WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 28

Help Needed
For a future Social Studies activity, we will need pieces of brown paper bags. If you have any large brown grocery bags that you can donate to our classroom, please send them to school with your student on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks in advance for your help!

Bus Monitor Applications
Students who are interested in becoming bus monitors received applications on Friday. Please be sure to complete and return the applications by Wednesday, September 30!

Say Cheese!
Picture day is scheduled for Thursday, October 1. Please remember that all students will have their pictures taken that day for use in the school yearbook. Even if you are not ordering pictures, please bring your best smile!


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 5 focuses on words formed by a prefix and root.
• English - The students will review all about sentences to prepare for the Unit 1 Test. Many students still have some difficulty identifying simple subjects and simple predicates. You may want to focus more attention on those concepts during your study time. There is a great "Extra Practice" section on pages 55-62 that may be helpful to review those concepts as well as the other concepts from this unit. The Unit 1 "The Sentence" Test is scheduled for Friday, October 2!
• Reading - We will continue to work with summarizing. Book Project Reminder: September "Memory Bag" book projects are due Wednesday, September 30!! Students must have the bag with 5 items, the final copy worksheet, and the book ready to turn in on that day!!
• Science - The students will learn about the scientific method in Lesson 3. This is a series of steps that scientists use when performing an experiment.
• Social Studies - On Monday, we will play a review game to help students prepare for the Chapter 4 Test scheduled for Tueday, September 29! Later in the week, we will begin the next Chapter about different European countries trying to establish colonies in America.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will finish up Chapter 2 by enriching our understanding of multiplying larger numbers and doing some problem solving. The Chapter 2 Test is scheduled for Thursday, October 1!

Mark Your Calendar:

Sept. 29 - Final Magazine Turn-in Day

Oct. 1 - Picture Day

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 21

Checking Student Grades
Please remember that you may check student progress throughout the trimester using ParentConnect. I encourage you and your child to check grades weekly and set goals for future progress. As always, if you have any questions or difficulty checking grades online, don't hesitate to contact me.

Lunch in the Library
Please notice the flyer that went home with your child Friday. It tells about an exciting new opportunity for students to share about the books they have been reading. The first meeting is in October, so there's plenty of time for students to read or think about a book they would like to share. This would be a great way for students to hear about other books they might enjoy reading.

Good Personal Habits
Mrs. Heckman will be talking to the 5th graders on Tuesday about healthy hygiene habits. Did you know the #1 way to prevent sickness is simply washing your hands? Mrs. Heckman will share this along with other tips for staying healthy as we move into flu season.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 4 focuses on prefixes that end with a vowel.
• English - Students will be learning about subjects in imperative sentences, conjunctions, and correcting run-on sentences.
• Reading - We will be continuing our work with summarizing. Students are learning to identify the characters, setting, and plot of a story using a story map graphic organizer. Then the information on the story map can be used to write a summary in paragraph form. Don't forget that our September book project is due Wednesday, September 30! Students should be finishing their books and working on the rough draft worksheet. Please check in with your students to make sure they are on target for their deadline!
• Science - Students are learning about the inquiry skills used by scientists. Ask your child how we used many of these skills (observing, measuring, recording, etc.) in our Wild Guess/Prediction Investigation with pennies and dimes!
• Social Studies - We will read about life in New Spain and how Spain gained great wealth from their settlements in the New World.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - Students will continue working in Chapter 2 about multiplication of whole numbers. We will explore different ways to multiply larger numbers.

Mark Your Calendar:

Sept. 22 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

Sept. 22 - Magazine Turn-in Day

Sept. 22 - Healthy Hygiene Habits Talk with Mrs. Heckman

Sept. 24 - Magazine Turn-in Day

Sept. 25 - Character Counts Assembly

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 14

Online Science Textbook
Next week, I will be giving the students directions for accessing the science textbook online. Students should keep these directions in the science folder of their binders to use when needed at home. Students will have a choice of using the online textbook or bringing home their textbook for assignments or test preparation. You may want to try accessing the online text prior to actually needing it! As always, please contact me if you have any difficulties or questions.

Magazine Drive Kick-Off
Please notice the Magazine Drive packet that was sent home with your child on Friday. Students attended a special assembly to hear how they can sell magazines to raise money for the school and earn themselves prizes.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 3 focuses on using the suffix -er to form singular and possessive nouns.
• English - Students will learn about simple subjects and predicates. The simple subject tells exactly who or what a sentence is about. The simple predicate tells exactly what is or what happens in the sentence. We will reinforce our knowledge of simple subjects and predicates by creating subject/predicate poems at the end of the week.
• Reading - Good readers make logical predictions based on both story details and personal knowledge. Providing "personal knowledge" to support predictions is often more difficult than finding details in the text, so that will be our focus early in the week. Later in the week we will introduce our next comprehension strategy - summarizing. September Reading Project - students should be finishing their books and starting to complete the rough draft page! Remember that students should be working a little each night in order to complete the project by the end of the month. I will be providing a final copy worksheet soon.
• Science - We will be reviewing about the inquiry tools used by scientists before learning about the inquiry skills they use. Ask your child to tell you about 2 tools that can be used to measure something and 2 tools that cannot.
• Social Studies - Students will learn about Spanish conquistadors establishing colonies in North and South America.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - The Chapter 1 Test is scheduled for Tuesday, September 15! Students should review their notes and various assignments to help them prepare for the test. Then we will begin Chapter 2 about multiplication of whole numbers. Please remember that students should be reviewing basic facts at home in order to meet our challenging goal of 30 facts on Mad Minute Monday!

Mark Your Calendar:

Sept. 22 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

Sept. 22 - 1st Magazine Turn-in Day

Sept. 24 - 2nd Magazine Turn-in Day

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 8

Notes About Curriculum Night
Thank you to all of the parents who were able to attend Curriculum Night. I appreciated the time to review our 5th grade policies, curriculum, and some of my classroom routines and expectations. If you missed this event, you should find all of this information in your child's binder. Please carefully review it all, then return the bottom portion of the policy sheet and your child's Information Sheet as soon as possible. Also, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 2 will focus on words with the suffix -able. There will not be a pretest this week since we do not have school Monday. Also, I gave students the Lesson 2 list on Friday in case they wanted to start reviewing their words. Don't forget, they will be tested on Friday!
• English - We will be reviewing the four types of sentences. Students have "flippy" notes to help them remember the new fancy fifth grade words for those four types. Then, we will be learning about subjects and predicates. Get your voices warmed up,... we will be learning a special song to help us remember those two necessary parts of a sentence!
• Reading - Students will continue previewing and predicting using details from the story and their own personal knowledge. Also, we will do some Word Work with synonyms and antonyms. September Book Project Reminder - student book choices were approved and they should be reading 20 minutes each day to finish their books in the next few weeks.
• Science - We will get hands-on and try out some of the tools scientists use as we read and take notes about them. Do you know what forceps are or why they are used??
• Social Studies - Students have read about Christopher Columbus's discoveries and how his voyages led to the Columbian Exchange as well as other explorers to the New World. Students will write letters to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella next week pretending to be Columbus telling about his adventures and requesting funds for another voyage.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - Students will estimate sums and differences and use estimation to check if answers are reasonable. We will also do some problem solving using the "working backwards" strategy.

Mark Your Calendar:

Sept. 7 - Labor Day (No School)

Sept. 11 - Magazine Drive Kick-Off

Sept. 11 - Back-to-School Bingo (7 - 8:30 p.m.)

Sept. 22 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

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