Hello Families!
Can you believe that your fifth-grader has reached the halfway point of fifth grade? Welcoming our third quarter in is a little bittersweet, as it's evidence of how quickly this year is flying by. Final grades will be posted by Monday morning.
Today, our school had the great fortune of hosting the Ballet Folklorico Mexico performers today. It was an impressive extravaganza of traditional Mexican dancing and ropework. Students and teachers also had the opportunity to join in the fun. Thank you to Senora Swanson for bringing them to Horizon!
Here's the update:
Reading: Today students received their Newbery books and project information. Our focused genre is not only Newbery books, but Historical Fiction. The books span from early 1400s to 1940s. That's quite a span in history. I was extremely excited to see how eager they were to finally have their books in hand. As these books are Newbery winners, they demonstrate strong writing. I hope the students fall into the reading and get lost in the worlds of the past. Click on the thumbnail for more information and DUE DATES.
Math: We continue on in our Unit 3 work. As we near the end of the chapter, I would highly recommend checking out our new "Math Expressions Websites" page up above. I've added some links that might help practice the different concepts we've worked on throughout this unit. As of now, the Math test will be February 4th. This is subject to change dependent on scheduling changes.
Writing: Students just completed their first friendly letter. They will be delivering their letters to the recipients next week. We will continue practicing our friendly letter writing once we are paired up with a 5th class from another school. In addition to friendly letters, we will extend letter writing into the business realm.
Science: We just finished learning about the heart, lungs, skin, and teeth. Ask your student to share some of their new knowledge about one of these areas of the body. Next up, testing foods for fat, protein, and carbohydrates in foods.
Social Studies: The students took their Chapter 6/7 test on the 13th. Now that all of the students have taken the test, they will be coming home on Monday. Please sign them and send them back to school. We will start a more in-depth look at colonial life in our next chapter.
Spelling: Students took the second Achievement test in Spelling.I was thoroughly impressed with the progress the class made! Congrats, students!
Reminder:
MAPs Math Test is first thing Monday morning.
MAPs Reading Test is Tuesday, February 8th.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Points of Business
Good Morning Families!
- Students received a list of missing work yesterday morning. Copies are available if students are unable to locate items in their folder. It is up to the students, with parental guidance, to complete any missing work by Friday. As this is their responsibility to want to achieve, I have been prompting the option to complete work, but will not force it. The only case in which I will be making makeup work mandatory is in the case of a test retake. After Friday, I can no longer accept missing work to apply towards the second quarter grades. I do hope students will take this opportunity seriously and work towards their best 5th grade self.
- If your child is doing the Bango Bucks fundraiser, all materials are due TOMORROW (1/19).
- Social Studies tests will be coming home tonight. Please sign it and send it back with your student as quickly as conveniently possible.
- MAPs Math testing is next Monday. Over the weekend, please make sure plenty your child gets plenty of sleep. We are doing them first thing in the morning. A MAPs Reading test may be following the week after, depending on times. I will update you on the date and time of that as soon as it is determined.
- Book Orders are due this Friday 1/21 and will be placed that afternoon.
- As always, please make sure students have the proper winter gear for our snowy weather. Again, we've had many students out in this cold weather with nothing more than a sweatshirt on or without hats, gloves, boots, etc.! Our afternoons get long when they have to sit in wet clothes!!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Update!
Good Evening Families,
A few updates for you:
*Reading: We've completed our Mystery unit. Students are currently working on their final project. They have spent upwards of four hours in the computer lab designing their own glog, a multimedia book review about their mystery book. As they've been glogging, I've been privy to all sorts of creativity! It's fantastic.
*Math: In Math, we're continuing our third unit which focuses on Addition and Subtraction of decimals. We have been working hard at reviewing place value. Not only have students been working on new addition and subtraction methods ~ ask them to show you the Groups Below Addition method or the Subtotal method ~ but we've also been working on finding numbers that work together when paired to make mental math easier. This week, we're tapping back into our brains to find out what we remember about rounding.
*Social Studies: Well, we are just about done with our Chapter 6/7 studies. Students have learned about the first two colonies that survived in North America. Jamestown and Plymouth colonies have many similarities, yet many differences. Our test is this Thursday. Students received the review sheet last Friday. It is due Wednesday afternoon, at which time, we will go over the entire sheet.
In addition to our text work, we are also continuing to build mapping skills.
*Science: Our new unit "You and Your Body" is a hit. So far, we've learned about the human skeleton, reaction time, and most recently, the heart. Ask your students to share some of the facts they've learned about the body so far. Tomorrow we will discuss the lungs.
I've asked students to begin bringing in clean food labels. However, I reminded them not peel off labels from cans in the pantry; otherwise, it's mystery dinner every night!
*Writing: We will begin working on letter formats this week. Our focus will be friendly first and then followed by business letters. My hope is to connect with an area school and set up penpals to practice our friendly writing skills.
