SJA-EClass-G5

End of the Year...

2010-05-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

We will be taking a field trip to the Peace Learning Center on Tuesday, May 25th.
Please return student's permission slip and let me know if you'd like to join us!

Math - We are writing and solving equations!
We will have a test over all concepts learned this year a week from Monday- May 24th!

Reading- We have finished 10 Chapters in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
We will finish this book next week and hope to test on Thursday.

English - We continue to work on adjectives and will also work on adverbs - quiz over adjectives next week
We will write our final Pen Pal Letter next week

Social Studies- We continue to work on our Revolutionary War figure research to create an interview. Students will act these out next week.
We will learn about the branches of government next week.

Vocab - Our review unit is next week (no test, just workbook pages) and this is their last grade in vocab.

Religion- Types of prayer

Walk-a-thon!

2010-05-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Walk-a-thon is approaching! Please collect as much money as possible - even if it's just change - it all adds up! Money collected goes toward new P.E. equipment.
Our goal is 100% participation in 5th grade.
There are great prizes for those who bring in the most money (over $100)...
1st New bike
2nd Wii
3rd 2 Cubs Tickets
4th Indiana Pacers Package
5th IU football tickets
6th 2 Indpls. Indians Front Row tickets
7th Indiana Fever tickets
8th Ball State Package (including tickets)
9th SJA volleyball or basketball camp
10th Cathedral Bowling Camp

Those collecting $75 or more will be included in a raffle for Cathedral and BCHS sports camps and other prizes!

MONEY IS DUE NEXT FRIDAY, MAY 21st!

Special Visitors and Field Trip to Children's Museum

2010-04-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

Governor Mitch Daniels and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood

Children's Museum - Learning about Egyptian customs

News

2010-04-23T12:36:00.001-07:00

Check back next week to see pictures from our field trip and from our visit today (with Governor Daniels and Secretary of Transportation, Roy LaHood)

Multiple choice portion of ISTEP begins Tuesday, April 27th!
Schedule: Tuesday (Math) 10:45-11:20 and 11:30-12:00
Wednesday (Language Arts) 8:30-9:15 and 9:25-10:10
Thursday (Social Studies) 10:50-11:25 and 11:30-12:00

Please, go to bed by 9:00!
Eat a healthy breakfast!
Be confident!
You’re going to do well!

Math:
●• We will be writing and illustrating a creative story that teaches a concept they have learned in Math this year.

Reading:
●• We have read 6 chapters in our novel, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor. We will quiz over 4-6 on Monday or Tuesday.

Religion:
●• We discussed the meaning of the lines in the Prayer of St. Francis. We will watch a movie on St. Francis next week.
●• April Prayer:
Prayer of St. Francis

Vocab/Spelling:
●• No vocab this week (ISTEP)

English:
●• We continue with demonstrative pronouns
●• We will be writing letters back to our pen pals in Kenya.
The kids are loving this experience, and the letters from our Kenya friends are so neat to read!

Social Studies:
●• We are finishing the Revolution and
●• Next week, we will begin a cooperative learning activity. Students will work in pairs to research an individual from the Revolutionary War (Patriot or Loyalist) and will create and present an interview as that person.
●• States and Capitals Test next FRIDAY – only a few more students need to pass – you can do it!! Study hard!

Science:
●• Students tested over rocks, minerals, and the Earth’s layers yesterday.
Moving on to Chemistry – beginning with states of matter.

*Today we had Governor Mitch Daniels and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Roy LaHood, speak to us. What an honor! Pictures are on our class blog.

*Walk-a-thon collection containers will go home on the 30th!

*Progress reports go home on Wednesday
Mrs. Yohe
kyohe@sjoa.org

Math Pentathlon Tournament

2010-04-19T18:55:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to the following students who participated in the Math Pentathlon tournament at Ben Davis last weekend:
Lucian Anderson, Dori Briscoe, Nathan Conley, Rosy Gray, and Blake Jackson

Field Trip!

2010-04-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

We're going to the Children's Museum
Wednesday April 21st
Please remember to pack a SACK LUNCH!

Exhibit- Take Me There: Egypt

Here's the website with a virtual tour and games to play!
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/takemethere/

News

2010-04-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

Multiple choice portion of ISTEP begins April 27th – we will be reviewing the next two weeks!
Students must complete ISTEP practice packet over weekend

Math:
●• We will test over changing fractions to decimals and percents as well as ratios on WEDNESDAY! Study guide will be assigned Monday.
●• We’ll be reviewing EVERYTHING we’ve learned this year as well as learning units of measurement.

Reading:
●• We have read 3 chapters in our novel, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor

Religion:
●• We continue to celebrate Easter!
We’ll move on to the Beatitudes next week
●• April Prayer:
Prayer of St. Francis

Vocab/Spelling:
●• Unit 14 next week

English:
●• We have moved on to pronouns- subjective (nominative), objective and possessive. Quiz on Thursday next week.

Social Studies:
●• Students worked on groups to present parts of Chapter 10.
●• We will continue exploring the American Revolution and some of the more influential battles of the war.
Test over Chapter 10 on FRIDAY
●• States and Capitals Test next Thursday – only a few more students need to pass – you can do it!! Study hard!

Science:
●• Continuing to learn about rocks and minerals

Note: Health class has started and will take the place of P.E. every other Friday!

5th Grade News

2010-04-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Have a blessed Easter –
see you Monday!

Math:
●• We tested over multiplication and division of fractions today!
●• Next, we will learn how to convert fractions to decimals and percents. Then we’ll move on to units of measurement.

Reading:
●• We have begun reading our 4th novel, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
●• I intend to have projects returned to students next week.

Religion:
●• We will learn about the Beatitudes next week.
●• April Prayer: Prayer of St. Francis (attached)

Vocab/Spelling:
●• Unit 13 next week

English:
●• We are learning about simple and compound sentences. We’ll quiz over this next week.
●• Next we will learn about different types of pronouns

Social Studies:
●• We learned about the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party as well as the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts.
●• We will continue exploring the American Revolution and some of the more influential battles of the war. There will be a quiz over Ch. 9 and Ch. 10 Lesson 1-2 on Thursday.

Science:
●• Continuing to learn about rocks and minerals

Reminder: THERE IS SCHOOL ON MONDAY, April 5th!

Please email me with any questions or concerns!
Mrs. Yohe kyohe@sjoa.org

Reminders for this week 3/29-4/2

2010-03-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing, fun, and safe spring break!
Back to work...
*Tuck projects due Wednesday
*3rd Quarter Report Cards go home on Wednesday
*Apostles' Creed Test Thursday
*Stations of the Cross 9:00 on Friday - all are encouraged to join us!
*1:00 dismissal Friday- No NYO

**LIS Scholarship Applications DUE FRIDAY April 9th**

5th grade Science with Ms. Klee

2010-03-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

In 5th grade, we are learning about the Earth's layers, minerals, and this week we will begin talking about rocks! Who knew the Earth could be so exciting? Before spring break, we did a lab where the students had to use their notes and what we had been discussing to try to identify different minerals. We used the following: hardness, streak (using a porcelain plate), color, cleavage, fracture, and geometric shape to help us identify calcite from talc, pyrite from hematite! We will be going over the results of that lab this week.
We will do a similar lab with rocks, which are much easier to find on a daily basis.
Encourage your scientist to find some rocks in your community to identify!

Here's Ms. Klee's web address: http://sja-eclass-sci.blogspot.com/

Tuck Project

2010-03-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

Tuck Everlasting Project

PROJECT IS DUE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31st

Project is worth 25 points
Graded on: spelling, punctuation, grammar,
clarity (does it make sense?),
how thoroughly you answered the prompt

Creative Writing Options

1. Jesse’s Loss
At the end of the novel, Angus Tuck expresses his approval of Winnie’s decision not to drink the spring water. Do you think Jesse would completely agree with his father’s opinion? Think about how Jesse’s perspective might be different from the rest of his family’s. Do you think he stays in contact with Winnie after the jailbreak? What might he feel when the time for Winnie to drink the water has come and passed?

Write or type either a poem OR a journal entry (3-4 pragraphs) from Jesse’s point of view that examines the Tuck family’s encounter with Winnie and her eventual decision to embrace mortality.

2. Article
Pretend you are a journalist and you have just been informed of this news breaking story. Write or type an article about the jailbreak. Who was involved? Why and how did it happen? Who are your sources? What questions have been left unanswered?
Article must be 3-5 paragraphs long

Young Actor Option

1. Talk Show Host
Pretend you are a talk show host and invite a character from the novel to be a guest on your show. Ask challenging questions of your guest.

An introduction to this episode of your show, your questions and your responses (at least 5 questions with responses) must be written or typed out for submission.
You may choose someone to help you act out your project!

5th Grade News

2010-03-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

Spring Break starts next Friday!

3rd Quarter ends next Friday!
READ, READ, READ this weekend to make your AR goal!

