Weekly Update First Week of November

NEWS FROM FIFTH GRADE   

WEEK OF NOV.3-7

Thanks to our students for fantastic attitudes, behaviors, and helpfulness while Mr. Quentin was our guest teacher last week and this morning.

READING

Students are reading a novel of their own choosing for silent reading.

POPPY is our current class book and we are over ½ way through!  My favorite character appeared in the story today!  “Treemendous” book reports were very well done and enjoyable as students shared about a book they’ve recently enjoyed.

Homework:  Check with your child to see what the new format for their reading log looks like.  Some chose to track by pages, some by time spent reading, and others are tracking titles read this month.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Spelling: Lesson 9  came home today. Students should complete the packet and write the words for practice on a separate sheet of paper, stapled to the packet.  TEST is Friday morning and lesson is due upon arrival in class. Please use cursive at this point for the packet and the test.    Grammar is still happening as a group instructive activity.  Most of their assessment occurs formatively, that is to say in process as I observe their response to instruction and being on task with new concepts.

SCIENCE---Owl pellets seemed to go really well.  Students identified what they thought their own had eaten by using a bone ID chart.  They also mounted some of the bones onto cardboard.  We’ll send those home at conferences!  We are finishing up some basic geology today with plate tectonic discussion and found some good footage of the 1989 Loma Prieta  earthquake near San Francisco.  We also viewed some very general tsunami footage from the Tokyo tsunami and earthquakes just four years ago.  (Long views of giant waves tossing small boats and crashing into shore.) Some students expressed an interest in looking for more footage online; proceed with caution as some footage can be very traumatic to view.

US HISTORY and SOCIAL STUDIES

We will be picking our states at the end of the month and starting to memorize states and capitals as well.  I’d recommend the app Stack the States as well as Drive Through USA  to help with practice at home if your student needs a little extra time on this.  It’s very fun!

BIBLE VERSE:  Hebrews 1:1-2  In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

 (One student will be picked to say it in Chapel weekly.  If a student hasn’t been chosen, he or she remains in the pool to be chosen from until all have had a chance).

GENERAL INFORMATION

CONFERENCES  next week

NO SCHOOL  next Tuesday

NOON DISMISSAL M, W, TH, F next week.  Send a hefty snack!

(We might have an earned reward of tortilla soup for lunch next week, likely Monday. Otherwise they will need a little more to tide them over. MUSIC- Fifth graders have a great part to play in this year’s Christmas program.  Bring scripts to school and work on them at home per Miss Mazzuca’s request. MUSIC is Monday and Wednesday.

PE is Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday-- please help your fifth grade student remember athletic shoes and good clothes for running and jumping. Showering nightly is a great idea at this age and deodorant is a critical school supply.  Water bottles are also helpful.

Technology is Friday just after PE.  Art will begin next quarter, our first class will be November 21.

CHAPEL is every Wednesday.  Please encourage your fifth grade student to wear chapel clothes and bring their worship voices! Part of their spiritual growth we look for includes the ability to listen, worship, and participate in the body of Christ.  They are leading the way for their younger (and sometimes older!) peers.

PIZZA FRIDAYS! $2 per slice. ORDER by Wednesdays.