Essay Contest

Olive Garden is sponsoring an essay contest-I copied the details below


TEACHERS WHO INSPIRE ARE RECOGNIZED
THROUGH OLIVE GARDEN’S ESSAY WRITING CONTEST
Olive Garden’s Pasta Tales begins online Oct. 19

Reading, writing and arithmetic — no matter the subject, teachers often leave their mark on students, inspiring them to strive for success and reach their goals. In recognition of teachers across North America, Olive Garden has announced the topic for its 14th-annual Pasta Tales essay writing contest: “Describe a teacher who has inspired you in school and how they have impacted your life.”.

From Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, Olive Garden’s Pasta Tales contest will give young writers in first- through 12th-grade in the U.S. and Canada the opportunity to share their stories in essays of 50 to 250 words. Pasta Tales entry forms and complete rules will be available beginning Oct. 19 at www.olivegarden.com/company/community/pasta_tales.asp and on Oct. 26 at local Olive Garden restaurants..

The contest grand prize is a three-day trip to New York City including dinner at the Olive Garden in Times Square and a $2,500 savings bond. Winners also will be chosen in each grade category and will receive a $500 savings bond and a family dinner at their local Olive Garden restaurant.

Pasta Tales entries must include the writer’s name, complete address, phone number with area code, grade, date of birth including year and a statement that the work is their own. Entries must be submitted either online or postmarked by Dec. 11 and sent to Pasta Tales, PMB 2000, 6278 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33308-1916.

Submissions will be judged based on creativity, adherence to theme, organization, grammar, punctuation and spelling by the Quill and Scroll Society of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Iowa, with finalists selected by Olive Garden.

Since its inception, Olive Garden’s Pasta Tales has provided young people in the communities it serves a way to creatively express the influences, experiences and stories that have shaped their lives. For more information about Pasta Tales, call Katie Lennon at (954) 776-1999, ext. 240 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.

Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment with 695 restaurants, more than 87,000 employees and $3.3 billion in annual sales. Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE:DRI), the world’s largest company-owned and operated full-service restaurant company. For more information, visit Olive Garden’s Web site at www.OliveGarden.com.

Christopher's WIF

Here is Christopher's Where I'm From Photostory

Harvest in the Halls

Our Harvest in the Halls was lots of fun. Lots of great costumes. My favorite was Savvy dressed as NCIS's Abby

Here is Tracy's WIF

Where I’m From
By Tracy

I am from a clothesline with clothes flapping in the wind, from Coca-Cola in a glass bottle and Ivory soap.

I am from the tilled dirt of the big family vegetable garden full of corn, tomatoes, and butter beans.

I am from the azaleas and the magnolia tree in whose branches I could sit and read.

I am from family reunions and bad eyesight, from Ken and Elaine, the Pyrons and McCords.

I am from the worry-warts and the blue-eyed blondes.

From if so-and-so jumped off a bridge, would you? and if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

I am from Baptist churches, Just As I Am and all the old familiar hymns.

I’m from an army hospital in Germany and Fayette County, Georgia,
Sunday roast beef and Ma’s fried pies.

From the old homeplace near Statesboro and mule-drawn wagons, the grandparents who scrimped and saved, and the concerts with my sister in the basement.

I am from an old family Bible that is crumbled with age, black and white pictures of ancestors and shared stories at family reunions.

Quenton's Where I'm From

Grace's WIF Photostory

Visit Our Gallery

Visit our Gallery at the NCTE National Day on Writing Site
http://galleryofwriting.org/galleries/214784

Tomorrow Is National Day on Writing!

We have been trying to finish up our Where I'm From poetry/photostory presentations for tomorrow's celebration! Not all are finished but here is Kayla's so you can see what we are working on.

And here is Megan's poem (Kayla's mom)


I am from bicycles,
From Oreos and milk.
I am from rural farmland of Indiana.
(flat, vast. Endless places of discovery)
I am from tiger lilies
Vibrant organge growing wildly out of the ditch

I am from card games and family dinners.
From Errol and Carrie and Gladys.
I am from penny questions and mumbly peg.
From No Work No Eat and
I don’t get mad, I just get even.
I am from Christianity
At home with he and I or at church with
All my brothers and sisters.

I am from LaGrange and Big Hill Road,
Garden vegetables and desserts.