Math:
●• We are comparing and ordering fractions (by using a common denominator or changing to a decimal) and learning to multiply fractions.
●• Math Pentathalon: Fab-A-Diffy (A fraction game)

Reading:
●• We have finished Tuck Everlasting – we will have a project assigned next week.
We'll also watch the movie!
●• In Technology, students are creating PowerPoint presentations with 3 pros and 3 cons for living forever and what they would choose to do if they were Winnie. They are learning about how to create hyperlinks as well.

Religion:
●• We will be watching Resurrection – a movie about the passion of Christ from a soldier’s perspective.
●• March Prayer: Apostle’s Creed
We continue with Stations of the Cross each Friday afternoon

Vocab/Spelling:
●• Next week is a review unit, no test.

English:
●• We learned about propaganda and are working on creating our commercials.
●• We took a quiz over simple/complete subjects and predicates.
We will review kinds and types of sentences next.Social Studies:
●• We are covering the French and Indian War and the events leading up to the Revolution!

Science:
●• Learning about rocks and minerals

Please email me with any questions or concerns!

2010-03-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

Good job on ISTEP!
The multiple choice portion will begin April 26th

**Remember! Meeting at 7:30 am on Tuesday, March 9th**
Regarding $1,000 LIS Alumni Scholarship for students entering 6th grade at SJA – based on merit, not need

Math:
●• We are learning how to add and subtract fractions (including mixed numbers) with like and unlike denominators-- including renaming with subtracting mixed numbers.
TEST on +/- FRACTIONS ON WEDNESDAY
●• Next… we will compare fractions by getting common denominators or converting to decimals
●• Math Pentathalon: Stars and Bars

Reading:
●• We have finished chapter 19 in Tuck Everlasting – we will finish the novel next week for sure!
●• In Technology, students are creating PowerPoint presentations with 3 pros and 3 cons for living forever and what they would choose to do if they were Winnie. They are learning about how to create hyperlinks as well.

Religion:
●• We will spend one more week discussing the Ten Commandments
●• March Prayer: Apostle’s Creed
Vocab/Spelling:
●• We will finally pick up with Unit 12, test next Friday.

English:
●• We have finally finished our persuasive writing pieces – look for these in you child’s Thursday folder! We are going to create and tape our own commercials (using persuasion) over the next 2 weeks!●• Simple and compound subjects and predicates
●• English EXTRA CREDIT due next Friday – see attached!Social Studies:
●• We will have a quiz over the Southern colonies on Tuesday. Study your notes!
●• States and Capitals quiz THURSDAY

Science:
●• Moving on to learning about the Earth!

Please email me with any questions or concerns!

5th Grade Scholarship Opportunity

2010-03-03T05:48:00.000-08:00

Don’t miss the 7:30 AM parent meeting on March 9th.
This meeting will allow you to learn about a new scholarship opportunity for students entering the 6th grade at St. Joan of Arc.
This L.I.S. Alumni Scholarship is worth $1,000 and is based on merit, not need.

ISTEP STARTS TOMORROW

2010-03-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

The application (written) portion of ISTEP begins tomorrow.
The multiple choice portion is in late April.

Our ISTEP schedule is as follows:
Tuesday: Math 8:30-9:05
English 9:15-10:15
Wednesday: English 8:30-9:30
Thursday: Social Studies: 10:50-11:20

Please make sure your child:
1. Goes to bed by 9:00
2. Eats a healthy breakfast
3. Comes to school on time

Thanks! We're going to do great on ISTEP!

5th grade News

2010-02-19T07:05:00.000-08:00

Progress Reports will go home on Wednesday!

Math:
●• We learned how to find equivalent fractions, how to show fractions on a number line, and how to change improper fractions into mixed numbers a vice versus, and finding greatest common denominators.
●• We’ll quiz on these Tuesday and learn to reduce fractions into simplest form and add and subtract fractions.
●• Math Pentathalon: Stars and Bars

Reading:
●• We have finished chapter 13 in Tuck Everlasting

Religion:
●• We learned about Lent this week – a time of penance, sacrifice, and almsgiving.
●• Memorize the Ten Commandments for February-
Will have option of oral or written assessment end of the first week of March.
*Stations of the Cross each Friday during Lent at 2:50 in the gym

Vocab/Spelling:
●• Unit 12 postponed until further notice due to ISTEP prep

English:
●• Writing- We are working on responding to ISTEP prompts using a topic sentence, indentation, 5 “big” words, 5 paragraphs, transitions.
●• We continue with our persuasive pieces and hope to finish them during ISTEP week.
Topics include

Social Studies:
●• We will move on to the American Colonies – we’re learning about the Middle colonies then on to the Southern colonies.
●• We will have a quiz next week.

Science:
●• Solar System Unit – worksheets due Tuesday – test next Thursday!

Oz Performance

2010-02-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to all students that participated in Oz!
What an incredible performance! We have so many talented students here at SJA!
CA special thanks to Mrs. Schneider and Mrs. Hatfield for directing this musical- words cannot express how much admiration we have for the time and effort you put into organizing this performance. So many other parents, teachers, and staff were also integral in making this such a success - thank you!

The following 5th graders participated:
Lucian Anderson- Oz
Patrick Johnson- Tinman
Maggie Zahn- Glenda the Good Witch
Jabie Gates- Flying Monkey
Nigel Powe- Fighting Tree
Dori Briscoe- Dancing Poppy
Rosy Gray- Dancing Poppy
Leah Favors- Dancing Poppy

2010-02-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

GO COLTS! WIN THE SUPERBOWL!

Catholic Schools Week is always a bit crazy but of course tons of fun for the kids… we have to be flexible with the schedule and don’t get to cover much content. We will get back on track this week!
Reminder: NO SCHOOL MONDAY!

Math:
●• We made polyhedra out of toothpicks and gum drops. We learned about faces, vertices, and edges. We will continue with surface area next week.
●• Our next focus will be FRACTIONS!

Reading:
●• We have finished chapter 7 in Tuck Everlasting

Religion:
●•.We continue with the seven sacraments.
●• Memorize the Ten Commandments for February- will distribute next week.
Vocab/Spelling:
●• Unit 12 continued – Test next Friday

English:
●• Writing- We wrote Thank You notes to our parents this week. Please make sure your child delivered a note to you!We will continue with our persuasive writing pieces next week. ●• Grammar- verb tenses: present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect

Social Studies:
●• We will move on to the American Colonies – beginning with New England colonies
●• STATES & CAPITALS TEST THURSDAY

Science:
●• Solar System Unit

Note: 4 weeks until ISTEP…
Assigned: 6 Math problems DUE ON TUESDAY

Congrats to Allison Keenan and Kiehler Joyce. Allison represented our 5th grade in the North Deanery Spelling Bee at Chatard last night. She spelled 6 of 7 words correctly! Kiehler was the alternate.
**GOOD LUCK to those putting on the Oz performance on Saturday and Sunday!** We are all looking forward to seeing it! “Break a leg!”

2010-01-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

**Please return your Catholic Schools Week lunch order form and wristband money!!**
We are also raising money for Tatum’s Bags – bags are delivered to children in Riley’s Children Hospital and Peyton Manning’s St. Vincent Hospital*Winning classroom gets to build a sundae on Mrs. Sharpe’s head!

Math:
●• We quizzed over perimeter and area.
●• Next week we will cover circumference and surface area.

Reading:
●• We have read 5 chapters in Tuck Everlasting – ask your child to tell you about the novel so far!

Religion:
●• We continue learning about the 7 sacraments.
Vocab/Spelling:
●• Unit 12

English:
●• Writing- We continue our persuasive writing. We also received letters from our pen pals in Kenya! We wrote a letter back to them this week.
●• Grammar- present and past participle; irregular verbsSocial Studies:
●• Will finish Lesson 4 Monday. Study guide for Ch. 5 will be passed out on Monday.

Science:
●• Solar System Unit

Note: 5 weeks until ISTEP…
Assigned: 3 Math problems and Reading comprehension questions DUE ON MONDAY

Dress up days next week:
Monday: Pajama Day
Tuesday: Mix & Match Day
Wednesday: Spirit Wear Day
*Mass at St. Lawrence & Carnival at schoolThursday: Uniform
Friday: Colts blue & Oz performance for students!

2010-01-22T11:41:00.000-08:00

**Remember to bring your GUITAR every TUESDAY for Music class!**

Math:
●• We tested over lines, angles, triangles, radius, and diameter
●• We have moved on to perimeter of polygons and area of rectangles, squares, triangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids.

Reading: ●• Hatchet projects were due today- students presented them to the class. ●• Next week we begin reading Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

Religion:
●• We are learning about the sacraments.
Vocab/Spelling:
●• Unit 11 Test is Friday

English:
●• Writing- We have started our prompts for persuasive letters/essays. Ask your student what he/she is going to write about!
●• Grammar- irregular verbs
Social Studies:
●• We are learning about the Founding of the European Colonies. We have learned about the Spanish and English colonies and next week we will cover the New England settlements and French and Dutch settlements.

