Winter Break

Winter break is almost here! Everybody jump and cheer!

That was my short winter poem. :) Over the upcoming break I hope that you all get a lot of rest and have fun with your families and friends. Remember to be reading your non-fiction book.

During winter break I will be camping on the Gulf of Mexico. I am excited to make smores, read my book, and go on hikes. Then I am going to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans to cheer on the Gators in Tim Tebow's last game. What are you doing over winter break?

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's time to take action!

Now that we've read Kofi Annan's speech about helping the environment take this quiz to find out how "green" you are.

How did you do? Personally, I got a 46% and it called me lazy. :( The truth is there are many small things (and big things) we could all do to help our environment. What can you think of that we could do to help?

Comment with your ideas and your green score if you want to share it. :)

Thanksgiving is almost here!

This week we only have two days of school, so that we can spend more time with our families for the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving always makes me reflect on the things in my life that I am thankful for. Here is a list of what I am thankful for:

my family
my friends
my students
my co-workers
my education and the experiences I have had in my life
my rights as an American
chocolate

Okay so the last one was a joke (kind of...), but all the others were real. I wake up every morning excited to begin another day. What is that you are thankful for? Comment with your thoughts.

The results are in...

The Lipsky Team recieved an email this morning from the official judges of the puppy naming contest, my parents. Read on to find out the puppy's name!

Dear Miss Lipsky and Miss Lipsky,

Thank you for helping us name our new puppy. Your classes are so creative and funny too.

We enjoyed reading the lists and found many of the names to be good possibilities for the puppy's name.

Some of the names were very "Gatory" and others were very yummy (Fudge, Cookie, Brownie, Cupcake).

So here is our decision (drum roll please).

It's a tie!

Yes, we found one name on the Stephen Foster list and one of the Chet's Creek list that combine to match our puppy's personality.

So his name is Rowdy Blackjack (who is asleep on my lap as I type this e-mail)!

Both classes win and both classes will be getting the prizes when they return from the Thanksgiving break.

Thanks for your help.

Mr. and Mrs. Lipsky and Rowdy Blackjack

Meet the Newest Lipsky

Meet my parents' puppy, _______. That's right -- he doesn't have a name yet! :( . Are you ready for the surprise... drum roll please... you get to give this little puppy a great name. But wait! It's not that easy. My sister's 2nd grade class at Chet's Creek Elementary (a cool school in Jacksonville, FL) want to name him too. My parents are going to choose their favorite name, so make it a good one! The winning class will get to hang a framed photo of _______ in their classroom, a book about dogs to add to the classroom library, and maybe a tasty treat as well!

Remember the name that my parents are leaning towards right now is "Smudge," come on guys, I know we can think of something better! So put your thinking caps on and give this cute pup a great name!

Name suggestions are listed next to students' initials:
ID: Shadow or Panther or Hersheys
VP: Brookman or Damian or Maximus or Ryan or Dexter
BD: Grumpy or Rowdy or Timmy or Gator or Riley or Stubby
VC: Brownie
TH: Fudgie or Cocoa or Chestnut
KC: Mr. Black
AC: Chewy or Chewbaca or Toyota or "Por Favor"
AA: Fluffy or Gummy Bear or Little Bear or Tiger or Bambi or King or Reeses
JW: Tiki or Blacky or Jazz or Merlin or Goose or Jimmy Johnson
BF: Shiloh or Bumblebee or Sam
DA: Lucky or Sage or Jeff Gordon
JL: Max or Binky or Cougar or Peanut or Rover
FA: Cooper or Clifford or Marley or Chester or Dennis (the Menace) or Hank
BB: Maximillian
JB: Tebow or Copper or Holiday or Boots or Gordon
KR: Fudge
DV: Navorris or Diego

Here are the names Ms. Lipsky vetoed: Kanye West, Fifty Cent, Kisses (since it's a boy) and Thumper (too close to our Bunny's name).

It's electric!

In science, we are learning about electricity. First, we have to learn the new vocabulary terms.

Go to BrainPop and sign in using our class's username and password.

1. Click on Science.
2. Click on Energy.
3. Watch the Electric Circuits movie. Afterwards take the Review Quiz to check your understanding.
4. Watch the Electricity movie.
5. Then leave a comment here with the following answers:

• When you flick a light switch on what is happening that we cannot see?



• What charge do electrons have?



• What is electricity?

If you finish early review what we were working on last week by watching the movies on Forms of Energy, Kinetic Energy, or Sound. Remember our science test is next Tuesday!

