Migrant Family Gifts

December 2, 2013                                                                     

Dear Gorrie Families,

This season of caring and sharing is an opportunity for us to help other families celebrate the holidays in a special way.  Classes have decided to be responsible for providing another family with items to make their holiday brighter for children who are less fortunate.

When you are out shopping please think of the family our class is helping.

Any gift you purchase should be sent into school wrapped and tagged.    On the tag, please include the child’s name and what is in the package.  This will enable us to avoid any duplication that may occur.  We are concentrating on the children, but small parent gifts would also be appreciated.

Thank you for your support and generosity.  I know that each family will be forever grateful for making the holidays a joy for their children.

The gifts will be picked up early on Friday, December 13th.

Sincerely,

Nicholas Catania

5^th Grade

Gorrie Elementary

Mr. Catania’s Class Family

#264 – Campos/Hernandez Family

                Age        Gender          Clothing       

Lorena          8             Girl                10                 

Kevin          5             Boy                6                   

Augustin       2             Boy                3                  

Cin                1             Boy                18 Mos           

Cake Walk 2013

Hello-

As many of you know, the Cake Walk is one of the main fundraisers 5th Grade uses to help offset the cost of our end of the year Universal Field Trip. Therefore, it is REALLY crucial for us to have tons of support in making the Cake Walk a success. This year, Lauren Greer (mother of Antonio in Ms. Stetekluh's Class), has graciously volunteered to take on the task of organizing an AMAZING Cake Walk at the Fall Carnival on Friday, October 25th here at Gorrie. Below, you will find a link that you can access to sign up to either donate food items or supplies, help organize and set up the day of the event, or work and clean up during and after the event. We are looking for the following items from each class:

• 12 cakes from each class for the Cake Walk; 
• 6 donations of baked goods from each class (each consisting of 12 individually-wrapped, baked items) for Bake Sale;  
• 5 people per class to help with operations of the Cake Walk and Bake Sale; volunteer DJ to operate the music player
• Plus donations of Rope and 2 Five-Gallon Buckets

Here is the link to sign up:

• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuACGRSJE9YedFFJSkFBUjczY0VPQ2FPQUFSeFZZZnc&usp=sharing

• If you have any questions, please contact our Cake Walk coordinator, Lauren Greer at lauren529@yahoo.com

We look forward to a successful Cake Walk this year!

Red Ribbon Week

Next week is Red Ribbon Week at Gorrie! Below is the schedule for how we would like students to participate next week and show their support. Thanks!

         Red Ribbon Week 

Tuesday October 22-Friday October 25^th 

Tuesday: “I am a “Jean” ius-Wear jeans

Wednesday: “Sock” it to drugs- Wear crazy socks 

Thursday: “Follow your dreams”- Wear pajamas

Friday: “Red”-y to Live Drug Free and Make a Difference – Wear red clothes 

*note: Monday the 21^st is a non student day 

Trucks, Trucks, and more TRUCKS!

The Great American Teach In is very soon and we are looking for numbers and contacts of those who have access to trucks. These trucks will be used for display at the Great American Teach In. This includes fire trucks, limousines, cherry pickers, cement mixers etc. Please email Susie Demesmin at susie.demesmin@sdhc.k12.fl.us. if you can help! 

Conference Calendar

During the month of October, I will be holding conferences to discuss your child's progress so far this year. Please follow the link to sign up for one time slot. Thanks!

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xoa8Z8bqkV4328E7qRtbUqC4RKY9KY_EZTjDzpThE24/edit?usp=sharing

I hope to see each of you to discuss how your child is doing this year!

-Mr. Catania

Gorrie Walk-A Thon

Here is information about registering your child(ren) for this year's walk-a-thon to raise funds for our school. Everything can be done online this year, and it will take very little of your time. 

To register, go here: gorrie.dojiggy.com

Once registered, send the link found at the bottom right of your child's web page to family and friends to ask for donations. You can also post directly on facebook and other social media sites. It looks like this:

If any family/business is interested in a sponsorship, there are several opportunities on their child's fundraising page. Simply click on the 'donate now' on your child's page and select the sponsorship of your choice. Sponsorships start at $200, which lists your family name on the official walk-a-thon t-shirt. Sponsorships are due by October 11th to allow time for printing.

