Monday, November 25, 2013

November 25th Newsletter

5th Grade Newsletter
November 25, 2013  
Upcoming Dates:
  • 11/22,25-26-Science Benchmark
  • 11/27-11/29- No School Thanksgiving Break
  • 12/3-5; ELA Benchmark Testing
Grades went home last Monday please sign the top portion of the report card and send it back.
Parents-
  • Please note that cell phones are NOT allowed to be on during school hours. If cell phones are seen or heard they will be immediately taken to the school office for parent pick up. These and other electronic items are a distraction from the learning process.
  • Students will be going outside for recess unless the temperature is 20 degrees or below. Please encourage your child to dress weather appropriate, for they will be going out unless there is a doctor’s note.
  • Mid Quarter Grades went home last week for 2nd quarter. Please make sure the top portion is signed and returned to homeroom teacher.
MATH: This week in Math we will be will be starting Module 2 which will cover multiplication of multi-digit whole numbers & decimals, division of multi-digit whole numbers and decimals, and estimation using multiplication & division with whole numbers and decimals.  
If you have questions or concerns please email your student’s math teacher: nsiders@stjschools.org, bblankenship@stjschools.org, or swatson@stjschools.org. You can also visit the class web pages http://stjschools.org/fifth-grade/ for games and other sites to help review.

ELA: Please discuss the statement, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” with your child.
Mrs. Kemnitzer and Mrs. Shultz: Due to benchmark testing and the low performance on AR during the first half of second quarter, Mrs. Kemnitzer and Mrs. Shultz have assigned each student points to reach. This means that your child will be required to earn his or her AR goal “the old fashioned way.” Attendance is important! We are working on main idea and details this week. Verb tense will also begin with a review of verbs and past, present, and future tense. As we wrap up our historical nonfiction on the Gold Rush, we will move in to a class reading of the book, Monday With a Mad Genius as we study Leonardo Davinci.  Please remember, if you ever have questions or would like to contact Mrs. Kemnitzer or Mrs. Shultz you can do so by writing a note in the red folder, calling us at 265-2300 x4292 or emailing dkemnitzer@stjschools.org and kshultz@stjschools.org.
Sandusky: There have been a lot of absences lately, please make sure you are familiar with the absent work policy below. Reading Logs over Thanksgiving Break are for EXTRA CREDIT. This is the only time that extra credit will be offered during second quarter. Every hour read will count as a point up to 20 points. Minutes will also go towards our class reading log graph. Last week students read over 12,000 additional minutes at home! Extra credit book logs will be due Monday December 2nd, and will NOT be taken after that point in time. The same rules applies to the extra credit log as normal book logs, it must have a parent signature, times read, pages read, and a total amount of minutes. Please note ELA testing is when we return, students will be required to complete all three portions of the test, so if they’re absent it means they will miss instruction at some other point to make up their test. This week students are finishing their research about their inventor and will be writing their research paper starting next week.  Absent work; Please note, every time a child is absent I place their work on a board in my classroom. It is their responsibility to check it the next day they are present, do the work, and turn it into the absent tray. Absent work NOT turned in will result in a zero. There is no penalty for absent work being late. The students know and have had this procedure explained to them many times. If you let me know your child will be absent, or during the day of your child’s absence I can gather work and get it to the office by the end of the day. As always, if you should need anything, please contact me at; bsandusky@stjschools.org.
Engelbrecht: We are reviewing synonyms and antonyms and nouns. In writing we are publishing our papers about an inventor or a creative thinker they are due Tuesday. We will be writing and reading about Renaissance Art. In reading we will be reviewing summarizing and connections. NO BOOK LOGS THIS WEEK!  
Science: We will be benchmark testing on November 22,25,26 to get data and help drive instruction. Please make sure your child is here these days!
We are working on simple machines this week, and will be exploring what simple machines we have in our home.
Week 4
PE 1
Art
Music1
PE 2
Computers
Music 2
Monday
Shultz
Sandusky
Engelbrecht
Watson
Blankenship
Siders
Tuesday
Sandusky
Engelbrecht
Watson
Blankenship
Siders
Shultz