Headlines 5/23

We are almost there!  Today marks the last week of elementary school for these not so little kids.  The excitement is evident and the students are ready for promotion and celebrations.  We do have a bit more work to do, so read on for what to be ready for this week. 

Math: This morning we reviewed finding the volume of three dimensional shapes and using those skills in context to solve word problems.  Tomorrow we will review the packet the students worked on today and will take a short quiz to assess their skills.  For the remainder of the week we will play math games to review all we have learned this year.

Writing/Grammar: Today students should have completed their assessment over  Across Five Aprils, by writing a letter from Jethro's point of view to President Lincoln. We also began a short read aloud of The Wise Woman by George Macdonald.  We most likely will not finish the book, but I hope to pique their interest in this beautiful piece of prose.

Science: Today we reviewed the nervous system in class and we will do the same tomorrow.  Students were also put in groups today, and we will be having an egg drop contest in class tomorrow!  Our quiz over the nervous system will be Wednesday.

History:  Today our students chose a topic and worked on writing a letter to President Obama about a topic of their choice!  Tomorrow they will peer and self edit before sending them off in the mail.

Important Dates:

• Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 pm: Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony
• Wednesday, May 25-Friday, May 27: Half Day Dismissal, 12:05 pm
• Friday, May 27, 9:30-11:00 am: End of Year Celebration

Important Information

There has been some confusion about what to wear for the promotion.  Students should be dressed in semi-formal attire.  T-shirts will be handed out as a gift at promotion and they may wear these with uniform pants on Friday.

The following is from the newsletter which went out last week:

The fifth grade promotion ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 25^th at 5:30 p.m. in the gymnasium. Fifth grade students should arrive in the gym at 5:15 and be seated with their class sections. Fifth grade students should follow the semi-formal dress code outlined in the family handbook.   We will have plenty of space in the gymnasium to host your families and friends at this memorable ceremony, so there is no limit on the number of guests each family can bring. Refreshments will be made available to all at the end of the ceremony. Make note that we will not be providing professional video recordings of the ceremonies. We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with your fifth grade students!

For the class party on Friday, our amazing parent volunteers would like for you to know the following:

We are looking forward to celebrating a fabulous school year on Friday May 27th.  All 5^th graders will be celebrating together in the MPR.

 A few details for the party

 1. Students should plan to wear their 5th Grade T-shirts with uniform shorts, pants or skirts.  The shirts will be handed out ahead of time. 

 2. Please remind your student to bring their yearbook if they purchased one! They will be singing them at the party.  

Students who did not order a yearbook can sign the 5^th grade

T-shirts or bring journals/paper to have signed.

3. Students are welcome to bring cameras.  There will be 3 photo booths at the party.  Volunteers will be available to snap photos of students.

Please remind them they are fully responsible for the camera at all times.  Labeling cameras is recommended. 

NOTE: PLEASE make sure that all donations for the party are in your child’s classroom by Wednesday May 25th as we will be checking everything off the list that morning. 

Headlines, 5/16

We are officially in our last full week of school!  Time is truly flying by as we begin to wrap up all of the learning and prepare to send our fifth graders onto the prep.  We will be busy this week and our goal is to stay focused and have fun!

Math: Today we took the Galileo test in Math, so we took a break from our regular curriculum.  Starting tomorrow we will be learning how to find the volume of three dimensional shapes.

Writing/Grammar: To begin our week we will learn how to write a formal business letter and for our final Across Five Aprils Assessment we will be writing a letter from Jethro's point of view to President Lincoln. T

Literature: We have really enjoyed the class discussions and themes that we have focused on in Across Five Aprils.  We will be finishing the book this week and students will receive a participation grade for their vocabulary journal and a test grade for the letter they will be writing in class.  Also, please encourage your students to begin studying for the roots quiz now!  We will be taking the test Tuesday, May 26.

