The Adventures in Mrs. Ripp's Class

Special Notes –

* The track meet is this coming Thursday; I will post the schedule on our website later today.  Thank you so much to Anitra, Fran, Geraldine, and Traci for donating snacks and beverages.  Cross your fingers for good weather!  We will ask students to wear their tie-dye t-shirts.

* Final book order is coming home today and is due next Friday.  I have already eyed 7 books that are must reads for the summer.  I am also crowd-sourcing a summer reading list for the students and will share later this year.

* Please get the pictures in for the graduation bulletin board; students should submit a picture of them now and from when they were younger.  Please write their name on the back of the pictures. 

* If you would like an end of the year conference, please email me.  We can set one up for the coming weeks. 

* We got quite the surprise on Wednesday when 17 marching band members, our superintendent, our school board president and other people came in during math.  The great news was that we had been awarded a grant for a classroom iPad!  I cannot wait to get it in the hands of the students.

* We will be having our very own talent show in our room on May 24^th.  All students are encouraged to participate and just have to submit the slip to me to let me know what they will be doing.  Our 1^st grade buddies will be part of the audience that day.

* Innovation day is this Wednesday, which means students need all of their materials here by Monday.  I cannot wait to document the day.  You are also more than welcome to stop by and see the kids at work if you have time.  As always, our door is open.  We will work all day except for recess time and art.

* The students also made me proud on our visit to Glacier Creek.  It was wonderful to see their excitements and their curiosity about their new adventure. 

 * I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: MAP testing Map 6^th and 7^th 1 PM, Innovation Day Wednesday, May 8th all day, Track meet at the high school Thursday, May 9^th, Sub all day May 15^th, Egg Drop Friday, May 17^th at 2 PM (we are putting Mr. Jerry on the roof!), Tangle of the Titles May 20^th1 PM, Lock Out June 5^th all day, 5^th Grade Graduation June 7^th 1:30 PM in lunch room.

Math – We had our last lesson today of unit 11 with the test scheduled for Tuesday.  Then no math Wednesday or Thursday and pre-test for unit 12 Friday.  The final unit is on ratio, probability and rates and will take us to the end of the year.

Science – We planted our plants Wednesday and have started observing them.  Because there is little growth here in the beginning, we are also busy at work on our biome lesson.  The students are very driven and being very thoughtful on how they want to teach the other students about their biome. 

Social Studies – We have started government discussing the three branches, as well as going in detail with the Constitution.  We are getting all of our background information so that we can finish the year with the simulation on how a bill becomes a law.

Reading – We have been busy reading and checking our comprehension with Time for Kids.  Students have also presented their tangle projects with the next book due on May 17^th.  On Monday we start our MAP testing and I also have a few students to assess.  We are definitely reading a lot of books in here and I cannot wait to see the growth the students are doing.

Writing – Students have been sharing meaningful moments all week and some of them have brought us to tears.  This weekend their homework is to interview a family member about a shared memory and to jot down notes in their memory log.  We will continue this writing unit until the end of the year.