Save the Date! April 27 is the Spring Concert, Grandparents Day, and Academic Fair

The students have completed two workshops and have enjoyed them tremendously and our  knowledgeable and dynamic presenter, Mr. Ryan.

There are follow-up activities associated with each workshop, “Virtual Voyages,” below find the links if you would like to explore with your child:

Zoology:   www.discoverycenter.org/curriculum/sciencesource.htm

Scientific Method and Technology:    This workshop has several links, I will send the paper home with Friday Folders.

Thank you! Have a wonderful week.

Learn more about the Civil War in Missouri:

http://www.civilwarmo.org/educators/lost-in-time

Dear Parents,

I hope everyone had a restful break.  The students were all in good spirits this morning and very happy to be back!

Math:  We will focus on fractions, decimals and percents and begin a math investigation, ”How Would You Spend $1,000,000?”  The math investigation is fairly involved, I will send the packet home with students this week.  This is a (fun!) culminating math project that will be due Friday, May 11th.  Students may work together and get help at home but each student is responsible for his/her own final product.

Science:  Students will look at the history of life on Earth, investigate the theory of evolution and study the various classification systems scientists use.  Students will read selections of text, take notes and conduct small investigations.   In addition students will continue working on their  Science Fair projects and the Discovery Center workshops will start on Friday.  The last unit will be on population dynamics.

Please note:  I have placed several spelling lists on bigiqkids.com, again these are self-paced and are primarily to support the student in expanding his/her understanding of the vocabulary in various subjects.

Literature:  We will continue reading The View from Saturday  and hope to start and finish one more book before the end of the year.  Our analysis unit will  focus on analyzing text and identifying the main ideas and details in nonfiction, evaluating the accuracy of information in sources and planning an explanatory essay.

Social Studies:  Our final unit will look at the Industrial revolution and the Civil War and includes a field trip to Wilson’s Creek on April 12th.  Students should work on the I.R. webquest both at school and at home.  The due date for the webquest is Thursday, April 11th. Please let me know if you have any questions about this assignment.

To all of the winning entries from The Summit!

5th grade winners:

3rd place, Play Script:  ”Cool Kids”  by Savannah Davison, et.al.

2nd place, Individual Drawing:  ”Planting Bean Plants”  by Lauren Messenger

Honorable mention, Individual Drawing:  ”Ana” by Eden Chiu-Pinheiro

Our partnership with the Discovery Center will start on March 30th, please see below for the list of topics:

Wk. 1 Zoology

Wk. 2 Technology & the Scientific Method

Wk. 3 Astronomy

Wk. 4 Energy

Wk. 5 Electricity

Wk. 6 Simple Machines Part 1

Wk. 7 Simple Machines Part 2

The 8th visit will be on May 18th at the Discovery Center and I will need one parent driver.

Community Service Project

Are you going to The Summit’s Trivia Night? Do you need babysitting for your kids?
If so, you should sign up for Culture Night for Kid’s, which is Parent’s Night Out with a cultural theme.  Games, snacks, and activities from China, South Korea, Germany, and India are included.

Sign up now! Just click on the below link.

http://shortlinks.thesummitprep.org/culture

Dear Parents,

I can’t believe how this year has flown by!

This month we have several exciting projects coming up….

Starting on Thursday, February 9, the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades  will create a large scale mural at Drury University that will eventually be displayed at The Summit. Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Fisk we will have transportation.  The project should take five or six weeks so that will take  us up to Spring Break. There will be a small fee per student, I will let you know later on the exact amount.

This month we will begin our exploration of westward expansion and the formation of the United States.  We will continue working on math basic facts.  We have completed our unit on electricity and magnetism and  for now we will focus on brainstorming for the science fair (details below).

I am also hoping to partner with the Discovery Center and set up several workshops for the 5th grade, I will let you know when the details are finalized.

The Ozarks Science & Engineering Fair will be held on  April 3-5 at Missouri State University.  The elementary fair is non-competitive but still an excellent opportunity for our students.  I would like the entire 5th grade to participate and will send forms home.  The deadline to enter is MARCH 1st.

Thank you and have a wonderful month!

Best regards,

Mrs. Tsolakis

The Missouri Society of Professional Engineers is hosting a “Discover Engineering” event for elementary school-aged children to get them interested in engineering, math, science, etc. on Saturday, February 18, from noon to 4 p.m. at Findlay Student Center, Drury University.  There will be interactive displays and experiments.  Questions:  contact Jon Robison at 417.831.9700 or jrobison@geoengineers.com .