Holiday concert

REMINDER:

The NSIS Holiday concert is Wednesday, December 12. All students in Chorus and Band must wear a white top and black bottoms - please see letter that was sent home today for additional information. Please contact Miss Hickman or Miss Grisso with any additional questions.

My Bike program

Kody C. recently received a specially designed bike from Variety Children's Charity. The My Bike program makes adaptive bikes for children with special needs.  Check out Kody's new bike!

Native American Home project

Students will be completing a Native American home project. They were given the project requirements and rubric on Friday, November 9. The project is two parts - the construction of the home, and the research about the Native American tribe that lived in that type of home. For example, if I was making a teepee, I would research the Lakota tribe.  Remember, be creative with your materials! Try to incorporate as many natural materials as possible!

The project is due Wednesday, November 28, 2012                       FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2012

We will be gathering information while at school, although students may also use the links below for research as well. Please only use the links provided, as well as the others listed (Grolier Online, Power Library/ Searchasaurus) on the requirements page.

Native American research links:
Kid Facts - Great Site!
Navajo
Arts and Crafts
Native American info
Kid Friendly Native American links
Index of Native American tribes

Scholastic Book Club

Scholastic Book Club orders will be due on Friday, November 16. Please see the following link for more information and to place an order online. Only online orders will be accepted.

https://clubs2.scholastic.com/about/parents/choosebooks.shtml

Look for MRS. BLUM and please use this code when placing an order -  H7W8N

NSIS Election 2012

Recently, we have been learning about the presidential candidates and the election process. Today, Team Triton cast their votes for the next president of the United States! NSIS conducted a mock election in which all students voted for the candidate of their choice. We set up our own polling place in the classroom where students voted on a link through the NSIS website. At the conclusion of the day, all the votes will be tallied. Who will win???

           Sierra and Camryn cast the first votes

   Our private polling stations

              Caleb and Logan F. getting ready to vote

                             Lauren and Rachael voted. Will you?

ELECTION 2012

 


In a few short weeks, Americans will go to the polls to vote for a new President of the United States.  Every four years, it is our constitutional right to chose a new leader for our country. Do you know when Election Day is? Do you know what a political party is?  How about an electoral college?  Use the Election 2012 Fact Hunt and you will discover important facts and information about the path to choosing America's next president.

The following Links will help you complete your Election 2012 Fact Hunt. You may have to visit several website to gather information to answer the questions on your worksheet. Good luck!

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/12/29/us/politics/20071229_OBAMA_TIMELINE.html

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/meet-barack-obama/44386

 http://pbskids.org/democracy/meet-the-candidates/

 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/11/14/us/politics/20071114_ROMNEY_TIMELINE.html

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/meet-mitt-romney/44401

http://pbskids.org/democracy/meet-the-candidates/

Information about Election 2012:

http://pbskids.org/zoom/fromyou/elections/elections101.html#works

http://www.congressforkids.net

http://kids.librarypoint.org/presidential_election_how_it_works

http://kids.usa.gov/president/index.shtml

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/election/general.html

http://magazines.scholastic.com/election-2012

Information about the Primary Election

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/kids_primaries/nomination/index.asp?article=what

Information about the Presidential Debates

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/time-debate/50541

Information about Election Day

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/election/electionday.html

Information about the Electoral College

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/election/electoral.html

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/debate/52791

Halloween/Fall Activities

Unlike in the elementary schools, we do not have Fall parties at NSIS. This year at NSIS, students will not be dressing up in costumes, nor will Borland Manor parade to our school. The students are encouraged to dress in costumes for the 5th Grade Fun Night on Friday, October 26.

On Friday, October 26, the students will be participating in Fall Activities as a team in the afternoon. Students are permitted to bring in treats (they must be store bought with ingredients listed) and will not be consumed during school.  Non-edible items may be sent as well.  We have 53 students on our team, though it is not necessary to provide treats for both classes. Please contact Mrs. Blum or Mrs. Patragas with any questions.

App of the Week!

Super Duper Story Maker
This app allows you to create all the picture and photo stories you want  — plus, make your own photo albums, special occasion cards, comic books, etc. Also, students can practice  skills like reading, sequencing, vocabulary and sentence building, following directions, grammar, storytelling and retelling, and more. StoryMaker has two screens — Create Story and Tell Story. In Create Story you make your stories, and edit and change them. In Tell Story you read, tell, and talk about your stories. Let the creative juices flow!

