Math test today, Field trip tomorrow

Hello,

The math test went okay. We struggled with the word problems, which were very difficult. I don't think anyone should panic. Math In Focus tests are scored on a 25 point scale. The last two problems on each test are considered "stretch" questions. The point is to give kids a chance to show if they can stretch what they have learned and apply it in a unique situation. Most of these type questions have not been practiced. Essentially, that means anyone scoring a 20 has learned everything that we have taught. You shouldn't take your child's score and convert it to a score out of 100. For example, someone scoring a 21 out of 25, shouldn't be a seen as a 84 out of 100. A 21 should not be equated to what we used to think of as a "C" grade.

These tests will come home tomorrow. They were graded and passed back so we could go over them this afternoon. I didn't have time to input the scores in my grade book so I needed to collect them at the end of the day. Make sure to take a look at how your child did and please contact me with any questions or concerns.

We started a light-hearted read aloud today. I thought I would go back to an old favorite of mine: Soup by Robert Newton Peck. It is a funny story of a farm boy and his best friend growing up in rural Vermont. We had finished Because of Mr. Terupt last week, and then I read the first few chapters of Chains by Laurie Halse Andersen. I wanted to get them started on that great book to see if I could get a few takers. It is one of my favorite historical fictions. My goal is always to get them to grab that reading baton.

Field trip tomorrow at 10:30. I hope many of you can make it. I can already smell Danny's from here.

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Field trip on Friday

Hello,

While not nearly as costly or dramatic as our Plimoth Plantation trip, we do have a walking field trip on Friday. We'll be going to the Pine Grove Cemetery. Chaperones are welcome to come. We'll leave the school at 10:30am. Groups of four or five will be responsible for filling out packets that include science, history, math and writing activities. We plan to be back at school by 2:00.

I was pleased to have a parent join us for the entire morning today. Morgan's mother is a high school science teacher and she watched us do our morning thing and then treated us to some juice and snacks as well. I think many of our kids like an audience just as much as they like snacks, so it worked out well.

We have our math test tomorrow. Multiple digit multiplication and division is the focus. The estimation questions will probably give us the most trouble, but I wouldn't give the test if I wasn't confident.

More drawing of atoms, and discussing physical and chemical changes in chemistry. That test is coming soon.

Conference sign ups will also be appearing soon. I did an online sign up last year that worked pretty well. You will be able to sign up the old fashioned way as well, so be on the look out for that next week.

Thanks to everyone who went to the 5th grade potluck dinner. The numbers were a little low, but we had a good showing from our class. It was definitely a success with many food offerings to choose from. Strong communities don't just happen. They take some work. So thanks to everyone who pitched in last night.

Thanks for reading,

Mr. Shea

Happy Monday

Hello,

We read about the Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 this morning. We also watched a short video on the subject. Most of the class said that they learned more from the article than the video.  I'll be doing some more of this type thing to try and reach all of our learners.

We took a chemistry "test" this afternoon. It was just a dry run with most of the stuff that we covered on it. We went over it and made sure everyone had the right answers to use it as a study guide. I didn't do a great job of making the test. My cutting and pasting wasn't as good as it should have been. I told them that it was my practice test too.

We went out for a class recess, separate from the rest of the grade. I'll offer that up from time to time. Everyone in the class went, even though they had the option of going with the others. I liked that.

Our double digit division is looking great. We have a math test coming up. I didn't think I'd give it this week, but these last two math classes have been very promising.

All for now,

Mr. Shea

Easy Day

Hello,

I just got out of a tech meeting and am off to a meeting at Bowdoin.

We had an easy day today. We discussed our Plimoth trip. Thank you again to all of you for contributing. Everyone was here on time. Many parents joined us for the long drive. I can't see doing that trip again without adding at least an hour or two to the time we spend at Plimoth. My vote would be for a return time around seven or eight, preferably on a Friday.

We had a big 99 tournament in math. Congrats to our champion, Vanessa. Chelsea, our runner up, also did very well. Our final four was all girls, which someone was quick to point out. Nice job girls!

We played a whole class Apples to Apples game in the afternoon. Congrats to Elijah and Sid who came out on top. Everyone seemed to have fun.

I gave them a day to unwind. We'll have a more normal day tomorrow.

Gotta run.

Mr.Shea

Bright and Early tomorrow

Hello,

I can't wait for tomorrow morning!

I just wanted to drop you a brief line about our visit from SASSMM (Sexual Assault Support Services of Midcoast Maine) this afternoon. They came in the class with one of our school counselors for an hour. The major theme of the presentation was internet safety. Five short video clips were shown and then discussed. A note went home today that you may want to take a look at.