Science:
●• Solar System Unit

Note: 5 weeks until ISTEP…
See attached practice… 3 Math problems and Reading comprehension questions DUE ON MONDAY

**Be looking for a permission slip to be coming home this week! We will be going to a mass for 5th graders in the North Denary at St. Lawrence during Catholic Schools week (1st week of February).**

GO COLTS!!!

5th grade in Action

2010-01-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I had the privilege of seeing many of our 5th grade students in action outside of the classroom!

Maggie Zahn performed in the play Cinderella as a part of the Young Actors Theatre at the Central Library downtown. She played the part of Gladiollis, an evil step-sister. The play was a more modern version of "Cinderella" and was quite funny! Maggie has such a gift for acting!
Thanks to her classmates, Lucian, Allison, and Alex, who also came to see her perform!

Lucian Anderson, Gabe Coleman, Nathan Conley, Jabie Gates, Blake Jackson, Patrick Johnson, and Devante Lovett played in a basketball game against Our Lady of Grace on Sunday at SJA. The Monarchs won 22-4. Nice job boys!

Alex Pachciarz also played in a basketball game at SJA on Sunday. He and the 6th graders took on St. Gabriel. They won their game as well.

Kiehler Joyce and Rosy Gray cheered on the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade boys' teams as a part of the SJA cheerleading squad. Their squad was loud and proud!

Class newsletter

2010-01-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010!
The end of the 2nd quarter is next Friday, January 15th.
Report cards will go home the following Wednesday.

Math:
●• We covered lines and angles this week. We also learned how to measure angles with protractors!
●• Next week, we will cover segments and lines in circles, polygons, and classifying triangles!
●• Math Pentathlon- Please return the form for April’s competition if you would like your child to attend.

Reading:
●• We are on the last chapter of Hatchet. We will finish the novel next week.

Religion:
●• We learned about the Feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6th

Vocab/Spelling:
●• There was no vocab this week and there will not be any next week. We will pick up with Unit 11 starting 3rd quarter.

English:
●• Writing- Be looking for students’ descriptive paragraph in next week’s Thursday folder. We will begin persuasive writing next week. This will take up much of the 3rd quarter.
●• Grammar- Appositives

Social Studies:
●• Study guides for Ch. 4 were distributed today! Feel free to work on them over the weekend.
●• TEST over Ch. 4 is THURSDAY
●• The next States and Capitals Test will take place on January 21st!

Science:
●• Sound Unit

Only 5 more days to reach AR goal!

Note: ISTEP is quickly approaching… the first portion, the application part, begins March 1st! This is the more difficult portion because it is open response (no choices). Thus, I will be sending home Reading comprehension practice and Math review problems, multiple step word problems, each weekend just to keep items fresh and get extra practice. Math story problems can be frustrating because they take TIME AND THOUGHT – two things 5th graders dread.
So guidance is appreciated but please make them work through it! They can do it! We’ll be practicing our writing process in class for the writing prompt section of the test.

As always, please email me with any questions or concerns... kyohe@sjoa.org

2009-12-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Mary Campbell and Mari Briscoe
for coming with us to the IRT to see A Christmas Carol on Monday!

Math:
●• We have covered frequency tables, stem and leaf plots, line, bar, and circle graphs and will cover mean, median and mode next week.
●• Test over these concepts THURSDAY

Reading:
●• We are on to Ch. 9 in Hatchet
●• Will quiz or have assignment over Ch. 7-11 next week

Religion:
●• Discussing Advent Season
Preparing our hearts for the birth of Jesus Christ!
●• Prayer for December is the Guardian Angel Prayer

Vocab/Spelling:
●• Unit 10 – last vocab test of 2009

English:
●• Writing- We have moved on to descriptive writing. Students will write a descriptive essay on someone he/she admires.
●• Grammar- Identifying predicate nouns; Linking verbs

Social Studies:
●• Explorers Come to the Americas
We are learning about explorers from Portugal, Spain, France, and England.
We’ll make an explorer book next week!
●• I have encouraged students to read over their notes each week (even each night)! This will help them come test time – they will already have much retained and will not have to cram!

Science:
●• Had a blast with the cow eye dissection! If your student has not already told you about it, please ask them!
Moving on to LIGHT

Keep reading your AR books!

Eiteljorg Visit

2009-11-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

We have been studying the Native American tribes in the United States.
The 5th graders worked in partners to create a specific house made by certain Native American tribes.
We then took a trip to the Eiteljorg Museum to learn even more about the culture, resources, and attire of Native Americans living in each region.

Thank you to Mrs. Johnson for helping us with our project in the classroom and to Mrs. Keenan for going to the Eiteljorg with us!

Family Math Night at SJA

2009-11-02T18:30:00.000-08:00

MaTh Is FuN!
Please join us on Wednesday, November 11th for Family Math Night.
This event is put on by Marian College and FSF.
Dinner is at 5:30, followed by Math activities from 6:30-7:30.

This is a great opportunity to be involved in Math with your child (outside of homework).
Additionally, any students from the 5th grade that attend will receive 3 extra credit points in Math.
RSVP forms will be sent home this week... please return them by November 6th!
Thank you!

2009-10-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

**STUDENT CONFERENCES**
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Students are to be present as well!
1:00 dismissal Tuesday and Wednesday

Math:
●• Ch. 3 Test scheduled for Wednesday, 28th. Study guide was distributed today!
●• We began Math Pentathlon today. We will play these games every Friday. Contig 60 is our focus for 4 weeks now.

Reading:
●• We finished Bud, Not Buddy today!
A culminating project will be assigned Monday, and we will test over the novel when we return from fall break.

Religion:
●• Remember to be practicing the Hail Mary. This week we prayed the rosary as a school and took a short quiz over the rosary.

Vocab/Spelling:
●• None next week due to short week.

English:
●• Writing- We will begin our expository pieces on Monday. Students will write an informational piece and then present/demonstrate the “how to” guide to the class.
●• Grammar- Identifying direct and indirect objects

Social Studies:
●• We are learning about the Native Americans in all areas of the United States.
We began building our Native American shelter models. We will finish on Monday!

Science:
●• Moving on to Ch. 5: Interactions of Living Things

Miscellaneous…
●• Day of the Dead activities at Indiana State Museum Friday Oct. 30th – if you are interested please call or email Janet Panoch (Leo’s mom)
Only $1 for children and $5 for adult if you sign up with her group!

SCRABBLE CLUB! If your child is interested, please contact Janet Panoch (Leo’s mom) at panoch@msn.com or 748-8462
-Practices will be once a week and students will take part in a competition in the Spring!

●• $ 1 HAT DAY Wednesday Oct. 28th
Money donated to Humane Society

Day of the Dead at the Indiana State Museum

2009-10-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

Cost is $1/child and $5/adults, and they'll get to do all the Day of the Dead activities (tin art, tissue paper flowers, sugar skull decoration, tie dye flags, altars, etc) plus get admission to the museum for free.

Parents need to call or email Janet Panoch (Leo's mother) 748.8462 or panoch@msn.com to get added to the group list.
Our group is scheduled for noon but she reserved the lunch room for 11:30 if anyone wants to eat first.

Día de los Muertos / Day of the Dead Celebration
Friday, Oct. 30; 9:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis
The Days of the Dead (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1) are a traditional Mexican holiday with ancient ties to the Aztecs. Students will learn about this colorful celebration of the roll of death in life though demonstrations and hands-on activities.
Meets select Indiana Academic Standards in Social Studies and Visual Arts

Money Bus Photos

2009-10-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

Weekly Newsletter

2009-10-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

Money Bus pictures will be added this weekend!

5th Grade Times
October 16, 2009

THANK YOU MONEY BUS VOLUNTEERS!
Be sure to ask your child about their Money Bus experience. They received booklets with activities to work on at home.
Great life skills for financial literacy!

Math:
●• More work with long division, factors and divisibility rules, prime and composite numbers, and interpreting remainders
●• Ch. 3 Test scheduled for Wednesday, 28th. Study guide will be distributed next Friday.

Reading:
●• We will finish the novel next week! Then we will have a test over the novel and a culminating project.

ONLY 7 MORE DAYS TO REACH YOUR AR GOAL!

Religion:
●• Remember to be practicing the Hail Mary. This week we learned about the Rosary.
Next week we will discuss the scripture story- Calming of the Sea.

Vocab/Spelling:
●• Unit 7

English:
●• Writing- We will begin our expository pieces on Monday. Students will write an informational piece and then present/demonstrate the “how to” guide to the class.
●• Grammar- Next week we will move on to identifying subjects and direct objects

Social Studies:
●• We are learning about the Native Americans in all areas of the United States.
Next week, students will work in partners and be assigned an Indian tribe. They will build a model of the shelter the people lived in and type up a description about the people’s way of life.
●• States and Capitals Quiz next Thursday!

Science:
●• Interactions of Living Things

Miscellaneous…
●• SCRABBLE CLUB! If your child is interested, please contact Ms. Panoch at panoch@msn.com or 748-8462
- Practices will be once a week and students will take part in a competition in the Spring!

