Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  Between today and the festivities of the Super Bowl last night, it's already been a very fun start to the week!  I hope everyone is surviving the winter weather.  Spring will be here before we know it.  I do have a few important pieces of information to share, so be sure to read on!

Classroom Happenings:

• Behaviors-  It's that time of year where everyone is tired of being stuck inside, we are feeling comfortable in the building and the classrooms, and we are itching for spring break.  All of this tends to show itself in the way of behaviors becoming lax and issues on the rise.  Over the last few weeks we have slowly seen an increase in the room of little behaviors that are starting to become bigger behaviors.  Before it gets too much further, I'd love if you could have a conversation with your child and ask the following questions:
• Am I showing up prepared for class each day? I have all my supplies (pencils, art supplies, folders, chromebook, etc.).  My chromebook is fully charged.
• Am I treating the adults in the building with respect?  I raise my hand when I want to talk.  I listen when the teacher is talking.  I'm not distracted by items I've brought from home or friends around the room.  I do what is asked of me the first time.
• Am I treating my classmates with respect?  I speak to them kindly.  I don't interrupt their learning process or distract them during lessons.  I respect their personal space and keep my hands and feet to myself.
• Family Fun Night-  CBIS will be having a Family Fun Night on Thursday, March 3 from 5:30-7pm.  More information will be coming home about this, BUT FOR NOW.... each team has been assigned a theme basket that we need to put together which will be auctioned off that night.  Our theme is "Ice Scream, You Scream!"  So, I'm needing your help in providing a donation to go toward the purchase of items for our team basket.  If you could send in a $1 or $2 donation with your child and have them deliver it to me, I'll be able to buy our items for a fun ice cream themed basket!  Thanks in advance for your help!
• President's Day-  This is just a friendly reminder that we do NOT have school on Monday, February 21.  This is not an e-learning day either.  Enjoy the time off!

Language:

We are coming to the end of our evidence-based writing unit.  This is DUE TOMORROW!  The kids spent part of last week and today working through lots of peer editing on their pieces and will submit the final work to me tomorrow.  If you haven't, ask your child to show you their essay!  Give them your thoughts on their writing!  We will be taking our final assessment for our writing unit on Wednesday, and then on Thursday we will begin our next book study.  I'm excited to get into this next story and really hope the kids enjoy it!

Science:

We are still in space, but getting close to the end.  This week and part of next week we will finish our study learning about the planets.  We will have a quiz over the planets along the way and finish our space unit next week with one final assessment over everything we have learned.  

Grades:

As we have started this final semester, it's important that the kids get off to a great start.  If you haven't checked in on your child's grades or work lately, now would be a great time to do so.  There are lots of missing assignments and work already and I'd hate to see that mountain grow.  Ask your child to pull up PowerSchool and show you how they are doing.  Take a look at each class and see if they have any assignments marked missing.  All work can be found in Google Classroom for them to be completing at home.

I hope you all have a great week!  As always, keep reaching out with questions or concerns!

-Sarah

Hello, 2022!

Welcome back and Happy New Year!  I can't believe it's 2022!  I hope everyone had a great holiday season and were able to soak up the time with loved ones, making memories and having fun!  As we jump into a new semester, there are some new pieces of information to share, as well as some reminders that may have been forgotten over break.  Here we go:

Classroom Happenings:

