Week of September 29 - October 3

And the Leader of the Week is…

Lydia!!!

Lydia does an awesome job of putting first things first!  She always starts with her plan and finishes her work before doing other things.  Lydia does a good job of avoiding distractions.  She is a hard-working, responsible student!

Upcoming Test-Science test on Thursday over the properties of matter

Husky Huslte
The Husky Hustle was a huge success this year!  The kids had a blast and as a class, I estimate that we've raised nearly $1,000!!!!  Wow!  Thank you so much to everyone who donated!!

Field Trip!!

Don’t forget about our field trip to Riverside, Farnsley-Moreman Landing this Wednesday, October 1^st.  Annie Kuzmicky and Tish Sandman will be joining us as chaperones this time around!  Kids should be dressed in comfortable clothes that can get a little dirty since we will be participating in an archeological dig and working with clay to make our own bricks!  Please also send your child with a sack lunch.  You might even decide to put sunscreen on him/her since we will spend the majority of the day outside.

Blog Comments

Do you use rounding in your job?  In your everyday life? If so, please comment on the current blog post to tell the class how you use rounding as an adult. Rounding numbers is always a tough concept for kids to grasp and Monday and Tuesday as we learn about rounding, I’d like to share with the kids the real life ways in which rounding is important.  It is my hope that making rounding more meaningful to them will help them to have a deeper understanding of the concept.

 

Fall Conferences-Don’t forget to sign up!

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/84htm4
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

 

Here’s what we’re learning next week:
Habit 4:  Think Win-Win
Math: In math, we will continue our new unit of study on place value as we study rounding and then delve into decimal place value.  The kids will learn to read and write decimals all the way to the thousandths place.
Science: We will finish up our unit on the properties of matter with the test on Thursday!

Social Studies:  We will begin to explore the various migration theories of how the first inhabitants of North America arrived came to be here.
Word Study: We will continue exploring the different types and uses of figurative language.
ELA: In ELA, the kids will learn the characteristics of a fluent reader.  We will also continue playing with words through the use of figurative language and idioms in stories and poems.  We will wrap up the week with a transfer task on word usage.

Week of September 22-26

And our Leader of the Week is…

Cristina!!!

Cristina was chosen as our Leader of the Week because she always remembers to begin with the end in mind!  She is a goal setter with a can-do attitude!  When she wants to excel, she starts with a plan to achieve her goals—especially in her writing which is organized, neat, and full of detail!  Cristina knows she wants to be a success and makes a daily effort to begin with the end in mind!

Upcoming Test:  Math Test over Number Theory on Wednesday, September 24.  Skills included on this test are: order of operations, squaring numbers, finding factors, prime factorization, and understanding verbal expressions.

Habit 2:  This week we focused on habit 2 of the 7 habits of happy kids, “Begin with the end in mind.”  This habit is all about making a plan to be a success.  The kids spent some time thinking about what they want to achieve and who they want to be 10 and 20 years into the future.  They also wrote a personal mission statement.  Check out the one written by your child!  It should be on/in the agenda where they can remember their mission each day.

Harmony Harvest Silent Auction:  This afternoon, your child will bring home a letter all about our class contribution to the silent auction.  Our awesome room moms have come up with the great idea of creating a class recipe/picture book!  Please see the letter for details.  I will also attach it to this e-mail.

Edmodo:  This week I’ve begun to roll out Edmodo with the kids.  This is an amazing tool is a free and secure learning network for teachers, students, and schools.  It provides a safe way for teachers and students to connect, share content, access homework, participate in discussions, manage due dates, and receive class information.  Your child will be using it next week for homework to access and discuss articles at home instead of doing a reading log.  I also plan to put quizzes on Edmodo next week to help the kids prepare for their math test.  Some great things about this tool are that the kids will get immediate feedback on quizzes and they can communicate with classmates to make even homework interactive!

MAP Testing:  MAP Testing is almost complete!  The kids have one more test, Language, to take next Friday.

