While You Were Away

Even the people back home this week had a bit of fun!

INQUIRY UPDATE

Students will be receiving their score sheet from their Inquiry Fair Project. Students will have an opportunity to improve their score/grade by continuing to research information about their topic. They will have until May 30 to resubmit their project. For students who are not needing to resubmit their project, they will have the opportunity to complete a mini-inuiry project by investigating any topic of their choice.

INQUIRY UPDATE

The Inquiry Fair is fast approaching! The students are going public with their information on Monday, May 12 from 4:30-8:00 pm.  The areas that students are investigating include Simple Machines, the Human Body Systems, and Renewable Energy. Included in this post are frequently asked questions. We hope this helps!

• WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ESSENTIAL QUESTION AND THE REAL WORLD PROBLEM? The essential question is broad (i.e. Why is the skeletal system important to the human body?) The real world problem is more specific and should connect to the student's life or world in some way (i.e. How do bones heal after a break? What can I do to help keep my bones healthy and strong?)

• ARE THE STUDENTS GIVEN TIME TO WORK AND RESOURCES TO USE DURING THE DAY? We have lots of materials at school (i.e. books) for the kids to use. There are also many approved web sites for the students to access through links in Moodle. There is a link to Moodle provided in this blog, as well as through the District's homepage. The students log-in is the same as Achieve3000, but only the numbers are needed (no wawm). The students are provided 30-60 minutes everyday to work on their project. This includes seminars, independent work time, conferring with teachers, and time to work with their partner(s).

• DOES MY CHILD HAVE TO STAY FOR THE ENTIRE INQUIRY FAIR (4:30-8:00 PM)? Students do not need to be at the entire Inquiry Fair. Since the Inquiry Fair is also Parent/Teacher conferences and are led by the students, they can leave as soon as they have shared their project with you. This is also an opportunity for students to view other projects throughout the school!

• HOW WILL MY CHILD'S PROJECT BE GRADED? We will use the Inquiry Rubric to grade the projects. Students should have brought home a paper-copy on Friday, May 2, and the rubric is also included as links in Moodle and in Google Drive. Basically, students should know facts and vocabulary about their chosen topic, should able to explain the information, and have answered their Essential Question and Real World Problem. Projects will be graded throughout the week of May 12-16. After the project is scored, students will have an opportunity to make corrections or to further investigate their topic. Students have until May 30 to resubmit their project.

• WHY DOESN'T THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA IMAGEQUEST LINK WORK AT HOME?  Since Mitchell School has a license to use ImageQuest, the web site can only be accessed from the school's wireless connection. ImageQuest provides images that students can use in their project.

• WHAT SHOULD MY CHILD'S PROJECT LOOK LIKE?  Students are able to decide how they want to go public with their information. This can include a display board, poster, prezi, power point, etc. It's important that the Essential Question and Real World Problem are visible and answered since this is the essence of the project.

 

We hope this information helps to clarify the Inquiry Fair. Please let us know if you have any other questions. We will then add your question and response to this blog so it is helpful to others.

ACHIEVE 3000 SHOUT-OUTS!

ACHIEVE 3000 SHOUT-OUTS!

Team Shine has been working hard to improve reading comprehension by using Achieve 3000. The following students have been showing amazing progress by completing at least 15 articles between April 1-April 30 while maintaining an average score of 75% or better on the activities. 

CONGRATULATIONS!

Morgan A.        Mason B.
Ryan B.            Alexis B.

Reese B.          Matthew E.

Kyleigh F.        Tyler G.

Tatiana H.        Hannah H.

Dylan L.           Claudia M.

Owen M.          Taylor R.         

Jaelynn S.     Abby W.

Kaden W.        Chloe Z.

EXTRA SPECIAL SHOUT-OUTS:
Mason B. (highest number of articles completed)
Jaelynn S. (highest average score)

Jasmine T. (highest increase in Lexile score)

ACHIEVE 3000 SHOUT-OUTS!

Team Shine has been working hard to improve reading comprehension by using Achieve 3000. The following students have been showing amazing progress by completing at least 15 articles between January 1-February 26 (2 articles a week) while maintaining an average score of 75% or better on the activities. 