Mrs. Yohe
I can be reached at: kyohe@sjoa.org

56 Football

2009-10-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

The SJA 5th and 6th grade boys play on the St. Thomas football team.

I enjoyed watching their victory over St. Susanna on October 4th!
They had an exciting win this week against Holy Spirit in overtime! Way to go boys!

2009-10-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

Math:
●• Students were successful on their Chapter 2 Math Test Part II
●• We are moving on to understanding division, division patterns, and estimating quotients.

Reading:
●• We are on Chapter 15 in Bud, Not Buddy. Only 4 more chapters to go. Then we will have a test over the novel and a culminating project.

ONLY 2 MORE WEEKS TO REACH YOUR AR GOAL!

Religion:
●• The month of October is devoted to Mary. Students must memorize Hail Mary by end of the month. May either write it or say it aloud to me. They have a copy to study from.

Vocab/Spelling:
●• Unit 6

English:
●• Writing- We are finishing our short scary story for Halloween. Then we will move on to writing expository (informational) pieces. We also wrote letters to our pen pals in Kenya (as a part of the UMOJA project).
●• Grammar- Quiz on singular/plural and singular/plural possessive nouns next Thursday.

Social Studies:
●• We are learning about the Native Americans in all areas of the United States.

Science:
●• Animal environments test on Thursday, October 15th due to Money Bus on Friday!

Miscellaneous…
●• SCRABBLE CLUB! If your child is interested, please contact Ms. Panoch at panoch@msn.com or 748-8462
- Practices will be once a week and students will take part in a competition in the Spring!

●• MONEY BUS is coming next Friday. Thank you to Mrs. Conley, Ms. Panoch, and Ms. Campbell for volunteering to help!
You are wonderful.

●• Volunteer needed!
Where: Eitelijorg Museum
When: Monday, November 2nd
What: Native American Presentation The presentation is from 10:00-11:00 so we will be gone from 9:15-11:30ish.

●• PICTURE RETAKES are Monday, October 26. Please have your student pick up the form from the office if they need it.

Mrs. Yohe

Heartland Film Festival Ticket Raffle

2009-10-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents,

We wanted to inform you about a wonderful opportunity for 25 lucky 4th through 8th grade students. Heartland Truly Moving Pictures, Duke Energy, and B-Side Entertainment have donated tickets for our students and their parents to attend movies showcased at the Heartland Film Festival.

Fourteen students will be awarded vouchers that may be redeemed for general film screenings during the Festival at AMC Greenwood and AMC Castleton.

October 16th -- AMC Castleton ONLY
October 17th - 24th -- AMC Castleton and AMC Greenwood Park Mall.

Eight students will be awarded Opening Night Event Screening Tickets for Thursday, October 15th at the Murat Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The screening is at 7:30 p.m. and they film showing is Hachi, A Dog's Tale.

Finally, three students will be awarded tickets to the Family Movie Event on Sunday, October 18th at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center. The doors open at 1:00 p.m. and the screening begins at 2:00 p.m. The film is The Perfect Game.

This Friday, October 9th, during morning prayer, we will draw names of students in grades 4 through 8 who have met their quarter AR goal or who are within 5 points of reaching their AR goal AND have a 90% or above average on AR tests. This is a wonderful opportunity presented to us by Michael O'Brien and Grace Crowell to reward our good readers here at St. Joan of Arc. We thank them, as well as the ticket sponsors, for their generosity.

Thank you!

Mrs. Jeatran and Mrs. Funk, Middle School Language Arts Teachers

Pictures from P.E. class

2009-10-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

News

2009-10-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

5th Grade Times
October 2, 2009

Check back next week to see pictures from Golf in P.E. class!

Math:
●• We continue with multiplication… moving on to multiplying by powers of 10, multiplying decimals, variable and expressions, and solving equations
●• We will have Ch. 2 Part 2 test next Thursday. Study guides will go home on Monday!

Reading:
●• We are on Chapter 12 in Bud, Not Buddy.
Quiz over Chapters 8-13 next week.
BE READING YOUR AR BOOK AT HOME!
(every night)

Religion:
●• Continuing with the Word of God… learning about the Old and the New Testament

Vocab/Spelling:
●• Unit 5

English:
●• Writing- We are finishing our final drafts! We are also do a short scary story for Halloween.
●• Grammar- we continue with traits of nouns – forming plurals and possessives

Social Studies:
●• States and Capitals Quiz next Thursday! (either Mountain States or Southwest Region)
●• We are moving on to learning about the Native Americans!

Science:
●• Animal environments

Miscellaneous:
●• I am still looking for 2 volunteers for help with Money Bus on October 16th from 8:20 -2:30. Please email me if you can help!
Thank you!

Have a great weekend!!
Mrs. Yohe

Questions?? Concerns??
Email me! kyohe@sjoa.org

LETS GO FEVER!

2009-09-24T11:58:00.001-07:00

Good Luck to the Indiana Fever in their playoff games!!

Yesterday we had a pep-rally to support the Fever in their quest to win the Eastern Conference Finals against the Shock.

Look on the main page of the Fever website to see the whole school picture with Freddy Fever- run mouse over the pictures to see the one of SJA
http://www.wnba.com/fever/news/playoffs_09_landing.html
More photos at the following link...
http://www.wnba.com//fever/photos_090924.html

5th Grade Times

2009-09-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

Progress Reports will come home next Wednesday, Sept. 23rd.

Money Bus: We discussed needs and wants, short term and long term goals, and savings accounts vs. checkings accounts.

Days until Money Bus visits SJA: 28
Math:
●• We continue with multiplication patterns, estimating to find the product, distributive property and multiplication of 3-4 digit numbers.
TEST over 1st half of Ch. 2 on the 23rd!
**Note: Chapter 2 is long – so I am dividing it into two short tests (rather than one long one with too many concepts).
Students were given their study guides today but they won’t be assigned until Monday.
●• We will continually take short
(5 question) “Past concept” quizzes to make sure we are retaining what we learn in previous chapters!!

Reading:
●• We are on Chapter 9 in Bud, Not Buddy. We
BE READING YOUR AR BOOK AT HOME!
(every night)
You should be halfway to your goal next week (because we will be halfway through the quarter!)

Religion:
●• We wrote Cinquain poems about Jesus Christ – they are hanging in the hallway but will come home in Thursday folders next week.
●• We are now learning about The Word of God in Chapter 2.

Vocab/Spelling:
●• We completed Unit 3 this week.

English:
●• Writing- Some of us are finishing our rough drafts, others are editing, and still others have begun typing the final draft. Looking forward to the final pieces!
●• Grammar- we continue with traits of nouns – proper, common, abstract, concrete, plural, singular, possessive, etc
We will continue to identify prepositional phrases as well.

Social Studies:
●• Be STUDYING for the 2nd states and capitals test over the Mountain States region- Thursday 24th!
●• We are learning about the first civilizations in the Americas. We will test over this chapter on Sept. 29th!

Science:
●• Test over Cells on the 22nd!

Miscellaneous:
●• Last opportunity to audition for the school musical (Oz) is Thursday Sept. 24th
●• Please turn in your Activity Fee Money ($50)

Have a great weekend!!
Mrs. Yohe

Questions?? Concerns??
Email me! kyohe@sjoa.org

2009-09-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

REMEMBER: No School...
Monday, Sept. 7th (Labor Day) or
Friday, Sept. 11th (French Market Set-up)

Math:
●• Great job on Ch. 1 test – tests will come home in next week’s Thursday Folder
●• We are moving on to multiplication patterns, estimating products, and multiplying whole numbers and decimals

Reading:
●• We continue to read Bud, Not Buddy. We continue to discuss the novel as we read and complete our comprehension questions in our Reading Journal. We also took a quiz over chapters 1-5 this week.
BE READING YOUR AR BOOK AT HOME!
(every night)

Religion:
We are discussing how God reveals himself to us.

Vocab/Spelling:
●• We completed Unit 2 this week. No vocab next week (Sept 8-10) due to the short week.

English:
●• Writing- We have begun planning our narrative and will begin our rough draft next week! We have some very creative writers!!
●• Grammar- we are moving on traits of nouns – proper, common, abstract, concrete, plural, singular, possessive, etc
We will continue to identify prepositional phrases as well.

Social Studies:
●• Be STUDYING for the first states and capitals test is over the West Region on Thursday, September 10th!
●• We took an open-note Test over landforms, natural resources, regions, and longitude and latitude. Look for it in next week’s Thursday Folder.

Miscellaneous:
●•Picture Day! Thursday, Sept. 10th

●• Keep selling those raffle tickets for the French Market! Money and tickets are due Thursday!

●• $$ Money Bus $$
Today we started our Money Bus lessons. Money Bus will be at SJA on Oct. 16th. I will be asking for a couple parent volunteers to help us that day.

First Full Week

2009-08-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

GREAT START TO THE NEW YEAR!
Last week each student took a pre-test in Math and in English. They also completed the STAR Reading and Math assessments on the computer this week. This will give me a good idea of each student’s starting ability level, and we will see how much he/she grows!!

