Our newest Grandson, Brody Maddox Million

Brody Million is my newest grandson, number 11! Brody was born June 19th but he was premature (early). This was taken just 3 days after birth with his mother, Frances Million. Brody is now off the Oxygen and is doing very well. Keep Brody and Frances in your prayers. Brody's original due date was August 31st, making him 10 weeks early! He is expected to remain in the hospital until just about his original due date so he will be there for at least 6 more weeks.

Slide Show

This has a review of many of the pictures of the year with some new additions from the last week of school.

Summer!

Dear 6th Grade Parents, (I love saying that! WELCOME TO 6th GRADE!)

This will probably my last 'official' communication with you so I wanted to make a little sentimental note to you all.

I hope that you have the chance to continue visiting the BLOG over the summer, I will try to put up videos and pictures which I didn't have the chance to post during the year.

As probably all of you know by now, I am not returning to TMI next year, my wife and I are returning to Oklahoma to be near our grandchildren and children. As much as moving to be near children and grandchildren can bring such excitement, it also brings with it no small measure of sadness. I miss your kids already! This classroom, as I clean off the walls, pack away all my Star Trek Models, and load up my car with all the various memories, is so empty without your children in their seats.

I have had such a privilege to share this year with your kids, from children with parents overseas, to shy, reserved children that came out of their shells, they all made me so rich. I cherish the memories and the successes. I have had the joy of having a part in their lives, to help them grow, to watch them as they made new friends, to experience ups and downs and learn new things.

I have added the links to my family BLOG and my Model page BLOG on my Classroom BLOG now so you can see what is up with me. I would like to keep in touch and welcome emails and tidbits so look forward to hearing more from you.

Take care, know that you continue to be in my prayers and thoughts in the coming months and, in answer to a question from one dear student:

"Mr. A will NOT forget you, you are in my heart forever!"

God Bless,

Mr. A (J.A. Arroyo)

5th Grade Math & Science

Trinity Meadows Intermediate School

Keller, TX

2007-2008

http://tmis-mra.blogspot.com

email: jarroyo@arroyofamily.net

Mr. A's Homeroom End of the Year Party

My Models and Summer Project

Parents;

I thought I would post a short slideshow of my models and a project I will be working on this summer, the Enterprise NX-01! The models in this slide show are some of the models that have been displayed in my room over the course of the year as well as some that have been in 'mothballs' during the year. I loved having a place where they were appreciated and it made all the effort building and maintaining them well worth it! I will post another slide show of my older models soon.



Click here to see even more of my model pictures

TMIS Field Day

Here's To You! Thank you for your service

Three of Mr. A's students have fathers in Iraq serving our Country. Major Taylor is in the Army, Gunnery Sgt Chris Cobb is in the Marine Corps, and Mr. Don Hollis is a civillian contractor working in Iraq. Your daughters miss you and all of us benefit from your service to our country overseas.
Here's to YOU!

Mr. A's Morning Science Class WED Experiment

Weathering, Erosion and Deposition - Afternoon Class Video

The classes demonstrated Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition by using sidewalk chalk.

Mr. A's Homeroom Gotta Have Goals Video

This is the Gotta Have Goals video from the DVD

Enjoy!

Mrs. Schwartz Homeroom Video

Memories Video Has Been Posted!

Here is the Memories Video that is on the DVD. I will post the other videos as well as some content that I was not able to post on the video later.

DVD's Almost Done!

Well, the year is winding down and there are just a few more weeks to go. Tell your kids to hang in there, I know it is tough but summer is not quite here yet! They still need to remain focused and enjoy these last few days!

I am in need of some cd or dvd sleeves or cases. If you have some hanging around, send them over. I need a total of about 55 for all the DVD's that I am sending home with your kiddos. I am proud of what we accomplished this year and hope the kids are too. I showed them the videos today so you can ask about them. I put a lot of work into them for you all to have some wonderful memories of this wonderful year!

Take care, I will send another message before the end of the year!

Mr. A

A Few Notes of Interest

Dear Parents;

I thought I would send this home in hard copy as well as email. The year is almost at an end and there is yet a few more things to accomplish. I have sent home a letter for you to sign and get back to me by tomorrow about the HIV/AIDS curriculum. This needs your immediate attention so we can begin the curriculum on Wednesday.

In the meantime, I have also sent home a checkbook Project for the kids’ Math project. The Income and Family needs to be filled out by the parent. I am NOT concerned about the amount in the income column, this is a teaching tool, not an income survey! The purpose of the exercise is to help with budgeting skills and to help the kids practice stretching an income. As you read through the document, you will see that the figures for house payments and car payments are very general so the income can be as well. Help your child with a realistic income figure so they may plan for a house and car that will be reasonable based on the income.

In the section marked Clothing, the complete outfits should be totaled and divided by 12 for budgeting purposes.