More details about registration can be found here: https://smore.com/xwjn

Our class page can be found at this address: http://gorrie.dojiggy.com/ng/index.cfm/af28218/regPages/pledge/TEAMCATANIA/

Update

Good morning! Please be sure to check the "Announcements" tab for upcoming events, assignments and  tests. The students are doing a great job so far with the transition into 5th grade and I look forward to a wonderful year of growth and maturity. Please let me know if you have any questions! Thanks!

Update on Supplies

It has been brought to my attention that an important supply was left off of this year's supply list. Please have your child bring in a 2 inch, 3 ring binder or trapper keeper to store all of their supplies for class. In the past, this important item has been wonderful in preparing students for middle school and supporting them in keeping their materials organized. Please have your child bring this in when they come to school this week. Thanks and sorry for any inconvenience this may cause!

Class Schedule

Happy Saturday Everyone! I hope you are ALL out enjoying the beautiful weather here in Tampa today! I wanted to let you know that I have uploaded our class schedule under the "Schedule" tab, so check it out to see what we will be up to each day! I look forward to seeing you ALL this week! We are going to have an AWESOME year!

Welcome Back 2013

Hello! Welcome to our class blog! This website it used as a tool to communicate our studies, achievements, homework assignments, important dates, etc. to students, family, and friends. I update this site on a regular basis by posting pictures of what the students are working on as well as what is going on in our classroom. I look forward to meeting you all at Meet The Teacher on Monday, August 19th, 2013 immediately following the Info Fair! I have been working hard to get our classroom ready for your arrival! Please collect all of your supplies and bring them to school on our first day. Feel free to look around on our class blog to see what we will be working on this year. See you at Meet The Teacher!

Conference Night

This year, our conference night for your child is scheduled for Thursday, May 23rd. By following the link below, you will be able to sign up for a time slot for a conference with your child. In fifth grade, the conferences are student-led, which means your child will be running the show. Please be sure to sign up for ONE time slot. If you are having difficulty accessing the document, please let me know and I will find a way to get you signed up. Thanks in advance!

Student Led Conference Sign Up 2013

Mini Mall Tips

I wanted to send a few tips for preparation of Mini Mall. On Friday morning, students do NOT need to bring their backpacks to school (they will not be necessary since Mini Mall lasts almost the ENTIRE day). For each booth, the students will need a "cash box". This can be a reused shoe box or other place that money can be stored throughout the day. Also, groups are going to want to have some "start up money" in their cash box for the first few groups that come to shop at their booth. We suggest about ten dollars in bills/ coins (depending on how much they are charging for their items). At the start of sales, I will personally go around to each booth and record how much money they are starting with in their cash boxes so we can be sure to pay them back at the end of the day. Just to be clear, money loaned for the cash box to start the day (approx. $10), WILL BE RETURNED at the end of the sales day. We will be meeting in the cafeteria instead of the classroom on Friday morning to set up booths starting at 7:30am and assist students in finding their sales spot. We are SOOO pumped for Mini Mall and look forward to a REWARDING day! Thanks in advance!

Mini-Mall

Mini – Mall Economics Project

Summary

A successful business takes a lot of planning and research. Understanding a market, then providing a service or product (on a limited budget) to meet the need of that market are benchmarks for success. This project will give each student a unique opportunity to experience the business world while incorporating math, writing, economics, and cooperative learning.