I thought the videos and discussions that followed were topical and important. The class asked good questions, but may have more for you at home. Let me know if your child forgot the note that was supposed to go home. There was lots of excitement at the end of the day with our Plimoth trip just hours away.

I've been tying up loose ends for much of the day and am going to get back to that. Please call or text with any last minute questions 841 2599.

Thanks,

See you at 5:15ish.

Mr. Shea

Plimoth countdown

Hello,

I hope everyone knows about the Plimoth trip on Wednesday and your role in it. Chaperones should know if they are on the bus, driving a vehicle, or riding in a vehicle. Please let me know if you are unsure about that. (841-2599)

I know that the list below suggests two bag lunches. I think the most normal eating schedule for most kids will be to bring something for breakfast on the way there. We will eat lunch on the way to the Mayflower II from the Plantation at 11:45. We should be back by 5:00, which would be before most dinner times, but I would recommend some snacks for the way home. It is a long day and I know from homework clubs that kids need some more fuel after 3:00.

As far as the return time, I've heard from a few that you don't want to be waiting in the parking lot at HBS for very long. Give me your cell and I'll call you when we hit Portland. You can ask other chaperones to call you instead if that is easier for you. We have four chaperones on the bus and another five or six driving down. That is a pretty nice ratio. Thank you for taking an active role in this.

Finally, thank you for all of the financial help. Through fund raising, car washes, and extra donations, we are in good financial standing and should have a bit to role over to next year's trip.  Thank you so much.

I'm going to cut and paste some info. Please call me if you want to know more.

PLIMOTH PLANTATION TRIP

Please be at HBS at 5:20 a.m. on Wednesday, October 21^st

with the following:

·        Notebook & Student Packet (given to you by your teacher)

·        Pencils                      

·        Comfortable walking shoes

·        Warm, layered clothing

·        2 bag lunches, a snack, and drinks (no glass) – think healthy!

·        Rain jacket (watch the weather)

·        Camera (optional)

·        Quiet games or music with earphones for bus ride (optional)

Please remember, you are representing Brunswick so please use your best manners.

* Please be at HBS to pick up your child promptly at 5:00 p.m.

Thanks,

Mr. Shea

Picture Day

Hello,

We made it to our picture time at 2:00 with hair brushed and ties tied.  I completely forgot about picture day when I dressed myself this morning. With no shirts steamed, I grabbed Ol' Faithful, my grandfather's polyester shirt from the early seventies that never needs ironing. I don't like the shirt, but keep it in the closet for mornings when I have nothing else. Now it will be immortalized in our class picture. I'll steam some shirts tonight.

We made lots of words using the symbols from the elements of the periodic table.We had done a homework similar to this, but today we did the cutting and pasting of the symbols. We have some pretty impressive totals from the groups.

We stepped up to multiple digit division estimation. That is a mouthful. We had some trouble earlier this year on the single digit estimation, so this won't be a walk in the park, but I'm glad we get to this when the former is still fresh in their minds.

We are nearing the end of Because of Mr. Terupt, our read aloud. Tonight's writing assignment is to predict the ending.

Thanks for getting the Plimoth permission slips in. I was very thankful to hear that Chelsea's mom has volunteered to drive an SUV which will fit a bunch of adults. Let me know if that is a possibility. I have a lot of you clamoring for space on the bus, and I can understand that you would like to ride down with your child. I will be as fair and as transparent as I can. We will draw sticks if we have to, but I want to let you know as soon as I can if you have a spot on the bus. Telling me that you would be willing to ride down by car won't take you out of the bus seat drawing. If your first preference is the bus, I don't want to take away your chance for that just because you are being more flexible.

More to come.

Thanks,

Mr. Shea

Picture Day on Wednesday

Hello,

Picture day tomorrow! Our class time isn't until 2:00 though, so realize that a perfect hairdo or well pressed shirt, may not be so nice after a recess, lunch and learning.

No homework club on Thursday for this week or next. Meetings have been scheduled for both days. I apologize for any inconvenience. I know that the kids aren't going to be happy. I knew about the 22nd, but the meeting on the 15th was just announced today. I can't help the late notice on that one.

We watched a video today. It was part of National Geographic's three part series titled Guns, Germs and Steel. The videos are based on Jared Diamond's Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same name. Professor Diamond narrates the series which attempts to answer the question of why were the European explorers able to dominate and obliterate the American natives during the Age of Exploration?

