Since getting the first computer in our class, my students have been called "Carlston's Comets;" so, naturally, the computers we have now are named after the planets. We love to do projects that are related to the universe in which we live.

Welcome to the 2006-07 school year! Here's a picture of your classroom waiting for you to arrive!

Students will be working on TWO year-long projects. They will use Inspiration to create webs about interesting chapters in their lives, and, by the end of the school year, they will have written five-chapter autobiographies. Also, each student will do research on a state in the United States and will be making a Power Point presentation on this topic before the end of the school year. In addition, students will be completing projects that relate to the physical science we study. The Fifth-grade Science Fair will be during the last week in March and is something we get ready for all year! Last year the six students that went to the district competition did very well. Sometime in February, we hope to have technology projects ready. Students will truly be learning from each other!

Our fifth grade classes will begin the Math Olympiad competition in November and end it in March. Students will be practicing and taking one test each month. Teams representing Arcadia will be made up of students from each of the four classes in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. All classes compete in Division E with thousands of other students who have teams from almost every state in the United States. The tests involve problem solving that require high-level thinking skills. Our students have made considerable progress on these tests. The students will receive trophies, patches, and certificates earned during the last week of school in a special awards assembly.

Three years ago students in our reading class placed their names on the Impactor Spacecraft which was launched by NASA in January of 2004. The spacecraft landed on the Tempel 1 comet in 2005 where the names will stay. This has been exciting for us because we're "Carlston's Comets," and Arcadia students are in space!

The $250 award from the University of Utah Engineering Week for the Roller Coaster Design Competition has been spent on math and science manipulatives for fifth and sixth graders. We would like to thank Phillips 66 for sponsoring this program for elementary students. Three years ago the fifth-grade students participated in hands-on engineering activities and a presentation given by the University of Utah. We hope this will be possible for out students this year.

In the past, the fifth grade has gone skiing during January at one of Utah's Wasatch Range ski resorts. Ski Utah is the sponser of this exciting learning experience. We had afternoon group lessons, and students received free lift passes provided by the local ski resorts for the entire season. If it's possible, we hope to be able to take the classes again this year. In any case, fifth graders will receive free ski passes from this program. Remember, it's also free to ski after three p.m. any day once the ski resorts open!