Welcome+Letter

Sept. 4, 2012

Dear Students and Parents,

Welcome to fifth grade! Our summer vacation is quickly coming to a close and I hope that you enjoyed your vacation as much as I did! Did you travel out of town? I am looking forward to hearing about how you spent your summer vacation! I hope you have enjoyed reading our One School, One Community Book "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon." We will be doing activities that relate to the book over the next few weeks to display at Open House. Be sure to mark your calendar for the Open House night at Blueberry Hill School. It will be held on Thursday, Sept. 20th from 6:30-8:00 pm.

This year you will be quite busy reading and building your reading vocabulary, journaling and writing book reports, finding averages, percents and even multiplying fractions! I will teach science for our class as well as Mrs. McCollough’s class and we will begin with learning about the scientific method which will guide our science investigations throughout the year. This year is going to be jam-packed with fun, activities, and learning!

Here is some information that may help with the first day of school. First of all, you are now the oldest kids at the school and you are role models for the younger kids. Please follow the rules and be respectful. You will line up in front of Mrs. McCollough's outside door beside her class. You are welcome onto school grounds at 8:30 am and the doors will open at 8:40 am. Dismissal for walkers and bikers is at 2:40 pm and car riders will be dismissed at 2:45. Please be sure to discuss with your parents how you will get home on days that we may have a thunderstorm or snow storm at dismissal. It is always a good idea to be prepared especially with the unusual weather we have been experiencing this year. We will continue to have snack time in fifth grade. Be sure to pack a healthy peanut/tree nut free snack/drink for fuel. Our lunch time is 12:30-1:00.

I have a wiki page http://mrsmengwasser.wikispaces.com that will be an important communication tool for both you and your parents. Please visit the site before the first day of school and bookmark it! Unlike last year, you will be graded on homework this year and you will be expected to complete it nightly. I understand that many of you play fall sports and lead busy lives outside of school. Your parents may need to help you carve out some quiet uninterrupted time to complete your nightly homework. We will work on building and reinforcing your organization skills by utilizing your binder, agenda notebook and my wiki page.

If you are like me, the night before the first day you may feel a little nervous excitement. To help you relax here is what to expect the first day. The focus for the first two days we will be getting to know one another, distributing school supplies, establishing classroom procedures and rules, and creating a classroom community. Please bring in your "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon book, your illustration of a dragon, and 3 photograhs of you and your family during the summer. I am looking forward to an amazing school year!

Sincerely,

Beth Mengwasser