Dear Families,

We have reached the end of February... yet I feel like we barely just started it! Wow, time is zooming by so quickly!

Thanks to everyone who sent in money for our "ONE and DONE!" Fundraiser last week! Our class has a goal to raise $225, and we are only $45 away! We will have a donut breakfast for the whole class on Wednesday morning to celebrate. If you haven't sent in a donation yet, there's still time! They are not due until Tuesday morning. Every little bit helps, so thank you very much!

We have a full week this week, with picture day, reading work, preparing for the state writing assessment... whew! I'm tired just thinking about it. Have no worries, we are going to have some fun with all of it, too!

But before we get to the details of the upcoming week, let me take a moment to congratulate Centennial's Reading Bowl team! They competed on Saturday in the Northern Divisional competition. In that competition, we were one of the top 12 teams in the state of Georgia. After a grueling 5 rounds, the students from CAA came in first place! Only the first place team advances to represent the northern division at the state competition. This is the first time a Centennial team has made it to state finals! Congratulations to all of them: Allison, Ben, Eli P. (all my homeroom), Jocelyn, Amy, Marisa, James Michael, Wiley, and Connor! They will compete in the state finals on Saturday, March 8th.

School Events
Tues, 2/25 My homeroom library visit: "ONE and DONE!" Fundraiser $$ due
Wed, 2/26 Italian Ice $2 due
Thurs, 2/27 PICTURE DAY! Class pictures, so look nice :) Happy birthday, Nalani!
Fri, 2/28 Italian ice delivered; Happy birthday, Hannah! And...maybe Chick-Fil-A biscuits? It's not on the official calendar, so I'm not 100% certain. I'll let you know when I am.

SOCIAL STUDIES
NONE THIS WEEK - nor will we have any science classes. We will have extra ELA classes this week.

LANGUAGE ARTS
POW Topic: WE ARE FINISHED WITH POW FOR THE YEAR! We will continue to write essays in language arts classes. From now on, morning work will be different for each language arts teacher.
No Shurley English
Morning Work
Students need to write 4 informational essays to be turned in on 3/10. They will have a list of topics to choose from.  *Other language arts classes are working on a narrative story this week!

We finished our magazines! They both look great. Other classes will judge the magazines so we can see which team, Magazine A or Magazine B, is the preferred final product. We will have a rematch in March.

This week, we'll have two ELA periods each day. We'll begin the lesson in the morning during our regularly scheduled ELA time, then we'll continue the lesson in an extra 45 minutes in the afternoon during our regularly scheduled science/social studies block. We're going to do a little extra refining and practice for writing to get us ready for the state assessment next week!

Here are the lessons we'll focus on:
Monday: how to write a "circular closing"
Tuesday: how to write a step-by-step informational essay
Wednesday: elaborating in writing
Thursday: using dialogue in narrative writing
Friday: evaluate sample essays from years past using the state writing rubric (the same rubric we use to grade their essays)

READING 1
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes every day.

Common Core ELA Standards
RL.5.2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text
RI.5.2. Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
RL.5.1. Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Phase 1: Book Hooks (7:45 - 8:05)
Mr. Bryan, our student teacher, will be reading Holes by Louis Sacchar as a read aloud for the next couple of weeks. 

Phase 2: Independent Reading (8:05 - 8:35)
Students will work on nonfiction close reading skills a few mornings, then they will move into independent reading time.
Monday: "Eyewitness to History: Children of War"
Tuesday: "A Leaping Birthday"
Friday: OAS assessment using "Eyewitness to History: Children of War"

Phase 3: Student Choices (8:35 - 9:00)

• Continued independent reading
• Creative writing (write your own book)
• Write computer code
• Choice literature circles
• Jackie Robinson's Barriers essay contest

READING 2
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes every day.

Common Core ELA Standards
RL.5.2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text
RI.5.2. Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
RL.5.1. Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

This week, all students will be working whole group during part of their reading time to review theme and main idea. We will practice using several passages, and students will take an assessment on Friday.

Students will also be doing activities for the book Holes with Mr. Bryan.

