5 Hoddick http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/ en Copyright 2008 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:31:40 -1000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Week #14 - November 10 - November 14 CHODDICK TALK

In Social Studies, all of the groups are completely immersed and fully engaged in their Native American Indian Inquiry Research Projects.  The students have generated their own set of research questions that they would like answers to about each of the tribes that they selected to study.  The groups have been tasked with finding information from three different sources:  books from the MPI Library and classroom, encyclopedias, and internet web sites.  Students are then expected to compile their "notes" into a coherent, sequential and logical informational essay.  And finally, each group will plan and organize a presentation in which they share with the rest of the class the information they learned about their tribe of choice.

We have also integrated language arts with social studies this month for the monthly genre of legend, myth and folk tale.  After reading their books about legends, myths or folk tales, the students are to select two legends, myths or folk tales from their book to describe and retell using their Book Report Form.  Then, in order to facilitate the higher level thinking skills of analysis and synthesis, the students are required to create and write their own Native American Indian legends, myths or folk tales.  These pieces can be about the tribe that they are researching or from a different tribe of their own selection.  They may present their legend, myth or folk yale either individually or with their group.

Homework for 11/10 - 11/14:  Read Chapters 25 - 29 and answer comprehension questions for Check Up # 5.  Currently, the students are reading about the 14th, 15th  and 16th century Early Explorers, the Spanish Conquistadors, and the clash of cultures between the Native Indians and the early European explorers and conquerors.  We are beginning to explore the concept of "Ancestral Rights."

STUDENT NEWSLETTER - Written by:  D. N., K. F., N. P.

Monday -
At Chapel, Chaplain Koyama talked about our theme for this month which is compassion.  He told the story of the 5 loaves of bread and the 2 fish and how Jesus was able to feed over 5000 people.  This is an example of God's love.  Before Chapel, we had a surprise fire drill!  The acolytes this week were Bryce and Isaiah.  Today in Social Studies, we are doing Check Up #5.  In Language Arts we read the Check-Up 5.  In Math we did fractions, mixed numbers, and improper fractions.  We had C.E. today, and we talked about the canned food drive.  Starting next week Monday-Friday you can bring in your canned foods, cereal, or anything that doesn't have to be refrigerated, it can not be expired food either.  The food is all for the St. Patrick's Food Pantry.

Tuesday-
HOLIDAY Honoring the Veterans

Wednesday-
Please bring in your baby pictures for the year book.  Remember, the canned food drive is for the people who need food.  Please bring in food next.  If you want more information, look at Monday's article. Mr. Black STILL has not taken the mice away. 
In recess, we have been playing a boys against girls soccer tournament and the boys won after playing 10 whole games!  Now we have started a new tournament with mixed teams, boys and girls.
 We really need homes for 3 mice.  Please make the effort to get the mice! 
We have interviewed 2 people from the volleyball team, one was A.S. the other was R.B. A.S is on the white team and R.B. is on the green team.  In the game today, each team lost the first set, won the second set, and lost the third set.
 In PE today, we practiced our speed stacks.  In music today, we practiced playing instruments and singing the song that we are going to perform in our Christmas performance. 
In Social Studies, we researched more of our Indian tribes and we are getting ready to present.  In Language Arts, we still worked on our Indian tribe presentation.
 In Science, we worked on fixing our solar oven and filming a video about our solar ovens and the process we had to go through. 
In Math, we worked on worksheets we like to call Cheesys.  The worksheet problems were about changing fractions, mixed numbers, and improper fractions.        

Thursday- 
For Assembly this morning, we did our Cup Stacking Assembly down in the gym.  In that assembly we did relays, partner relays and a big game of farmers and lumberjacks. And plus we also broke the world record.

Friday-
Today we went down to the middle school to learn Spanish dancing. We learned the cha cha
and other dances.  Then, when we walked up to the benches outside our classroom, we walked to different places in the school to test our pedometers.  We saw how many steps we took from place to place and how many the pedometer counted too.  We also watched Kung Fu Panda during recess and at 2:00 because it was raining. 


]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/11/week-14---novem.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/11/week-14---novem.php Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:31:40 -1000 Week #13 - November 3 - November 7 CHODDICK TALK

A reminder to all 5th grade families.  Please send in a baby picture of your 5th grader for our 2008-2009 Owl Days Yearbook.  Reminder:  Veterans' Day Holiday is on Tuesday this year!!

Student Newsletter - Written by:  S. C., K. R., A. S.
Monday-
As you (might) know, Oreo has past away... let's all have a moment of silence.........(silence)...
OKAY, NEWSFLASH!!!! We got a new guinea pig! Her name is C.C! (stands for cupcake.. get it??) Anyway, Snickers is going crazy because he wants to see C.C! We still have to give Sniks TLC(tender loving care) 'cause he is still  depressed 'bout Oreo. And how she mysteriously disappeared. Poor Sniks.

Then we left to see the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare presented performance) The first story was about a group of people wanting to do a play for the Duke of Athens. (Duke not "dude") It's just a different type of play like Romeo and Juliet. Same story line. Some dude loves this girl. The dude at some point thinks the girl is dead. He kills him self. Then the girl comes and sees the dude dead. Then she kills herself. Everyone is dead, The End. Clap Clap Clap... next story was about 2 kinda couples. You see, he loves her, she loves him, she loves him, but he likes her who likes him. Does that make sense? And the encore performance was about a fish that sees a dead fish (which is his dad) and his dad said that he died from the chemicals that get in the water when it goes down the storm drain and he goes out to find the people that put the chemicals in the water and tell them it's bad for the sea creatures, and sadly we didn't have C.E.
Tuesday -
GET READY! OK! Today at recess we had the Spirit Club come down and do some cheers for us!They did 5 or 6 cheers and it was all about team spirit! They also gave out green and yellow footballs for our attentive listening, and they asked us questions. If we got it right, we would get the football! Some cheerleaders and Pac 5 football players came to show us
 some spirit!!. At Art we are doing Comics!! (YAY!!!!!!) Our comic has to be about peace team and how we feel about it. We can draw our comic about something that happened in peace team. We are also doing chalk drawings on sunsets.  We also had peace team.............
Wednesday-
THIS IS THE DAY THAT WE GOT OUR NEW PRESIDENT!!!!!!!!!
Yes,yes, today we have a new president, Barak Obama, and he gave a wonderful speech!(and so did McCain).And we are very happy that our teacher Mr. Black knew Barak Obama.  (A.S.'s Aunty Julie graduated with Obama!  K.R's Mom was in his class and he still remembers her!  Mrs. Hoddick's brother was in his class!!) At music we played ukuleles and in P.E we did cup staking! We are going to have an assembly when everyone will do cup staking! But don't worry, this will happen in a few days...weeks..next week Thursday, November 13th down in the Gym.
Thursday-
Alyssa is trying to pull out her tooth but it won't come out so she is getting angry. OK, I know that you think that is weird but to me it is not so......Anyway at kinder buddies we are gonna make a Thanksgiving poem (it will be so cute!!!). (DUH!) Anyway, we don't have anything to do right now, sooo.. we are going to interview each other!(it's weird yes, but get over it.) We are going to interview each other about... PEACE TEAM!  K.R is going to interview S.C.
K.R: How is Peace Team going so far?
S.C: Okay.. Sometimes it's fun but some of the kids annoy me.
K.R:How do the kids annoy you?
S.C: Well, they asked the most abnormal questions like: "PEACE TEAM! I forgot how to eat, will you chew my food for me?" You know how gross that is!!!!????? It's like, EW!
Now were going to interview K.R!
S.C: How do you like peace team so far???
K.R: Um.. It's okay but some of the kids are like, "Is my head green?"
S.C: ...
K.R: I know it's odd.
S.C: How do the shifts work?
K.R: Well, we start out with our first shift of the year and move on....
S.C: That's a better explanation then me....
Okay,were going to interview A.S!
S.C: How do you like peace team so far?
A.S: It's pretty boring unless you have a problem...
S.C: Which is rare... okay! Have you done any problems?
A.S: I did one once, but the teacher helped me!
S.C: That's good.
Okay were done interviewing.... NOW TO THE KINDER BUDDIES! (onward men! I mean... ONWARD LADIES! and...men...uhg*rolling eyes*)
At kinderbuddies, we got to make a Thanksgiving poem!! Then after we made our poem, we got to make turkeys with our hands. (it's going to look so cute... a mama/daddy turkey and the little baby.)