Objectives	Due Date
Introduce activity	March 27
Group Members and product submitted to teacher to be approved	April 1
Design a product or service and create a prototype or visual of the product	April 5
Create Budget	April 8
Fill out and turn in Loan Application	April 12
Develop ad campaign (create signs/create & rehearse commercial)	April 15 – April 19
Morning Show Commercial will be taped (be prepared)	April 22 – April 26
Posters due for ad campaign	April 29
Commercials will air on the Morning Show on the week of April 29****	April 29 – May 3
Conduct your business during Mini Mall	May 3
Chart profits/losses and complete evaluation	May 3 – May 10

****Machines are NOT permitted at Mini Mall due to the Hillsborough County Safety Guidelines. This includes: crock pots, fondue machines, popcorn machine, snow cone machine, blender, microwave, etc. Foods needing any of these machines need to be prepared at home ahead of time. Please see your teacher if you are unsure if you can use a machinenotlisted above.

In order to give the students a real life experience, we are allowing each business to borrow an amount, not to exceed $40.00 to berepaid with verification of receipts at the conclusion of the business day. They may borrow from a parent, use their savings, or the 5^thgrade fund. Each business will fill outONEloan application and haveONEco-signer (an adult).

We ask that you help keep the expenses to $40.00 to be fair to all students.

The profits that the students make will be donated to the Universal Studios Reward Trip Fund.

In lieu of cash profit payouts, awards will be given out for different categories such as:most creative, most items sold best booth, most profit earned, etc.

Each business will incur “business expenses”. They are as follows:

1.     Rental of booth - $1.00OR $2.00 with electricity

2.     Advertising fee - $1.00 for two12 inch by 18 inchsigns and a commercial on the Morning Show. Signs must be approved by the teacher andcannotbe posted prior to Monday, April 29th. Signscannotbe taped to any painted surface.

3.     10% tax on profit

4.     Materials and supplies – with creativity you can keep this to a minimum

 

Homework This Week

Parents - 

Students will be taking the SAT-10 next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  This is what most teachers refer to as the "NRT" or "Norm-Reference Test."  The difference between the SAT-10 and the FCAT is that the FCAT compares 5th grade students amongst each other in the state of Florida while the SAT-10 compares 5th graders across the nation.    

• Many of you might remember that the students took this NRT assessment AFTER we finished FCAT during the 2 week testing window in April.  However, THIS YEAR, the students are taking the NRT assessment early which means our 2 week testing window in April will be much shorter.
• 
  
• The SAT-10 is NOT used for placement next year in middle school or benchmark achievement - FCAT is used for both of them.  
• During testing, please remember:
• - that students should receive plenty of sleep the night before the assessment.
• - that students should eat a hearty breakfast to fuel them up for the assesment.
• - that students will not have homework other than to read nightly.

- that students need to arrive ON TIME each day because we will begin testing promptly after we take attendance.  If a student is tardy and we have already begun testing, they will get pulled out later in the week for MAKEUP testing.  

Since testing will be going on this week, students will NOT have Word Study Homework or Math Homework. Instead, we are asking that students read nightly (as always) and also visit http://www.fcatexplorer.com/ and practice their reading, math and science skills for 30 minutes a night. Students should have their usernames/passwords with them. 

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!  Have a terrific week!

Punctuation Game

After working for months with students and reading writing piece after writing piece, I have noticed that they could use some practice with punctuation. I found a great way for them to practice their skills. Check out this link for a game ALL about PUNCTUATION!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/english/spelling_grammar/punctuation/play/popup.shtml

Welcome Ms. Stetekluh!

Parents and Students-
I am excited to announce that we will be joined by an intern from The University of Tampa beginning this coming Wednesday. To introduce herself, Ms. Stetekluh wrote a letter to say hello. Read on to learn a little about our new "Co-teacher".

Dear Parents,

       My name is Hilary Stetekluh and I will be Mr. Catania’s intern this semester. I grew up right outside our nation’s capital in Arlington, Virginia and moved to Florida four years ago. I am a senior at The University of Tampa and look forward to graduation in May with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. Last semester, I worked with third graders at Lomax Elementary School.

When I am not in the classroom teaching, I spend my time swimming on the UT Swim Team, enjoy working at an English deli, and going to the beach.

       As a student and aspiring teacher, I am eager to learn and grow right along with the students and help them become lifelong learners. I look forward to meeting all of you during the course of my time at Gorrie.

Thank you,

Hilary Stetekluh