I hope everyone had a great weekend....we are in the home stretch of the school year right now. And, although I am tired and ready for a mental break, I am not ready to part with my 22 sweet kiddos yet!  Wertheimer can't have them! ;-)

As it IS the last month of school (only 3 more Mondays!!!) the students are getting a bit restless.  Please gently remind them at home that even though STAAR is over for most and it is the end of the school year with tons of activities going on, it IS still school and grades still count.  I have seen so many not working to their potential and not realizing that averages are dropping and that it DOES factor into their final year averages. Thank you for helping me to keep them on track.

Here is what we are focusing on this week:

Math: We are taking our math one step farther this week until the end of school and working on 6th grade skills. We are multiplying decimals and fractions using the standard algorithm method (yes, the old fashioned way we were all taught) but they are still responsible for understanding the models that were used this year as they will be carried into next year. They are doing a great job!  HW is still being given daily.

Science: As I am sure your students have been excitedly telling you, we are still working on MindcraftEDU, the educational version of Mindcraft, and building our biomes.  They are creating their own worlds as part of a science project.  It has been so exciting, not to mention tons of fun, to watch how engaged they are in the project.  I am so proud of their work so far.

ELAR: We are finishing up Number the Stars and working on a "Welcome to Huggins" brochure as part of a writing project this week.

Social Studies: We are finishing up the World Wars this week and will be moving into the present.  We will discuss how technology has impacted our world, the symbols of the United States and will be discussing the meaning behind Memorial Day.

In case anyone missed it, we had a very special choir performance this week and KPRC, Channel 2 was on hand to tape the event:

http://www.click2houston.com/news/soldier-surprises-sister-at-school/32828076​

I hope everyone was able to get out and at least enjoy some of the beautiful weather we had this weekend.  Now let's hope that the rain holds off for a little while longer so we can have some sun for a while!

Here is what we have going on this week:

Math: We are revisiting our Personal Financial Literacy unit this week to ensure mastery before we send our 5th graders off to Wertheimer.

Science: We are starting our research and planning this week for our MindcraftEDU project.  The students will be choosing, researching and building their particular biomes in the Mindcraft world over the next couple of weeks.

Social Studies: We are covering WWII and the time period immediately following both World Wars.  There will be a unit test next Tuesday over Ch. 15.

ELAR: We are still reading as a class Number the Stars in conjunction with our study on WWII in social studies.  We are also working on our daily oral language skills over the next couple of weeks.

****Help our Huggins GOTR (Girls on the Run) team raise money for LEAF and let your child have FUN wearing their favorite clothes for a WEEK. (see attached flyer for details) If you didn’t see last Friday’s E-Blast please  see below for more information on how this fundraiser will go back to LEAF. I was fortunate to have been a recipient​ of a FABULOUS LEAF grant.  LEAF does AWESOME things for our kids!!!

Huggins is the largest recipient in history of L.E.A.F grants (the Lamar Educational Awards Foundation).  We benefit greatly from this organization, and each year we work hard to combine our efforts to raise money to give back to this group.  They collect money year-round to donate directly to LCISD schools each year.  Their fundraiser “Surf’s Up” is coming up soon, and we are once again participating in the cake auction.  Last year Huggins spent $15,000 on a cake which was a combination of lots of donations to LEAF.  Obviously, the money wasn’t for cake, sugar, and flour, but to help them raise money for LCISD schools.  If you or your business would be interested in helping us by making this donation to LEAF, please let Mr. Waddill know (wwaddill@lcisd.org).  Even though your donation can be made directly to them for tax purposes, we can still use it in our Huggins “pool.”  Thanks for all you do!  Check out the flyer to see how “Girls on the Run” wants to help!

**** Field Day - Friday, May 1.  If you would like to help with field day, please click on the link below to sign up. Thank you!

 Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our Sign-Up on VolunteerSpot:
http://vols.pt/zneB7F
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a
password on VolunteerSpot.