Math:
●• This week and last we have reviewed writing numbers in standard form, expanded form, and word form, place value, understanding & comparing whole numbers and decimals, and rounding.
●• There will be a test next week (shooting for Thursday)– look for a review sheet on Monday!

Reading:
●• We have begun reading the novel Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Each student has a reading journal with questions for each chapter.
Be sure to ask your student what he/she thinks about the novel so far!
●• Students are given a total of 20-30 minutes to read their Accelerated Reading (AR) book during each day. Several students have already taken AR and vocab tests.
BE READING AT HOME, TOO!

Religion:
●• We are discussing how God reveals himself to us.

Vocab/Spelling:
●• We will have tests (over the spelling, definition, and part of speech) every full week of school – Flashcards will always be assigned every Monday night.

English:
●• Writing- We are focusing on the contents of a quality paragraph and writing our own topic sentences. A narrative will be our first large writing piece.
●• Grammar- Identifying prepositions and prepositional phrases and then we will move on to nouns.

Social Studies:
●• First states and capitals test is over the West Region on September 10th!
●• There will be an open-note quiz over the two pages of notes we took this week (landforms, natural resources, and regions) on Tuesday.

●• Keep selling those raffle tickets for the French Market!

Mrs. Yohe

Questions?? Concerns??
Email me! kyohe@sjoa.org

New School Year!

2009-08-14T20:30:00.001-07:00

I'm looking forward to the start of a new school year!
This will be my second year teaching at St. Joan or Arc. It is truly a special place blessed with a diverse student body and an energetic and hard working staff! There are many new, exciting changes and additions this year... Spanish class, 5 new teachers (Pre-K, 1st grade, Technology, Science, and Art), and a new lunch program- just to name a few.
We have 16 students in our class this year, and 3 new students we are so happy have! I am looking forward to seeing you at the ICE CREAM SOCIAL on Sunday, August 16th from 11:30-1:00.
School starts at 8:00 on Tuesday, August 18th - 1:00 Dismissal

Math Fair 2009 & Problem Solving in the Classroom

2009-05-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to students from BCHS, our students experienced several stations that connected Math concepts and Nutrition information. Students also participated in 10 different estimation questions.
Other pictures shown are from our problem solving day in the classroom! Ask your child about the "square" brain twister- it's a toughy!

Pictures!

2009-05-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Grant
Thanks to volunteers from Eli Lilly, parent volunteers, and students and staff our school campus is looking absolutely beautiful!
We planted trees, flowers, and bushes, landscaped, pulled weeds, planted a garden, layed brick, and more!
Thanks for everyone's hard work!

Math Pentathlon at Ben Davis

2009-04-18T14:50:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to our 2009 Math Pentathlon Participants!
On Saturday, 4 fifth graders

(Jalil Burrell-Fields, Rosemary Bickel, Sydney Graves and Jarrod Hutchings)

and 5 fourth graders participated in a math tournament at Ben Davis High

School. There were 453 fourth and fifth grade participants!

Our students represented SJA well and should be proud of their accomplishments this weekend.

Next year, we hope even more of our 4th and 5th graders will choose to compete!

2009-04-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

ISTEP Part II (multiple choice) begins a week from Monday!
We will be reviewing all week in all subjects.

Students will have homework this weekend and next to keep concepts fresh!

Math: We’ll be reviewing: place value, computation with whole numbers, decimals, and fractions, diameter, radius, lines & angles, classifying shapes, perimeter & area, decimals & percents, coordinates on a plane, simple algebra AND story problems of all kinds.

Religion: We continue to celebrate Christ’s rising from the dead! Congratulations to Jarrod Hutchings (and his brother Clark) who officially became members of the Catholic Church on Saturday evening celebrating their Baptism and First Communion.

Reading: We have finished Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. We will have a test over the novel next week. Students will also be given their choice of projects to complete next week. We’ll get to watch the movie during the week of ISTEP.

English: We continue to have DOL each morning, write in our journals a couple times each week, and use grammar (identifying parts of speech, subject verb agreement, etc.) to improve our writing. Our final writing piece will be a small research paper on a famous figure from the Revolutionary War.

Vocab: Students will be assigned a writing assignment in which they will write a story correctly using 10 of the vocab words from Units 1-5.

Social Studies: Review of longitude and latitude, supply and demand, interpreting timelines, early cultures & settlements in North America, 13 Colonies and founding of the United States, and the structures of government and how it functions.
Test over Ch. 10: The Road to Independence will be during the latter part of next week.

Science: Students have been learning about the measurement- volume, length, temperature, time.

Other Info:

WALK-A-THON FUNDRAISER
** Students are bringing home their Walk-a-thon containers to collect money in. This collection is going on until May 7th. There are prizes for the top 3 fundraisers – including a new bike for winner. **
Money raised goes toward the athletic program at SJA.

Rosemary Bickel, Jalil Burrell-Fields, Sydney Graves & Jarrod Hutchings will participate in the Math Pentathalon Tournament at Ben Davis this Saturday. Good luck and have fun!!!

As always, please email me with any questions or concerns!

2009-04-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

HAVE A BLESSED EASTER WEEKEND!
See you on Monday!

Math: The re-test over Fraction Computation was a success. We continue to work on changing fractions into decimals and percents. Students put together small surveys and calculated their results as decimals and percents. Ratios and proportions are next.

Religion: This week we finished our Stations of the Cross booklets, discussed Holy Thursday, and Good Friday. They watched a movie about the Passion and the whole school watched a reenactment of the Last Supper. Each class had their hands washed as a symbol of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and each were given bread and grape juice (instead of wine).

Reading: We are now on Chapter 10 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
At the close of the novel, students will have their choice of projects to complete.

English: We continue to have DOL each morning, write in our journals a couple times each week, and use grammar (identifying parts of speech, subject verb agreement, etc.) to improve our writing. We will finish the year with one more writing piece which we’ll probably wait until after ISTEP to begin.

Vocab: Our vocab book is complete. We will continue to have some review assignments each week just to practice finding and using more interesting word choices in our writing.

Social Studies: Continuing with the Revolution (Ch. 10).

Science: Experiment on durability of different brands of paper towel.

Other Info:

* We were honored as the best marching school in the St. Patrick’s Day parade! The kids were rewarded with an ice cream snack and our
school was presented a plaque!

* A BIG thank you to Mrs. Walton and WRTV 6 for having our class to their station for a behind the scenes tour and to view a live broadcast. What a neat experience!!

* ISTEP Part II (multiple choice) begins the week of April 27th – we will be reviewing and preparing during the next two weeks.

As always, please email me with any questions or concerns! kroesinger@sjoa.org

~Mrs. Yohe

Last Supper

2009-04-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, the 6th grade put on a reinactment of the Last Supper. The whole school was served bread and grape juice (as a substitute for wine) to participate in remembering Jesus' last meal with his disciples before being crucified for us.

St. Patrick's Day Fun

2009-04-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

2009-03-23T04:52:00.000-07:00

Today was the end of the 3rd quarter.
Report cards will go home next Wednesday.

Math: Our test over computation of fractions is on Monday. We took an extra day to review, and that is why it has been pushed back two days. We continue to have fun with Math Pentathlon on Fridays. We’ve played Stars and Bars the last 3 weeks, and this week the students had a choice of the game they wished to play. It’s fun to watch their problem solving skills in action!

Religion: This week we listened to Mrs. Burnside’s sister, Gail Henderson, speak to us about her life changing experience in being diagnosed with MS. She told the children how she thanks God for this disease because it makes her appreciate so much in life that before she took for granted.

Reading: We are now on Chapter 7 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

English: We continue to have DOL each morning and are learning how to tell the difference between adverbs and adjectives.

Vocab: Next week is Unit 15.

Social Studies: We have begun our quest to learn about the Revolutionary War. We began Chapter 10 and will continue it next week. Encourage your child to talk to you about what they are learning because it helps them to remember when they have conversations about it!
States and capitals – If you haven’t passed yet, please keep working at it each night.
YOU CAN DO IT!!

Science: Students are learning about bacteria – what it can be used for and what it can do (good or bad).

Other Info:

*Students were well-behaved and we had a good time at the St. Patrick’s Day parade on Tuesday. What beautiful weather!!

*Our lunch at Benihana is on Wednesday.
I am still waiting on a few permission slips.

*Mrs. Walton, Atlas’s mother, works at WRTV 6, and she has generously offered for our class to come have a behind-the-scenes tour and which a live newscast. We plan to take this field trip on Wednesday April 8th.

As always, please email me with any questions or concerns!
~Mrs. Yohe
kroesinger@sjoa.org

Pictures!