Passages for this week:

Monday: "Eyewitness to History: Children of War"
Tuesday: "A Leaping Birthday"
Wednesday: "Thirty Minutes Alone"
Thursday: "Healing Paws"
Friday: Assessment using "Eyewitness to History: Children of War"

Dear families,

Well, last week was interesting, wasn't it? I loved having time home to rest and play, but boy did I miss teaching! The snow basically wrecked all of my lesson plans last week, so we are going to try to squeeze some of it in with this week. At this point, we only have 8 more school weeks until the CRCT, and only 14 weeks until summer! Can you believe it! My request for Jack Frost? Please leave us alone so we can get things done! And to whoever manages the spring-like weather, we are all ready! :)

Don't forget...  Monday was restored as a student day! It was going to be a teacher workday, but now students need to report to school. 

As far as our Valentine's Day party goes, we will not break to have a "party," but please still send in snacks if you volunteered to do so. We can eat during our longer read-aloud period on Monday. If students have valentines they'd like to send in, that is fine. 

In regards our "One and Done" Fundraiser, I have no idea when it will be due after the weather changes. I'll let you know as soon as I find out. If you have funds to send in, you can send them in on Monday.

About this week's photo: I was cleaning out over the break and found this article from The Gainesville Times, July 1990. It was taken at Fair Street Elementary. I'm on the bottom left. I was in the 4th grade, and we were being recognized for raising over $100 for St. Jude. Thinking back on it, we had to ask people to sponsor us an amount for every math problem we got correct! I remember taking that packet everywhere! #fondmemories 

School Events
Mon, 2/17 Back to School after Snowpacolypse 2014 Part 2; Writing Test Practice #3, Social Studies/Science tests
Tues, 2/18 My homeroom library visit; Reading Bowl Team being honored at School Board Meeting @ 6pm
Wed, 2/19 School Governance Council meeting @ 2:30
Thurs, 2/13 PTA International Tasting @ 5 pm, PTA Performances @ 6 pm
Fri, 2/14 Magazine first copy (draft) due - Kennedy/Thompson Language Arts classes only

Wed, 2/26 Italian Ice $2 due
Thurs, 2/27 Spring Pictures! Class Photo! Happy birthday, Nalani
Fri, 2/28 Italian ice delivered; Happy birthday, Hannah!

SOCIAL STUDIES
(Mrs. Chambers's homeroom)

Monday: SS5H6 Explain the reasons for America's involvement in WWII. Students will study for their WWII Test. We will take the test later that period, then we will watch the History Channel video, Story of Us.

NO SOCIAL STUDIES THE REST OF THE WEEK. We are squeezing in more reading and math time to make up for our loss of 7 school days in the last 6 weeks.

LANGUAGE ARTS
POW Topic: WE ARE FINISHED WITH POW FOR THE YEAR! We will continue to write essays in language arts classes. From now on, morning work will be different for each language arts teacher.
No Shurley English
Morning Work
Students need to write 4 informational essays over the next few weeks. They will have a list of topics to choose from.  *Other language arts classes are working on a language arts practice packet this week!

Language Arts Class
We are creating magazines for the lower grade students. Students will be put into groups to create the magazines. Each student will work on a specialized role as a part of their magazine team. Students will be working on these magazines for the next two weeks. Magazine first draft due Friday!

READING 1
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes every day.

Common Core ELA Standards
RI.5.8. Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which points.
RL.5.1. Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Students will continue our usual schedule this week, but I will be pulling small groups for students to analyze two passages about Pearl Harbor.

We are also going to begin reviewing (as a whole class) our first standard that we learned in reading in August... the difference between explicit and implicit, and how to find a direct quote to support an explicit idea or inference. We will practice using several passages, and students will take an assessment on Friday.

Phase 1: Book Hooks (7:45 - 8:05)
Mr. Bryan, our student teacher, will be reading Holes by Louis Sacchar as a read aloud for the next couple of weeks. 

Phase 2: Independent Reading (8:05 - 8:35)
Students will be independent reading on days that they are not being pulled for small groups.

Phase 3: Student Choices (8:35 - 9:00)

• Continued independent reading
• Creative writing (write your own book)
• Write computer code
• Choice literature circles
• Jackie Robinson's Barriers essay contest

READING 2
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes every day.