FRIDAY-
"it's aloha Friday, no work till Monday....dodododo dodo dododo do dooo!"  Happy Aloha Friday!! A mouse got loose yesterday and got returned today! Static, got loose. The baby.... and we know how. Let's interview A.S who was there.
S.C: What exactly happened?
A.S: Well, when I was waiting at volleyball someone that is doing volleyball took the mice Static and Patches.
S.C: Do you have any evidence?
A.S:Well..... I saw her have it.
S.C: Oh.. this is turning interesting...
A.S:She also had a blue cage and I told her....(that was  your clue) To make sure they don't escape but she let one of them loose!
S.C Uhg! That is really bad... we will wrap it up next time on our awesome Newsletter after we hear about how the mice get rescued...so stay tuned for next week.

And remember, come to school on Monday, but stay home on Tuesday!!

]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/11/week-13---novem.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/11/week-13---novem.php Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:44:48 -1000 Week #12 - October 27 - October 31 Choddick Talk
Thank you to the Meyers family for their generosity of time and donations in celebration of Halloween.  Thank you to M.M for her creative and delicious cake in the shape of Mickey Mouse in honor of Walt Disney!  Thank you to B.K. for his delicious cupcakes in honor of Bill Gates' birthday!  Thank you to the Yasui family for the cookies!  Thank you to all of the students who so thoughtfully brought in Halloween treats for their classmates!!  Thank you to all of the parents who joined us for the annual Halloween Spooktivity festivities.

On Monday, we will be attending an HTY Presentation of, "A Mid-Summer Night's Dream".

All of the students did a great job on their Biography Book Talks.  For the month of November, the assigned genre is Myth and Legend.

The only homework over the weekend is to read their Myth and Legend book and to complete their Scholastic News.  They will get their new Vocabulary List on Monday.  The main homework for next week will be Social Studies Check Up #4.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween Weekend!

Student Newsletter - Written by E. J. and M. M.

Monday -
On Monday morning we went to Chapel and talked about responsibility. We had our regular schedule, but after lunch, instead of going to recess, we had a special guest come in. Lieutenant  Colonel  Meyer did 4 crafts with us. We made skeletons out of milk gallons, foam skeletons, a popcorn hand mix, and Halloween cupcakes. She showed us x-rays of little kids bones and asked us what was wrong with them.  She talked about the hand bones.  She talked about the bones in the body before we made the plastic milk gallon skeletons.  We would like to thank both Mr. and Lt. Col. Meyer for all of their generosity and happy Halloween spirit that they shared with all of the 5th grade students!!  Thank you very much.
         

Tuesday -
This morning, we could not find Misty in her cage.  She may be lost or misplaced.  She may be outside or in Mr. Black's room.  Thanks to Mrs. Manabe's $30.00 donation, Mrs. Hoddick got more supplies for the guinea pigs, Oreo and Snickers.  Mrs. Hoddick bought new water bottles, shampoo, pellets and timothy hay for the guinea pigs.  In Social Studies, everyone is working on their Inquiry Research about their different tribes.  Here are the tribes that our class selected to research:

Cheyenne - Maia and Kaitlyn
Tlingit - Kristyn and Malia
Pueblo - Daniel and Ethan
Nootka - Ryne and Dylan
Anasazi - Nic, Kai, Sachi, Matthew
Inuit - Brenton and Sean
Zuni - Rachel, Keala, Alyssa, Megan


Wednesday -
We went to the library in the morning to turn in our books. We picked our new books and this time we did Myths and Legends.  When we came back we did Biography Book Reports.  Mrs. Hoddick's class has heard Biographies about:

Bill Gates
Will Smith
Walt Disney
Derek Jeter
Sacajewea
Ameila Earhart
Jackie Robinson
Harriet Tubman
Pierre Omidyar
George W. Bush
Duke Kahanamoku
Allen Iverson
Helen Keller
Dr. Seuss
Rosa Parks
Vera Wang
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Mr. Black's class did Biographies about:

Mohammed Ali
Harry Houdini
Sen. Daniel Inouye
Jackie Robinson (C.C. and I.B.)
Helen Keller
Mia Hamm
Queen Emma
Shaquille O'Neal
Oprah Winfrey
Yao Ming
Tony Hawk
Elvis Presley
Barack Obama
Ichiro Suzuki
Elizabeth Blackwell
Brittany Spears
Dominique Moceanu

After Lunch recess we went to P.E. and played games like Giants, Wizards, and Elf. We also played Bear, Princess, Hunters. The last game we played was Jail. We had two teams and the point of the game was to throw a ball to the other team and if they caught it then you would go to jail until someone.

Thursday-
Today we finished up the rest of the Biography presentations.  In Science, we are still working on our solar ovens.  We had Character Education.  Then, we had Peace Team.  Oreo may be sick because she is looking and acting very weak.  Rachel is a little upset because she donated Oreo.  If Oreo passes away, we can get another little Guinea Pig friend for Snickers. And Oreo DIED today.

Friday-
IT'S HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!! And Oreo DIED yesterday. It was very sad, but R.B. is getting another guinea pig that is brown. We are going to call her Tootsie Roll but its nickname will be Tootsie. Mrs. Hoddick was dressed like Sarah Palin.  Mr. Black is Barack Obama.  We don't have P.E. or Music because of the Spooktivity Parade.

 



   






]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/10/week-12---octob.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/10/week-12---octob.php Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:59:33 -1000 Week #11 - October 20 - October 24 Choddick Talk

I would like to thank all of the parents who attended the Middle School Transition Meeting that was held last Friday, October 24, from 3:15 - 4:30 in the Middle School.  The 6th grade team of faculty and administrators presented valuable and insightful information to assist parents and children with the transition from elementary school into middle school.  The 6th grade team consisted of teachers:  Cheryl Funk (Language Arts), Lisa Mah (Social Studies), Scott Muromoto (Math), Brad Taura (Science), and Rianne Graves (Hawaiian Studies).  The 6th Grade Dean, Holli Whitney and the Middle School Principal, Dr. Dee Priester, were also in attendance to provide additional information for parents.  For those families that were not able to attend the meeting, Mr. Black, Mrs. Hussey or I would be happy to provide additional information regarding the transition into 6th grade. 

Student Newsletter - Written by M.S.S. and B.K.

Monday -
Today in chapel we learned about responsibility. Chaplain Koyama showed us responsibility by showing us how to polish coins and if you do a job you don't want to do then it makes you a lot more responsible. In science we did an experiment with a penny. We learned about reflection and refraction how you can level your eye so you can`t see the penny then the light will reflect off of the light then you can see it.

Tuesday -
This morning we took an all school picture with the whole school -- `say cheese`!! -- and  we gathered on the grassy area in front of the stage.  We also had art and wrote reflections on our art pieces. Then we had to wrap it up and take it home. At snack and recess we had a huge scare because we think Oreo was giving birth and there was a lot of blood. We know it`s kind of sad. We also want to thank Ethan`s dad for giving us a little basketball hoop by the rubbish can. Today we also started Peace Team for our class; some of the kids said they had a hard time.

Wednesday -
This morning we are finishing our Check Up #2 about Native American Indian societies.  Next, we are starting our inquiry reports about a Native tribe that we want to learn more about.  

Homework
 For homework we have three math worksheets, one language arts sheet, and a science experiment. We have a firefighter saftey guide for Monday. We have our language arts packet and a large Scholastic news packet, math sheets, and a joke for Tuesday. For Wednesday we have math worksheets, and on Thursday we have more math sheets. On Friday we have to correct our math sheets and three checks for social studies and are book talk. We have to study for this week's vocab words.

Thursday -
On Thursday we had senior buddies. We had to sing a song and then make a cat for our senior buddies. We had peace team though someone said that it was a little hard. Several senior citizens loved the things that we made for them and all the colors we made on the cats.

Friday -
Today we had peace team presentations for all the classes to tell them about  peace team. We also are starting our solar ovens in science class. We are going to make s'mores and then we are going to see which oven is the hottest. In Social Studies we are finishing up our reading of history packets and working on our research inquiry projects.

News! Get your fresh news!

