Dear Parents,

I just wanted to let you know that, as a gala auction item, I am offering a "Movie and Pizza."

This will be for the auction winner plus 3 guests. Approximately 2 hours of fun in the classroom after school.  Date and Time to be worked out between teacher and parents.

The Gala Auction will be held February 4, 2012 at Olde Towne Athletic Club from 7 to 11 PM. Tickets are on sale at http://gmefoundation.org - $35 and $45 at the door or you can Download 2012GALATicketformto purchase tickets in advance. Visit the website for a sample of items to bid on. All proceeds go back to GMEF.

The proceeds will be used to improve our school by providing funding for programs such as technology, educational curriculum and facility improvements. The GMEF will accumulate and distribute resources beyond those provided by Cobb County or the PTA, in order to further enhance, foster and enrich the educational experiences of all students at Garrison Mill.

Thank you for your support!

A couple of quick notes as the year draws to an end...

I'd like to say a huge thank you to my wonderful class. They were as well behaved as possible last week and I appreciate that. I loved all of the homemade cards I received for Christmas, as well as the Amazon gift card. It will be nice to be able to add books to my Kindle collection!  I sent home individual thank you notes, but in case you didn't see them, I really appreciate all of the wonderful gifts I received this year. Thank you for thinking of me during this holiday season.

I'm sure you received this information from the PTA, but I wanted to pass it along just to make sure you were aware of this change to the bus policy:

NEW BUS PASS POLICY

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Lochan M. for winning the school spelling bee!!!!! We are all so proud of our classmate!!!

A big thanks to Mrs. Schulman who helped me by uploading everyone's Simple Machines powerpoint presentations to my blog. While you are looking at your child's presentation, let them enjoy looking at what their friends have done.

I've reminded and reminded...but again, by Thursday, everyone should have taken 2 AR tests, turned in their alternate book report, turned in their list of at least 6 books they read this grading period, and turned in their connections passport. I will be finishing report cards and anything not turned in gets averaged into their final grade as a 0 (actually a 60 because that's the lowest grade I'm allowed to give.) It's so easy to get a 100, just by turning the work in, so please remind your child one more time to make sure they've turned everything in.

I told the class that I expect them to read both this week and over the break, but I will not give out new 100 minutes sheets until we come back from the break.

Thursday is our holiday party and we are all looking forward to a great time. After the party we will be doing a little work, then we will have the opportunity to watch "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" with Mrs. Beatty's class. Don't forget that it is pajama day...so we can enjoy the day in comfort.

Have a wonderful holiday and a restful and relaxing break. See everyone back on Tuesday, January 10th!

Download Grace #28

Download SIMPLE MACHINES By kayla

Download Simple machines Ava

Download Simple Machines Aiden

Download Simple machines alonah

Download Simple machines by daniella

Download Simple Machines By Sean

Download Simple Machines Carter#20

Download Simple Machines Catherine #19

Download Simple machines Charlie

Download Simple machines charlotte #8

Download Simple Machines Christopher 29

Download Simple Machines Elaine #4

Download Simple machines Emily #13

Download SIMPLE MACHINES Evan

Download Simple Machines Garrett #12

Download Simple Machines gia

Download Simple Machines Gracie #30

Download Simple machines julianne #1

Download Simple machines Justin#2

Download Simple Machines Katie #5

Download Simple machines lindsay #24

Download Simple Machines Lochan 17

Download Simple MachineS Nathan#6

Download Simple Machines ROSA

Download Simple Machines Sam

Download Simple machines Samantha

Download Simple Machines Spencer 16

Download Simple matchine BY MOLLIE

Don't forget that Scholastic orders are due by Friday. If you order a book for the book exchange, I will be happy to keep it here at school and wrap it for the exchange. Talk about No Hassle shopping...our class gets free books and you get gift wrapping for free! Plus, you don't have to go shopping for yet another gift! As my daughter would say..."Just sayin'."

Only 2 more weeks until the end of the grading period. I only have a few book projects...please remind your child that they are due before the break. Two AR tests and their list of 6 books read this grading period are also due by the break. I will let them know today how many AR tests they still need to take.

I hope everyone is working on their science fair project. These projects take time and the Science Fair is January 18th. Just a reminder...projects will need to be brought to school either after 2:30 on the 17th or some time during the day on January 18th. We have no way of storing projects that come in before those times.

With everything going on over the next couple of weeks, I don't know that I will have another chance to update this blog. I hope everyone has a wonderful couple of weeks and then a great break! We all need the time to rest and rejuvinate so that we can come back next year ready for a lot of learning!

Mrs. G

It's hard to believe that it is already December. The second grading period is almost over...and we are almost 1/2 way through the school year. We've learned so much already, but we have a long way to go and a lot more to learn this year.

This blog is to update you on some important dates in December. Feel free to email me at sharon.golden@cobbk12.org if you have any questions about the calendar.