The students have been working extra hard the last couple of weeks in our "STAARvivor" Camp to prep for the math and science STAAR tests.  They will do awesome!  They all worked extremely hard yesterday on math and I know that they will do just as well tomorrow on the science!

Thursday will be a regular day of learning and on Friday we will have a movie day while some of the 5th graders are on the choir field trip!  The students may bring G/PG movies to watch this day.

**Help our Huggins GOTR team raise money for LEAF and let your child have FUN wearing their favorite clothes for a WEEK. If you didn’t see last Friday’s E-Blast please  see below for more information on how this fundraiser will go back to LEAF. I have been fortunate to receive FABULOUS LEAF grants for materials that your students get to use daily. LEAF does AWESOME things for our kids!!!

Good morning!!!!  I hope everyone had a very relaxing Easter break and enjoyed the extra two days with your kiddos.

Today we start out "STAARvivors" Camp and will be in camp for the next two weeks as we are in the last few days of STAAR prep.  We will be focusing on different objects in math and science that your students are still struggling with.  They have been put into four teams: yellow, red, blue, and green.  For the next two weeks they are allowed to either wear camo or their team color! 

Homework will still be giving each day and we are still encouraging them to log into StemScopes and Study Island to practice their math and science.

Have a great week!

Parents: We have been preparing for the last 27 weeks of school for our upcoming STAAR tests and the first round of testing begins next Tuesday with the first administration of the Reading STAAR.  In preparation for this test, this week will look a bit differently. 

We are going to be doing a lot of preparation for the Reading STAAR test. In order to make the most of our time, we are putting Science and Social Studies aside for the week. We will be addressing reading skills instead. It will be both educational and fun. Math will continue as usual. Homework for the week will consist of math practice pages and reading for at least 20 min. nightly. (longer reading durations will build your child's endurance...) The AR deadline is Friday March 27.

 

Math: We are starting our Personal Financial Literacy unit which is also the last objective we have to learn prior to the Math STAAR.  We will be discussing income tax, payroll tax, and how to balance a budget.

 

Reading: Along with the above in the social studies and science blocks we will be discussing Author's Viewpoint this week.

 

A few important reminders:

 

Friday I sent home field trip permission forms and they need to be returned ASAP.  We will be travelling to the ship channel on Wednesday, April 1st for a tour.  At this point I have 2 confirmed chaperones and will need at least 2 more.  Please email me if you are available to chaperon.  You DO NOT have to ride the bus but please bear in mind that we have to be there at 9:45 to check in (all adults must show proper IDs for security purposes) and the tour starts promptly at 10 am.

 

Monday and Tuesday of next week are STAAR testing days beginning with the 4th grade Writing STAAR so we will be a closed campus on those 2 days.

 

Friday, April 3rd and Monday, April 6th are student/staff holidays. 

 

This Tuesday is our first ever Spirit Night at Center Court Pizza next to Yes! Fitness.  Hope to see all of you out there and please remember to tell them you are with Huggins Elementary.

 

Friday, March 27th is the end of the 3rd Nine Weeks!  Woohoo! We are 75% done with the 2014-15 school year!

 

Have a great week!

 

 

I hope everyone had a FANTASTIC Spring Break! I am so excited to see my class back today refreshed from the time off!  Here are a few reminders and the objectives we are working on this week:

Math: We are working on displaying information and analyzing it in a dot plot and scatter plot.  We will have a spiral review over information that we have learned this year on Friday. Please make sure your students are getting on Study Island to work on ALL skills.  On the last spiral review we had questions about dividing and multiplying fractions and the students seemed to struggle on this since it was from earlier in the year.

Science: We are doing labs all week to review over objectives that we felt the students were weakest on.  We will have science homework every night this week from the textbook, not StemScopes.  The homework is as follows:
                Mon: Read pgs. 65-75 and complete pg. 76
                Tues: Complete pg. 77
                Wed: Complete 78-79
                Thurs: Complete pg. 80

Social Studies: This week we are studying Ch. 20 in History Alive: Industrialization and Modern America.  We will have a Ch. 20 quiz on Friday.  Please encourage your student to go to the History Alive website and to take the practice quiz.