Barack  Obama arrived in Hawaii at 7:30 pm to see his grandmother who broke her hip.
Also today October 24 is Sachi`s birthday; she is turning 11, so happy birthday, Sachi, and have a good birthday! We expect that all solar ovens should be finished by today -- but maybe not.
]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/10/week-11---octob.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/10/week-11---octob.php Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:51:59 -1000 Week #10 - October 14 - October 17 Hoddick Talk

  • In Social Studies, the class has been reading and learning about the four main North American geographical regions of the Native American cultures:
1.  The Arctic Inuits and the Pacific Northwest totem builders
2.  The Southwest Cliff Dwellers
3.  The Great Plains Nomads
4.  The Northeast Woodland Peoples

Next, the students will be selecting a specific Native American culture to study about and inquire more deeply into.

  • In Character Education, all of the 5th graders have received their Peace Team t-shirts.  Their Peace Team duties will begin next week.  Mr. Black's class will serve on Monday and Wednesday.  Mrs. Hoddick's class will serve on Tuesday and Thursday.  Both classes have Friday off.  Due to the increased demands of Peace Team duty, Mrs. Hussey and Ms. Riveira have both agreed that it would be best to suspend the 5th grade HUGSS duty schedule as of the end of October.  As of November, the 4th grade will be assuming responsibility for HUGSS for the remainder of the year.
  • Please mark your calendars for Friday, October 24th, from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. for the annual Information Session about MIDDLE SCHOOL!!  This is the information that many of you have been asking about.  Come and meet the Middle School Faculty and Administration.  Come and hear about the curriculum, the homework workload, the grading system, the activities, and much more.  The meeting will take place in the Gulick Building, Room #9, which is located in the Middle School.  Gulick is the classroom building located nearest to the lower parking lot.  Mr. Black, Mrs. Hussey and I will all be in attendance as well.

Student Newsletter -written by S. C. and A. S.

Tuesday-

OKAY, M.M (Megan) lost one, she bought one, M.S (Maia) has one, she donates one, K.R (Kaity) brings back one and donates one. (That's confusing!!!) It is kind of resolved when Rachel was going to take the baby mice that Megan donated and she is going to take the baby mice (my head hurts) and now Ms.Hoddick is going to sell the rest of the baby mice :( (that's still kinda confusing).It is all settled, though. We thank Megan for being kind and awesome for donating the two baby mice! And we thank Rachel for being a life saver!!!!!!(yay I get it)!
 NEWS FLASH! (I hear music???!!!)
 Rachel cannot take the baby mice!!!!(oh no!) And those two mice Megan donated are CUTE!!!

Today we got a sub for Mr.Black. He is Mr. Lim. Kristyn.Y seems to remember him.
In science we first did a small test. Mr.Lim gave us a test on cool facts. Did you know Snow White represents Germany?? And the Jewish name for Jesus is The Messiah?  Anyway, in math, we were learning about area and volume and we got to make cool cubes out of paper which everyone is making now. Also, we had an assembly and we got to listen to a storyteller tell stories.  Her name was Cathy Spagnoli.  She told some stories about herself and about her travels all over the world.  She told a cool story with paper and she kept tearing the paper to make different things that can fly.

In Art, we got to glaze and paint our clay pieces.

Wednesday
We are trying to finish Check-Up #2 about the first Native American Indian tribes in North America.  We had P.E. and Music.

Thursday
This morning we went down to Scudder Dining Room to get our flu shots or flu nose spray.  Then, we went to Kinder Buddies.  We finished our songs that we are going to perform for our Senior Buddies next week Thursday when we go to Manoa Senior Care Home.  Then, we took our spelling test.

Friday
Today, we have P.E. and Music again.  In P.E. we practiced throwing.  In music, we are learning a conga drum beat and song for the Christmas Program.





]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/10/week-10---octob.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/10/week-10---octob.php Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:53:32 -1000 Week #9 - October 6 - October 9 Hoddick Talk
A reminder that there is no school on Friday, October 10.  The entire school faculty will be meeting for a Staff Development Day.  There is no school on Monday, October 13 in observance of Discoverer's Day.  Enjoy the long weekend.  Students should be reading their biographies or planning and organizing their next book report presentation.  They should also be studying their Vocabulary and Spelling List #6. 

Student Newsletter - Written by M.T. and S. H.
Monday
Today in Chapel we talked about responsibility. Then we sang a song about Noah's Ark. Then we talked about how the world is our responsibility and that we have to take care of it. The Acolytes were Sophia & Madison.  Then in Character Education, we talked about Peace Team and what we will have to do.  We also asked some questions. 

Tuesday
Today we did Social Studies.  We are reading Chapters 5 to 12 about Native American Indian tribes from all over North America, Alaska, and Central America.  Today we had Art. At Art we painted our clay projects, and we planned and were assigned to our groups for the peace team project.

Wednesday
This morning, we had a special assembly, and we watched the video of the Opera Kahalaopuna.  Then we went to Kinder buddies.  Mrs. Hoddick and Mrs. Matsumoto's classes are writing songs that we can sing for our senior buddies.  The senior buddies really seem to enjoy it when we perform for them.  In Kai's interview,  he said, "I like sailing because the wind changes all the time, that's why I like sailing. The hardest thing about sailing is to get the wind matched up with the sail." Today we had C.E.. We talked about Peace Team. Ms.Riveira said we are going to start next week. . Our peace team shirts came in. We told the class what we are going to present. Mrs. Johnson talked to us about service.

Thursday
This morning we had an assembly to say goodbye to Mrs. Jacobson.  We all wrote her letters and notes.  She is moving to Chicago.  She is lucky because she can watch the Bulls, the Whitesox, the Cubs, the Bears, and she can even go to the Oprah Winfrey Show!  We are all going to miss her very much.  Today we had music and P.E. because today was a Friday schedule.  We learned a beat with clap and slap in music.

No School on Friday.  Have a nice holiday!

 
]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/10/week-9---octobe.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/10/week-9---octobe.php Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:43:05 -1000 Week #8 - September 29th - October 3rd Hoddick Talk

We started off the week with Historical Fiction Book Presentations.  All thirty-six presentations were extremely well done.  Thank you very much to those parents who were able to stop by and see some of the presentations.

For October, the students are all reading biographies.  They received the Biography Book Report Form with the new assignments and due dates.

On Wednesday, the 5th graders met with their 6th-grade buddies for the first time.  We all walked down to the middle school, and each student was assigned to a group and a homeroom teacher.  The 6th-grade teachers are:
Mr. Taura
Ms. Graves
Mrs. Mah
Ms. Fink
Mr. Muramoto

Each 5th-grade group had a few minutes to spend in their 6th-grade homeroom with their 6th-grade buddies. Then, we all walked out to the field to take part in a few exciting team-building relay races.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.  Please look for photos in the class photo gallery.

Reminders:
No School on Friday, October 10 - Staff Development Day
No School on Monday, October 13 - Discoverers' Day

Student Newsletter, by SC and KY

Monday
We started off the week with our weekly chapel! Our acolytes for chapel were CS and JN from Mr.Black's class. They did a FABULOUS job! (Yay!!!) :)

Then we had to do BOOK TALKS! (*gasp!!!* I'm nervous!) But everyone did a fabulous job!!! Some of the books were:
Shadows on the Sea, by Joan Hiatt Harlow. Report by KY
Atticus of Rome 30 B.C, by Barry Denenberg. Report by: RB
A Boy at War, by Harry Mazer. Report by DM
A Boy No More, by Harry Mazer. Report by RY
The Year The Gypsies Came, by Linzi Glass. Report by KO
The Diary Of Remember Patience Journey To The New World.  Report by MSt
Weed Flower, by Cynthia Kodahata. Report by KR
Inside the Walls of Troy. Report by MSh
Tennyson. Report by BK
Bone by Bone by Bone. Report by EJ
A Boy at War. Report by NP
The Game of Silence. Report by SC
Al Capone Does My Shirts. Report by MT
Fever. Report by AS
The Bone Collector's Son. Report by DN
Operation Red Jericho. Report by KF
Rodzina. Report by MM
The Buccaneers. Report by SH


Black
Kira-Kira,by Cynthia Kodahata. Report by S.C
A Boy at War, by Harry Mazer. Report by IK
The Boy Who Dared. Report by DMP
Paint the Wind, by Pam Monoz Rayan. Report by SC
House Of The Red Fish, by Graham Salisbury. Report by CS
Al Capone Does My Shirt, Report by CC
A Boy at War, by Harry Mazer. Report by KK
Way Down Deep.  Report by MT
Way Down Deep. Report by EK
Gawgon and the Boy. Report by IM
Numbering all the Bones.  Report by IB
The Eye's of the Emperor.  Report by TO
Iron Thunder. Report by BM
The Big Field. Report by MM
Journey to the River Sea. Report by MC
When the Circus Came to Town. Report by KM
Night of the Howling Dogs.  Report by JM


P.S. - Rolando Sanchez is coming on Wednesday!

