We are so THANKFUL

This Thursday is Thanksgiving, the day set aside for us to be reminded of what we are thankful for.

I am thankful for many things this year.  I am thankful for my husband and my son and my new little child that will be here in March.   I am thankful for my home that I live in and the life I have there with my little family. I am thankful that I had such caring and supportive parents who were there for me as I was growing up....and still are to this day.  I am also thankful for my job as a teacher, and for you, my 22 students. You make coming to work a fun thing to do each day.

What are you thankful for this year? 

Woodwind Group Assembly

This past Monday, we had the Woodwind Quintet of the Winston-Salem Symphony come to our school for a special presentation.  We heard them play several songs and each performer told us about the instrument that he or she plays.

What was your favorite part of the assembly and why?

Parent Letter for 11/15/11

Dear Parents,


Here are some things you need to know for the coming weeks.

1. Your child brought home the “Treasure Card” fundraiser information last week. Each card packet sells for $20. Please help our school raise some needed money by participating in this. If you do not wish to sell, please return all 5 card packs back as soon as possible. The next turn in day for money is this Thursday.

2. Join us for Science Night on Thursday evening from 6:30 until 7:30 pm. Science boards for the upcoming Science fair will be sold at a reduced price of $2 per board. After this evening, they will be sold for $3. Both prices are significantly cheaper than what you will find in the stores!

3. There is no school next week, Wednesday through Friday for the Thanksgiving Holiday!

4. We had a vision screening today. I will send the results home as soon as I get them. Several students who already have glasses are not wearing them in class. If your child already has glasses, please speak to them of the importance of wearing their glasses!!

Thank you for supporting your child’s education.

Mrs. Staton

Graphs are everywhere!

We are currently studying different graphs in our math unit.

We have talked about bar graphs, line graphs, circle (pie) graphs, and pictographs.

Have you seen any graphs in the real world?  Tell me where you saw one by leaving a comment!

Parent Letter for Sept. 27th

9-27-2011


Dear Parents,

It is hard to believe this is the last week of September! The year is off to a great start. Here are some reminders and things you need to know.

1. Tonight is Curriculum Night, starting at 6:30pm. The fifth grade teachers will be discussing what your child will learn this year as well as things you need to know. One thing in particular is the new report card that will go home this year. We will be meeting in room 83.

2. Picture Day is coming up on Wednesday, October 5th. You must prepay for pictures if you wish to order them. Everyone’s picture will be made. These pictures go in the yearbook.

3. Last week information about Jump Rope for Heart came home. Please consider donating to this cause.

4. Have you gotten your password for Parent Assist? This will allow you to view your child’s academic progress online. Please call Mrs. Rybak in the school office (774-4664) for more information. In the future, progress reports will not be sent home on paper.

5. Don’t forget to bookmark our class blog http://5thgraderreaders.blogspot.com

Please feel free to leave a comment! I would love to hear from you!

6. Please speak with your child about the importance of completing and turning in homework!

Thank you for supporting your child’s education!

Mrs. Staton

Kids and Sleep...Are you getting enough?

Our school will be starting Jump Rope For Heart in the month of October. This is a program created by the American Heart Association to help raise money for kids who have special heart conditions.  Our local AHA representative emailed the following information to all teachers today for us to share with parents and families in our newsletters. I thought I would post this on the blog as well.  This is an interesting article about children and how much sleep they need each night.

The Nine Hour Rule: Kids and Sleep

Sleep is like food for the brain. And just like food, sleep gives your child energy. During sleep, their bodies grow and recover from the day’s activities. Sleep is important for everyone—especially kids. It’s not just about feeling grumpy or dozing off in school. Lack of sleep can actually lead to serious health problems.


When kids don’t get enough sleep, they can be moody and perform poorly. They might fall asleep in class and fall behind on their homework. They’ll have less energy for sports and other physical activities. And when they’re tired or low on energy, they’re more likely to choose unhealthy foods or snacks. That means getting the right amount of sleep could actually help your child eat better.


Here are some tips for helping your children get at least nine hours of sleep each night. Help them build a routine—and stick with it. Then, ask them how they feel when they get their rest compared to when they don’t.


