Interim Reports

Sorry for any inconvenience, but I will not be sending interim reports home until Monday March 1st!

Homemade Compost Pile Recipe

We are learning how to make our world a "better place."  There are things we can do at home that can help.  Did you know that about 30% of trash thrown away each day can be composted?!?! 
Here are some benefits to composting courtesy of the EPA:
   1. It helps get rid of plant diseases and pests.
   2. It eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers.
   3. It produces healthier crops.
   4. It is cheap...nervermind...its FREE!!!

   5. It removes solids, oil, grease, and metals from stormwater runoff.

Composting helps our Earth by:
   1. Enriching soil.
   2. Cleans contaminated soil.
   3. Helps prevent pollution.
   4. Reduces need for water, fertilizer, and pesticides.

Here are all the steps you need to create your own compost pile at home:

Materials:
Animal manure

Cardboard rolls
Clean paper
Coffee grounds and filters
Cotton rags
Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
Eggshells
Fireplace ashes
Fruits and vegetables
Grass clippings
Hair and fur
Hay and straw
Houseplants
Leaves
Nut shells

Sawdust

Shredded newspaper

Tea bags

Wood chips

Wool rags

Yard trimmings

Steps:

1.Select a dry, shady spot near a water source for your compost pile or bin.

2.Add your brown and green materials as you collect them, making sure larger pieces are chopped or shredded.

3.Moisten dry materials as they are added.

4.Once your compost pile is established, mix grass clippings and green waste into the pile and bury fruit and vegetable waste under 10 inches of compost material.

5.Optional: Cover top of compost with a tarp to keep it moist.

6.When the material at the bottom is dark and rich in color, your compost is ready to use (this is usually occurs in two months to two years).

Math Olympics- Light the Fire Within

Today we held our First Math Olympiad at Smith Elementary!!! There were only 6 events between two classes and even though most kids wanted to show off their competitive side, optimism and teamwork was everywhere.  Here are some pictures of the students in action at each event.

The Right Handed Marble Grab

(measuring mass)

The Left-Handed Sponge Squeeze

(measuring capacity)

The Big Foot

(measuring area)

Cotton Ball Shot Put

(measuring length)

The Plastic Straw Javeline

(measuring length)

The Paper Plate Discuss

(measuring length)

Each student had to estimate their measurement before they could complete the event.  Boy did they underestimate their athletic talents!  We had a blast!

Gazette Memo Feb. 22-26

Why did the gardener plant his money? Because he wanted his soil to be rich!!!

   We are starting our Goin’ Green Unit (Soil/Plants) this week. Our magnet status has really helped us on focusing on objectives we find essential for your child’s understanding of the world around them. The class will discuss what they already know about soil, composting, pollination, and plants. Then on Friday, we will be creating something very important for our school (I would tell you, but I hate to ruin the surprise)!!! Lots of pictures will be taken throughout this unit. An end of unit project assignment is in the making and the grading scale will be sent home within the next few weeks…so please be on the lookout!

   No one has turned in their $8.50 for the Soil Scientist field trip. This money isn’t due until the beginning of April, but if you can pay early, that would help us tremendously.

   There is a Math test on Tuesday and a Reading test on Thursday. I grade the tests immediately, so your child should be able to tell you how they did!!! I’m expecting the best of grades of course 

    Interim reports will be sent home on Friday. They will need to be signed and returned.

   The African American History Trivia has been very enlightening. We have learned about many knowledgeable and caring people who have shaped our culture. Thank you for working with your kids…the grades have been outstanding!

Objectives this week:
*Math- multiplication and division word problems, estimation, order of operations (Pass My Dad A Spoon), finding the unknown in a number sentence, test on Tuesday
*Reading- compare and contrast stories or characters, author and character point-of-view, double consonants, small group independent projects on the novel they are reading, test on Thursday.
*Writing-Imaginative Narrative
*Science- Soil: list and explain the functions of parts of a seed, identify how properties of soil influence the soils ability of hold water, conduct investigations analyzing how soil type affects water absorption rates, identify the properties of soil that support most plant growth, list the basic parts of soil, humus, sand, and clay, explain how composting recycles discarded plant and animal materials, determine how heat aids in the decay of plant material in a compost pile

Spelling Feb. 22-26

1. begged
2. bottles
3. collect
4. common
5. correct
6. different
7. hugged
8. jelly
9. lesson
10. running
11. supper
12. matter
13. pulled
14. silly
15. possible

Spelling Feb. 15-19

1. choose
2. loose
3. stoop
4. coop
5. troop
6. proof
7. moose
8. stood
9. brook
10. foot
11. setting
12. conflict
13. problem
14. resolution
15. character