GCIS Weekly News 5/6/2016
Weekly Celebrations, Successes, and Up Coming Events!
Happy Mother's Day GCIS Moms!
Spring Concert
GCIS Office News
GCIS Parents: as we work to continually improve safety measures we ask that all parents wait in the office area regarding all matters. If visiting, we ask that you sign in and wear a visitor badge.
Reading Challenge Update: Students worked hard at their reading challenge this month! Looks like in the near future 50 students get to throw a pie in my face!!! We will be scheduling this and will post the dates and times if you would like to join us!
Please remember to send lunch money with your students. There a various ways to pay! Just ask us how! All accounts must be in the positive before the end of the school year. If you have questions or concerns regarding this topic please give our office a call! 515-738-5721.
GCIS Key Players of the Week!
Join Us for an Outdoor Movie!
Make plans to attend the drive up outdoor movie on Friday May 13th
Lot opens at 8pm Movie starts at Dusk (Greene County High School Parking Lot)
Movie: Alexander and the Horrible No Good Very Bad Day
Weather Permitting: Movie will be moved indoors to Rec Center and will start at 8:30pm
Join us for our first ever GCIS Color Run!
We met our goal. Great job raising funds for this great event, and also for future projects at our great school!
We are so excited to join up with families and our community for fun and fitness! Not to mention getting all colored up! Hoping for wonderful weather!
HERE is the link to the website and details!
Contact the office with any future question you may have. We can get you signed up even the day of the event! (515) 738-5721
Parents! Mark Your Calendars and Join Us If You Can!
4th Grade Happenings!
(Mr. Palmer)- Band instrument testing will begin after the spring concert on May 5th. Instrument night for 4th graders wanting to join band is in the evening on May 26th.
Math:
This week in math we have been working with fractions. We have been working with finding the whole, and writing equations to match.
Lit./Soc. St.
This week we are working on our region's presentations. The students get to be the teacher, and teach their classmates about a region that they chose to study.
Science:
This week we are finishing up our unit on the Solar System. Next week we are looking forward to beginning our unit on the human body, this unit will take us to the end of year!5th Grade Happenings!
Lit/SS: We are working on writing poetry with visual elements to add meaning, tone, mood, and beauty to the text. We are studying and researching the history of people, places, and events in Iowa.
Science: We are studying sedimentary rocks. We made conglomerate rocks. We will be viewing our collections and my fossils next week.
Math: We are working on estimation of decimals and multiplying decimals.
6th Grade Happenings!
In science, we are still learning about human body systems. We are continuing to review the circulatory and respiratory systems. We are also learning about the digestive system. We are continuing to explore how all the systems are connected.
In reading, we are continuing our Political Science unit. We have been researching the three branches and their functions within our government. The students are looking forward to our upcoming classroom government simulation in a couple weeks!
In math, we are continuing to go deeper into solving algebraic expressions with independent and dependent variables.
Physical Education
Band
The concert was on Thursday, and I’m sure the students did great. : )
4th grade instrument testing will begin after the spring concert has concluded. 4th grade instrument night is May 26th at the Intermediate building.
Music Mania
FCS
5th and 6th are both working on The Nutrient web and My plate this week and next to better understand about why certain foods are more nutritious than others. We are also discussing calories and how it can affect weight along with metabolism.
The sixth graders are also quizzed on what they remember from last year. So far the results have been interesting
Media & Tech Lit
Students have entered the labyrinth...the ‘Lure of the Labyrinth’ that is. In the computer lab, each class is logging into an exciting adventure that combines reading and logic to build literature and math skills. As students begin their journey, they get to choose a pet, (which unfortunately gets loose and disappears). The story leads them to a mysterious underground pet food company run by monsters and other creatures. In the search for their own pet, students find that there are many other lost pets. Students try to liberate as many as they can, but can only do so by solving various puzzles and tasks throughout the story.
This site is exciting, yet challenging, and it is interesting to see the reactions of each class as they enter the labyrinth. The students are not only practicing thinking outside the box, but are also engaging with each other to answer questions and solve problems together. It is really neat to have students come up to us in the hallway excitedly commenting about their experience!
This week the students were also working through online and password safety strategies. It is so important that students keep their information private, especially their passwords for social media accounts.
We also learned this week about Snapchat. Snapchat is an image messaging application software. There are many fun and exciting things you can do with the application, but students need to be responsible when using it. The idea behind Snapchat is that images “disappear” in a matter of seconds. However, as we learned this week, those images can be copied and saved, and used for negative social media targets. Students need to think before they post anything, whether it is on Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, or whatever they are posting to.
Art
4th grade art students have been finishing up their Gyotaku prints and have started on a new project which is creating an outdoor scene using landforms. This is a subject that they have been studying in their classrooms and it will reinforce their learning by creating a visual to help them remember the different types.
5th and 6th grade students are finishing up their kaleidoscope designs. Here are some examples… can you tell what they say?
TAG
4th grade TAG students did some experimenting about earthquakes! They built a earthquake table that simulates the shaking of an earthquake and were able to build and test several structures. Then they experimented with making them stronger to hold more weight! Way to “Shake it up!”
Parents, NEXT WEEK, in TAG we will be talking about 4th Grade Battle of the Books. I am looking at possibly doing it after school (4:00) on Friday the 20th in the GCIS school library. Please let me know if this will not work. I know there are a lot of graduation parties this time of year.
5th and 6th grade TAG students have been busy building their rockets! Get ready for launch on Friday the 13th!
Counselor's Corner
May Words-of-the-Month
Tenacity & Determination
What’s the difference in these two words?
Tenacious means "holding tightly and not letting go." It's more descriptive and therefore more specific. It says something about the character of the behavior in question.
Determined means "resolute, or firmly decided." It's more general, and it describes a mindset, rather than a behavior. Someone who is determined to do something might try the same thing several times, or they might try many different things.
So, as we enter the final month of the school year, we need to remind students, staff and families to be tenacious and remain determined to finish strongly.
Keep on Learning!
Nurse News
Healthy eating tips from KidsHealth.org include putting sweets in their place. Occasional treats are fine but should not be the main reason for eating dinner. Try to stay neutral when putting value on food. Food is not love. Do not use food as a reward or to show affection. When you do this may lead to using food to cope with stress or other emotions. Be a good role model. Choose nutritious snacks, eat at the table, and don’t skip meals. Limit computer and TV time. This helps prevent mindless snacking and encourages active minutes. Be active together!