Cool Poems and Patterns

Peanut-Butter Sandwich

by Shel Silverstein

Where The Sidewalk Ends
(see if you can pick up the rhyming pattern... this is one of Mr. G's favorite poems to read out loud.....) 

I'll sing you a poem of a silly young king
Who played with the world at the end of a string,
But he only loved one single thing—
And that was just a peanut-butter sandwich.

His scepter and his royal gowns,
His regal throne and golden crowns
Were brown and sticky from the mounds
And drippings from each peanut-butter sandwich.


His subjects all were silly fools
For he had passed a royal rule
That all that they could learn in school
Was how to make a peanut-butter sandwich.


He would not eat his sovereign steak,
He scorned his soup and kingly cake,
And told his courtly cook to bake
An extra-sticky peanut-butter sandwich.


And then one day he took a bit
And started chewing with delight,
But found his mouth was stuck quite tight
From that last bite of peanut-butter sandwich.


His brother pulled, his sister pried,
The wizard pushed, his mother cried,
"My boy's committed suicide
From eating his last peanut-butter sandwich!"


The dentist came, and the royal doc.
The royal plumber banged and knocked,
But still those jaws stayed tightly locked.
Oh darn that sticky peanut-butter sandwich!


The carpenter, he tried with pliers,
The telephone man tried with wires,
The firemen, they tried with fire,
But couldn't melt that peanut-butter sandwich.


With ropes and pulleys, drills and coil,
With steam and lubricating oil—
For twenty years of tears and toil—
They fought that awful peanut-butter sandwich.


Then all his royal subjects came.
They hooked his jaws with grapplin' chains
And pulled both ways with might and main
Against that stubborn peanut-butter sandwich.


Each man and woman, girl and boy
Put down their ploughs and pots and toys
And pulled until kerack! Oh, joy—
They broke right through that peanut-butter sandwich.


A puff of dust, a screech, a squeak—
The king's jaw opened with a creak.
And then in voice so faint and weak—
The first words that they heard him speak
Were, "How about a peanut-butter sandwich?"

Stopping by Woods........

Whose woods these are I think I know.  
His house is in the village though;  
He will not see me stopping here  
To watch his woods fill up with snow.  

My little horse must think it queer  
To stop without a farmhouse near  
Between the woods and frozen lake  
The darkest evening of the year.  

He gives his harness bells a shake  
To ask if there is some mistake.  
The only other sound’s the sweep  
Of easy wind and downy flake.  

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.  
But I have promises to keep,  
And miles to go before I sleep,  
And miles to go before I sleep.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

~We learned about Robert Frost today in writing.  We focused on his most famous poem Walking by Woods on a Snowy Evening.  We argued, listened, discussed, and debated what this poem was about.  The cool think about the poem is that Mr. Frost never told anyone what it was actually about.  Is is about a depressed man? Santa Claus?  a man leaving his job?  a man leaving his family? an old mean thin king about dying? a man admiring nature? a man thinking about G_d? We had some awesome discussions while learning about verse, stanza, rhyming patterns, and tone. 

Meeting Shmuel

~We finally met the boy in the striped pajamas from The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.  His name is Shmuel (pronounced shmoo-el).  He is from Poland and he has the same birthday as Bruno.  He comes to the fence to get away from the chaos and violence of Out With. We are really cruising along with this novel.  Today we really found out how naive Bruno is concerning the camp.  He was actually jealous of Shmuel's situation in the camp.

Permission Slips Went Home Today!

~Permission slips for our End of Year Trip went home today!  You have until April 10th to turn in the money with the slip. There will be no extensions.  No money will be accepted after the 10th. The cost is $55, which includes (1)entry to the park, (2) transportation on a Coach Bus, and (3)the Grade 5 Cookout on the 6th.  Parents who drive, the cost is $30.  

~Any child who receives a discipline referral  between now and June 5, will NOT be allowed to attend trip.

Bruno learns a little.....

~The weather was beautiful today!  The perfect day to get back to our partner and small group reading!  Our story is starting to really get rolling!  Bruno's mother is off spending money in town, his father is on the other side of the fence with the striped pajama people.  And Gretel...well let's just say she is up to no good!  Bruno finally meets  the man who serves his food every day.  His name is Pavel.  He helps Bruno when he falls off his homemade swing!  He says he was once a doctor?????  Why is he cutting up vegetables in Bruno's kitchen?  We are also drawing conclusions about Lieutenant Kotler.  We are figuring out he  is not a good man....in the words of Bruno, "he is just plain nasty".  We also learned a little bit about mother.  She plans on protecting Pavel from father....... Can she?

 John, Justin, Cam, and VIlla

 Radizzle, Shubey, Pomales, amd Moeayad

 Tub Girls

 Octi, Biscuit and Ralphi

 They "red" their story... get it?

 Mr. G's group

 Daniel, Briley, and Kayla

 Izzy, Tess, and Big Red

 Get back to work Dawn, Geo and Judge

 Olivia and Kylie

Mrs. Grasely and her Crew

End of Month Luncheon 3-1-13

February's End of Month Luncehon is schedulaed for next Friday... March 1st.  Be on the lookout for your child's invitation next Monday and Tuesday!

New Word Study:

Test: Wednesday Feb. 27

1. custom

2. determination

3. extended

4. inherited

5. raid

6. reputation

7. respect

8. Native American

9. Sioux

END OF YEAR TRIP!

