Week of November 26-30

Welcome back!  I hope your Thanksgiving was peaceful and relaxing!  We only have 3½ more weeks until Winter Break!  Below you will find a few things you need to be aware of in the coming week or so.

 

Husky Helping House

As is Harmony tradition, our class is adopting a child for the Husky Helping House to ensure that this child has a joyous holiday season.  I will be sending home a letter on Monday requesting your support.  You may sign up to buy an item or donate money.  Please respond to this letter no later than Wednesday and enclose your donation should you choose to donate money, so I can organize the child’s wish list to assign families items to buy by this coming weekend.  All gifts are due no later than December 10^th!  This is such a cool event and the kids really get into it each year, so please consider contributing if you can.

 

Girls’ Night Out
Last chance to sign up!  Girls’ Night Out will take place this Friday afternoon from 2:30-4:00pm.  I ask that you please send your money in no later than Wednesday so I will know how many girls to order pizza for.  The girls may bring pajamas that day to change into after school so they will be comfy as we watch our movie and chow down on pizza!

 

Harmony Food Drive
We will continue to collect cans for the annual Harmony Food Drive.  Please send in canned goods and other non-perishable items.

 

BOB
Please encourage your child to keep reading those BOB books so they will be successful competitors in the Battle of the Books competition come February!  You can support their comprehension by discussing what the books and asking them to tell you about their reading each night.

 

Upcoming Tests
Measurement Quiz on Friday over converting between measures in the same system (U.S. customary and metric)

 

Here’s what we’ll be learning this week!

Social Studies:  Recently, we have learned about the first English colonies in the New World.  Now we will delve a little deeper to explore characteristics of the 3 colonial regions of the 13 original colonies.

Math:  This week kicks off a new unit on fractions and mixed numbers.  It is going to move fast because the kids should have some background knowledge from 3^rd and 4^th grade.   We will be learning to calculate the fractional part of a whole, compare and order fractions, find equivalent fractions, and how to make fractions into decimals.

Word Study:  I plan to use this time to review the systems of measurement and how to convert between various measures within the same system.  Learning the root meanings of words such as centimeter, millimeter, and kilometer will help the kids a lot.

Reading:  This week we will work in guided reading groups to utilize comprehension strategies as we read common texts.

Writing:  Students will learn to support their thinking on extended response questions using support taken from a reading passage.

Week of November 12-16

Hello, parents!  Sorry I didn't update last week.  Please read below for lots of information.  I've also added some photos of the plant and animal cells the kids made out of Play-Doh during our units on cells.

Plant Cell #1

 Animal Cell #1

 Animal Cell #2

 Plant Cell #2

Boys’ Night Out

This Friday is Boys’ Night Out from 2:30-4:00pm.  Thank you to those who signed up as proceeds go directly to our classroom budget!   If you have not signed up and would like to please send in your $25 no later than Wednesday.  I need to be sure I have enough pizza, drinks, and candy for all.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Please remember that I am holding parent-teacher conferences again this Tuesday from 2:40-6:00pm.  If you have scheduled to come in, but find you can’t make it, please call the office to cancel.  If you were unable to attend conferences, but would like to schedule a phone conference, please send me an e-mail.

Early Release

This Wednesday is another Early Release Day.  Please make arrangements for a 12:25pm dismissal.  If your child’s transportation will be different than usual, please send in a note.

Food Drive

Harmony has once again begun our annual food drive.  Please send in canned foods and non-perishable items to help donate food to families in need this holiday season.

Viewing of “Squanto”

Next Tuesday, November 20^th, we will be hosting a viewing of the movie “Squanto” in the afternoon.  This film goes along perfectly with our curriculum and the Thanksgiving holiday.  Students are invited to bring water, a snack, and a pillow for the show which we will watch in the library. 

BOB

The Battle of the Books competition (BOB) has officially begun!  There are 10 books which we are encouraging the children to read between now and February to compete in a school-wide reading comprehension competition.  Students who read 7 or more books will also have the opportunity to take the district test and possibly compete at the district level this spring!  Please encourage your child to take an active role in the BOB competition.  It’s a fantastic way to get kids excited about reading!

Upcoming Tests

Division Test on Tuesday

Read below to see what we’re learning this week.

Social Studies:  We will be learning about the first colonies in the New World, why some were successful, while others weren’t, and how the colonists adapted to and governed themselves in the new environment.

Math:  We will shift our focus from division to measurement and conversions.  You can support your child at home by helping him/her learn basic conversions in both the customary and metric systems.  Example, 1 foot = 12 inches, 1 meter = 100 cm

Word Study:  Correlating to our reading lessons, this week, we will be working on learning roots for measurement words such as centi, milli, etc. to better aquaint kids with the measurement system.

Reading:  This week’s focus will be Greek and Latin roots.  It is our intention to teach the kids how many new words can be decoded using Greek and Latin roots.

Writing:  We have been working hard to learn how to craft opinion pieces and express opinions through writing.  This week the kids will be learning how to complete an opinion piece “on demand.”  This means I will teach them how to take a prompt, analyze it, and write either a letter, article, or essay that clearly expresses their opinion within a 30 minute time frame.