2009-03-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

AR (Accelerated Reading) time

Math Pentathlon Game - Queens and Guards

Mix and Match Day during Catholic Schools Week

2009-03-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

The first portion of ISTEP (application) is this week.
Our schedule is as follows:
Tuesday: Math Session 1 & 2 8:30-9:45
Wednesday: Eng/LA Session 1 8:30-9:30
Thursday: Eng/LA Session 2 & 3 9:45-12
Friday: S.S. Session 1 & 2 8:20-9:45

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD:
1. Gets a good night rest
2. Brings a nutritious morning snack
3. Eats a healthy and filling breakfast

Math: We tested over surface area, changing improper fractions and mixed numbers, reducing fractions, and adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.

Religion: We talked about what the season of Lent is and listened to a seminarian speak about the Lenten season on Wednesday.

Reading: We are now on Chapter 3 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. We’re having great discussion in class. Journal questions will be dues for Chapters 1-3 next week.

English: We are concentrating on answering questions in ALL subjects with complete sentences. We have also been working on responding to writing prompts with: 5 paragraphs, using indentation, using transitions, incorporating 5 big words (ex: big – enormous), and using a topic sentence.

Vocab: No Vocab next week due to ISTEP.

Social Studies:
We’ll move on to the Revolutionary War- what led up to it and what happened during and after it- starting next week! The kids have been looking forward to this! This will continue for about 3 weeks.
States and capitals – We will continue to test each THURSDAY (not to interfere with Vocab tests on Fridays) from now until the end of the school year, so that students keep it fresh in their memory. We’ve had 10 students that have mastered these with a 95% or above.
Keep working at it, you can do it!!

Other Info: ** BRING GUITARS EVERY TUESDAY!**

Turn in St. Patrick’s Day Parade Permission Slips

2009-02-20T12:23:00.000-08:00

The first portion of ISTEP (application) is 1 week away. We’re concentrating on EXPLAINING our answers in writing in everything we do.

Math: We have moved on to fractions: understanding, comparing, reducing to lowest terms, and changing from a mixed number to an improper fraction. The next two weeks we’ll concentrate on multi-step word problems and explaining how we’ve found our answers.

Religion: Next week begins our Lenten Season. We will listen to a seminarian speak about what Lent means to us on Tuesday. We will attend mass for Ash Wednesday, and Stations of the Cross will begin on Friday.

Reading: We’ve begun Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. I’ve also put together another journal with vocab and chapter questions to guide us in our reading.

English: We are concentrating on answering questions in ALL subjects with complete sentences. We have also been working on responding to writing prompts with: 5 paragraphs, using indentation, using transitions, incorporating 5 big words (ex: big – enormous), and using a topic sentence.

Vocab: No Vocab this week or next due to ISTEP.

Keep reading your AR books – next week is halfway through the quarter! We want EVERYONE IN THE CLASS TO MAKE THEIR 3rd QUARTER GOAL!

Social Studies:
In an effort to prepare for ISTEP, we will be working on reading different types of maps, using longitude and latitude, and discussing supply and demand.

States and capitals – We will continue to test each THURSDAY (not to interfere with Vocab tests on Fridays) from now until the end of the school year, so that students keep it fresh in their memory. We’ve already had 7 students that have mastered these with a 95% or above. Keep working at it, you can do it!!

Other Info: ** BRING GUITARS EVERY TUESDAY!**

Progress Reports will go home on Wednesday!

February 6th

2009-02-09T08:20:00.001-08:00

Math: We have moved on to area and perimeter. We have learned how to find the area of a parallelogram, triangle, and trapezoid. We’ll also learn surface area and volume of rectangular prisms.

Religion: On Monday we listened to Fr. Guy speak about sacraments and the covenant. We are learning about the Ten Commandments. Next week Ms. MaryAnn Schaefer (middle school religion teacher) will have a question and answer session with us!

Reading: We are still waiting on our books to arrive… I am hopeful that it will be BY Monday!
We will be reading 3 different nonfiction novels about dogs in reading groups. I will continue to send home reading comprehension packets each weekend until ISTEP.

English: Students presented their Famous Women slide shows. Next we will be working on answering writing prompts in an effort to be prepared for ISTEP. We continue with identifying subjects, verbs, adjectives/adverbs and will work with direct objects over the next few weeks.
Vocab: We will begin Unit 12 next week.

Social Studies:
We are finishing our last chapter about the colonies- Chapter 8: The Southern Colonies. This means in a week or two we will begin leaning about the Revolution, which I know many students are excited about!

States and capitals – next Thursday (February 12th) students will be tested on the 50 states and capitals and spelling counts! All students will continue to take the test each week until they demonstrate mastery (95% or higher). Once a student has mastered the material, he/she will have quiet free time while others continue to work toward mastery.

Here are some websites to help students prepare!

http://www.saintsimon.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.teacherweb.com/CA/ValenciaValleyElementarySchool/MsMazzaro/Response1.stm

http://www.newton.k12.ks.us/sch/w/start/typing/New_Folder2/new_page_2.htm

http://www.saintsimon.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://drill.edu4kids.com/index.php?TB=20%26page=14 – (timed quiz)

http://www.saintsimon.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm - (auditory - voice names states/ capitals)

Other Info: ** BRING GUITARS EVERY TUESDAY!**

The Underground Railroad presentation is TUESDAY FEB. 10th @ 6:00 p.m. in the gym.
Students will receive extra credit in Social Studies if they attend.

As always, please email me with any questions or concerns!

Ringing in the New Year! Lots going on already!

2009-01-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it’s already January?? I hope everyone had a fun-filled but restful break! As I told the 5th graders, the first half of 5th grade ISTEP is just 8 weeks away. We have a lot to cover in these 8 weeks, so we may be moving a bit quicker than we did the first half of the year. I will also be assigning homework on the weekends more regularly.
The 2nd quarter ends Friday, January 16th.

This past week...
Math: We reviewed some long division with double digit divisors and finished working with mean, median, and mode. We have moved on to geometry and working with points, lines, line segments, rays, and angles.

Religion: We discussed the Feast of the Epiphany. We also read about the Holy Spirit and how it is at work in the Church and in our lives. Both readings were followed by assignments in which they could use their book or hand out to answer the questions.

Reading: We finished Bud, Not Buddy today. The class agreed that it was a great read! Students have been given a “Tic-tac-toe” assignment in which they will need to pick three small assignments/projects that will be due on Wednesday of next week. Have fun with these!!!

English: This week we covered irregular verbs. In recognition of Famous Women Month, we are researching about a woman and writing 3-4 paragraphs about the individual.

Vocab: We will begin Unit 9 next week.

Social Studies: TEST over Chapter 6: New England Colonies on Tuesday. Questions on the test come straight from the notes and the review which was assigned this week.
States and capitals – the next quiz is Thursday, January 15th

I am in need of volunteers again!
SERVICE PROJECT: We need 4 drivers to take our class to Dayspring Shelter on Tuesday, January 27th from 9:00-11:00.

CARNIVAL: I also need a volunteer to help me run a game at the school carnival on Friday, January 30th from 12:30-2:30. Each teacher will have a game set up, but it would help to have a parent with me to pass out prizes and such.
Please email me if you can help us out! Thanks so much.

Art Center

2008-12-05T12:51:00.001-08:00

On Friday, December 5th we had the opportunity to visit the Art Center. Students had a chance to see a raku firing, a glass blowing demonstration, and hundreds of pieces of artwork in the galleries. We also had a chance to create their own impressionism pieces. We learned a great deal and had a wonderful time! Thank you, Mrs. Abell and Miss McCarty, for arranging this for us!

Mr. Lauren Hill demonstrated how to make a pot on a potter's wheel and in the picture we are observing the raku firing and the finished piece! It turned out beautifully.

Here we are listening to Ms. Sophia tell us about impressionism and the artists who have created many famous impressionism pieces. We even got to paint our own impressionism pieces!

The fifth graders were fascinated by the glass blowing demonstration. Yuri made a cute snowman!

2008-12-05T12:38:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it’s December already??

A big THANKS goes out to Mr. Barney, Mrs. Holder, and Ms. Batt for driving on our field trip today! We very much appreciate you giving up your time to spend it with us. The kids enjoyed the Art Center a great deal!

Also, THANKS to those of you that volunteered to send in refreshments for Special Person Day! We were glad so many people were able to join us!

ISTEP scores are in and I am happy to report that ALL of our 5th graders passed in both Math and Reading! Way to go boys and girls!!!

We have a Christmas tree in the classroom and students are welcome to bring in an ornament from home to help decorate it. Of course, they will get the ornament back when they leave for Christmas break. We’ll also be making ornaments out of geometric shapes.

Math: We covered prime and composite numbers and order of operations this week. We will cover graphing ordered pairs next week. They will have a small quiz over these concepts next Thursday.

Religion: This week we talked about the first week of Advent and made Advent wreaths. We also made Christmas cards to send to the soldiers in Afghanistan.

Reading: We are up to Chapter 9 in Bud, Not Buddy . I think the students are really enjoying this novel. Ask your child to tell you about it!

Vocab: Vocab Unit 8 next week.

English: We’ve begun covering verbs- action, linking, and helping verbs. We’ll continue with verb tenses next week.

Social Studies: We have moved on to Chapter 5: The Founding of European Colonies.
States and capitals – quiz over second group of 10 states is Thursday, December 11th.