Finally, tomorrow is 50’s day and, also, we will be taking pictures of the School and the River. Students are asked to wear or bring their Green Mississippi River T-Shirts. Please also think about the end of the year party and whether you will be able to volunteer to participate or send something for the party. I will be contacting you within the next couple of weeks about this event. I am finishing up the DVD’s and will be sending those home in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for everything!

Mr. A.

J.A. Arroyo
5th Math and Science

Science and Math TAKS Resources

Parents;

By now you know the results of the Math TAKS tests! The kids did AWESOME! Now, we have the Science coming up next week. The same link I posted before will work for practice for that test as well. Practice the interactive Released Science test:

Here is the TAKS website I told you about earlier:
TEXAS EDucation agency - Released tests: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/release/

Tuesday - MATH TAKS DAY!

Parents;

Well, the time has come for the Math TAKS test. The kids have worked hard and put in a lot of hard work and effort. We have a couple of needs if they can come Monday or Tuesday with, we are out of Kleenex again. I would say they "Blow right through them" but, that would be a bad pun! Anyway, if you have an extra box, that would be great.

On the day of the TAKS test, we can take a break for snacks. If anyone would like to send some extras, that would be great too! We cannot have anything but Coke products to drink. It would be great if I had some to pass out during the course of the day. Send me an email if you can send something on Tuesday.

Thank you all for everything!

Mr. A

More TAKS Links

Parents;

I sent this out as a group email but this did not make it's way to the BLOG. Sorry for that mis-step.

Well, here are some videos again for Objective 4 for the Math TAKS review. I cannot begin to stress how important the released TAKS are for the kids.

Provide students with the following URL:http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/studentCenter/index.cfm?cdCode=T8955-BAE9The student will go directly to the Student Center home page with the Assignment Code pre-populated. A student can input his/her name and then complete and submit the assignment. You will receive an email when an assignment has been completed.
I will be sending out more links by the weekend.

TAKS Review

Dear Parents;

As promised, I am sending out some more resources for your students. These include some online videos and short quizzes.

Student Access -

Objective 2 and 3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Students enter the following URL or click on the link:

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/studentCenter/index.cfm?cdCode=T8955-3DC6

The student will go directly to the Student Center home page with the Assignment Code pre-populated. A student can input his/her name and then complete and submit the assignment. You will receive an email when an assignment has been completed.

Assignment Submission
When a student completes an assignment, I will receive an email notification. I will receive separate notifications for completion of assignments and quizzes. The quiz notifications will include the score that the student received on the quiz.

Objective 3
Students enter the following URL or click on the link:

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/studentCenter/index.cfm?cdCode=T8955-5C9A

Those are the links for 2 and 3.

View the videos and they should help you through the first 3 objectives.

Have a great Spring Break!

TAKS Testing Resources

Dear Parents;

I have been doing some work with getting some more materials online for our students to brush up and review material that we covered last semester. I will be sending out a series of emails over the next few days with links for you to view videos covering materials as well as some quizzes.

Here is the first:

There are two ways to get in, once in, just watch the assigned videos and follow any additional instructions I may have provided for a particular objective.
Students use the following Assignment Code: T8955-5536Your students will need to go to the Student Center and insert the code into the "Assignment Code" input box. Once a student logs in, he/she will need to input their student name and then complete and submit the assignment. I will receive an email when an assignment has been completed.
Provide students with the following URL:http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/studentCenter/index.cfm?cdCode=T8955-5536The student will go directly to the Student Center home page with the Assignment Code pre-populated. A student can input his/her name and then complete and submit the assignment. I will receive an email when an assignment has been completed.
Good luck! The kids did great for their TAKS testing on Wed. I know that it was a tough day but they did fantastic!

Mr. A.

Tutoring Offered By Mr. A.

Parents;

I am sorry I left this out of last night's email. Maybe this is better to be separate, however. I will offer tutoring before and after school to focus on Math starting next week. I will be available on Mon, Tues, and Thurs mornings from 7 AM to 7:35 for tutoring and after school on the same days from 3:00 PM to 3:45 PM after school.

We will be working on TAKS Math skills. I will need a note from you so that I know that students will be able to attend (and I can know that they are not expected to get off the bus instead!). I will also need advance notice for those attending in the morning so I can give them a pass to attend.

Thank you!

A couple of things....

Well, flu season/Cold season seems to be here and we have torn through our stash of Kleenex! I am down to 1 box and Mrs. Schwartz is not doing any better! If you can send a box or two that would be fantastic! We need all the help we can get!

I have begun to keep a small stash of Composition books in my room, the first 8 went in a week! I was charging $1.00 for them but this next batch will have to cost $1.25. I am just breaking even (especially since 3 out of the 8 did not pay for their books.) This is for emergencies, I still encourage you to ask your children if they have their Science or Math Journals and when they need a replacement, catch them at WalMart or Dollar General.

I have also begun to carry pencils, and am selling them for a nickel. I limit them to ONE pencil per purchase (I am not running a store so stocking up is not an option. This is for emergencies).

