Science
We are studying life cycles of plants and animals. I hope you have heard about our ladybugs. We made small habitats for ladybugs and observed them for several days. We released the ladybugs in our outdoor learning center near the playground.
Math
We have been learning a little about financial literacy. Students are learning what happens to the cost of a product or service based on supply and demand. We have also studied how education can offer more opportunities for better paying jobs. Today, we talked about planned and unplanned spending and the benefits/impacts of each.
STAAR Testing
Our fourth and fifth grade students took a STAAR test today. Our class did an awesome job being quiet in the hallways of the school. It is always stressful when it is STAAR time, even when we are not taking the test. Please reassure your third graders that we will not be taking our tests until May. We have plenty of time to continue our learning before the test gets here. Also, give them a pat on the back for being respectful of the students who were testing today. Fourth grade will be testing again tomorrow. Our campus is closed to visitors during STAAR testing days, but if you need to bring something to your student, just drop it off in the office and they will get it where it needs to be.
PTA Spring Carnival
The Country Fare Carnival is on April 15, 2016. If you would like to purchase tickets/wrist bands in advance, please click on the link to place the order. The tickets/wrist bands will be delivered to me and I will give them to your child to bring home. Things are usually a little cheaper if you purchase in advance. You can always purchase tickets at the carnival.
Carnival Class Basket
Our class has signed up to do a "chocolate" themed basket for the carnival. We donate the basket and the PTA will raffle it off. It is a lot of fun and chocolate is usually one of the favorites. Our homeroom mom, Mrs. Allison, has agreed to make a candy bar cake. We just need donations of full-sized candy bars (must have chocolate) so that she can make this fun creation. Please send in candy bars by April 8 so that she will have time to get the "cake" ready for the carnival. If you don't have time to purchase candy bars, you can send it cash and Mrs. Allison will purchase the candy bars for you. Any donation will be a big help to a great fundraiser!!! (See the email from Mrs. Allison for more information.)
Donations to the classroom
If you would like to donate things to the classroom, we are in need of some yellow highlighters and pencil top erasers. We have depleted our supply of each. Small cups for water also come in handy for students who forget their water bottles.
Report Cards
The end of the grading period was March 24. Report cards will go home next week, April 7. Be looking for that in your child's purple folder. Please sign one copy and return it in the envelope. You can keep one copy for your records.
News from the Service Club and Mrs. Bartholomew
The Service Club is helping with a Food Drive for the Round Rock Serving Center in conjunction with the Round Rock Empty Bowls Festival. The Empty Bowls Festival is on Saturday, April 9 at Cedar Ridge High School from 11-2 pm. To get ready for the event, we are collecting food. The food donations can be dropped off in the boxes outside the main office.
Most Needed donations for RR Serving Center:
canned soup
canned fruit
canned vegetables (green beans and corn are favorites)
peanut butter
pasta
macaroni and cheese, rice, beans
toilet paper
diapers
cereal
canned meat and tuna
We will report our totals on April 8 and the elementary school with the greatest amount collected will receive a trophy!
Thank you in advance for your food donations!
Kickball Tournament
The Service Club is also helping to organize a Kickball Tournament with teams from FCE, Blackland Prairie, and Gattis Elementary. Kids Kicking out Hunger will be held on May 1 at Gattis Elementary. Your K-5th grader can register for a team or individually to play. Registration is $10 per person and we are trying to have t-shirts for each school also. All the money will go toward the Round Rock Serving Center and Friends of Los Ninos (which funds an orphanage and villages in Honduras). It will be super fun to have some friendly kickball competition while helping kids locally and globally. Come join us! Create a team with friends (some team members may go to different schools) family, your scout troop, your soccer team, your dance group, etc....The school with the most participation will receive a plaque and there will be medals for the winning teams. Watch the video to learn more.
My (Mrs. Bartholomew's) older daughter Blair and I went to Honduras in 2012 with Friends of Los Ninos and loved it there. Blair (in the green shirt) is in the video bagging rice and beans. Our family sponsors three of the children at the orphanage. Susan Shogan has also been to Honduras with Friends of Los Ninos several times and sponsors several kids as well. The Flip Flop Drive that FCE has organized for three years goes to this group. This organization as well as the RR Serving Center are very worthy causes and are very dear to my heart. Thank you in advance for your support.
The first link should be the video. You may need to cut and paste it into your browser to be able to see it.
The second link is to the FCE Coyote Call.
Special Day
Our class has earned enough HOWL tickets to have a special day. We took a vote, and we will have "Camp Day" on Friday, April 1. (No April Fools!!!) Students are allowed to bring sleeping bags or blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals. We will rearrange our room so that we can spread everything out on the floor. It will be fun, but we will also be learning that day.