Thursday, December 1st - Progress reports will go home for any students who currently have grades of C or below. If your child does not bring home a progress report, they have A's and B's 1/2 way through the grading period. Thursday evening is also our next PTA meeting and the reception for all the students who won Reflections awards. I am looking forward to seeing you there.

Friday, Dec. 2nd - The Giving Tree ends today. If your child chose a star, please make sure they bring in their wrapped gift by Friday.

Speaking of giving - Did you know that the GM Student Council is holding a canned food drive for MUST Ministries? Our class has not brought in any canned/boxed items yet. We'd love to line the hall in front of our room and help those in need this Christmas season.

Wednesday, December 7th - I will get to celebrate with Sam T. and her family as she accepts the Silver Pen Award for winning the Kiwanis Club Writing Contest. Our class is very proud of her!

Thursday, December 8th - We will have our December Guidance lesson with Mrs. Miller and it is International Night. I hope you join us as we do activities that help all of us learn about our diverse world.

December 13 - 15 - It is important that all students are present on these 3 days. We will be taking Cobb County Checkpoint tests, utilizing our IRespond system. This is just a checkpoint test, which will check for understanding of all of the concepts/skills we've learned so far this year.

December 20th - We are looking forward to cheering on Lochan M. at the GM Spelling Bee.

Thursday, December 22 - Last day of school before the break! and our holiday party. We will have a breakfast party at 8:30 that morning, as well as our book exchange. If you would like your child to take part in the book exchange, please send in a wrapped book marked girl or boy (depending on the sex of your child.) Books should be $5 or less. Do not put your child's name on the tag. The students always enjoy getting a new book for the holidays.

Over the next few weeks, we will be finishing our units on division and geometry. We will also finish our unit on simple machines / force / motion / Newton's Laws. We will try to start our unit on the 13 colonies, but I can't promise that will happen.

We started a new writing project today and are enjoying it a lot. We will test on Wordly Wise 7 next Friday and then wait to start a new unit after the break. Spelling lists / homophone lists for the next 4 weeks were sent home on Monday. Spelling activities will need to be done at home each week. We will continue to test on the words each Friday. The lists are frequently misspelled words from our classes writing, so hopefully this will help with the errors they seem to constantly have.

We will be doing much more than this, but at least you have an idea of what will be covered in the next few weeks.

Have a wonderful December!

Mrs. G

I know that's hard to believe, but it does happen. Just don't tell my husband...

We are actually on Lesson 6 of Wordly Wise. We are on lesson 10 of Words Their Way, which is our spelling program. I hope your child knows that and practices the Lesson 6 words today and tomorrow.

We had a great time at the Fire Safety Village. We learned a lot and I'm sure that everyone will do well on our post test next Monday. Our last visit with our fireman will be on Monday, too.

A huge thank you to Mr. Fordonski for bringing us ice to use for the field trip. You are a lifesaver and we appreciated it very much!

The ice machine at school is broken and we are waiting on the part to fix it. That affects our field trip on Monday because we have to carry the drinks for lunch in a cooler. I will be bringing my cooler on Monday, but I was hoping that someone could help me out by bringing a couple of bags of ice before 8:30 on Monday morning. If you can help, please email me at sharon.golden@cobbk12.org. Do NOT respond to this email because I will not get your response (it goes to a school account administrated by Lori Schulman and she will not be checking over the weekend.) I always appreciate all you do for our class!

Looking forward to a great Monday field trip! Don't forget to have your child wear their new GM lime green shirts.

Thanks,

Mrs. G

We will be going to the Cobb County Fire Safety Village on Monday! This is an all day field trip. Students will take sack lunches from school or they can bring their lunch. If you send a lunch, please put it in something that can be thrown away. It is difficult to keep up with lunchboxes after lunch. Your child will need to wear their new class t-shirt. Our shirts are lime green. If they did not buy a class t-shirt, please have them wear a Garrison Mill shirt. Besides our 5 classes, there will be students from other schools at the Fire Safety Village at the same time and when they all have on the same shirt, it makes locating them quicker and easier.

First In Math

Our class is still 2nd behind Mrs. Beatty's class but we are gaining quickly. The GM challenge for November is to be the class with the most stickers for the month. We really want that trophy in our classroom next month! Your child's goal for next week is 300 stickers. Remember that repetition in math will continue to help them meet our standards.

Wordly Wise

We will begin lesson 10 in WordlyWise on Monday. Her is the web address that I told many of you about at conferences.

http://wordlywise3000.com/games/book04.cfme

Please bookmark the site so that your child will be able to play the review games. I will begin assigning it as homework on Monday. If your child can not access a computer at home, please let me know so that I can make arrangements for them to complete the assignment at school. I hope that the additional practice will begin to make a difference in their test grades and their reading comprehension skills.

Reading

We are beginning new books in reading on Monday. We will have several groups and they will be reading different books in each group. Students should not read ahead of the assigned chapters. Each week, they will read chapters, do activities about the chapters, and work in literature circles to discuss what they've read with others in the class.

