Investigating through our community

Good evening! Crew 115 just recently went back to where we kicked off our first expedition "Are We Missing the Boat?" Students got to revisit and see new areas of Niagara Falls State Park. We observed the geological makeup and got a closer look at American and Canadian falls. Students worked alongside Earth Spirit to learn about the history of the falls and who we were before Niagara Falls. Students learned about the Native Americans, trade, land, and war. Upon completion of their expertise, they were to ride the Maid of the Mist to get a close encounter and bring a wet souvenir back to Niagara Charter School!

                                              Learning alongside Earth Spirit and becoming experts of United States and Canda!

Learning about the makeup of Niagara Falls hundreds of years ago.

Boarding the Maid of the Mist

Experts in training!

Expedition Kick-Off!

Good morning! It's finally great to be back into the swing of things! We are into our fourth week of fifth grade and your children are doing fabulous! They truly are an amazing group of students! We started off the year doing team building and learning how to work together as a crew and problem solve!
Yesterday, we kicked off our first expedition with a visit to the Niagara Falls region. We work alongside our physical education teacher to make our first kick-off into our expedition a success! The students hiked the lower power plant and were able to get up close and personal. We then moved over near the Niagara Gorge Discovery center to follow a few trails and get a closer view of the earth's layers! Soon after, we voyaged over near Niagara Falls to observe the Niagara Falls US and Canada border. The students were amazed at the sight! Inquisitive minds and questions filled the air. We hiked until the rain fell upon us! Can you guess what our first expedition will be about? Earth? Attractions? Water? Tourism? Yes! Those are all investigations we will discover in our first expedition; "Are We Missing the Boat?" Stay tuned for news and updates!

Heading out!

View of the lower Niagara

Look at all those layers!

Smile pretty!

Hiking up the hill! Boy were we wiped!

Check out the texture!

Niagara Falls

That's so cool!

A Glimpse into the past month!

We finished up our 2nd expedition with a 5K at Niagara Falls State Park. We were able to share our healthy habits with our community and show off all our hard work and practice!
We started our assessments for NYS! And boy did we try to ROCK em!
The 5th grade kicked off their last expedition of 5th grade called "America...Why?" We are currently investigating the immigration waves, the inspections, documents, immigration stations, and life after Ellis Island. We will continue to look at the trends and begin researching famous immigrants for our final product. Stay tuned! In music we are learning the 50 Nifty song of all 50 states in the United States in ABC order!
The end of the school year is quickly approaching! Please remember that your child needs to be in school everyday, following school and bus rules and completing homework in order to participate in Fantasy Island and EZ Mandarin at the end of the year. We will be heading to Fantasy Island on June 14. Your child must wear their uniform shirt with appropriate attire on the bottom. We will be celebrating DARE graduation on June 7 at 1:00. Please join us for our celebration in becoming Drug and Alcohol Free!

 The teachers with Nakhi Dove

 The Girls chilling after the race!

 Students and Parents FREEZING in the cold weather

Students WINNING!

 Hanging out at the ENVIRUN!

This student is REPRESENTING NCS!

 Yeah Buddy!

He did his job and the metal shows it



*Cations of photos created by Kierre Gotel

State Testing!

Good evening! I hope everyone is well rested and had a nice break. It is great to know we will be back to school tomorrow full throttle until the end of the year! We will be having state testing ELA-April 17-19 and  Math-April 24-26. It is very important that your child completed their homework over break to reinforce skills and strategies taught throughout the year. They have worked very hard and I am confident that they will do a phenomenal job!
Please remember that your child should be in attendance each day during testing. It is crucial that they are on time and have a good night of rest in order to be successful. Encourage your child the night before and the day of. They need your approval! You may even write a letter to your child and place it in an envelope for them to open the morning of the test. Kind words help them a lot!
There will be homework this week in order to ensure routine and continue the structure in the classroom as well as at home. Remind your children to study their notebooks from ELA and Math this week and next week. All the skills, strategies, and concepts learned this year are all in there. They will be bringing them home on an nightly basis.
Reminder that our 5k will be this Saturday at 10:30 at Three Sisters Island in Niagara Falls. Your child has worked very hard and is eager to show off their learning and healthy habits. Thank you for the great support and turn out of those who are attending. If you signed your child up for the bus, they will be picked up at promptly 9:30 at the Doris Jones Center and brought back at approximately 1:30 to the same location. If not, please be sure to drop your child off at the race about 10:15 to stretch and get ready.
If you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at 297-4520 ext. 7115 or kristinemcguire@niagaracharter.org. Have a great week!

