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Headlines 5/8/17

Thank you so much for making Mrs. McKernan and I feel so loved and appreciated last week. The notes, gift cards, special treats, and flowers were all so amazing and reminded us how blessed we are to be a part of the Arete community. We are grateful for you!

We are still working hard in class and keeping the students busy as we move toward the end of the year!

ELA

Last week we began writing letters to Abraham Lincoln for our final assessment of Across Five Aprils.  We will be typing these in class on Wednesday. We will also be reading short selections from Core Knowledge and discuss plot mapping this week.

The students have a wonderful start on their tall tales and are enjoying allowing their creative juices to flow. This week in writing we will continue our pre-writing and begin the rough drafts of our stories. We will also be reviewing diagramming and parts of speech on Wednesday.

Students will be reciting  “I like to see it lap the miles,” by Emily Dickinson on Wednesday.

We will have our roots quiz on Wednesday and will introduce the last four roots as well. Our final roots test over 75-100 will be on Wednesday May 17th.

Math

Today we completed the MAP testing in Math. For the remainder of the week we will be studying volume. Our last math groups will be this week from 8:00-9:00. Please let me know if you will be able to help!

Science

We are reviewing the endocrine system this week and the test will be on Wednesday. Afterwards, we will introduce the nervous system.

History

This week, students will learn about the reconstruction of the South and their government.. This discussion includes the rights that newly freed slaves gained and the discrimination that came afterwards with the Jim Crow laws. This may be sensitive content for some students, so please have a discussion at home if needed. Study guides for the Civil War test went home on Friday. They will be due on Monday, May 15th. The test will be on Tuesday, May 16th.

Headlines 5/1

Happy May Day! We are in the final stretch of school and I know are students will continue to work hard this month.

The spring concert is Wednesday night at the Higley Center for the Arts, students should arrive by 6:30 and will be directed to sit with their classes until the performance begins.

The fifth grade promotion ceremony is on Wednesday, May 24th at 5:30 pm. Students should wear semi-formal clothes to this event. Boys should wear trousers, a collared shirt, and dress shoes, and girls may wear an outfit appropriate for a religious service or wedding, such as a nice dress. Students should arrive by 5:15 and will be directed to sit with their class.  After the ceremony the PSO will have refreshments to enjoy and you will have the opportunity to take pictures with your friends and teachers! Please let me know if you have any questions or if you know your child will not be able to attend. We are excited to celebrate with you!

Each fifth grader will be given a t-shirt as a gift during promotion as well. Please fill out the following survey with your child's shirt size by Wednesday of this week.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd7EcWqjGB7MkXENaoUliWcdR51mUssIrEuNLyd7m9toZkdfw/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link>       

Finally, thank you so much for your generosity to Mrs. McKernan and I this morning. We are both so grateful to be working with such amazing families. We greatly appreciate your support and love!

ELA:

This week we will finish reading Across Five Aprils. We will have a culminating Socratic discussion over the book and our final assessment will be a letter written from the main character’s point of view.

We will begin our final writing unit this week! The students will be reviewing characteristics of a tall tale and at the end of the week we will be writing our own.  This should be a fun and creative endeavor for the classes!

Our new poem is “I like to see it lap the miles,” by Emily DIckinson. Recitations will be Wednesday, May 10th.

We will have a quiz over roots on Wednesday!

Math:

The beginning of the week will be a review of ratio and we will test over the unit on Tuesday and start our next unit over Volume on Thursday. We will have math groups this week again from 8:50-9:50 due to the music rehearsal first thing in the morning.

Science:

We will be studying the Endocrine system this week with a special focus on Diabetes.
You can expect a test over the Endocrine System on Tuesday of next week. I suggest that students study their notes and reading nightly to prepare.

History:

This week, students will learn about the Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, problems that arose in the Confederate government, the end of the war, and the death of President Lincoln. We will continue to discuss slavery and we will also be discussing how President Lincoln died. This may be sensitive content for some students, so please have a discussion at home if needed.

Headlines 4/24/17

Happy Monday! We have lots going on this week, so please let me know if you have any questions.

Tuesday and Wednesday this week we will have our Human Growth and Development classes which coincides with the Endocrine Unit.

Friday is the Prep tour from 11am-1pm. Students will be touring the school, will have lunch with Prep students, and will have a short presentation from Mrs. Gillingham. Students may bring their lunch as normal, and if your child buys a lunch it will be brought to them. They are also welcome to bring a few dollars to buy additional snacks or drinks.

ELA

We will continue reading Across Five Aprils this week, and should be finished with the novel by next week.

In Writing this week we will be learning about how to write business letters and we will be doing a grammar review activity on Thursday.

Our new poem is “I like to see it lap the miles,” by Emily DIckinson. We will introduce te poem this week and recitations will be Wednesday, May 10th.

We will have a quiz over roots on Wednesday!

Math

We will continue our study of ratio this week. Due to music rehearsal our math groups on Wednesday will be moved to 9-10 am. We would love your help, please let me know if you are able to make it.