TAKS test day is coming up next week, on the 5th! On that day, if parents want to provide snacks in the form of cookies and the like, something that is not going to create a mess in the classroom, can be sent and I can dispense as needed during the test day. Check with Mrs. Schwartz for particulars for her class. Any drinks HAVE to be Coke Products. Please make arrangements with me about these snacks and/or drinks.

I have sent this link so refer to the earlier emails but PLEASE encourage the kids to use the TAKS website link to practice. I am giving extra points for working the TAKS online, just have your child print out their score sheet and I will give them 5 points on any assignment in that subject (Science = Science, Math = Math). That site is:

TEXAS EDucation agency - Released tests: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/release/

That is enough for now, please encourage your child to keep working on their TAKS questions, online and off :)

Mr. A

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

Parents;

Well, the time is approaching and I have sent home a link for TAKS preparation. Some of the students are struggling and I would like to suggest some fun activities to try to prepare for the upcoming TAKS testing.

Use the link for the online tests and compete with your child. I would encourage using some incentive for them to work on beating your socks off! I am also attaching a link to an article by the Star Telegram.

http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/479675.html

Here is the TAKS website I told you about earlier:
TEXAS EDucation agency - Released tests: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/release/

I hope this helps, thanks for all your help and we will make it to TAKS:

(Homeroom name: May the Force be with the Funky Monkeys
Afternoon: TAKsinators

Pictures and updates

A couple of notes of reminders:

TAKS is coming up and we have a couple of things for you to help out with. First, I am including a link in this email and on the web site for a site where your student can practice the TAKS test online. Your student can take the test, Reading, Math, and Science online and get results right away. The more they practice, the better the opportunity to do well on the actual TAKS tests later this semester.

Our students have given some ideas for a Theme for the class as we approach this time. We have a goal of all passing and us being Commended on the results. To that end, there were two polls set up to vote on the theme for each class.

As promised, here is the link to the:
TEXAS EDucation agency - Released testshttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/release/

I hope these are helpful and I look forward to gathering the results of our polling.

TAKS Reminders

A couple of notes of reminders:

TAKS is coming up and we have a couple of things for you to help out with. First, I am including a link in this email and on the web site for a site where your student can practice the TAKS test online. Your student can take the test, Reading, Math, and Science online and get results right away. The more they practice, the better the opportunity to do well on the actual TAKS tests later this semester.

Our students have given some ideas for a Theme for the class as we approach this time. We have a goal of all passing and us being Commended on the results. To that end, there are two polls set up to vote on the theme for each class.

If your student is in MY Home room, go here to vote:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=kY7VrU4yqTBrYnKVwIJ4Jg_3d_3d

If your student is in Mrs. Schwartz's Home room, go here to vote:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JNQVvkw3U4jDtCzauQHjOw_3d_3d

As promised, here is the link to the:
TEXAS EDucation agency - Released testshttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/release/

I hope these are helpful and I look forward to gathering the results of our polling.

Math And Science Journals

Dear Parents;

I guess I am back in force, huh? Well, I have a couple of housekeeping items for you to consider. I have a number of students that are complaining that they have no empty pages in their Science or Math Journals. I encourage you to ask your student if they need new journals and have them for them. I have told them, and encourage you to reinforce this at home as well, that they are responsible for telling their parents when they are needing a replacement. Neither you nor I can check how much paper they have left on a daily basis so they will need to tell you they need new journals.

As a reminder, these Composition Journals are a REQUIREMENT of my classes. They receive a grade for organization as well as content and their grades will suffer if they do not have one. I have told my classes this throughout last semester and things have not changed from one semester to another.

• As mentioned in the last email, your children will, one by one, be bringing home a plate. This is to draw the phases of the moon. Only one child at a time brings home the plate to catalog the phases of the moon. I am sending them home in alphabetical order so if your last name is at the first of the alphabet question your child about if/when they will be bringing home the plate. This is an EASY grade which some have not passed already!

Okay, that is enough for now! Have a great weekend!

Mr. A.

Some pictures of the kids

Parent Homework Q&A

Dear Parents:

One of the parents brought up a great question so I thought I would send it to everyone:If my child would like extra credit, what can we do if we did not travel. Many children remembered some of the travel examples.

We have been working on fractions. Your child can make fractions of things like how many gifts did he or she get out of the total gifts? (example, 5/25 = 1/5), what is the fraction of gifts children received out of the total?
Adults gifts over the total, etc.
The examples of fractions are really endless but those are a few.

We have not arrived at percentages yet so that can be tough. However, we are changing from large fractions to the least common denominator, hence the 5/25 = 1/5 example. They will need to change fractions such as 6/12 to 1/2 or 4/12 to 1/4 etc.

As for science, we have been working with magnets lately so that may be something that you will think about. For those of you that received electronic gifts, you might identify any gifts that use a magnet and tell how it uses a magnet. This would definitely be a bit tougher, since you will need to do some research on this subject.

If you are planning on doing this, it will need to be in your science journal.

I hope this was some help.

See you WEDNESDAY, Jan. 3, 2008

Mr. A