Minecraft...In Real Life? (By: Miguel)

There’s a new club at recess called MC club - a place where Minecraft is real. With Miguel(The Dark Creeper), Nick, Ryan, Ethan, Robert, Ja'moze and Isaac. We meet at recess by the benches where fun lives.

A video game has been created by Markus (Notch). This game has been a sensation in the school. Well the club, MC club (Minecraft club) is suppose to be a fun environment. I am the president/C.E.O of MC club. It's at the benches at recess every day unless something's wrong. It's free to join, if you know Minecraft or not.

The Vice President, Nick, said, "It's very awesome and very fun to play and the community is very nice...most of the time!"

Also Robert said, "Ummm, the community is very awesome, everybody gets along, and fights are resolved!"

And that's the scoop on MC club. Will you join? If you do it's on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at the benches 11:50 to 12:15.

Minecraft Club (By: Robert)

A new club at Mitchell. Not the kind of club you're thinking of.....

This club is awesome! The club is called the Minecraft club. During recess Robert and Miguel play with the club. Every school day during recess we meet at the wooden benches. We are always pretending we are in the game of Minecraft.

During the club, we pretend we are fighting off creepers and killing squids. We are always finding budder(gold). Miguel always eats budder(gold) doughnuts. We do all of this stuff  just for fun. In the club if there is a fight about something Miguel calls a group meeting. The fight is then settled there. Then everything turns out fine.

We also use something in the club called mods. They just improve the Minecraft world. We have every single mod. We use mod creator to create our own mods. I made a mod called budder doughnuts. You can make budder doughnuts.

Miguel said, “As the CEO of Minecraft Club, it is a big responsibility. Any problems come to me or my Vice President. The community of Minecraft Club is a democracy. It is always fair and we agree on things. PLUS, we have so much fun.”

In the Minecraft Club, we are pretending that we have special elements that power our swords, bows, shields, armor and pickaxes. We pretend that our crystal holds our power. The crystals help us cast our elements. When I cast my element I can cast either fire, lava, blue fire, and blue lava. We have power weaknesses. My power weakness is water in our Minecraft Club.

When people in the Minecraft Club troll each other they go, troll! The Minecraft Club is always pranking each other and trolling each other. Whenever someone does something stupid, they say, derp derp derpity derp.

If anyone is bored at recess and has nothing to play, you can just stop over at the club and come and play...........MINECRAFT!!!!!!!!!!

We do many things in this club. Maybe you shall make a club that will have a lot of things like this club.    

Now do you think that the Minecraft Club is an awesome club or not?

Malina's Catch (By: Malina)

"I was surprised and happy!" said Erica,

Malina, 5th grader from General Mitchell, caught a ball on May 1st, 2013 at 12:00. It was during kickball.

They play the game during recess, which is from 11:45 to 12:05. During recess the kickball game begins with picking the captains. Then the captains pick the teams. The teams have both 4th and 5th graders on them. Usually, a lot of the kids are playing the game, like about 24!! That's a lot of kids!!!!!

Malina was all time outfield, which is when, instead of going to kick and play outfield, you only play outfield. So basically you don't have a team.  

We were playing on the yellow diamond, not the white one, the yellow one.

"I think she could catch another ball," says friend Alyssa.

Malina was playing all time outfield. The ball got kicked and it was just 2 feet away. She ran  to the ball and.... caught it!!!!! She was SO happy! She did a happy dance and screamed!

"I think that it was amazing for her to catch a flying ball, I was super shocked," said Abby.

That day was great, we sat down with Malina and she told us the details.

Interviewer: Did you think you were going to catch that ball when the day started?

Malina: No I didn't, I didn't think I was going to be catching a ball anytime soon!

Who do you think was the most happy for you?

I think that it was either my BFF, Erica or my other friend Alyssa.

       

That was our conversation with the great and mighty Malina.

So this event was pretty important, especially to Malina. She doesn't usually catch balls. Luckily, her friends are very supportive. With that support, she can catch more and more of those kickballs.

The Inquiry Fair, A Colonial Girl's Story to Success: Otherwise Know as a Colonization Presentation from the Beginning (By: Emma)

      The inquiry fair. It happens once a year. Kids prepare weeks for one night of a year where we can show our parents what we are doing."Seeing how students each had their own area of interest and how they chose to share it with the parents and teachers,I think it was clear that students had a voice in the process," says Mr. Krupar. A teacher and a parent himself.