Brr!

Climate change could cause the ice peaks on Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro to disappear within the next 25 years! Glaciologists, scientists who study glaciers, say the peaks might be ice-free as soon as 2022, or by 2033 at the latest. 85% of the ice that was present in 1912 has disappeared. Scientists are making similar findings all around the world. A rise in temperatures is one of the reasons for the ice melting, but also human-caused climate change that has made for drier and less cloudy conditions than in the past are also causing the ice to shrink. The picture shows a remnant of what once was an ice field.

Oh no! Frogs are going extinct!

Did you know that because of a certain fungus the Earth's population of frogs is facing extinction? Just like the dinosaurs, frogs may one day no longer exist. The fungus is called the chytrid fungus and feeds on keratin, which is a part of the skin that makes it sturdy and tough. Scientists believe that a third of the Earth's population of frogs may face extinction, and some species have already been wiped out. Currently there is no effective treatment for the fungus, but scientists are working hard to help the frogs.

Our first BINGO Luncheon!

Yesterday three students were invited to the first BINGO luncheon of the year for getting a BINGO on their reading cards. In Ms. Lipsky's class we have a Reading BINGO card where every square is a different genre, or type, of book. The three students that made it each read at least five books from different authors, and on different subjects. One student read four books that had won Newbery Awards! We ate lunch outside in the beautiful sunny, yet breezy weather and enjoyed orange and blue cupcakes. :) Will you be invited to the next BINGO Luncheon?

Recent Space Discovery

Last week scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) discovered a giant ring around Saturn. The ring is made up of ice and dust particles and is -316 degrees Fahrenheit. That's realllly cold! The ring starts about 3.7 million miles from Saturn, and extends another 7.4 million miles. "The newly found ring is so huge it would take 1 billion Earths to fill it," a JPL scientist said. No one had ever looked at Saturn with an infrared telescope until now, so they were never able to see it. The discovery of the "super-sized" ring may answer questions about Saturn's moons and their dark spots.

In the picture (which is an artist's interpretation of what the ring looks like) you can see the huge ring tilted around the planet Saturn. The inset (the picture in the circle) shows an enlarged Saturn.

Comment with your thoughts:

1. What do you think of this new discovery?

2. Think about the main idea of this article and write a new title.

3. What was the author's purpose of this article?

Ouch! My brainPOPPED!

Hey 5th graders!

If you've got some extra time on your hands you should watch some BrainPOPs at home! There is a BrainPOP movie for practically everything!

Here are a few that would be helpful for what we are working on in school:

1. Go to BrainPOP.
2. Sign in using the username and password I gave you.
3. Go to Math, click on Numbers and Operations and watch the movie on adding and subtracting fractions.
4. Try the quiz or activity for fun when you're done.
5. Go to English, click on Grammar, and watch the one on punctutation.
6. If you want, you can try the review quiz afterwards.

Search through the other sections for interesting topics like chocolate, color, and even Swine Flu!

Click on the BrainPOP logo in the top left to get back to beginning.

Leave a comment about your BrainPOP experience!

Pipiolo and the Roof Dogs Vocabulary

Good Morning 5th Graders!

Today I want you to practice using our vocabulary terms for the week. Go here and play the vocabulary activity (under vocabulary and spelling activities). Then come back here and leave a comment with a sentence (or two) that uses as many of our vocabulary words in context. Remember to use conjunctions to fix run-on sentences!

Spelling City

Spelling City is a useful website that lets you practice your spelling words. Go to our class account at www.spellingcity.com/lipsky/marino/ and practice spelling this week's words (Forests of the World). Then come back here and leave a comment on this blog. Write a sentence about Spelling City's games using at least two of this week's spelling words. Make your sentences as creative and funny as you want! Watch your spelling (duh!).

Welcome 5th Graders and Families!

I am so glad you are visiting our classroom blog. We will be using it for a variety of reasons this year. You can always check here for updates and announcements about what is going on in our classroom and at Stephen Foster. Important dates and reminders will also be posted here. The students will also be using it in class to work on their reading, writing, researching, typing, and comprehension skills. So come back often to see stellar student work and to get a glimpse into the life of a Stephen Foster 5th Grader!

Important Dates

Meet the Teacher is on Friday, August 21st from 12 to 2 p.m.
School starts on August 24th at 7:45 a.m.
Open House on September 3rd at 6:15 p.m.

I'm excited to begin the school year!