Happy Wednesday!

Hello Families,

I hope everyone is having a great week. I just wanted to share a few reminders and updates for our class:

Dates for the Calendar (these are also posted on our Class Google Calendar):

• Monday, October 14th--Columbus Day so there will be No School!
• Thursday, October 17th-Layers of the Earth Test. I am done teaching the unit and during class time students are working through different activities about the Earth. There are flashcards, as well as other resources, in Google Classroom to help with studying. I encourage your child to use them!
• Friday, October 18th--Math test on Fraction and Decimal Equivalents. Please make sure your child is reviewing their notes and completing them homework in order to prepare. 
• Friday, October 18th--Word Study Tests
• Thursday, October 31st--Fall Party. Be on the look-out for an email from a couple of our parents with information on supplies and volunteer opportunities. 

Reminders:

• If you haven't already, please sign up for 1st quarter conferences using the following link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c094eaaa928a3fc1-1stquarter1
• Send in 5th Grade Celebration money by October 15th, if you haven't already
• School Musical parts have been assigned. More information will come on Friday when students have music!  

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Puma Promenade

Hello Families,

I wanted to send a reminder to have your child set up their student website for our fall fundraiser. This year, students are raising money through the Puma Promenade, which is a fun run to promote physical activity while also raising funds for our school. Students will raise money to walk/run laps around our track for 15 minutes. Students should set up a website and set a goal for how much money they would like to raise. Then, parents can share their child's website via email or social media platforms to help their child reach their goal. For every $25 they raise, they will earn a little prize and be entered into a drawing for even bigger prizes!

Setting up a student website is easy:

• Go to: https://www.getmovinfundhub.com/register?school_uuid=5d3b1ecd5063f
• Complete the student webpage 
• If you can, make an online donation to start the fundraising
• Share with family and friends

Every little bit of money raised helps our school! Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for your support!

Room 35 Updates

Hello Families,

I hope everyone is enjoying their week. I just wanted to share a few updates/reminders as we head through this week:

• Word Study tests will be this Friday. Make sure your child is studying the spelling of their words AND how to sort them.

• Camp Highroads permission slip and money is due this Friday. If it has not be received, then your child cannot attend our field trip.

• We have started out social studies unit on 5 Themes of Geography. This is an introductory unit to what we will be learning this year so there won't be a test. When we are done with the unit, students will work on a project using what they have learned to create a treasure map. In class we use textbooks to teach with and these textbooks are huge, so I don't want them to have to take them home. I have linked in our Google Classroom the website where students can access an online textbook. Please have your child go on and link their Google Account to the textbook website. This will make it easier to access the resources that they need to studying for future units. If they have trouble doing this, make sure they come and talk to me in the morning. 

• This year students will be offered a retake on summative assessments where they score below proficiency (2 or lower). If your child is eligible for a retake, I will send home a form with information about the retake. The form will include what they can do to prepare for the retake and when the retake test will be. I will also attach a practice worksheet to help with review. The form will need to be signed and returned to me in order for them to complete the retake (I want to make sure I have your permission before they are retested). The highest score your child gets will be their grade on that standard. Please note that they cannot score higher than a 3 on a retake. 

• In math we are reviewing Word Problems. This is a unit that students should be familiar with. We started yesterday and will test Friday. Please make sure that your child completes their homework! After Word Problems we will work on Rounding Decimals.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions. I hope everyone has a nice week!

Room 35 Updates

Hello Families,

I hope everyone is having a nice day and has found time to take a moment and reflect on the meaning behind this day. Our class did a great job participating in the Patriot Day ceremony hosted by our school and we had a great discussion yesterday about the importance of this day. We talked about what life was like pre-9/11 and what their life is like now, post-9/11. We discussed changes in air travel, national defense, and building structures that all came about because of what happened 18 years ago. I figured that if 5th grade is responsible for leading the Patriots Day ceremony, then they should have an understanding of what this day is all about.

For homework tonight, I want them to focus on taking a moment to do something that honors those who lost their lives on September 11th. I gave them some ideas like:

• thank a veteran, police officer, or firefighter for their service
• talk to a parent/guardian about what they remember from that day and how it affected them (gives them an understanding of why this day is important)
• plan to volunteer in your community so you are able to give back to others  
• wear red, white, and blue to show your American spirit
• anything else that they can think of that helps to honor the people who lost their lives or fought for our freedom

The point is that they take a moment to reflect and appreciate the freedoms we have in this country. 

Reminders:

• THIS FRIDAY--Science and Math Test! There are resources in Google Classroom to help with studying. Please have your children check them out!
• Tuesday, September 17th--DARE poster due. This is something that ALL students need to complete. 
• Friday, September 20th--Camp Highroads Permission Slip and Money due
• Friday, September 20th--Word Study Test

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Grades in Phoenix & Word Study

Hi Families,

I hope everyone had a nice start to the week! I just wanted to let you know that I am starting to put grades in Phoenix. I wanted to let you know how 5th grade documents grades in Phoenix, in case it is different compared to last year. I will be taking two forms of assessments, formative and summative:

• Formative grades are those I take from worksheets, exit tickets, etc. These grades are weighted as 0 in the grade book, meaning that they are not calculated into your child's final grade. The purpose of these grades is to show progress through a unit. The highest score I will give a child on a formative assessment is a 3, because no level 4 question was provided. I will also add notes next to a grade if the child is falling below the standard so that you understand what they are struggling with. I use formative assessments to plan who I will pull to reteach during independent work time. Formative grades will be labeled as FORMATIVE in Phoenix. 