Two months earlier........

      Our group was working together on colonization.Which is basically the time period from the late 1600's to the 1700's.That was the simple part. Now we were trying to figure out a way for all of us to pinpoint two things that our group could all do and agree on. Let me put it this way, way easier said than done. At last we agreed to do a poster, iMovie, dress up,and talk. Easy enough, right?

       Now I have nothing against group work, but when you have two months to get everything set ready and done, forget it,that's like trying to make a pig fly.Not happening! I got lucky though.I had a group with people who actually worked and cooperated and got their end of the bargain done. Maybe this group work thing wouldn't be so bad.

       Then the bomb dropped.Our first incident. Everybody thought we were doing posters when we had agreed that we wouldn't. They had misunderstood but that day is never coming back. To think that I thought things would get easier from there.

      After spring break we had two weeks. In that two weeks we had lost documents, a costume catastrophe, and more info that needed to be found. Amazing what can happen on two weeks, I know.

       I came back from spring break recharged and ready to go on high to get this thing done. After a day I was feeling worried. We were getting nowhere until we could learn how to do the iMovie. Luckily they taught us how to do it the next day, but then we ran into another obstacle. We needed more info. Awesome! Another days work ahead of us. We found it without too much mental damage. Goodness, at this rate if we were in a race with a turtle I'm pretty sure he would win. I was almost positive that we would literally be working up to the last minute. Now we had a costume catastrophe. Considering I'm calling it a catastrophe it wasn't that hard to fix. We all needed costumes that was our problem. The solution is as simple as looking through some drawers. Duh! The big day was four days away and our teacher still hadn't checked our poster info. One day we spent 45 minutes in the computer lab because  we couldn't find our document and none of the computers were working and ugg! It was so frustrating. If this was one of those miracles in disguise cases my miracle was wearing a trench coat and a mask. I could not wait for April 17 for this inquiry fair to be over.

       It was the day we had all been waiting for.The posters were set, the costumes were ready all we had to do was not die? I'm amazed we made it through the day, but we did. At 3:45 the inquiry fair started I was in. I was nervous but excited. A small crowd of people came to our exhibit, at least while I was here. It was fairly interesting to see other people's exhibits but in my opinion ours was the best. What can I say? I'm bias.

    The first annual Mitchell Elementary School  inquiry fair was a hit.I was alive.People didn't laugh at my costume, I had the answers to my questions and my iPad didn't break down. I am so glad I'm going into 6th grade. Good luck 4th graders!

Look Who Got Their Art Published in a Book (By: Savannah)

On April 21, two kids named Jon W. and Savannah from our classroom got their art published in an art book. Isn't that existing? Both kids worked really hard on this project. It took awhile to finally get that project done with only an hour of art a week. They got their projects done in about five weeks and that's pretty good. Don't you agree? They were also noticed at our Friday FISH meeting. Their art teacher, Mrs. Landowski, put them in an art contest online and they won. The contest happened in California. They won because they liked the pictures. If you made the Top 10, the prize was a free book and $25. Isn't that cool!? A lot of people were proud of them!

Free Throw Contest (By: Erica)

There was a awesome contest that involved one of our classmates. On March 6th, some kids from the West Milwaukee School District grades 3-8 entered a contest.They gathered in Central High School. Each grade had their own contest and the boys and girls were split up.They had to shoot 20 free throws and who ever made the most got a little trophy and got to go to the regionals.

At the regionals all of the winners from the districts in the southeast Wisconsin were in it. This time there was 2 rounds each round you shot 10 free throws.Whoever got the most out of all the rounds got a first place trophy and that all the way to 3rd.Our classroom is lucky a 5th grade girl named Erica Turk got 3rd place.

Her best friend Malina said, " I was happy for her and proud."

Her other friend Alyssa said, "She could probably get 1st next year."

"That's a good accomplishment," said Megan a good friend of Erica's.

Also Malina is going to try to compete against Erica next year. Erica thinks that she did good and agrees with Alyssa. She hopes to do it next year!

