Goodies Factory Fundraiser!

Parents,
Today your child has received a Goodies Factory Fundraiser packet.  The dates, times, and information are on the cover page of the packet.  Attached here is a copy of the presentation that was shown to students at an assembly this morning.  Email if you have any questions or concerns!
Have a great weekend and happy selling!
Matt

What’s Coming Up – Week of October 15-19, 2018

Happy end-of-the-week, parents!  I hope this message finds well and ready to head into the weekend for some R & R! Check out some updates below!

Miscellaneous:

  • Early release on Friday, Oct. 12.
  • The information came home this week about the 5th-grade activity fee. You can view the information here as well.
  • Look for Goodies Factory Fundraiser materials coming home soon to help cover the 5th-grade activity fee.
  • Reminder….The students are expected to read 100 minutes a week. As a parent please initial the log when they read at home, showing you confirm your child has read for the minutes recorded.

FALL PARTY

  • Fall party will be on Wednesday, Oct. 31 from 2:15-3:15. Parents are welcome to come and HELP only! Sorry, otherwise there is not enough space in the classrooms!
  • Look for a survey coming soon to your email about a sign up to help or volunteer for our class party via SignUp Genius!

I had a question about masks as students prepare for Halloween. See below for guidelines outlined by Mrs. Reagan:

  • NO MASKS during the school day, only for the party.  This means no masks in the hallway or on the bus loop or on the playground.
  • Party time masks: Only if they are NOT SCARY.  Who determines if they are scary – I do!  If there is a mask I believe might be too scary for others to see, it should NOT be brought to school.  Masks that are nice/friendly can only be worn during the class party!

Students share with a partner and practice reading their memoir out loud in order to listen for areas that may need some attention. They use feedback to make changes to their writing.

We discussed making sure that we were effective partners during our peer reviews, treating each person’s writing with care and respect for each other’s abilities and vulnerabilities.

What’s Coming Up – Week of October 8-12, 2018

Happy end-of-the-week, parents!  Please note the upcoming dates below and check out some happenings in our room through some photos at the bottom!

Miscellaneous:

  • Walk-a-thon is tomorrow on Friday, Oct. 5. Information was sent home with students this week.
  • Early release on Friday, Oct. 12.

Math: We have completed our first math test of the year and will be beginning Unit 2: Adding and Subtracting Decimals.

  • Students should continue practicing their math facts using Moby Max.

ELA: We are working on the first unit of building agency and independence as readers. In writing, we’re making progress on writing a memoir.

  • Students are expected to complete 100 minutes of reading outside of school and log those minutes.

Social Studies: We are preparing to assess the foundations of our government in Unit 1 which explores the structure of the federal, state and local governments.

Students stood in groups of 3 and pretended each to be a branch of government. They simulated checks and balances by connecting arms and felt the other branch’s checks that limit power.

It was a fun exercise that turned a little into a strong man competition for these guys! Fortunately, the other two could limit his power!

We explored Federalism through examining the individual and shared powers of the federal and state governments.

Cards were to be categorized under “Federal Only,” “State Only,” or “Shared Between Federal and State.” Cards consisted of different powers and situational actions that exercised the powers.

Students had to converse with one another, use notes, and ask questions to get things placed properly. Lots of thinking involved!

 

LASTLY, HUGE Thanks to Alexa and the Tolsma family supplying cupcakes and making my birthday SUPER SWEET!  They were delicious! 🙂

Students enjoying some Birthday love from the Tolsma family!

Turkey Trot 2018- REGISTRATION ENDS TODAY, Oct 3rd!

Hello parents!  This is a reminder that the 2018 Turkey Trot is happening soon and registration ends today, Oct 3rd!  If you’d like to register online, there is still time!  Check out the information below!

We are now offering online registration for the Turkey Trot through the community education website! This method of registration streamlines the process for you.  You will receive immediate confirmation that your payment was received and your child is ready for the race!  It also helps us out immensely by cutting down on having to collect checks and cash.

Turkey Trot details:
When:  Tuesday, October 23
Where:  Baldwin Street Middle School – Eagle Stadium
Time:  Races begin at 5:00 PM, Gates open at 4:30 PM
Entry fee:  $6.00 (includes a Turkey Trot shirt)
Deadline for entry:  October 3, 2018

If you have ever signed your child up for a community ed. activity, you already have an account.  If not, one can easily be created.

REGISTER FOR THE TURKEY TROT HERE

A copy of the registration form has also been attached to this email for your convenience.

Turkey Trot Registration Form

Book it! – Eagle Spirt Day – Math Test

BOOK IT! Our class is participating in the BOOK IT! Program to encourage reading at home.  You will receive a calendar starting October through March at the beginning of each month.  Each time your child reads at home they should mark it on their calendar.  At the end of each month, they can bring their calendar back to school and receive a coupon for a FREE personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. 

Try to make it a practice to record both, the class reading log AND the Book It! reading logs at the same time! For a free personal pizza, who wouldn’t?!

TODAY WAS EAGLE SPIRIT DAY! We had a fun time at our pep rally cheering, listening to music, and participating in fun activities!  Our very own Will from our class got to participate in the pushup challenge! See the photos below!

MATH TEST We will be having our math test on Tuesday this coming week.  Your child should have their math workbook with them and can practice ANY UNIT 1 “remembering” blank pages or problems.  These problems are designed as unit review problems and help practice prior concepts.  Please encourage your child to practice these so that they will stay fresh in their minds over the weekend! Thanks!

What’s Coming Up – Week of October 1-5, 2018

Hello Parents!  I hope that you’ve had an excellent week!  Look below for some updates on what is coming up!  Also, look below for some photos of students working on their math skills! They are preparing for our first math test of the year!

