Parent News Week of January 19-22

FIFTH GRADE NEWS AND COMMUNICATION

WEEK OF JANUARY 19-22,  2015

School Dates:  State of the School Address from the Board TODAY at 5:30 in the Black Hills Center.   Please come to hear the beautiful story of what God is doing with our sweet school and what the future plans are as we look ahead.  

Parent Forum is next month.

Bible: 1 Peter 2:12

Lots of sweet prayer requests for family and friends, lots of good talks about big ideas of faith!  Your kids are tuning their hearts to God’s grace and praise more every day.

READING:  Benjamin Franklin, Extraordinary Patriot.   We began work on personal choice biography power points in class.  Your student will be putting together some sort of costume to represent their character-- but please don’t worry about getting too detailed!  It’s awesome if they can think this through on their own.  If they get stuck, remind them the power point report will be plenty and just have fun with it.  They will present on either Wednesday or Thursday of next week. It’s low-key and more about adding an element of fifth -grade style!

LANGUAGE ARTS:  Working on nouns and plurals, possessives, etc. in iXL, learning to create outlines from text. We’ve nearly outlined the entire book of Ben Franklin and I will have them work in pairs to synthesize information into a report.

SPELLING: Lesson 17 due Friday along with the test.

SOCIAL STUDIES: Fifth grade is an important age as students begin to look at history through the eyes of human experience and God’s leading.  Your students are doing great.  We talked a bit about MLK Day and we’re learning about the American revolution in reading Ben’s story.  This week we also investigated the first American Colonies.

State Bird due this week on Thursday.  Place of interest due next week.  

STATES AND CAPITALS: 1-21 Review Quiz; Students will have opportunity to take it over if they do not pass with 80% or higher.

SCIENCE:  Engineering is everywhere unit on recycled racers.  

TRIP TO CERAMIC STUDIO February 1  to create  auction art piece!

This piece will look beautiful in any home and be made by some talented fifth grade students.  I will need a driver with at least 5 seats, so let me know if you can some.  We will leave at 9:00 for some fun enroute. The studio is near Tenino and we’ll return by 1:00.

AUCTION UPDATE:  Less than two months away! If you’d like to procure a particular item, please give us a buzz.  Jessica Little, Kaci Marsh and or myself are all good people to talk to about the class project.

State Bird

State Bird Drawing Expectations Due 1/21/2015

1. Neat. Keep it clean, erasing any stray marks completely.  A practice run may be a good idea.  Final copy on the parchment paper.
2. The picture should be drawn large, filling up most of the page.
3. Drawing is to be done free-handed.  No tracing. Your creativity is what’s needed, but draw it true to life rather than cartoon or manga style.
4. Bird must be drawn in a landscape: roadrunner in the desert, a cardinal in a  tree branch, a pelican near the ocean on a pier or dune.
5. Completely colored. You must use a non-smearing medium such as:colored pencils, crayons, watercolors.  You may combine mediums.
6. Identify bird by creating a title at the TOP of your page as follows: _______________________ the __________________ State Bird.

           (name of bird capitalized) (name of state capitalized)

7. Have fun.

Parent news update

FIFTH GRADE NEWS AND COMMUNICATION

WEEK OF JANUARY 11-15

*please read to end,important auction update and key dates to keep you in the know!

BIBLE:  Hebrews 11:6 NIV, Learning key ideas about redemption and sin in Bible class time, new chapel format (see what your kiddo thinks!)

READING: Goal is to finish four books or the equivalent by end of month.  As a follow up  during lunch we are currently watching The Endurance, a movie about the book Trial by Ice.

We will be finishing Ben Franklin’s biography over the next two weeks.  Students should also be finishing their personal biography choice.  We will learn to extrapolate the details and important ideas about their famous person as we model it with Ben.

LANGUAGE ARTS: We will be learning outlining procedures and creating an outline for a paper summarizing the Ben Franklin biography. Students will also be working on creating a powerpoint about their person using the same basic ideas.  We worked on outlining and kids are good at this! We also worked on capitalization last week. Your student might log in to iXl and practice that skill at a lower level if it was tough for them.

SPELLING: Lesson 16 due Friday along with the test. I will send home lesson 17 on Friday due to shortened week next week.

SOCIAL STUDIES: We’re finishing the Age of Discovery soon- this week we’re learning about the world-wide power struggle over the new world that ensued after its discovery.

Our second notebook project comes home on Thursday this week-- state birds (Due next Thursday).  The first one is due this week, a state flag. I’ve seen a few already and they look great.  Please help your student do a little research if needed.  I have some resources here at school, but students frequently remember their questions when at home!  Your child will do a great job with clear instructions and expectations. Encourage them to use those to help them be successful.