Step it Up : To help kids get used to earlier bedtimes and more rest, add 15 minutes of sleep time each night until they’re sleeping at least nine hours.


Wind Down : Stick to quiet, calm activities before bedtime, and your kids will fall asleep much more easily. Avoid TV, computers and telephones during the hour before bed. Don’t leave homework for the last minute. And don’t eat, drink, or exercise within a few hours of bedtime.


Fill In the Naps : If you plan them right, naps can help boost your child’s energy during the day. Naps that are too long or too close to bedtime can interrupt their regular sleep.


Dream Makeover : Make your child’s bedroom the perfect places to relax and sleep. Keep the room cool, quiet and dark. You might even want to install window shades or blackout curtains. Let in bright light in the morning to help them wake up.

This information is provided by the American Heart Association

I hope each of you are getting the right amount of sleep each night. It will help you be a better student and a healthier person!

Posts on Mrs. Staton's SuperStars may include links to external websites. Links to external sites are not under the editing control of the author of Mrs. Staton's SuperStars. Please ask that children use adult supervision when visiting websites outside of this blog, especially YouTube. While there are many great videos, please considering the ability for the public to post and comment on videos on YouTube.

Percussion Assembly

Yesterday, we had some members of the Percussion unit of the Winston-Salem Symphony come to our school and demonstrate their instruments.  They brought several types of drums (including some from West Africa). They had triangles, wood blocks, cymbals, and the marimbas. It was very interesting to hear all the different kinds of songs they could play just using these instruments. 

It will be very exciting to hear the entire symphony play when we go to the Mary Starling Concert in the spring. It is always one of my favorite parts of 5th grade.

Which percussion instrument was your favorite?

Posts on Mrs. Staton's SuperStars may include links to external websites. Links to external sites are not under the editing control of the author of Mrs. Staton's SuperStars. Please ask that children use adult supervision when visiting websites outside of this blog, especially YouTube. While there are many great videos, please considering the ability for the public to post and comment on videos on YouTube.

Parent Letter 9/6/2011

September 6, 2011


Dear Parents,

Here are a few reminders for you this week.

1. Ident-a-Kid will be held tomorrow. If you wish for your child’s ID card to be made, please send in this money tomorrow.

2. Important parent meeting on Thursday night. We will have a nacho snack and information about our new behavior program called PBIS.
This is from 5:45 – 7:30pm.

3. I still need $5.50 from several families to pay for our Scholastic News subscription. Please send this in as soon as possible.

4. See flyers concerning South Fork t-shirts and Car Magnets.

5. I have a special announcement to make. I am expecting a new baby! Baby is due to arrive at the end of March! I have not yet made arrangements for a long-term sub, but will let you know when I get that information.

Thank you for your support of your child’s education!

Mrs. Staton

Happy Labor Day!

Feels weird to have a holiday from school, considering we've only been in class for 7 days, doesn't it?  Well, Labor Day is a federal holiday. This means that the entire United States celebrates this holiday. For example, another Federal Holiday is the Fourth of July.

We celebrate Labor Day to honor the contributions of workers to our country. You might notice that many of your parents did not have to work today. Schools, banks, post offices, court houses, etc are closed today, as well as many offices. Some places like restaurants, stores, hospitals, though are open.

Many people in America see Labor Day as the last "official" day of summer, although Fall doesn't start until later in the month. Many people have cook outs or end of summer parties on Labor Day.

What did your family do today?

Parent Letter for August 30th

Dear Parents,

Welcome to a great 5th grade year. The students are off to a great start and we have PBIS to thank. PBIS is our new "Positive Behavior" system we are using at South Fork this year. There will be a special parent meeting one night in the near future so parents can learn all about this program. Ask your child what it means to have PRIDE.

We have started a whole class study of the book Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. Most students will be reading this with me, while a few students will be working with our Primary Reading Teacher, Miss Dalton. ESL class should be starting really soon as well. In math, we are reviewing adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. We are switching classes with Miss Colhoun, who will teach our class science while I teach her class math. Right now they are discussing weather, especially the hurricanes.