A Book that Changed the Group (By: Megan)

A few months ago Strategy Group E finished a book called Gathering Blue. My friends, Mr.Kallie, and I read this for a few months and we all thought same thing.

We would meet every week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This was during literacy block. Even though we only met two days a week, everyone was hyped-up to talk about what has happened. This book did help us with our strategies, but it turned out to be a little book club for us.

Discussing

When everyone had to stop at a certain chapter we always wanted to go on. The book had so many mysteries it would always give us hints and facts about what will be in the next chapter. Once we stopped everyone wanted to go on and talk about the book and read as much as possible. It was a big discussion every time.

This book had so much going on we all had different opinions. The one who really wanted to keep reading was Emma. " The drama was always there, but when we got to the ending it was disappointing though it nicely tied everything together," Emma replied. But she's not the only one in the group.

           " It was dramatic and when Mr.Kallie stopped us at certain chapters it got more dramatic," Alyssa said.

             " Touching and amazing. It got very dramatic when we had to stop after a few chapters," responded Malina.

             " A good book with a lot of mysteries," said Isaac.

             " The book was a big mystery and no one knew the truth," Calvin replied.

The book

    As everyone said there were a lot of mysteries, drama, and secrets, but this book was more than just that. Gathering Blue was a book about a young girl named Kira whose mother just died. She is alone in the world until she is assigned her mother's job as the weaver. As her future is unknown her, friend Matt has been helping her find out what it is by discovering a mystery and helping her with a problem involving her job. This book is so interesting and I recommend it to anyone.

High Interest Day (By: Jon W.)

The whole Mitchell school does High Interest Day. Where you might ask? Well everywhere, even on the playground, and ooh wee, it is fun!

"Hey Ethan" Jon said. "What did you pick for session  1?"

"I picked basketball," Ethan said.

"Cool, so did I!”

This is what normally happens during a conversation before High Interest Day. Normally, people goof around during the sign-up. People talk during the sign-up because they want to be in a session together. Last year. they added three new sessions and they did it this year too.

Cadets! (By: Alyssa)

Have you ever noticed the students standing on different corners around the school wearing orange vests? If you were wondering, those students are the cadets. Cadets are students that the 4/5 teachers choose to be one.The cadets get chosen by having the ability to be responsible, respectful, and safe.They also have to be trustworthy to go outside earlier than everybody else without supervision.The cadets cross people to and from the school everyday before and after school.The cadets "work" right here at Mitchell school.

The cadets just put on their vests and go to their assigned corners.Once they get to their corners,they wait until a person comes, then they cross them.The cadets work hard each and every day before and after school.The only reason that the cadets do this is to cross people to and from the school so the people don't have to hassle their time to wait for cars. With the cadets, the cars will let people cross if they need to.The cadets always have fun crossing people to and from the school.

Now lets see how the cadets like it.

Erica says,"It is very fun,but at the same time it's serious. It's also fun working with friends!"

Megan says, "It is a great experience. It can be rough when some adults don't respect us."

Isaac says,"Cadets are a nice way to make sure that kids cross safely."

The cadets here at Mitchell school sure love their jobs. Now, they were the cadets of the 2012-2013 school year. Now lets just hope that the cadets for the 2013-2014 school year will love their jobs just as much. Maybe even a little more.....

We Went to the Capitol! (By: Mykayla)

Who wants to hear about my class’ trip to Madison? You do? Well get ready to relax and read!!!!

All of the fourth graders went to the state capitol and it was amazing! We learned about our history and people who risked their lives for us.We also learned about our country's eagle. Did you know that the eagle got trapped in a fire the first time and survived? Then there was a second fire, and he died because of the smoke!!

I think they brought us there because they thought we needed to learn about our state's history!! Our teachers planned this out of nowhere and we were all stoked!! We all left on March 20, 2012. We went to a bunch of rooms. The ones I liked were where the governor sat when he speaks. The room of congress was a VERY beautiful. I especially the drapes!! Did you also know that the house of congress got cracked by water pipes and had to tear the whole thing down and then rebuild it!! It cost a lot of money to just rebuild it AGAIN!!!

Hope u liked it and thanks for reading!!!!!!!!:)

Pole Tag (By: Dena)

This is how you play:

1:Gather three or more players.

