Announcements

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all!  We're hoping that everyone enjoyed 
their vacations and has come back to school refreshed and ready to get down 
to business.  The calendar tells us that there are seven school weeks until 
the CMTs!

We will get back into DRP practice and are reading in Theme Three "Try to See 
it My Way" which helps us notice others' points of view.  We will also be 
reading "The Monkey King", a Chinese tale of a mischievous immortal, in the 
next few weeks.  Add on a variety of non-fiction articles and we have a very 
busy month ahead!

In Math we will have our Unit 5 test by week's end and then will continue our 
work on Fractions and Decimals in Unit 6 before taking our mid-year 
assessment in February.

In Science we are studying Light- which includes colors, prisms, reflection, 
refraction, opaque vs transparent matter, periscopes, and parts of the eye 
and their functions.  We will also compare the eye to a camera!  
Additionally, in 5th grade there will be a Science CMT.

Finally, in writing we will be working on Expository prompts which include an 
introduction, the body (with topic sentences and supporting details), and a 
conclusion.  This writing style will be tested on the CMTs as well as 
Editing/Revising skills.

Scholastic Book Orders due next week!

After school programs begin next Monday, the 11th.

Stark Pasta Dinner- January 22nd.  Hope to see you there!

Order your Stark School spiritwear online and get items shipped right to your 
house or Stark for your convenience (copy and paste the link below or visit 
our Links section)

http://www.itownstore.com/index.php?
main_page=store_view&cPath=5_385_739_740_1033_1034&cid=1034

It is most important that children have automaticity with the multiplication 
facts.  Here's another fun site to practice (as always parents please preview 
sites before letting children play).  Copy and paste link or visit our links 
section.
http://www.sporcle.com/games/multiplication_table.php

Across all subject areas, we are working on "How do you know?"  and "What's 
your evidence?"  Feel free to ask your child to explain their thinking no 
matter what the topic!  In school, they always expect a teacher to 
say "Because?..."
 
We've done a great job of staying healthy so far this year!  If your child 
has a fever they MUST stay home until 24 hrs. AFTER the fever breaks.  If 
they are not feeling well, please keep them home.  It helps them recover more 
quickly and keeps their neighbors from getting sick as well.

The first Monday of every month is Dairy Inn night for Stark Schoool!  Miss 
Lynam will be there helping to take orders and serve you ice cream.  Come on 
out for dinner or dessert, eat-in or take-out...a percentage of your bill 
will be donated to the PFO.  The Dairy Inn is located at 1092 Hope St in the 
Springdale shopping center (across from Twin Rink ice rink).