Making Wishes Come True.....

(CNN)Support continues to pour in for one little girl with a simple Christmas wish.

Eight-year-old Sa'fyre Terry of Schenectady, New York, lost her family two years ago in a fire police say was intentionally set. She survived with severe burns to her face, and lost her right hand and foot as a result of her injuries.

What she really wanted this holiday season is Christmas cards from around the world, a family friend said in a recent Facebook post. This all started when her aunt, Liz Dolder, bought her a Christmas tree on which to hang cards. Sa'fyre decided she wanted to fill the tree with as many cards as she could get.

If you are interested in being apart of this little girl's wish please send her a holiday card to the following address:

Sa'fyre Terry

P.O. Box 6126

Schenectady, NY 12306

Tech Activity

Saturday, Jan. 23: In a galaxy not so far, far away… is a Star Wars edition of Tucked In @ The Tech! In this special family sleepover, you’ll watch “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in the Hackworth IMAX Dome Theater, receive collectible Star Wars swag, build edible TIE fighters, and harness your problem-solving force to help ewoks escape storm troopers. Wear your Star Wars PJs and you’ll be in the running to win a BB-8 app-enabled Droid — one of the hottest toys of the season. Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind event! 

Required Clothing and Equipment

This list is for all Hiking participants.  While going through the list, keep in mind the number of days you will be at our campus.  Check off item once it’s packed.  Great places to find these items:  REI, Any Mountain, The Sports Basement (on Stevens Creek),  Sports Authority, The Mountain View Army Supply (on Bascom). 

PLEASE LABEL EVERY SINGLE ITEM WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME ON IT!

WATERPROOF EVERYTHING!

Required for Hiking Day

__        Lunch from home on the first day only.

__        Day pack – large enough for lunch, jacket, rain gear, journal and water bottle

__        Water Bottle – unbreakable, leak-proof one quart (or more) plastic bottle without a straw -  Drinking water bottles (e.g. Calistoga, Evian, etc) are fine.

__        Rain gear – complete rain jacket and pants (coated nylon is best)

__        Sunscreen – SPF 30 or higher

__        Lip balm with SPF (avoid “Chapstick” brand)

__        Hats – (1) for sun protection, (1) for warmth

__        Gloves

__        Foot gear – sturdy, ankle supporting and waterproofed for hiking.  Break in at least one month prior to your trip and make sure students have practiced tying them.

__        Jacket – stuffable nylon or thick fleece is a good choice

__        Inhaler if you need it while hiking

__        Emergency “I have to go the bathroom out in the wilderness” Kit: (2) Gallon-sized Ziplock baggies, (4-5) One quart baggies, handsanitizer, travel-sized bathroom wipes, travel-sized tissue

__        (Pencil and journal to be provided by your teacher)

__        Bandana scarf (lunch placemat on our daily hikes)

Required for Overnight (after 4 p.m.)

__        Foot gear – in addition to the hiking pair, bring a pair of rubber-soled tennis shoes to wear on campus

__        Warm sleeping bag and pillow (sheet and thick blankets are fine) – pack in a large garbage bag –practice                       rolling it up!

__        Long pants – bring at least (3) extra pair

__        Shirts – (4-5) are needed, long sleeve are best to accommodate the changes in weather.

__        Warm layers- (2-3) sweat shirts (in case of rain)

__        Socks and underwear – one pair per day plus one extra (a few thick hiking socks if possible)

__        Pajamas or equivalent (sweats, etc.)

__        Toiletries – comb or brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc. (travel bottles best – label w/name)

__        Bath towel and washcloth

__        Sandals to wear in the shower

__        Personal medications, as needed (please fill out the medication form provided, place in a Ziplock baggie with your child’s name labeled clearly – give to child’s teacher the morning of departure)

__        (2 -3) extra large plastic garbage bags – 1 for sitting on in case of rain, 1 for repacking sleeping bag and pillow/dirty clothes

__        Rolling suitcase suggested– students will need to carry all of their own gear

Optional

__        One twin-sized fitted sheet (highly recommended)   

__        Sunglasses

__        Camera (disposable is best in case of rain)

__        Stuffed animal/picture from home

__        Alarm clock (adults only)

__        Flash light (adults only)

DO NOT BRING

·          CANDY, SODAS, OR EXTRA FOOD OF ANY KIND (except for lunch on the first day) If you have special dietary needs, please contact your child’s teacher