SCIENCE: We are doing a unit on vehicles and recycling with 4th grade.  Your student is likely going to be scavenging in your recycling for things to bring for their vehicle!  

Please make sure your child has adequate clothing for outdoor recess.

DRIVE IN MOVIE  January 15

NO SCHOOL: January 18

STATE OF THE SCHOOL- super sweet!  January 21

RE-ENROLLMENT February 1

PARENT FORUM February 11

AUCTION UPDATE: I have a student project in the works and it looks like we have a couple of good ideas in the mix.  Thankful for the mamas and dads who stepped into action!

State flag expectations

INSTRUCTIONS FOR  STATE FLAG DRAWING       DUE 1/14/2015

1. Use the paper given to you. Do not use another paper. Make a practice one first on scratch paper if necessary.

2. Your flag should fill the entire paper from edge to edge without borders.

3.  Draw any images in the center. It should be proportional-not too big or too small. Do not trace.  No photocopies.

4.  Color your map completely.  Neatness, not perfection, is a good goal.  

5.  Have fun! It’s drawing!

6.  Use colored pencils or watercolor to produce your map. Do not use crayon or markers.  

7.  When you are finished, use an ultra fine point sharpie to outline your details on the flag.  All words, lines and figures should be outlined.

8. Write your name and date on the back lightly in pencil.

9. Place in a plastic sleeve (available from Mrs. Steele) and place in your three ring binder.

10. You finished your first project!  Great job!

parent news

FIFTH GRADE NEWS AND COMMUNICATION

WEEK OF JANUARY 4-8

*please read to end,important auction update!

Here’s a short list of what we’re doing in class.

BIBLE:  2 Timothy 1:7 orally only, not written

READING:  Reading logs are due tomorrow, signed and completed.

Students seemed to enjoy the assigned reading of “Trial by Ice”; during lunch we are currently watching The Endurance, a movie about the whole ordeal.  (It’s rated G and narrated by Liam Neeson.)

We will be finishing Ben Franklin’s biography over the next two weeks.  Students should also be finishing their personal biography choice.  We will learn to extrapolate the details and important ideas about their famous person.

LANGUAGE ARTS: We will be learning outlining procedures and creating an outline for a paper summarizing the Ben Franklin biography. Students will also be working on creating a power point about their person using the same basic ideas.

SPELLING: Lesson 15 due Friday along with the test.

SOCIAL STUDIES:  Finishing the Age of Discovery soon. We will  be  also using a text that views events through a Christian lens off and on throughout the rest of the year.  Grading grids for state notebook will come home tomorrow along with a parent note to explain how it works.  Our first notebook project comes home on Thursday this week-- state flags!  (Due next Thursday.) Your child will do a great job with clear instructions and expectations. Encourage them to use those to help them be successful.

LIBRARY: Our bimonthly visit is this week.  Please have your student return any books they may have finished.

SCIENCE: We are going to begin a new unit this week on recycling and machines.  Stay tuned for more details.

Please make sure your child has adequate clothing for outdoor recess.  We had lots of chilly people today.  

DRIVE IN MOVIE  January 15

NO SCHOOL: January 18

AUCTION UPDATE:  The situation is getting a little desperate for fifth grade.  No parents have stepped up to help organize our package or class project.  Please contact me ASAP if you could help.

State Fair Grading Grid for Notebook

STATE REPORT GRADING GRID AND DUE DATES

A copy of this sheet is to be kept in your binder and turned in on May 5, 2015 with your finished binder. An additional copy should be kept at home and displayed in a prominent place until May 2. AS indicates at school, ** means a double small assignment due.

Points Possible              Points Earned       Weekly Project Due Date

10		State Flag	1/14/2016
10		State Bird Drawing	1/21/2016
10		Place of Interest	1/2/2016
10		State Map	2/4/2016
10		Economy Map AS	2/11/2016
10		Famous Person	2/18/2016
10		Trivia Questions	2/25/2016
10		State Flower	3/3/2016
10		Statehood Paper	3/10/2016
10		State Timeline	3/17/2016
10		State Song	3/24/2016
10		Recipe Card	3/31/2016
10		Governor Report	4/14/2016
5		Binder Cover**	4/21/2016
5		Title Page (inside)**	4/21/2016
5		Bibliography**	4/38/2016
5		Table of Contents**	4/28/2016
5		Final binder check	5/5/2016
45		State Fair Booth and Presentation	5/10/2016
Bonus		Total Score