Homework:  Today as part of our 7 habits discussion we focused on homework.  I had the kids help me to brainstorm why we do homework and what the end result of homework should be and then I typed up their ideas.  Here’s what they came up with!  Please support your child at home and encourage him/her to study.  Fifth graders are still learning responsibility and oftentimes they need a parent and a teacher cheering them on and applauding their efforts at both home and school.

Here’s what we’re learning next week:

Habit 3:  Put first things first!

Math:  In math, we will review number theory and prepare for the test and the transfer task.  On Thursday, we will begin a new unit on place value.

Science:  This week we will begin a science unit on the properties of matter!  There will be lots of demonstrations and hands-on activities! 

Word Study:  We will continue exploring the different types and uses of figurative language.

ELA:  In ELA, the kids will explore idioms and they will be writing a BioPoem and a short report on a famous scientist or inventor whom they’ve researched this past week.

Blog Post for the Week:  Don’t forget to check out our student blog post for the week to see what’s been happening in class!

Have a nice weekend!

Fun activities in class this week!

We were working on mission statements for our future, and our goals. As you can see some of our classmates showing their mission statements!

We were also making list of words/symbols and sorting them into columns during math.  The words/symbols were related to the operations addition, muiltcation, division, and subtraction. So say a word was add we would put it in the addition row.  These words and symbols will help us to understand verbal expressions.

Week of September 15-19

And our Leader of the Week is...

 

Abram!!!

         Abram has been chosen as our Leader of the Week for his awesome use of Habit 1:  Be Proactive!  All week Abram has been taking the initiative to start and finish his work in class, and to do it to the best of his ability.  He has even taken the initiative to seek out ways to be a helper in the room during indoor recess.  He follows directions without being asked and he comes in each day with a positive attitude!

  Upcoming Test!

Thursday, September 18, we will have our first social studies test of the year over geography. Please have your child take the tutorial for chapter 1 at home. This will be homework on Monday and Tuesday, but your child may begin practicing this weekend if you wish. I also have several links on my blog which will help them to practice identifying the continents and oceans. The kids will need to be able to identify these along with the prime meridian, the equator, and the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer on a blank map.

 

 Remind101

Would you like to receive reminders about important class happenings? Sign up for text reminder using Remind101 at https://www.remind.com/join#/join/whitley20.Your phone number will remain private and you won't be able to reply to me, but it's an easy way for me to send you important reminders. :o)

 Parent Orientation PowerPoint

I am attaching a copy of the PowerPoint from Parent Orientation for any who were unable to attend. Check it out and let me know if you have questions.

Parent Letters

This past Wednesday I sent home a letter in the Wednesday folder requesting that parents write in to our class explaining how you use writing in your career (or even in real life). I would love to have lots of parents participate because the kids love learning about you and they value learning about why what we teach in school is important in the real world. I'd like to encourage each family to take part in this and please send in your letter by next Wednesday.

MAP Testing

We completed our first MAP test today over Reading and the kids will take the Math and Language portions of the MAP Test on the computer each of the next consecutive Fridays at noon. We use this test to give us further feedback on the needs of our students so we can find the best ways to help them meet their highest potential.

PE

We will begin our first PE rotation on Monday. Please be sure to wear appropriate shoes. If you would like to receive text reminder about PE you can go to:

https://www.remind.com/join/groupwi.

A quick message from Mr. Albritton:

Blog Update!

Check out our blog today too! Our reporter and our photographer were able to work together to create a new post and you will be able to see a copy of this weekly update, as well as find out who our Leader of the Week is for next week! Be sure to scroll down so you can see both the update and the student post!

 

 So, what are the kiddos learning next week?

Habit of the Week: Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Reading: During Reading, we will begin researching for a short essay and biopoem that we will be writing about a famous scientist or inventor. We will be using the reading strategy of determining importance.

Writing: During Writing, the kids will continue learning about the 6 traits of writing: sentence fluency, organization, voice, ideas/content, conventions, and word choice.

Word Study: This week we will learn the different types of figurative language and how you can use them to improve word choice in writing. We will also practice tricks for spelling the continents and oceans for our social studies test on Thursday.

Math: Our focus in math will be continue to be learning how to undestand mathematical expressions, exponential notation, and how to use the order of operations.

