Mrs. DeBlock’s Blog

We are very excited to finish our 1st classroom podcast! A very special thank you to Mr. Clancy for helping our class out! Click here to listen to our “newsletter!”

 march-podcast-newscast-revised.mp3

Our Curriculum Fair Project is underway! We have picked cities or monuments to write a report on this year. What city or monument are you studying? Give us a “fun fact” about your city or monument!

Valentine’s Day and the month of February help us to reflect on the ones (and things) we love! What is a book that you really just love?

Today we did a webquest for information on The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We know we have a special day set aside in January in his honor, yet I wanted you to find out some interesting information about him.

 Tell me an interesting fact about Martin Luther King Jr. that you didn’t know before today!

I have created a new addition to my 5th grade Webpage! It’s a WIKI!

 Have you heard of a WIKI before? Maybe you’ve heard of a site called WIKIpedia. Well my class hopes that you visit OUR CLASSROOM WIKI throughout the year and check it out. It will continue to grow throughout the year.

 Fun Fact: The Hawaiian term WIKI WIKI means quick! I wonder why that is?

Any comments on WIKI would be appreciated!

I’ve noticed that my 2006 – 2007 class of 5th graders (from last year) has been on this blog ALOT! I’m very proud of all of you and hope that you continue to strive to be the best you can be! Let us know all about 6th grade: what you like about it, what challenges you may have had transitioning from 5th grade to 6th, and any suggestions for my new 5th grade class! Please know that I miss all of you very much and hope you will come back and visit sometime soon!

I went to the new “Spirit” Halloween store up by the outlets this weekend with my husband. It was quite the experience. They have lots of gory masks and decorations, it made me think… where did the tradition or holiday that some celebrate known as “Halloween” come from?

After doing a little research I found out that the night we now know as Halloween is derived from a day that was once celebrated as “All Hallows Eve” or a religious celebration of Saints. After continuing my research I also found out that “Halloween” to those who were very superstitious, was also a night that was believed to be a time when demons and foul spirits roamed the world to celebrate the return of the cold and dark. Men were tormented by the evil spirits and tried to buy their freedom by offering food and assorted treats. This was thus marked by terrible noises, tricks, and pranks. Most of the common images of Halloween – the jack-o’-lantern, masked figures, bonfires, and the famous cry “trick-or-treat” all originated from these customs. The jack-o’-lantern is traced back to Central Europe as a symbol of the cemetery caretakers and the lamps they carried to light the way.

Interesting…

Now knowing a little about the ‘History of Halloween’ what do you plan on dressing up as this year?

I am excited to introduce myself as your fifth grade teacher. Fifth grade is going to be fantastic! I have already started planning lots of fun and exciting activities for us to do throughout the school year. I hope that you are as excited as I am about the upcoming year!

The purpose of this blog is to be able to communicate your questions and have them answered by not only me, but by my former students as well! If you have any questions about 5th grade you can write them here, wait a few days and you might have an answer back!

I certainly hope your summer is going well! School will be here soon! I can’t wait to meet you! 

What are you going to do this summer? Anything exciting with your family? Anything to prepare you for next year in Middle School?

Can you believe that we only have a few weeks left of school? With that being said, the end of the year is approaching fast! What “end of the year” activites are you excited about? Remember we have wonderful days like field day, beach blast, transition day and the hero assembly!

All of the NYS tests are FINALLY over in 5th grade! What did you think of the NYS Math exam? Do you think the state has a reason for giving us three hard tests in one year? What are the positives? What are the negatives?

Valentine’s Day and the month of February help us to reflect on the ones (and things) we love! What is a book that you really just love?

In our class we read and watched Dr. King Jr. grow up in an area where there was a lot of hate. Somehow Dr. King Jr. rose above all of the hate and violence and changed our world for the better. We know that M.L.K. had some big dreams for the world. He worked hard, studied hard, remembered his values at all times, and strived toward the better good of the world. We thank him for his beliefs that the world could be a better place. What are your dreams for the world?

The Holiday Season is upon us! With that in mind, and also knowing that so many people celebrate for different reasons, (Christmas, Kwanza, Chanukah) what Holiday traditions do you hold in your own household? Do you like the traditions that you and your family do yearly? Would you change them? I would love to hear about them!

Check this website out that I just found, thanks to Mrs. Pearsall! You can create your own snowflake, and the more snowflakes you make, the more money that will be donated to the salvation army! Imagine that, doing something fun to help out our global community! Cool! After you have created your own snowflake, come back and write about what you thought!

http://www.popularfront.com/snowdays/

Please remember when you are writing a blog, ALL UPPERCASE = you are shouting in online terms. So remember, when you are writing something, make sure it is in regular text form. Unless of course, it is something you want to shout out loud to everyone like, MISS GORDON IS THE COOLEST!

Also you do not need to sign your first and last name. If you want to put something like Erik M. or Ryan G. or Taylor B. that’s fine! First name only is good!

You also never need to put in your e-mail address or a website. I would prefer that you do not, Thank you!

Thanksgiving is always a time to remember to give thanks. What are some things you are thankful for?

Yikes, the Social Studies test is coming up soon! What do you think about it? Are you nervous? Ready? Not ready? Tell me your thoughts!

Halloween is coming up soon! What are you going to be for Halloween? Do you still go out and trick-or-treat? If so who do you like to visit?

What do you think of 5th grade so far? Give me your thoughts. What do you like? What don’t you like about 5th grade?