"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."

Friday, September 19, 2014

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!

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