• Teaching Change:  Over break, Mrs. Stout did have her baby!  This means she will be out for several weeks on maternity leave.  While she is gone, Ms. Murt is filling in for her.  If you need to contact her about anything pertaining to Math or Science, you can email her at murtr@franklinschools.org
• Report Cards and NWEA:  These grades and scores came home last week.  There was also a parent letter that needed to be signed, indicating you have looked at your child's grades and progress.  If you have not yet signed and returned that letter, please do so as soon as possible!
• Drinks/Gum in Class:  As we are still dealing with covid and trying to ensure student safety, you know that we have been allowing the students to have water bottles in class since the water fountains are closed.  However, since coming back, the water bottles are suddenly coming to school filled with pop and/or other drinks that are not water.  To be clear, water is the only drink that is allowed in the classrooms during the school day.  In addition, I've noticed an uptick in gum chewing during the school day.  This is another item that is not allowed inside the school building.  Thanks in advance for keeping these items out of the building and classrooms.
• Missing Work:  As a reminder, students who are quarantined at home, or miss a day of school for ANY REASON, are responsible for making up that work on their own via Google Classroom.  All classwork is posted each morning and it is the responsibility of the child to complete that work for each day.  Work not completed will result in a zero in the gradebook.  If your child has questions over something while at home, they know how to email or leave a comment on work for me to see.  I will get back to them with an answer as soon as I can throughout the day.

English:

We are starting this semester with a writing unit, as we work our way through Evidence-Based Writing responses, or EBW for short.  We are looking at how to better cite evidence from a text to answer a question.  This is a skill that will be needed as the kids continue on in their schooling, so we want to get a solid jump on it now.  This week we have been working on the 3 parts of our introductory paragraph:

• Identifying the TAG (Title, Author, and Genre) of our text
• Writing a brief 2-3 sentence summary of the text
• Stating our claim (opinion) to the question prompt

Next week we will be begin working on the body of our essay as we practice citing our evidence to support our claim.

Science:

This month is space month!  It's one of my favorites!  I always tell the kids I want to be an astronaut when I grow up!  I'd love to go to the moon one day...  We spent last week getting an overview of space and talking about some of the fun things we find up there (meteors, asteroids, comets, etc).  This week we have delved deeper into our knowledge of stars and we will spend the end of the week looking at constellations.

Last week the kids made goal-mobiles and wrote out 2 academic, 1 personal, and 1future goal for themselves.  Be sure to ask your child what their goals are!  It's a new semester and we're ready to rock it!  As always, reach out with any questions or concerns.  Here we go!

-Sarah

Sliding into the Holidays

With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror (already!!) we are just a few weeks away from Christmas!  I'm not even sure how that is possible or where this semester has gone, but here we are rushing through December!  As we work to survive these next few weeks, we do have quite a bit going on, so please take a moment to read the information below and ensure you (and your child) are prepared for all that we need to do before we leave for break!

Classroom Happenings:

• IMAX Field Trip:  Hopefully you have seen the permission slip come home for our field trip to the IMAX on Thursday, December 16.  We will have the chance to watch The Polar Express on the big screen!  Permission slips and money are due back to class by this Friday, December 10.
• Food Drive:  We are in the middle of our school wide food drive!  We will be collecting items in our classroom until Friday, December 17th.  There are many options that can be donated beyond canned food.  Other items include:
• Ramen Noodles
• Microwavable Macaroni and Cheese
• Granola Bars
• Individual packages of Cheese or Peanut Butter Snack Crackers
• Cereal Bars
• Canned Spaghetti Sauce
• NWEA:  As we near the end of the semester, we have our second round of NWEA tests to take in math and language.  The kids are working this week on their math NWEA test and next week we will take our language test.  Please do your best to make sure your child is getting a good night's rest, a good breakfast, and is here on time.
  
• Last Day:  As a reminder, our last day this semester is Friday, December 17.  This is also the end of the grading period.  Please check into PowerSchool to see if your child has any missing or incomplete assignments.  All of their missing work can be found and completed on Google Classroom and Friday, December 17 will be the last day to complete work for credit.

Language:

We will finish our study of Freak the Mighty this week.  This has been a great book and the kids have really gotten into the story line.  As we finish out the semester, we will spend next week working on an End of Novel Essay.  We will also have our final vocabulary test on Friday, December 17th.  These will be the last 2, big assignments of the semester for language.  Look for a study guide of vocabulary words to come home on Monday.

Science:

We are currently studying physical and chemical changes to matter.  Our test over this will be on Wednesday, December 15.  

As always, thanks for reading, and don't hesitate to reach out with questions!  Have a great week!