2:Find out who's it.(you can do Rock Paper Scissors.)

3:Run around and find a pole or tree to touch.

4:Whoever gets tagged becomes it.

5:This same process keeps going on until people stop wanting to play.

We play pole tag by the volleyball poles and play it at recess or before school.

So,then I interviewed some kids who play pole tag with me and I asked them how they think pole tag is fun.

Grace said, "That it's fun,and you can run around from pole to pole. I like how you can only have three people to a pole."

Miguel said, "It's a fun game,and allows you to be social."

Savannah said, "It's like plain tag,except with a lot of places to go to."

So,you should get up and play pole tag! Hope you enjoyed!

Thank you for reading!!!

Reading Group (By Abbey R.)

In Mr. Krupar’s class we have reading groups in daily five. When Mr. Kallie calls the group, we bring our book and a piece of paper to the table and the rest of the group would do their daily five. We are working on unknown words and understanding what they mean. We are getting better each time. In most of the chapters, they have a lot of words that you don't know and some have two out of five words that we don't know. If the person that put down the word didn't know the meaning, their friends from the group can help you understand what the word means.

I asked some students about reading group.

Alison said, “That we can learn things.”

Mykayla said, “You practice your reading strategies.”

Dena said, “I have fun!”

Miguel said, “It gets you ready for maps testing.”

Abby L. said, “You practice your reading skills and working with the group is fun!”

Grace said, “That it tells us where our reading level is.”

Brady said, “You learn and work on your strategies.”

Ja'moze said, “It helps you with your maps testing, and that's why Reading Group is good for you."

High Interest Day Lunch

Due to High Interest Day, Friday is cold lunch day for the students.  The students can either bring a bag lunch from home or order a bag lunch from school. 

The bag lunch from school includes PB & J uncrustable sandwich, a piece of fruit, a vegetable, milk and a treat. I will need to know by Thursday morning if a student needs a bag lunch from school. Please talk to you child about this and plan accordingly. Thanks!

"Dig Into Reading" at the West Allis Public Library!

This summer, the WA Public Library will have a summer reading program for children ages 3-11. Children 12 and up are encouraged to participate in the teen summer reading program. Students can register anytime between June 3 - August 9th. The program runs from June 3rd through August 24th. There are many opportunities to earn prizes and tickets to local events. This is an excellent way to keep students reading this summer. A large blue flyer went home last week. If you missed it check out this link to the WA Public Library. Happy reading!

Dig Into Reading Site

Field Day

Field Day is on Wednesday, May 22nd. In the event of a rain out, Thursday will be the rain date. Students should come to school dress to compete. Watch the weather forecast and apply sunscreen if needed. Students will compete in the following events:

1. Basketball Shooting
2. Football Pass Relay
3. Circle Bump and Set
4. Jump Rope Relay
5. Water Relay
6. Distance Run Relay

We begin competing at 9:00. An awards ceremony will take place outside at 11:30 a.m. Parents are welcome to come and cheer the students on!

Learning Targets for May 20-24

Here are the learning targets for the week.

Math

• Students will determine the factors of whole numbers.
• Students will find the least common multiple of a given set of numbers.
• Students will identify prime and composite numbers for the number set (1-100).
• Students will find the prime factorization of a number.
• Students will solve an equation to determine the value of an unknown variable.

Reading

• Students will determine the meaning of words and phrases using context clues.
• Students will identify and describe the differences between first and third person writing techniques.
• Students will analyze authors purpose for writing in certain points of view.

Writing

• Students will finish editing their final drafts for their Autobiographies and send it to Mr. Kallie.
• Students will finish writing Autobiographies.

Inquiry

• Students will be introduced to the process of seed dispersal.
• Students will watch a video on seed dispersal & explore seeds through a hands on seed dissection lab.

5th Grade Planning Committee Meeting

There will be a planning committee meeting for the 5th Grade Graduation tomorrow, May 14th, at 5:00 in Room 110. All interested parents are welcome!

Late Work Update

I have started sending email just to keep parents informed of any late work students have. The purpose for doing this is to have a reminder at home for students. During the course of a day, students forget to write down the assignment that was missing or it slips their mind when they get home. My hope with the email is to help students remember to bring it the next day so I can evaluate their understanding of the skills.

