Sunday, January 26, 2014



Week of January 27 -31

It is hard to believe that we are in the last week of January and that we have started our third quarter of fifth grade.  I love winter, but I must say that I am not all that sad to see January come to an end.  It was a cold, icy month.  I am hoping for a warmer snow-filled February.  Don't forget to look for your child's report card on Friday.  

It is the much anticipated time of year for our 5th graders....WAX MUSEUM!  Students have all chosen a person to research and they will receive a DETAILED explanation outlining the guidelines and timeline for our unit.  Please take time to read through the unit expectation with your child.  There are very important dates to remember.  The presentation of our Wax Museum will be on February 12th.  Our museum will run from 12:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 6 - 7 p.m.  This is a BIG project and it will be very important for students to work on this at home as well.  There just isn't enough time during the school day to fit it all in.  

In Math, we are starting our unit on fractions.  We have done a bit with fractions, but we are just getting started.  We took our NWEA winter math test last week.  We will use this data to adjust lessons and grouping to meet each student's individual needs.  I have some very exciting news!  I will be having students demonstrate certain lessons each week.  I video the lessons and post on this blog.  If you child needs help with their homework, they can click on the video link and watch their peers teach the lesson.  I will also video lesson to support students learning at home or refresh their memories before an assessment.  I am also going to try to add some websites links on a resource page that students can go to for extra practice as well.   I think this will be a fun addition to our weekly learning.  Please let me know how it is working once it gets up and running. 

I am pleased to announce that each and every student read a book from beginning to end.  They are doing a wonderful job with their Poster Book Reports as well.  We are working on developing and organizing summaries and writing Book Blurbs.  Students will share the work this week.  I will add some photos, so check back later this week.

In Science, we are finishing up our Solar System Unit.  We will move on to our Plant and Animal Cell unit soon.  Don't forget that all January Moon Calendars are due February 3rd.  If they missed a day, they can look on the internet and record it from there.  

Upcoming dates for your calendar:
1/27 - Grade 4/5 Basketball Game @ WES
1/27 - Grade 4/5 Cross Country Skiing
1/28 - Mahoosuc Arts Performance @ 10AM
1/28 - Grade 4/5 Basketball Practice
1/28 - Grade 4/5 Basketball Practice
1/28 - Grade 4/5 Cross Country Skiing
1/30 - Grade 5 Rugrats (AM)
1/30 - Grade 5 2/3 Cross Country Skiing 
1/31 - Report Card go home
2/12 - 5th grade Wax Museum presentations


CPS PTA is holding its first fundraiser.  It is a valentine raffle.  The drawing will be held on 2/10/14 and tickets can be purchased through Meg $1.00 each or 6 tickets for $5.00.
1st Prize: $50 gift certificate Black Diamond
2nd Prize $25 gift certificate Sudbury Inn
3rd Prize $10 gift certificate Crossroads Diner

Here's to a wonderful third quarter!  Don't forget to check in this week!  Hopefully we will be able to successfully upload our new student lead video for homework support.






Monday, January 20, 2014

January Highlights 2014 for Mrs. Bullen's Class



January 20, 2014

The New Year is here, and it's been a busy start! I can't believe we have come to the end of our second quarter, which means that we are just about half way through the school year. The time is flying. My group is so amazing that I wish I could just hit the pause button.  But of course I know that is not possible, so I spent today going over my curriculum for the rest of the school year to ensure that each and every student is ready for 6th grade.  As I was doing this, I looked at the calendar and noticed that we only have about 96 actual school days left before summer vacation. 

We added another wonderful student to our class last Friday!  I would like to welcome Romeo V.  As you can see, I did not attempt to spell his last name.  I told him it might take me until the end of the year to get it right.  He was so sweet and said, "That's ok...it takes all my teachers that long!"  I think Romeo is going to fit in just fine!  I already love his sweet personality and sense of humor!

On Thursday, my class took on a fun writing project.  We wrote special notes to spread 

kindness throughout our whole school.  Each and every staff member 

received a special handmade "SamShine."  We did this to honor my friend Samatha, who 

passed away two weeks ago in a car accident.  There was a beautiful segment on the news

 last week that maybe you had a chance to see.  We delivered our "SamShines" on Thursday

 and enjoyed seeing all the big smiles and hugs.  Yes, it was a very good feeling SamShiney

 day!  (Not sure why my font and sizing just changed but I can't seem to change it back, so I am just going to go with it :) ) 

Here is a copy of what we pasted to the front of each "SamShine."
Kindess!




Liam and Brooklyn sharing their  creations
Mrs. Merrill and Liam 


Tanner and Juliann hard at work


Here are a few more pictures to highlight some of our exciting learning!


Oreo Cookie Activity to learn the phases of the moon

Tanner and Marvel's Phases of the Moon

Nadia's SamShine!

Henry and Lilla creating the Phases of the Moon

Logan giving Mr. Brown some SamShine!

Juliann and Mrs. Smith 

Taylor's beautiful gingerbread house!

Learning about TextMapping!

More Samshine!

Juliann and Tanner TextMapping