Welcome Back 2008/09

Monday, September 1, 2008

Welcome Back 2008/09

September 2nd, 2008

Dear Parents/Guardians of grades 5, 6, 7, & 8:

Welcome to a new school year at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs. I look forward to having an educational and rewarding year with your child.

This school year promises new experiences and academic challenges for your child. As part of OLQM advancement in technology, daily lesson plans, home-work, and important information can be found at olqmnyc.blogspot.com. Therefore, it is imperative that the blog be checked frequently to assist your child in their homework and daily lessons.

School begins at 8:00am and will end at 4:00pm. On most Fridays dismissal will be at 2:30pm. Please check your monthly calendar for changes. Breakfast begins at 7:15am. Your child must line up in the backyard each morning before going to their classrooms.

I will be instructing your children in Science and Social Studies. In 5th grade Social Studies, your child will learn about the history of the United States. In 6th grade, students will be taught World History. This year students will have to complete a DBQ portfolio.

Science: In science, students will be allowed to participate in planting and caring for the Greenhouse for extra credit. The 8th grade will continue to work with NRG @ Inwood Hill Park. Students are to complete 20 experiments/projects as required by the NYS Board of Education and Curriculum.

Science classes consist of discovering new concepts, processing various skills, integrating new knowledge and after objectives are fulfilled the students will be assessed in the following:

September: The Nature of Science and Properties of and Changes of Matter

October: Motion and Forces

November: Transfer of Energy

December: Structure and function of Living Things

January: Reproduction and Heredity

February: Regulation and Behavior

March: Population and Ecosystem

April: Diversity and Adaptations

May: Structure of Earth Systems and the Earth’s System

June: Earth in the Solar System

The following is a list of basic rules and policies for your child:

· School begins at 8:00am. If your child is late, he/she must obtain a late pass before
entering the class.

· Students must be in full school uniform unless noted in the monthly calendar or
assignment book.

· The use of cell phones or other electronic communication devices are prohibited in the
classroom unless authorized by the school principal, Mr. Woods.

· It is important that all assignments, class work, and projects be completed.

· Homework must be checked by parents each night.

· Test papers are sent home to be signed by a parent and returned the following day.

· Classwork, homework, and projects are part of student’s final grade.

· Students must be organized and prepared for classes daily.

· Students are expected to be courteous and respectful at all times.

· Parents are advice to meet with their child teachers frequently in order to keep up with
the progress of their child.

SUPPLY LISTS

PLEASE NOTE THAT STUDENTS IN THE 6TH GRADE NEED A NUMBER COMBINATION LOCK FOR THEIR LOCKERS

5TH AND 6TH GRADE

2 THICK MARBLE NOTEBOOKS
2 FOLDERS (BOTTOM POCKETS)

COLORED PENCILS
BLUE/ BLACK INK PENS
PENCILS
WRITING PAPER (LOOSELEAF)
CONSTRUCTION PAPER
TISSUE PAPER AND HAND SANITIZER

7TH AND 8TH GRADE

1 THICK MARBLE NOTEBOOK
1 FOLDER (BOTTOM POCKETS)
COLORED PENCILS
BLUE/BLACK INK PENS
PENCILS
WRITING PAPER (LOOSELEAF)
CONSTRUCTION PAPER
TISSUE PAPER AND HAND SANITIZER

I look forward to a productive academic year with you and your child. Let us work together to achieve the tools that are necessary to empower your child for a successful future.

Mrs. Ann Marie Ramsey

Events in History - 1/9 - 1/13

January 9
Connecticut entered Union, 1788 (5^th)
Mississippi seceded from the Union, 1861
President Richard M. Nixon was born, 1913
January 10
Thomas Paine's Common Sense was published, 1776
London's Metropolitan; World's first underground railway, opened to the public, 1863
The League of Nations established 1920
The Holocaust began, 1933
January 11
Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury was born, 1757
Alabama seceded from the Union, 1861
Major League Baseball (American League) adopted the designated-hitter rule, 1973
January 12
Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I died, 1519
The Alamo, a Franciscan Mission, was built, 1722
The first public museum in United States (South Carolina) established, 1773
January 13
Hood resigned as commander of the Army of Tennessee, 1865
Hubert H. Humphrey, former vice president, died in Waverly, Minnesota at age 66, 1978
Air Florida jet crashed in Washington, D.C., 1982
The Beatles US album Yellow Submarine was released, 1969

Scientific Method

Rules to follow in using the Scientific Method when experimenting.

