Progress reports next week

Congratulations to Aleah S. for being the first to see the blog since my little hiatus, letting me know, and earning a homework pass. Glad you checked.
Next Thursday, our students should be taking home their 2nd quarter progress reports. This is a chance to see how everyone is doing. If there are any questions, please feel free to contact me via a call to school or an email.
Book reports should be in the final stages. We have been counting down the days for two weeks until it is due. Again, the reports, project, and oral presentation are on Tuesday the 11th of December.

To Be Thankful

I am reflecting this morning on the bounty of blessings my family and I have be given. It's kind of like a home. Yes, stay with me here. My faith, hope, and love are like the framework to the structure on the strong foundation of our Lord Himself. My friends are like the roof; they cover me when I am in need. My family is like the doors, windows and siding. Not only do they protect from the crazy winds and storms of life, they also help me see inside myself, to my own personal history and who I am on the inside. And when I need to vent... they help me to do it safely. My work, which I like to refer to as my vocation, is like the varied things that fill my house for practical purposes, as well as my interests and comforts. My students are like my vehicles. Why you ask?? Well, that should seem obvious, they drive me crazy! Ha Ha! I love them, even when I need to tune them up, clean them up, or I accessorize them with gear and do-dads.
So much to be thankful for. I am thankful for all these things, plus good food and drink, the Zags, health, Spokane, its people and seasons, generosity, support, and entertainment. Also for music, the outdoors, and for this weekend, which comes after grades, conferences, and fall athletics.
Now, it has been, obviously, a very long time since I have "blogged" for the fifth grade. For this I am sorry. When I had time, I had little energy. When I had energy, no time. You all know what I mean, I can spare you the details. But this is something you might be thankful for. The first student who raises their hand in class and tells me (us) they read this blog, will get a homework pass! Not a bad deal. I will try to be better in keeping up with this in the following months. Keep checking. You never know what you might find.
Have a very blessed and happy Thanksgiving! Peace, Mr. Bailey

On our way

Well, we are on our way, now. Miss Gotzian is back and doing better, praise God! Getting back into our routines, and I for one am thankful.
In science, we have just moved to the scientific method from the metric measurement system. We actually watched part of an episode of Mythbusters to demonstrate this process in action.
In Religion, we have been discussing the "Steps to Respect" and the anti-bullying program. There has been some enlightening discussion on this topic to start off each day. Our kids seem to have a really good idea of what it means to be a friend and the difference between tattling and "reporting".
Reading has been a lot of fun. We just finished Gary Paulson's "Woodsong". This was a non-fiction selection that the kids enjoyed about living in the wilderness with wild animals, and we mean living "with" nature.
We are working on a short essay in English on comparing and contrasting something of interest for the students. We share on Thursday.
In math, the students are creating their own graphs with data from the text. They learned that each graph needs the title, labels, scale (with consistent intervals), and the proper data points. They seem to be doing well with this!
Most of the students have turned in their permission slips for the mile run at Hart Field next Monday (assuming the weather cooperates). If you haven't turned one in, inquire about it, please.
Well, I need to close for now. I will try to keep up on the news of the classroom every couple of days. Take care, and please don't hesitate to email any questions that might come up. Thanks.

Welcome Back Everyone!

Though the temperture was in the eighties in the classroom on our first day of school, I had the feeling this would be a COOL year!

I found the class was very intuitive about who I was, my interests, and hobbies. Some of the observations came from looking around the classroom at decorations, and some came from what the students knew from some of their older sibblings, possibly.

We had a nice tour of the building, got aquainted with procedures, went over expectations, and discussed rules and consequences. The students went to a joint music/band class where they now can see the differences and similarities side by side. Textbooks were passed out and I shared the importance of covering their books.

This was a very nice day and I look forward to many more with this class.

Remember that Wednesday morning will be an all school mass at the Primary Bldg. We will meet in Miss Feezell's classroom.

And try to remember all the business forms (in green) to return to school. See you then!