Common Core ELA Standards
RI.5.8. Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which points.
RL.5.1. Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

This week, all students will be working whole group during part of their reading time to review the first standard we learned in August: the difference between explicit and implicit, and how to find a direct quote to support an explicit idea or inference. We will practice using several passages, and students will take an assessment on Friday.

Students will also be doing activities for the book Holes with Mr. Bryan.

Passages for this week:
Tuesday: No Snow Required!
Wednesday: Solar Solo
Thursday: Finger Food
Friday: TEST - Great Wall, Great Jump

Dear Parents,

This month is just clicking along! We have a lot going on this week, so let me fill you in on a little bit about it.

We will have a Valentine's Day party on Friday from 1:00-1:25. We have everything we need, so thank you to all our volunteers who are sending in snacks! We will be making Valentine's day cards for our friends at the Guest House!  

We also have a fundraiser for CAA - the "One and Done" fundraiser. 100% of the donations will stay at Centennial to help support our students! All students who donate will get a spirit stick. Students who donate $20 or more will get an additional special spirit stick. Please email me with any questions.

We are having another writing test practice to get us ready for the State Writing Assessment in March! Students will take this practice test on Friday from 7:45 - 10:15.

Parents, please also return the school choice/address verification forms. Please do not send in the forms without the attached documentation. Look at the highlighted section on the form to see which types of address verification are acceptable. If you do not return this paperwork, your child will NOT be registered for middle school.

Now, let's take a look at the week ahead...

School Events
Mon, 2/10 Happy birthday, Ben and Yesenia!
Tues, 2/11 My homeroom library visit; "One and Done" fundraiser due
Wed, 2/12 Greek & Latin test (Blitz Reading I only)
Thurs, 2/13 WWII Test (Mrs. Chambers's homeroom only); Magazine First Copies due (my ELA only)
Fri, 2/14 Writing Test Practice #3, Valentine's Day Party @ 1 o'clock

SOCIAL STUDIES
(Mrs. Chambers's homeroom)

We are finishing our WWII unit! The kids love this unit; it's full of so much interesting historical information. 

Monday: SS5H6.b Describe major events in the war, including the Holocaust. Students will watch the BrainPop video about the Holocaust. Students will also discuss the Japanese internment.

Tuesday: SS5H6 Explain the reasons for America's involvement in WWII. Students will watch the video, History Channel: Story of Us. Students will receive their study guides.

Wednesday: SS5H6 Explain the reasons for America's involvement in WWII. Students will play Bazinga to study for their WWII Test.

Thursday: World War II TEST

Friday: NO SOCIAL STUDIES

LANGUAGE ARTS
POW Topic: WE ARE FINISHED WITH POW FOR THE YEAR! We will continue to write essays in language arts classes. From now on, morning work will be different for each language arts teacher.
No Shurley English
Morning Work
Students need to write 4 informational essays over the next few weeks. They will have a list of topics to choose from.  *Other language arts classes are working on a language arts practice packet this week!

Language Arts Class
We are creating magazines for the lower grade students. Students will be put into groups to create the magazines. Each student will work on a specialized role as a part of their magazine team. Students will be working on these magazines for the next two weeks. Magazine first draft due Thursday!

READING 1
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes every day.

Common Core ELA Standards
RI.5.8. Explain how an uthor uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which points.

Students will continue our usual schedule this week, but I will be pulling small groups for students to analyze two passages about Pearl Harbor.

Phase 1: Book Hooks (7:45 - 8:05)
Mr. Bryan, our student teacher, will be reading Holes by Louis Sacchar as a read aloud for the next couple of weeks. 

Phase 2: Independent Reading (8:05 - 8:35)
Students will be independent reading on days that they are not being pulled for small groups.

Phase 3: Student Choices (8:35 - 9:00)

• Continued independent reading
• Creative writing (write your own book)
• Write computer code
• Create Valentine's Day cards for children in the hospital at NEGA
• Jackie Robinson's Barriers essay contest

READING 2
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes every day.

Common Core ELA Standards
RI.5.8. Explain how an uthor uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which points.