CONGRATULATIONS!

Reese B.          Lily E.

Rane F.            Madison G.

Tyler G.           George N.

Dylan P.          Taylor R.

Jaelynn S.        Hanna S.

Laurel T.

EXTRA SPECIAL SHOUT-OUTS:
Reese B. (highest number of articles completed)
George N. (highest average score)

THINK

The 5th grade students at General Mitchell will be participating in a 5-week THINK class with Officer Rod Nelson of the West Allis Police Department. The classes will be on Tuesdays from 2:00-3:00 in room 110.  For more information, click on the following link: THINK

INCREDI ROLL-HALF PRICE EVENT!

TUESDAY, MARCH 4 is the next Incredi Roll skating event from 6:00-8:00 P.M.  It's half-price month so the cost is only $2.50. Let's get out there and SK8!

FRIDAY MORNING FISH ASSEMBLY

This Friday, February 21, Team Shine will leading the FISH meeting. If you would like to watch our class lead the meeting, please join us in the Multipurpose Room at 8:45 am. Please wear RED in celebration of a HEALTHY HEART MONTH!

Mitchell NxGL Survey for Families

 Hello Families!

We hope you will find time to take a survey about NxGL Classrooms. The survey needs to be done by March 3^rd.  If you would like a paper copy, please let us know and we will print one out for you. Thank you!  Click here for the survey.

SURVIVE ALIVE-Rescheduled for February 13

The fourth grade field trip to Survive Alive has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 13th.  Students should practice reciting their phone number and home address. They will be expected to do this at Survive Alive when they practice calling 911. Thank you!

WORD WORK

Last week, all students in Team Shine took a mid-year spelling assessment. We will use this assessment to form new Word Work groups. These groups will begin on Monday, February 3. There will be no new assignments until that time. If you have any questions, please let us know!
Thanks,
Team Shine Teachers
Mrs. Graff & Miss Reichert

CAMP UPHAM WOODS INFORMATION NIGHT: Tuesday, February 11

            From Monday, May 19^th – Wednesday, May 21^st 2014, all fifth grade students from General Mitchell School in Mrs. Graff’s, Miss Reichert’s, Miss Dierbeck’s, and Miss Jirjis’s rooms will be going to Camp Upham Woods which is located a few miles north of the Wisconsin Dells.  Upham Woods is a State 4-H Center, owned and operated by the University of Wisconsin.

            The boys and girls will gain insight into human relations, knowledge and appreciation of the out-of-doors, and leadership responsibilities.  Such opportunities are provided through small group living, sharing of responsibilities, practical experience in outdoor skills, and conservation practices.  These educational experiences can best be provided in a non-classroom setting such as Upham Woods.

            There will be an information meeting for all parents and their fifth grade child on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11^th, 2014 from 6:30-8:00 P.M. in the multipurpose room.  At that time, we will explain the trip more completely, provide an overview of this year’s schedule, outline the costs for both students and chaperones, and respond to your questions or concerns.  We will also discuss the students’ requirements for attending this trip. Health and Student Expectation Forms will be handed out as well. Parents who are interested in becoming a chaperone will be able to sign up that night.

            This year all the students attending camp had an opportunity to participate in the Nature’s Vision fundraiser. We will also sell Racine Kringles.  The Kringles fund raiser order forms will be handed out that night.

Six Flags Read to Succeed Reading Program ends Thursday, February 6

The Six Flags Read to Succeed Program has begun. Your child should have brought home a reading log to keep track of the 360 minutes (6 hours) required. Participating in this program is strictly voluntary, and the reward is a Six Flags admission ticket for each student who successfully reads for  6 hours. The verification log is due by Thursday, February 6.  Please let us know if you need an extra copy.

SPELLING BEE

Good luck to Team Shine's Spelling Bee participants! Mitchell's Spelling Bee will take place on Wednesday, January 15 in the Multipurpose Room at 1:30 pm. The champion will participate in the District Spelling Bee on Wednesday, January 29 at Nathan Hale at 6:30 pm.