ELAR: This week we are focusing on comparing and contrasting themes or moral lessons in works of fiction from various cultures.  I have assigned assignments in Study Island for practice

****Coffee with the Principal is Thursday followed by the FOH and Room Moms' meetings.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  We have a busy week ahead of ourselves and next week is Spring Break!!!

Math: We are working on analyzing data using various charts and graphs: frequency tables and bar graphs.  Our Module 15 test will be on Thursday.

Science: In science we are finishing up our last objective which is Metamorphosis.  The homework will be in StemScopes: Metamorphosis this week.

Social Studies: We are studying about the Civil War.  The students have been working on their projects: Abolitionist Cards in class and they are due on Wed.  They can bring their MLDs for the next two days. The History Alive Ch. 19 quiz will be on Friday.

ELAR: We are still working on the types of sentences in ELA. In reading we are done with our Book Clubs for this nine weeks and will be focusing on inferencing and drawing conclusions.

Don't forget that Friday will be an Early Release Day at 11:30 and that the Book Fair will be going on all week!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Here is what we are focusing on this week:


Math: We are finishing up two dimensional figures and will be taking a Module 11/Post-Test on Wednesday.  We will be starting frequency tables and categorical data on Thursday.

Science: Science Adaptation projects were due today.  They are 10 points off for every day they are late.  Thank you for all that finished projects and brought them in today.  I am so excited to see the creativity during our presentations today.  We are studying about inherited traits this week.

Social Studies: We are finishing up the Causes of the Civil War this week and will have a History Alive Ch. 18 quiz on Wednesday. On Thursday we will be starting Ch. 19, the Civil War.

ELAR: We are discussing types of media in Reading this week.  We will also be finishing up this nine weeks' book clubs.  Please sure your students are reading 20 min. per night in order to meet their AR goal.  We will be doing our 2nd composition this Thursday and it will be a cold write: the students will be given a prompt and will have 4 hours to complete their compositions.

***This Friday is “Go Texan” day in the Greater Houston Area as we prepare for the upcoming rodeo season. Our students are welcome to participate that day, and we look forward to seeing all of the cowboys and cowgirls that day!

*** It is that time of year again for the “Pennies for Patients” coin drive where we raise money in order to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, hopefully find a cure soon.  In 2012, Huggins Elementary raised $2,661.75!
Our drive will be for 8 days only - February 23-March 4th, so start looking for coins in the couch!

***Book fair preview begins this week and students will be able to purchase books next week. Due to the book fair the library will be closed. Make sure your child has something to read from home, the public library, or they can select something from my classroom library.

Hope everyone had a great long weekend and stayed warm yesterday as Mother Nature decided to switch from Spring back into Winter :-)!

Here is what is happening this week in 5th grade:

Math: We are finished with our unit on Area/Perimeter/Volume and will be starting our unit on two dimensional shapes. We will have a quiz/spiral review over this on Friday.

Science: We are talking about environmental changes this week and the homework is under the same topic on StemScopes.  Don't forget about the Adaptations project that is due on the 23rd.

Social Studies: We are done with the Industrial Revolution and are starting Ch. 18 in the History Alive book on the Causes of the Civil War.  Our quiz will be next Wed.

ELAR: We are discussing different forms of media in Reading and will still be working on persuasive writing this week in Language Arts.

Don't forget that the Sweetheart Dance is this Friday for all girls at Huggins and will be from 7-9 pm.  It is free for students and $5 for each adult.

Have a great week!

Great job to all of the Sweetheart Stroll participants and to the Science Olympiad competitors!  We had a great showing at both.  Here is what we are studying this week:

We are taking Benchmark Exams this week and the schedule is as follows:
Monday: Reading
Tuesday: Math
Wednesday: Science

These benchmarks are not a grade but the students need to do the best that they can.  We use the data to see where they are still struggling so we can adjust our teaching to meet the gaps.

