WEEK OF NOVEMBER 2

Halloween Happenings
We had a lot of fun during our Halloween festivities! Everyone got in the spirit of things with the costume parade. Then we headed to the rooms to decorate our pumpkins. We would like to thank Mrs. Casey and Mr. Gonzales for helping us decorate our pumpkins while listening to some "terror-ific" tunes. Also, thanks to Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. Kasher for supplying treats and drinks. We must congratulate Cannon for his prize-winning pumpkin. It must have been a difficult decision for those judges, though, since we saw many creative and amazing pumpkins! Ask your student about the storyteller at the end of the day. Maybe your child could retell the story of the talking skull to you,... if you dare to hear it!

Robert Crown Field Trip
Since we may get back after our normal lunch period begins, we are requesting that the students bring a sack lunch on the day of the field trip - Friday, November 6.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 10 focuses on words ending in consonant + y and vowel + y. The students will learn and apply spelling rules to add the suffixes -ed, -es, and -ing. (We are skipping Lesson 9.)
• English - The students will be learning ways to use commas. Commas can be used to separate items in a list, directly address someone, or interject a thought. We will also do some creative writing at the end of the week as we write our own tall tales. This activity will strengthen our writing skills while demonstrating our knowledge of tall tale elements.
• Reading - We will read a few more tall tales to identify exaggerated and realistic details, as well as visualize the interesting characters, settings, and events. November Book Project - Students will receive information about the November "Biography Shape Booklet" project on Monday. Please look for the parent letter regarding book choices that needs to be returned (with the chosen biography) by Thursday!
• Science - The students will learn about the energy pyramid and nitrogen cycle. We should be ready to test over Chapter 5 during the week of November 9th.
• Social Studies - We will do some review activities early in the week. On Monday, we will review using the same true/false format the students will use on the upcoming test. On Tuesday, we will play "Colonial Bingo" to review about the early colonies in North America. The Chapter 5 Test is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4!
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - Students will do some problem solving using the "predict and test" method (also known as "guess and check"). We will review expressions, equations, functions, inequalities, order of operations, and the predict and test strategy for the Chapter 4 Test on Thursday, November 5!

Mark Your Calendar:

Nov. 3 - Junior Achievement (Session 4)

Nov. 6 - Robert Crown Field Trip (Sack Lunch!)

Nov. 10 - Junior Achievement (Session 5)

Nov. 11 - No School (Veteran's Day)

Nov. 19 - Picture Retakes

WEEK OF OCTOBER 26

Halloween Reminders
Don't forget that our Halloween festivities will be held on Thursday, October 29! We will start with a costume parade at 12:30 followed by pumpkin decorating and snacks in our classroom at 1:00. An assembly featuring a storyteller will end our afternoon celebration.

Students will be changing into costumes in classrooms designated for boys or girls. Please understand that students will not be able to visit the washrooms for changing or application of make-up.

Please remember that students need to gather and bring items for decorating the pumpkins donated by our PTO. Some materials may be provided by parents helping with the celebration, but it is asked that students provide their own materials as well. Keep in mind that no sharp objects or carving utensils will be allowed. Be creative - you never know what everyday items in your home could help create the most amazing pumpkins!


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Due to our Halloween festivities and no school on Friday, we will not have a spelling lesson this week.
• English - Students will learn how to write common abbreviations and titles correctly.
• Reading - Students will enjoy reading another tall tale as they identify exaggerated details and visualize the interesting characters. Reading Project - Mystery Puzzle Projects are due Wednesday, October 28! Students will need to turn in the mystery book along with the puzzle pieces in a ziploc bag.
• Science - We will read about food chains and the flow of energy from producers to consumers to decomposers.
• Social Studies - Students will read about the original 13 colonies. They will complete a map of the 13 colonies to identify the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. Students will also discover how the resources of each area of colonies is different.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will learn how to write and work with equations, functions, and inequalities.

Mark Your Calendar:

Oct. 27 - Junior Achievement (Session 3)

Oct. 28 - Robert Crown Parent Meeting (PV 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.)

Oct. 29 - Halloween Festivities (12:30 - 2:20 p.m.)

Oct. 30 - No School (Teacher Institute Day)

WEEK OF OCTOBER 19

Art to Remember
Art to Remember packets recently went home with your child. Please notice that the packet (with or without orders) is due back at school by Tuesday, October 20th!