Whole Group (Monday)

• We will read a passage about World War II, specifically about Pearl Harbor. Students will read the article and text-map, searching for the following items: title, subtitle, photo, caption, bold print, topic sentence, concluding sentence.

Small Groups (Tuesday through Friday)

• Instructional Conversation: Analyze two first-person accounts of Pearl Harbor, one written by a Japanese fighter pilot and another by an American naval gunman. 
• Computer: Write a shape poem using a website on Edmodo.
• Mr. Bryan: Read the book Holes by Louis Sachar.
• Mr. B: Discuss fiction genres. Compare and contrast fiction and nonfiction genres. Cut and color a fortune-teller to quiz your classmates on genres!

Dear Parents,

Honestly, I am SO GRATEFUL for a new month! We lost 4 school days in January... I'm over this cold weather! February just means we're getting that much closer to spring. I'm really hoping those reports of snow later in February are false! We have so much to do before the spring time comes, so I'm ready to use every school day we've got. Yes, you're reading this correctly... a teacher who doesn't want any more snow days!

A TREMENDOUSLY HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR READING BOWL TEAM! They won first place in the regional competition this weekend! The competition was tough, intense, and enough to drive us all crazy. But the kids have worked SO HARD this year in daily practice, and it really paid off this weekend. Not only am I proud of their academic success, but they handled themselves with such grace and class that I am proud to be a co-coach of this awesome team. A special shout-out to Mrs. Anglin, our wonderfully dedicated head coach, my other co-coach Mrs. Kennedy who is a powerhouse of knowledge, and the support of the other 5th grade teachers and administrators. Our homeroom team members are Eli P., Allison, and Ben, but let me congratulate the others too! Marissa, Wiley, Connor, Simone, James Michael, Amy, and Jocelyn! Way to go everyone.

Now, let's take a look at the week ahead...

School Events
Tues, 2/4 My homeroom library visit; Progress Reports go home!
Wed, 2/5 Italian Ice $2 is due
Thurs, 2/6 Skate Country @ 6 pm
Fri, 2/7 Italian Ice delivered; Happy birthday, Will! 

SOCIAL STUDIES
(Mrs. Chambers's homeroom)

We are starting our WWII unit! The kids love this unit; it's full of so much interesting historical information. We are also starting the read aloud book, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. It tells the story of a Danish family protecting a Jewish girl who is best friends with one of their daughters. The Nazis discover them on several occasions and describes resistance attempts by young Danish citizens. Although it is a fictional story, it depicts many true events from this time in history. 

Monday: SS5H6.a Describe Germany's aggression in Europe and Japan's aggression in Asia. Students will discuss what they know about WWII; we will discuss truths and misconceptions. Students will watch a BrainPop video, WWII Causes. 
Tuesday: SS5H6.b Describe Pearl Harbor; SS5H6.e Describe the changing role of women and African-Americans. Watch history.com videos and fill out changing roles activity sheet.
Wednesday: SS5H6.b Describe major events in the wary in both Europe and the Pacific; include Iwo Jima, D-Day, VE and VJ Days. 
Thursday: SS5H6.e Describe the affects of rationing.
Friday: Discuss the end of the war and the formation of the United Nations. 

LANGUAGE ARTS
POW Topic: WE ARE FINISHED WITH POW FOR THE YEAR! We will continue to write essays in language arts classes. From now on, morning work will be different for each language arts teacher.
No Shurley English
Morning Work
Students need to write 4 informational essays over the next 7 weeks. They will have a list of topics to choose from. 
*Other language arts classes are working on a narrative essay this week!

Language Arts Class
We are creating magazines for the lower grade students. Students will be put into groups to create the magazines. Each student will work on a specialized role as a part of their magazine team. Students will be working on these magazines for the next two weeks. 

READING 1 & 2
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes every day.

Common Core ELA Standards
RI.5.7. Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

Both of my reading classes will have the same schedule this week. Monday through Thursday, students will be working in teams to locate information quickly using scavenger hunts! They will be digging through various nonfiction resources to find information quickly AND ACCURATELY. All scavenger hunts will be taken for a grade. On Frday, students will reflect on the process and have time to read independently and then work on some student-choice projects.