10/29/10 Newsletter

 
Metro Theatre

On Monday, students enjoyed a live, professional theater performance called Tomato Girl.  In conjunction with our Literature unit, we discussed the use of theme as well as how the actors used characterization to create their characters.  This week we took one of our stories to "act."  In planning for our performance, students had to decide character traits to make their characters come to life. 

 Thanks Mr. Thoelke!

Mr. Mark Thoelke, Zion's church music director and our beloved choir director came to visit our class.  He introduced parts of the hymnal to us, so we could conduct a hymn study.  This was a wrap of our unit on the Sacraments.  Students had to search through Baptism and Communion hymns to look for Biblical truths we learned in our unit.

Thanks Room Moms and Parent Helpers!

Thanks for our yummy goodies and fun times at our Harvest Party today!

10/22/10 Newsletter

Conference Thank You

Thank you to all the parents for taking your time to meet with me yesterday and today.  As we partner together in the education of your child, please do not hesitate to contact me in the coming weeks or months regarding the goals we set in place for your child or if new questions arise.  Zion is very blessed to have caring, supportive families. 

A Visit with Pastor Rouland

As part of our Religion study of the Sacraments, we took a "field trip" to the church where Pastor Rouland met with us to discuss Holy Communion.  Students had an opportunity to rediscover the connections between the Old Testament Passover celebration and the gift of Jesus as our "ONCE FOR ALL" sacrifice.  Students received an up close look at the altar and communion ware.  They even had a chance to taste the wafers.  We thank Pastor for his time and helping us understand more about this special part of our worship and for giving us a "behind the scenes" tour. 

Hark - The Students Lead Advent Worship!
On Wednesday, December 1, at 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m, grades 5 and 6 will lead the first Advent worship sevices at Zion Church.  This is a wonderful opportunity for our students as they help our congregation prepare for the Lord's coming.  Attendance is expected at both services , so please mark your calendars now and keep the date open.  We are eager to begin preparations in November for leading, worship especially since these services are sheduled for one week after Thanksgiving break.

During the coming weeks, all students will learn songs selected to reinforce their message.  Students will also have opportunities to try various roles and parts in the service.  Part of our Memory Work assignments will shift focus to learning our parts.  Students will also have an opportunity to share their special musical talents.  Any student who has had two years of music lessons or is in the Concert Band may offer to play for the services.  Selections must be:
     1)  sacred music related to the Advent or Christmas seasons of the church year
     2)  practiced and ready to audition before Thanksgiving break

10/15/10 Newsletter

Amazing Day at the Science Center

Great day for a field trip!

Roller Coaster Design Challenge

This should work!

Can you make it burp?

Fire away!

For more photos of our Science Center Field trip, please follow this link:Picasa Album

End of the Quarter

Today marks the end of the first quarter.  God has truly blessed me with an incredible group of students who love to learn!  I am proud of their hard work and cooperation as a class.  Next week we will look at goal setting for the next quarter and ways to work toward excellence using the gifts God has given us. 

Due to the end of the quarter and report card processing, grades will not be updated online today.  Rather, end of the quarter grades will be shared when you receive your child's report card at your parent teacher conference.  LOOK FOR YOUR CONFERENCE LETTER to come home in your child's Friday Folder today with your scheduled time.  Please return the letter Monday to confirm the time works for you. 

10/7/10 Newsletter

PT Conference Scheduling - See form below

Conferences take place Thursday Oct. 21 and Friday Oct. 22.  Teachers will begin scheduling conferences at our faculty meeting on Wednesday.  Confirmation of your scheduled time will come home next Friday.

Fundraiser Celebration

Today we had a BMX Bike show to celebrate our PTL Fall Fundraiser.  Our families raised over $15,000 for Zion.  Way to go!!

Field Trip Thursday

Just a reminder that our Field Trip to the Science Center will be on Thursday. Students need to bring a sack lunch that day, a jacket if weather is cool, and wear their red ZION t-shirts with standardized dress bottoms.  We are looking forward to an exciting experience.

Book Orders

Scholastic Book orders came home today.  If you need assisntance using the online ordering, please let me know.  I will place the parent letter on our website with the class code for ordering.

Parent Teacher Conferences - Oct. 21 and 22

Teachers are beginning preparations for parent teacher conferences.  We will be scheduling our conference times at our faculty meeting, Wed. October 13.  Please take time to help us prepare for conferences by filling out the following form.  All responses are confidential and sent privately to the teacher.

10/1/10 Newsletter

New Unit: The Sacraments
In Religion, we are beginning a study of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.  These holy acts were instituted by Christ himself and offer a visible connection to the invisible work of God in our lives, namely, forgiveness of sins and salvation.

In the course of the unit, we will be learning how baptism is part of our everday lives and how and why God instructed us to celebrate the Lord's Supper "often."  We will also explore symbols in the church, differences in baptismal ceremonies, and the proctice of Holy Communion in different congregations.  This next week you may wish to talk about celebrating baptismal birthdays as a family and discuss what blessings we receive in baptism.  Later in the unit, you can anticipate being interviewed about your experiences in Holy Communion.  Take note in worship this weekend of any other special parts of the worship service that help us understand God's love and forgiveness.

Maternity Leave

Mrs. Joy Schenck will be my substitute for maternity leave in March.   Mrs. Schenck has subbed at Zion at all grade levels and was my maternity sub in 2008 when I had the twins.  She is an excellent teacher and knows the "ins and outs" of the Junior High.

On a personal note, thank you for your words of congratulations and prayers.  I am feeling well and am excited with each monthly doctor's appointment to hear that little heartbeat.  We will be able to find out the sex of the baby at the end of October.