2008-11-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

Field Trips this month!
November 13th we will be going to the Central Library. We will depart at 9:00 and be back by noon.
November 21st we will be going to the Indianapolis Art Center for an Art field trip. We are still in need of 2 drivers. Please let me know if you are available to help out! Thank you.

Math: We finished up with multiplication this week. Your student’s test was in their Thursday folder. Due to many students being up late on election night, they did not have their best performance. So I gave a shorter re-test on Wednesday and averaged the two grades together. We have now moved on to Chapter 3: Division!
Religion: We will begin discussing the sacraments next week and creating a book about them.
Vocab: We will move on to Unit 5 next week.
Reading: We will complete Tuck Everlasting early next week. Students have begun to create a Powerpoint with 5 statements persuading someone as to whether or not they should drink the water from the spring that would make them live forever. Our next novel will be Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis.
English: Students are typing their narratives about a time when he/she felt successful. We continue to conference (one-on-one) to work on sentence structure, spelling, grammar, and ways to make our story more effective, interesting (details, dialogue, etc.). Today we worked on identifying common and proper nouns.
Social Studies: We have started on a new chapter- Explorers come to America.
States and capitals – quiz over first 10 states is next Thursday, Nov. 13th. Students have a list of the states and capitals they are responsible for on each quiz. I also included a website with states and capitals review/games.
Assignment Notebook: Now that it is the 2nd quarter, I am no longer requiring the 5th grade to get their assignment notebook signed by their parent. They need to begin to take responsibility for their homework each night. However, if incomplete or late work becomes a habit, I will require that students to begin getting it signed each night.

Congratulations to the boys in our class that were on the 56 Football team. They were City runner-up this year! They were defeated 14-7 by St. Pius in the championship game. Their final record was 8-2. GREAT season guys!

Congratulations to those students who received 1st quarter awards on Thursday.Christian Attitude: Jalil Burrell-Fields
High Honor Roll (grade average of 3.5 or higher): Sophia Barney, Jalil Burrell-Fields
Honor Roll (grade average of 3.0-3.4): Rosemary Bickel, Maya Crossland, Sydney Graves, Aleise Holder, Jarrod Hutchings, Chad Meek, Bryan Rutland, J’Lyn Smith, and KeiShawn Terrell

Great first quarter!! Keep working hard!

2008-10-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

CONFERENCES- Please remember that both you and your student are asked to be present for our meeting on either Tuesday or Thursday (whichever you signed up for).

This will ensure that we are all on the same page.

$$ The Money Bus was big hit! $$
Thank you to Cathy Bickel and Neil Smith for helping on Wednesday. I know it was a long day, but we really appreciate your willingness to volunteer your time! The kids had a great experience and learned a great deal about credit cards, debit cards, deposits, checks, checking accounts, savings account, budgeting, and balancing their check book. The local news and the Indianapolis Star were here to document our experience!

Math: We are multiplying machines! Next week includes Estimating decimal products, multiplying whole numbers and decimals and multiplying decimals and decimals. If all goes well, we will have a Math test on Tuesday, October 28th.

Religion:
Students took an open book, open note Test this week. We will begin reading and discussing the section of the book titled, Jesus, Son of God next week. We continue to pray a decade of the rosary with the school on Wednesdays.

Vocab: Good work on tests this week! Unit 4 begins next week!
There will be NO vocabulary test the week of October 27th.

Reading: We continue to read Tuck Everlasting. Next week students will act out a scene from what we have read thus far in the novel.

English: We have completed our descriptive essays about someone we admire. These will be hanging in the hall for others to view. I will send a graded copy home next week. Now we move on to writing NARRATIVES!

Social Studies: Test over Chapter 2 on Wednesday of next week. A study guide will be handed out Monday – Study hard because this will be a major part of your 1st quarter grade!

Extra:
*Picture re-take day is October 24th.

*In this edition of the Criterion, there is an article about our new playground and the dedication. Be sure to check it out!

*Yesterday and today we had a principal from Taiwan visiting our school. Her name is Liu Shu-chen, and she is a principal at Guangsing Elementary School. Gift giving is common in Taiwan, so each grade presented her with a small gift representing our school, Indianapolis, Indiana, or the United States earlier this week. She also presented a slideshow about her school and her country for us!

2008-10-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

4th and 5th grade at Storytelling Festival

Several of the presenters at their best!

2008-10-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

$$ The Money Bus is coming! $$
I am still in need of 2 parent volunteers for the Money Bus. If you are able and willing to volunteer on Wednesday, October 15th, please email me, and I will give you the details! Thanks in advance.

Today’s Fieldtrip…
Students really enjoyed the Storytelling Festival at Millitary Park today! Please ask your students about the 6 presenters we watched! What character and humor they all had!
**A special thanks to Mrs. Carolyn Smith for helping out with the fieldtrip.

Math: We’ve just begun our new chapter. Chapter 2 covers multiplication of whole numbers and decimals and multiplication in algebraic expressions.
Religion: On Monday, we listened to Fr. Guy speak about scripture. We’ll be discussing God as our Father and the source of all blessings, to highlight qualities named in the Bible that help us understand who God is, and to understand that God invites us to share in his goodness.
Vocab: Unit 3 begins next week!
Reading: We are through 7 chapters in Tuck Everlasting and students seem to be enjoying the novel. Please make sure your child is answering the questions in complete sentences AND defining 2 words from each chapter.
English: We have been working on descriptive paragraphs and essays. We have started writing a descriptive essay about someone we admire. We will continue work on these next week and finish by typing them out.
Social Studies: We continue to cover Chapter 2, The First Americans. I will be assigning an article summary next week.
As always, please email me with any questions or concerns!

2008-10-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

HELP!!!
**Story Telling Festival**
I am still looking for 2 volunteers to ride with us and help monitor students at the Story Telling Festival. This event will take place at Military Park on October 10th. We will leave at 8:45 and return at 1:30. If you are able and willing to help, please email me.
**The Money Bus is coming!**
I am also still in need of 2 parent volunteers for the Money Bus. If you are interested in volunteering on October 15th, please email me, and I will give you the details! Thanks in advance.

Money Bus:We are currently discussing budgeting

Math: We will have a Test on Wednesday over:
1. Place value (through billions and through thousandths)
2. Comparing and ordering whole numbers
3. Comparing and ordering decimals
4. Rounding whole numbers and decimals
5. Adding and subtracting decimals

Religion:
In remembrance of Mary, we are praying a decade of the rosary every Wednesday at the end of the school day. In class, we continue to learn about the mystery of the Holy Trinity. We take notes as a class. We will have a quiz over the chapter mid-week.
Vocab: Today was our first test, and all students earned an A or a B on their test. Way to go!!

Reading:
We began reading Tuck Everlasting this week. We have finished 3 chapters. The students have Reading Journals that they will be using to reflect on questions. These will be used throughout the year for each novel we read.

English:
We have started working on how to write an effective topic sentence and then how to form a paragraph around this sentence. This will help students to become more effective writers. Using this, we are also working on summarizing.

Social Studies:
I will begin assigning “current events”. Students will be required to write a summary about a current event article from a newspaper or a magazine. I would like the article to be about something that has happened with the past week or two. The article needs to be attached to the summary. We will be doing this about twice a month- starting this week (due on Friday).
In the text book, we will be covering Chapter 2, The First Americans during the next two weeks.

As always, please email me with any questions or concerns!
kroesinger@sjoa.org

The Playground Dedication

2008-09-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Sharpe is presented flowers
and is emotional after being surprised!

Mrs. Groves unveils the name of our new playground:
Monarc Parc dedicated to Mrs. Sharpe

Fr. Guy blesses our new playground

Thank you to Mrs. Sharpe for all she has done and
continues to do for St. Joan of Arc School!

Maya, Sophie, Rosemary, and Aleise at the

Newsletter Sept. 15-19th

2008-09-22T04:48:00.001-07:00

PLAYGROUND DEDICATION!!!
Feel free to join us Monday morning (Sept. 22nd) for the dedication of the new playground. This will take place at approximately 8:20 after prayer, pledge, and announcements. Donuts and coffee will be provided (for adults) afterwards.

ISTEP testing has been going smoothly.
Thank you for remembering to send a snack with your child each day.
We are only taking two tests a day as not to overwhelm the students. We have 3 tests left. Testing will be complete on Wednesday, September 24th.

I know many of the students are eager to move on to 5th grade material… we’re almost there!

Progress Reports: As many of you know, progress reports will be sent home next week. I will be holding a short conference with each student to see how they think their work and behavior has been thus far and to give them feedback about what I have observed (both positives and areas needed work). However, due to 3 weeks of review for ISTEP, there has not been any 5th grade material covered thus far. So, I will be completing the progress report in a narrative form, letting you know what I am seeing from your child (academically and behaviorally).

Money Bus: Your student may have mentioned something to you about the Money Bus. This is an educational program that allows students to grasp concepts related to personal finances and to realize the value of money. Students will apply math, problem solving, and reading skills they have learned in the classroom to the fundamental real-world activities of creating a budget, earning money, saving money, and spending money.

