Headlines 12/12

The Headlines

 

It has been a super-productive week in 5B.  I know it was a very test heavy week, but the kids did remarkably well and I could tell there was a lot of studying that happened!

 

Math:  We reviewed and tested over Unit 4 this week and most of the students did well.  I will be sending the tests home next week and corrections will be due the following day.  We began Unit 5 on measurement and will continue that next week, looking at multi-shaped figures.

 

Literature:  We finished The Hobbit, and loved it!  Next week we will complete a final writing assignment in which the students will complete a story map, summary, and illustration for their favorite chapter.

 

 Writing:  This week we focused on prepositions used as adverbs and adjectives and reviewed our sentence diagramming.  This review will continue next week and we will take a grammar test next Wednesday.  I will hold a tutoring session for Grammar on Monday from 2:45-3:20, so please make sure your child attends if they are struggling in this area. 

 

Science: We completed our Mitosis unit this week and I am sure you all heard about our bone dissection!  Although it was a stinky activity, it was a pretty cool introduction to our unit on bones.  Next week we will begin looking at the bones of the upper body.

 

History:  We took the final test over The Reformation and started our first unit studying the 50 states.  We will be looking at The Northeast region.

 

 

 

                                                   Announcements:

Thank you to our class parents for setting up the Sign-Up Genius for our literature celebration.  If you have not had the chance to sign up check out what is left:

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0A45ABAB2BA6F94-5thgrade/21036496

 

Also, thank you so much to the parents who came in last minute and made our state books, we really appreciate your help and these will be great tools for the kids to use.

 

As you know the week before break can be a very exciting time for the kids (and teachers!).  However, we still have a lot of learning to do, so it is very important that the students come to school ready to learn and focus!  This may be a good reminder to share with your fifth grader J

 

Important Dates:

 

Wednesday, 12/17: Grammar Test

Friday 12/19: Roots Test

Thursday 12/18, Friday 12/19: Half Days, 11:45 am Release

12/22-1/5: No School, Winter Break

 

Wish List:

 

We are set right now!

Tax Credit Contest!

Thank you to all our families that have donated their tax credit already or have asked someone else to donate their tax credit to Arete!   Below is a table that shows where each section is pertaining to the contest.  This is a no-cost donation that supports our sports programs, clubs and other character building activities.   Please click HERE to schedule your tax credit donation for a later date or pay on-line today.  You may also print out a form, attach a check and send back with your child.  I will make sure it reaches Michele Wilson for you.

LET’S TAKE THE CREDIT AND TAKE THE LEAD!

Grade/Section	Class Size	# of Donations Received	Tax Credit Participation %
KA	31	5	16%
KB	30	6	20%
KC	30	7	23%
1A	30	8	27%
1B	31	3	10%
1C	30	6	20%
2A	30	2	7%
2B	30	6	20%
2C	32	1	3%
3A	31	1	3%
3B	30	3	10%
3C	32	6	19%
4A	30	2	7%
4B	31	2	6%
4C	30	4	13%
5A	29	1	3%
5B	30	3	10%
5C	28	7	25%

 

Headlines, 12/7/14

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and is preparing for the Holiday season.  We are working very hard in all of our subjects and expect to end 2014 with gusto!

Math:  We have spent the last week discussing how to divide fractions and ended the week with bar models.  For most students the algorithms were easy to understand, but we spend quite a bit of time looking at models to help learn the concept of the arithmetic.  We will test over Unit 4 on Wednesday or Thursday of this week and will be working on a study guide to take home.  Tutoring will be after school on Tuesday from 2:45-3:20.

Literature:  We only have a few more chapters to finish in The Hobbit.  The class is doing an excellent job of story mapping and using context clues to find meaning of new vocabulary.  We will he having a Literature Celebration on the 19^th and a sign-up genius will be sent out in the next few days.

 Writing:  We reviewed sentence diagramming last week and also began discussing adverbs.  Even though this can be a difficult skill to master, the kids are really starting to catch on.  We will look at prepositions next week.

Spalding:  Our words are becoming more difficult and we are beginning to see how important it is to know how the rules help us spell.  Students who receive a 100% on their pre-test do not have to take the Friday test!

Science: I hope everyone enjoyed their lessons in Mitosis, I saw some very creative work that was done!  We will be completing the study guide and reviewing in class tomorrow and will take the test on Tuesday.  We move on to Human Body Systems next, starting with the skeleton. 

History:  This week we spent quite a bit of time looking at Galileo as well as the counter-reformation in Europe.  Next week we will learn about Copernicus and will complete the study guide over the unit.  Our test will be Wednesday or Thursday.  The next unit will be over the states.

