Monday, January 26, 2015

January 26, 2015

5th Grade Newsletter
January 26, 2014
Upcoming Dates:
  • January 31- Bagging for Bucks
  • February 2- Parent Teacher Conferences 4-6pm
  • February 3- Parent Teacher Conferences 4-6 pm
  • February 5- Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm
  • February 6- No School
  • February 13- No School Teacher work day
  • February 16-No school Presidents Day

MATH:
Ms. Blankenship - Our Unit 2 test is on Tuesday, January 27. The test will cover place value; rounding and comparing decimals; reading and writing decimals; adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals; as well as multiplying and dividing whole numbers. A study guide was sent home last week that students can use to study. On Wednesday we will pre-test for our unit on fractions. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at bblankenship@stjschools.org or 573-265-2300 ext. 4321.
Mrs. Watson- We will have our Unit 2 test on Tuesday, January 27. Students have a study guide they completed last week in class they can use to study. The test will cover multiplying and dividing whole numbers; adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals; place value; and comparing, rounding, and writing decimals. We will pre-test for Unit 3-Fractions on Wednesday. As we are testing, please make sure students are getting plenty of sleep and have a good breakfast. If you have questions or concerns, please contact me at swatson@stjschools.org or 573-265-2300 ext 4319. You can also check out our class webpage to explore the topics we’ve been covering in class.
SCIENCE:
We will continue working on our Space and the Solar System unit with talking about the 8 different moon phases, their names as well as what each phase looks like.  Students will have a quiz this Friday regarding the content from last week and this week.  The oreo cookie moon phase project will be on Thursday so please send any oreos in on or before that date.
We have also started working on a Solar System Travel Flyer project and will be making “Travel Books” when we are finished with them.  Each student has been put into groups of 2 and assigned one object from our solar system.  They will be required to research, and then write persuasive reasons why someone should come visit their location “if it were possible to do so”.  
****As part of this unit, we will be learning moon phases and doing a moon phase activity using Oreo cookies.  If you are able to send in any packages of oreos for this project, it would be greatly appreciated.  Please send them in by this Thursday.****

*Homework starts this week for extra credit. This week’s homework is language. I STRONGLY recommend that students complete the homework. EVERYONE can use extra credit. The reading logs are due on Friday. Reading logs are homework and for a grade.
Writing Fictional Narratives is the title of our unit. You can encourage your student by asking them to describe their day with as many adjectives and descriptive phrases as possible.Feel free to read and revise your student’s fictional narrative at home. Encourage your students to review the grading rubric he or she has in order to earn the best possible score.  I hope to finish this unit by Tuesday, the 27th. Students should be at 48% of their goal by the end of this week.  Please be here as much as possible and let me know what I can do for you! Please remember, if you would like to contact Mrs. Shultz you can do so by writing a note in the red folder, calling me at x4292 or emailing kshultz@stjschools.org.
Sandusky: This week we are diving into our Argumentative Essay. Tuesday students must come to class with a topic (approved by a parent- with a signature) and prewriting completed. If students do not come in with either, a topic will be assigned to them. We will be going step by step this week formulating our claim, completing our research, and creating our “right hook” (attention grabber), and “knock out” (conclusion). Students will be looking at examples, to form a clear understanding of a competent essay. The essay will have 5 parts; the introduction, 2 supportive reasons, the counterclaim/rebuttal, and the conclusion. We will also be reviewing language pieces to incorporate into our writing throughout the week. Reading logs are due Friday, they are worth 5 points apiece, and they must have a parent signature. Feel free to contact me at: bsandusky@stjschools.org, or 573-265-2300 ext: 4294 (my plan time is 2:00-2:50, if you call during school hours I may not be available to pick up, but you can leave me a message.)
Engelbrecht: This week we are continuing with Unit 4 America in Conflict. A Ballad of the Civil War and  Outrageous Women of the Civil War is what we will be reading this week..  We will be identifying and discussing points of view. Our read aloud is Underground Man.  In language we will be reviewing symbolism and writing a poem using figurative language.. In writing we will be creating our civil war character and writing to historical fiction prompts pretending to be that character. READING LOGS DUE Monday!!  If you have any questions please email me at lengelbrecht@stjschools.org or 573-265-2300 ext: 4293.

