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Honoring Our Hero

Last year, we adopted Lt. Cameron West's platoon and began to send care packages to his platoon in Afghanistan.  Shortly after, Lt. Cameron West was wounded and had to come home; however, Frey continued to send care packages to his platoon in Afghanistan until the end of the school year. On Friday, 12/16/11 Lt. Cameron West will be visiting our school to thank all of the students.  We are holding a "Coins for Cameron" drive on this Tuesday and Wednesday.  We are planning to present Lt. Cameron West with a check for the Wounded War Foundation on Friday, 12/16th.  At 10:00 AM, our students will line the hallways for our "Hero's Welcome Walk of Honor".  The students will stand in the hallways, holding the American Flag, as Lt. Cameron takes the "Walk of Honor" at Frey.  He will walk down each hallway so that each student will be able to see him and thank him for his service to our Country.  Our staff and students are asked to wear their Lt. Cameron shirt from last year, the Patriotic Frey Shirt, or red, white, and blue on this day. The presentation of the check will be broadcasted from the Media Center to the classrooms and Lt. Cameron will take a moment to speak to the students from this broadcast.

 

This won't be the first time Lt. Cameron West has walked the halls of Frey.  He took his first "Walk of Honor" as a 5th grader in May of 1997, when he graduated from Frey Elementary School.  Lt. Cameron West is very special to us because he was a former Frey student.  It is an honor to have him come and visit us and we are so proud of this Marine.

 

In addition, each student that sends in a donation on this Tuesday and Wednesday will receive a link to add to our Rachel's Challenge Chain of Kindness.

 

Thank you so much for your support!

December is Here....

Hello Parents,

Here is an update as to what will be happening this month.

Math:

In math we are currently working on operations with fractions, including adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers.  With this new concept, students will need to make sure that they remember the tips and strategies we have been working on so that they know what to do when. When we add and subtract fractions we have to have the same denominator, but when multiplying and dividing we do not.  Throughout this whole unit, I will be teaching student multiple ways using models and algorithms.  After they have learned and mastered the variety of methods to solve these problems, students will be able to decide what way they like best. Key phrases that you hopefully will be hearing at home include "How did you get there?", "Bring it down.", "Go to the bank.", "get m.a.d.",  "multiplication railroad", "keep it, change it, flip it.", and "Put on your argyle socks.".

Language Arts:

In reading, we have started this month off by reading the story "Milo the Wonderdog: Book 1; Leonardo's Wings" from our student reader. In this clever and detailed story we will be working with skills including previewing a text, identifying story elements, identifying point of view along with deply analying the character, setting and plot.

After we finish this fun science fiction story, we will begin to read a biography on an assigned influential person from the turn of the century.  While reading, students will be collecting ideas on notecards that they will later use to craft an informational piece of writing about the person they read about.

We will also continue to work on informational writing and comparing our work to sample papers that have been provided by the state.  As we prepare for the state writing exam, students will continue to learn the tools and strategies that they need to not only meet the standards, but exceed them!

In grammar, we will continue to work on parts of speech focusing on modifier, which is a fancy name for adjectives and adverbs.  We will also continue to write to our pen pals from the school that I used to teach at in Palos Park, IL.

Social Studies

When we return from winter break we will be learning how we acquired our two final states and how our country got pulled into the First World War. 

Science

We will continue and finish up one of the students most favorite science units on changes in matter.  Microscope, chemical changes and conservation of matter experiments will be enjoyed by all students as we learn how everything in the universe is made up of matter which can change, both physically and chemically.

 Health Update

On December 20^th – 21^st Mrs. Kathy Kruger from Health Wise Developmental Education Specialists, will present a program on Human Growth and Development to the fifth grade students.  The program meets the curriculum standards in health, which relate to the onset of puberty.  This program is designed for the student’s age and maturity, the boys and girls will be separated during instruction.

The presentation will focus on the physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty and good health habits. 

The video and teaching materials will be available on December 15^th, December 16^th and December 19th from 7:15 a.m. – 2:45 p.m., in the counselor’s lobby.  Please feel free to stop by during those hours, if you would like to preview lessons that will be taught to students.