Navigators Team Newsletter

October 30-November 3, 2017

http://navigators5.blogspot.com/

*Please remember that we are a NUT FREE HALL!

• The Fall Book Fair will be at BGIS next week, October 30th -November 3rd.   Students will visit the Book Fair during their normal library time.  It will be an exciting celebration of reading with hundreds of fun, engaging, and affordable books for kids to discover. Parents, we need volunteers for our Fall Book Fair.  If you can help out with this event, please call Ms. Stewart at 439-1642 or email her at rstewart@hoover.k12.al.us.Thanks so much!

• We will collect supplies for homeless veterans in the lobby from November 1st-17th.  The people who work with the homeless veterans at the VA were totally overwhelmed with our large donation of items.  They cannot use federal money for these items and depend on donations.  Please encourage your students to participate in this worthy cause.

https://tinyurl.com/HelpForHomelessVet

• Please join us for our Veterans Day Program on November 9th at 8:45 a.m.  See the link for details.

• Our next spirit night is Tuesday, November 14th, at the Patton Creek Firehouse Subs from 4-8 p.m.  This is owned and operated by one of our very own Brock’s Gap families so it’s the perfect partnership!  It was extremely successful for us last year so we are excited to partner with them again!  We’d love your support and encouragement for participation!  Please see THIS FLYER for more information.

• RECORDERS FOR MUSIC: Please read this letter from Mrs. Vines about recorders for music class.

• Thursdays are Spirit Days at BGIS.  Wear a BGIS shirt or Hoover Bucs shirt to celebrate school spirit!  BGIS shirts are still available for purchase on www.myschoolfees.com.

WAYS TO GIVE BACK TO BROCK’S GAP

• BOX TOPS:  If you have any Box Tops, please send those in a baggie to help contribute to our classrooms!
  
• POP TABS: Pop Tabs are being collected in the lobby for the Ronald McDonald House!  You can find these on soda cans.

Important Weekly Dates

Monday, October 30:  Notable American Tombstone due (Powell/Bell)
Monday, October 30-Friday, November 4:  Book Fair in the Library

Friday, November 4:  Roots of Southern Food Reading/Vocabulary Test (Powell/Bell)

Friday, November 4:  LA IXL due (Powell/Bell)

Friday, November 4: Math Quiz

Upcoming Important Dates

November 1-17:  Veteran’s Day toiletry collection in the lobby

Thursday, November 9:  Veterans Day Program at 8:45 a.m.

Friday, November 10:  No School due to Veteran’s Day

Tuesday, November 14:  Spirit Night at Firehouse Sub’s in Patton Creek

Curriculum News

Language Arts:

This week, we have learned about the 5 nonfiction text structures:  cause and effect, sequencing, compare and contrast, description, and problem/solution.  We are going to put these into action this week as we read a nonfiction passage about how Southern food came to be.   This passage refers to the cultural exchange we discussed we we learned about Christopher Columbus.

For Mrs. Powell and Bell’s classes, the tombstone project is due on Monday.  Please refer back to the direction sheet for size, information to be present on the tombstone, and other criteria.  

Math:

This week in math, we will continue our study of volume. Students will be able to use the formula for volume (lxwxh) to find the volume of a regular object.  Students will also be having hands-on experience with volume as they build a 2-D and 3-D robot to find the area and volume of their robot.  We will have a Cumulative Review which will be given on Monday.  We will have three IXL skills, but we are going to be having the students do these in the mornings during homeroom rather than at night for homework.  We will be having a quiz on Friday on cumulative review and volume.

Science:

This week we will continue our study of Ecosystems.  Students will draw parallels between the events occurring inside their model eco-columns and those that occur every day all over the world.  Our focus this week will be on pollution and how it can have a negative effect on our ecosystems.  Please help us by making sure that your child has SCISSORS and a GLUE STICK for Science!

Social Studies:

Throughout the next few weeks, we will learn about the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.  Students will investigate the daily life, government, schools, natural resources, and other pertinent information in these colonies.  This is Chapter 2 in their Discovery Education techbook.

We hope you have a wonderful week!

Navigators Team Newsletter

October 16-20, 2017

http://navigators5.blogspot.com/

*Please remember that we are a NUT FREE HALL!