Social Studies: We will share our green screen presentations on the various U.S. regions early next week and then finish our first unit on geography.

 

I hope you have a nice weekend! Enjoy the cooler weather! :o)

 

Using Questioning and Learning about Regions

Our class was working on using the thinking stems for questioning during reading aloud.  These stems are: I wonder... What if.... Why..... I don't understand..... It confused me....... Here are some pictures!

Now here we were using an app called Pic Collage to search for pictures of each U.S. region in groups.  The regions are Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, West, and Southwest Regions. Here are some pictures!

Week of September 8-12

...And our very first Leader of the Week is...

Ethan!!! 

Ethan earned this honor for his excellent use of the 7 habits this week!  He used habit 1 by being proactive and entering class everyday with a smile and a positive attitude!  He used habits 2 and 3 because each day he put first things first and started his work with a plan to complete it efficiently!  He synergized beautifully with classmates this week while working in groups and he even stood up for a friend who was having a hard time!  Ethan likes to sharpen the saw by running cross country, so be on the lookout for him during Harmony Cross Country meets!

 

Remind101

Would you like to receive reminders about important class happenings? Sign up for text reminder using Remind101 at https://www.remind.com/join#/join/whitley20. Your phone number will remain private and you won't be able to reply to me, but it's an easy way for me to send you important reminders. :o)

Parent Orientation

Many thanks to all of you who made it out for Parent Oreintation last night! I really enjoyed chatting with you and having the opportunity to share important information about our class! If you were unable to attend or would like a copy of the PowerPoint, I have attached it to this email. Check it out and let me know if you have questions.

Early Release

This Wednesday, September 10th will be our first Early Release Day. Students will be dismissed at 12:20pm. If your child has a change in afternoon transportation that day, please be sure to send a note to school that morning!

Author Visit!

Harmony Elementary is excited to be hosting a visit with children’s author Tyler Whitesides on Wednesday, September 10^th. Mr. Whitesides will sign his books on September 9 & 10 at Barnes & Noble, 4100 Summit Plaza Drive. If you cannot attend the event and would like an autographed book, please completed an order form (sent home Thursday) and return it to the library with paymentno later than Friday, September 12th.The website below has information about the author; summaries of the four books in the series; and video trailers for the first couple of books in the Janitors series.

http://www.tylerwhitesides.com/#/home

MAP Testing

MAP Testing will begin this coming week. The kids will take the Reading portion of the MAP Test on the computer on Friday at noon. We use this test to give us further feedback on the needs of our students so we can find the best ways to help them meet their highest potential.

A quick message from Mr. Albritton:

This year is off to a wonderful start! I wanted to let you know of a few ways to keep up with what is happening in music. Click the links below to check out the different pages.

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/HarmonyElementaryMusic?fref=nf

Website: harmonyelemmusic.wix.com/music

Blog Update!

Check out our blog today too! Our reporter and our photographer were able to work together to create a new post and you will be able to see a copy of this weekly update, as well as find out who our Leader of the Week is for next week! Be sure to scroll down so you can see both the update and the student post!

*Side Note: If your child did not finish his/her Fantasy Island during class, I've sent it home to be completed this weekend. I've also attached the rubric and project directions for them to use in case they forgot to bring them home.

So, what are the kiddos learning next week?

Habit of the Week: Habit 1: Be Proactive!

Reading: During Reading, we will investigate the various thinking strategies and learn to make use of metacognition when reading to deepen our comprehension!

Writing: During Writing, the kids will be given a preassessment for On Demand writing so I can see what skills we need to focus on this year and then we will begin a unit on the 6 traits of writing: sentence fluency, organization, voice, ideas/content, conventions, and word choice. Word study will be tied into this as we analyze which words need to be capitalized and which don't.

Math: Our focus in math will be learning how to undestand mathematical expressions, exponential notation, and how to use the order of operations.

Social Studies: We will continue our study of geography with a focus on the various U.S. regions.

Thanks for reading! hope you have a nice weekend!

The 7 habits

This week we did an activity on the 7 habits and then presented them to Mrs Starke's class.  As you can see, we were working hard and our group presented them to the second graders!