The portion of the series that I showed the class focused on Spain's annihilation of the Incas despite being vastly outnumbered. Diamond is able to show how guns (superior weapons), germs (susceptibility to disease), and steel (advanced technology), made the outcomes inevitable. He also does a good job to show how geography played a major role in the differences in the inhabitants of these continents. Technology, ideas and diseases are much more easily spread across continents that lay along similar latitudes. These things did not spread very well along the north to south lines that connect the Americas. Good video, great book.

We got into multiple digit division in math. Lots of zeroes in the numbers should make it easy. We want them to see that 420 divided by 30 is the same as 42 divided by 3. They did well with this in class. Homework could be another story.

The class finished acting out idioms this morning. Some groups acted idioms out in literal ways after using them in their traditional figurative forms. Pretty funny stuff.

Already Wednesday tomorrow. Time flies when you're having fun.

Thanks,

Mr. Shea

Progress

Hello,

We did a little pass the story game in writing: Write a sentence and pass it to the next person. There was very impressive progress from our last try during the first week of school. Our biggest issues were changing narration and occasionally getting too far away from the original premise of the story. A majority of the stories, however, were well done and near impossible to tell that they had been written by many different authors. Ahh... growth.

Back to long division in math. Lots of rust, but it was coming back pretty quickly. We have at least five different methods in the classroom, which are all good as long as they work and are understood. You'll see the four problems tonight. Feel free to take a peek.


The Plimoth info sheet didn't come home today as I was hoping. Our fifth grade team proofread and tweaked it today at our team meeting after school. You will see it tomorrow, as well as a permission slip. I've had seven parents show interest in chaperoning. We may need some of you to carpool. I won't be surprised if that number goes up, but we only have room for five parents per classroom on the bus. Let me know if you are willing to drive or ride with another driver. Exciting. 5:30 am. Sharp! We may need some help getting some kids here by 5:30 who can't depend on the bus for this.

Chemical and physical changes in science tomorrow. Always fun.

Off to the sea!

Mr. Shea

My Indian Point week in Georgetown

Hello,

Sorry for no blog post yesterday. It got late and I'm staying down in Georgetown for the week. My wife's family has a log cabin overlooking the crashing waves of the Atlantic. It is pretty great, but it is tough to get there before it gets dark. I'm not making it tonight.

We've had a couple solid days. Multiple digit multiplication and games of 99 have highlighted our math classes. Please ask your child to show you 99. It is a great game to work on addition skills.

We have been making atoms out of colored pins that we are sticking into cardboard squares. Your child should definitely be able to tell you what the atomic number stands for and what the atomic mass means. Make sure they ask me if they are still unsure.

We went outside for fifteen minutes of our silent reading today. It was so nice out, we couldn't pass it up.

I let them in on a poorly kept secret. The plan is to go to Plimoth Plantation on Wed, Oct. 21. I passed in the plan to admin today and should have the final costs approved by tomorrow. If so, an information and sign up sheet will go home tomorrow. We will be leaving at 5:30 in the morning, but should be back by 5:30 in the afternoon. Each class will have room for five chaperones on the bus. We will allow more chaperones, but we would need you to drive. The buses hold 56 people. That is 28 per class. Let me know if you are interested. Financial help will be provided if costs are tough for you to come up with. I am so thankful that our car washes were successful. Those really helped with our final tallies.

No school on Friday for teacher meetings. Always more fun with kids, but I hope to learn a few things.  No school on Monday either. Enjoy the long weekend.

I'll write tomorrow, but probably won't on Thursday after homework club. I'll be jetting off to Georgetown.

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

car wash sat

Hello,

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Car Wash Fundraiser for the Plimoth Plantation Field Trip

Saturday, October 3rd ~ 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

HBS bus circle (McKeen Street side of the building)

Cars washed by donation ~ Volunteers needed!

To help with the cost of the upcoming 5th grade field trip to Plimoth Plantation (more info coming soon), HBS teachers and parents are holding a car wash. 

Not able to wash cars with us on October 3rd? You can still help by getting your car washed or spreading the word to friends and neighbors!

CHANS Home Health Services and the Brunswick School Department are offering a free flu vaccination clinic in the HBS gymnasium on October 3rd from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Come get your car washed while your family gets flu shots! :)

Thank you in advance for your support!

There's that. I'll be there until 11 or 12. Still trying to nail down a date for the Plimoth trip. Details when I do.

We had a nice discussion about exploration this afternoon. Lots of great questions.

More work on PMDAS in math. We'll keep at that.

We used Chris Van Allsburg books for our identifying setting work. That's getting better. I'm hoping to see this pay off in their writing.

Sorry so short, but this is another late night.

Mr. Shea