These emails are not meant to be punitive - just informative. In the event that late work becomes a concern, I will contact you to find a solution to whatever is causing the late work. If you ever have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. Thanks!

Math Facts

As we begin work with the Algebra Unit, we are finding that all students have shown the ability to pick up the new skills. However, knowledge and quick recall of multiplication facts is key to student success. Without fluency in multiplication facts, student accuracy will not be at a proficient level. Please ensure that your child works with these facts nightly, if they struggle with recall of multiplication facts. There are multiple ways to practice multiplication facts:

• Flashcards
• Math Fact Apps
• Math Fact card and dice games
• Dice and Card Games to Practice Math
• Making Math More Fun: Math Card Games

Thanks for your ongoing support at home!

Learning Targets for the Week of May 6th

Reading

• Students will determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

Math

Group 1 & 2

• Students will find the missing factors in equations.
• Students will interpret a multiplication equation as a comparison and represent verbal statements of multiplicative comparisons as multiplication equations.
• Students will multiply or divide to solve word problems involving multiplicative comparison, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem, distinguishing multiplicative comparison from additive comparison.
• Students will solve multi-step word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole number answers using the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.

Group 3 & 4

• Students will evaluate expressions with multiple operations, parenthesis and exponents using the order of operations.

• Students will write simple expressions that record calculations with numbers, and interpret numerical expressions without evaluating them.

• Students will generate two numerical patterns using two given rules. Identify apparent relationships between corresponding terms. Form ordered pairs consisting of corresponding terms from the two patterns, and graph the ordered pairs on a coordinate plane.

Writing

• Students will develop strategies to write a lead for a newspaper article of their choice.
• Students will revise and edit their newspaper articles.
• Students will write a final draft of their newspaper article. 

Inquiry

• Students will be introduced to the process of photosynthesis. 
• Students will meet with small groups to explore plant/leaf structures found throughout our local environment.
• Students will discuss differences and similarities between human and plant methods to produce and use energy.

Bake Sale

Calling all  5th grade families. We are looking for families that can donate baked goods for the 5th Grade bake sale.

*5^THGRADE*

**BAKE*SALE**

WEDNESDAY, May 8^th

1pm-2:30PM & 6:00-7:30

BEFORE AND AFTER AM & PM SPRING SING CONCERTS

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO SUPPORT 5^TH GRADE GRADUATION & CAMP UPHAM TRIP 2013

MAPS Testing Update

MAPS testing begins on Monday. Here is an updated schedule for our testing. Notice that we have shorter testing periods each day. This spring we are asking students to only complete half of the test in one sitting. The goal is to get the most accurate score possible. In talking with students, they have made it clear that the tests can be long. By splitting the test, students will be able to give their best effort and stop before they are "out of gas". This was tried with some students in the winter. It was a success! Student attitudes and confidence toward testing were remarkably higher.

Over the weekend, discuss the importance of these tests with your child. Reinforce the fact that they have learned so much this year. They need to use their strategies, focus, and keep a positive frame of mind. An early bedtime Sunday night and nutritious breakfast Monday morning would also help students come Monday morning prepared for class. Thanks again for your support!

MAPS Schedule

Monday, April 29th
Math Test
8:45-9:15 & 1:35 - 2:20

Monday, May 6th
Reading Test
10:05 - 10:40

Tuesday, May 7th
Reading Test continued
8:45 - 9:15

Wednesday, May 15th
Language Arts Test
8:45-9:15 & 1:35 - 2:20

New Inquiry Unit

This week we began a new inquiry unit. This unit will have a science focus to it. In the fourth quarter students are focusing on Plants! Here are some key components of the unit:

Essential Question

Why are plans so important to humans?

Enduring Understanding

• Photosynthesis
• Reproduction
• Pollination
• Adaptations

Reading Calendar Reminder

It's hard to believe April is coming to an end. Students should be finalizing their monthly reading calendars. This would be a good time for students to check how far they are from their goal and do some extra reading if they are behind the target of 30 minutes a night. At the end of the month, please have your child total their minutes for April and have you sign it. Calendars will be collected on Wednesday, May 1st.

Spring Sing

Here is a copy of the flyer that went home this week. Hope to see you all there!