WEEK OF APRIL 6

Naper Settlement
Thank you to Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Spicuzza for joining us on our trip to Naper Settlement. The students enjoyed churning butter, dancing, watching the blacksmith, and the other activities. Ask your child to tell you about school in the 1800's and how letter writing was different than today. The day may have been a bit chilly, but we had clear skies and sunshine to help make it a fantastic experience!

T.G.F.D. Graduation
Thank you to all of the parents who attended our T.G.F.D. Graduation. Also, congratulations again to Emily for being selected to read her promise letter during the ceremony. I hope all of our students keep their promise to be drug-free and make good decisions in the future! Finally, thank you to all who contributed to the group gift for Deputy Seward. He very much appreciated the gift certificates and joke book.

Subject Update:

ELA (English/Language Arts)

• Spelling - No lesson due to the shortened week. *Students will only be able to print 5 words "just in case" their cursive still needs work starting the week of April 13.
• English - The students will continue their grammar unit on adjectives. They will make comparisons using the correct forms of good and bad.
• Reading -We will wrap up our unit on Nature's Fury. Students are developing "thick" questions about a selected text to prepare for a science talk with others. Students will draw upon relevant facts and information learned from the unit. 

Science - Students will discover the different ways that waves form, and how the sun and moon cause ocean water to move.

Social Studies - After Spring Break, we will finish our small group "stations" designed to deepen our understanding of Lesson 3. Then we will build in several activities for reviewing the chapter as we prepare for a test tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, April 14.

Mrs. Strong's Math Class - Unit 6 will continue our work with fractions as we learn how to add and subtract them. 

Mark Your Calendar:

March 28 - Spring Break Begins!

April 5 - No School (Non-attendance Day)

April 6 - No School (Teacher Institute)

April 7 - School Resumes

WEEK OF MARCH 23

Too Good For Drugs
Congratulations to Emily, who has been chosen to read her promise letter at our upcoming graduation ceremony. It was difficult to pick just one person since there were many well-written letters, but hers had many strong points and her "voice" could really be heard throughout.  
Save the Date: Too Good For Drugs Graduation will be Wednesday, March 25th at 1:00 p.m.

Spirit Week:
I've Got Spirit, Yes I Do; If You've Got Spirit,... Here's What To Do!
Monday = Spring Training - Cubs vs. Sox Spirit Wear
Tuesday = Shades Day (Wear Your Sunglasses)
Wednesday = Think Spring (Wear Spring Colors)
Thursday = Hat Day
Friday = Comfy Clothes Day


Subject Update:

ELA (English/Language Arts)

• Spelling - The Lesson 28 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words, and a final test will be given Friday. *Students will only be able to print 5 words "just in case" their cursive still needs work starting the week of April 13.
• English - The students will continue their grammar unit on adjectives. They will determine when certain words are used as nouns or as adjectives using the context of a sentence. They will also learn how to use the endings -er and -est or the words more and most with adjectives to make comparisons.
• Reading -We will continue to read various non-fiction texts to help us answer our three essential questions: What are forces of nature? How does a force of nature that is far away affect me? How can a force of nature be both destructive and constructive at the same time?

Science - Students will review what they have learned about the ocean floor, and begin to look at the way the ocean moves.

Social Studies - In Lesson 3, we will learn how the Revolutionary War began. This is when things really get exciting, and we hear about the "shot heard 'round the world!"

Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will finish up Unit 5 on number theory and fractions. Students will take the Unit 5 Homework Review #3 on Monday. Then we will review for the Unit 5 Test scheduled for Wednesday. Unit 6 will continue our work with fractions as we learn how to add and subtract them. 

Mark Your Calendar:

March 23 - 27 - Spirit Week (see schedule above)

March 25 - TGFD Graduation Ceremony (1:00 p.m.)

March 27 - Naper Settlement Field Trip

March 28 - Spring Break Begins!

WEEK OF MARCH 16

PARCC Testing Complete

Except for a few students who need to make up testing, we have completed this round of PARCC tests. I am so proud of the students for persevering through any tough problems, and doing their best each day! Thank you to the many parents who sent in extra snacks this past week. The students really appreciated it!