Math: We are finishing up volume of rectangular prisms and will be starting our unit on 3-D shapes. We have another area/perimenter/volume test on Wed. morning.

Science: We have assigned our "Adaptations" projects and the students will be given the requirements today.  They are to be done at home and won't be due until Feb. 23rd. We will be studying adaptations all week.

Social Studies: We are finishing up the Industrial Revolution and will be testing over it on Tuesday.

ELAR: We are finishing up our first persuasive writing piece and will be doing some practice reading passages this week.

Our Valentine's Day party will be from 8-9 am on Friday and don't forget that it is an early release day at 11:30.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Here are a few things we are working on this week:

Math: We are still working on measurement with area/perimeter/volume.  There will be a Module 9 Assessment on Wednesday over this material. 

Science: We are learning about food webs and chains this week.  We are in the process of building our self-sustaining eco-columns with the donated 2-liter bottles.  As of the moment, we have our elodea, algae, duckweed, fish, and snails in our columns.  They are completely self-sustaining and will not require a pump nor food to keep our fish and snails alive. We are still in need of CLEAR 2 liter bottles for the remainder of the experiment.  Please sent these up as soon as possible.  Thank you!

Social Studies: We are still studying the Industrial Revolution this week.  We will be working on an inventions brochure and will be researching the various inventions from this time period this week.  The students are able to bring their MLD's (Mobile Learning Devices) for research on Tuesday and Wednesday.

ELAR: We are working on our first composition this nine weeks.  We are studying persuasion in both writing and reading.

**Next week we will be taking our Reading, Math, and Science benchmarks to gather data for STAAR prep.  Please make sure your students are present these days and that they are well rested and have had a good breakfast***

***Race Rally this Thursday at the Cross Creek McDonald's and packet pick-up is also available here on Friday***

***Science Olympiad is this Saturday after the Sweetheart Stroll***

We had an awesome short week last week and were able to accomplish a lot even with the field trip to Foster High School for "Once Upon a Mattress".

Here is what we will be learning this week:

Math: We are still in our measurement unit and are studying area, perimeter and volume.  Please still review with your students how to do conversions with both metric and customary units of measurement. Khan Academy has several great videos to help practice these. We will have a spiral review on Friday.

Science: We are still working on our Biomes project presentations.  They are due on Wednesday and the students are hard at work on their posters.  I am impressed with the creativity I am seeing with each of them as they create their posters.  We won't be needing our MLDs this week as the research portion is finished and we are just working on transferring that information to the drawings.  The homework this week is on StemScopes: Food Webs and is due Friday.  The students MUST be working on StemScopes.

Social Studies: We are starting our unit on the Industrial Revolution and will be discussing this over the next few weeks. We will have an in-class project next week and the students will be creating a brochure on the inventions during this time period.  They can bring their MLDs next week.

ELAR: We will be starting our writing process this week on a persuasive writing piece.  We are working on several activities in reading to practice drawing conclusions, making inferences, and providing textual evidence to support our answers.

Have a great week!

I hope everyone enjoyed the extra long weekend.  We have a busy, short week ahead!

Math: We are still working on our measurement unit.  We will be practicing how to do measurement conversions this week using real-world problems, tables, and how to do metric system conversions using the King Henry method.  We will have our Module 13 assessment on Friday over measurement conversions.

Science:  We will be working on our Biomes group research project this week.  The students are allowed to bring their MLDs or Mobile Learning Devices to school for Tuesday and Wednesday (iPods, tablets, smartphones, etc.).  These devices will ONLY be used for research.  Please do not worry if your student does not have access to one.  We also have grade-level laptops that they can use and one class iPad.  They will also need to bring a sheet of posterboard by Thursday to finish their projects.  Their homework for the week will be in StemScopes: Interdependency.  It will be due Friday.  We are seeing a huge correlation between the students who continually work in StemScopes and the ones who do well on their assessments and nine weeks test.  They MUST be practicing in StemScopes in order to be successful.

