October 26th-30th

General Announcements	Today we kicked off our recognition of Red Ribbon by WEARING RED (we also collected canned goods for the Firehouse Shelter)-We pledge to be drug free.   Tuesday will be PJ (pajamas) DAY-Your choices are the key to your dreams!  Wednesday will be SUPERHERO Day-   Be someone’s hero and stand up to bullying and drugs. Thursday will be THROWBACK THURSDAY- We will “throw drugs” back. Friday will be PINK OUT DAY.  Scare away drugs, bullying, and cancer.  Promote healthy bodies. This week is also our Book Fair at Brock’s Gap.  Students can go to the Book Fair before school if they have money to purchase something.  Our homerooms will go to the Book Fair on the following days:  Mrs. McNiel (Wednesday) and Mrs. Ponder (Thursday). In honor of our Veterans.....during the month of November and in conjunction with our upcoming Veterans Day Program, we will be collecting unopened, travel-size toiletries for the VA Hospital in Birmingham. There will be collection boxes in BGIS lobby from Monday, November 2nd through Friday, November 13th.   Mark your calendars for Tuesday, November 10th at 8:45 A.M., we will have our Veterans Day program at Brock’s Gap (a letter with this information should have come home last week)! Don't forget to check your child's grades from time to time on INOW.
Language Arts:	This week we will be finishing up reading "Trapped By The Ice!" We wrote a newspaper article about some of the challenges the crew faced. We will test the vocabulary Tuesday (October 27th) and have a cold read test (using a story we have never seen before) on Tuesday as well.  Reading log is due Wednesday The tombstone was due today and presentations are October 28th and 29th.
Social Studies:	We are finishing up our study of the 13 colonies. The test for the 13 colonies will be Thursday and a study guide came home Friday. Next week we will start talking about the causes of the Revolutionary War.
Math:	This week, we will continue our study of volume.  Students are determining the volume of rectangular prisms and irregular figures. This is a new concept for many, and it may take some time to understand at greater depth.    A new Cumulative Review and IXL contract came home today. The Cumulative Review is due WEDNESDAY and our quiz will be Thursday.  We will also have a Unit Test on Volume next Wednesday.
Science:	We have begun our study of Ecosystems. We started the Unit by discussing an article in our Science World magazines, "Taking on World Hunger." This article discusses a bacteria called rhizobia that lives inside nodules of a pea plant.  This bacteria absorbs nitrogen gas from the air and converts it into ammonia,  a nutrient that plants can use.  These discussions are building background knowledge for our study photosynthesis.  Grades are being taken from activities done in class.