From the bird hunter of my father,
The seamstress of my mother.

I am from the Shoeboxes full of pictures,
Artwork and awards sitting on the empty
Scrapbooks Which will one day be filled
while reliving the memories.

Making Soap with Mr. Exner

Mr. Exner shared soap making with students this week.

The Pep Rally

Pep Rally by reporter Taurean

Today was the Pep Rally. The cheerleaders, band and football players were there. When we walked in the doors the first thing we saw was the football players giving us a Homecoming sticker. This year they sent more people who went to our school. During the pep rally, the band played and everyone started to dance. At the end of the pep rally Bryan danced with the mascot and got a hug from a cheerleader.

Study Group

Reporter Jena says:
Hello parents and students. I’m gong to tell you about the math study group from a 5th graders point of view. We have a math study group every Thursday from 2:30 to 3:15. You don’t need to let Mr. Exner know in advance all you need is transportation. We do about 20 mins. Of reviewing and the rest of the time we play math study games. Even if your child doesn’t need extra help you are welcome to come.


Sam says:
Study group is awesome. We play games and get five extra point. When your playing the game you get to play other people from other classrooms. If you beat at least two people you’ll get a piece of candy. Then when you’re waiting out side ready to go home, you can talk or work on your homework.

Weird Parents

We read the picture book, Weird Parents by Audrey Wood today. We talked about ideas for our own writing. It seems that we have lots of "weird" stories to tell about our families.

My Rotten Red Headed Older Brother

Today we listened to the story My Rotten Readheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco. It made me think of a time when my brother & I were wrestling on the trampoline. My name was Duncan Turner & his was Johnny Tyson. We had cardboard boxes as tables and pillows as chairs. We had a ladder with a title above it. So we got the match started. When he first kicked me, I fell then I hopped up and did the ddt. When he was knocked out I got the table out. When I set it up he go up and I hit him with the chair. While he was on the ground I climbed the ladder and waited. When he got up I tackled him through the table. After that I got another table and I choked slammed him through the table. He popped up and did the stone cold stunner to me. He put the chair in my face and jumped on it. When he tried to get the title I pushed him off the ladder. I got on top of the ladder and did a backflip on him. After that I got the title. (it was the Hardcore Championship!)
by Brian
**some of the things we noticed that Brian did really well were: he used strong action verbs like tackled, hopped, slammed, popped,and jumped; he used details like boxes as tables, and pillows were chairs; he used time order sequence; he used great sentence variety

Today we listened to the story. My Rotten Red-Head Older Brother by Patricia Polacco. It made me the about my rotten head older brother. The reason I called him my rotten head brother is because he is rotten. Mrs. Evan’s doesn’t know because she doesn’t live with us. But at home he is always being bad. The thing he does is really horrible. He is always beating me up. He is never listening. He doesn’t follow direction and does not take no for an answer. But the worst thing about him is that he beats up on all the little kids. Oh and one time he came really close to breaking my arm by twisting or bending it as far as it will go. That is why I call him my rotten head older brother.
by Heaven
**We noticed that Heaven gave specific reasons/things her brother does; she uses logical organization and good sentence variety. I especially liked the sentence, "Mrs. Evans doesn't live with us" It showed her voice

Mr. Potato Head

Mr. Potato Head by Jacob S.

On Monday August 31, 2009 in Mrs. Heaberlin’s class we played a science game. In the game you had to answer a question from our science test. The questions weren’t always hard, but some of the questions were hard. In my opinion the hardest question was to name the 3 types of worms. The answer is flatworm, Roundworm, and Segmented worm. Once you get a question right you get to add a body part to Mr. Potato Head. Everyone got to add only one body part, but it was very fun any way. The time I got a question right, I added green lips to the potato man. It was very, very fun.

Follow My Leader

We are reading the book, Follow My Leader, in Mrs. Heaberlin's classroom. We put on blindfolds to try and experience what it is like to be blind.

Ethan's Writing

We used a quote from Mrs. Bowen, our counselor, to inspire our writing today. The quote was: "Whether you think you can or you think you can't-you are right."

