December 12, 2014


Dear Parents,

I wanted to make sure you got an update on next week's events. First, the Christmas program for grades 5-8 is on Thursday evening. If your child is in band, they need to be here by 6:10 in our classroom to warm up together. If they aren't in band, they should be here by 6:15. The program starts at 6:30. If your child is in the chorus only or a card presenter (they know who they are) he/she should wear church appropriate clothes. If your child is a Rhymer, he/she should wear black pants and long sleeved black shirt- shoes are your choice.

Our party is on Friday. I plan to bring small sandwiches and maybe some soup. If you want to send your child's favorite snack, that would be great. We'll put it out and have a snack buffet. If your child wants to bring a favorite drink, that would be fine too. In case of bad weather and school is closed, we will have our party on Friday afternoon the first week back from vacation. School is dismissed at 11:00 and no lunch will be served.

Students took a history test, math test, and spelling test this morning. We are finishing up a chapter in science as well and will have a test next week. We have a nice display in the hallway of pyramids the students made that have information about ancient Egypt on them. They have also created some Egyptian artwork, and made a poster about a topic on ancient Egypt. The test went very well this morning and they should have it in their take-home folders.

We started doing sentence dictation on our spelling test this week. I started with just one sentence. This will count as a separate grade from their test. A great way to practice spelling words with your child at home is to take the list they bring home with you on errands. Ask them to spell a word while you wait at a traffic light, wait in line, etc. Ask them to use the word in a sentence to check their understanding of its meaning.

We've began studying Jesus' parables in religion class. This next week we will read the accunt of Jesus' birth.

Students have been working on capitalization this week. Next week we will be working on punctuation review.

I hope your family has a blessed Christmas. Remember that it isn't the gifts they get that your child will remember all their lives, it is the time you spend with them creating memories that will last a lifetime. I hope you can attend a worship service with your child as well.

God's blessings and best wishes for a Merry Christmas and wonderful new year in Christ,

Rhonda Tull

October 15, 2014

Parents,


Thank you so much for all your work before, during, and after the Octoberfest. It was a huge success and the credit goes to you. The students had a wonderful time and I understand that about twice the funds were raised in comparison to last year.

The class is learning about sharing a Google document. They are working on a collaborative report. Our next project will be learning to set up their own blog site where they will be required to do some homework assignments.

The class got to watch concrete being poured around the church foundation. Mr. Sprinkle talked to them about the aggregate and pouring process. I'm working on setting a field trip to a quarry, hopefully in Marshall. The quarry here is just selling aggregate they have on hand and working the landfill part of it.

We will be taking a field trip to St. Paul Lutheran High School in Concordia in November where students will have a tour, eat lunch, and see a play. I'll let you know more about that as soon as I can.

We've read four books together as a class since school started- The Cay, Timothy of the Cay, Heroes of the Faith: Johann Bach, and A Long Way from Chicago. Our next book is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Missouri author, Washington Irving. The next book report is due on October 20th. They are reading from the science fiction genre. The project will be a movie poster project.

We're reading about ancient Mesopotamia in history. We will be having a test next week. Thank you to Noah, who donated a wonderful book about Mesopotamia to the school. Students did a soil sample, and oil spill clean up in science class. We're studying nouns in English as well as practicing handwriting.

Notice that Randy Nadler is doing a presentation for us on November 5th at 1:30. You are invited to attend. He is interesting to all ages.

Parent-Teacher conferences are coming up in November. I'll be sending home more information about that. Please know that any time you want a conference with me, just let me know and we will schedule one.

For some miscellaneous topics: Beta Club is conducting a food drive this week. We are also working on the catalog fundraiser this week. If your child is in band, I'm offering "sectionals" on Tuesday and Friday after school from 3:00 to 3:30. I would like for your child to attend one or both of the times.

God's blessings!

Mrs. Tull

Sept. 16, 2014


Greetings!

We've been pretty busy so far this school year. I think routines are going pretty well. Your child was given a "Take Home" folder on the first day of school. They should be bringing it home each day and showing you the contents. It comes back to school the following day. They almost always get graded papers returned each day. Important notes etc. are included in the folder.

I know you've seen information about the upcoming Octoberfest on October 4th. Band and choir students are required to participate as they will be part of the planned entertainment. If this is an impossibility, please let us know as soon as possible. Students were also given discount cards to sell for $5 a card.

We had a very enjoyable "Antiques Roadshow" on Friday. Students were required to bring an item made before they were born. We had several interesting items. This goes along with our history chapter and students did this for a grade. We are nearing the end of our first chapter in history and will have a test this Friday. The class is also doing a study of the continents and we are almost finished with Antarctica. They will be putting their work into a book to bring home soon.

We had our first science test this past Friday and it went well for most students. We are studying weathering and erosion in our new chapter. I plan for us to visit a ready mix plant soon and then we will watch Mr. Sprinkle's crew pour some concrete at the church. I'll get some details to you shortly.

We read the book, A Long Way from Chicago aloud together and are now almost finished with The Cay. I think the class is enjoying our new reading textbooks this year too. Their first book report projects are due on Friday.

Please let me know if you have questions or concerns.

God's blessings!

Mrs. Tull