·          Electrical or batter powered equipment:  cell phones, video games, CD players, iPods, etc.  (adult chaperons may bring lap tops and cell phones)

Country Lane Colt

NOTE THESE DATES

10/27 Board of Trustees Meeting

District Office, Board Room

10/28 H&SC Meeting

8:15am, Staff Room

Guest Speaker: Superintendent Mary Kay Going

11/2-11/6 CL Fundraiser Week!

Erik’s Deli (18800 Cox Ave) 4-9pm

11/6 NO SCHOOL

Teacher Work Day

11/11 NO SCHOOL

Veterans’ Day

11/13 Picture Make-up Day

11/12,11/13, 11/16, 11/17, 11/19, &11/20 Fall Conferences

Early Dismissal:

   TK/K 12:05,    Grades 1-5  1:40

11/17 Board of Trustees Meeting

District Office, Board Room

11/23-11/27 NO SCHOOL

Thanksgiving Week

 Picture Make-up Day

Friday, November 13

If you missed picture day or need a re-take, the photographer will be here on Friday, November 13.  If you are doing re-takes because of a problem with your photos, please be sure to turn in the original photos to the photographer that day.

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  We have had a whirlwind month here at the Country Lane Homestead!  With  the amazing Wild West Walk A Thon, the Spooktacular Halloween Carnival at  the MEF Pumpkin Patch, the Charleston Wrap fundraiser, a couple of family dinner nights out, Kona Ice and Yogurtland sprinkled in, I am sure everyone is ready to put  up their feet this week and just sit back  and  relax.  Thank you again to all of you who donated your time and money to make every event here at Country Lane a success!  Our village is strong because we work as one to get things done!

Monday evening our 3^rd graders dazzled their families with some toe-tapping tunes and a jig as they sang their way through various genres of music.  I was so impressed with our performers and am sure that we will see several of them in the future on American Idol, Just Dance and other reality shows that show off the stuff they are made of.

Thank you to everyone who walked to school on the International Walk to School Day.  We had 350 pairs of feet stomping the pavement making their way to school in a healthy effort to decrease traffic on the streets. Way to go walkers!  We appreciate you!

Join us!  On Wednesday, October 28 at 8:15, Superintendent Mary Kay Going will join our Home and School Club general meeting to share information with us regarding our district’s Strategic Plan and more.  We will have hot coffee and morning treats in the staff room for you, so please plan on joining us.

Have a GREAT rest of the week and Enjoy your weekend!

 Ms. Ruddy

                        Crazy Hat & Halloween Colors on Friday, October 30

Friday, October 30 will be a Crazy Hat and/or Halloween Colors (Black, Orange, White) Spirit Day.  NO COSTUMES, PLEASE!  We will also have NORMAL dismissal times that day.

Wanted:  Donations for the Second Harvest Food Drive

More than 1 in 10 people in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties rely on food from Second Harvest Food Bank each month.  Nearly 40% of these are children. 

Please join us in supporting those in our community who do not have enough to eat.  Bring your non-perishable donation to the school office during our annual Second Harvest Food Drive October 28^th through November 18th.  You can make a difference for local families this holiday season!

Got Sick Kids?

We are experiencing a high volume of sick kids at school.  If your student is not feeling well, please check their symptoms before sending them to school.  95% of the time, if you send your student to school ill and tell them to go into the office if they are not feeling well, they do come to the office and are sent home, but have spent enough time at school to pass on their germs to their classmates.

We want to keep Country Lane a healthy place to be and we appreciate your cooperation.

Tardies

We have had a run on students arriving to school tardy.  Please make an effort to have your student(s) wake up at a reasonable time to prepare for the day and be on time to school.  Coming to school late is a bad habit and your student is missing important instructional time.  We want your student to be successful in life so please make the effort to get them to school on time.  If your student needs to be tardy because of an appointment, a note from the doctor/dentist is required upon their arrival. 