*There will be a culminating activity in October in which the Money Bus will come to our school. Students will go on board the bus and will have the opportunity to make several financial choices throughout the experience.

Religion:
On Monday, our class, along with 4th grade and 7th grade, went over to church to listen to Fr. Guy tell us about parts of the mass. We were also able to ask some great questions! * 5th grade put on the mass this week. Those who read did a nice job of reading loudly and slowly. The rest of the class sang in the choir. Our next class mass will be November 20th.

Math:
We will begin Chapter 1 mid-next week. Chapter 1 will cover place value, adding and subtracting, estimating, and rounding. I anticipate the students will do well in this chapter.

Vocab:
We are going to begin work in our vocabulary books next week. The procedure will be the same every week. Monday we will go over the words, and note cards for each word will be due Tuesday. Tuesday and Wednesday evening they will have 2 pages in their book to complete each night. The tests will be taken on FRIDAYS.

Reading:
The first novel we will read will be Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. However, we will not begin this until the following week (September 29th).
Social Studies:
Chapter 1 will cover the Land and the People (of the United States). We will begin mid-next week.

As always, please email me with any questions or concerns!
Have a nice weekend!
~Miss Roesinger kroesinger@sjoa.org

News!

2008-09-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

ISTEP begins on Tuesday, September 16th!
Please make sure students:
1. Go to bed early and get enough rest
2. Eat a full breakfast
3. Bring 2 snacks (1 for morning, 1 for afternoon)
* If students have any appointments next week, please re-schedule them, as we do not want them to miss testing!

**The dedication and ground-breaking for the new playground will take place on the morning of Monday, September 22nd at approximately 8:20…Please come join us! **

THANK YOU to all of you who sold (or bought) raffle tickets for the French Market! Our class sold a total of 298! Good work!!

2008-09-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

The review for ISTEP continues…
This week is our last week of review before the testing.

Math:
●• We took our first math test of the year today! Students enjoyed playing Jeopardy to review.
●• We reviewed perimeter and area and will move on to angles and lines this week.
●• I plan to send home problem solving sheets this week for homework.

Reading:
●• Vocab books have arrived, but due to the short week this week and ISTEP after that, we will not begin vocab for another 2 weeks.
●• We discussed hyperboles, personification, and idioms this week. The students drew illustrations of an idiom, and they are displayed in the hallway.
●• Keep reading those AR books! We want each student to reach their 1st quarter goal!

English:
●• We continue our Daily Oral Language practice every morning.
●• Students are given a writing prompt for their journal entry every morning. I enjoy reading their responses! Students were also given a writing prompt to practice for ISTEP. They wrote about something they enjoy doing. We have some talented writers in this class!
●• Plan on identifying parts of speech this week.

Religion:
●• We have been discussing our Discipline with a Purpose Skills. There are 15 skills, but we have only begun with the first 4. Many of us are still working on mastering 1. Listening & 2. Following Instructions
●• We will begin learning about the Good News – the Old Testament and New Testament

Miscellaneous:
●• IMPORTANT! From now on I will require that any paper that is a D or below be signed and returned on Friday. Failure to do so will result in a conduct cut. Students: PLEASE turn in your homework first thing in the morning and always, always, always have your first and last name on it. I hate to give zeroes for no name papers!

●• Conduct- If you have a question about your child’s conduct grade (in their Thursday folder), please discuss it with your child and then come to me if there are further questions. They are always made aware when they receive a cut and for what reason.

●• SMILE! Picture day is next Thursday the 11th – Please make sure you send in your child’s order for if you wish to order pictures

** Please make an effort to sell those raffle tickets for the French Market! We want to be the class that sells the most so we can earn a pizza party (and other incentives from Miss R). **

●• Reminder – Next Thursday is a half day and there is NO SCHOOL on FRIDAY the 12th! ~Miss Roesinger
Questions or Concerns?? Email me!
kroesinger@sjoa.org

2008-08-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

5th Grade News

You will find a common theme in all subjects… Review of what we learned in fourth grade in an effort to be well prepared for the ISTEP tests!

Math:
●• Last week and this week we reviewed writing numbers in standard notation and expanded form, rounding, writing fractions as mixed numbers and improper fractions, understanding & comparing decimals.
●• We are playing jeopardy today to see who has totally mastered what we reviewed this week. Let’s hope they all have!!
●• Next week, I plan to cover area and perimeter and angles and lines.

Reading:
●• In an effort to brush up on what we learned in fourth grade and get ready for ISTEP, we are focusing on comprehension- identifying the theme and main plot, summarizing, and drawing logical conclusions based on what has been read.
●• We also reviewed synonyms, antonyms, homophones, homographs, similes and metaphors this week.
●• Students are given a total of 30 minutes to read their Accelerated Reading (AR) book during each day. Several students have already taken AR and vocab tests. Be looking for AR tests to go home in their homework folder.
I am reading The Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, in class and we are discussing a responding as we read. Although we are only into chapter 2 the kids seem to be enjoying it already.

English:
●• We have a new English series this year – Write Source. From what I can tell it’s going to be very beneficial! We are still waiting for our class vocabulary books to arrive.
●• We are focusing on the writing process- Pre-write, Write, Revise, Edit, and Publish. This process is vital to becoming a good writer, and I told them they will be writing papers for every class in high school and college. Writing improvement is also one of our school goals this year.
●• Right now we are working in partners and practicing the 5 steps… ask your student what topic they chose to write about.

Miscellaneous:
Due to ISTEP testing, we will not begin our class novels until the end of September.
Possible novels we may read this year include:
(I have not decided what order)
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
Bud, Not Buddy
Tuck Everlasting
The Westing Game
Sounder

●• We had two days this week with no conduct cuts – we need 38 marbles to reach our goal and earn a reward.

** Keep selling those raffle tickets for the French Market! We want to be the class that sells the most so we can earn a pizza party (and other incentives from Miss R). **

●• In case you haven’t heard, the school raised enough money to put in a new playground! YEAH! The construction is scheduled to begin the week after French Market.

Have a wonderful 3-day weekend!
See you Tuesday!
~Miss Roesinger

Questions?? Email me! kroesinger@sjoa.org

Introduction

2008-08-07T14:21:00.001-07:00

Hello!
My name is Miss Kathleen Roesinger, and I will be the new fifth grade teacher at St. Joan of Arc this year! I graduated from Marian College in December 2007. I also played softball at Marian. I then taught within the Brownsburg Community School Corporation from January through May this year as a High Ability Resource Teacher (HART) in all five elementary schools. I worked with students in grades 3-5 that needed to be challenged (taken a step further) in Math. I enjoyed my time there but am glad to be back in the Catholic schools. I attended St. Pius X School and Cathedral High School . I have one younger brother, Jimmy, who is a Junior at the University of Dayton. Jimmy also plays baseball at UD. I am very close to my family and enjoy spending time with them! I am also engaged and will be getting married October 25th!! My fiance, Gary, is a soccer fanatic.
I love to watch and play all kinds of sports. I enjoy scrapbooking, being at the pool, and spending time with my two chocolate labs - Lilly and Wrigley! My fiance and I are HUGE Cubs fans!
I am looking forward to meeting you at the upcoming ice cream social! I hear I have a great group of students this year. I am also looking forward to learning from you (especially since it is my first year) and teaching you a great deal!
So here's to a great year!
Sincerely,
Miss R

Welcome to your SJA eClassroom

2008-08-07T05:11:00.000-07:00

Your eClassroom is a new tool to enhance the educational experience for you, your students and their families

An eClassroom is Essentially a Blog
Perhaps one of the most fascinating tools that has emerged from the Internet cloud in recent years is the Blog. A shortening of the term Web log, the Blog is an online publishing tool that enables people to easily publish their loves, passions, dislikes, peeves, discoveries, and insights.

Blogging is also showing up in schools, where teachers have known for a long time that students develop better communication skills when they are authentically communicating. A number of educators are helping their students developing their writing skills by having them publish their work as blogs, and then invite comments from people in the outside.

There are many freely available tools that facilitate blogging, but none seem especially suited for the classroom. That is the reason for developing the eClassroom for SJA. This online blogging tool is explicitly designed with teachers and students in mind, where the teacher can evaluate, comment on, and finally publish students' blog articles in a controlled environment. It is and will be constantly in development. We need your input to refine the look, content, layout of the eClassroom.

There are many options available to teachers who utilize web journals (blogs) to enhance the learning experience. Teaching in a participatory culture can be challenging, but rewarding. Today, teachers have to learn to communicate in the language and style of their students—who some call digital natives (inhabitants of the Web 2.0 world).

Assignments, etc.
For students in grades 4—8, the eClassroom will be the source point for classroom activites, supplemental learning resources, assignments, long-tern projects, links to relevant sites, field trips, etc. How you integrate your eClassroom may vary from other teachers, but understand that with regular use, this tool will become a vital part of your curriculum and teaching style.