Jamestown and Forward

As we near Thanksgiving, students are (or should be!) finishing up Elisa Carbone's Blood on the River.  Students have a persuasive essay due on Thursday or Monday; they have to decide whether or not the American Indians should have shared their resources with the Jamestown settlers.  To conclude this book, students will watch and discuss National Geographic's Nightmare in Jamestown.

Between the holiday breaks, students can choose to read either Fever 1793 or Chains, both by Laurie Halse Anderson.  Fever 1793 is available in this month's Tab; if you decide to purchase this book, please order through Scholastic online, or send in $5 no later than Thursday, 11/18.  Also available is Chasing Lincoln's Killer for $6, which we will read in the spring.

In social studies, (or social arts as the class says), we will be working on colony projects.  Each student will choose a colony to research and will create a project to share their knowledge (our hope is that each student will make a commercial in the computer lab).

School news:  Please remember the Thanksgiving luncheon next Wednesday, November 24th.  Art work will be up for viewing from 11:00am until 1:00pm and lunch begins at noon.  Dismissal will be immediately following the luncheon.
This year's book fair will be a Scholastic on campus event, from Monday, December 6th until Wednesday December 8th. On Tuesday the 7th, Tom Angleberger, author of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda will join us for a book signing (and maybe even some origami!).  Please join us for this exciting event!

And finally, some contest news for our young writers:
Nat Geo's Young Explorer Contest
An essay contest with a big prize-- a trip to the Cayman Islands!  Open to ages 9-15. (A CS alum won this contest a few years ago and enjoyed a trip with his father to Australia!)

Nat Geo's Find Your Footprint
For students interested in exploring our carbon footprint.

Celebrate America: "Why I'm Glad America is a Nation of Immigrants."
For fifth grade only

Barnes and Noble "My Favorite Teacher"
Honoring teachers!

Phew!  :)

Hope you all have many people and things to be thankful for!
-Katrina