Traffic Safety Plea from the Superintendent

I am sure everyone in our district has noticed the increasing traffic in and around the Moreland School District.  Some of our neighboring districts and schools have experienced terrible traffic tragedies. Please help us keep all our children safe by following the traffic rules around the schools and slowing down!  We will be working with the City of San Jose's Project Passion Program and Walk and Roll 

Program to evaluate our traffic flow around the schools.  However, even with the best system in place, each driver is responsible for the speed of their vehicle and the observance of traffic safety around schools.  Help us to keep all our children safe.

Join Us For a Town Hall Meeting

The Moreland School District is hosting a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 6:00PM in the Moreland Community Center MU Room (same parking lot as the District Office, 4711 Campbell Avenue).  If you have not had the opportunity to attend a meeting at your school site, join us as Superintendent Mary Kay Going gives a State of the District presentation.  In addition, as the District 

begins work on the renewal of the Strategic Plan, your feedback and insight is critical as we begin engagement for this process.  If you're unable to join us on October 22nd, we will be hosting the same presentation and opportunity on November 5, 2015 at 6:00PM in the same location.   Both opportunities will offer a chance for community members to write a letter to a future Moreland student, letting the District know about your hopes and dreams for our schools: http://bit.ly/LetterCampaign2015  Moreland is grateful to have such strong community support.  Join us in helping to shape our future.

                     Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences Coming Up Nov. 12^th-20^th ! 

Please Be Aware of EARLY DISMISSAL!!

11/12, 11/13, 11/16, 11/17, 11/19, &11/20

Early Dismissal:

TK/K 12:05

Grades 1-5  1:40

Please note that Wednesday, 11/18 will be regular Wednesday dismissal

TK/K 12:05

Tips To Help Have a Successful 5th Grade Year....

Remember:
"Learning is an Adventure"
Be Respectful to Others
Be Kind to Others
Be Responsible
Think B4 You Act/ Actions are Louder than Words
Always Give Your Best Effort
"Excuse Limit 0"
Stay Organized
TURN IN YOUR HOMEWORK!

Welcome to the 2015-16 school year!
I'm glad you've found our classroom blog. :} Please bookmark this site on your computer because it will be full of important upcoming events during the school year and homework assignments. 5th Grade is a fun place to be, with lots of new skills to learn, new friends to meet, and exciting adventures to experience. Our year will start off by establishing our classroom rules and expectations, getting ORGANIZED, and setting up our journals. You will be excited to hear that 5th graders rotate to different teachers for Math, Science, and Social Studies. Switching (tentatively) will begin on Thursday, September 10. You will stay with me for Science and writing and then rotate subjects: to Miss Enrico's class for Math and to Mrs.Keiser for Social Studies. We will be creating flex groups for Reading in the next few weeks. I'm looking forward to meeting each and everyone of you. :)

5th Grade Newsletter

Hello Fifth Grade Parents!

School is flying by and we only have 6 ½  weeks left!  It is incredible to see how responsible and mature these fifth graders have become!  They are looking taller, older, and more like middle school students every day.

Writing

We have completed our unit on persuasive and opinion writing.  Your child is already an expert at convincing you to do almost anything.  Don’t be surprised if you get a formal letter requesting their latest request!  Grammar and quick writes are also a focus this trimester.  All of our 5^th graders have signed up with Google Classroom where many of their tasks are being assigned.  Be sure to have them share some of these assignments with you.

Reading

Students are currently working in their Literature Circles.  Students are flexed among our four classrooms to work in small reading groups.  They had to plan out a four week timeline of reading, create three critical thinking questions, respond to two Depth and Complexity questions assigned on Google Classroom, hold meaningful discussions about the reading assignment, and reflect on their progress.

Social Studies

While investigating the various colonies, students practiced note-taking, created foldables, and worked in small groups to write a newspaper.  Students are now studying the events leading to the American Revolution.  Students have been placed into groups of three or four to create posters for one of these events. This week, we will hold a “Town Meeting”, where students, as patriots, will voice their concern about the English government.

Science

We have just finished the Earth’s Water and Earth’s Weather units. As we prepare for the Science STAR testing, we are simultaneously studying Physical Science in regards to Types of Matter and Changes in Matter, and science concepts from across grade levels.  Testing is on May 11 and May 12.