Tuesday
Welcome one and one to all! Ha ha ha!  Today we got to finish the book reports! (Yes!!) We also went to art and got to finish our clay piece or we could make frames for canvas painting.
We got to finish our old clay pieces or start a new clay pieces. We are gonna get our 6th grade buddies tomorrow!!! (Yeah!) (*Maximum Awesomeness!*) 
 
Wednesday
Oh my gosh Oh my gosh Oh-My Gosh!!!!! Today we get to see our 6 GRADE BUDDIES!!!!!
After we see our buddies...Yeah!! With our 6 grade buddies we played some games on the field! There were 5 games. Dice and Ball, Carry the Ball, Toss the ball, Pass the Ball and Egg Race. After that we got to eat some otter pops!(YUMMY!)Then after our treat we had to go....(*Ugh*) That was the worse part. But then after we came back to the elementary we had to write a reflection!!(*yeah!*) We all know a lot of people don't like to write reflections but some of us think this reflection was a time to remember! Oh yeah! We also get to see  Rolando Sanchez in Music!! (WOOT! Will this day get ANY BETTER?????)
YES IT CAN!!!!! Rolando Sanchez came in Music! We all got to play the drums.

Thursday
Today we are taking a test that is really awesome! Some of our class might of thought it was easy but some of them might of thought it was hard! It was our spelling test! We had boys against girls. Of course the girls one! (YEAH! WE ROCK!)  We had C.E and we talked about Peace Team! We will be getting out T-shirts soon.

Friday
 The mice go home today!  And, we had P.E. and Music.


Pet Corner!
WHAT!?? I CAN TAKE HOME DA MICE ALREADY!?
Well yes, yes you can. All you need is to get a cage and whatever mouses needs. Then in the next newsletter we might talk to you about the mice heads up's!
The Guinea Pig Oreo is getting pretty big and so now Oreo might not want to be carried!

Bring That Cage!
For the baby mice(if you bought any) you must bring a cage or Mrs. Hoddick will sell the rest of the baby mice to a pet store!! So if you want your mice soon, well get the cage, bedding, food, and everything else that a mouse needs!

Da Guinea Pigs!!!
 The guinea pigs have been sleeping and have been carried! We thank R.B's Mom for Oreo's new cage, food bedding and lettuce. We also thank B.K's family for bedding and hay.
We also wanted to say that this week A.S is gonna take home the guinea pigs!
We also wanted to give you a heads up and say that the first couple of weeks we did not know that Snickers was a boy so now we think that Oreo is pregnant. Now for the main thing, if you want to take both guinea pigs home you have to take two cages home! (*gasp!*)

Sports Illustrated!
  Volley Ball!
This week the girls volley-ball practices are from 3:30-5:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and only Wednesday the practice will be at 3:30 to 4:30. Our coach's name is coach Will. He is really fun but very cool. The girls volley ball is doing spiking, bumping and setting.
  Basketball!
On Saturday the boy's basketball tournament at Holy Family from 8:00 to ?

New student interview!
New Student Bryce Moore!
So Bryce, What is your thought's of this school? It is cool and I like it!  What is your favorite special? My favorite subject is P.E because we are active.Who is your favorite teacher?I like all of them!































































 

x
]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/09/week-8---septem.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/09/week-8---septem.php Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:47:40 -1000 Week #7 - September 22 - September 26 Teacher's Observations, by Mrs. Hoddick

On Monday, the students had the opportunity to visit the UH School of Tropical Agriculture to learn about some fairly high-level concepts like genetic traits, DNA, and forensics, and how all of them are related to agriculture.  The comments from the UH staff were all very positive.  They appreciated the respectful and responsible behavior of all of our students!  Special thanks to Mr. Black for arranging this fantastic field trip!

In Social Studies, we are beginning our initial reading about the different regions in North America as well as the various Native American cultures that are associated with those regions.  Examples include: 

  • Pacific Northwest Totem Builders - Inuit, Yupik, Tlingkit
  • Southwest Cliff Dwellers - Pueblo, Hopi, Zuni
  • Great Plains Nomads - Quapaw, Comanche, Pawnee
  • Northwest Woodland - Powhatan, Iroquois, Narragansett
In Language Arts, we ventured up to the library for our second visit to check out books from the genre that we will be reading in October - Biography.  Be sure to ask your child whose biography they are reading.  All of the students are also preparing for their Book Talk Presentations for their Historical Fiction books on Monday, September 29th.  We will begin our presentations on Monday, and they will continue into Tuesday and perhaps Wednesday.
 
Please check the photo gallery as there are now many photos from many different events.

Weekly Newsletter, by DM and RY

Monday -
For chapel we had Emma and Isaiah for acolytes. At Chapel we learned Chinese words. Jen - (basic good-will) Shu(reciprocity) Li - (ritual behavior) Wen- (Cultivate the Arts) Te (lead by example After that we went to the UH School of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources for Gene-ius Day. We learned about our DNA which stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. The talents that you have where passed down from your parents. The parents traits were passed down to the children, they demonstrated how that works using a Punnette Square. There was 3 groups and 3 stations, the 3 stations were: Taking the DNA out of a papaya, Being a detective and Family Traits.

Tuesday -
In Art, we worked on our clay items.

Wednesday -
We had P.E. all period.  We had homework, it was to draw your favorite activity and tell what we were good at and what we needed to work on to improve.

Thursday -
In C. E. Mrs. Schultz came to talk to us about the cafeteria rules for when we start our Peace Team duties so we know what rules to enforce.

Friday -
We had Music all period because Mrs. Jenkins was not here.  We watched a movie about rhythm and we practiced playing instruments - like bells, boom whackers, frogs.

Sports News
MPI CSAL Losing Streak

The MPI CSAL team lost their first game of the season on Monday to Maryknoll 6th Graders. Players say the refs were really unfair. A day after on Tuesday they played St. Elezibeth's 6th grader team for a scrimage. Coach say we need to pass better, start good and end good. Our next game is Thursday, September 25 against (HBA) Hawaii Baptis Academy
 
Special thanks to BK's mom for bedding, pellets, and hay and to RB's mom for a new cage for the guinea pig.







 
]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/09/week-7---septem.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/09/week-7---septem.php Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:07:34 -1000 Week #6 - September 15 - September 19 Teacher's Corner

This week was yet another busy week for 5th grade.  All of the students did a splendid job of presenting what they have learned thus far about human migration into North America.  After the assembly, the 5th grade had their first visit with either their senior buddies or their preschool buddies.  Kindergarten and 5th grade celebrated by having lunch together. 

Thank you to Mrs. Manabe for her generous donation of $30.00 towards pet supplies for 5th-grade pets!

Thank you to ALL of the 5th-grade parents who so generously donated their time, labor, and supplies for the Welcome Back BBQ!  The 5th-grade students did a great as MCs for the event!

Some reminders for this coming week:
  • Walking Field Trip down to the College of Tropical Agriculture at the University of Hawaii at Manoa for the Biotechnology Outreach Program.  We will leave in the morning and return in time for lunch.
  • Library visit on Wednesday, 9/24.  Please remember to bring your books and your photo ID.  If you have not yet completed your Historical Fiction book, you may renew it.  We will be checking out Biography books to read in October. 

Student Newsletter - Written by  KF and NP

Chapel

Today in chapel Chaplin Koyama talked about how a certain ceremony goes.  First you light the candle, then the acolytes, the people who carry the big candle sticks would go and light two more candles.  Then they would extinguish the big candle sticks.  Then, at the end of the ceremony they relight the big candle sticks and extinguish the other candle sticks and walk to the exits.  KY and SC acted as the acolytes.  This months theme is respect.