                                                   Announcements:

Thank you so much for all of your generous donations for our service project.  Our class had a total of 88 donations! 

The results of the homework survey have been reported and I thank you all for your feedback.  The majority of you stated that you spend an average of 60-75 minutes on homework each night and that you are available to help when needed.  The subjects that require the most attention are history, language arts, and math.  Most of you said that you felt you had the resources needed to complete work, however a few of you said that you would like to have more textbooks.

This is such useful information for us as teachers and administrators in guiding our planning.  Homework should not take more than 60-75 minutes, and I do not want it to be a time of stress for your family.  If it is taking longer than that, please feel free to stop and drop me a note.  I can help during recess and before or after school.                                              

Important Dates:

Tuesday, 12/9: Science Test

Thursday 12/18, Friday 12/19: Half Days, 11:45 am Release
Friday 12/19: Greek and Latin Roots Test

12/22-1/5: No School, Winter Break

A few pictures from our Oreo Mitosis Activity!

Spelling Words

This weeks Spelling!

further

serious

doubt

condition

government

govern

opinion

onion

union

companion

million

behavior

believe

system

possibly

possible

piece

peace

certainly

certain

witness

investigate

therefore

before

pleasant

ability

appearance

atmospheric

atmosphere

autumn

I am looking forward to seeing everyone tonight for the concert.  The class has been working very hard on thier performance.  As a reminder, everyone should wear a white shirt; boys wear black pants and girls wear a black skirt.

Students should arrive in the classroom at 6:40 and the concert begins at 7:00.  After the concert they will return to the classsroom where you can retrieve them.

See you tonight!

The Headlines, 11-24

The Headlines

 

It’s hard to believe that we are already upon the holidays and Thanksgiving is this week.  We are looking forward to a short, but productive week!

Math:  The class as a whole did very well on their unit 3 test.  I am especially proud of how well they are doing with using bar models to solve word problems.  This week we will start dividing fractions by fractions.  I am also planning on having a few more quizzes in math throughout our units.  I feel it will help assess how the students are doing throughout the unit and will also help me see who may need extra tutoring.

Literature:  We have reached Chapter 7 of the Hobbit and the students are doing an excellent job of practicing story mapping and pulling out main events.  This week we will be doing a character study based on one of the many interesting characters we have met thus far in the book.

 Writing:  Everyone seems to be grasping our study of adjectives and their role in a sentence.  We are becoming grammar detectives by looking for clues to help us find what job a word is doing.  Ask your kiddo to tell you the four questions that adjectives answer!  We will be having a short quiz on adjectives on Wednesday, so be looking for the grammar spiral to be coming home.

Spalding:  We had a short word list last week as I unknowingly had worked ahead.  This week we will have only fifteen words which they will receive on Monday.  We also started taking the pre-test in class last week.  If a 100% is earned then the students do not need to take the test on Friday.  If words are missed the homework Thursday is to write only those words three times.  However, because of the short week we will have only one test on Wednesday this week.

 

Science: We completed our unit on plant cells and started learning about Mitosis last week.  We discussed what mitosis is and how it affects our bodies.  This week we will begin looking at the different phases of mitosis.

History:  We have had some great discussions as we have looked at the beginning of the Reformation.  This is a really interesting time in history and the students seem to be really enjoying the ideas.  I am looking forward to reading all of their newspaper articles on the printing press.  We will be doing peer editing on these this week and the final draft will be due Wednesday.

 

                                                      Reminders:                           

 

The winter uniform policy will go into effect once we return from Thanksgiving Break.  Students will no longer be permitted to wear shorts to school. Girls must wear white or navy knee-high Masocks or nylon tights with their skirts, skorts, or jumpers. Navy or black socks must be worn with pants. Jackets and sweaters free of pop-culture icons may be worn outside; however, only approved sweaters and pullovers with the logo may be worn in the building. Spirit wear is not uniform-approved attire, so it is not permitted in class.

Our service project has begun!

2014 Archway Holiday Hope and Relief Effort

 

Our goal this year collectively as an Archway Arete community is to provide relief to the town of Hyder Arizona.  The town of Hyder, located in Yuma County, was once a World War II desert training ground for General Patton’s troops, but is now known as a ghost town.  It is populated today by hardworking shrimp, tilapia, and date farmers.  Income is very low and with only one general store the people of the town face many challenges to meet daily nutrition, housing, and hygiene needs.