~Our Fifth Grade End of Year Trip has been booked for June 5th!  We will be riding in air-conditioned coach buses (with bathrooms) to Wild Adventures Theme park in Valdosta, GA.  The cost of the trip will be $55 for students (same as last year).  This includes the bus ride, ticket into the park, and admission to the Grade 5 Cookout the following day on the 6th.  Parents who wish to drive their own vehicles will pay $25.  Please note that it will cost roughly $40-$60 in gas round trip if you drive.    

~If you are not into amusement rides, there are plenty of other attractions at this theme park.  Mrs. Goodman and Mr. Gibbons go on ALL the rides!  We travel with the kids, and stay with the kids.  

~Permission slips will be coming home next week.  All money (cash only) will be due the first week in April.  Any behavior referrals between NOW and the trip will mean YOU DO NOT GO ON TRIP. < That is a period.

~We took our Grade 5 Trip here last year, and it was awesome.  There were no lines AT ALL!

Holocaust Survivor Living in Jacksonville

~Morris Bendit is a survivor of the Holocaust.  He was born in the Ukraine and deported to Romania along with his entire family.  He now lives in Jacksonville with his wife.  Here is a bit of his story:

Bendit, 72, was two months old when his father was forced to enlist into the Russian Army to fight the German Nazi’s who were systematically taking over European countries. While en route his father’s train was attached by German bombers. His father did not survive. Four months later, Romanian troops entered Chernovitz.
“In October 1941, my family and I were deported to a province created by the Germans in Ukraine called Transnistria to annihilate (wipe out)  the Ukrainian and Romanian Jews. Romania had become allies with Germany,” said Bendit.
“I was with my maternal grandparents, paternal grandmother, mother, four uncles and an aunt. We were put on cattle cars and taken to the ‘killing fields.’ Transistria means ‘beyond the river.’ Many people were killed going over the river and those of us who did made it endured a horrible existence. There was no food, clothing and it was brutally cold. In the concentration camps it was a quick death, but here it was a slow death,” Bendit continued. 


~In a couple of weeks, Mr. Bendit will be coming by Room 71 to speak with the Apes about his experiences during WWII  and the Holocaust.

Connection Section: Auschwitz

~Remember, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a fable... it is not true.  It is however based on a real place, AUSCHWITZ (Out With)!  Below is a picture of the real Commandant's house...and the real Commandant (Boss), Rudolf Hoess.

Valentine Pictures!

 ~Our PTA rocks!

 Thanks Mrs. Pickles and Rakeel!

STAR Student!

 ~Congratulations to Jonathan and Alfred!  They are this week's STAR Students!  They both work hard and never let their motuhs get them into trouble!  They rock!

Another Ape Success Story

Read about former Gibbon Ape Jocelyn Gonzalez.  Click HERE!
~Jocelyn was born in Los Angeles, California.  Here favorite subject was reading, and her favorite book was the book we are reading right now... The Boy in the Striped Pajamas!  She was an awesome student and has worked hard to creat an awesome reputation for herself!  We are proud of you Jocelyn!

What's New?

 ~We are almost finished with our Holocaust memorial project, we still have a few stragglers finishing up their projects.  Stop by outside Room 71 to read some of them..... they are really informative and emotional.

 ~We began our final Holocaust study novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas this week!  Me met Bruno, an extremely naive but normal 9 year old German boy from Berlin whose father wears a very decorated military uniform.  We also met his annoying sister Gretel.  Neither Bruno or Gretel appreciate having the whole family moved to Outwith.  We are really enjoying this novel.

In Memorial

~In memorial of two survivors........

80 POINT CLUB

~Congratulations to Briley, Eugene and Joey Akerns!  They all earned their 80th Accelerated Reader Point.  Keep up the god work!

CHARACTER

~Character is what you do when nobody is looking.  Character is doing nice things and not seeking attention for it....... Thanks for being a good example of character this week by donating all your hair so a little sick girl who has lost her hair can wear a nice luxurious wig to school.

STAR Students 2-8-13

~Congratulations to Raha and Axel.  They are this week's STAR Students for consistently going above an beyond and handling their responsibilities, and constantly being good examples of CHARACTER!

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

~We finished Milkweed today.  We discovered that even though Uri shot Misha, it was an act of love.  Misha survived and emigrated to America where the immigration officer gave him the name Jack.  He finally ended up Jack Milgrom.  Jack ended up a homeless man on the streets of Philadelphia who ranted and raved about the Warsaw Ghetto.  He was just looking for someone to hear what he had to say.  One woman took care of him and fell in love with him and married him!  She did not realize that Jack was a little "not right" after what he had been through.  She left him.  Thirty years later a woman shows up and tells Jack (Misha) that she is his daughter.  She allows Jack to give her daughter (Misha's granddaughter) a middle name.  He does not hesitate and names her Wendy "Janina".  At this moment his nightmares of the Jackboots end and he plants a milkweed in his yard for all the future angels.  Surprisingly, about 90% said this was the best book they ever read!  I agree....it is my favorite too! 

~Everyone in Misha's life has told him who he was.  First they called him Thief, then they called him Gypsy, then Jew, then Misha Pilsudski, the Misha Milgrom, then Smelly Smuggler, then Filthy Son of Abraham, then Cookoo, then Jack, but Wendy Janina gives him his last and final name and tells him who he is..."Poppynoodle".

New Members of the 80 POINT CLUB!

~Congratulations to Dawn, Daniel, and Big Red.  They all earned their 80th point, and their gum ball machines in Accelerated Reader...... WAY TO GO!

Gerald R. Ford

~To learn some cool facts about Gerald Ford Click HERE!

Finishing Up.

 ~Many of the Apes have finished their published piece for the Holocaust Memorial.  Stop on by and read some inspiring and tragic biographical tributes to the survivors and victims.