 Social Studies

On Monday, during Social Studies, we were planning a presentation 5 minutes long for the assembly.  We are presenting about human migration from different continents and how the first Americans got to America.  Here are the groups:
SC, DN, KO=Alaska-Beringia
SH,BK,EJ=North America
NP,KF=Siberia
RY,DM=Australia
MT,AS=Central America-Mexico
MS,KY=Africa (50,000 Years Ago)
MM,RB=Central Asia-Kazakstan
BM,KK=India
JN,EK=China-Asia
IK,CC=South America
MC,SC=Europe
KM,MT=Middle East
DMP,SC=Christopher Columbus
CS,TO=South East Asia
IM,MM=Africa (120,000 Years Ago)

Pet Corner

NP's Weekend with the Mice

My weekend with the mice was very interesting.  When I was leaving school on Friday, the babies were at the corner of the cage, but Coco, the mom, carried all her babies one by one in her mouth to inside of the igloo.  For most of the weekend Coco stayed in the igloo to nurse, but Coco sometimes came out.  Misty also stayed with the babies and came out of the igloo too.  I was watching Coco one night while she sorted her food.  She would nibble on the food and anything except dried corn and a puffy piece of food she would throw into the hay.  With those two pieces of food she would put them on top of the igloo.  Also, one night I got my camera and turned it to video recorder, I put it where it could see into the igloo, and Coco thought it was interesting so she came out and started sniffing it and looking at it from behind the glass.  It was cool!  Me and my dad put cheese in the food bowl and it was gone really quickly.  I had lots of fun watching these mice over the weekend!

Sports Watch - Basketball

The final score was 36-12 with Mid-Pac winning.  Six of the other team's, Saint Elizabeth's points was from press violations.  Press is when you are up by a certain amount of points you cannot try to take the ball away on your opponents side of the court while they get the ball in play.  Hunter fell down and hurt his knee but there was no blood.  Evan fell down also and scraped his knee, there was blood so he needed First Aid.  Two of our players, Riley and Micah in sixth grade was absent.  The game was at Saint Elizabeths and Mr.Louie drove us there on his bus.  Everyone had lots of fun! 

Art

Yesterday in art, everybody was making their own sculptures in groups or by themselves.  It was challenging because we had to make sure our foundations were strong and stable.  We also made coils and ball sculptures to connect all together.  It was lot's of fun and challenging.

Science

This week in Science, we have been working on trying to save our schools energy.  We are planing to deliver our used cans, bottles, and paper to the recycling plant to earn money.  We will have energy patrol people walking around the school making sure lights, computers, and sinks are turned completely off.  We will be sending out reminders to teachers who don't follow these rules.  Some people are also working on Science reports and posters.  The posters are for a contest for the 50th State Anniversary and endangered sea creatures.

MS and Her Mom
 
MS's mom won a trip to Aruba on Wheel Of Fortune.  MS was in the audience with her auntie, and the auntie's husband, and her sister.  It was best friends week on Wheel of Fortune.  The auntie's husband was with MS's mom.  The show was at the Hilton Waikoloa on the Big Island.  MS's family was very excited.

Music

In music class on Wednesday we had a man come in and teach us about drumming and other instruments.  We had a lot of fun because he was very funny and talented.  We separated into four groups and played four different instruments.  We played the maracas, bells, clave sticks, and drums.  We danced and sang to a song that came from South Africa.  It was a lot of fun!!!!

Assembly

On Thursday, we had an assembly.  We presented about our human migration.  We were a big hit!  It went very well.  Everyone put their country and person in the right area.  Some teachers told us that they learned something that day.  It was GREAT!!!!!
]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/09/week-6---septem.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/09/week-6---septem.php Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:51:29 -1000 Week #5: September 8 - September 12 Teacher's Corner

Open House
     A belated thanks and appreciation to all those families who were present at our Open House way back on Wednesday, September 3rd.  We appreciate your support and involvement.  Please continue to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Language Arts
     On Tuesday, we had our first Spelling and Vocabulary Test of the year, and everyone did very well.  Once all of the students who are out ill have taken the test, I will return the tests to everyone.  The new Vocabulary and Spelling word list will be going home today.  The next test will not be until next week Friday.  This gives the students approximately one week to study for the test.  Remember, this is a student-generated word list.  Students should be maintaining their Vocabulary Journal.  They should be finding new words to add to their Journal each week.  These new words should be coming from their weekly Language Arts Packets, their monthly required reading books, and any additional books that they might be reading.  Please also remind your child that when they complete any books or novels, they should record them immediately in their Reading Logs.  We have some very prolific readers  and if they do not get into the habit of recording their book information into their log, it is very easy to get backed up.  Additional Reading Logs are available in the classroom.

     In Writing Workshop, we are continuing our work in writing in a variety of different modes and for a variety of different purposes.  Yesterday, we reviewed all of the different writing assignments that we have already completed and the modes of writing that we have already experienced.  The students were surprised to see that they had already engaged in writing assignments that were representative of all four of the main modes of writing - Expository, Persuasive, Narrative, and Creative/Imaginative.  We also continue to review the six writing assessment traits or categories - Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions.

     Historical Fiction Book Reports are due on September 29th.  Please remember to check the bottom of the Book Report Form for the detailed explanation of all of the assignments the students need to complete for their Book Report.  They need to complete the Book Report Form, plan the presentation of their Book Talk, and plan and create a visual aid or literature response to present during their Book Talk.  All of the presentations will take place on Monday, September 29th, during their regularly scheduled Language Arts and Social Studies periods.  (Being increasingly able to plan and organize these long-term assignments will help to prepare them for the rigors and demands of Middle School.)

Social Studies
We completed our note-taking assignment for the first four chapters of A History of US.  We are now working on a guided-writing of how to format and answer the comprehension questions for the Chapter Check-Up Comprehension Resource Guide.  For Book #1 - The First Americans - 1600 - all of the reading and Chapter Check-Up Resource Guides will be done in class so that I can monitor their progress.  Once we get to Book #2, the reading and Chapter Check-Up Resource Guides will become homework.

Student Newsletter
The Student Newsletter is composed, written, and sometimes actually typed by the students themselves.  Each week, the students select different jobs that they want to do for the week.  One of the job choices is Newsletter Writer.  Normally two students share the job and plan and write the Student Newsletter together.  We will be continually trying to improve the Student Newsletter as the students gain more skill, knowledge, and confidence as writers.  To this end, I try to maintain the integrity of the students' own words in their own voice.  As any editor of a publication will tell you, there is a fine balance between writer's voice and acceptable conventions.  Some weeks, there may be more voice and fewer acceptable conventions - like spelling and grammar!  We hope that you are patient and understanding and willing to overlook some of the obvious mistakes in spelling and grammar as our fledgling writers continue to gain skill and knowledge in their craft.  (Either Mrs. Jacobson or Mrs. Hussey also edits each blog before it is posted.  Mrs. Jacobson felt that last week's Student Newsletter spoke for itself and was absolutely charming, so it was published "as is."  No edits.)  Once again, thank you for your patience and understanding regarding our Student Newsletter. 

Student Newsletter - 9/8/08 - 9/12/08 - written by MSt because KY was sick

Monday - 9/8/08 -
In Chapel, Reverend Koyama talked about how respect is like a candle and if you disrespect someone you blow their light out of the candle.  We sang, "This Little Light of Mine".  DM was sick and then SC got a fever and went home and then KY also got sick and went home.

Tuesday - 9/9/08 -
IB, SC, DMP, KM, TO and CS all all sick from Mr. Black's class and from our class KY, SC, KR, RY and DM are all sick so please wash our hands and don't get sick.  We already have 11 people missing from both classes.  Also, the class pets are doing just fine.  Idioms for today - Add fuel to the fire - it means to cause trouble.  All ears - means to listen to somebody.  These are 3 centuries old.

Wednesday - 9/10/08 -
Today, we are going to a Cambodian Dance at Mid-pacific Auditorium.  It was very cool because they did stuff we can't do.  Also, a drum player came to see us and Mrs. Koshi.  He is Rolando Sanchez.

Thursday - 9/11/08 -
Today we are going to Kinder Buddies and do activities with them.  They helped us finish writing our expository essay of Introductions of us and our buddy to the seniors or the pre-schoolers.  Black gets pre-school and Hoddick gets seniors.  Some Kinder Buddies came back to our classroom to help us publish on our computers.  Also the class pets are doing just fine and Oreo is still healthy being healthy and Snickers is doing good too.  We also still need to keep cleaning the cage and pet area. 