Steps of the Scientific Method
Detailed Help for Each Step
Ask a Question: The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something that you observe: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?
And, in order for the scientific method to answer the question it must be about something that you can measure, preferably with a number.
Your Question
Do Background Research: Rather than starting from scratch in putting together a plan for answering your question, you want to be a savvy scientist using library and Internet research to help you find the best way to do things and insure that you don't repeat mistakes from the past.
Background Research Plan Finding Information Bibliography Research Paper
Construct a Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work:"If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen."
You must state your hypothesis in a way that you can easily measure, and of course, your hypothesis should be constructed in a way to help you answer your original question.
Variables Variables for Beginners Hypothesis
Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment: Your experiment tests whether your hypothesis is true or false. It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same.
You should also repeat your experiments several times to make sure that the first results weren't just an accident.
Experimental Procedure Materials List Conducting an Experiment
Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion: Once your experiment is complete, you collect your measurements and analyze them to see if your hypothesis is true or false.
Scientists often find that their hypothesis was false, and in such cases they will construct a new hypothesis starting the entire process of the scientific method over again. Even if they find that their hypothesis was true, they may want to test it again in a new way.
Data Analysis & Graphs Conclusions
Communicate Your Results: To complete your science fair project you will communicate your results to others in a final report and/or a display board. Professional scientists do almost exactly the same thing by publishing their final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster at a scientific meeting.

Rules to follow when using the Scientific Method when experimenting.

A message from the Holy Father on Advent and Christmas

On the first Sunday of Advent, Benedict XVI reminded the faithful that Christmas is about God who "comes to be with us."The Holy Father's comment was heard by thousands who had gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus. He highlighted the significance of Advent as a time to prepare for the celebration of Christ's birth."In Advent, the liturgy often repeats and assures us, as though seeking to defeat our mistrust, that God 'is coming,'" the Pope said."He comes to be with us, in each one of our situations; he comes to live among us, to live in and with us; he comes to fill the distances that divide and separate us; he comes to reconcile us with himself and with one another," the Pontiff said.God, Benedict XVI added, "comes in the history of humanity to knock on the door of every man and woman of good will to offer individuals, families and peoples the gift of fraternity, concord and peace.""Therefore, Advent is par excellence the time of hope, in which believers in Christ are invited to remain in vigilant and active expectation, nourished by prayer and by a concrete commitment to love," the Pope said.

Why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving?

Although juicy and tender butterball turkeys are the main cuisine of today's Thanksgiving celebrations, these birds were NOT the most popular centerpieces on the first Thanksgiving tables.
In 1621 when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians celebrated the first Thanksgiving, they were gobbling up many more foods than just turkey. Since lobster, goose, duck, seal, eel, and cod were plentiful during this time, these foods were most likely the main courses of this first feast. Deer meat and wild fowl are the only two items that historians know for sure were menu of this autumn celebration.
So how did the turkey become the main mascot of modern-day Thanksgiving if we don't know for certain that turkeys were at this first feast?
One story tells of how Queen Elizabeth of 16th century England was chowing down on roast goose during a harvest festival. When news was delivered to her that the Spanish Armada had sunk on it way to attack her beloved England, the queen was so pleased that she order a second goose to celebrate the great news. Thus, the goose became the favorite bird at harvest time in England. When the Pilgrims arrived in America from England, roasted turkey replaced roasted goose as the main cuisine because wild turkeys were more abundant and easier to find than geese.

HAVE A WONDERFUL AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Mrs. Ramsey

Mrs. Ramsey Blog - Where Science and Technology come ALIVE!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Welcome Back 2008/09

The Statue of Liberty

Dinosaur Fossils