• Next Friday, October 20th, from 7:00-8:00 will be Donuts for Dads.  The cost for adults is $2.50. This is for any important male in a student’s life!  Please see the ATTACHED LINK for further information.  If you would like to attend please go to this DONUTS FOR DADS RSVP to let our cafeteria know that you will attend.

• Zaxby's Night is on Tuesday, October 17th 4-8PM. Drive Thru and gift-card purchases count as well.  Come support Brock’s Gap and eat a good meal!

• Thursdays are Spirit Days at BGIS.  Wear a BGIS shirt or Hoover Bucs shirt to celebrate school spirit!  BGIS shirts are still available for purchase on www.myschoolfees.com.

• Girls, Goals and Books will begin on Tuesday, October 24th and meet every other Tuesday.  Please see the ATTACHED FLYER for more information.

• SHOES for Sugarbelle

October 2-27 the Earthsavers/Science Club will be collecting shoes for our Shoes For Sugarbelle  Fundraiser. Please send in your used/old shoes.  THANK YOU!!

About the program:Sugarbelle Foundation is a registered 501-c3, whose mission is to keep pets and people together. We accomplish this by providing financial assistance, to the best of our ability, to pet owners and Good Samaritans who have an animal in need, temporary fosters homes, food, and any other necessary items for pets and their people.All donated shoes are redistributed throughout the Funds2Orgs network of microenterprise partners in developing nations.  Funds2Orgs helps impoverished people start, maintain and grow businesses in countries such as Haiti, Honduras and other nations in Central America and Africa. Proceeds from the shoe sales are in turn to feed, clothe and house their families. Funds2Org believes the HAND UP is more beneficial than the HAND OUT because it teaches people how to be self-sufficient which is also what Sugarbelle Foundation strives to do when helping pets and their families.

• Spirit Week:  October 16-20, 2017
• Monday:  Dress Your Best Day:  Wear nice clothes today!
• Tuesday:  America Day:  Wear Red, White, and Blue
• Wednesday:  Holiday Day:  Wear clothes that represent your favorite holiday
• Thursday:  Hoover Gear Day:  Wear Hoover spirit gear!
• Friday:  Pink Out Day:  Wear pink to support Breast Cancer

• Red Ribbon Week is October 23-27.  Read the flyer for details!

• October is National Bullying Prevention Month

Save the date! Wednesday, October 25, 2017

UNITY DAY: Together against bullying. United for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Make it ORANGE and make it end!. That’s the day everyone can come together – in schools, communities, and online – and send one large ORANGE message of support, hope, and unity to show that we are together against bullying and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion.                            Wear Orange: Make a statement!

“ORANGE provides a powerful, visually compelling expression of solidarity,” said Paula Goldberg, Executive Director of PACER Center. “When hundreds of individuals in a school or organization wear orange, the vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, sending the unified message to kids to know that they are not alone.”  “More than one of every five school-aged children report being bullied,” said Julie Hertzog, director of PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, which sponsors Unity Day and founded National Bullying Prevention Month in 2006. “It’s important these students know they are not alone and that they have the right to feel safe. By joining together and wearing ORANGE on Unity Day, we can send the unified message that we care about student’s physical and emotional health and that bullying will no longer be accepted in this society.”

• Please join us for our Veterans Day Program on November 9th at 8:45 a.m.  See the link for details.

• RECORDERS FOR MUSIC: Please read this letter from Mrs. Vines about recorders for music class.
  
• BOX TOPS:  If you have any Box Tops, please send those in a baggie to help contribute to our classrooms!  There is a turn-in date for these on Monday, October 23rd.  You will be entered for a prize drawing!
  
• POP TABS: Pop Tabs are being collected in the lobby for the Ronald McDonald House!  You can find these on soda cans.

• FROM THE CAFETERIA

We would love to help with Birthday Celebrations. If a parent would like to send money to purchase their student's homeroom ice cream they can do so. I will be making tickets for the  Birthday student to hand out to their class and when they come to the register we will collect the tickets and charge the Birthday student. The cost is .75 cents per ice cream. The students who receive a ticket must purchase the ice cream the day the tickets are handed out.