Here is what Ethan wrote

Over the spring, I overcame a fear that no Lacrosse player likes doing, playing GOALIE. Goalie is a really hard position, in fact it is the hardest. The reason that playing goalie is so hard is because who wants to stand in front of a ball that is layered 100's of times in rubber coming at you. Well on our 3rd or 4th practice coach said, "Who will be our goalie?" And I said, "I will." So at our next practice I saw my mom walking onto the field with a brand new goalie stick, and when I saw it I knew there was no backing out.

Busy Monday

Today was a whirlwind. We had head checks with Nurse Carol, played Smackdown with Mrs. Evans, wrote about things we love in our writer's notebook, and created posters in social studies. We are learning about area and perimeter in math and reading Frindle in reading. We worked on our Wordly Wise with Mrs. Heaberlin and enjoyed beautiful weather at recess. We have a social studies test coming up on Thursday, and Mrs. Evans reminded us to review our two graded worksheets along with the vocabulary in chapter 1.

Friday Fun

Friday's are test days, but we also had some fun today. Ms. Cindy substituted for Mrs. Heaberlin today, and we had our spelling bee. We did a musical chair edit in Mrs. Evans's room. We had a special treat when Brianna sang for us and then Hailey and Mallory sang a duet. We are thinking about having a talent show. Wouldn't that be fun?
Wildcat Assistants for the first semester were announced today. They are: Heaven, Maria, Bailey, Brandon, Austin, Ryan, Katie, Devan, Christen, Harrison, Ryan, Sam, Rachel, Lauryn, Emma.

On the Rug

5th graders gather on the rug to listen to various mentor texts for writing workshop. We have already used Amelia's Notebook and The Way We Are Smart to inspire our writing.

Thursday is Jeopardy Day

Thursdays are always fun because Mr. Exner plays Jeopardy with us as a review for Friday's tests.

8 ways we are smart

We read the book How We Are Smart and learned about the different ways people are smart. We read the poems out loud to the class and discussed how each person was smart then we made

Tuesday, REACH Day

Today the REACH students started their classes with Mrs. Wagoner. Because we have such a large REACH class, Mrs. Jan Pushaver will be working with Mrs. Wagoner.

New Routines

Today we learned about all the 5th grade routines. Mrs. Evans emphasized the importance of our Daily Language sheets. They will be easy 100's if we keep with up them and pay attention. We started reading the book Frindle by Andrew Clements in Reading with Mrs. Heaberlin. Mr. Exner gave us our Daily Math sheet, and we worked on it. Our recess is after lunch, and boy was it hot today. Today was Zach's birthday, so we sang to him.

 

 

First Day Fun

I really enjoyed the first day of school this year. The students were alert, attentive, witty, and engaging. Playing the "two truths and a lie" game helped me get to know the students. Many in this group already enjoy reading and writing, so I think writing workshop is going to be really interesting this year. Most students turned in their paper work-THANKS parents!! In math students played a game with Mr. Exner, and he realized there are many students that need to brush up on their times tables. Knowing your times tables is vital to success in 5th grade. Please take time to review these. There are many online games that help with math facts, but I have found the easiest way to learn these is to practice when traveling in the car. Just pick out 4-5 facts to review during each trip to town. Open House is Thursday Night! I am excited about a great year!
Mrs. Evans

Reporter Caleb says:
Today was the first day of school and everyone was having a ball. We played 2 games. The first was 2 truths and a lie and the second was a multiplication game. 5th grade is the best and so are the teachers.

Savvy

My favorite book of the summer will probably be Savvy by Ingrid Law. It is a tall-tale that is so believable and fun you forget it is a fantasy. This book hooks the reader with the first line, "When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he'd caused it." Mibs, the main character, will get her Savvy on her 13th birthday, and she can’t wait to find out what it is and neither can the reader. When her father is injured just before her birthday, Mibs hopes her Savvy will be something that can save him. But first she must get to the hospital. She hides on an old school bus driven by a Bible salesman with two of her brothers and the preacher’s children, and the journey begins. Check out the author's website for a videomercial here:http://us.penguingroup.com/static/packages/us/yreaders/savvy/index.html

Something to think about:If you could have one extraordinary power (like, say, controlling the weather or speaking with animals) what would you choose? Why? Leave a comment and tell us.

vozMe - From text to speech

vozMe - From text to speech

Posted using ShareThis

This is a tool you can use to help you read things that are difficult for you. Copy and paste a text into the box and Vozme reads it for you. It does not read with expression but most of the words are pronounced correctly.

