We are getting so close to the end of the school year, I can’t believe how quickly it has went by. I am confident that all of the students in Ms. Hahn’s class are ready for 5th grade. We have been stressing responsibility and behavior recently to make sure they understand that things will be a little different for them next year. 

This week was kind of strange as we had snow, PARCC testing, and early release. We also had graupel! What is graupel you ask? Here you go:

graupel |ˈɡraʊp(ə)l|

noun [ mass noun ]

small particles of snow with a fragile crust of ice; soft hail.

Simply put it is not as soft as snow and not as hard as hail. But this week it pelted us a few times at recess. As I told some of the kids, this ridiculous spring is my fault because I just bought a new bike. I think Mother Nature is trying to tell me that the bike I had was just fine, so she is making sure I can’t ride either one of them!

In math we have been working on decimals, so this week the kids learned to measure water in graduated cylinders. While in science, they finished the motion and matter unit. We concluded with mixing baking soda and vinegar, while most kids knew what was going to happen, others were surprised by the mixture!

Finally, we also had a couple PARCC tests this week and the kids did great. Due to space issues we had to move some tables and students into the room from other rooms and our kids did a great job. They made room and moved the furniture around a number of times during the week. This was truly appreciated.

So back to business again next week, then we have Earth Week. I have challenged the students to being trash free with their lunches for that entire week (with the exception of Thursday which is our field trip day). If we are all trash free for the whole week, I will bring in pizzas again to celebrate. So please, start thinking about buying in bulk, using reusable containers, putting leftovers into lunches, and packing a lot of fruit and veggies. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated. I’ve been challenging the kids to decrease the amount of trash at lunch and we have had some great progress! We would love to continue.

Have a great week!

~ Mrs. Steinbeck