Too Good For Drugs
I look forward to reading the students' TGFD promise letters. One student from each class will be chosen to read his/her promise letter during our upcoming graduation ceremony. Don't forget to mark your calendar for this special event.
Save the Date: Too Good For Drugs Graduation will be Wednesday, March 25th at 1:00 p.m.

3rd Trimester Notes
As students head into the final trimester of the year, they may want to set some goals based on their 2nd Trimester progress. Also, please make note of the late homework procedure for the 3rd Trimester...
1 day late = minus 25%
More than 1 day late, until the unit test is taken = minus 50%
After end of unit = 0% earned
*Ungraded late work = 2 point deduction from bank of "Homework Completion" points in that subject

Subject Update:

ELA (English/Language Arts)

• Spelling - The Lesson 27 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words, and a final test will be given Friday. *Students may only print 10 words "just in case" their cursive still needs work. Keep practicing correct letter formation at home!
• English - The students will continue their grammar unit on adjectives. They will learn how to use articles and demonstratives correctly, and rules for comparing with adjectives.
• Reading -We will continue to read various non-fiction texts to help us answer our three essential questions: What are forces of nature? How does a force of nature that is far away affect me? How can a force of nature be both destructive and constructive at the same time?

Science - Students will learn what the ocean floor looks like. They will create a model of the ocean floor to help them understand its different parts.

Social Studies - In Lesson 2, we are learning about events in Boston that brought the colonists and Britain closer to war. Ask your student about the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party.

Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will continue Unit 5 on number theory and fractions. Students will use the LCM of numbers in order to find equivalent fractions with like denominators. This needs to be done when comparing, ordering, or adding and subtracting fractions.

Mark Your Calendar:

March 19 - Spirit Day (Girls Wear Red/Boys Wear Blue)

March 19 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

March 25 - TGFD Graduation Ceremony (1:00 p.m.)

March 27 - Naper Settlement Field Trip

March 28 - Spring Break Begins!

WEEK OF MARCH 9

PARCC Testing Continues
Math PARCC tests are complete! This upcoming week, the students will take the three ELA units of PARCC. If you haven't done so already, you may want to look at the practice tests which can be accessed through the District 66 website, under the "Students" tab. A resource for ELA, if you haven't watched it already, is the following video link:
PARCC ELA Video
Students may encounter difficult questions, and I encourage them to persevere. My expectation is that they finish each test being able to say, "I gave my best effort!"

February PRIDE Awards
5th graders held their February PRIDE Awards Assembly on Wednesday. Congratulations to Daniela for receiving the award for Improvement! You deserve it!

Too Good For Drugs
During our last session of T.G.F.D., Deputy Seward played a game to review all of the information learned over the nine previous sessions of the program. Students were assigned a "Promise Letter" that needs to be completed by Friday, March 13!
Save the Date: Too Good For Drugs Graduation will be Wednesday, March 25th at 1:00 p.m.


Subject Update:

ELA (English/Language Arts)

• Spelling - No spelling lesson this week!
• English - Students will begin their next grammar unit on adjectives. Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. They tell us "what kind" or "how many."
• Reading -We will continue to read various non-fiction texts to help us answer our three essential questions: What are forces of nature? How does a force of nature that is far away affect me? How can a force of nature be both destructive and constructive at the same time?

Science - Students will begin Chapter 12 about Earth's oceans. We will learn how salt affects the freezing temperature of water, how water differs in various parts of the ocean, and what the ocean floor looks like.

Social Studies - Did your student tell you about our "Trouble Over Taxes" activity? Students were given different roles (King George III, member of Parliament, tax collector, or colonist) to better understand the ideas from the first lesson of Chapter 8. In the next lesson, tensions will continue to grow between the colonists and Britain.

Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will continue Unit 5 on number theory and fractions. Students will identify the LCM of numbers in order to find equivalent fractions with like denominators. This needs to be done when comparing, ordering, or adding and subtracting fractions. Please note that we will not have Math on PARCC testing days.

Mark Your Calendar:

March 9 - PARCC Testing (ELA Unit 1)

March 11 - PARCC Testing (ELA Unit 2)

March 11 - Sneak Preview of LV History Fair (1:00 p.m.)

March 13 - PARCC Testing (ELA Unit 3)

March 19 - Spirit Day (Girls Wear Red/Boys Wear Blue)

March 19 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)