Dates to remember as the year winds down.

April 27the NO SCHOOL for staff development.

May 1 Reading MAP in the afternoon

May 10 Math MAP in the morning

May 10  5th graders to Hamilton for visit (Those attending Wright will stay at Randall)

May 21 Pioneer Museum projects due at school!

              Lunch with the Badgers!!

May 23  Pioneer Museum for Parents 1:30 PM. All parents, friends and families welcome!

May 31 Music Concert 1:30 PM

June 1 Devil's Lake Field Trip! Come one come all!!

Monday June 4 School Talent Show at West....attendance only if your child is performing.

Tuesday June 5 Super Bowl (Rain date of June 7)

Wednesday, June 6  5th Grade Movin' On Ceremony 1:45 PM. The plan is for us to be outside.

Friday, June 8  LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.   It's a full day this year.

Mile runners with inhalers

If your child has exercise-induced asthma AND they have an inhaler at school, please remind them to visit the health office BEFORE they go to gym this week and the next (since students will be practicing for and running the mile).  If your child does not have an inhaler at school, you should consider giving them their asthma medicine before they go to school.  Please call 204-3304 if you have any questions. Thanks!  -Nurse Lovell & Terri (nurse assistant)

Westward Expansion/Pioneer Museum

Our writing this unit is non-fiction writing around topics of Westward Expansion/Pioneers.  As we do the Pioneer Project students learn a TON of information about America and how it expanded westward. We will use this information, as well as use research to write a five paragraph piece on a single topic related to westward expansion.  Ask your child what their topic is.

This week students received their topic, and began reading books and online sources about the topic. Then we began taking notes on the topic using a card system that works really great for allowing kids to take notes and write sentences while avoiding copying/plagiarizing the sources they've read. Ask your child about the process, and how Sugar likes to use the word "aaaannnnnd".

As students are working on this at school they need to be thinking about how they will be presenting this information. We will have a Historical Museum on May 23, at 8:15 for the other fifth grade classes, and for parents at 1:30. Put the date in your calendars, students LOVE an audience!

HOW WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Students will need to complete some or most of their museum project at home. The research and writing will happen at school, but the presentation needs to be done at home. Students have already been introduced to how this will work, and also been given a list of ideas on how they could present their information.  Here are some ideas:

Technology: Prezi, slide show, video, stop animation, scratch, etc.
Poster: including pictures, text, titles, captions, maps, etc.
Diorama/3D model/hands on display: This is pretty open, and specific to topic
Other: Dress up to present, play an instrument or perform, serve food related to topic, etc.
The sky is the limit. Ask if you have questions or need help. The final products are due at school on Monday, May 21st.

Change in start times for middle schools.

Many parents had questions about the possible change times to late start for middle schools. Here is a link to the school districts information on the possible changes in start times.

Start Time Information

Pioneer Project Action

This week students began on the trail. First they wrote their first diary entry explaining who they were, and where they came from, as well as why they had decided to travel west to Oregon on the Hacker Trail. Here are some great examples:

Then they had to make a decision at Prairie Wells that would affect their entire wagon train.
Here's the situation, and some hard working pioneers.

Best Quote by wagon train member:  "We're not murderers, we're just trying to get water!" Luis B.

Converting Measurements

5 MD. 1
Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real world problems.

This week we have been working on converting measurements in math class. Students will be converting length, weight/mass, and liquid capacity.  

Challenge Projects

One way students can work to increase their movement on the Hacker Trail is by doing Challenge Projects. Challenge Projects are done only outside of school, and are about any Pioneer topic (not related to their in class topic). They can be arts, crafts, writing, cooking, etc.  Students complete them at home, then bring in the project to share with the classroom. The points earned will help them be more successful on the trail. Here is some more info....

The fun has begun! Pioneer Project

The PIONEER PROJECT has begun!  This is going to be a month long unit that simulates the westward expansion of the US via the wagon train experience. Last students found out about the project, saw their wagon train members, and chose their pioneer identities.  Ask your child who he/she is, how many children they have and more information they discovered about their character today.  This week will also include learning more about Manifest Destiny (the 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable), travel by wagon, and pioneer life. 

This week they will apply this new knowledge by making supply lists, writing diary entries and making trail decisions. This project will include much writing, much luck and chance (just like on the trail), and other projects students will complete both at school and at home. The points they earn doing this work will allow their wagon train to move along the trail, hopefully arriving safely in Hacker's Valley in the end. Keep an eye out here on the blog for more information. 

Save the Dates

Attention Parents!

Two dates to put on your calendars!

Devil's Lake Field Trip is June 1st! It's all day, and we need lots of parents/chaperones willing to go with us. Parent/chaperones will need to drive themselves or carpool separately.


Movin' On Ceremony is June 6th at 1:45 PM.

Information from Nurse Lovell

​DONATIONS for PLAYGROUND: Do you or someone you know have gently used outdoor toys you would be willing to donate to Franklin or Randall playgrounds?  The Franklin-Randall Wellness Council is looking to gather the following for student 

​

use on the playgrounds: sand toys (buckets & shovels), kid size snow shovels, sidewalk chalk & rubber kick balls.  Simply drop items in the cardboard box found inside the health office Franklin or Randall.  Thank you!

LICE: Dear Parents and Guardians,

This is a reminder to periodically check your student's head and hair for lice and nits.  It is especially important to check after breaks such as the beginning of the school year or after winter or spring break. These break times are when children are more likely to have had sleepovers or visit relatives.  Students then return to school, and are identified with lice. The school is not usually the cause of the infestation, but rather the location of identification. Listed below are some common questions:

·       How do I check my child for nits and lice? See recommendations from the CDC website for diagnosing head lice.

·       What do I do if I find nits and lice? If you find lice or nits (the small eggs which lice lay on hair) on your child, please let the Health Office staff know. That way, the staff can check other close contacts of your child at school (such as children who sit close to your child, play often with your child, or with whom they share a locker).  This gives us a better chance to prevent more spreading.  We do not share your child's name with other children or families. 

·       How do I treat head lice? Call you school health office, call your healthcare provider or go to the CDC website and see treatment for head lice.

·       How do we prevent the spread of head lice? Although nothing can ensure that your child will not be exposed to head lice, there are a few things that can reduce your child’s chances of getting head lice. Your child should:

o   Avoid head-to-head (hair to hair) contact during play and other activities at home, school and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, or camp)

o   Not share items such as hats, scarves, coats, hair ribbons, combs, brushes or towels.

·       Who can I go to in the school for advice about head lice?  School nurses are experts at identifying and treating head lice and we welcome any questions.

Just a reminder that we no longer routinely send home letters if a student in your child’s classroom has lice.  This is consistent with national recommendations.  Sending home letters has been found to not help find more cases of lice, and it can violate a student’s privacy and contribute to bullying.

Please know that we track cases of lice at school and if there is a trend in a certain classroom, we will then send home letters.  The good news is that lice is not a bigger problem than usual at Franklin or Randall.  The best advice, though, is to periodically check your child, and if you see them itching more than usual or if you have any concerns, let us know & we're happy to check them.

Nurse Lovell​ (clovell@madison.k12.wi.us)

​