Doing Time Online

I just finished reading the book, Doing Time Online by Jan Siebold, and I would highly recommend it. It is a quick, easy read that offers a lot of ideas to jump start your thinking. The main character, Mitch, made some bad choices and is having to face the consequences. His punishment is to spend time chatting online with a person in a nursing home. His conversations with Wootie lead him to some new understandings. Read to find out what he did to get in trouble, how he deals with Trotter, and what he learns from the O.L.D. If you are keeping up with your writer's notebook, you might try writing about your favorite family story or write about your nickname.

Swindle book video

Looking for a good book to read this summer? I think you might like the book Swindle. Check out the video here.

Great summer reads

Summer has started, and I have already read some great books!
Hitler's Daughter by Jackie French is a powerful short read. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be Hitler's child? What if you had a deformity? This story gives us a glimpse of what it would have been like to live during the Holocaust. It also raises some interesting questions. What would you do if you found out your parents had committed a terrible crime?

Lunch at Longhorn's

Today students who read 1 million words this year (measured by AR) were treated to lunch at Longhorn's Steakhouse. What a great time we had. We talked about books, summer, and sports. The food was delicious, but the socializing was even better. These kids are great conversationalists. While some students chose the traditional burgers or chicken fingers, a few went all out with steak or ribs. The students also had peanut butter cup desserts-yummy! If you get a chance to eat at Longhorn's, please let them know how much you appreciate their support of our students. The manager, Kevin Williams, graciously donated the meals for our readers, and his staff treated our students wonderfully. We have decided to make this a yearly tradition!

The True Story Reader's Theater

CRCT High Scorers

Today was a tense day as students awaited their CRCT test results. The teachers were very pleased with the overall scores. Here is a listing of our high scorers in each area. Way to go Wildcats!!
Reading
Exner's homeroom: Rebecca-839, Natalie 839
Evans' homeroom: Marissa 867, Collin 867
Heaberlin's homeroom: Destiny 867
ELA
Exner's homeroom: Arin 865
Evans' homeroom: Emily 873, Collin 873
Heaberlin's homeroom: Christopher 884
Math
Exner's homeroom: Dalton 894
Evans' homeroom: Emily 894, Robert 894
Heaberlin's homeroom: Stormy 872
Science
Exner's homeroom: Josh 916
Evans' homeroom: Emily 878
Heaberlin's homeroom: Christopher 871
Social Studies
Exner's homeroom: Josh 858
Evans' homeroom:Kailey P. 847
Heaberlin's homeroom: Drake 847, Christopher 847

A visit from the Mayor

On Wednesday, Mayor Josh Evans came to visit the 3rd and 5th graders. Mayor Evans told us about some of the history of Moreland. Did you know Moreland was named after John Moreland who was a doctor? Moreland used to have a railroad station called Pucket Station where 5 sets of tracks ran through the town. We learned that a Mayor doesn't actually have a vote in the meetings unless there is a tie. We were impressed to learn that Mayor Evans is the youngest Mayor Moreland has ever had as well as the first visually impaired Mayor. He sees his job as a way to give back to the community he grew up in because it doesn't pay much.

Bailey's limerick

MacKenzie's story

Wednesday Night
By
Mackenzie
We were at church on Wednesday night having class. We knew that bad weather was coming but, it was sunny. We were done with class and mom had to clean up. But at 7:50, it hit! Hail the size of pennies pounded everything and it covered the ground. Lightening popping everywhere, we were terrified. Finally, it stopped.
Meanwhile, my dad was at home. We decided to go home too. About half way home mom’s cell phone rang. My dad said to stay there because a tornado was hitting. He said it sounded like a freight train. Then, it was alright.
When we got home, the power was out, TV out, telephone out and silence. My Grandma, who had just had surgery and wasn’t supposed to be driving, drove to our house. She was so scared. About 10 minutes later, a big boom, we ran to the closet. We stayed in the closet for awhile. Then, we went back to the living room and waited about 30 minutes. Then, Grandma went home. We went to see what damage the storm made. We saw Bear Creek Farm, two houses away from us, destroyed. Also, my aunt’s roof came off and a semi flipped over. But now, my dad is making a storm shelter for us, so we will be safe.

