Hi.  My name is Janet Hughes.  This is my 12th year teaching, 7th year teaching 5th grade Science.  I love it.  I hope the children learn LOTS this year and have a bunch of fun along the way.   Science has always been a great interest for me, and I love that I get to share my knowledge with your children.  They will learn LOTS of vocabulary this year that will only help them in their Science classes in the future.  Ask your children what they did today at school, hopefully, they can tell you something new they learned!!

The school year is already flying by.  The catapult cometition for extra credit is in the morning, Friday, November 4th at 8:30.  Everyone is excited to see these Hershey Kisses FLY!!  We always have lots to do and not a lot of time to do it.  It helps if the students come to class prepared and ready to go!! 
Let's remember the Be rules:
Be prepared
Be respectful
Be responsible
Be honest
Be cooroperative
Be positive
and always Be safe!!!

We are going to be doing our 1st big benchmark test in Science this next week.  It will be over everything we have learned so far this year.  We just finished our Physical Science unit and the students have 44 vocabulary cards and nine quick review pages to study from.  Please take time with your child to study a little each night.  The test will be on Wednesday, November 9th. I have taught my students to use the ERA strategies on tests. 
E ~ EXAMINE the question, read it carefully and look for vocabulary words or key words.
R ~ RECALL what they have learned so far about this, maybe write a few notes out to the side.
A ~ APPLY your knowlege now by reading all the answer choices, use process of elimination to get rid of any choices you know are wrong, and be sure to pick the BEST choice for what the question is asking.
Encourage your child to always do their best and take their time.
I allow my students to correct daily work and get a better grade but not on test.  They really must learn to study.  Thank you all for your support at home.

Encourage your children that they need to come to class with a good attitude and be ready to learn! Everyday is a new day, a fresh start.  They need to remember this and say, "I am in charge of ME on a daily basis!"  We can't choose what other people do or say, but we do have control of ourselves!!!  Let's make the best of each day and have NO regrets!!!   
Here are a few great quotes from John Wooden (famous basketball coach):
"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there."
"Discipline yourself and others won't need to."
"Be true to yourself, make each day a masterpiece, help others, pray for guidance, and give thanks everyday for your blessings."
God bless!!!