Parent News for Fifth Grade
October 26-30, 2015
Hello! We had a great trip to Ft. Vancouver last Thursday. The weather was fantastic and the kids were excellent. We’ll be revisiting our trip and working through the Junior Ranger program. We’ll send the packets in and hopefully get a badge back! It is a fun place to experience history. Kids under 16 are always free, and adults cost just $5. There is also an air museum and airfield that dates back to World War I just adjacent. It’s worth a weekend or break visit. Many thanks to David Putnam for chaperoning and driving us there safely and back, and to Wendy Yancey for chaperoning as well. A van full of fifth graders, no matter how well behaved, is a big way to spend 4 hours!
We have had some class changes. Our friend Kate is moving to a different part of the city and will be joining her sister in a school system there. Today our new friend Anneke Collins arrived. While it’s hard to say goodbye and hello so quickly, we know God has good things for both girls and we are praying for both families during these transitions.
Reading
Reading calendars are due this Friday, October 30. Please tally and sign. I am grading my way through the Shiloh test and final reading responses/vocab. Those will come home this Friday. We will start Poppy this week. Along with rich vocabulary, we also write reports on animals and dig into (sanitized, sterilized) owl pellets.
Spelling
Lesson 7 is due Friday.
Language Arts
IXL is good practice. Your student may work below fifth grade level on any skill that strikes their fancy while at home, but we are working together on the fifth grade skills at school.
We are finishing our Scar Stories and will be illustrating those this week. Next week we will complete our first book report, “TREE”- mendous book reports. This assignment will not come home, but there will be a couple later on that need some poster help at home.
Bible
Romans 12:2 Good verse this week (and last!) about not being conformed but being transformed. We’re also helping out in chapel this week by presenting about Operation Christmas Child. We’ll do a no-no box, a yes-yes box, and what comes out of the box skit. Collection week is in just a couple of weeks.
Social Studies
Junior Ranger and Maps-- we’ll start states and capitals next week along with our history section.
Science
We engineered drop copters and next we explore spinning disks as a means to slow descent.
Ultimately we’ll engineer a drop device that can hold some small plastic animals and meet some drop criteria for time and payload. One interesting thing we learned today is that engineers have no room for pride, only honesty. If your design doesn’t work, you have to admit it and redesign.
DATES:
Boys basketball and Cheerleading begin on November 2
No school November 11
Shoeboxes Due November 12/ First Quarter ends
Conferences November 17-20. These are half days Tuesday-Friday.
November 23- Picture retakes
November 26, 27 Thanksgiving Break
December 11 Christmas Program
December 18 Christmas Sock Drive delivery and cocoa run!
Need volunteer hours? Please shoot me an email. Let me know your time commitment and preferences. I ALWAYS have jobs that need an extra hand. Here are some things that have come up lately:
Filing/organizing papers
Helping students in class on project days and with re-organization of binders/backpacks
Lab prep for engineering units (organizing, gathering, improvising at times)
Lab prep for middle school science (gathering, prepping slides and microscopes or physical science tools, sometimes sorting candy for modeling molecules)
Library helper on Friday afternoon (good class management desire and skills)
Listening to a few students read
