Hello parents!

Check out the happenings next week and some photos of some of the research we are doing in ELA!  In the photos, partners are listening to each other’s compelling questions, topics, subtopics and facts that they are discovering through the research of their colonial topics.  We have encouraged students to research using mel.org, which has a set of databases which include free articles, ebooks, and other general information.  We have also been practicing with the basics of citing our sources.  If you have some experience with this, feel free to start a conversation with your child on what effective research looks like and how, sometimes, we need to use some GRIT to find what we’re looking for!

Enjoy your weekend!

Math:

• We are beginning Unit 6: Operations and Word Problems

ELA:

• We are continuing our research units in both reading and writing.

Social Studies:

• We are continuing our work on our unit: The Road to the Revolution.

Misc.

• • All parents submitted an interest form for chaperoning at camp will be notified whether they’ve been selected on February 28.
  • 5th grade will be attending a Grand Rapids Symphony performance on February 27th.  We will be out of the classroom from 10:00-1:00.
  • 5th grade will be heading to Hudsonville High School on Thursday, March 1 to learn information about upcoming middle choices. We will be gone from Georgetown from 12:30-2:30.
  • Conference confirmation slips will be going home in your child’s backpack on Monday, Feb 26! Be on the lookout!

Hello parents! Whew! With winter break and a snow day mixed in, it’s been a long week of getting back into our rhythms and routines.  Never-the-less, we are keeping up with hard work as we continue through February.  We’ve completed and another social studies and science unit and are looking forward to tackling some heavier ELA units where we will be examining informational writing and take a deeper dive into what effective research looks like and how to report out our findings.

We have had some fun as well with a math review in rap form.  We use Flocabulary, a vocabulary review website that uses music and rap to reinforce concepts we’ve learned in the room.  In math, we have been learning all about division or whole-number and decimals and used Flocabulary to review what we’ve learned so far.  Students needed to write and perform a rap that taught us the steps through rhyming and examples, plus, it was fun to see them express their understanding in a different way! Click below for a couple of snippets of our work!

Miscellaneous

• • All parents submitted an interest form for chaperoning at camp will be notified whether they’ve been selected for on February 28.
  • 5th grade will be attending a Grand Rapids Symphony performance on February 27th.  We will be out of the classroom from 10:00-1:00.

Valentine’s Activities

1. Our Valentine’s activity for fifth grade will be a classroom activity.
2. We will NOT need parent volunteers for our activity, but we will be asking for snack donations. Please follow this link to sign up for Valentine’s Day!Here’s how it works in 3 easy steps: 
   1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on SignUp.com!
   2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on SignUp.com)
   3. Sign up! Choose your spots – SignUp.com will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!
3. We will have classroom Valentine exchanges on February 14. If your child chooses to participate, please send in a Valentine for every student in the class. Cooley Valentine’s List

Parent chaperones are needed for fifth-grade camp, which is on May 17-18.

• A form came home this past week with information about volunteering as a chaperone.
• If you’re interested in volunteering, please return the form no later than Wednesday, February 14.
• Names of interested parents will be entered into a drawing.
• All parents will be notified whether they’ve been selected on February 28.

Math

• We are continuing Unit 5: Division with Whole Numbers and Decimals.

ELA:

• We will begin a research unit in both reading and writing.

Social Studies:

• We are finishing up our unit on Life In the Colonies. Students will have a test early this week on this unit. The study guide has been sent home.

Science:

• We continue our unit called, “Ch-Ch-Changes,” that has to do with matter.

REMEMBER Thursday, 2/8/18 is JET’s PIZZA NIGHT

Would LOVE to have our class win!  Get a pizza and tell them your child is in Mr. Cooley’s Class at Georgetown!

Miscellaneous:

• Mid-winter Break = no school on Monday, February 5 or Tuesday, February 6
• Parent chaperones are needed for fifth-grade camp, which is on May 17-18.
  • Look for a form to come home with information about volunteering as a chaperone.
  • If you’re interested in volunteering, please return the form no later than Wednesday, February 14.  
  • Names of interested parents will be entered into a drawing.
  • All parents will be notified whether they’ve been selected on February 28.
• Valentine’s Activities
  • Our Valentine’s activity for fifth grade will be a classroom activity.
  • We will NOT need parent volunteers for our activity, but we will be asking for snack donations. Look for an email with information from your child’s classroom teacher regarding donation opportunities.
  • We will have classroom Valentine exchanges on February 14. If your child chooses to participate, please send in a Valentine for every student in the class.  Click here for a link to a list of students’ first names.