WEEK OF NOVEMBER 1

Junior Achievement
During our first session with Mr. Blocker, he introduced the class to many core concepts used in business today. One of the ideas covered was supply and demand. This ties in beautifully with what the students are currently doing in Social Studies as they plan and prepare for our upcoming trade fair!

Halloween Festivities
We all had fun during the parade and parties Friday afternoon. A special thanks to Mrs. Scheiblein for coordinating the party for us, and thank you also to Mrs. Daly, Mrs. Silva, Mrs. O'Connor, and Mrs. Mate for attending/running the activities. A final thank you goes to the Zowaski family who provided drinks. I hope everyone enjoys even more Halloween fun over the weekend!


Subject Update:

• English - Students should be preparing for the Unit 5 Capitalization and Punctuation Test scheduled for Wednesday, November 3.
• Science - Did the students tell you about their virtual owl pellet dissestion? Although the students thought that experience was pretty cool, next week they will get the opportunity to dissect a real owl pellet. Each student will identify the prey eaten by their owl, then we will work to draw some conclusions about the data gathered as a class.
• Social Studies - To better understand about working and trading in the colonies, students will participate in a classroom trade fair on Thursday, November 4. Students have all received information about trade fair expectations and grading to share with parents. We will be making the special signs for our trade fair on Wednesday.
• Mrs. Strong's Spelling Class - The Lesson 9 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words. A final test will be given Friday.
• Mrs. Strong's Reading Class - This week, we will review all the skills we have studied so far this school year. Specifically, we will be summarizing, drawing conclusions, inferencing, identifying author generalizations, and visualizing while reading a realistic fiction novel.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will be jumping ahead in the textbook to Chapter 7: Plane Geometry. The students will begin by identifying and naming points, lines, rays, planes, and angles.

Mark Your Calendar:

Nov. 2 - No School (Teacher Institute Day)

Nov. 10 - Junior Achievement (Session 2)

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

Nov. 12 - End of 1st Trimester

WEEK OF OCTOBER 25

Junior Achievement
Our class will be starting Junior Achievement on Wednesday. Our Junior Achievement volunteer, Mr. Blocker, 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.

Costume Parade/Halloween Party
Students need to bring their costumes to school on Friday. Please understand that costumes might need to be simplified for school purposes since students need to be able to change in a short amount of time. Also, students will be changing in classrooms designated for either girls or boys. Washrooms will not be available for costume changing. Finally, please remember that no weapons, even fake, are allowed at school.


Subject Update:

• English - Students will review how to write quotations using correct capitalization and punctuation. Then students will begin to review all of Unit 5 to prepare for the test scheduled for Wednesday, November 3.
• Science - We will preview some of the Chapter 6 concepts such as predator-prey relationships and adaptations by studying the barn owl.
• Social Studies - We will prepare for the Chapter 5 Test scheduled for Tuesday, October 26. Then we will take a closer look at colonial life in the next chapter.
• Mrs. Strong's Spelling Class - The Lesson 8 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words. A final test will be given Friday.
• Mrs. Strong's Reading Class - During our CORE reading, we will continue to analyze and complete various types of analogies. We will also continue our work on the skill of drawing conclusions and making inferences while reading fictional texts.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - The students will learn how to solve decimal equations. There will be an open-note activity on Tuesday to assess student understanding of lessons 7-10. Then we will spend a day reviewing all of the various concepts from the chapter to prepare for Thursday's Chapter 3 Test.

Mark Your Calendar:

Oct. 27 - Junior Achievement (Session 1)

Oct. 29 - Costume Parade and Halloween Party

Nov. 2 - No School (Teacher Institute Day)

WEEK OF OCTOBER 18

MAPS Testing
Students have been doing a great job concentrating and putting forth their best efforts during our MAPS testing. There is one more test to complete on Thursday, October 21.

Leaf Project Reminder
Don't forget to bring in your prepared leaves on Monday, October 18th!


