Homework for today

Math - “Apple Fractions” and “Same Name Fractions”. These will help students prepare for the math test tomorrow.
Reading - “Main Idea”

Students selected their novel to read for the next several weeks. They were aloud to choose between “Island of the Blue Dolphins” or “Sign of the Beaver”.

We reviewed several reading comprehension strategies: predicting, questioning, and summarizing.

There will also be a “Kelso’s Choice” test tomorrow over problem solving skills. It’s very important that children of this age to learn to solve some of their own conflicts. This will help them greatly in their coming school years.

No homework today!

There was very little participation in the homework last night. The science was pretty important because it was preparing students for their test on either Friday or Monday. I hope that everyone is ready for questions about living and non-living environmental factors.

Physical Activity Time

We are supplementing our PE program with a regular activity time directed by teachers. For 20 minutes in the afternoon, we have students participate in one of many activities. It changes each day. Today, we had students rotate through 7 different stations on the playground equipment. Students count off by ‘7’s and then start out at one location. The activities involve coordination, upper- and lower-body strength, lots of movement, and taking turns. Tomorrow we will be having students time each other with stopwatches as they run 40 yards. Everyone gets 3 times to try to improve their time. We connect the timings with tables, graphing, and reading.

So far, students seem to really like the pre-planned activities we have. We will be planning indoor physical activities for bad weather days.

Ask your student about what they did in “PAT” today. We enjoy the level of fun and action as students get more physical activity time in an organized fashion

Mrs. Glessing will be away from school Friday, September 21, for pre-planned appointments. Mrs. Brandon will be her replacement.

Homework today!
Math and science homework were made available this afternoon.

Lunchroom update - The students have received a score of 4-4-4 (the highest score possible is 4) for the last three days! This is fantastic! The students will receive an extra 4 minutes of P.A.T. (Physical Activity Time) when they score this well in the lunchroom. Way to go 5th graders!

Writing update - The students have successfully written their first complete paragraph (it was about themselves). We have high expectations for these 5th graders. When writing a paragraph they need to indent, write at least 5 complete sentences, and spell all the words correctly. We will take the students through the editing process many times so that they will be able to edit their own pieces later in the year. We will be working on the conventions portion of writing at the end of this week with the focus on capitalization.

Reading update - In reading the students have heard two wonderful stories. “The Lotus Seed” and “Something to Remember Me By” are picture books that require the students to do “deeper” thinking about the text.
Students’ listening comprehension typically exceeds their reading comprehension. Listening to and discussing texts together enables them to build background knowledge and vocabulary, enjoy a common experience, build community, share ideas, and collaborate to construct meaning.

No homework today!

There will be science homework tomorrow. This will be a home survey of environmental factors. This will help students be ready for the science test this week on Friday. Students will need to know the difference between open and closed terrarium systems, living and non-living environmental factors, and what an environment is. A discussion with a family member is part of the assignment. The discussion is based on a disagreement about whether an environmental factor is living or non-living. What about a green house plant? What about a dry, brittle house plant? Make sure there is a written explanation about what you decide.

Math homework this week (tomorrow) will reinforce the understanding of fractions. Students need to be able to recognize fractions related to a clock - 12ths, 6ths, 4ths, 3rds, and 2ths. Wholes also will be part of the assessment.

Please send back the Rights and Responsibilties Handbook signature sheet as soon as possible!

No homework is assigned for the weekend! Students should have their instrument at home and should begin to study rhythms and fingerings, even if they can’t make any noise yet. Tapping out rhythms with fingers and toes is a good way to start learning what they need to do with their breath.

Student Mail
Students took home completed homework, a parent newsletter, and the Rights and Responsibility handbook. Please return the acknowledgment form, cut it off, and return it to school.

Steps to Respect
Mrs. Ellen Thomas, the school counselor, will be teaching lessons on how to recognize and handle challenging social situations. Today, for example, children were learning how to compliment each and make new friends. This is a six-week set of lessons.

Mr. Raymond’s and Mrs. Glessing’s 5th Grade - Parent Newsletter
September 14, 2007

5th Grade Class Homepage
We are ready to “go live” with our own 5th grade class homepage. You will find important and interesting information about schedules, homework, tests, assessments, current issues, and our plans for the year. It’s our first year so we will be ‘under construction’ for a while. Also, we will be posting student work as well. You can find our page at http://csd49.org/5th

Early Release
We will be having our first Early Release on Wednesday, October 10th.

Bus Rider Week
Make sure your child rides the bus to school from 9/24 to 10/5! The number of students that ride the busses is used to figure the amount of money our school gets for busses and transportation. The more students that ride the bus, the better our transportation services will be. Please help us provide for busses and bus drivers.

Book Order
Book orders are being taken care of by Mrs. Knauss, the school librarian. She will be collecting money about once a month for book orders. Please make sure your child’s name and homeroom teacher’s name is on the envelope and order form. Checks are made out to the book club, not to the school

Volunteering at School
We can always use more volunteers at school. There are many jobs we can use help with. If you would like to help, send a note or call us. Let us know when you can come and we’ll work out a time. If you’d like to help from home, please tell us that as well.