• Summative grades are those students get when taking end of Unit tests. These are counted towards a student's final grade. The highest score a child can receive is a 4 because there will be a level 4 question on the test. These show the level of student mastery of a standard within the different content areas. Most summative assessments will be completed online, with their level 4 being written on paper. A rubric with their score breakdown and Level 4 answer will be sent home in Thursday folders to communicate their grade with you. Summative grades will be labeled SUMMATIVE in Phoenix. 

I am starting to put formative grades into Phoenix for Science (scientific investigations), Reading (figurative language), and Math (even, odd, prime, composite). Check over them to see how your child is doing meeting the current standards we are learning. Remember that Google Classroom has review materials that students can use to help them prepare for summative assessments coming up at the end of the week. Graded papers will be sent home in Thursday folders so that you may review the score with your child. If you have any questions about grading or your child's grade, please let me know. 

Word Study

Students are coming home with their word study journals today. They will take their first word study test on Friday, September 20th (our word study tests are every two weeks). Students need to be able to sort their words based on syllables, spell them correctly, use them in sentences, and come up with new words that could match the rules of their sort. I gave students a list of ideas in their notebook that they can use to practice their words. They can choose to complete however many activities as they would like. Please note that I DO NOT expect them to complete word study homework nightly. It is important that they are practicing sorting and spelling their words, but they can choose to do that in whatever way works for them. I suggest that they complete 6 activities within the 2 week period, but if they can learn their words using less activities, then I am fine with that. The point is that they practice and are prepared for their test! 

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to speaking with you soon!

Friday Updates

Hello Families,

I hope everyone had a nice week and will find time to relax this weekend. I wanted to share some reminders and updates about the week ahead.

• Camp Highroads Permission Slips/Money--The forms for Camp Highroad, along with the $25.75 payment, is due September 20th. They are slowly rolling in, but I am still missing quite a few. Please make sure you pay online/send in a check in addition to the form. I have had some forms returned with no money. Both are needed to attend the trip. Please let me know if any assistance is needed.

• DARE Posters--Posters are due Tuesday, September 17th. These are required for graduation from DARE. Students can turn them in as they complete them. See my earlier blog post for the directions to complete the poster.

• Google Classroom--I have updated our classroom with resources for Scientific Method and Figurative Language. Your children can go in there to access the resources to help study/review materials. For each unit, I will try and upload resources so make sure to have your child check Google Classroom often.

• MAP testing--Students will be taking their MAP assessments next week. These ARE NOT things they are to study for. It assesses what they already know in math and reading. This data will be used to identify activities to enrich/support them in math and reading. I will use the math data to support personalized learning in math. 

• Word Study--Students have taken their placement assessment, but we are still working to build groups. Word Study will start on Monday, but students will be given a list of commonly misspelled 5th grade words that they will have to learn to spell, as well as sort by the number of syllables. Word Study words will be tested every two weeks. More information about word study will be given on Monday. 

• 5th Grade Celebration-- Information was sent home yesterday about 5th Grade Celebration. Please read through the form carefully and make sure to return it when you can. 

I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather and that we have some nice weather this weekend! As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great evening. 

Welcome Back!

Hello Families,

I hope everyone had a nice, long weekend! I spent it enjoying the final days of summer at the pool with my family. However I spent a lot of time worrying about my family and friends in Florida. My parents have been evacuated which is great, but I am hoping their home will remain safe. Some of your children shared that they have family in Florida too so I just wanted you all to know that I am thinking of them and hoping everyone stays safe!

Dates to Note (all added to our class Google Calendar):

• Tuesday, September 10th--First DARE lesson
• Wednesday, September 11th--Patriot's Day Ceremony. Send your child to school wearing red, white, and blue
• Friday, September 13th--Math and Scientific Investigations Test (my apologies...I usually try to avoid two tests in one day but it just happened out that way)--Students should be studying their notes OR may head to our Google Classrooms to find resources to study with.
• Tuesday, September 17th--DARE Posters due!
• Friday, September 20th--Camp Highroads Permission Slips due

Room Parent:

Unfortunately we have not had anyone volunteer to be our room parent. This person's role would be to help plan and organize class parties throughout the year. I would be available to assist in planning, but I am not able to take it all on. I have notified the PTA to see if they could help find volunteers, but if we don't get anyone to take on this role, then I am not sure if the experience would be the same as other classes. I understand that everyone is busy and doesn't want to commit to something this involved, but please let me know if there is anything that you can do to help. That could be, planning one activity, organizing a snack sign-up genius, etc. Just taking on one role for the party would be a tremendous help. Thanks for any help you can provide. 

Headphones:

If you have an extra set of (cheap) headphones that your child could keep at school, that would be helpful. During math centers, students will be doing some activities on the computers that may require sound. If students don't have headphones, then they have to mute the sound. I have a few headphones to share, but not enough for everyone. Five Below and Target Dollar Spot always have some if you are able to buy a set. Headphones will be sent home with students at the end of the school year. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I hope you all have a great week!