October looks to be a busy month in Room 15. In addition to a very rigorous schedule in math, reading, writing, and history, students have numerous special events and two extra days off.

First of all, this Wednesday, October 5th, is Walk and Bike to School Day. Students are gathering at Premier West Bank and Dave’s Market to start the procession. Detailed information went home on Monday.  Sadly, it’s suppose to rain in buckets, so make sure your kids dress for the weather.

The deadline to register for the Sams Valley Mini-Marathon is Wednesday, Oct 12th. Because this is part of the District’s physical education program, all students are expected to participate. Students who register and pay the $6 fee on time will receive the 2011 t-shirt (very cool).  Students who do not participate will be expected to complete a research project on the circulatory system to complete their grade in PE.  That statement is meant to scares ya into scrolling down to find the registration form.

Next, we’ve scheduled our first Adopt-a-Street clean-up for Thursday, Oct. 13th. Room 15 kids will be hitting the streets–er, street–cleaning up litter. Our adopted street is Hopkins Street.  Kids will be wearing safety vests and nitrile gloves, but we need at least five parent-volunteers to join us for this event. Detailed information and permission slips go home on Monday of this week.

Kids have an extra day off on Friday, October 14th. This used to be the Columbus Day holiday, but these days it is “State-wide Inservice Day,” a day for teachers to attend special workshops and trainings at various locations around the state. Parents, ask your kids why we don’t celebrate Columbus Day.

Next, the CPE Harvest Fair is scheduled for the evening of Saturday, October 22nd. This is CPE’s anwer to Halloween, so kids are encouraged to dress up and come on down for games, candy, and more at the CPE gym and cafeteria. Room 15 is in charge of the Basketball Toss booth, and we’ll need parent-volunteers to help.  Detailed information will be sent home this week.

October 28th is another day off for kids. This is a professional development day for teachers. That’s right, more training.

Finally, Friday, October 31st is one of the biggest events of the entire school year. It’s the 37th running of the Sams Valley Mini-Marathon. Over six-hundred 4th and 5th graders from all five District 6 schools will be bussed to Sams Valley for the 5000 kilometer (3.1 mile) walk/jog/run race through the Sams Valley countryside. The starting pistol sounds at 9:30. If you’d like to watch it, get there early and find a spot along the route. If you’d like to run/walk it with your kids, get there early to find a parking spot. If you’d like to join us on the bus, let me know and we’ll see what we can do.

Whew!  If that’s not enough, we still have all that class work. New “mini-” book clubs in 5th grade reading as well as a set of class plays (which we’ll likely perform on 26th or 27th–families are invited to attend), student web pages, a math test possibly as early as this Friday, and much more. Here’s the 4th grade math homework for this week: Monday, October 3rd, Tuesday, October 4th, Wednesday, October 5th, Thursday, October 6th.