*FOLDER CLEANOUT. Please watch for information coming home regarding the Six Flags Reading Incentive program. Students will receive information after a short presentation on Wednesday morning. You also received information regarding selling Bucks tickets. This is due January 19th. Keep selling!
Please remember to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
angeama@pewaukee.k12.wi.us
Enjoy your day!
A few updates for you:
*Reading: We've completed our Mystery unit. Students are currently working on their final project. They have spent upwards of four hours in the computer lab designing their own glog, a multimedia book review about their mystery book. As they've been glogging, I've been privy to all sorts of creativity! It's fantastic.
*Math: In Math, we're continuing our third unit which focuses on Addition and Subtraction of decimals. We have been working hard at reviewing place value. Not only have students been working on new addition and subtraction methods ~ ask them to show you the Groups Below Addition method or the Subtotal method ~ but we've also been working on finding numbers that work together when paired to make mental math easier. This week, we're tapping back into our brains to find out what we remember about rounding.
*Social Studies: Well, we are just about done with our Chapter 6/7 studies. Students have learned about the first two colonies that survived in North America. Jamestown and Plymouth colonies have many similarities, yet many differences. Our test is this Thursday. Students received the review sheet last Friday. It is due Wednesday afternoon, at which time, we will go over the entire sheet.
In addition to our text work, we are also continuing to build mapping skills.
*Science: Our new unit "You and Your Body" is a hit. So far, we've learned about the human skeleton, reaction time, and most recently, the heart. Ask your students to share some of the facts they've learned about the body so far. Tomorrow we will discuss the lungs.
I've asked students to begin bringing in clean food labels. However, I reminded them not peel off labels from cans in the pantry; otherwise, it's mystery dinner every night!
*Writing: We will begin working on letter formats this week. Our focus will be friendly first and then followed by business letters. My hope is to connect with an area school and set up penpals to practice our friendly writing skills.
*FOLDER CLEANOUT. Please watch for information coming home regarding the Six Flags Reading Incentive program. Students will receive information after a short presentation on Wednesday morning. You also received information regarding selling Bucks tickets. This is due January 19th. Keep selling!
Please remember to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
angeama@pewaukee.k12.wi.us
Enjoy your day!
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Beaming Ear to Ear
Good Evening Families!
I have to share some news. Today, we welcomed a new student from Congo into our classroom. As this student does not speak English confidently, I had asked our class to be friendly, as usual, but careful not to overwhelm him. My, oh, my! Not only was I impressed by our class, I am so proud of them. So many students went out of their way today to welcome Michel (Me-Shell) and show him the 5th grade ropes. He seemed to have a great day and, I know, he appreciated all of the effort everyone put in.
Not only that, but we might have community members, as well as parents at the ready to work with Michel. Reading with him, working on vocabulary, and just showing him that he is a part of our school is going to be an amazing opportunity. This is a testament to the giving spirit of the Pewaukee family - rallying to help others. I love it.
You guys are awesome!
To many more successful days. Hooray!
~Ms. Angel
I have to share some news. Today, we welcomed a new student from Congo into our classroom. As this student does not speak English confidently, I had asked our class to be friendly, as usual, but careful not to overwhelm him. My, oh, my! Not only was I impressed by our class, I am so proud of them. So many students went out of their way today to welcome Michel (Me-Shell) and show him the 5th grade ropes. He seemed to have a great day and, I know, he appreciated all of the effort everyone put in.
Not only that, but we might have community members, as well as parents at the ready to work with Michel. Reading with him, working on vocabulary, and just showing him that he is a part of our school is going to be an amazing opportunity. This is a testament to the giving spirit of the Pewaukee family - rallying to help others. I love it.
You guys are awesome!
To many more successful days. Hooray!
~Ms. Angel
Sunday, January 02, 2011
What a talented crew!
During the afternoon of our last day before break, many students signed up to share some talents. We had a gymnast, artists, musicians, basketball players, magicians, dancers, and yo-yoers! I was extremely impressed with how brave everyone was to get up and show their peers their special talents. Thanks for sharing,everyone!
Snowflakes and Songs
The day before our Winter Break began, we had a lovely day together. Mrs. Keefe's class came down and taught us to make snowflakes. We were impressed by their direction-giving. They even used words like hypotenuse, angle, and parallel lines to help us make the snowflakes accurately.
Click here for a fun internet-based snowflake maker.
After our snowflake-making, we headed into the gym to listen to some live music. Ms. Booker's friend brought his guitar and led us in some fun songs. He even got some students up to help him sing.
Click here for a fun internet-based snowflake maker.
After our snowflake-making, we headed into the gym to listen to some live music. Ms. Booker's friend brought his guitar and led us in some fun songs. He even got some students up to help him sing.
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