Goodbye September, Hello October

Greetings from 5B!

      The new school year has gotten off to a great start!  I can't begin to tell you how wonderful it is to go to school every day knowing I have an amazing group of 26 fifth graders ready to give it their best. The children have received many compliments from Mrs. Bonacquist, and she has told them on many occasions that they the BEST!  Of course, we all like hearing that, and it motivates them to continue to be their own personal best.

      This week, the children will begin literacy stations. They will move through all eight stations by Friday. While they work independently, I will meet with each student to assess their reading level using the Fountas & Pinnell assessment kit. Next week, we will begin our first book club of the year while we focus on both theme and mood.  

      In writing, the children are finding a small moment to write about. We will spend time this week with refining the subject they will use for their first writing piece; a personal narrative. I am impressed by how seriously they take their writing. When their pieces are published, we will invite you in to read them.

      The worms should be arriving this week! How exciting is that? While we have done lots of preliminary work to prepare for our ecosystem unit, we will begin experimentation later this week.

       Has your child told you about buddies with Mrs. Reid's class? We have gone down to her room a few times so far this year, and they came to us once. In addition to giving them their weekly spelling test, we also work on language arts activities with them. This week, we are enjoying a STEAM activity. Your children are incredible role models to their younger peers.

      I am including some photos in this post. I have taken tons of pictures in anticipation of making scrapbooks in June. I will also use the photos for a class video that I will share with you at the end of the school year.  

       ENJOY the photos from "Hoola-Hoop" Ecosystems!      Lester Betor & class

Last Day of Buddies

Greetings from Room 10,

      Today was our last day with our Buddy Class.  Mrs. Gentile's Class and 5B enjoyed popsicles outside in the glorious weather, followed by fun on the playground. I am attaching the photos of your children with their buddies, thanks to Mrs. Gentile and her photography skills. Have a wonderful weekend!  Lester Betor & Class

Good Morning!

I just wanted to take a moment and check in.  Nature's Classroom, although cold and rainy, has been great! The kids are enjoying the experience. Yesterday, we took advantage of a few hours of clear skies to take a class photo. I am adding that to our Blog.  Last night, the children participated in team building activities, and tonight we will enjoy an Oregon Trail simulation.  Right now, the kids are in their Field Groups.  Have a wonderful day!!!

Friday MAIL

Dear Parents of Room 10,

      On Friday, I sent home three very important pieces of mail that I want to bring to your attention; one was WHITE, one was ORANGE and one was CHARTREUSE.

WHITE:  Your children and I had our yearly "personal safety" chat on Friday. This is sometimes referred to as "Good Touch/Bad Touch." This letter is meant to let you know that the lesson occurred, and it lists the objectives of the lesson. Please take a few moments to talk with your child about our class discussion.

ORANGE:  Because fifth graders are so busy the last few months of the school year, I sent home a list of important events, including dates, time-of-day and event. Although an occasional event might pop-up between now and June (including our end of year party), this is a pretty inclusive list. You may want to go "RETRO" and hang in on your refrigerator or just add the dates to your virtual calendar; whatever works best for your family.

CHARTREUSE: Nature's Classroom Information packet. There are two forms that must be completed and returned; NC Student Registration and Home and Health Information Questionnaire.  ALL FORMS (INCLUDING MED FORMS) ARE TO BE RETURNED NO LATER THAN THURSDAY, APRIL 18TH.) Please note that your final Bill will come home under separate cover.

Thank you for sharing your child with me!  Lester Betor

Pajama Day & Show and Tell

Good Morning!

I am attaching some photographs from our Pajama Day. The children posed with their special "Show and Tell" item. They did beautifully with explaining the importance of the item they brought in.  Enjoy!

Room 10 Classroom Update

Greetings from Room 10!

      We have been very busy since returning to school after the holiday break. In addition to academics, the children have been preparing for our first-ever Cultural Festival, next Thursday evening, January 17th beginning at 5:45pm. A flyer outlining details about the festival will be coming home today. I look forward to seeing everyone there!

      The respiratory unit is drawing to a close and will culminate next week with a unit test. The children have materials from which to study, including scaffolded notes from a Google Slide presentation.  Beginning the following week, we will begin our newest science unit, "How Do You Bring Fresh Water to Those in Need." Anna, a PhD. student from SUNY, will be joining us for science each day.

      In writing, our focus is non-fiction writing, and the children have researched a topic related to Westward Expansion. Over the last couple of days, they have written a flash-draft. This will be revised and edited MANY times over the next several weeks.  To complement this unit, we are focusing on non-fiction reading right now. Since beginning this unit, the children have compared and contrasted the same article about Octopuses at various reading levels. It has been interesting to see how the same information can be shared with a variety of grade levels (Grades 2-6).

      Play rehearsal has been going well, although there are still a number of students who have not memorized their lines and/or song lyrics. At this point, Mrs. Clarkson and I are blocking the action on stage, and the children can not rely on a script. Play rehearsals, with the exception of our February break, will be weekly at their designated time. Children should arrive and be picked up on time. Since we began in December, despite the reminders, children are being dropped off late and/or begin picked up late. I appreciate your support in this regard.

      I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and healthy 2019!  Hope to see you next Thursday night for the Cultural Festival!

                                                             Kind regards, Lester B. and Class

Gingerbread Houses and DARE Graduation Reminder

Greetings from Room 10,

     On Friday we celebrated the coming holiday by decorating gingerbread houses. I was amazed to see how well the children worked both independently and with their second grade buddies. They had so much fun!! We were all impressed by how well they shared and helped one another. Thank you to Mrs. Jennings and Mrs. Danz for organizing all the supplies and for all of our 5B families for donating supplies for the gingerbread houses. Special thanks to Mrs. Jennings for coming into the classroom and helping us out on Friday. Following are some photos of our gingerbread decoration extravaganza!

     Just a reminder that tomorrow, December 17th at 9:45am, the children will be participating in their DARE Graduation. All are invited to attend.

                                                                   Take care, Lester B. and Class