Friday - 9/12/08 -
This morning MM and BM found that Coco had babies!  Coco had about 11 babies.  Yeah and they are soooo small. 
Interview of MSh who is the God Mother and Grandmother - "BM was very happy and confused when he saw Coco's babies.  He was confused because he did not know Coco was pregnant.  When he saw them Coco was nursing her new babies."  Then MSh went on Wikkipedia to do research about baby mice.  MSh - "The average litter size is 10 to 12 mice babies.  The younger ones are called pups.  They are hairless.  They have closed eyes and ears. They have to stay with their mother for 3 weeks and nurse them for 3 weeks.  We also can't sell any of them because they have no fur.  We do not know who the mother is so no one can hold them and especially the babies."
Observations of the mice during the day -
  • Misty and Coco are both nursing the babies??
  • Misty made a huge pile of bedding around the purple plastic castle we think she may have her own babies under there but we don't want to move anything.
  • NP is taking them home this weekend so he can check.
Also we celebrated BK's birthday with cupcakes that BK made himself of course because he likes to cook.
We celebrated BK's birthday and the new mice babies birthday.

Upcoming Events
  • Next week, musician and percussionist Michael Wall from Playful Percussion will be returning to Mid-Pacific Institute to work with the 5th-grade students on team building.
  • Welcome Back BBQ on Saturday, September 20th, 2:00 - 5:00 pm.
  • Check the Classroom 5H Photo Gallery for all those pictures from the first month of school!  Including brand new photos of the baby mice!



 
  


]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/09/week-5---septem.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/09/week-5---septem.php Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:40:32 -1000 Week # 4 - September 2 - September 5
Weekly Student Newsletter-written by BK and SC



Tuesday-
Today we made shocking discovery. Snickers is a... GUY!! (*gasp*!) And poor Oreo is pregnant more info on Pets corner.

Today Mr.Black's flight was delayed from the Mainland to Hawaii so we had a sub. His name is Mr.Bohas! Interview in New Sub.

Homework
Today we got new homework spelling each student got to choose one vocabulary word we got to draw a picture write the defenition and then write the word. We got our weekly language arts packets the titles were the Hunters Choice and the Black Cauldron.

Wednesday-
Today Mr.Black got back to Hawaii! (yay!). We got to work and finish our project on the planets and  Mr.Bohas was are P.E teacher we interviewed him and he answered our questions. More on interviewed New Sub
(The Open House is on Wednesday!!)

Thursday-
 Today we got to see the slide show Mrs.Hoddick and Mr.Black showed the parents at Open House. to see photos, go to Mrs. Hoddick's photo gallery on our school website.
Today we got to see our Kinder Buddies!! (Yahoo!) Our Kinder Buddies showed us there "box" full of there important items. We got to work on our stories we have been working on with our Kinder B's.
At our Morning Meeting the leaders said some Idioms. (Cat got your tongue?)


Pet's Corner

The Guinea Pig Update
As you (might) know, Oreo might be pregnant. And that Snickers is a guy... So we are going to interview RB, MM and KO.
BK: How to you feel about Oreo being pregnant?
RB: "I feel happy and weird and, happy because some people already take the babies and weird because I just do!"
MM: "I feel happy and nervous because I don't want Oreo to get sick or die. I feel exited to!"
KO: "I feel exited because I know that the babies are going to be as cute as Oreo and Snickers!"
BK: What did you think when you  bought Snickers and now Snickers is not a girl?
RB: "It feels weird because first when when I got Oreo, I saw These two black, orange and white that looked exactly like Snickers. We also we saw a chinchilla."
MM: " When I first got Snickers, I had the employee check Snickers for "girlish" features, but apparently it turned out not that "girlish". I also saw a chinchilla too. And I told Rachel and now we know we both went to the same pet store!"


(*GASP!* WERE BACK!)
We are very, very, very, very, VERY sorry! We could not get into Mrs.Hoddick's account to finish the newsletter. So here is Friday, the Interview, News Flash and Spelling.

FRIDAY-
Today we had a sub for Mrs.Hoddick! You might know who Ms.Herman is! (Maybe?) Ms.Herman was our sub.
Today was also FREE DRESS DAY!!! (Some people missed it....) Also, thank you to Rachel, Emma, Kristyn, Maddie, Jillian, Kawika, Megan, Aly, Katie and Sachi for help cleaning the pet area. It was pretty messy(and gross). Again we did some more idioms!

News Flash!
At Music we found out a lot! We are going to have a guest percussionist - Rolando Sanchez - working with us at MPI.

Interview of Mr. Bohas
We interviewed Mr. Bohas.  He was our sub when Mr. Black was out and for P.E. when Mrs. Jenkins was out.  He says he likes our school because students are very well behaved.  He has substituted at UH, MPI High School.
 



]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/09/week-4---septem.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/09/week-4---septem.php Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:39:22 -1000 Week #3 - August 25 - August 29 Week Three - August 25 - August 29

We have only completed the first three weeks of the school year, yet all of the students seemed to have settled into our routine with great ease and joyful exuberance! 
On Monday, we had our first visit to the Library to check out Historical Fiction books.  The students received their Historical Fiction Book Report assignment.  The Book Report Form and Book Talk will be due next month on September 29.  Our next visit to the Library is scheduled for September 24.  We will be selecting Biographies to read during the month of October.

For Social Studies/American History, we are continuing to preview and set a purpose for reading Book 1 - A History of US - The First Americans - Pre-History - 1600.  Prior to beginning our reading, we discuss strategies that effective readers use to help improve comprehension and recall of what they read.  Good readers use these strategies before they read, while they are reading, and after they read.  Reading comprehension requires sufficient motivation for engaging in reading; good readers set a purpose for reading.  They try and link what they already know to what they anticipate they might be reading about.  While they are reading, good readers constantly form mental frameworks or schemas for understanding and storing ideas about what they are reading in their minds.  After they read, good readers are able to process and manipulate the information they have read at increasingly higher levels of intellectual ability. 

These levels of intellectual processing are traditionally associated with the work of Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning.  These behaviors or domains are known as "Bloom's Taxonomy." Bloom arranged these skills in sequential order beginning with lower-order skills and gradually increasing to higher-order abilities.  Hence, these higher-order abilities came to be known as higher-order thinking skills or critical thinking skills.  The six categories from lower order to higher order are: 
1. Knowledge or recall
2. Comprehension or understanding and explanation
3. Application or demonstration
4. Analysis or differentiate, distinguish, compare or contrast
5. Synthesis or reconstruct, revise, reorganize
6. Evaluation or discrimination, appraise, judge

Therefore, the expectation for the students is that they will be manipulating information at increasingly higher levels of ability and sophistication. 
 
Additionally, as we read each chapter, we will be practicing the skill of effective note-taking.  We will also be practicing how to write an organized chapter summary for each of the chapters. 

For Writer's Workshop, most of the students have completed publishing their Name History expository essay.  They are now starting on drafting an introduction of themselves and their Kindergarten Buddy.  Their next writing assignment will be to describe their Timeline of Learning how to Write.    

Student Weekly Newsletter - Hand typed by: DM and MS

Monday -
We went to Chapel and Chaplain Koyama taught us about Hospitality. He used Kokeshi Dolls to show us a play about Hospitality. After that we went to the MPI Library and picked out Historical Fiction Books. Ms.Wiesz talked to us about our genre, she showed us special books and told us about them. After she finished explaining we picked out our Historical Fiction books. Then we went to Science and we were finishing our Bibliography for our Inquiry about planets and dwarf planets. In Language Arts we got 2 Packets of Homework.

Tuesday -
On Tuesday we got our mice (Coco and Misty). We had a Class Meeting which was an conversation about names for the mice. The semi-final names were: Siera Misty, like the soda, Misty, Coco and Hersheys Cocoa. As I said the final names are Misty and Coco, the mice are gray (Misty) and brown (Coco). We watched a movie in Social Studies and it had awesome computer graphics and it looked like the mammoth was real!

Wednesday -
This morning a few people said that Coco was pregnant. The Mice Group may have to give the mice back to the Pet Store, remember this is a rumor so far. We had a big conversation about something (I forgot) and it went into our Social Studies time.