Students should still be working on their AR assignments and completing their alternate book project. There are not many students who have taken and passed AR tests this grading period. It is imperative that they do not wait until the last minute, so please encourage them to READ every day. I will accept their book projects any time, up until the Christmas break...the earlier the better!

Math

We have tested on double digit multiplication. Those that are having problems with this skill will continue to work on it, but we are moving on to long division. Again, this is a hard concept, so don't be surprised if homework takes a long time or if you see tears.

Social Studies

We are finishing up our unit on explorers. We have done research and next week we will write our research reports in class. We will complete our study guide next week and test on Monday, November 14th.

Science

We will have High Touch/High Tech next Thursday to begin our unit on simple machines, work, force & motion. Afterwards, we will begin PowerPoint presentations on simple machines in the computer lab. We will be doing a lot of fun activities about force and motion over the next several weeks. I think your child will really enjoy this unit.

Really Important Information

Tuesday November 8th is a student holiday. Teachers will be in meetings all day but please do not send your child to school! They really need this break, so enjoy your time with them.

Giving Tree begins on Wednesday, November 9th.

Science Fair information will be sent home next week.

Book Fair begins on 11/14 and runs all week. This will be in the media center. This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your child to purchase books or for you to purchase books as birthday and/or holiday gifts.

Our Grandparents and Special Friends luncheon will be at 10:45 on Wednesday, November 16th. After lunch, your child will be able to spend time at the book fair with their lunch guest(s). After they check back in with me, they may also be checked out for the rest of the day. I know many grandparents enjoy spending that day with them, so I will not be planning any activities that will affect their grades that afternoon. We will be working all afternoon, but it will be review activities, not new information.

If your child will miss any days that week because they are leaving town early for Thanksgiving, please let me know. We will be doing some testing that week and I need to be aware of who will be here and who will not.

Thanksgiving break will be November 19 - 27. Have a great break and I am looking forward to seeing your child back (rested and refreshed) on Monday, November 28th.

And more important stuff...

There will be club photos taken for the school's yearbook on the morning of Thursday, November 10th for any student who has participated in any after school club.

This may include:   Chorus, Art club, Young Rembrandts, Odyssey of the Mind, Drama Club, Chess Club, Golf Club, Spanish Club, Cheer Dance, Club Scientific, Cub Scouts, Student Council, Wee Deliver, News Crew, Safety Patrol, etc. Please be sure to make your child aware of this activity which is strictly voluntary.

I've really enjoyed the chance to sit down with parents this week and talk about your awesome children. Conference week is almost over and I can say that I've really enjoyed it!

There is a lot going on in the next few weeks...so here is a quick overview.

Scholastic orders are due by Saturday at midnight. Please let me know if that will be a problem. If you plan to send in an order form and check, please do so Friday. If you do not see this until after your child has left for school on Friday, please email me the books you would like to order. Don't forget to let me know if you are purchasing books as presents and you want me to contact you when the order comes in.

Monday is Halloween. We will not be having a special celebration in class, but our skeleton book reports (on a mystery book) are due that day. Once trick or treat is over, if you have candy that will not be eaten, please think about donating it to our class. We use treats a lot as incentives and leftover Halloween candy makes the students extremely happy. Monday is also our first fire safety class. A fireman will be visiting our classroom for the first lesson.

We will visit the Fire Safety Village on Tuesday 11/7. There is no cost for this trip. If you have not returned the permission slip, please do so ASAP. Your child will not be allowed to attend the off campus field trip without a permission slip.

Next Wednesday (November 2nd) we will have a test on double digit multiplication. After the test, we will move on to long division!

Next Monday and Wednesday, we will spend time in the media center doing research on explorers. All research will be completed at school. We are doing file folder research reports and students will complete and turn them in by Friday.

Next week we will also be writing a personal narrative about our favorite holiday memory. I'm looking forward to some great writing!

We will finish up explorers soon and begin our science unit on simple machines/force & motion. We have a High Touch/High Tech coming up soon on simple machines. We will be creating powerpoint presentations about simple machines in the computer lab and performing a lot of experiments and doing some really fun activities in the classroom when we begin force & motion. I'm looking forward to a great learning unit.

Don't forget that students are out of school on Tuesday 11/8. I will be here...meetings, meetings, and more meetings...but your child will have the day off.

Look for Science Fair information to come home before Thanksgiving break.

The book fair will be held in the media center the week of 11/14. This is a great time to purchase books for Christmas presents as well as for use at home.

Our grandparents and special friends luncheon will be on Wednesday 11/16. If you know that your child will not have a grandparent, parent, sibling, or special friend to eat with that day, please let me know so that we can arrange for them to sit with a friend. I don't want anyone to feel left out! You can email me at sharon.golden@cobbk12.org with information about that day.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that is most of what we will be doing for the next few weeks. Enjoy your halloween and don't eat too much candy!

Mrs. G