SPARC Update

From Feb 5-14th the specialists will be teaching SPARC. This is a time for SPARC participants to be involved in fun and exciting enrichment activities. During these 2 weeks students will need to be picked up at the main doors. Thank you!!

Welcome, Mr. Kallie!

I am pleased to announce that tomorrow our class is welcoming a new student teacher. Mr. Ryan Kallie is coming to us from UWM. He is very excited to join us for the 2nd semester. Welcome, Mr. Kallie!

District Champion!

Dena, Mitchell's Spelling Bee champion, continued her amazing run tonight winning the WAWM District Spelling Bee! Twenty-four students ranging from 4th - 8th grade competed for a chance to represent the district at the Regional Spelling Bee held on February 18th.

Dena was cool, calm and collected throughout the night spelling word after word. Take a look at the words she spelled correctly.

Round 1: culture
Round 2: provoke
Round 3: incredible
Round 4: vaporize
Round 5: provincial
Round 6: flirtatious
Final Round: consistency, prominent, & intuitive

Dena and Superintendent Wachholz

Way to go, Dena!

Awesome job, Dena! We are all proud of you and wish you the best of luck at the Regional Spelling Bee on February 18th!

Measurement & Data Unit

Next week, students will begin the measurement and data unit in math. Students will take a pretest tomorrow. We will use the pretest along with data from the winter MAPS test to help us place students in rooms that will deliver skills at their instructional level. Stay tuned to the blog for information regarding the skills of this unit.

Character Study

This week, we shifted focus in literacy from non-fiction to fiction. The students are excited with the change of pace. There are many skills to cover throughout this unit. We are starting with a character study. While each strategy group has a slightly different focus, they all relate in some way to analyzing character actions, feelings, and/or traits. Ask your child about their work, and stay tuned to the blog for more updates.

Camp Upham Woods Information Night

From Wednesday, May 29th -Friday, May 31st 2013, all fifth grade students from General Mitchell School in Mrs. Ceel’s, Ms. Dierbeck’s, Mrs. Graff’s, and Mr. Krupar’s classrooms will be going to Camp Upham Woods which is located a few miles north of the Wisconsin Dells. Upham Woods is a State 4-H Center, owned and operated by the University of Wisconsin.

​There will be an information meeting for all parents and their fifth grade child on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20th, 2013 from 6:30-8:00 P.M. in the multipurpose room. At that time, we will explain the trip more completely, provide an overview of this year’s schedule, outline the costs for both students and chaperones, and respond to your questions or concerns. We will also discuss the students’ requirements for attending this trip. Parents who are interested in becoming a chaperone will be able to sign up that night.

A letter with more information will be coming home with your child next week.

Mitchell Spelling Bee

Today, General Mitchell held it annual school spelling bee. All of the students did a wonderful job spelling countless words in front of their 4th & 5th grade peers, teachers, and parents. After 7 rounds, the final two spellers were Nick and Dena from our class! In the end, Dena prevailed and will represent Mitchell at the District Spelling Bee held at Central High School on Thursday, January 24th @ 6:30. Congratulations to all that participated!

A Pajama Day Farewell!

Tomorrow is Ms. Vickery's last day at General Mitchell. Everyone in Room 109 will miss her and appreciate all of the hard work she has put into the first half of the year. As a thank you and celebration of her time here, we are having a Pajama Day tomorrow - Friday, January 18th. Ms. Vickery and plenty of students have wanted a pajama day all semester, tomorrow is that day! Students are welcome to come to school tomorrow wearing school appropriate pajamas.

Winter MAPS Testing

Next week begins our winter MAPS testing window. The purpose of MAPS testing in the winter is to gauge student progress through the first half of the year and get some fresh data to help us target areas of needs and strengths for the second half of the year. In the coming week, students will set goals for each of the three tests. Their goals will be set based on their fall score and the target score that is set for the spring test.

Parents, you can help us at home. Talk with your child about the importance of these tests. The scores are used to inform our instruction. In addition, scores for 5th grade students are used by the intermediate schools to make decisions about classes for next year. The goal is for students to understand the importance of the tests without making them overly nervous. I remind students that we see great things out of them everyday. When taking the tests, use your strategies and complete the tasks as you normally would and everything will be fine. If you have any questions about MAPS testing, please contact me for further information.

Schedule:
MAPS Math: Friday, January 25th @ 9:30
MAPS Reading: Monday, February 4th @ 1:45
MAPS Language Arts: Tuesday, February 12th @ 9:45

Parent / Student Emails

As students learn to use the iPads, they are looking for more ways to use the iPads. One idea that has surfaced is the ability for students to email parents and parents to email students. This would provide students with another opportunity to use technology in an authentic, appropriate way. If you are interested in exchanging email with your child at school, start the process by emailing your child and I will help them add your email address to their contacts. Your child's email address is written in the inside cover of their assignment notebook.

5th Grade THINK Class

The 5th grade students have begun their 5 week THINK program with Officer Nelson from the West Allis Police Department.

The THINK program is a character-building program about understanding yourself, and THINK ing about how your choices affect you, your family, and your friends, and how you want to live you life.

The program consists of five lessons, taught to 5th graders, by Officers of the West Allis Police Department.  Lessons focus on alcohol, tobacco, drug use, and the importance of good friendships.  Students are provided with a THINK workbook that mirrors the program as well as identifying common violations of the law with associating fines—again highlighting consequences.  THINK before making choices is the theme throughout the entire program.

T - Take a look at your choices
H - How will this affect you, your family, or your friends
 I - Intelligence (Use your head)
N - Never be afraid to be different or to say "No"
K- Keep on learning from your choices - good or bad

Mitchell Spelling Bee

Next week, Mitchell will hold its annual school Spelling Bee. The Spelling Bee will be held on Thursday, January 17th at 1:30 in the Multipurpose Room. Each 4/5 classroom selected 5 students to participate. Parents, extended family, and friends are invited to attend.

In our classroom, we held four mini-spelling bees to determine which students would represent our classroom. I have to say, there were plenty of very good spellers. In the end, five students emerged to represent Room 109. They are:

• Megan M.
• Dena O.
• Emma S.
• Malina S.
• Nick V.

Congratulations and good luck to our Spelling Bee participants!

Milk Cap Update

This is a message from our PTA regarding the milk cap program.


Hello Mitchell families,

It is disappointing that this successful and easy fund raiser for the PTA is no longer available. However, at this time, please do not send any more milk caps to school for $.05 redemption.

·       Kemps ended their program last year and we cannot submit any old caps.

·       It was just accounced on the news that Golden Gurnsey has closed it’s doors as of January 5th.  There are not many details forthcoming, but it’s safe to assume that they will not be redeeming any milk caps. 

We are continuing to collect Box Tops, Labels for Education/Campbell’s, and Tyson labels. 

Thank you for your support