Subject Update:

• English - Students will learn how to use quotation marks, other punctuation, and capital letters correctly when a speaker's exact words come at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a sentence.
• Science - The students will review about energy and ecosystems to prepare for the Chapter 5 Test scheduled for Wednesday, October 20! Students will also use their prepared leaves to create a "Leafy Critter."
• Social Studies - We will learn about the 13 English colonies established along the east coast of North America. These colonies were divided into three regions. We will read to discover how the regions were alike and different, and how religion played a role in the founding of new colonies in these regions.
• Mrs. Strong's Spelling Class - The Lesson 7 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words. A final test will be given Friday.
• Mrs. Strong's Reading Class - Our CORE reading skill this week is analogies. All fifth grade students will learn how to analyze and complete various types of analogies. In addition, all students will begin focusing on the important skills of drawing conclusions and making inferences while reading a fictional text.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - The students will complete an open-note homework review covering Chapter 3, Lessons 4-6 on Monday. Then we will move on to dividing with decimals and some problem solving where we need to interpret the remainder of our division work. *Reminder: There are many new concepts being taught in this chapter. I am trying to break it into three different sections to assess student understanding throughout the chapter before getting to the final test. You may want to check in with your child to find out how they are moving along in this chapter.

Mark Your Calendar:

Oct. 20 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

Oct. 21 - MAPS Test: Math

Oct. 21 - Prairieview Fall Book Fair (6:30 - 8:00 p.m.)

Oct. 22 - Bus Driver Appreciation

WEEK OF OCTOBER 11

MAPS Testing
There is a new testing system being employed by the district this year. MAP stands for Measures of Academic Progress. These tests will be taken beginning next week, in the areas of Language, Reading, and Math. Students will take a series of multiple choice tests in each area on the computer. The program computes a score, which is then placed along a continuum to show each student's individual progress. It will even be able to show what particular areas each student excels at, and the areas in which they may need some additional support. We are hopeful that this new system will make our instruction for our students even better!


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Due to MAPS testing, there will be no spelling lesson.
• English - Students will recognize the importance of commas when we read, "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves." Then they will learn different ways to use commas correctly. Students will also learn how to write interjections.
• Mrs. Strong's Reading Group will continue to work on identifying main idea and supporting details with various texts. Students will also continue their "word work" with homophones and homographs.
• Science - The students are learning how energy transfers from one organism to another in food chains and food webs. Also, please notice a green packet of information sent home with your child Friday. It explains how to collect and prepare leaves for a special fall leaf project we will complete in a few weeks. Leaves are due October 18!
• Social Studies - We will learn how more English colonies were eventually established because people left England in search of religious freedom.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - The students will review about metric measurement and scientific notation, and learn about multiplying decimals. *NOTE: There are many new concepts being taught in this chapter. I am trying to break it into three different sections to assess student understanding throughout the chapter before getting to the final test. Several students struggled on our first (open note) homework review. You may want to check in with your child to find out how they are moving along in this chapter.

Mark Your Calendar:

Oct. 11 - No School (Columbus Day)

Oct. 12 - MAPS Test: Language Arts

Oct. 15 - MAPS Test: Reading

Oct. 20 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

Oct. 21 - MAPS Test: Math

WEEK OF OCTOBER 4

Reminder - Student Progress Check
Friday, October 1 marked the 1st trimester midpoint. Please be sure to check your child's progress via ParentConnect if you have not done so already. If a student is working below grade level expectations, a progress report for those subject areas below expectations will be coming home via U.S. mail. Please review, sign, and return those as soon as possible.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - The Lesson 6 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words. A final test will be given Friday.
• English - We will be starting Unit 5 about capitalization and punctuation. It begins with a review of the punctuation used with each of the four types of sentences. Then we will identify and capitalize proper nouns and adjectives, and learn how to write many common abbreviations correctly.
• Reading - This week our core reading group (homeroom) will be learning about homonyms/homographs and multiple meaning words. Mrs. Strong's skill-based reading group will focus on identifying main idea and supporting details within nonfiction text.
• Science - The students are currently learning how plants are able to produce their own food through the process of photosynthesis. Students should be able to explain how different structures (parts) of the plant help it get water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to complete this process.
• Social Studies - We will review about the first successful English colony of Jamestown. Then we will hear how the search for a Northwest Passage led to the founding of Dutch and French colonies in North America. Thank you to the Daly family for sending in some great "artifacts" for us to display in the classroom. It will help us get a better understanding of early colonial times!
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - The students are learning how to estimate the sums, differences, products, and quotients of problems involving decimals. As we practice adding and subtracting decimals next week, students will be able to apply estimation as a strategy for checking if their sums or differences are reasonable. Late in the week, we will get into scientific notation and multiplying with decimals.

Mark Your Calendar:

Oct. 1 - Check Student Progress

Oct. 11 - No School (Columbus Day)

Oct. 20 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)