Science: The class has been very interested in The Nervous System and how their brain works.  We will continue delving deeper into their gray matter this week!

History:  This week students will be completing a study guide over The Civil War as this unit comes to a close.  We will be taking the final test on Friday.

Important Dates:

• Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 pm: Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony

The fifth grade promotion ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 25^th at 5:30 p.m. in the gymnasium. Fifth grade students should arrive in the gym at 5:15 and be seated with their class sections. Fifth grade students should follow the semi-formal dress code outlined in the family handbook.   We will have plenty of space in the gymnasium to host your families and friends at this memorable ceremony, so there is no limit on the number of guests each family can bring. Refreshments will be made available to all at the end of the ceremony. Make note that we will not be providing professional video recordings of the ceremonies. We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with your fifth grade students!

• Friday, May 27, 9:30-11:00 am: End of Year Celebration

Headlines 5/10

I am sorry I did not get the blog out yesterday.  My computer is very sadly under the weather.  I am hoping that a quick trip to IT will alleviate the symptoms!  We are doing our best to stay focused and continue our learning this week, with only a couple more weeks to go, we have a lot to accomplish!  

I also want to take this opportunity to say thank you for making Ms. Porcelli and I feel so loved and appreciated last week.  From the wonderful lunches, the coffees, treats, special gifts, and beautiful photo album, we were completely spoiled by you!  It is a true blessing to work in a community that is so kind and encouraging, and it makes teaching here a joyful experience.  I am humbled by the devotion you each have to your children, our school, and the community.  

Math: Our test over angles was very challenging for the students.  This test required a great deal of critical thinking as well as knowledge of the properties of angles.  We will be allowing students to make corrections to their quizzes and raise their grades, and we will be providing help and support in tutoring today and Thursday.  If your child did not do well, please encourage them to attend.  For the remainder of the week we will be reviewing for the cumulative Singapore Assessment.

Writing/Grammar:  The students did very well on the grammar quiz yesterday!  This week we will be using our strong writing skills to complete a character study from Across Five Aprils.

Literature: This week we will continue reading Across Five Aprils.  We will be using the text to discuss how Jethro has changed over the course of the book.  We will be finishing the book next week and students will receive a participation grade for their vocabulary journal.  Also, please encourage your students to begin studying for the roots quiz now!  We will be taking the test Tuesday, May 26.

Science: This afternoon we will be testing over the Endocrine System, and from there we will begin our next unit covering the Nervous System.

History:  We are continuing our study of The Civil War this week by discussing how both African Americans and women helped the war effort, as well as studying the battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg.

Important Dates:

• Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 pm: Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony
• Friday, May 27, 9:30-11:00 am: End of Year Celebration

Headlines 5/2

We are back at it this morning after a lovely three day weekend.   Apparently I was a bit gung-ho last week in my countdown of school days, we NOW have 20 days left of the year, and are working hard to make every moment count!

Math: We are beginning our week with a review of angles.  This unit is not particularly difficult, but does involve quite a bit of problem solving and using the properties we have learned in class.  We will be reviewing in class today and tomorrow with a test either Wednesday or Thursday.

Writing/Grammar:  This week we will fine-tune our skills in writing showing paragraphs and will be reviewing compound and complex sentences.  We will have a short grammar quiz on Friday.

Literature: We are enjoying reading Across Five Aprils, and are adding to our list of vocabulary.  This week we will be using our reading as a springboard for writing.

Science: We will begin the week by learning about the Thyroid Gland and discussing how fight or flight works within the body.  Today the students will begin the Endocrine Study Guide to prepare for the test on Thursday.

History:  We are continuing our study of the Civil War this week by discussing the Emancipation Proclamation as well as learning about some of the major battles fought in the war.

Important Dates:

• Friday, May 8, 11am-1pm: Prep Tour 
• Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 pm: Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony
• Friday, May 27 9:30 am-11:00 am: Yearbook Signing Party (more info to come!)