Monday, December 1, 2014

December 1st, 2014

5th Grade Newsletter
December 1, 2014
Upcoming Dates:
  • December 2-5-- Benchmark testing (Please try to be present these days)
  • December 9- PTO Meeting 6:30 pm
  • December 11- Skate Night at the Zone
  • December 12- Holiday Show (during school)
  • December 17- Singers Field Trip
  • December 18- AR goal
  • December 18- Christmas Party
  • December 19- No School
MATH:
Ms. Blankenship - This week we will be working on multiplying 4 digit numbers by 3 digit numbers and dividing with 2 digit divisors. We will also continue to practice order of operations. We will be benchmark testing on Friday, so please make sure your child is at school. Students will be bringing home copies of every lesson we cover to help them review. If you are not getting these, please let me know. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at bblankenship@stjschools.org or 573-265-2300 ext. 4321.

Mrs. Watson- This week we will be working on multiplying and dividing whole numbers. We will be extending what students learned in 4th grade to multiplying 4 digit by 3 digit numbers and dividing with 2 digit divisors.We will also be practicing learned skills such as order of operations and decimal operations. We will be benchmark testing on Friday, so please make sure your child is at school.  If you have questions or concerns, please contact me at swatson@stjschools.org or 573-265-2300 ext 4319. You can also check out our class webpage to explore the topics we’ve been covering in class.
SCIENCE:
This week we will continue through our Weather and the Water Cycle Unit.  We will begin learning about the different cloud types as well as begin discussing some of the weather instruments used by meteorologists.  
On Thursday, we will be doing our benchmark testing in Science.  My room will be used to Math Benchmark test on Friday.
HOMEROOM PARENTS: I am needing a volunteer to watch my classroom on Tuesday, December 16th from 10:30am to 1:00pm for the christmas teacher luncheon that the school has each year.  I will only need one or two parents to volunteer so if you are available, please let me know.
*Homework has been sent home for the week with the reading logs. I still have SO MANY students not returning the logs. The homework is due with the reading logs on Friday. This is homework and for a grade.
This week, we begin our focus on different types of literature (such as graphic novels) and why authors choose to present their work in these different forms. Our focus in literature circles will be main idea and details. We are reading the book Who Was Leonardo DaVinci? This week, we will be working on writing with compare and contrast.  Students should be at 72% of their goal by the end of this week. This quarter, that translates into about 16  points. Please be here as much as possible and let me know what I can do for you! Please remember, if you would like to contact Mrs. Shultz you can do so by writing a note in the red folder, calling me at x4292 or emailing kshultz@stjschools.org.
Sandusky:  We will be benchmark testing on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. I will be sending home graded research papers sometime later this week after I have a chance to go over them with students . We are starting Unit 3, "How does literature provide insight into a culture?" With this we will be reading the book Sign of the Beaver to learn about settler and Native American cultures. If your child is absent they will have to read the chapters and answer the questions outside of class. It is important that your child stays caught up. We will continue with our read aloud Midnight Magic. Book logs are due Friday.  Feel free to contact me at: bsandusky@stjschools.org, or 573-265-2300 ext: 4294 (my plan time is 2:00-2:50, if you call during school hours I may not be available to pick up, but you can leave me a message.)
Engelbrecht: This week we are continuing with Unit 3 Clues to a Culture. We will be reading The Sign of the Beaver  in literature circles.  Our read aloud is Walk Two Moons. Students should be at or above 80% of their AR goal by Friday. We will focus on types of conflict and point of view. In writing we will begin the brainstorming for our opinion writing. We will be focusing on root words in language. Tuesday and Wednesday we will be benchmark testing for ELA. Waggle will be used for review.  Waggle can be accessed from home as well if students would like to do some extra review.  READING LOGS THIS WEEK! Due Monday!! Remember reading logs are worth 5 points and students that turn them in every week this month qualify for the Pizza Hut Book It program.   If you have any questions please email me at lengelbrecht@stjschools.org or 573-265-2300 ext: 4293. Have a great week!

Week 5

PE 1
Art
Music1
PE 2
Computers
Music 2
Monday
Siders
Shultz
Sandusky
Engelbrecht
Watson
Blankenship
Tuesday
Shultz
Sandusky
Engelbrecht
Watson
Blankenship
Siders
Wednesday
Sandusky
Engelbrecht
Watson
Blankenship
Siders
Shultz
Thursday
Engelbrecht
Watson
Blankenship
Siders
Shultz
Sandusky
Friday
Watson
Blankenship
Siders
Shultz
Sandusky
Engelbrecht