We're Funded!!

I just received word that our "Donors Choose" project has been fully funded. We will be receiving two Flip video cameras for students to use in creating digital projects. We are so greatful to American Express Members and Judge Clayton for sponsoring our project. Click on the link to the right to learn more about this project or the Donors Choose organization. Stay tuned here to see all the exciting things students come up with for this new classroom tool.

Collin

Collin, a 5th grader at Moreland Elementary, has been hospitalized at Egleston for Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis. This is an autoimmune disease where your body attacks your spinal cord. They do expect him to make a full recovery but it could take several weeks to months and he will most likely need physical therapy.
He is currently being heavily sedated in order to prevent him from moving his lower extremities.
Please keep him in your prayers!

Collin's limerick

Christopher's Limerick

Chelsea's Limerick

Brandy's Limerick

State Writing Test

We took the state writing test today, and I think the students did really well. Based on my observations, students worked really hard. They seemed focused. They planned, drafted, revised, edited, and rewrote their compositions. Most seemed to be satisfied with their topic and able to produce writing of more than a page. No matter what the scorers say, I know they've come a long way and really developed into writers.

RAK writing

Students recently worked on writing an essay on a schoolwide assigned topic-Random Acts of Kindness. They used the 4 square format and were required to have 4 paragraphs with 5 sentences in each paragraph. The focus of this essay was organization and ideas. Most of the students did well with this assignment. Here is an example of an A paper by Katie (I did not make any corrections):

It is fun and easy to do RAK. RAK stands for Random Acts of Kindness. You should really do RAK for the environment and friends. But the question is do you show RAK everyday? I do and you should too. So let me tell you the many ways you could show RAK.
You could show RAK towards family and friends. You should call or hug a family or friend if something bad happens to them or someone. If your grandparents are learning something new that you know how to do you should help them learn it! You could play with your cousins or little brother or sister while your parents are talking about something important.
Do you show RAK towards the environment? Sure you may not litter and you may save water but you could do more than that. You should recycle and donate items to Good Will. Your family could even volunteer to plant trees at your local park. Also if you live by the road you could pick up trash by it.
Everyone should show RAK. Whether it’s volunteering or just calling to say hello these are all ways of showing RAK. The world would be a better place if people showed RAK.

reporter Katie

Today we learned about persuasive writing. We had SAFE and learned about self-esteem. Then in Mrs. Heaberlin's classroom, we drew pictures of the book Mr. Tucket. At lunch we had hamburgers and at recess we played Shark Attack and 4 Square. Mr. Exner taught us how to play math baseball. Then we picked up our bookbags and went to PE. In PE we did PE challenges. The challenges are: volleyball, hoola hoop for 30 seconds, jump rope for a minute and a half, balance beam, pattle ball, and catch and throw.

From your favorite reporter
Katie

K kids

 

Reporter Destiny

At school we had so much fun. One thing that happened in Mrs. Evans class was we started working on writing for a contest. When we went to Mrs. Heaberlin, we read more of Mr. Tucket and finished the whole book. It was an interesting book to read. Then K-Kids went on a field trip to Kiwana's lunch, an they had a very good time. Next we went to lunch and these were our choices: Hamburger or chicken Fajita. After lunch, we went to Mr. Exner's class for math and played Greatest Common Factor. Then we went back to Mrs. Evans and some people went to extended day and some people went to P.E.

Reported by Destiny

Reporter Dillian

Today was a great day at school. First we did our Language; we have been learning about simple, compound, and complex sentences. Next was our social studies and then reading and science. Finally we went to math. Then we went to lunch and recess. There was no music today because Mrs. Wakefield went home sick. We hope she feels better. We stayed in the room and played Pictionary on the Smartboard.
Dillian

4H District Project Achievement

We had several students who attended 4H District Project Achievement in Rome Saturday.
The girls did wonderful this weekend.
Kailey - 1st place in "Horse"
Emily - 1st place in "Vet Science"
McKenzie - 3rd for "Art"
Stormy - 2nd place for "Safety"
Marissa- Conservation and Recycling
Mackenzie- Performing Arts/Instrumental

Also, Austin Willis in 4th grade attended and scored 3rd place.
Congratulations to all!!!!!!!