Hello 5-2 Families :)
My sub reports having a great time in 5-2 continuing to learn routines and settling into the 5th grade curriculum. She even sent me some pictures of the class today, so I've included them below this post for you :)
Important Dates and Information:
Morning Announcements - Permissions slips should be coming home soon!! We've had a great deal of interest from our students this year, but it does take time to set up these programs at the beginning of year. We will keep your kiddos informed as this opportunities becomes available. All students are eligible to participate on our Morning Announcements team. We simply place them on a rotating schedule to serve in one week intervals once they sign up. You will be notified when your child is on the Morning Announcement schedule - they are expected to be here at 8:45am during that entire week. More details to come!
Band ~ Band lesson began this week!! If your child signed up for band in the spring, they received information from Mrs. Kuzmanoff last week to bring home to you and you should have received an email with the schedule. If you have your child's instrument at home, please have them bring it to school on their lesson day. If you rented an instrument, Mrs. Kuzmanoff will have the instruments for them. Lessons are scheduled for Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursdays, with the whole band lesson at 8:10 on Wednesday mornings. Your child will be pulled for 30 minute lessons on a rotating schedule so they are not always pulled from the same subject. It is important that your child understands they are responsible for making up the work they miss while they are at their band lesson at home. In other words, on band days, they may have additional homework.
Maps Testing ~ Please read the notice below from our assessment team at our district office:
The NWEA Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) will be administered to all new students or those in need of progress monitoring in the fall, winter, and spring. In the winter, all students in grades 3 - 7 will take the reading assessment and math assessment. In the spring, all students grades 2 - 8 will take both the reading and math assessments. The computerized format of MAP, aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards, assesses students in both reading and mathematics and is an adaptive test. The total time for testing in both areas is about two hours. You may find additional information about MAP testing at the Northwest Evaluation Association’s website - http://www.nwea.org/ .
In other words, if your child is new to the school or they are being progressed monitored, they will take an ELA and a Math MAP test sometime this month. Every 5th grader will take both MAP tests in January for middle school placement, as well as in the spring to monitor annual progress.
Bike Rodeo ~ Wednesday, 9/13 ~ 3:35-4:45pm. Please note the Bike Rodeo is mandatory if your child would like to ride their bike to school. If they have attended the Bike Rodeo in previous years, they do not need to attend it this year.
Room Rep Meeting ~ Thursday, 9/14 ~ 2:50-3:45pm ~ Thank you to Mrs. Fung (Sophia's mom), Mrs. Cecchi (Brock's mom), and Mrs. Jennrich (Chase's mom) for volunteering to be 5-2's Room Reps this year!! I have already been in touch with our Room Reps about the need for regular copy parents to help us out with the 5th grade copying. Please let them know if you're interested in helping us out once in a while this year!
Olive PTA Spirit Wear Sale - continues and runs through 09/24. To place your order, visit the online store at Heads Up Apparel. Orders will be taken online only and your items will be delivered to your child's classroom early-mid October. Samples are on display in the Commons.
School Pictures ~ Monday, 9/18 at 10:40am ~ Say Cheeeeese! Picture order forms were already sent home. Please return them to school before picture day! Thank you!
What's Happening in the Classroom
Edmodo - the students are beginning to use Edmodo with more frequency, and I've started to get concerns about the assignments on Edmodo from some parents. Please use the assignment notebook to discern what is due for homework. The stamp at the bottom of the assignment notebook for the day lets you know I (or the sub) have verified the assignments written. Please do not use Edmodo as an assignment notebook. The assignments listed in Edmodo may be confusing - at times, I will upload assignments at night for the following day - these are not HW assignments. Sometimes the assignments will be group projects or partner work, when only one student will turn it in for the group. In this case, it may look like your child didn't do their assignment. If your child did not complete an assignment, you will be asked to sign a strike form. In the absence of a strike form, your child does not have any missing assignments. Finally, please email me with your concerns. Several parents have messaged me under their children's accounts. I don't mind answering on Edmodo, but I don't always check Edmodo. I just don't want to miss a message from you! Thank you for understanding. I apologize for any miscommunications - these are things generally covered in my Curriculum Night. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns!
Math ~ We started Unit 1 this week in math! In this unit, students will learn to represent numbers in different forms, and they learn to extend place value to 6 and 7 digit numbers. This chapter also delves into comparing and ordering numbers, negative numbers, and estimation as a way of verifying reasonableness of responses. It's a quick unit only covering 3 lessons, so I anticipate the Unit 1 Assessment to be on Tuesday, 9/19. To help your child prepare for the assessments, please look at the chapter assessment at the end of Unit 1 in their student book.
I pre-test the students for every unit. This allows me to differentiate instruction for each lesson based on the results of the pre-test. I teach math in a workshop model, so students rotate stations. In the rotation, they will meet with me for instruction, spend time in their journals, and practice skills on Khan Academy or Everyday Math Online. If they demonstrate mastery on the pre-test, they will work on enrichment and advanced content; if they demonstrate a need for additional support, I will spend more time in instruction with them.