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

November 10th, 2014

5th Grade Newsletter
November 10, 2014
Upcoming Dates:
  • November 11th -Veteran’s Day Assembly 1:30pm Elementary Gym
  • November 11th- PTO Meeting (Mash house)
  • November 13th- Skate Night at the Zone 5:30pm
  • We have had a great response to tshirts and want to make sure that everyone has a chance to place their order! Please turn your order form in to your teacher by Wednesday, November 13th! If you need an extra form, you can pick one up from Mrs. Bauman in the office or ask your teacher for an additional copy!
  • November 14th- Family Movie Night (PTO)
  • November 14th- 2nd mid-quarter
Homework:
MATH:
Ms. Blankenship - This week we will continue our unit on Place Value and Decimals. We will be covering powers of 10, place value, and reading and writing decimals. Students will be bringing home copies of their lesson to help them review. If you are not getting these, please let me know. This week we are also reviewing order of operations. Students will have homework this week over order of operations, and a quiz next Monday. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at bblankenship@stjschools.org or 573-265-2300 ext. 4321.

Mrs. Watson- This week we will continue our unit on Place Value and Decimals. Students will have homework over order of operations. It is due Thursday. If you have questions or concerns, please contact me at swatson@stjschools.org or 573-265-2300 ext 4319. You can also check out our class webpage to explore the topics we’ve been covering in class.
SCIENCE:
This week begins our Unit on Weather and the Water Cycle.  This unit covers the 4 main steps of the Water Cycle as well as describing each step, weather instruments, layers of the atmosphere, types of precipitation, and local and prevailing winds.  This unit is expected to last through the month of November and possibly into December.
*Homework has been sent home for the week with the reading logs. I still have SO MANY students not returning the logs. The homework is due with the reading logs on Friday. **I have noticed several very low grades between my two classes in reading. This is due to the lack of return on reading logs. PLEASE make sure your student is completing and returning their weekly reading log. This is homework and for a grade.
We are continuing our study of short, fictional texts. Our focus in literature circles will be main idea and details. We will not start another chapter book until next week. Book logs are due on the last day of each week. Students are only required to read up to that point. Late logs are accepted for the grade, but not for the contest.  Students should have their reading time signed each day. There is no set amount, but 20 minutes a day is suggested. Students should be at 42% of their goal by the end of this week. This quarter, that translates into about 8.5  points. Please be here as much as possible and let me know what I can do for you! Please remember, if you would like to contact Mrs. Shultz you can do so by writing a note in the red folder, calling me at x4292 or emailing kshultz@stjschools.org.
Sandusky: Last week I sent home papers with students who had a ‘0’ in the gradebook. Anything highlighted can be made up and returned (due by Wednesday at the latest), but if it was circled it can no longer be made up. This week we are diving further into L5.2 (Interjections, Prepositions, and Conjunctions).We will be wrapping up our informational text with this unit; students were assessed to see if they could infer, compare and contrast, summarize and formulate the main idea with supportive details from this type of text. We will be moving onto historical fiction, looking at books from the time of the Revolutionary War. We are continuing with our daily “Creative Thinker” (ask your child who they learned about each day), and we’ve begun a new “App of the Week” that allows students to explore artists, inventors, and artwork from the Renaissance Period. Book logs are due Friday.  Feel free to contact me at: bsandusky@stjschools.org, or 573-265-2300 ext: 4294 (my plan time is 2:00-2:50, if you call during school hours I may not be available to pick up, but you can leave me a message.)
Engelbrecht: This week we are continuing with Unit 3 Clues to a Culture. We will be using Waggle for review over skills taught in unit 2.  Waggle can be accessed from home as well if students would like to do some extra review. Our read aloud is Island of the Blue Dolphins. Students should be at 50% of their goal by Friday.  In reading we will be inferencing and reading nonfiction text. READING LOGS THIS WEEK! Due Monday!! Remember reading logs are worth 5 points and students that turn them in every week this month qualify for the Pizza Hut Book It program.   If you have any questions please email me at lengelbrecht@stjschools.org or 573-265-2300 ext: 4293. Have a great week!

Week 2
PE 1
Art
Music1
PE 2
Computers
Music 2
Monday
Engelbrecht
Watson
Blankenship
Siders
Shultz
Sandusky
Tuesday
Watson
Blankenship
Siders
Shultz
Sandusky
Engelbrecht
Wednesday
Blankenship
Siders
Shultz
Sandusky
Engelbrecht
Watson
Thursday
Siders
Shultz
Sandusky
Engelbrecht
Watson
Blankenship
Friday
Shultz
Sandusky
Engelbrecht
Watson
Blankenship
Siders