October 29-November 2

Dear Parents/Guardians,
  Last week was extremely busy with our "Just Say No!" activities and contests and with our Harvest Fest preparations.  Thank you to the families who donated candy.  We had another successful Harvest Fest.  Our class also did a great job decorating our door with our anti-drug theme.  Special thanks to Danae, Jaycey, Julian, and Christian for their hard work and creativity. 
  Please remember that October Reading Logs are due this week!  November Logs will go out Thursday.  Students should continue to read 400 minutes per month.  Junior and Michael not only read more than 400 minutes, they also turned their Reading Logs in early!  Good job. 
  Currently, we are working on a Writing, Social Studies, and Character unit based on Heifer International.  This non-profit organization provides livestock and education to people in poor areas throughout the world.  We will be donating some of our Duds for Dollars money to the purchase of animals.  Please keep an eye out for a Bake Sale announcement as well.  After student groups present finalized persuasive essay proposals to the class, please keep an eye out for a Bake Sale announcement.  The class is very excited about doing charitable work that will make a real difference in people's lives.

These are the Spelling Words for this week:

1. coincidence
2. column
3. debut
4. defend
5. determine
6. disappoint
7. drought
8. effort 
9. examine
10. knack
11. knock
12. mingle
13. orchestra
14. prediction
15. quantity
16. surgeon
17. vacuum
18. relay
19. mammoth
20. significant

Have a great week!
-Ms. Vasquez 

October 15th-19th

Dear Parents/Guardians,
  Thanks to all of you who took the time to come see me or have a phone conference last week.  Some of you will hear from me this week as I wrap up my first round of conferences.
  This week we will be busy with Galileo testing.  These tests are designed to help teachers adjust our curriculum to ensure that students are on track to learn the state standards for this school year.  Tests will be given Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday morning.  As a special treat, we will also be watching Hoot today and tomorrow.  This is a continuation of our Hoot reading unit.  Students will begin papers comparing and contrasting the book and the movie on Wednesday. 
  Wednesday is a special Dress Down day on Wednesday.  All proceeds will go to the Susan B. Komen Foundation.  Students who dress down must wear pink.  Donations of $1 or more are required for dress down.  The class that collects the most money will receive an Eegee's Party
  Currently, we are also having a candy drive for our Harvest Festival. Please send in bags of candy to help make our Harvest Fest a success.

Here are the Spelling Words for this week:

1. inhabit
2. advance
3. lenient
4. despise
5. shiver
6. pedestrian
7. exception
8. monstrous
9. machinery
10. hereditary
11. axle
12. barrette
13. adjust
14. seize
15. distant
16. quench
17. exaggerate
18. supreme
19. arrangement
20. immediate

Have a great week!
-Ms. Vasquez

October 8th-12th

I hope you had a nice Fall Break.  Now we are pushing ahead into the second quarter of the schoolyear.  If you have not yet signed up for a Parent-Teacher Conference, please stop by and sign up on my door or see if I'm available when you stop by before or after school.  If you aren't available to speak in person around school hours, let me know when you would like to have a phone conference or email me with any questions, suggestions, etc.

By Monday, we will finish our second novel, Hoot by Carl Hiaasen.  Next week we will watch the movie of the same title as a special treat.  It is a PG movie based on the book that was released in 2006.  Students will be comparing and contrasting the book and the movie in a short essay.

Here are our Spelling Words for the week:

1. coarse
2. compress
3. common
4. contrary
5. defender
6. enormous
7. exhibit
8. expert
9. hoax
10. infuriate
11. irresistable
12. pact
13. pedestal
14. pursue
15. reliable
16. service
17. shrill
18. submarine
19. technical
20. venom

I hope to see all parents soon!
-Ms. Vasquez