Important Weekly Dates

Tuesday, October 17:  Zaxby’s Spirit Night

Wednesday, October 18:  Report Cards Come Home

Thursday, October 19:  Greek and Latin Roots Test 13 (All Navigators)

Friday, October 20:  Donuts with Dad

Friday, October 20:  Unit 1 Test on Place Value, Order of Operations, Multiplication, and Division

Upcoming Important Dates

Monday, October 23-27:  Red Ribbon Week

Monday, October 23:  Box Top Turn-In Date

Wednesday, October 25:  Unity Day:  Wear Orange (see above)

Monday, October 30:  Notable American Tombstone due

Monday, October 30-Friday, November 4:  Book Fair in the Library

Thursday, November 9:  Veterans Day Program at 8:45 a.m.

Curriculum News

Language Arts:

Next week, we are beginning our Non-fiction unit, which includes Notable American Project.  Students will be assigned a Notable American to research and will complete a few assignments throughout the week such as selecting the main ideas about their American, completing an obituary, and writing an acrostic poem.  Then, they will complete a portion of the project at home by creating a tombstone that will be due on Monday, October 30th.  Details will come home on Monday, including a rubric of how the project will be graded.

Math:

This week in Math, we will continue our study of division, as well as order of operations.  Students will using the partial quotients algorithm to solve division problems and interpret the remainders in real world problems.  Our Unit 1 Test (place value, order of operations, multiplication, and division) will be on Friday.  Students will be given a study guide on Monday to review for the test.  We will not have a Cumulative Review for homework this week due to the study guide.

Science:

This week we will continue our study of food chains and food webs.  We will also be studying the process of photosynthesis in plants.  We will be relating these concepts to our ecocolumn that students have built in class.  

Social Studies:

This week, we began a new chapter on the 13 colonies.  Throughout the next few weeks, we will learn about the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.  Students will investigate the daily life, government, schools, natural resources, and other pertinent information in these colonies.  This is Chapter 2 in their Discovery Education techbook.

We hope you have a wonderful week!

Navigators Team Newsletter

October 10-13, 2017

http://navigators5.blogspot.com/

• Please remember to pick up any medicine leftover from Camp McDowell at the nurse’s office.  This medication will be disposed of after next Friday, October 13th.

• Monday, October 9th is our Parent Conference Day in Hoover City Schools.  We have contacted those parents that we would like to touch base with on the Parent Conference Day.  If you have not received an email with specific concerns, we feel that your child is progressing well both academically and socially.  If you wish to meet with us with concerns and no email is received requesting a conference, please contact your child’s teachers to set up a conference time.  Students will NOT attend school on Monday, October 9th.
  
• Thursdays are Spirit Days at BGIS.  Wear a BGIS shirt or Hoover Bucs shirt to celebrate school spirit!  BGIS shirts are still available for purchase on www.myschoolfees.com.
  
• Books, Boys, and Basketball

When: Starting Tuesday, September 19th from 3:00 to 4:00  (every other week)

Location: in the gym

Bring: a book that you are reading

Who: BOYS

Sponsors: Mr. Williams, Coach A and Mrs. Leahey

Students are responsible for a ride home at 4:00.

• SHOES for Sugarbelle

Beginning October 2-27 the Earthsavers/Science Club will be collecting shoes for our Shoes For Sugarbelle  Fundraiser. Please send in your used/old shoes.  THANK YOU!!

About the program:Sugarbelle Foundation is a registered 501-c3, whose mission is to keep pets and people together. We accomplish this by providing financial assistance, to the best of our ability, to pet owners and Good Samaritans who have an animal in need, temporary fosters homes, food, and any other necessary items for pets and their people.All donated shoes are redistributed throughout the Funds2Orgs network of microenterprise partners in developing nations.  Funds2Orgs helps impoverished people start, maintain and grow businesses in countries such as Haiti, Honduras and other nations in Central America and Africa. Proceeds from the shoe sales are in turn to feed, clothe and house their families. Funds2Org believes the HAND UP is more beneficial than the HAND OUT because it teaches people how to be self-sufficient which is also what Sugarbelle Foundation strives to do when helping pets and their families.

• Spirit Week:  October 16-20, 2017
• Monday:  Dress Your Best Day:  Wear nice clothes today!
• Tuesday:  America Day:  Wear Red, White, and Blue
• Wednesday:  Holiday Day:  Wear clothes that represent your favorite holiday
• Thursday:  Hoover Gear Day:  Wear Hoover spirit gear!
• Friday:  Pink Out Day:  Wear pink to support Breast Cancer

• Please remember that our hall is a NUT-FREE HALL!!!  We have several serious nut allergies on our hall. Due to this, we ask students to not bring any nut products for snack or lunch.  If peanut butter is brought for lunch, we will have to ask your child to go to the health room with a friend to eat their lunch.  This would need to be an occasional occurrence.  We thank you so much for your cooperation with this policy to keep all of our students safe.
  