Some things you need to know:

• We need clean, rinsed, 2-liter soda bottles for an upcoming science unit. Please keep the labels and lids on the bottles and send to school with your student.
• We are still collecting Box Tops and Campbell Soup Labels
• Do you have a Parent Assist log-in and password? You can access your child's grades, attendance, and personal info. This same password works for your middle school and high school age students as well. See Mrs. Rybak in the school office for more information.
• $5.50 is needed for Scholastic News magazine subscription. Thanks to those who have already paid!
• Some students still have not brought in their school supplies. Please send these in ASAP!

I'm so glad you visited my blog. We will be using this quite a bit in the upcoming school year.  Please feel free to leave a comment.

Open House is Tuesday!!

The school year is almost here, boys and girls!

Teachers have been back to school for almost a week now. We've had meetings, workshops, and time at school to get our classrooms ready....for YOU!

Open House will be Tuesday, August 23rd, from 5:30 - 7:30pm.  You will find out who your teacher when you get to Open House.

For those of you lucky enough to be in my 5th grade class, I have moved to Room 94.

See you Tuesday night.

Only 17 Days.....

.....left to enjoy your summer vacation!  School starts back bright and early on August 25th.

Have you done your back-to-school shopping?  Click here for a supply list.

Have you practiced your multiplication facts?  Click here for an interactive game.

Have you read any good books?  Click here for the summer reading list.

Have you done any playing outside? Click the X in the upper right corner and go OUTSIDE!

Have you done something really fun this summer? Click the word comment below and tell me all about it. Don't forget to leave your name!

See you in 17 days!

Update on "Our Eagles"

Looks like our baby eagles are ready for life in the real world!  They will be released on at 11 AM on July 27th, next Wednesday.  And it sounds like there will be live video of this event.

The website for the Eagle Cam is found at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, or just click here.

Can't wait to watch our eagles take flight!

Posts on Mrs. Staton's SuperStars may include links to external websites. Links to external sites are not under the editing control of the author of Mrs. Staton's SuperStars. Please ask that children use adult supervision when visiting websites outside of this blog, especially YouTube. While there are many great videos, please considering the ability for the public to post and comment on videos on YouTube.

Have you taken the "Five Finger Test" yet?

So you've decided you want read some good books this summer.

You are at the library or a bookstore and you can't decide on a good book. It's easy when we are at school and you know your AR "comfort level" that I put on the back of your library card.  But the library and book stores don't put AR levels on their books like our school library does.

So what should you do?

Take the Five Finger Test.

1. First, choose the book you think you would like to read.
2. Open the book to the middle, choosing a page with a lot of text (words) and very few pictures.
3. Begin to read the page to yourself. Don't just "read in your head". Actually whisper read to yourself, so you can hear if you begin to have difficulty.
4. As you are reading, hold up one finger each time you read a word you don't know or have difficulty pronouncing.
5. If none or one of your fingers are up before you get to the end of the page, this book might be too easy for you.
If you have 2-4 fingers are up before you get to the end of the page, this book may be just right.
If all five of your fingers are in the air before you get to the end of the page, then this book is probably too difficult for you right now. It's best to put this book back and try it again in a few months.

Hopefully this "test" is one that will help you find that book that is on your "comfort level".

Summer Reading

Are you reading books this summer?  If not, you should be!  Reading is the key to your success in school. Children who read for fun outside of the school day are better students when they are in school.

Are you going on a long trip?  Take a book to read in the car.

Hanging out by the pool or on the beach?  Take a rest and read a chapter or two.

Is it a super hot day or a summer rainy day?  Spend it curled up with a good book.

Did Mom or Dad put you in charge of the little brothers and sisters? Take a few minutes and read a picture book to them.

Need some motivation to read?  I've got the answer to that question too!  What about a FREE BOOK?!?

Click here to go to Barnes and Noble bookstore's website. In the green box in the middle of the page, you will see a yellow 1. Underneath that, you will see a link to print off a reading journal. When you've read 8 books, you can take the completed journal to the book store and get a free book. You are limited to the the titles they have chosen for your grade level.

Click here to go to Borders bookstore's website. You will see a skinny yellow box where you can download their summer reading form. Borders requires 10 books to be read.  Borders lets you get any book for free.

Also stop by any of the public libraries here in our town. Any child who completes the summer reading program through the library gets a gift bag full of goodies from local companies.  I couldn't find their reading log online, so you may have to go by the library to get one. 