Please be aware that homework is not graded because it is practice, but it is checked every day. If students do not demonstrate an understanding of the skills covered on their homework, they will be asked to re-do the assignment. Encourage your child to work through their homework each night - even if it is a struggle, they should do their best to complete as much of the homework as they can, but not to worry if they cannot finish it. We do review the homework every morning, so if they do not understand a concept, they will have a chance to discuss it with me.
Most nights, they will be assigned approximately two pages of work for homework - sometimes these assignments will be out of their student book and sometimes they will be out of their work book. These assignments should take them approximately 20-30 minutes of their nightly 60 minutes of homework. If you find that your child consistently takes longer than 30 minutes to complete their math homework, please let me know!
Social Studies - We began our unit on the Rising Tensions in the Colonies last week with a "letter" from the PTA limiting all classroom celebrations and field trips for the students. (We took away Camp Edwards!) They were angered and immediately began to organize protests and petitions. Students were writing speeches to present to the PTA Board, and creating signs to protest the restrictions. Their reactions were priceless! I almost didn't want to tell them I had tricked them for fear they would revolt on me! In the end, it was an excellent introduction to the tensions between Britain and the colonies prior to the Revolutionary War as we made connections between the colonists and the students, and the PTA and Britain. We will continue to study 6 of the major events that led to the Revolutionary War this week as students create posters about the events. The chapter 10 test will be on Wednesday, 9/20. Your child can prepare by re-reading the chapter, reviewing the vocabulary, and the chapter 10 reading questions. I typically post the key after students have completed the assignment to help them prepare for the test.
Reading - We began our new Schoolwide Literacy Program last week by learning about the Reading Workshop Model, and establishing routines and expectations. One of the focuses of our Launch unit is how to share our thinking as we're reading in a discussion format. Your children are thinking during our read alouds, and they are learning to be respectful and thoughtful while sharing their thoughts. They have been encouraged to share without raising their hands, but to offer their thoughts more naturally in a discussion as a whole group. This requires they pay close attention to one another in the discussion, waiting for an appropriate time to speak and respond to each other.
Please be aware that homework is not graded because it is practice, but it is checked every day. If students do not demonstrate an understanding of the skills covered on their homework, they will be asked to re-do the assignment. Encourage your child to work through their homework each night - even if it is a struggle, they should do their best to complete as much of the homework as they can, but not to worry if they cannot finish it. We do review the homework every morning, so if they do not understand a concept, they will have a chance to discuss it with me.
Most nights, they will be assigned approximately two pages of work for homework - sometimes these assignments will be out of their student book and sometimes they will be out of their work book. These assignments should take them approximately 20-30 minutes of their nightly 60 minutes of homework. If you find that your child consistently takes longer than 30 minutes to complete their math homework, please let me know!
Social Studies - We began our unit on the Rising Tensions in the Colonies last week with a "letter" from the PTA limiting all classroom celebrations and field trips for the students. (We took away Camp Edwards!) They were angered and immediately began to organize protests and petitions. Students were writing speeches to present to the PTA Board, and creating signs to protest the restrictions. Their reactions were priceless! I almost didn't want to tell them I had tricked them for fear they would revolt on me! In the end, it was an excellent introduction to the tensions between Britain and the colonies prior to the Revolutionary War as we made connections between the colonists and the students, and the PTA and Britain. We will continue to study 6 of the major events that led to the Revolutionary War this week as students create posters about the events. The chapter 10 test will be on Wednesday, 9/20. Your child can prepare by re-reading the chapter, reviewing the vocabulary, and the chapter 10 reading questions. I typically post the key after students have completed the assignment to help them prepare for the test.
Reading - We began our new Schoolwide Literacy Program last week by learning about the Reading Workshop Model, and establishing routines and expectations. One of the focuses of our Launch unit is how to share our thinking as we're reading in a discussion format. Your children are thinking during our read alouds, and they are learning to be respectful and thoughtful while sharing their thoughts. They have been encouraged to share without raising their hands, but to offer their thoughts more naturally in a discussion as a whole group. This requires they pay close attention to one another in the discussion, waiting for an appropriate time to speak and respond to each other.
We set up our Reading Baskets and our Reading Notebooks this week. Our Reading Baskets are where they keep their Reading Notebooks, Reading Folders, several texts, and a few other supplies while at school. They are encouraged to keep both fiction and non-fiction books in their baskets, and to include both books they are currently reading and books they would like to read. Their Reading Notebooks are where they will record notes and information about what they are reading. The Reading Notebook is divided into 4 sections: Whole Group, Small Group/Partner, Independent Reading, and Reading Log. They will be expected to complete a response in their notebook every night, but they do not need to bring the binder home. They simply need to complete the response and put it in their notebook when the return to school. Please be sure they are reading every night for at least 20 minutes!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns at all.
Cheers ~
“Children see magic because they look for it.”
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