• BOX TOPS:  If you have any Box Tops, please send those in a baggie to help contribute to our classrooms!
  
• POP TABS: Pop Tabs are being collected in the lobby for the Ronald McDonald House!  You can find these on soda cans.

• FROM THE CAFETERIA

We would love to help with Birthday Celebrations. If a parent would like to send money to purchase their student's homeroom ice cream they can do so. I will be making tickets for the  Birthday student to hand out to their class and when they come to the register we will collect the tickets and charge the Birthday student. The cost is .75 cents per ice cream. The students who receive a ticket must purchase the ice cream the day the tickets are handed out.

• FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE

Parents, Students are not allowed to carry medication on their person while at school.  Please make sure you contact the school nurse with any need for your child to have medication at school. A prescriber/parent authorization form must be presented to the nurse along with the medication before any student is allowed to have medication at school.  ​An adult needs to bring the medication along with the signed paperwork to the nurse. If you have any questions, please call Tyra Walker, RN at 439-1630

• CAREER SPOTLIGHTS:  This year at Brock’s Gap Intermediate School we are going to be doing career spotlights throughout the year. WE NEED YOU! We want our parents to be our spotlights. We are asking that you video yourself answering a few questions and the video will be shared in our broadcast announcements.

We are looking for a variety of people interested in telling our students about their career. Many of our students are unaware of the career opportunities available to them and this is a fantastic way to provide them with first hand knowledge of potential career paths. This is also a great way for you to get involved in BGIS and make an impact on the students’ futures.

If you are interested in recording a short 2 minute video telling the students about a “day in the life” of your job, please complete the following link. http://bit.ly/2vDNqdu

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. The information is also on the Guidance & Counseling page on the Brock’s Gap website.

Important Weekly Dates

Monday, October 9:  Columbus Day:  No School

Tuesday, October 10:  Explorers’ Project Due

Tuesday, October 10:  Camp McDowell slides due (students have done this in class but may have to finish at home)

Wednesday, October 11:  End of the 1st 9 weeks

Thursday, October 12:  Picture Money Due

Friday, October 13:  Greek and Latin Roots Test (All Navigators)

Friday, October 13:  LA IXL Due (All Navigators)

Friday, October 13:  Flu Shot forms due

Upcoming Important Dates

Monday, October 16-Friday, October 20:  Spirit Week

Wednesday, October 18:  Report Cards

Curriculum News

Language Arts:

Your child received or will soon receive their “Cold-Read Assessment” grade this week.  Cold reads are assessments that we give periodically throughout the year to determine if students are mastering objectives and reading on grade level.  The text is at a 5th grade level and questions focus on previously taught objectives.  These cold reads prove to be challenging for students, but it allows us to determine if your child has mastered the skills on a grade level text.  This test is only a small part of your child's grade, so with hard work on classroom assignments and homework, strong grades are able to be maintained.

We have focused on Narrative Writing this week and have worked hard to write a 5-paragraph essay.  Next week, we will spend time editing and publishing our pieces.

Math:

This week in Math, we will begin our study of division. Students will be working on estimating quotients as well as using the partial quotients algorithm to solve division problems.  The traditional long division algorithm will be part of our classroom discussions, but the 5th grade standard is partial quotients.  Notes will be sent home that detail this strategy.  We will have a Cumulative Review and IXL contract next week, but there will be no quizzes.  We will be having our Unit 1 Test (place value, order of operations, multiplication, and division) on Friday, October 20th.  A Study Guide will be sent home with your child to review for this.

Science:

This week, we spent time creating slides about our trip to Camp McDowell.  Those students that did not attend did vocabulary slides.  These will be graded and are due on October 10th.  Next week, our ecocolumns will be joined.  We will be researching food chains, food webs, and photosynthesis.  Please check your child’s agenda for important dates.  

Social Studies:

Don’t forget about the Explorers’ project that is due on Tuesday, October 10th.  Students will present their projects to the class.   Here are the requirements.  We will begin our next unit the following week about the 13 colonies, which will lead us into the American Revolution.

We hope you have a wonderful week!