Valentine's Day, Revisited!

Greetings from Room 10,
       VALENTINE'S DAY PARTY:  Due to last week's snowstorm, our Valentine's Day party has been rescheduled. Our Ice Cream Social will be on Friday, February 28th at 1:30pm. Unless I hear otherwise, I am assuming that everyone who signed up to bring something for our party will send it in next on the 28th.  Students should also bring their Valentine's in on Friday as they will share them with their peers during the party!!
       SAT VOCABULARY: On Monday, February 24th the children will take their Unit 3 SAT Vocabulary test, and I will give them 10 new words on that same day.  They should have studied all 30 of their words over the break, as they know that I am including a few words from previous units.  This SAT Vocabulary Unit will culminate with a 50-word test.  We have talked about that numerous times in class, so this should come as no surprise.
       BETOR'S BULLS-EYE: Most of the Betor's Bulls-Eye projects arrived well-before the February 14th deadline.  However, if your child was waiting to bring his/her project in on the 14th, s/he should bring in the project on Monday, February 24th.  We will discuss the deadline for our fourth project and come to a class consensus for the due date.
       WAX MUSEUM: Our Wax Museum is quickly approaching!  As a reminder, it will be held twice on Thursday, March 6th.  We will perform for our Betor-Bacher Buddies in the afternoon in addition to the evening event.  That is when I take their individual photos for our end of year iMovie, so please make sure that they have their costumes in school on/before March 6th.  I have given the children all the information they need for developing their one-minute speech which must be memorized.  We will make their posters in class.  They should already have discussed their costuming and props with you.  We are really looking forward to this community event.  Don't forget your nickels!!!
       Enjoy the rest of your mid-winter break!             Lester Betor & Class

Country Line Dancing in Delmar

Greetings from Room 10,
      So I hope your child told you about their country line dancing experience on Monday.  Mrs. Young brought in the Home Spun Community Dance program to introduce your children to the history of music as well as an exhilarating lesson in country line dance.  Admittedly, they were tentative as we walked down to the gymnasium, but their apprehension lasted only a few moments, and before long, they were "LOVIN' the LINE DANCIN'!"  I am attaching some photos I took during our session.  Enjoy!

        Don't forget that we are celebrating Valentine's Day on Friday at 1:30pm.  You are welcome to join us.  As a reminder, your child must include all of their classmates if they are choosing to bring in Valentines.  Also, they need to bring in a Valentine mailbox to collect their Valentines.

       Tuesday, February 11th is a half-day with an 11:45am dismissal.  I will be meeting with those of you who signed up for a conference.  Conferences are scheduled for 20 minutes.  I will be happy to review both the report card and the results of the Aims-Web testing that was sent home last week.

       Happy Valentine's Day!                                                                            Lester B. & class

Charlotte and Wilbur: Friends Till the End.

Dear Parents of Room 10,

What an exciting week we had in Room 10, despite the fact that we had Monday off.  It was really fun to hear the children practice for their winter concert.  Mrs. Rosselli has prepared an amazing program for both the fourth and fifth grade students.  I have the pleasure of being the page-turner again this year for Mrs. Summers.  Tuesday afternoon will be the school concert and Tuesday evening the children will be performing for their families at the High School.  The children will receive specific details concerning their arrival times, depending on whether they are in band, orchestra or choir only.  See you Tuesday night!

The respiratory system has been our focus for the last two weeks.  It will culminate with a quiz later this week.  I am excited to introduce the whale unit to the boys and girls.  In addition to learning about whale anatomy, behaviors and whaling history, we will also be watching “The Voyage of the Mimi,” starring a 10-year-old Ben Affleck.  It’s old but still relevant.

Spelling will be on hiatus for the next few weeks.  Instead, we will focus on vocabulary.  It’s never too early to prep for the SATs, so I have selected vocabulary words from a list of 100 Top SAT words.  The children will have activities related to their 10 vocabulary words each week, and they will take a vocabulary test on Fridays.  A cumulative test will be given at the conclusion of the unit.  You should see your child studying their vocabulary words nightly.

Last week the reading skill we focused on was Author’s Purpose.  It was a full-class lesson that outlined the three primary reasons an author writes: to inform, to entertain or to persuade.  Currently, we are learning about persuasive or argumentative essays.  The children have taken a position on whether chocolate milk should be served in the cafeteria, and they have begun to edit and revise their piece.

On Thursday, the kids worked with their Bacher Buddies to make their very own Wilbur that is now on display outside our room above their Charlotte projects.  The kids thoroughly enjoy working with their second grade buddies.  It’s always nice to see our 5^th graders take on a leadership role. 

      See you all on Tuesday night!
      Lester Betor and class 

Pajama Day 2014!

Greetings from Room 10,
        This was a particularly productive week as we moved head-on into our new writing unit.  The children have been exposed to a few articles that debate whether school cafeterias should serve chocolate milk.  I have been impressed by how well they can articulate their points and opinions.  Lots more reading about chocolate milk next week.
         We began our respiratory unit in health.  The children have been exposed to a considerable number of new vocabulary words as we investigate the breathing process.  It's an interesting unit, but then again, one of our topics yesterday was boogers.  I mean, can it get any better than that?
         The next Betor's Bulls-Eye project is due February 14th, which is the last day before min-winter break.  I have already been given many projects.  If your child has not yet completed his/her 3rd project, please make sure it is ready for the 14th.
         In grammar we have focused on the homophones your & you're, their, there & they're and its & it's.  I am pleased to say that they did very well.
         The Betor/Bacher Buddies got together on Thursday to make a Charlotte's Web project.  They are currently being displayed in our hallway.  I took lots of photos which should be included on the "One School, One Book" website.
         Bagel Thursday and Pajama Day 2014 both proved to be fun events.  I am attaching several pictures of the kids lounging around reading in their jammies and their stuffed animals.

         Have a wonderful long weekend!  Take care, Lester Betor & class