You Are My Heroes!!!

The following students have completed 100% of the Math and Science FCAT Explorer Program. I would like to thank each and everyone of you for all of your hard work and commitment to excellence. You are well on your way to greatness!!

Mrs. Elmore's HR
Bradley
*Lyric
Daniel
Rossano
Kevin
Kiana
Casey
Justin

Ms. Herrera's HR
*Quinton Clark

* The first student in that homeroom to complete both programs!

Are you looking for additional ways to help your child?

As the FCAT draws near parents will often ask, "What else can I do to help my child?" Here are a few websites that will come in handy when you are looking for that little extra "spark" for your child. This information was shared at our FCAT Parent Night last night. I would like to thank all of the parents and students who came out to support our program. It was tons of fun,(especially the transfer of energy between the basketball and the egg)!

Math Sites:
http://www.aplusmath.com/
http://www.funbrain.com/
http://www.allmath.com/
http://teacherkids.com/
http://mathcats.com/
http://algebra.com/

Science Sites:
http://education.jlab.org/vocabhangman
http://www.studystack.com/menu-38506
http://chem4kids.com/

Picturing Polygons

For the next few weeks, our class will be working on a unit called Picturing Polygons. In this unit, we will work with important mathematical ideas about two-dimensional objects by exploring polygons and coordinate geometry. As the unit unfolds, your child will work with:
* polygons with different numbers of sides (up to 10)
* triangles and quadrilaterals whose angles and sides follow certain rules
* regular polygons
* similar polygons (of different sizes, but same shape)
Look for opportunities to talk about polygons with your child. Most of the angles in our rooms and on our furniture are right angles (90 degree angles). Why is this? A diagonal across a square forms a 45 degree angle. Why? If your child has any game boards or spinners, look at their designs. Do you see any of these angles? What other angles do you see?
Above all, have fun creating and discussing shapes and enjoy watching the growth of your child's understanding of geometry.

TIME Magazines for Kids

We have the opportunity to earn free subscriptions to Time for Kids at our school. Each student took home a booklet and letter that explains the program in more detail. I would like for each parent to complete the booklet with addresses of friends and relatives (local or out of town). The purpose of the cards is to ask them to consider ordering magazines. Each student that returns their booklet tomorrow will receive a prize!

Destination Success

Duval County Public Schools is pleased to offer all Elementary students a software suite named Destination Success! The program includes dynamic Reading and Math software and can be used at school, home, or any location with any Internet access.
To access this phenomenal student learning adventure go to www.dreamsbeginhere.org and click on the student software link. Look for the picture of the little monkey and follow the directions on the screen. Login details are as follows:
User Name:firstname+lastname+242
Password:birthday (2 digit month+2 digit day of month)
NO SPACES WHEN LOGGING IN!!
Students should begin working on Destination Success once they have completed the Math and Science FCAT Explorer programs.

FCAT Night

The 5th grade students will perform on Thursday, January 24th at 6pm. This special program is geared to provide useful information to parents about the FCAT and what it will entail. Several students from our class will have a part in a Science skit. We look forward to seeing you there!

A Shining Star!!

Congratulations to Lyric for being the first student in my class to complete the Science FCAT Explorer Program! Way to go Lyric!!

Math and Science FCAT Explorer Program

The Math FCAT Explorer Program should be completed by now. The deadline to complete the Math program was January 1st. The students who completed the program on time were treated with a "Pajama Jam" today in class. We enjoyed delicious goodies, watched movies, listened to music, played board games and lots more.
The students are now working towards completing the Science program. There are a total of 200 questions and the students must have at least 50% or 100 questions completed by Friday, January 25th. The FCAT Explorer program is an excellent site designed to help your child enhance their computation and problem solving skills.