 

The drive is being run by the Veselovsky family, one of our own Archway families and we are asking the rest of Archway Arete community if they can generously donate the following items to the people of the town of Hyder, Arizona during this holiday season:

 

Kindergarten:  Dental hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash

First Grade:  Toilet paper & paper towels

Second Grade:  Canned food

Third Grade:  Dry rice, dry beans, dry pasta

Fourth Grade:  Flour, sugar, oats

Fifth Grade:  Hygiene items such as deodorant, shampoo, conditioner & body wash

 

You may begin dropping off collections to the classroom starting on Monday, November 17, 2014.  The collection will end on, Friday December 5, 2014.  Thank you in advance for your generous support and greathearted effort. 

 

 Important Dates:

 

Wednesday, 11/26: Half Day, 11:45 am Release

11/27 – 11/28: No School, Thanksgiving Break

 

Wish List:

 

Thank you so much for the glue sticks and sharpies, as well as for all of the donations for our service project. We appreciate your generosity!

 We are doing a science activity on Wednesday that  requires Oreos and large candy sprinkles.  If you are able to send either of these in with your fifth grader we would appreciate it!

If I don’t see you, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the time with your family.  I am so grateful to work in a school with such supportive and caring parents and for each of the amazing kiddos in our class. 

 

 

Headlines, 11/17

The Headlines

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed this cool weather!  It is finally starting to feel like fall J

 

Math:  Last week we continued our unit on fractions.  We discussed how to convert measurements from larger units to smaller units, as well as from smaller to larger.  We also practiced using bar models to solve problems.  Students should have brought home and completed a study guide for the unit over the weekend.  Our test will be Wednesday and we will be reviewing today.  I will be holding a tutoring session for those who would like to attend tomorrow from 2:50-3:25.  We will also be starting our new math unit where we will continue to build on our fraction knowledge.

 

Literature:  We are really enjoying our reading of The Hobbit.  We have been practicing making annotations as we read which is a skill that our scholars will be using throughout their careers as Great Hearts students.

 

 Writing:  I was very pleased with the scores on our noun jobs test. I know these are advanced concepts for the kids, but they are working very hard and next year they will be ahead of the game!  We are moving on to adjectives and adverbs this week, so be looking for these notes to come home with your students.

 

 

Spalding:  I hope everyone has found the list of words on the blog helpful.  Please note these have not been marked and students should still have their words dictated  to them and should write them three times with markings and rules.

 

Science: We have continued our study of plant cells, primarily by looking at the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells.  Our quiz over this unit will be on Wednesday and then we will be moving to Mitosis.

 

History:  The class as a whole did FANTASTIC on the history test!  I am very proud of the study skills they showed.  We began our study of The Reformation by looking at the Printing Press and how it impacted the world.  This week we will begin a newspaper activity and will study the life of Martin Luther.

 

 

 

                                                      Reminders:                           

The winter uniform policy will go into effect once we return from Thanksgiving Break.  Students will no longer be permitted to wear shorts to school. Girls must wear white or navy knee-high Masocks or nylon tights with their skirts, skorts, or jumpers. Navy or black socks must be worn with pants. Jackets and sweaters free of pop-culture icons may be worn outside; however, only approved sweaters and pullovers with the logo may be worn in the building. Spirit wear is not uniform-approved attire, so it is not permitted in class.

 

Our service project has begun!

2014 Archway Holiday Hope and Relief Effort

 

Our goal this year collectively as an Archway Arete community is to provide relief to the town of Hyder Arizona.  The town of Hyder, located in Yuma County, was once a World War II desert training ground for General Patton’s troops, but is now known as a ghost town.  It is populated today by hardworking shrimp, tilapia, and date farmers.  Income is very low and with only one general store the people of the town face many challenges to meet daily nutrition, housing, and hygiene needs.

 

The drive is being run by the Veselovsky family, one of our own Archway families and we are asking the rest of Archway Arete community if they can generously donate the following items to the people of the town of Hyder, Arizona during this holiday season:

 

Kindergarten:  Dental hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash

First Grade:  Toilet paper & paper towels

Second Grade:  Canned food

Third Grade:  Dry rice, dry beans, dry pasta

Fourth Grade:  Flour, sugar, oats

Fifth Grade:  Hygiene items such as deodorant, shampoo, conditioner & body wash

 

You may begin dropping off collections to the classroom starting on Monday, November 17, 2014.  The collection will end on, Friday December 5, 2014.  Thank you in advance for your generous support and greathearted effort. 

 

 

 

 

Important Dates:

 

Wednesday, 11/19: Plant Cell Quiz, Math Test

Wednesday, 11/26: Half Day, 11:45 am Release

11/27 – 11/28: No School, Thanksgiving Break

 

Wish List:

 

Some students do not have fine-tip black Sharpies (or Sharpie like pens), if you see these on sale we would love to have some extras, as we use these for projects.

 

We are in great need of glue sticks!