but their main aim is to write a piece of writing of their own choice of genre that sums up something that has happened in their past that has meaning for them.
Thank You parents for a wonderfully appreciative lunch just now… I need a nap!
Hi there thrill-seekers!
Ms Canar sent me a link about a site called wallwisher so I am having a bit of a play with it instead of doing the 10 other things on my ‘to do’ list I should be doing now.
Let’s see what we can do with this wall and if it would be a fun thing to add to our tech repertoire. You will need to read the post before this one to understand what I mean by the ‘top 100 list’. Don’t forget to complete the assignment on that post before next Monday for homework. Click here if you can’t see the site below or have trouble posting your sticky note. BEING ANONYMOUS IS NOT AN OPTION.
Read any good books lately?
I have a task for you to complete by Monday April 26th. Ideally, it would be great if you could do it on your blog, but it is not essential, your reader’s notebook would also be appropriate.
So, below is a list of the top 100 Children’s novels as taken from this site.
I would like you to copy the list into a word document, and then highlight it in the following way:
RED = books you have read (be honest, not movies watched, not ‘want to read’ or ‘half-read’ but actually finished)
BLUE = books you have been meaning to read
GREEN = 3 books you must read before the end of the school year (you have 55 sleeps to go)
(Your three ‘green books‘ are probably going to start off being ‘blue books‘ and you then have to choose which three blue to turn green…Get It?)
Then, paste the revised list back into your blog for others to see and do the following:
Choose 5 of the books that you have already read and do a review of them on your blog, approximately 200 words per book review and add a cover photo of the book to your post.
Now, before you scroll down and see the list, which is ordered from 100 down to the number 1 book, make a prediction… What do YOU think is the number one children’s book? Please include that at the start of your blog post…
Like this… I predict that the Number One Children’s Novel will be: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson
100. The Egypt Game – Snyder (1967)
99. The Indian in the Cupboard – Banks (1980)
98. Children of Green Knowe – Boston (1954)
97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – DiCamillo (2006)
96. The Witches – Dahl (1983)
95. Pippi Longstocking – Lindgren (1950)
94. Swallows and Amazons – Ransome (1930)
93. Caddie Woodlawn – Brink (1935)
92. Ella Enchanted – Levine (1997)
91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School – Sachar (1978)
90. Sarah, Plain and Tall – MacLachlan (1985)
89. Ramona and Her Father – Cleary (1977)
88. The High King – Alexander (1968)
87. The View from Saturday – Konigsburg (1996)
86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Rowling (1999)
85. On the Banks of Plum Creek – Wilder (1937)
84. The Little White Horse – Goudge (1946)
83. The Thief – Turner (1997)
82. The Book of Three – Alexander (1964)
81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Lin (2009)
80. The Graveyard Book – Gaiman (2008)
79. All-of-a-Kind-Family – Taylor (1951)
78. Johnny Tremain – Forbes (1943)
77. The City of Ember – DuPrau (2003)
76. Out of the Dust – Hesse (1997)
75. Love That Dog – Creech (2001)
74. The Borrowers – Norton (1953)
73. My Side of the Mountain – George (1959)
72. My Father’s Dragon – Gannett (1948)
71. The Bad Beginning – Snicket (1999)
70. Betsy-Tacy – Lovelae (1940)
69. The Mysterious Benedict Society – Stewart ( 2007)
68. Walk Two Moons – Creech (1994)
67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher – Coville (1991)
66. Henry Huggins – Cleary (1950)
65. Ballet Shoes – Stratfeild (1936)
64. A Long Way from Chicago – Peck (1998)
63. Gone-Away Lake – Enright (1957)
62. The Secret of the Old Clock – Keene (1959)
61. Stargirl – Spinelli (2000)
60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – Avi (1990)
59. Inkheart – Funke (2003)
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase – Aiken (1962)
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 – Cleary (1981)
56. Number the Stars – Lowry (1989)
55. The Great Gilly Hopkins – Paterson (1978)
54. The BFG – Dahl (1982)
53. Wind in the Willows – Grahame (1908)
52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret — Selznik (2007)
51. The Saturdays – Enright (1941)
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins – O’Dell (1960)
49. Frindle – Clements (1996)
48. The Penderwicks – Birdsall (2005)
47. Bud, Not Buddy – Curtis (1999)
46. Where the Red Fern Grows – Rawls (1961)
45. The Golden Compass – Pullman (1995)
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing – Blume (1972)
43. Ramona the Pest – Cleary (1968)
42. Little House on the Prairie – Wilder (1935)
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond – Speare (1958)
40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Baum (1900)
39. When You Reach Me – Stead (2009)
38. HP and the Order of the Phoenix – Rowling (2003)
37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Taylor (1976)
36. Are You there, God? It’s Me, Margaret – Blume (1970)
35. HP and the Goblet of Fire – Rowling (2000)
34. The Watson’s Go to Birmingham – Curtis (1995)
33. James and the Giant Peach – Dahl (1961)
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – O’Brian (1971)
31. Half Magic – Eager (1954)
30. Winnie-the-Pooh – Milne (1926)
29. The Dark Is Rising – Cooper (1973)
28. A Little Princess – Burnett (1905)
27. Alice I and II – Carroll (1865/72)
26. Hatchet – Paulsen (1989)
25. Little Women – Alcott (1868/9)
24. HP and the Deathly Hallows – Rowling (2007)
23. Little House in the Big Woods – Wilder (1932)
22. The Tale of Despereaux – DiCamillo (2003)
21. The Lightening Thief – Riordan (2005)
20. Tuck Everlasting – Babbitt (1975)
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Dahl (1964)
18. Matilda – Dahl (1988)
17. Maniac Magee – Spinelli (1990)
16. Harriet the Spy – Fitzhugh (1964)
15. Because of Winn-Dixie – DiCamillo (2000)
14. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Rowling (1999)
13. Bridge to Terabithia – Paterson (1977)
12. The Hobbit – Tolkien (1938)
11. The Westing Game – Raskin (1978)
10. The Phantom Tollbooth – Juster (1961)
9. Anne of Green Gables – Montgomery (1908)
8. The Secret Garden – Burnett (1911)
7. The Giver -Lowry (1993)
6. Holes – Sachar (1998)
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – Koningsburg (1967)
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – Lewis (1950)
3. Harry Potter #1 – Rowling (1997)
2. A Wrinkle in Time – L’Engle (1962)
1. Charlotte’s Web – White (1952)
Did you predict right? Was you book on the list? What number? Don’t forget to include that information in your blog post titled: Top 100 Children’s Novels
the barefoot librarian 