Social Studies: We are working in History Alive, Chapter 17: The Diverse Peoples of the West this week.  Their HA Ch. 17 quiz will be next Monday.

ELAR: We are starting our Book Clubs this week and all students were given a choice of book and from there we formed our "clubs". They will be meeting twice a week to read together and to have discussions and answer questions about what they have read.  Each week, one club member will be responsible for "hosting" the discussion meeting and they are able to bring snacks for their club.  Please make sure the snacks are simple and not messy and if plates are needed please have them send those as well. The class is really excited about this!

A couple of reminders:
***Thursday: We will be traveling to Foster HS to watch "The Princess and the Pea" production.  Field trip permission slips went home in HOWL folders Friday and need to be returned ASAP. We will be back by lunchtime.

***Report cards will go home on Thursday

***Kindergarten pictures are due by Jan. 30th.  Please send those up as soon as possible if you haven't yet.  If you don't have an actual kinder picture, any picture from that age would be fine.  They WILL be returned to you.

Thank you again for sharing your children with me!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  This week we will be wrapping up the 2nd 9 weeks grading period.  The 9 weeks assessment schedule is as follows:

Wed: Reading and Social Studies
Thurs: Science and Math

Your student were sent home a very in-depth review sheet last week that detailed all of the objects for every subject that they will be tested on.  Please utilize all websites/materials listed on the study guide.

Here is what we will be covering this week in preparation for the end of the nine weeks:

Math: We started last week on measurement and will be working on how to convert units of measurement using both the metric and customary units.  We will be reviewing how to add/subt/multiply/divide fractions for the nine weeks assessment.  Please visit my class Facebook page to see videos for reminders on how to use the different methods.

Science:  We have finished up the section on Earth's rotations and will be discussing the Earth, Sun, and Moon this week.  This week's homework is assigned on StemScopes and will be due Friday.  There will be a major assessment over this section on Friday but if they are prepared for the nine weeks assessment they will do fine on the test just for this section.

Social Studies: We will be reviewing over the three units we covered this nine weeks: the Constitution, the creation of our government and Westward Expansion in preparation for the nine weeks assessment.  Remember that the assessment is not just testing them on their knowledge of this information but also of the application of it.  They will be getting an additional study guide today hitting on the major people/events of these time periods and it needs to be studied in addition to their social studies journal.

ELAR: We are studying sensory imagery this week and prefixes/suffixes.  This is the last week to reach their AR goals so please encourage them to still be reading 20 min/ night and to take their AR tests.

Happy New Year to my entire Huggins "family"!!! I hope that the break was a restful one for everyone!

Here are this week's happenings:

Math: We are wrapping up our unit on coordinate grids and how to plot points using both given points and one based on a rule and an input/output table.  We will be moving into measurement on Thursday. 

Science: We finished up prior to the break our unit on Weather, Climate, and the Water Cycle.  This week we are studying the Earth, Sun, and Moon.  We are discussing the difference between the Earth's rotation vs. It's revolution. Our assessment for this unit will be next Friday, January 16th.  The homework this week is assigned in StemScopes under Earth's Rotation.

Social Studies: We are almost finished with our unit on Westward Expansion.  There will be a History Alive Ch. 16 quiz on Thursday.  Please have your students studying on the tutorial website and they also have been taking notes in their interactive notebooks.

ELAR: We will be beginning our literature circles this week.  We are still working on the elements of Poetry.

Nine Weeks Assessments will be next week and a review sheet was sent home today with your students that had all of the topics we covered in each subject.  Please see the notes at the top of each section that will tell you where to find information in each subject.  The schedule will be as follows:

Reading and Social Studies will be given on Wednesday, Jan. 14th and Math and Science will be given on Thursday, Jan. 15th.

We will have an author visit on Monday.  Please check your email for the attachment.  Thank you and have a great week!