As a reminder, Friday, 12/21/12, will be early out.  School will dismiss at 12:30 p.m.

Grade cards will be sent home on Tuesday, January 8.

See you all back here at WIS on Monday, January 7, 2013!

Happy Holidays!

This week in Language Arts we continued to look at figures of speech.  We focused on onomatopoeia, personification, and hyperbole.  We will be reviewing and taking a quiz next week.
In Math the studies include fractions to decimals and percents, and elapsed time.
Science has started to study the Ice Age.
As a reminder, next Friday, 12/21/12 will be a half day for students.  They will be dismissed at 12:30p.m.

With 10 1/2 days left in the quarter/semester, we are working to get some projects finished.  The sixth graders have completed their book talk for this quarter.
In addition, for Communication Arts we are continuing to study figures of speech.  This week we took a look at alliteration, hyperbole, and personification.
In math, along with fractions and decimals, we wound up our money lesson with a test.
Science is studying fossils.
We have a lot more still to accomplish before our winter break.
Let us all remember those who are looking out for us in the armed forces on this Pearl Harbor Day.  Thank you for all you do.

This week in Communication Arts we have been looking at the different figures of speech.  So far we have covered similes, metaphors, and idioms.  Next week we will cover alliteration and onomatopoeia.  We are still doing our Daily Language  Review (DLR) and spelling.
In Math the subjects have been fractions, multiplication tables, and making change.
Science is looking at fossils.  Social Studies is beginning the study of Mesopotamia.
We are utilizing technology with figurative language Brainpops on the Smartboard, online Spelling City with the netbooks, and math games on the Ipad.
We only have three more weeks until the winter break. 

Grade cards are coming home today.  We are half way through the second quarter.  After our return on 11/26 we will only have four weeks left in the first Semester.  It's hard to believe that the school year is nearly half completed.

Everyone have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Second quarter progress ends today.  Grades will be going home next Tuesday.
We continue to work in Communication Arts and Math with online exercises Raz-Kids, Spelling City, and Education City.
We continue to use our Daily Language Review and Journal in Communication Arts.
In Math we have been working with both fractions and money.
Science has been focused on plate tectonics.
As a reminder, we will only be in school next Monday and Tuesday.
We are all looking forward to being with family and friends for Thanksgiving.

With the fall party behind us, and daylight savings time ending this Sunday, we are quickly approaching the 2nd half of the 2nd quarter, and the holiday season.
In Math, we working with fractions, LCM, and number patterns.
In Communication Arts, we continue to work on spelling, DLR, and journal writing.  This past week we have been looking at analogies.
We continue to work online with Raz-Kids, along with educational Ipad apps.
This week the students did their spelling test online with Spelling City.
Be sure to check my links to both Spelling City and Education City.
A look at next week includes a 1/2 day for students on Friday, November 9.  On the morning of the 9th Willard Intermediate will once again have an assembly to honor our Veterans. 
Please plan to join us!

Parent/Teacher Conferences are next week.  Please double check your schedule to see when you are scheduled to meet with your teachers.
Next Friday, 10/26, there will be no school.
Until that time we continue to work with algebraic expressions and fractions for Math.
In Communication Arts we are finishing up or final narrative draft 'scary story' for display at the conferences.
I look forward to seeing some familiar and new faces next week.  See you at the conferences!

Today marks the end of the 1st quarter.  We are now halfway through the semester. 
Parent/Teacher Conferences will be the week of October 22.  If you have not responded to the request to confirm a conference with your student's teacher, please do so at once.
Grade cards will be distributed and discussed at the Parent/Teacher Conference.
Next Monday, 10/15 is the beginning of the 2nd quarter, and the second half of first semester.

As we look toward next week.
Friday, October 12 will be a half day for students.  Dismissal will be at 12:30 P.M.  Friday is also the end of the first quarter.  Grade cards will be handed out during the week of October 22, which is parent/teacher conference week.

Math for next week will consist of prime and composite numbers, basic algebra tables, three variable algebra, and Hands on Equations.

In Communication Arts, we will continue with our daily language review, vocabulary, and spelling.  We are still working on personal narratives.