On-Line Mathematics Challenge Web Sites
Math Websites – Virtual Mathematics Activities On-line
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics -
National Library of Virtual Mathematics -

Donations for Projects
We are determined to improve our math assessment results this year. We have the goal of implementing Accelerated Math. This program is a state-recognized program for individualizing to student learning needs in mathematics. It will let struggling students increase their motivation by being able to work at their level in steps they can handle. It will also let those students who are ready to move on to learn more advanced skills and concepts. This program will help every single 5th grader in our 2 classes!

We need the start-up costs for the program and a computer dedicated to run the software. The cost for the program is about $2200, and the cost of a computer will be about $1300.

If you know of businesses or individuals that might help us with our project, please contact us. We would be happy to provide more information and explain how this will benefit students, families, and our 5th grade program. Thank you SO much for thinking about how we can make this dream come true!

Snacks
We like to have snacks for kids at their breaks. If you would like to contribute a container of snacks that would be great! We appreciate those that don’t have individual wrappers. Animal crackers, Goldfish, trail mix, and nuts are good choices. We try to guide healthy snacks to our students. Candy is not appropriate.

Pop and High-Caffeine Drinks
We would appreciate it very much if you would not send pop or high-caffeine drinks to school for kids’ lunches. It’s usually too much for kids to drink during lunch and ends up replacing their appetite for more nutritious food. The amount of caffeine in some drinks is not healthy or nutritious for 5th graders. A nutritious lunch is part of students being ready to learn well in the afternoon.

There is no homework assigned for today!

Cafeteria Behavior

We also have high expectations for behavior in the cafeteria, as well as the classroom. We want students to have a pleasant time with each other in a clean, respectful place. It becomes quite uncomfortable for many students when there are loud voices, food messes, and too much moving around.

There were several incidents that caused the cafeteria supervisor to keep students in for their recess time. We had a meeting with the supervisor and she gave us many examples of various students ignoring the rules. It became so much of a problem, that it was difficult to tell who was doing what. So, the two 5th grade classes were talked to and had ‘think time’ during their recess. Mrs. Glessing and Mr. Raymond also talked to the students after they returned to class and talked about a plan to avoid this situation again.

1. Follow the normal rules for cafeteria behavior.
2. Report students that are causing problems to the cafeteria supervisor.
3. Use good common sense and a respect for others when deciding what should be done. (We refer to them as Kelso’s Choices, taught from our problem-solving program.)

Upcoming Assessments and Tests

These are the assessments and tests that will be given next week.

Science - Closed and Open Terrarium Systems, and Living and Non-Living Environmental Factors.
Students will need to write a paragraph describing the differences between open and closed terrarium systems. Students will need to give example, as well. Also, students will be assessed on living and non-living environmental factors in a terrarium. Again, examples are required.

Social Studies - Problem-Solving Choices (Kelso’s Choices).
Students will need to list the 9 Kelso’s Choices on a “Choice Chart”. They do not have to be in order. Sample playground and classroom problems will be given for students to analyze and make logical decisions about how to handle them in three steps; what would be the first Kelso’s Choice, the second, and finally, the third choice they would use before approaching a teacher for assistance. The problems presented will be those that 5th grade students can commonly address themselves. We require students to try to solve ’small’ problems before adult intervention.

We had a busy day in the 5th grade. We’re still getting our schedule smoothed out so students can rely on a predictable routine. We know buses are still not getting to school on time but they will get that solved soon. We are expecting children to come in and get ready for their day and then read quietly. After a few more minutes, we start our color groups and get to our lessons.

In reading, students are practicing choosing “just right” books; those books that students can read and still have a bit of a challenge for them

In math, we completed an assessment related to “decomposing numbers”. Most students did well, but those that had been gone in the past couple of days struggled. (Difficulty with the assessment is a signal to me to re-teach and reinforce the concept.)

We also had our first evacuation drill. We have very high expectations for student conduct during emergency drills. All students must follow directions quickly and quietly. A few students could not do that this time and they will be assigned to do some thinking and review during recess. Hopefully, they will perform better next time.

Homework:

Reading: Sequencing. Students read a number of statements and then number them in logical order.

Math: Division Facts. This fact practice sheet provides exercises for students to work on their multiplication and division facts, as well. Those two operations are very closely related, and one can be understood by thinking of the other.

• “Reading and Writing Numbers”  This page of tasks is a review of reading and writing numbers to the millions.  Parents can help greatly by asking students to read numbers allowed.  Helpful examples are provided.  The ‘place value chart’ at the top of the page is very useful, as well.
• “Babysitting a Three-Year-Old”  This is a writing activity that asks students to think about reasonable ways to get along with a younger child.  Students should be able to easily come up with ideas since they have had the opportunity to be around kids of many different ages, and know what pleases and displeases  them.  Students may write in cursive or print.  Good capitalization and punctuation are required.

Today’s homework is:

• “Butchart Gardens”  This reading activity  is based on vocabulary and comprehension skills.  Some answers are open-ended and do not have just one answer.  Students should be able to offer ‘reasonable’ answers.
• “Two Digits Plus One Digit”  This math assignment is based on 3rd grade math skills.  Surprisingly, students may have more than one way to solve these exercises.  Any way that can be explained clearly and successfully should be accepted.  Calculators are not allowed.