Thursday-
Today we will meet our Kinder Buddies at 8:45. Today we also have Picture Day. This is our 2nd time meeting with them, we all hope that they won't be so shy. The 5th graders will help the Kinder Buddies to write a story in their journal, we wrote it and they told us what to write so most of it was really sweet.

Friday -
Today we had a substitute named Mrs. Warshawsky.  In Math we had a very hard test on multiplying and dividing decimals.  In Language Arts we are finishing up our name essay and starting our introductions of our Kindergarten Buddy.  Some of the boys played Knockout at lunch recess. In P.E. we had homework to create a cartoon that shows what working together looks and sounds like.  In Music we watched a video about rhythm.  For the long weekend, Maia is taking the mice home and Rachel is taking the guinea pigs home.

Sports News

RY Wins at California Tournament
Ryne plays for the Oahu Dirtbags and won the USSSA Tournament in California. They won every game in the tournament,which was 7 games. The Dirtbags got themselves on the KGMB9 News and Youtube. We will interview Ryne and he will talk about the game. "I scored the run to tie the game." Ryne says. They will be in the Waikiki Parade with the Waipio Little League Team on September 1st 2008.

Pet's Corner

Coco's News
We have heard rumors of there being more mice in the cage. Some people say that Coco is getting fatter and lazier but eating normally so...we think she is pregnant. The Mice Group may have to sell the babies. This is an interview about Coco with Maia. "I bought the mice from Pets Plus. There were a lot of mice in the cage and they did not keep the males and females away from each other so it's a 50-50 chance that Coco is pregnant.  If she has babies we are either going to give them back or find homes for them."  Remember this is only a "myth."                                    
                                                                 New Student

Daniel is a new student so we decided to interview him. Were you nervous or scared about your new school? "A little bit" he said. What sports do you play? "Baseball, nothing else." Is there anything you want to say? "I made new friends named Dylan, Nic, and Kai."

Reminders:
  • Monday, September 1 - Labor Day Holiday.
  • Wednesday, September 3 - Open House for grades 3 - 5

]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/08/student-weekly-1.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/08/student-weekly-1.php Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:41:46 -1000 Week #2 - August 18 - August 22 Parent Intake Meetings
Thank you to all of the parents for providing Mr. Black and me with information which will allow us to continue to nurture and support your child throughout the school year. 

Social Studies
In Social Studies, we are continuing our introductory discussion of the concept of migration as we watch a variety of educational programs describing the migration of the first people from the continent of Asia, who migrated over approximately 15,000 years ago into the continent of North America.  We will begin using our History of US textbooks next week as we continue our study of U. S. History.

Language Arts
In Language Arts, we started working on an expository paper that explains the history of our name.  We used the writer's workshop approach to help guide our writing process.  We then employed the six writing areas of focus or writing traits - ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions - in order to help shape our assessment of our writing.  Next, we will be writing about our new Kindergarten Buddies, whom we met on Thursday.

Kindergarten Buddies
The 5th graders FINALLY got to meet their long-awaited-for Kindergarten Buddy!  This year, all of the 5th-grade students and all of the Kindergarten students will be participating in a joint Community Service Program with both the Manoa Senior Care Home and the University Baptist Church Preschool.  Mr. Black and Ms. Hitomi's classes will be working with the preschool during the first semester.  Mrs. Hoddick and Mrs. Matsumoto's classes will be working with the residents of Manoa Senior Care Home during the first semester.  Then, we will switch during the second semester.  This way, we all have a chance to partner with both the elderly and the very young.

Independent Reading Program 
On Monday, we will be starting our Independent Reading Program.  Independent Reading is an important part of our Reading Curriculum as it helps support and develop reading skills and encourages children to become lifelong readers.  Research also supports the notion that "avid" readers tend to score higher on the vocabulary sections of standardized tests.  Beginning in September, students will be required to read at least one specified genre book each month.  The first genre will be Historical Fiction.  In order to help the students select appropriate books each month, we have scheduled monthly visits to the MPI Library located in Kawaiaha'o.  Our first visit is scheduled for this Monday, August 25th.  Librarian Gayle Weisz will be assisting the students by giving book talks which describe the assigned genre for the month and recommending books for the class to read for the assigned genre.  Upon completion of reading their book for the month, the students will be required to complete a genre book-report form and plan and present a brief book talk describing the book that they read.

Student Weekly Newsletter - Written by:  RB and MM

Monday -
First we went to Chapel and Chaplain Koyama talked about his summer.  Then he had a ti leaf and he sprinkled
holy water at us to bless us.  Then we went to Social Studies and watched a movie about scientists finding bones, how things formed on earth, and how scientists tried to figure out where they came from.  Then we went to C. E. and Mrs. Brooks/Johnson came over and talked about how C. E. and Art are the same and different.  Then we had lunch and recess and went to math and language arts.  Then we went home.  Monday P.S. At lunch we saw a mongoose stuck in the trash can.  Mr. Black got it out.

Tuesday -
 First we went to Social Studies and we finished the bone movie and it turns out that the scientists think that we are from Africa!  Then we went to Science and we are doing a project on planets.  Then we went to snack recess.  After we went to Language Arts and talked about the writing process.  Now our first project is writing about our name.  Math was after that and we worked on our exponents.  We had lunch and recess and then Art.  We worked on our making different patterns and colors.  There were three different stations and the stations were paint and material, tape and markers or sharpie, and oil pastel and chalk.  We did this to prepare for our self portraits and to see the materials we would want to use.  Then we went to study hall and went home. 

Wednesday -
First we did Social Studies.  Then we did Science and we worked on our Science Project about our Solar System.  Then we had snack and recess and then headed over to Language Arts.  In Language Arts we did our Name Essay.  We spent our time in Math by learning new ways for addition and subtraction.  Then we had lunch and recess.  Then we had P. E. and we talked about how to work together.  Then we went to Music and we learned how to speak Chinese!  And we learned a little bit of a Chinese song!  Then we went home.

Thursday -
First we went to Assembly and we talked about birthdays.  Then we went to Kinder Buddies.  At Kinder Buddies we learned about the things they like to do and their favorite food and things like that!  Next was Social Studies and we watched a program about migration.  We had snack recess and went to Science.  During Science we got Oreo!  Our first guinea pig!!  Oreo is our new 5th grade class guinea pig.  RB's mom dropped off Oreo in the cage.  Then we went to C. E. and we talked about how PEACE TEAM is good, and nice!  Lunch and recess was next.  Then we went to Language Arts and did our name essay.  Then we went to Math and we did Dracula math and a multiplication word puzzle.  Then we ended the day.

Friday -
First in the morning before the bell rang we got Snickers!!  Our second guinea pig.  MM got Snickers.  Then Oreo and Snickers bonded and became best friends!!  First we went to Social Studies and watched part of the program about migrating out of Africa and into India, Australia, Central Asia, Europe, Siberia and then North America and South America.  Some of the things that caused migration were climate changes like falling sea levels, drought, an ice age.  Scientists can trace our ancestors by testing the DNA in our blood.  This happened around 50,000 years ago.  Then we went to Science.  Then we did our science project.  Then we went to snack and recess.  Next we had Language Arts and then did our name essay.  Then we went to Math and we did a math test.  Then we went to lunch and recess.  Next we went to P. E. and Music.  We combined together and during P. E. and Music we danced.  Then we went home.

Thank-Yous:
  • Thank you to MC for the delicious cupcakes she brought in to share with both classes in celebration of her birthday!
  • Thank you to BK, who shared his love of cooking with both students and staff by bringing in a large chocolate sheet cake for us to enjoy!!
  • Thank you to the Kaita family for donating a brand-new globe to our class in celebration of B's birthday!
  • Thank you to the Bowler and Meyer families for donating the guinea pigs to the 5th grade as class pets!  Mr. Black and I are overjoyed!

