GCIS Weekly News 4/8/2016
Weekly Celebrations, Successes, and Up Coming Events!
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.
PBIS Trip: Our next PBIS Incentive Trip will be to the Web House the week of April 25th-29th. Remind students to keep reading and working on their reading incentive challenge! All challenges are due Monday April 25th in order to attend the Web house and throw a pie in my face!!!
Tuesday April 26th: 4th grade
Thursday April 28th: 5th Grade
Friday: April 29th: 6th grade
Students and staff will walk to middle school and load buses their to be transported to their normal locations i.e. (elementary school, GJ)
Reading Challenge: Click HERE for the link to information and details. Keep reading!
Please remember... to send lunch money with your students. There are alternative ways to pay! Just ask the office! Starting April 1 we will not be able to let your student charge on their lunch account. If you have any questions or concerns about this topic, please give us a call at 515-738-5721.
GCIS Lost & Found Table!
Parents! Mark Your Calendars and Join Us If You Can!
Genius Hour Update!
Great link below on the 10 most asked questions related to genius hour! Was able to get in and see some great genius our presentations this week, and also talked to 2 groups of students in 4th grade as we planned and thought through projects that are in the works right now! It's been fun seeing and hearing not only the excitement within students, but also their growth in reading, researching, writing, presenting, listening and speaking skills! Keep up the great work students! We even have a group of students in 4th grade that will be presenting to our school board next month! Amazing what happens when we get out of the way of learning, and allow time for students to explore, investigate, and reach new heights in their learning!
GCIS Key Players of the Week!
4th Grade Happenings!
Lit/SS: This week we discussed more about regions. Some hot topics were natural disasters and climate! We are learning that these vary from region to region.
Also, please remind your child to work on completing their reading challenge! Reading challenges are due back April 25th. Thank you so much for your support!
Science: We are continuing our study of the solar system. We have started discussing the Earth’s position in the solar system and how that affects our seasons and night/day.
Math: This week in math we have been continuing our exploration with multiplication. Using those skills, we are working on solving word problems involving measurements, time, and money. Keep working on basic multiplication facts at home.
5th Grade Happenings!
Math: We are working through the fraction unit in multiplication. We will touch on division of fractions also in the near future. They should plan on a test next week over this unit.
Lit/SS: In reading, we have been working on determining the point of view of a story and describing how a narrator’s point of view influences how events are described.
In social studies, we have been learning about English and French explorers in North America.
Science: We are learning and looking at minerals this week and discovering minerals have different properties. Students have a recipe to make alum crystals at home, if it’s okay with parents. Alum can be purchased very cheaply at any grocery store. I would recommend buying 2 containers in order to have enough. Happy experimenting!
6th Grade Happenings!
In science, we will be starting our human body unit. Students will be learning about the different body systems and how they interact with each other. They will also be looking at how the body is affected by disease.
In Lit/SS, we are continuing with our economics unit. We have been reading articles about the drought in California and how it not only affects our country’s economy and the global economy, but also us here in Iowa. Be sure to ask your student what they know about supply & demand, imports, and exports!
In math, students are learning about coordinate planes. They are learning how to graph points and how to reflect the points over the x and y axis.
Music Mania
Concert Information:
5th & 6th Bands with 5th Grade General Music
Thursday, May 5, 2016 @ 7:00 p.m.
Greene County Middle School Gymnasium
4th Grade General Music:
Congratulations to the 4th Grade General music classes for a concert well done! Students continue to push themselves to their maximum potential with the recorders. Look for information in the coming weeks about Band Night! I am so excited to see where these students will go in their musical journeys!
Band
Upcoming dates:
April 16th - solo and ensemble at Grand Junction
May 5th - spring concert at the middle school
FCS
The fifth graders are learning about conflict, what causes conflict and how to resolve conflict. We are also getting ready to present our family pictures.
The sixth graders are setting SMART goals. We are learning the difference between dreams and goals. In writing our SMART goals we realized it will be harder to get distracted and not meet our goals.
PE
Working through more badminton skills with serving, net shot and soft hit. Singles and doubles tournament will be starting this week.
Our roller skating unit is coming up April 18, so be looking for a note home soon from your child.
Click HERE for an interesting website. Why are Sports important.
FCS
The fifth graders are starting on a babysitting unit by discussing some of their views on parenting. I am emphasizing families do many things differently that doesn’t make them right or wrong. One of the important skills we all should have is to communicate how we feel and be able to know when and what to do if someone asks us to do something we know is wrong.
Draw the Line Steps
Say No, I don’t
Use a body that says no
Change the subject
- Walk away, if needed.
6th graders ROCK at Goal setting. We are moving on from the goal setting unit to making decisions. I am letting them choose note taking or taking a quiz. It will be interesting to see the results in them making a choice of how they will be assessed.
Media & Tech Lit
This week the students have been working on their typing skills. Typing is not just about locating the keys, it also includes ergonomics. This is the study of human work conditions, especially the interaction between human and machine. Through ergonomics we can find solutions to organize our work in order to be more efficient. Developing a comfortable typing position always helps us to work better.
By following the tips below, the students will be more successful in learning the keyboard.
Keyboarding Technique
Sit straight, lean a bit forward from the waist; keep feet on the floor (if possible).
Keep fingers somewhat curved as if around a tennis ball.
Keep wrists above the computer so they do not touch it.
Strike the keys with the correct fingers.
Keep eyes on the screen during keyboarding practice and on paper/book as you work to type notes, drafts, etc.
Art
5th Grade students are finishing their Animals in their habitat and are starting a multi-media collage inspired by their favorite song.
6th grade art students are inspired by spring to create a beautiful watercolor bouquet of flowers!
TAG
6th Grade students will be attending the Ames Library’s Battle of the Books on Thursday this week! We are so excited to represent our school! Students can get some extra studying in! We will be leaving at 2:45 on Thursday and will be back in Grand Junction around 7-7:30. Parents will have to make arrangements to pick up their children at the Intermediate school.
5th Grade students are working on a variety of different projects. Here are a few! Last week they made a combination lock!
THE BOOK FAIR IS COMING!!!
The BOOK FAIR is coming!! The BOOK FAIR is coming!! That’s right folks, our annual Buy-One-Get-One free Scholastic Book Sale will be here next week,
April 11th-13th.
SAVE THE DATE
What: Buy-One-Get-One Free Book Fair
When: April 11th-13th
Time: Monday & Tuesday 7:30am-4pm
Wednesday 7:30am-2pm
Where: Greene County Intermediate Media Center
Online Book Fair Option for Ordering!
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/greenecointermediateschool
Counselor's Corner
April’s Word of the Month is CITIZENSHIP.
As we go about learning in our classrooms, we learn how to follow directions, work toward common goals with classmates and coexist respectfully with others. We are learning how to be good citizens along the way to academic success.
Let’s continue to do everything we can to be good citizens!Nurse News
A hearing loss can happen when any part of the ear is not working in the usual way. Hearing is important for a child to communicate and develop language and social skills. AEA will be at the intermediate school on April 15th to do hearing screenings. If you have a concern about your child’s hearing please let us know and we will schedule a screening for that day. Call 515-738-5721 and ask for Nurse Ann or Nurse Jill.