I can’t believe this weather! Students are coming in from recess very wet. Hopefully it will cool down. I hope everyone had a great holiday, and restful break. Our family certainly did, but I missed our class and am glad to be back in the school “routine”.

The new year is flying along! Our class and the other intermediate classes are thick into our social studies community group projects. I am responsible for the 5th graders, and we go to the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank on Mondays and Wednesdays. I can’t tell you enough how proud I am of our students, as I am sure you would be as well. I hear similar reports from Mrs. Carter and Mr. DeVolld about the 6th and 4th grade students. It just seems all students step up; they are engaged, kind and helpful! The staff at the Food Bank have made many positive comments about our students. All of this couldn’t happen however, without the help of our schools staff and parent volunteers. I’d like to thank Mrs. Fann, Mrs. Story, Mrs. Peterkin, Mr. Scott, and Ms. Maria for making our trips possible.

We are taking a field trip to Alyeska! We are going the week after spring break, on Wednesday the 19th. There will be more sunlight by then. We will certainly need help with chaperones. Please think about beginning to put some money aside for this trip and for our Peterson Bay trip at the end of the year. We will try and do some fund-raising for them, but both are costly.

Wow, I can’t believe how quickly this year is going! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Holiday. I asked students to reflect quickly on a sticky note about what they were thankful for; advising them video games were not a viable choice. It is great to see, they are really beginning to understand what is important in life. The notes are up in the hall outside our classroom along with their animal expositoty essays. The essays are very good and students are improving their writing as the year progresses.

We have a busy December; a big field trip, caroling, Secret Santa, an assembly to plan, and a holiday party. Take a look at our December Calendar on this website for details. You can also catch up on news by looking at our class newsletters also on this website. We are going to begin a quick canned food drive to which will end right before the holidays. We will kick it off at our assembly. If I do not see you, have a very wonderful Christmas and holiday break.

Wow, we had an awesome field trip! Once again we couldn’t do it without you (our parents)! Thanks for all the help with food and packing your child’s gear. A special thanks to those who drove and chaperoned; Mrs. Sturman, Mrs. Fann, Mrs. Mickelson, Mr. Mickelson, Mr. Hansen, and Mr. Scott. I had one parent say that the KNWR portion with Mrs. Ostrowski at the refuge was the best field trip she had been on; that she learned so much.

Once we got out to Swanson River, we continued learning about wetlands. I forgot my small propane bottles, but we made due with the two large burners. Our adults once again helped us make it through bugs, stuck frisbees, hungry tummies, and wet shoes; thanks so much. Not only was the trip a great educational opportunity, but also a time for students to make bonds with one another, and build our class community. We are looking forward to our next trip.

I hope everyone had a great summer. My summer was very busy, but also productive. I am very excited to begin our new school year. Almost half of our class will be new, with three students entirely new to our school. I am certain our 6th grade students will set a wonderful example and become positive leaders. We will be very busy: getting to know each other, learning and practicing routines, and taking assessments. I will continue to add information to this class blog so be sure to check it often. below is a link you can use to access it, then just add the site to your internet favorites.Welcome back 🙂        Mr. Faris

tinyurl.com/Mr-Faris 

I can’t believe that we are down to the final few weeks of school. Our final field trip to Kasitsna Bay was unbelievable. If your child went, I’m sure you have heard about it. I have taken students across Kachemak Bay for 13 years and have only seen 1 octopus. On our trip we were able to see 3! The extreme low tide exposed so many wonders; our class documented over 90 different invertebrate species. I do want to thank our parent chaperones (without their support and help we couldn’t have done it!): Mrs. Sturman, Mrs. Woodward, Mrs. North, Mr. Mickelson, and Mr. Warren. This was certainly a trip I won’t forget.

Students have made Digital Photo Stories of their trip. Most should be finished up this next week, and will post the work on their school blog. Take a look at them, they are very good.

I want to thank all of you for sharing your children with me this school year. We have had our ups and downs, but our 6th graders set the tone at the beginning of the year for a positive, hard-working class climate. It has been a great year, and I am blessed to grow and learn with your children. Have a great summer!

We had a great Alyeska field trip. I was very impressed with all of our students. Every student got up on the mountain to chair 3 and 7 after minimal lessons. There were some falls, but everyone had a great time. I forget how daring or ignorant kids can be! Some of our students went right for the terrain parks!

I’d like to thank all of our chaperones who helped with our Alyeska Field Trip; Mr. and Mrs. Peterkin, Mr. and Mrs. Mickelson, Mrs. Sturman, Mr. Coray, Mr. Woodward, Mrs. Waren, and Mrs. Klobucar. A special thanks to Mrs. Fann and Mr. Quincy who rode the bus with us. We also want to wish Gabriel the best as he ended up breaking his lower arm that day.

I can’t believe we are coming near the end of the third quarter. This school year is flying; probably because we have a great group of students! I’d like to thank everyone who came to their child’s conference. It is wonderful to be able to meet and discuss the progress students are making.

We have some big trips coming up; snowshoeing at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, skiing at Alyeska, and we wrap our year up with three days and two nights at Kasitsna Bay Research Lab. We are trying to fundraise for these trips with a Read-A-Thon on Friday, February 22nd. We also need chaperones, so please contact me.

The year is going very quickly, second quarter is over in three weeks! We have a very busy December. Please take a look at our calendar on the schedules/calendar tab. We have a band/rythmic concert and an all school musical program in the first week of December. They are the evening of the 4th and 6th repsectively. The second week, we will be taking our AWA writing assessment with a focus upon expository writing. At the end of the second week we will have Secret Santa Workshop (a place where students can purchase inexpensive gifts for their families). The last week before break we will have a field trip to the Challenger Learning Center (5th and 6th grades) and to the FAA Tower/Kenai Airport (4th grade). This will be on the 18th; all students will need to bring a cold sack lunch. We’ll go Christmas Caroling on the afternoon of the 19th with Mrs. Atchley’s class to various Soldotna Locations. And on Thursday, the 20th we will have a read-in in the morning, and our own Seceret Santa reveal party. Hang on!!!!!

Well, I can’t believe it but 1/4 of the school year is over. I am very excited for parent/teacher conferences as it will give me a chance to learn more about your child, and share their progress this school year. Our class is very caring and supportive of each other, and though they can be loud at times, they have a good work ethic and use their time wisely. Don’t forget to check out this site for specific information about activities, assignments, and useful links for your child.

We have our tentative dates for our end of the year field trip to Kasitsna Bay (April 26, 27, &28). It is a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This trip is a highlight, and a world-class experience for coastal marine biology, not to mention lots of fun. I wanted to let you know now for two reasons. First, as it is over a weekend you can plan better knowing the dates. Second, the trip is costly($160) and you can save for it accordingly. Mrs. Dehlbom needs the money by April 1st so she can get the purchase order from the District. Save a little from your child’s PFD if at all possible. The lab we stay at is like a hotel, so for the money you get; round-trip boat transportation from Homer to Kasitsna Bay Lab and Two nights and three days at the Kasitsna Bay Lab. This lab is used by scientists from around the world so the trip is certainly worth the cost.