Science

We will be studying the Endocrine system this week with a special focus on Human Growth and Development.

History

This week, students will learn about the Emancipation Proclamation, General Grant, General Lee, Stonewall Jackson, the draft, and women in the war effort. We will continue to discuss slavery. This may be sensitive content for some students, so please have a discussion at home if needed.

Headlines 4/20

I apologize for not getting this out yesterday, but our students did a great job on AZMerit. We only have one more day of testing to go! Thursday we will do part two of both Math and Reading.

I hope everyone had a wonderful break and was able to relax and spend time with family. We are in the last stretch of the year and will continue to work hard for the next few weeks!

ELA:

The students are really enjoying  Across Five Aprils in Literature as they are able to make connections as they study The Civil War in History.

Most of the students did very well on their Grammar quiz last week. Tuesday through Thursday we will be taking a break from due to AZMerit testing, however, Friday we will be learning about friendly letters.

We will have a quiz over roots on Wednesday!

Math:

Tuesday and Thursday we will be testing and we will introduce our new unit covering rato on Wednesday and Friday.

Science:

This week we are finishing the skeletal and muscular systems, and beginning the endocrine system. We scheduled a test on Tuesday, but it is now moved to Thursday.

History:

This week, students will learn about the beginning of the Civil War, advantages and disadvantages of the North and South, why the Civil War was called a “Brother’s War”, the North and South’s war strategies, the battle at Antietam, and General McClellan. We will continue to discuss slavery. This may be sensitive content for some students, so please have a discussion at home if needed.

Headlines 4/10/17

We were very week last week and I was very proud of the hard work our students put forth on the writing portion of AZMerit. I have no doubt that their writing will be a wonderful example of the skills they have learned this year.

As a reminder there is no school on Friday or Monday so that your family can enjoy a relaxing Easter weekend. However we will be taking the Math and Reading portion of AZMerit on the Tuesday and Thursday of next week, so please be sure your child is at school and is well rested!

We are in the midst of planning our end of year celebration for our fifth graders for Friday, May 26th from 9:30-11:00. Be on the lookout for a sign-up for supplies and help coming soon.

Thank you so much for all the donations of pencils, glue, dry erase markers, and Kleenex, I am hoping we are stocked until the end of the year!

Also, as a reminder if you want your child to opt out of the Human Growth and Development lessons, the second page of the letter sent home last week needs to be signed and returned.

We have lots happening in the next few weeks, so please let me know if you have any questions!

ELA:

We will are enjoying reading  Across Five Aprils in Literature and will continue to read and discuss this week.

In grammar and writing we will be taking some time to review noun jobs as well as test-taking strategies. Our noun job quiz was moved to Wednesday of this week!

We will have a quiz over roots 84-85  on Wednesday and poetry recitation of, Barbara Frietchie will be on Wednesday as well.

Math:

This week we will be covering graphing line plots and will do a few short lessons covering volume. On Thursday we will be working in groups to review for AZMerit.

 

History:

This week, students will learn about Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, The Kansas-Nebraska Act, Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, Dred Scott, Lincoln-Douglas Debates, John Brown and the Election of 1860. The 50 states study guide is due 4/5. The test will be on Wednesday, 4/12. We will continue to discuss slavery.This may be sensitive content for some students, so please have a discussion at home if needed.

Math:

This week we will be covering graphing line plots and will do a few short lessons covering volume. On Thursday we will be working in groups to review for AZMerit.

Headlines 4/4/17

I apologize for  not getting these out yesterday. Our class had a great week last week. We have started a new contest where the students are earning points for making good choices and the teachers earn points when they are not. Our class has beat the teacher and has been working hard to stay focused and work hard at school!

We have lots going on as we head into April, be sure to read all the news below!

ELA

We are enjoying our reading of Across Five Aprils in Literature. This week we will be looking at how the impact of the Civil War has affected our main character.

Due to technical difficulties last week we will be taking the  writing portion of the AZMerit on Friday. Our students have worked hard and are well prepared to do their best! In writing and grammar we will be reviewing all of the noun jobs and will prepare for the noun job quiz next Monday.

We will have a quiz over roots 80-83 on Wednesday. Students have been put in groups for the poem, Barbara Frietchie, which they will be reciting on Wednesday, April 12th.

Math

We are continuing our study of data analysis this week. We will also be learning about how to use percentages and decimals in conjunction with pie graphs. Our unit test will be on Thursday and we will be having math groups on Wednesday from 8:00-8:45. Please let me know if you would like to help out! Our unit test will be Thursday.

Science

We are studying the human body. There is a muscles quiz on Wednesday!

History

This week, students will learn about the life of a slave, Nat Turner, Brer Rabbit, the Missouri Compromise, the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, and the growing differences between the North and South. The 50 states study guide is due 4/5. The test will be on Wednesday, 4/12. We will continue to discuss slavery.This may be sensitive content for some students, so please have a discussion at home if needed.