APP of the Week!

This weeks Apps of the Week are Video Science and Science 360! I chose to put both Apps on this week, so that the students have an option. Science 360 does not always work in our classroom, but the videos are great and show so many different science activities! Have fun!

Who Said Science Isn't FUN?! Not Us!

This week, Team Triton conducted a Science Lab with M & M's....YES, M & M's! The students each had individual Fun Size packs of M & M's and counted each color to find which color they had the most of in their bag! It was a great way to work with another member of our Team and a great way to practice POHECA! Now we are ready to get started with our unit on Motion and Design! Enjoy the video!

Open House

North Strabane Intermediate School will have Open House is Wednesday, September 19 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. We invite you to come and explore the school and see all of the AMAZING work the students have been doing this year! They have been working so hard and are very proud of their work (and so are we)! You may come at any time, though Team Triton will have a brief presentation at 7:00 and 7:45.  We hope to see you!

APP of the Week!

This weeks App of the Week is so much fun AND a great way to brush up on your geography skills! Stack the States Lite asks questions about each state and then has you 'stack them' to reach the line and move on to higher levels! Try it out!

Paper Towel Lab

Last week, the students conducted the Paper Towel Lab! This was an opportunity for them to practice the Scientific Method using the steps of POHECA! They did a great job and learned a little about how they can take a simple science experiment and apply it to everyday life. They next time you take your child shopping for paper towels, I am sure they will have some input on which kind you should be buying! Enjoy this video on the Paper Towel Lab!

This week in Language Arts we are reading "From the Diary of Leigh Botts". It is about a student who invents an alarm in his lunch box in an attempt to stop a thief who has been stealing his lunch. We've decided that Leigh has a pretty clever idea, which has prompted us to think of our own inventions we want to devise to help improve our lives! The vocabulary quiz is on Wednesday and selection test will be Thursday.

Don't forget to study your spelling list. In addition to your spelling homework, don't forget to use www.spellingcity.com for additional practice. This site is a great resource and had numerous opportunities for games and activities to review the words. The spelling test will be on Thursday.

Say CHEESE!

Just a reminder that individual pictures will be taken on Wednesday, September 12.  Please return a completed form to Mrs.Blum or Mrs. Patragas.

APP of the Week!

Today in the Math class, the students were introduced to Math Mania! I am so excited to get this started so that we can find out who our Math Mania Masters are! This weeks APP of the Week is PERFECT PRACTICE for this activity! My Math App includes all mathematical operations and allows the students to set the number of problems to be completed in one minute! Since Math Mania requires students to complete 30 multiplication problems in 1 minute, this would be a great way to set up the APP for practice!

APP of the Week!

Each week we will post an APP of the Week that the students can then download to their iPods, iPads, or iPhones. We will choose APPs that are educational and still FUN! We will then use these APPs as a station during our Learning Center times. If your child does not have one of these devices...NO WORRIES! The APP of the Week will always be on Mrs. Patragas and Mrs. Blum's iPads! This week the App of the Week is Word Warp! We have already spent some time using this App in class and the students already seem to love it!

Our First Week is in the Books...and on the Blog!

Well Team Triton, Congratulations, you survived your 1st week at North Strabane! Way to Go! We are looking forward to a great year with each of you! Get ready for what we hope will be one of your most exciting years in school yet! This week, we spent a lot of time learning a new routine and schedule and meeting new friends! Fifth grade will be full of 'firsts' and we are excited to be a part of those with you! Have a great weekend and enjoy your 3 days off! See you all on Tuesday! Enjoy this little video...it will be the first of MANY!

Here We Go...

Don't Forget...Tomorrow, Thursday, August 30 is Black and Gold Day! Wear your favorite Steeler gear to support our Pittsburgh Team!

WELCOME TO TEAM TRITON!

Welcome 5th graders! We are so excited to begin this school year! We're off to a terrific start. Here are a few reminders for this busy week.

There is a LOT of information that will be sent home this week. Please review all papers, sign and return by Friday, August 31.

All books must be covered by Tuesday, September 4, 2012. Students will have five textbooks that require covers. If you plan on using the stretchy book covers, please use the jumbo size. They work best, especially with the larger books. Brown paper grocery bags and wrapping paper also work well.