At the close of our four day week, we are moving forward with the first quarter.
In English we are covering common and proper nouns, along with spelling.
In Math: Factor trees, basic algebraic expressions, and fractions with unlike denominators.
In Science the subject is measurement.
Our next 1/2 day for students is Friday, October 12th.

NO SCHOOL Monday, 09/24.  Have a great three day weekend.
This past week we finished with the DRA's. 
Mid term progress grades went out on Tuesday.  And so we began the second half of the first quarter. 
In English we continue with DLR, Vocab, and Spelling.
We are studying pre-algebra, exponents, and order of operation.
Social Studies is covering latitude and longitude.
In Science it is the Scientific Method that we are going over.
It's been a busy week.

A look ahead to next week:
Tuesday first quarter progress reports are sent home.
DRA's will be completed by Friday.
No School Monday 09/24/2012.
Have a great weekend!

As we round out to four day labor day week, here are some things to keep in mind.
The date for first quarter progress grades is Friday, 09/14.  The grades will go home to the students on Tuesday, 09/18.
We are continuing the Developmental Reading Assessments (DRA).
In Communication Arts we continue with the DLR, vocab, spelling, and narrative paragraphs. 
In Social Studies the subject is map and compass.
In Math we are studying multiplication, division, and pre-algebra.

As we look forward to a three day weekend, here is what's in store for next week.
In English we will be taking our pre-formative assessment, along with our weekly spelling, vocabulary, and daily language review.  We will be starting narrative paragraph work.
In Math, we continue working on multiplication, division, two-digit addition, and pre-algebra.  Also, we will be taking our Math pre-formative assessment.
In Social Studies, the students are working on the concept of latitude and longitude.
Everyone have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!

With the first week of school coming to a close the students are quickly adjusting to their new schedules.  The Willard Intermediate School theme for this year is 'Around the World in 180 Days'.  In keeping with the around the world theme, the class will be studying different places on earth during the school year.
In class we are currently working on the process of reviewing in order to see what the students retained since last year.  Coming back from the summer break is always quite an adjustment.  It looks like the students are off to a good start!
As we take a look ahead to the next few weeks; next Tuesday 08/28/12 is picture day.  And, after Labor Day we will begin the fall Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA).  So, students use the next week to get back into the practice of reading.
We are all excited to be back in school and are looking forward to a great 'Around the World in 180 Days' year!

Welcome Back!

The last day of school is Tuesday the 22nd.
School will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m.

Everyone have a great summer break!

It is the last full week of school.  Nearly all of the team and class field trips are done.  We have one more full week to work on completing class projects.  We continue to work on Communication Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science.

This week 6th graders will have transition day on Tuesday.  Thursday, from 6 to 8p.m., will be the 6th grade going away party.

Parents:  Make sure you have all library and lunch fines paid.

Next week we have our normal Monday schedule.  The 6th grade band concert will be at 7:00p.m.  Tuesday will be a half day and the students will be released at 12:30 p.m.

With just two full weeks left in the school year, parents please make sure that your students have all their field trip permission slips turned in.
In class we are continuing with our daily work.
In Communication Arts we are still working on our language, vocab, reading, writing, and spelling.
The students are enjoying Raz-Kids and Education City as part of their weekly curriculum.
In Math we are working with measurement and reviewing time.
For Science the subject is the solar system.
In Social Studies the fifth graders are still working to complete their Civil War projects.
The school year is quickly coming to a close, however, we still have a lot to accomplish in class.

For the month of May there will be a number of field trips for both the 5th and 6th grades.
Here is a brief rundown:
5/1 Special Services Outdoor Day at Bois D'Arc Conservation Area.
5/3 5th grade Field Day at WHS
5/8 5th grade Springfield Symphony
5/10 5th grade Dixie Stampede
5/11 6th grade Purple Team Zoo
5/15 6th grade Transition Day
5/17 6th grade Going Away Party
5/22 Last Day of School

May is a busy month.  Along with all of the regular classwork, 5th grade parents need to be aware of the end of year Civil War project in Social Studies.
We are winding down the year, but we still have a lot of work to accomplish!