  • Miscellaneous:
    • TOMORROW (Friday, Sept. 28) is Eagle Pride Day! Wear your blue and gold or Eagle wear!
    • Walk-a-thon is coming up on Friday, Oct. 5.
      • This is our ONLY school wide fundraiser.
      • Fifth grade will walk from 10:45-11:30.
      • Parents are welcome to join us on the track after checking in at the office.
      • Click here for more information on fundraising goals and prize structure.

    Reminder….The students are expected to read 100 minutes a week. As a parent please initial the log when they read at home, showing you confirm your child has read for the minutes recorded. The log will be turned in every Monday morning.

Practicing making a common denominator!

Using each other to correct misunderstandings and to encourage one another!

 

What’s Coming Up – Week of September 24-28, 2018

Hello parents, I hope you’re having a great week! Check out some of what we’re working on below! Have an excellent weekend!

Miscellaneous:

  • SMILE! School pictures will be taken on Thursday, September 27.
  • Walk-a-thon is coming up on Friday, Oct. 5. Information was sent home with students this week.

Math: We are continuing Unit 1: Adding and Subtracting with Fractions

  • In this unit, fluency with multiplication and division facts is key. Students should be practicing their math facts using Moby Max.

ELA: We are working on the first unit of building agency and independence as readers. In writing, we’re making progress on writing a memoir.

Social Studies: We are exploring the foundations of our government in Unit 1 which explores the structure of the federal, state and local governments.

For an upcoming science unit, we are in need of lids from whipped topping tubs – Cool Whip or similar. If you have any of the lids you’d be willing to donate, please send them into your child’s teacher. Thank you!

Homework

Hello, parents.

Now that we have had a chance to settle into the routine of the school year, students will have regular homework in both reading and math. My philosophy regarding homework is that it should, for the most part, be based on a skill that a child can practice independently.

  • Reading – students are expected to read outside of the school day at least 100 minutes per week. Ideally, this would be spread out throughout several days during the week. Your child should have a reading calendar in his or her take-home folder. Each day, your child should write down the number of minutes spent reading at home and ask you to initial the calendar. I understand that families have many time commitments and that students need flexibility and choice regarding which days will work best for them to complete their reading. With that in mind, I will be checking reading logs every Monday.
  • Math – students are expected to complete at least five minutes of math fact fluency practice outside of the school day Monday through Thursday.  As the concepts covered become more complex, fact fluency is key to students’ success in math.

Occasionally we will have other homework as well as quizzes or tests for which students will need to review. In his or her take-home folder, your child has a weekly agenda. We take time to fill this out together at the end of each day. Please take a few minutes each day to look over the agenda with your child. You can also view the agenda on the blog by clicking on the weekly agenda tab near the top of the page.

What’s Coming Up – Week of Sept 17-21, 2018

Miscellaneous:

Hello Parents!  This week we have continued to work on our school routines and relationships. What a wonderful group of 5th graders we have as role models for Georgetown!  As a school we practiced our safety drills this week. The kids did a great job of rehearsing the drill procedures.

  • M-Step scores from last Spring were sent home on Friday with your child.
  • Smile….picture day at Georgetown will be Thursday, September 27th.

A note about upcoming Reading Logs…

Our first reading unit this year is all about developing independence as readers. We have already been busy learning and reviewing things that powerful readers do. We know that reading, like any other skill, is developed through practice. This week, we will be learning that powerful readers keep and analyze reading logs. We will be logging our reading at school and home each day. I am asking students to keep track of the amount of time they spend reading at home each week. They are required to read a total of 100 minutes per week outside of school.

Reading logs will be coming home Monday in your child’s take home folder. Here are some guidelines for these reading logs:

  • Students record the number of minutes read at home each day.
  • Parents initial to verify the amount of time read each day.
  • Each calendar month, students will get a new reading log and be responsible for recording their reading during the current week.
  •  All students will have the goal of reading 100 minutes at home each week. That is 20 minutes five times per week.

Happy reading!

What’s Coming Up – Week of September 10-14, 2018

Hello parents!  We’re completing our second week and beginning to fall into more routines and rhythms!  As the weather continues to ebb and flow from hot to cold and back again, remember to send your child with a water bottle to help them stay hydrated.

We’ve been working on lots of team building and get-to-know-you activities lately.  Check out some photos below from a challenge where students needed to work together to “Save Sam,” a cap-sized gummy worm who needed to find his way back into his boat and put on his “life jacket,” all without being touched by his student helpers!  Students needed to think outside the box in order to help our squiggly friend back to safety!  We learned about effective communication, collaboration, and creative thinking strategies in order to be successful and made connections to learning that we’ll do this year!

Miscellaneous:

  • Early release on Friday, September 14.
  • Sack lunch will be available; students may order in the morning when they arrive.
  • Staff book study for the 2018-19 school year is GROWTH MINDSET COACH. It is a month by month guide that helps us shift our teacher and student thinking to a GROWTH mindset approach to learning.  Each month, we’ll introduce a new GROWTH MINDSET PHRASE to our students and expand their beliefs about their own ability to learn through practice, mistakes, failures and more practice.  This months phrase is above — Everyone Can Learn.  For more info, click the link included above!

Math: We are getting started on Unit 1: Adding and Subtracting with Fractions

ELA: We are working on establishing our reader’s workshop and building agency and independence as readers. In writing, we’re starting our first unit on writing a memoir.

Social Studies: Unit 1: Our Government

Science: Our science this year will be inquiry-based. We’ll start by building routines and learning about scientific and collaborative practices.

 

Puzzled at how to get his life jacket on!

Working together requires concentration!

Coordination is key!

Coming up with a plan!

Who knew success could taste so sweet!