-Sarah

Week of November 8

Hey all!  It's hard to imagine that we are right in the thick of the holiday season.  These next two months always seem to fly by!  We have quite a few things going on in the classroom, so be sure to check out the information below to keep up to date on what's happening.

Classroom Happenings:

• Veteran's Day Parade:  This Thursday, November 11 we will celebrate Veteran's Day with a drive thru parade.  If you or someone you know is a Veteran, we encourage you to drive around the building Thursday morning, beginning at 8:30 am, so we can honor and thank you for your service!  We are also encouraging all students to wear RED, WHITE, and BLUE that day, too!
• Spirit Wear:  If you are interested in ordering some Franklin or CBIS gear for yourself or your child, our spirit wear link is here!  These also make great Christmas gifts, too!  https://my.cheddarup.com/c/custer-baker-spiritwear-order
• Classroom Behaviors:  As we enter this time of year, the kids are always excited about the special holdiays and activities that come with this season.  However, we also are starting to see a major uptick in behaviors, too.  Please continue to be an active part of your child's education and check in with them about their behaviors in class.  Are they completing work?  Are they being respectful to staff and classmates?  Are they making good choices and showing integrity?

Language:

We are nearing the halfway point in our reading of Freak the Mighty.  Each chapter seems to be amping up and more events are taking place.  The kids are still really into the book and we are having some great discussions in class!  We will be taking a Mid-Term Exam over the book tomorrow (Wednesday, November 10).  It will be super important that your child has their book with them to help them test.  In the last week, several of the books have mysteriously disappeared or not made their way to school.  :)

Science:

From now until Thanksgiving we will be studying matter.  We spent last week talking about solids, liquids, and gases.  This week we are diving into mass and volume and how we can find both.

I hope you have a great week, and as always, keep reaching out with questions or concerns!  

-Sarah

Week of October 25

 Hey all!  I hope everyone had a great fall break.  We are getting back in the grove after time away and jumping back in where we left off.  We had a great time at the Eiteljorg on Friday!  A HUGE thanks to the parents who went with us!  I'm so grateful you took time out of your day to spend with us.  If you haven't yet asked your child about the trip, please do!

Classroom Happenings:

• This week is Red Ribbon Week.  Each day we are having a fun dress-up day!  These are below:
• Monday:  "Be all you can be drug free!"  Camo Day
• Tuesday:  "From head to toe, I'm drug free!"  Crazy Socks Day
• Wednesday:  "Let's team up against drugs!"  Favorite Team, Jersey, or Franklin Gear Day
• Thursday:  "Twin up against drugs!  Friends don't let friends do drugs!"  Dress Like a Friend or Staff Member Day
• Friday:  "My future is bright without drugs!"  Neon or 80's Clothing Day

Language:

We are continuing to work through our study of Freak the Mighty.  As a reminder, one night each week the kids are coming home with language homework.  Be sure to check in with them that this is being completed.

Science:

This week we begin a new unit on the states of matter.  We will spend the next several weeks talking about solids, liquids, and gases.  

Have a great week!

-Sarah

Week of October 4

Happy Fall, Ya'll!  I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some cooler weather to start rolling in!  A sweatshirt, jeans, and flip-flops is my favorite outfit!  There are a few new pieces in the Classroom Happenings, so be sure to check out these pieces of info.  Here's what you need to know!

Classroom Happenings:

• Midterms.  These will be coming home next week.  This is a snapshot of your child's current grade.  At CBIS, your child will only receive official grades each semester.  If you haven't been keeping up on PowerSchool, this will let you know how they are doing in each of their classes.  As we are halfway through the semester, this is the time to buckle down and make sure your child has been turning in and completing all their work.  We have been working hard in the room to try and get items turned in, but extra assistance and reminders from home would be great!  These midterms will require a parent signature and will need returned to school.  
• Color Run.  Our school wide Walk-A-Thon will be happening this coming Friday, October 8.  All students will get to take a few laps around the track, then those who raised enough money to participte in the Color Run portion will have the chance to do so.  This should be a fun afternoon!
• Field Trip.  We will be taking a field trip on Friday, October 22 to the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis.  There are some chaperone spots available if you are interested in going with us!  (We are pretty fun to hang out with!)  Email me if you are interested in spending that day with us!  A permission slip with all of the details will be sent home next week.  Look for this in your child's blue folder.
• Fall Break.  We.  Are.  So.  Close!!  This is coming up the week of October 11!  We will return to school on Monday, October 18.

