4th Grade News.....

Today was an "Electrifying" Day for the Ry/Ro's. Experimenting was going on in every part of Rm 130! Science was truly "Hands On".

In reading, we are finishing up our unit on Main Idea and will soon be moving on to our next skill as we move closer and closer to the FCAT.

Today we also did a writing assignment "TBG". We used a student rubric to check our writing for what expectations were required.

It's been a busy week and we are ready for the weekend!

Have a great weekend......

Love you.... Mrs. P

5th Grade News.....

We've had a busy week as we continue to work on FCAT Test Prep with our Blast-Off material. We've talked about many skills, such as Graphic Sources, Reference Materials, and Poetry. Mr. G found a way to bring our poetry to life..... We broke into groups and set out to interpret Robert Frost's poem, "Walking Through the Woods On a Snowy Evening". I was "blown away" by the insight of the Apes and Heroes. One thing we learned is that poetry could mean different things to different people.... and that's OK.

We are just about finished with Blast-Off. Mr. G and I are talking about reading two different novels before the FCAT... one for the "girls" and one for the "boys".....we'll see!!!

Hope you have a great weekend.....

Love you...... Mrs. P

Hi! I'm Patty O'Pickle! Top of the mornin' to Ye!

I know we are hardly done with Valentine's Day.... but.... since I like green..... and Mr. G is Irish.... I want to give St. Patrick's Day it's fair share of time on my blog.

Meet Patty O'Pickle.... one of a few Irish Pickles I have in my "Pickle" folder. Hope you are having a nice weekend. See you tomorrow.

Love you...... Mrs. P

5th Grade News.....

It's been a crazy... (in a good way) week! There's been a lot of commotion, that's a nice way to say chaos, in Rm 71. But, I was soooooo proud of the Apes and Heroes. Despite all the mess and noise, they continued to do their work. You all are AWESOME!

I was especially proud of you during our Holocaust Talk by Rabbi and Alina Kentof. You were so attentive, and your answers and questions showed you really knew about the Holocaust. Like Mr. G said today..... you probably know more than many Middle School students.

I missed you for a couple of days while I gave the FCAT Writing Test to my 4th Graders. They would have made you proud. Everyone did their best! Now we can get back to normal next week.

Enjoy your long weekend......

Love you.... Mrs. P

This is how Mr. G's week started.....




Looks like the first stage of new cabinets.....



On the bottom, too.....



Have "Drill" will travel.....



The finished product..... it's beautiful.....



Looks like the "Valentine" Dolls are gathered for a meeting.....

4th Grade News.....

We have had a very successful week in the Ry/Ro Class. We were soooooo ready for the FCAT Writing Test. I think everyone felt well prepared and at ease. I'm proud of all of you. I know you did your BEST!

In Math we worked on Graphing and even used the class set of laptops to practice it first hand. I've also seen everyone working on converting fractions and decimals.

In Reading we have started our FCAT Prep with Blast-Off. Mrs. Ryan made a brain to illustrate where we are going to keep all the skills for the FCAT. Who do you think "SHE" looks like? I kind of like her earings!!!!!!

Have a great long weekend.....

Love you... Mrs. P

Working on Graphs.....



We're filling our brains with FCAT Reading Skills......



Doing some "Fictional" Independent Reading.....







How about some "Non-fictional" Independent Reading.....




Working on our "Summaries" for Book Clubs.....

5th Grade News.....

What an unbelievable experience the Apes & Heroes had today. Thanks to Mrs. Kornblum, we were able to listen to the stories of actual survivors of the Holocaust. I know I was really moved by Rabbi and Alina Kentof as they told the stories of the 6,000,000 Jews who were killed at the hands of the Nazis. Alina told the story of escaping from the ghetto as a child with her mother. They pretended to be Catholics so as to avoid being taken away to the death camps.

I think what impressed me most was how Alina explained how it's easy for people to join together to exhibit "hatred" for a group of people..... and how easy it is to be "By-Standers" but hard to stand up for what we know is right. The Apes and Heroes had an experience today that they will be able to tell their children about some day!

Thank you Mr. G for teaching the Holocaust Genre study and introducing the Apes & Heroes to the awesome Holocaust novels to prepare us for this experience.....

The Heroes waiting for the Kentofs to begin their talk.....



The Apes are ready to listen.....



Rabbi Kentof shows an actual "Jude" patch they acquired while visiting the camps in Poland....



Trent knows the importance of this artifact.....



Passing artifacts around......



Alina Kentof tells her story.....



The Kentofs share a video depicting the "Trains" arriving at the camps with the Jews.....



Watching the video with the Apes & Heroes.....



Alina show us a small child's shoe found in one of the camps.....




YES! Even today there is Antisemitism.....



What an inspirational talk.....



Thank You, Mrs. Kornblum for inviting Rabbi & Alina Kentof...