Let me know what books you are reading this summer. Perhaps that will make a good read-out-loud for us this coming school year!

Posts on Mrs. Staton's SuperStars may include links to external websites. Links to external sites are not under the editing control of the author of Mrs. Staton's SuperStars. Please ask that children use adult supervision when visiting websites outside of this blog, especially YouTube. While there are many great videos, please considering the ability for the public to post and comment on videos on YouTube.

Happy 4th of July!

Today is an amazing day...if you are an American!  Our country celebrates its Independence today.

Here are some interesting facts about today.

July 4, 2011....we have been a country for 235 years.  This may seem like a long time, but its pretty short considering some countries have been around for thousands of years!

Three Presidents have died on the 4th of July.
John Adams...President #2
Thomas Jefferson...President #3
James Monroe....President #5

Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President, was the only President who was born on the 4th of July!

What will you do to celebrate our Nation's Birthday?

Stay Active in Summer

I used to love summer time when I was your age. While I loved school, the time off gave me lots of time to do things outdoors. I grew up on a street where every neighbor but one was a relative! Pretty cool, huh? With no brothers and sisters to play with, I looked forward to when my cousins would come to visit their grandparents....lots of people to play with.

One relative on my street had an in-ground swimming pool, so many days were spent in the water! All of the yards were big, so we had lots of places to ride bikes, run, and play. Every Thursday I went to my daycare because that was roller skating day. The workers would take all the school-age kids to the skating rink for the day. When I was in high school, I joined the color guard, which is the group of girls who twirl flags behind the marching band, so many an afternoon was spent outside practicing for the upcoming season.

Do you realize that when you are active, you are actually exercising? I can remember coming inside from a long afternoon at the pool and being so hungry.  That's because swimming is.....EXERCISE!  So is riding your bike or playing outside!

What are you doing to stay active this summer?

Whatever you decide to do outside this summer....don't forget your sunscreen or water!!

Our Eagles

Back in March, I got an email about a pair of adult Bald Eagles who had nested in a tree in the Botanical Gardens of Norfolk, Virginia. Our class eagerly watched and waited for the 3 eggs to hatch....and hatch they did, with the last egg hatching on St. Patrick's Day.  We tuned in almost daily (and sometimes a couple of times in one day) to watch our eagles! Sometimes we even participated in conversations with Eagle experts thanks to a Live Chat.

On April 27th we learned some terrible news. The mother eagle was killed. The Botanical Gardens are located near an airport, and somehow the mother got in the flight path of an airplane and was hit. After determining that the eagles would not survive without intervention, the Eagle experts decided the babies would be have a better chance at survival if they were relocated. So the next day the eagles were moved to the Wildlife Center of Virginia.  The eagles live in a special habitat made to resemble their home in the tree.

If you are interested in keeping up with "OUR" eagles, click here.

The eagles are scheduled to be released into the wild sometime in August. Maybe we will be back in school and can watch the release together!

Posts on Mrs. Staton's SuperStars may include links to external websites. Links to external sites are not under the editing control of the author of Mrs. Staton's SuperStars. Please ask that children use adult supervision when visiting websites outside of this blog, especially YouTube. While there are many great videos, please considering the ability for the public to post and comment on videos on YouTube.

Do you see what I see

I was outside last week and saw this in the sky, so I took a picture of it.

What does it look like to you?

Back to Blogging

During the past school year, I took a break from this blog for several reasons.

1. I was changing grade levels, and as this blog's web address says "5th grade readers", it wouldn't have been proper for 4th graders.

2. I had set up a page to use with my new class, and to be honest, never took the time to use it.

3. I sort of lost the excitement of the whole blog experience, thanks to a bunch of changes in my life, both at home and at school.

But here I am, back for more!

Students...if you are out there, I plan to post on here a few times over the summer. I might put up a cool picture, or suggest a book for you to read. Please feel free to leave a comment.  Here's how you do it.

Click on "comment".  Type what you want to say in the box. Then you have to tell me who you are.

If you click on the word "Name", then type your name in the box and leave the other one blank.
If you click on Anonymous, then I won't know who you are unless you put your name in the big box with your comment.

Then hit submit at the bottom.  It's that easy!

See you soon!!