Language:

All of the Narrative Writing pieces have been graded and rubrics were returned to the students showing how they scored in each of the different areas.  We had a conversation about how writing is a fluid process and good writers are never really done working.  The kids were told that they have the opportunity to look over their rubrics and scores and then do one final round of editing and fixing before a final grade is given.  Several have taken me up on the offer in an effort to better their grade and their final writing project.  Check in with your kid and see how they did.  Offer to see their writing and your advice on how they could improve it!  They would love to get your opinion on their story!

We are continuing to work through our story "Freak the Mighty."  This is going to take us a while to get through as we are spending 3 days on one chapter.  But, I'm loving the conversations we are having as the kids dig into the story and we see what continues to happen.  Don't forget that one night a week your child will be coming home with homework over the novel.  Keep checking in to make sure they are completing this.

Science:

This week we began our new unit over variables.  We have talked about the 3 types (independent, dependent, and control) and have done lots of practice identifying these variables in different types of experiments.  The past 2 days we took a look at some Mythbuster videos and identified these 3 variables in the experiments they did.  There were some pretty cool things we looked at!  We will continue to work with variables for the next 2 weeks, as we get the chance to try some experiments in class, too.  We will end our unit on variables the week we return from Fall Break, and will have a test over the subject area.

Thanks for reading through this info each week.  I hope it helps you to stay connected to what's happening here in the room as we continue moving through the year!  Continue to reach out with any questions!  Have a great weekend!

-Sarah

Week of September 20

Hey all!  This is a busy week coming up, with lots going on at school.  Please be sure to pay close attention to the "Classroom Happenings" portion of this for all the details and dates!  Here we go...

Classroom Happenings:

• College & Career Week.  This is happening this week!  A flyer came home with the details on Friday.  It's all here, too!
• Monday, September 20:  College Wear
• Tuesday, September 21:  Oaken Bucket Day (IU vs. Purdue)
• Wednesday, September 22:  Dress for Success (Career Wear)
• Thursday, September 23:  School Picture Day (This is for those who did NOT get their picture at Meet the Teacher Night, or are wanting retakes)
• Book Fair.  This week is also the Book Fair.  A flyer came home on Friday.  Our normal library day is tomorrow (Monday) if your child would like to purchase books.  
• E-Learning Day.  Remember, this Friday, September 24 will be an E-Learning day.  Make sure your child gets onto Google Classroom to complete any work assigned to them for the day.
• Counseling Permission Slips.  A slip will be coming home with your child tomorrow for a lesson that will be completed by our counselors.  Permission is required for your child to participate in the lesson.  Please be looking for that to sign and return.

Language Happenings:

We are continuing to work through our novel, Freak the Mighty.  We are moving very slowly through the book as we discuss and talk about what is happening.  The kids are really enjoying this story so far and it has hooked us quickly and we are already curious to see how the story will play out.  Continue to check in with your child about homework over this book.  Most nights they will have at least a few questions to answer over what we have read and discussed in class.  These questions will be due back the next day.

Science Happenings:

This week we are really digging into Qualitative and Quantitative observations.  We will end our week with a quiz over this.  Friday, we had the chance to engage in a fun little experiment to help us practice making qualitative and quantitative observations.  We put 5 skittles into warm water, then watched what happened.  In our journals, we recorded our qualitative and quantitative observations... of course we had to end class eating some skittles, too!

Have a great week!

-Sarah