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 8 is a review of lessons 1-7. The students will be tested over words from these lessons in a different way than our regular lesson tests. Students will need to understand and apply the spelling rules taught in previous lessons in order to identify a misspelled word in a row of words. You may want to practice identifying misspelled words in a similar format using the words from lessons 1-7.
• English - The students will begin the week reviewing what they have learned about writing fantastic introductory paragraphs for expository essays. Then we will begin Unit 5 about capitalization and punctuation.
• Reading - We will begin to focus on another important reading skill - visualizing. Students will learn to use story details to help them understand or "picture" the text. While working on this reading skill, students will be reading many tall tales. The characters, settings, and events in tall tales are wildly exaggerated - providing wonderful details to help us visualize the stories. Reading Project - Students should be finishing up the reading of their mysteries and starting to complete their rough draft story maps.
• Science - We will continue to learn about plants producing their own food. We will even sing a little song to help us remember the things plants need in order to make food through the process of photosynthesis!
• Social Studies - The students will discover that many early English setters came to North America in search of religious freedom. We will read about the Pilgrims and the Puritans.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will learn the order of operations and how to solve problems involving variables. We will also discuss certain math properties and try to show examples of each using algebraic equations!!

Mark Your Calendar:

Oct. 20 - Junior Achievement (Session 2)

Oct. 21 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

Oct. 22 - Prairieview Book Fair

Oct. 27 - Junior Achievement (Session 3)

Oct. 28 - Robert Crown Parent Night (PV 6:30 p.m.)

Oct. 30 - No School (Teacher Institute Day)

WEEK OF OCTOBER 12

Robert Crown Field Trip
On Tuesday, I will send home the permission slip for the Robert Crown Field Trip. Please complete and return the bottom portion of the form by Friday, October 16th.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 7 focuses on words with soft and hard g sounds.
• English - Students have learned that expository writing needs to start with a strong introductory paragraph. They learned that they must "hook" the reader, or rather grab the reader's attention, with their very first sentence. Next week, we will work on adding sentences to our introductory paragraph that "reel the reader in" and finally "release" the main idea to the reader.
• Reading - We will do some final activities focusing on summarizing stories. October Book Project - Students should currently be reading their mystery books. While reading, students may want to jot a few notes on a post-it like we practiced in class. This will help them complete their rough draft on the story map worksheet. Don't forget the project and book need to be turned in by Wednesday, October 28!
• Science - We will begin our next Science unit "Interactions Among Living Things." Chapter 5 will discuss energy and ecosystems.
• Social Studies - Students will learn how the search for the Northwest Passage led to the founding of French and Dutch colonies in North America.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - Students should review Chapter 3, Lessons 1-4 for a quiz scheduled on Wednesday, October 14! Then we will move ahead to Chapter 4 about algebraic expressions and equations.

Mark Your Calendar:

Oct. 12 - No School (Columbus Day)

Oct. 13 - 5th Grade Assembly about Disabilities

Oct. 13 - Junior Achievement - Session 1 (rescheduled)

Oct. 21 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

Oct. 22 - Prairieview Book Fair

WEEK OF OCTOBER 5

Junior Achievement
We will begin our Junior Achievement program this week. Our Junior Achievement volunteer, Mr. Laviste, will be visiting our classroom over the next several weeks to present lessons about creating and running a business. The sessions will teach students different concepts such as supply and demand, use of resources, cost of business, and profit. This program shows students real-world applications of several ideas from Social Studies.

Halloween Party Changes
By now you should have received an email regarding the changes this year for our Halloween festivities. I think the students will enjoy the activities planned. Room parents, you should be receiving a separate email regarding your role in the day. Please let me know if you have any questions.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 6 focuses on the plural forms of words ending in s, z, x, ch, and sh.
• English - The students will be introduced to expository writing. We will determine the differences between narrative and expository writing, and then learn how to write a great introduction for an expository piece.
• Reading - We will continue our work with summarizing. Ask your student to summarize a chapter book they are currently reading. They should be able to tell you who, when, where, and what is happening in the story. Also, you should have seen a letter come home about the October "Mystery Book Puzzle" project. The mystery book choice and parent signature letter is due Monday, October 5!
• Science - Students should be finishing up their Paper Airplane Projects in order to share results on Monday. Also, we will be reviewing the tools, skills, and process used by scientists to prepare for the "Getting Ready for Science" Chapter Test on Wednesday, October 7!
• Social Studies - We will learn about the founding of England's first permanent settlement in North America in 1607 - Jamestown.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - Students will begin Chapter 3 about division. We will learn and apply a series of steps to find quotients when dividing by 1-digit. Our Mad Minute Mondays have come to an end, but students should continue to review basic facts throughout the rest of the year!

Mark Your Calendar:

Oct. 6 - Check Student Progress on ParentConnect

Oct. 8 - Jr. Achievement (Session 1)

Oct. 12 - No School (Columbus Day)