Week of August 31-September 4

Our Very first Leader of the Week is…

Reagen!!!

Reagan was chosen as our first Leader of the Week for her awesome ability to use the first 2 habits!  She is a proactive 5^th grader who comes in each day with a “can-do” attitude and a positive mindset!  She knows how to begin with the end in mind as well.  Each day she is aware of the time and makes sure she completes all her duties in class before she goes down to help the Kinderpups to Husky Hideout!  Reagen is a true leader!

This week has flown by!  I hope you’re all settling in to the back-to-school routines.  The kids have adapted well and they’re earning compliments and stars left and right!

Dates to Remember

September 7^th ~ Labor Day

September 9^th ~ Early Release @ 12:20pm *Please be sure to send a note if your child’s afternoon transportation will change.

September 10^th ~ Parent Orientation @ 7:00pm

7 Habits:  This week we will focus on habits 3 and 4, Put First Things First and Think Win-Win.  These habits can be reinforced at home.  Remind your child to put first things first by doing homework right away in the afternoons.  You can encourage them to think win-win during times of conflict between siblings and friends.  Ask them how they can solve the problem so that everyone wins.

Social Studies:  We will continue our study of geography with a focus on geographic features such as mountains, tributaries, and gulfs, and we will wrap up the week by learning the locations of specific physical features of the U.S. such as the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River.

Math:  During math this week, our focus will be on learning how to use the order of operations and learning how to write and evaluate mathematical expressions.

Reading:  During the reading portion of our ELA block, we will continue learning about metacognition and the thinking strategies we can use to improve our reading comprehension.

Writing:  Our writing time will focus on learning about the 6 traits of writing (voice, organization, ideas, conventions, sentence fluency, and word choice) and applying those traits to our own writing.

Week of August 24-28

Good afternoon, parents!  We had a great first week of school!  Your kids are so very enthusiastic and sweet!  They’ve been eager to get to know one another, eager to play games, and very well-mannered in the hallways!  As rewards for excellent behavior or compliments received from other teachers, the class can earn stars.  After 20 stars have been earned, they will vote on a class celebration.  In just 3 days, our class has managed to earn Ten Stars!!!  I have been so impressed with them and I’m proud to walk the hallways with these guys!

On that note, each week, you will receive a weekly email update from me.  If your email address changes for any reason, please let me know.  These updates will include information about upcoming tests, special assignments, upcoming events in our classroom and our school as well as information about what the kids are learning each week.  You will also be able to find these updates on our class blog along with fun pictures of what we’re doing in class and descriptions of various learning events.

This Weekend’s Homework Assignment

Please help your child to gather items for a culture box that showcases their culture and their life.  A short half sheet will come home tonight with further information.  These culture boxes are due on Monday and we will share them throughout the week next week.  Pictures are great to include in the box, but please encourage them to choose objects that showcase their culture as well.

Next Week’s Homework

Next week the kids will begin logging their reading in their agendas.  I would like them to read for 20 minutes each night and in their agendas they will record the title of the book they read.  If your child reads for more than 20 minutes, the time can be recorded in the corner where you and I each sign the agenda daily.  There will also be other homework assignments throughout the week, so please be sure to look at your child’s agenda and sign it each night.

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

7 Habits:  Next week, we will begin learning about the first 2 habits from the Leader in Me program.  These are Habit 1:  Be Proactive and Habit 2:  Begin with the End in Mind.  Please talk to your kids about the habits on a regular basis.  These habits are excellent tools that can be used throughout all the phases of life to improve one’s happiness and success.

Social Studies:  Next week we will begin learning about geography including the key parts of a world map and how to use latitude and longitude to find a location.
Math:  During math next week, we will learn about reading and writing whole numbers in various forms, exponents, and powers of ten.
ELA:  Next week’s ELA lessons will be focused on learning to use one’s metacognition while reading in order to monitor your own reading comprehension.

 

Have a wonderful weekend!!  :o)

Welcome to 5th Grade!!!

Welcome, everyone!!!  We already have a lot of exciting plans for the school year and I can't wait to meet you!  If you haven't gotten your school supplies yet, please remember to do so before Open House.  During Open House, you will have the opportunity to come in, introduce yourself, find your seat, label your supplies, and put them all away.  This way we can get right into the fun, get-to-know you stuff on the first day of school!  I hope you can all make it to Open House so we'll have the opportunity to meet in person!  I'm very much looking forward to meeting all of my new 5th graders!  Please note, Open House is Monday, August 17 from 5:00-7:00pm!  Hope to see you then!!