5K Run Registration

                Join 5th grade in completing a 5K to end their expedition “Anato-Me!”

                                             * Most scenic 5K in Niagara County! *

                                 Date & Time: Saturday, April 21, 2012 @ 10:30 am

                                    Location: Niagara Falls State Park-Goat Island

                                  Contact Information or Questions: Kristine McGuire at 716-297-4520 Ext. 7115

                                                       Registration Form to print and mail:

        www.niagaracharter.org - www.missmcguirencs.blogspot.com  -  pick up at NCS office

                                                   Received in mail by 4/18/12 to:

                                             NCS 5K Envirun c/o Kristine McGuire

                                                         2077 Lockport Road

                                                      Niagara Falls, NY 14304

                                 

Registrants should report to the NCS tent by 10:00 am to receive race materials. Run starts at the east end of Goat Island. Take the bridge to island and follow road past parking lot near the falls, continue past the exit road and Three Sisters Island to the big parking lot. Race times by Western New York Finish Line Service.

Proceeds to benefit NFS A&WMA sponsored or supported environmental programs and environmental education.

                  Our sincere thanks go out to our many supporters, donors and volunteers.

$5.00 (student runner/adult walker includes refreshments) $10 (adult/staff runner of NCS includes timing and refreshments) $18 (adult/staff runner includes timing, t-shirt, and refreshments register online at  www.active.com or by mail to NCS) 

                           *This pricing is for Niagara Charter Families and Friends only*

2/27-3/2

Blood should flow smoothly through an artery!

A clean artery

Blood unable to go through because of a blocked arterie...gross!

An arterie clogged with plaque.

Ewwww!

Black history celebration

African American Cultural Center drummer

Storyteller

Drill Team from Merritime Charter School

Good evening! I hope that your weekend was great! Today I was out of the room for a math cluster training that helps you with number sense. I love applying these new strategies into the classroom and more importantly they really help with the shift of the CCLS.
Last week we had an amazing celebration of Black History Month. It was so neat to have so many stories, talents, facts, talents, and visitors who came out to join us. The students were very engaged and learned a lot! Congrats to 115 for our pizza party celebration. Thank you for all your donations to American Heart Association. Our class raised the most money in the building and will be rewarded at the end of the week.
Each week your child will be bringing home additional homework for ELA. This will work with them on their comprehension skills leading up to the state assessment. Please make sure that you are looking over their homework on a nightly basis. You as a parent are the number one teacher in your child's life. With that being said, 5 week reports will be sent home tomorrow to show you the progress of your child's work during the first weeks of the third marking period. Reminder that homework that is not complete will no longer be accepted for the next half of the quarter.
This week we will be moving into the digestive system of the human body. The students love this expedition and  are learning new and interesting things about themselves each day! Ask your child to share what they're learning. On Wednesday we will be heading to do some fieldwork at St. Mary's School for the Deaf. We are excited to work and see abilities in disABILITIES. The kids will be exposed to elementary and high school students who are hearing impaired.
The NYS exams will be held after spring break. Please make sure that your child is studying and getting a good nights rest and breakfast each morning. It is crucial that your child is present each and every day in order to be successful!