Math

We are completing units on area and volume and getting ready for the SBAC. This will be given to students on May 13-15  Each student may continue work on their Khan Academy accounts at any time. 6^th grade will be sending over placement tests for students to take at the end of May.

Smarter Balance Testing

As you may know, Moreland School District will not be giving the STAR test for Math and English Language Arts.  Instead, students have been busy preparing and practicing for the SBAC on line for these subjects. Fifth graders will, however, be taking the STAR for Science.  We would like your child to login at home to show you what the Smarter Balance test will look like, as well as give them more opportunity to continue their practice while at home.  Please see the following links and directions below to assist you with the website.

www.smarterbalance.org/practice-test/

Scroll down to the box: Take Practice Training

Click the green box: Practice Training Test

Scroll down again to the next green box:  Student Interface & Training

Login and Password are already set to “guest” – Sign in

Select Grade 5

Click on “yes”

Select desired Practice Test

Please feel free to check out the Training Tutorials:

http://sbac.portal.airast.org/ca/field-test-ca/resources/

Scroll down until you find:

-          What is a Field Test?

-          Let’s Talk Universal Tools”

If you would like to see the student video:

http://youtu.be/YKerb7NsDUE

Fifth Grade Celebration

Mark your calendars for Friday, June 12 for our wonderful fifth grade celebration.  Your child will hear their last story read by Mrs. Ott, hear a few words of wisdom from Mrs. Ruddy, and watch a slide show of pictures sent in by you of their career here at Country Lane.

Where:  Multi-Purpose Room

Time: 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon

*We would like to keep this event low-key and to clarify that this is not a graduation.  We ask that you do not bring balloons or gifts to the event.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Spring Break

 Enjoy your Spring break wherever it might take you.....

Middle School Info.

Dear 5^th Grade Families,

Our second trimester is over.  How is that possible?!!  Please look for your child’s report cards the week of March 18th.  Conferences for upper grades are optional.  Your child’s teacher will or in some cases already has contacted families of students for whom we have concerns. However, if you have concerns or questions, please feel free to email us to schedule an appointment in person or on the phone. 

One question that comes up quite frequently this time of year is, “What is the best middle school placement for my child?”  Moreland has three 6^th grade options for the 2015/16 school year, all of which offer strong academic programs.  They are:  Moreland Middle School (6-8), EDS (TK-8), and Latimer (TK-6.)  Country Lane 5^th graders automatically attend MMS unless they are accepted through the Open Enrollment process at EDS or Latimer.  If you wish to complete Open Enrollment paperwork for EDS, be sure to do so before March 31.  (The Open Enrollment period for Latimer will be extended to allow parents to attend their Information Night on April 29 before making a decision.)  We encourage you to visit both the EDS and Moreland Middle School sites.  Tours and shadow days are available.  You may also sign up for a K-5 tour at Latimer to get a feel for the campus.  You know your child best and the environment they need in which to flourish. 

Your 5^th graders have been preparing all year for their transition to middle school.  Structuring multiple projects, giving shorter time-lines on projects, rotating to other classes, note-taking, test preparation, organizing and maintaining binders are all opportunities and skills your child has experienced this year.

We are here to answer any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Miss Bustillos        Mrs. Grove            

Miss Smith            Miss Enrico

What to Bring on Monday...

Back Pack should have the following:
*water bottle
*Sunscreen
*Lip Balm
*Tissues
*Wipes
*Large plastic baggie
*Small plastic baggies
(Put small plastic baggies in big ziplock bag with wipes and tissues.)
*Rain gear only if rain is predicted. (Rain is predicted)
*Plastic bag from your desk with the journal in it
*Bandana
**Bag Lunch- completely disposable


What to WEAR:
*Dry Socks
*Hiking Boots
*Long Pants
*Long Sleeve Shirt under the NEW 5th Grade T-shirt
*Warm Jacket
*Hat (beanie for cold/cap)

Survival Videos

Miss B.'s Reading Group:

Check out the following survival videos:

( be sure to skip the ads )

Click on the website. When the dropbox appears, click again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVOZe861Z6M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXverGSYw64

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHQjF0cwh6Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZAYhOEyf7Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUFjCxzDo8M