   
   

 
]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/08/week-2-august-1.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/08/week-2-august-1.php Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:22:20 -1000 Week #1 - August 11th - August 15th Welcome Back to School

Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year!  We had an extremely productive and action-packed first week of school.  All of the students have transitioned seamlessly into their school routines.  They are enjoying being reunited with their friends.  They are all focused, on-task, and motivated to learn.  The students are adapting very well to the 5th-grade schedule, which requires several transitions each day between Social Studies and Science and Language Arts and Math.  We started our first week back with a large group orientation into 5th grade.  Mr. Black's homeroom joined our homeroom as we discussed and reviewed classroom rules, guidelines, and expectations for behavior and attitude.  The students are realizing that even though they are assigned to either Mr. Black's or my homeroom, we consider ourselves to be one large group of 36 5th graders.  Many of our activities and projects will be done as one large group.  We spent a great deal of time reviewing and emphasizing the student planner and explaining how integral it is to developing and maintaining effective organizational skills.  During this past week, all of the students were required to prepare their Portfolio Binder and to begin contemplating and formulating specific goals that they would like to achieve throughout the upcoming year.  We ended the week with all of the students completing the first of their weekly reflection sheets, where they assess what they feel were strengths as well as areas needing improvement during the past week.

Social Studies

In Social Studies, we reviewed the curriculum focus of 4th grade, Hawaiian History.  We discussed the 5th-grade curriculum focus, United States History.  In order to bridge prior knowledge to new knowledge, we brainstormed possible common themes that we might encounter as we transition from studying about the history of our state to studying about the history of our country.  One common theme that was identified was the notion of migration.  The early Polynesians migrated - left one place in order to travel to another - from Polynesia to the Hawaiian archipelago approximately 2,000 years ago.  This raised several questions, such as:  Who actually were the first people in North America? Where did they migrate from? How long ago did this all take place? How do archaeologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists develop their theories?  The students then formed their own groups and began researching the answers to their questions.  Their initial research quickly led them to more questions:  How old is the earth?  What was Pangaea?  What was Beringia?  The students also discovered that some websites are much better than others for gathering information.  One good website that CC, SC, MC, and KM found was www.sciencedaily.com.  This lead them to another question...What is mitochondrial DNA?

Language Arts

In Language Arts, the students have been working on the first of their weekly reading comprehension and vocabulary packets.  They have also been working on an "All About Me" poster which allows them to share interesting information about themselves with the rest of the class in order to help us learn more about one another.

Class Pets Committee

Several of the students proposed that the two 5th-grade classes consider the possibility of acquiring and maintaining class pets throughout the year.  Both Mr. Black and I agreed to the initial proposal with the clear requirement that this "Pet Project" be completely organized and implemented by the students themselves (as well as by their parents).  The students agreed that they would be responsible for initiating and organizing this project.  So far, the participating students have organized themselves into two groups - a mouse group and a guinea pig group.  They have done research about the required needs and care of their respective pets.  They scheduled a meeting with Mrs. Hussey in order to secure her approval.  They generated wish lists for needed items for their pets that Mrs. Jacobson allowed them to place in the packets that went home this past Friday.  The students have pointed out to me that the work they are doing should also be considered Social Studies inquiry as they are inquiring into information about their pets and they are doing so in social groups!  Needless to say, I am very impressed at their self-motivation, self-determination, and self-organization.

Student Weekly Newsletter - Written by:  AS and DN

One of the weekly job choices in our class is to be responsible for compiling and writing the Student Weekly Newsletter.  This is a review of the week from the students' perspective.  The students do the writing, and I  transcribe what they have written.  This past week, the Student Newsletter was written by AS and DN.

Dear Families,

Here is what happened this past week:

Monday -  On Monday was the first day of school.  We went over all of the rules in the class rules.  Later on we had C.E. with Mrs. Riveira.  Then we had lunch.  Then we had recess on the ball field.
 
Tuesday - On Tuesday, we got into Social Studies.  Today we had Art and Ms. Brooks got married so now she is Mrs. Johnson.  Later, recess was at the play court.  Shooting hoops was fun.  We also decided to get a class pet.

Wednesday -  On Wednesday, we had our first day of P.E.  We played a name game.  DM also shot a reverse layup and DN shot a half court backwards.

Thursday - On Thursday, we didn't get our Thursday Packet because the xerox machine is broken.  We watched a global warming movie with Mr. Black.  In Social Studies, we did a mini-inquiry project for Social Studies. 

Friday - On Friday, we had our class meeting.  And, we are getting a mouse and a guinea pig.  We did our weekly reflections.  This week was awesome.  We watched a movie about the geological history of the earth in Social Studies.

Reminders

  • On Friday, the students were given their HUGSS Schedule for the semester.  Please remember to check the HUGSS Schedule every week to see if your child is on duty.
  • On Friday, the Parent Intake Information Letter and Student Information Form were sent home.  Please remember to complete the bottom portion of the letter as well as the Student Information Form and return them so that we can plan accordingly.
  • Homework for the week of 8/18 - 8/22:  1. Weekly Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Packet #2.  2. "All About Me" Poster.  3.  The History of my Name Essay.    
    






 




]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/08/week-1-august-1.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/08/week-1-august-1.php Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:33:32 -1000 Welcome Back - It's Week 30! Welcome Back From Spring Break

Welcome back from Spring Break!  Here's hoping that everyone had an exciting St. Patrick's Day and a Happy Easter!  It is wonderful to hear about the students' adventures and travels.

Ancestor and Immigrant Projects and Ancestor Food Sharing

I would like to express a heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the assistance that all of you provided to your children in support of our Ancestor and Immigrant Inquiry Projects!  Every single project showed a great deal of effort, creativity, thought, and inspiration!  After listening to all of the presentations about each other's ancestors, the students noted several common themes relating to the reasons that prompted their ancestors to leave one country and immigrate to a new country.  The main ones were the notions of wanting a better life and wanting more opportunities for a better life.  In addition, a major hardship and common obstacle for many of their ancestors was the difficulty of learning how to speak a new language. 

Also, thank you so very much for the Ancestor Food items that you sent in!  The 5th graders had so much food that we were able to feed nearly all of our faculty and staff lunch that day!  A big mahalo to the parents who donated paper and plastic goods as well.  Thank you to the following parents, who stopped by to help out:  Pam Yoshihiro, Judy Dang, Brad Lee, Jennifer Pulley, Donna Glatzel, Rachael Holloway, Carrie Higo, Sarah McKay-Hines, Warren Cortez, and Roger Napoleon.

Ho'olaule'a

Another great big mahalo to the following parents who accompanied our class to Ho'olaule'a before Spring Break!  Thank you to  Gary Kobayashi, Rachael Holloway, and Pam Yoshihiro!   It was a fun day and a great way to kick off Spring Break!

Moloka`i Ranch Closure

As all of you know, we are saddened by the closure of our beloved 5th grade retreat spot.  However, as Mrs. Hussey explained in her letter to 5th grade parents yesterday, the children are all displaying great resilience and a positive attitude; they all seem to comprehend that with change come new opportunities and new possibilities!  Mrs. Hussey is currently exploring some possible locations on the island of Kauai, so stay tuned for updates.

Social Studies/US History and Language Arts-Upcoming Assignments and Projects

Here is a list of the assignments and projects that we will be completing over the remaining nine weeks of second semester:

  • A History of US - From Colonies to Country 1735-1791:  The events leading up to the American Revolution
  • The last reading genre, for April, is Poetry
  • SAT Test Preparation Booklet
  • Literature Response Project for Blood On the River, by Elisa Carbone
  • 100 Years In Manoa Podcast Project
  • Kahalaopuna Opera Project
Important Dates to Remember

The next nine weeks will be moving rather rapidly; therefore, here are a few dates to keep in mind:
  • 4/3 - Last visit to the MPI Library - bring your books and bring your ID card
  • 4/4 - Walking field trip to the University of Hawaii School of Agriculture to explore plant genetics
  • 4/11 - Kite Day
  • 4/14 - 4/18 - SAT Testing for 5th Grade
  • 4/24 - 6th Grade Shadowing Day!  5th grade students will spend all day with the sixth grade teachers and students
  • 4/12, 4/19, 4/26 & 5/3 - Opera Work Days - 2:00-6:00 pm in the Dining Room.
  • 5/9 & 5/10 - Opera Performances
  • 5/19, 5/20, 5/21 - 5th Grade Trip
  • 5/22 & 5/23 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
  • 5/28 - Grade 5 Leavetaking Ceremony
  • 5/29 - Field Day-Last Day of School









]]> http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/03/welcome-back-to-1.php http://midpac.edu/elementary/5H/2008/03/welcome-back-to-1.php Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:07:21 -1000