MAP testing begins tomorrow. The 5th grade will be testing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The 6th grade will test Tuesday and Wednesday.
After the MAP testing we will be conducting our spring DRA assessments.
We will be participating in a number of activities, field trips, and projects between now and the end of the school year. Along with all of the activities, we will still be working on Communication Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.
It is a busy time of the year. Please be on the lookout for all of the permission slips that are due. If your student has not brought any permission slips home, please quiz them. The students should have brought home all of the spring permission slips by now.
Progress grades will be coming out next week.
It is hard to believe that we have one half of a quarter left in the school year. I know the students are looking forward to the summer break, but we have a number of items to accomplish before then.

As we head into the four day Easter weekend, we are looking forward to beginning the MAP assessments April 17, 18, and 19.
In Communication Arts we are wrapping up our Poetry packet. In Math we are reviewing exponents, and order of operation. In Science we are completing our section about weather. In Social Studies we are studying the American Revolution.
Be on the lookout for permission slips to a number of field trips. Partners in Strength will be on Monday, April 23. The Outdoor Fishing field trip will be May 1st.
We are winding down the year, but we still have a great deal to accomplish!

Third quarter ends today.
Next week is spring break.
To begin the fourth quarter we will be looking forward to celebrating Poetry month with a poetry packet. We will be using the poetry packet for the next few weeks.
In math we will study order of operation.
The French and Indian War will be covered in Social Studies.
MAP testing will be coming soon. The dates for MAP are April 17,18, and 19.
Have a safe spring break!

The third quarter is ending next week on March, 9th. On March 12th our Spring Break begins. In Communication Arts we have been focusing on Presidents, and Black History Month. We continue to work on the daily language review, vocab review, and spelling. The students are advancing to new levels with Raz-kids. They have been practicing writing paragraphs with a presidential theme. One of the themes related to what they would do if they were President. The class had some really great ideas.
In Math we are working with multiplication and division.
In Science we are studying groundwater.
In Social Studies we are still studying the American Colonies.
After Spring Break we only have one more quarter left in the school year.

With progress grades going home last week, it reminds us that we have less than a quarter and a half left in this school year.
In communication arts we just finished our poetry section. We continue to work on our daily language review, vocab, spelling, and paragraph writing. We are working with Raz-kids twice a week, and the students continue to advance with their reading and comprehension skills.
In math we are working with elapsed time, division, and multiplication.
In science we are studying the scientific method. In social studies the subject is the American Colonies.
Valentines Day is tomorrow and we are planning to have a party in the classroom.
It is snowing outside today, but spring break will be here in less than a month. We are looking forward to Spring and the rest on the school year.

It is the last full week of January. So far, the weather is still looking more like early spring than winter.
In Communication Arts we are reading, writing, and writing about poetry. We have discussed song lyrics being poetry set to music. We are still doing language, vocabulary, spelling, writing paragraphs, and Razkids.
In math we are covering time, including elapsed time.
The students continue to work to complete their daily assignments.

We are two weeks into the second semester and the weather is giving us spring fever. I noticed daffodils popping up in the WIS flower garden.
In communication arts we just finished a week of reading, and then summarizing, some of Aesop's fables. We continue to study our daily language review (DLR), vocabulary, spelling, and writing in our journals.
We are visiting the computer lab one to two times a week for Raz-kids. The students are enjoying progressing with their reading skills. As a reminder, Raz-kids can be accessed at home with an internet connection.
In math, we are continuing to study money and order of operation.
We are having a great year here at WIS.

Welcome back! It is the beginning of the New Year and the class is starting a new semester. We have some new projects we are going to be working on.
In Communication Arts, we are continuing with our daily language review, vocabulary, spelling, and paragraph writing skills. In addition, the students are enjoying Raz-kids reading online every Friday. Your students can access Raz-kids at home and make progress on their own. They know how to go to www.raz-kids.com, then enter labbotte in the teacher user name. From there they just log into their name. I encourage each student to advance at home as well as here in class.
In Math we are beginning to work on money and time. We are also beginning to work on Order of Operations.
We are all looking forward to the second half of the school year.