Homework

Math

Monday-3-5

Tuesday-3-6

Thursday-Review

Friday-Quiz

ELA

Tuesday-ABC order, Comprehension

Wednesday-3x each

Thursday-Sentences, Comprehension

Friday-Spelling Test

*Reminders*

Students may dress down for "Read Across America" on Friday for $2

Exhibition Night 3/6 at 6:00pm

Dis ABLE d

Good evening! This week we are continuing to work on disabiilties and accepting difference of others. We are working on CP, alzheimers, epilepsy, etc. The kids are so engaged and never really realized the impact of these disabilities. Later this month, we will visit St. Mary school of the Deaf and work alongside the teachers there to learn the language and be able to come back to NCS and teach others about the language! We are very excited to partake in this neat and exciting opportunity.
You will notice in your child's work that we have done a shift in assessment. Our class has worked intensely to begin self-assessing to analyze and critique our own work. Be sure to check our your child's work and projects. They really are doing an amazing job with this!
Thank you to all the parents who supported our Valetine's party on Friday. A sincere word of appreciation for all the sweet little gifts from the kids! I loved them all! It's so fun to be able to celebrate to love of teaching and each one of your children on this day!
Please remember that we have no school on Friday 2/17 and Monday 2/20 due to President's Day. There has been a change in the calendar and these are the new days. Be sure to mark your calendars!
On 2/24 we will have our Black History month celebration! Please join us in the gymnasium at 2:30. We  have many great performers that will be sharing their talents and stories. Stay tuned for more information!

ELA

Tues-Reading comprehension, ABC Order

Wed- 3x each

Thurs-Reading comprehension, Sentences

Math

Mon-12-5

Tues-12-1 (old math)

Wed-Assessment

Expert coming to teach us about our bones and the importance of maintaing healthy hygiene!

Constructing our salt maps of the brain!

 Wow!

Boggling our Brains!

Good evening! I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend. We are learning so much and are so excited to share with you what we have in store! This weekend, NCS was invited to partake in a ministry opportunity that services to schools in the area. Each teacher received $300 in products for the classroom! I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity. Supplies tend to run low, and this is just a way to replenish without the costs! Thank you to Teacher's Desk of Buffalo!
This week, we are continuing to dive into to the nervous system. The students loved learning about the parts of the brain and the responsibilities of each part. We were able to dissect the brain, tongue, and eye of a deer! The students were great scientists! Stay tuned for pictures! This week we are starting to focus disabilities and the importance of accepting differences. Cerebral Palsy will be the topic of study this week and how it affects our nervous system.  We are hoping to work closely with People Inc. to partner and help us in becoming experts and seeing what we can do for our community to make a difference. The salt map project is hard at work. The kids got to create salt maps of the brain and are in the stages of the final production! They look amazing!
Please be advised that our math homework will begin to skip around. We are working diligently to make sure that your children have the skills necessary for the state assessment in April.

ELA

Tues-ABC order

Wed-3x each

Thurs-sentences

Math

Mon-11-6

Tues-11-4

Wed-Unit Test

Thurs-12-1

*Reminders*

Return slips for Valentines party on 2/10 from 10:00-10:40am

2/7 Applebee's Fundraiser 6pm on Military

2/8 Black history meeting in Room 115 at 4:15pm

Bring in loose change for "Hoops for Hearts"

1/2 day on 2/10- Dismissal at 12:00pm

A trip to the Museum!

The bus ride!

Fieldwork experts!

Getting ready for connections in our Expedition!

Can you name this part of the body in its scientific terminology?

Mr. Richard making us use our nervous system!

"Wow that's interesting!"

Taking a look at parasites that can affect our body

Your arm span is 4 feet 5 inches!

Ewww...a clean arterie verses a clogged artery! I am eating healthy from now on Miss McGuire!

A healthy set of lungs...

Lungs of a smoker. Notice the holes. These holes represent emphysema!

We were able to visit the Buffalo Science Museum! We got to learn all about "Anato-Me" up close and personal. Mr. Richard was an amazing expert and taught many cool things about our body! We then got to work in workshops and got a deeper understanding of how we operate, the foods we eat, and the muscles and skeleton make up! Take a peek at what we learned!