Miscellaneous

• Walkathon- Thank you for your support and generosity in donating to our school! The results will be tallied and communicated next week! 🙂
• Jet’s Pizza Night – Thursday, Oct. 8!

• Book It Announcement: Our classroom is participating in the Pizza Hut Book It program again this year.  This program will run from October through March.  Each month your student will bring home a calendar with a reading goal on it.  Every time they reach their goal they can mark it on their calendar.  Return the calendar back to school at the end of the month to receive a coupon for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.  Happy Reading!!

• Turkey Trot IMPORTANT Info!

• Mask Reminder – With increased concern and awareness of COVID-19 in our district and the impact it could have on our school and classroom, we ask that you please review and reinforce proper mask-wearing with your child. I remind students throughout the day multiple times of proper mask usage. It is and remains to be our highest priority to follow guidelines to avoid having students, or myself, needing to quarantine and be away from the classroom.

Regarding safety procedures and new regulations, my favorite quote to use with students comes from Hamiton. It hangs near my front desk as a reminder that we want to stay together and learn in the room with one another, not remotely and away from each other. Please help me and emphasize washing your hands, wearing masks properly, and being careful with others during this time. Thank you!

 

Hello Parents,

It’s been our first official FULL week of school! Woohoo! We made it and it feels good to be in some rhythms and routines! 🙂 Check out some happening from this week and some things to look forward to next week below!

Walkathon

I want to THANK EVERYONE who donated to the walkathon. Your generosity will allow some sweet additions to your child’s education this year in the way of books, materials that enhance our learning, and fun experiences.  Currently, our class sits at the top of earners but we heard that there is some competition from other classes yet to be processed! So, KEEP SHARING THOSE LINKS WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS and we’ll fight to keep our position! It’s all in good fun as no matter who wins the top-earning class or individual, we all win as a school since each dollar donated will impact every student! 🙂 See some walkathon photos below!

Math

Miscellaneous

• Safety program has started this week and will continue through the remainder of the school year.  Please visit mattcooley.edublogs.org/safety-schedule/ to learn more about safety teams and schedule. 
• Spirit Week – September 21-25
  • PJ Day (no pillows, blankets, or stuffed animals)
  • Silly Sock Day
  • Crazy Hair Day
  • Hat Day (+Walk-a-thon!)
  • Maize & Blue Day

We are holding our annual WALKATHON next week which is our primary fundraiser for the year.  One of our objectives in the Parent Club is to raise money to help cover costs such as classroom supplies, technology upgrades, storage solutions, books, field trips, parent/child events and other needed items for each class.

We want to promote a healthy lifestyle to our students and the community.  Please help us reach our fundraising goal by supporting our Walkathon. We have teamed up with Get Movin’© to make this event fun and profitable with online mobile friendly technology!

We Need All Parents to Complete 3 Easy Steps!

1. Register your Child by visiting www.getmovinfundhub.com It’s free, easy, and fast to register!  For School Identifier use 5f3d669d605c9
2. Consider sending an Email and/ or Text of your child’s student fundraising webpage with 10-15 friends and family. It’s super easy!
3. Consider Posting on Facebook or Twitter It’s two clicks of a button to post. You’ll be surprised when donations come in from distant relatives/friends from HS/co-workers.  Post and see what happens!

Student Goals!

• We need 100% student registration please visit www.getmovinfundhub.com today!
• Each student is encouraged to raise at least $30.
• Be an Overachiever Superstar by raising at least $150.

Cool Moment During the Week- Encouraging Others

When lining up after an outdoor recess on Wednesday this week, 5th-grade students did something pretty cool.  There was a PE class being run with a first-grade class. The first graders in the class were asked to run “the mile” around the field of our playground. As 5th graders were lining up, they took notice of these younger students, who were looking pretty exhausted only half-way through their run.  Some students took note of this and began to clap and shout encouragements to motivate them to run harder, faster, and above all, simply keep going.  Soon, the whole 5th-grade group of about 90+ students was clapping and cheering on these first graders.  Once the younger students realized that the commotion happening was for them, they began to run faster with unmistakeable smiles beaming towards the finish line.  The teachers looked at each other and joined in.  We were impressed at the groups’ initiative to motivate younger students and temporarily disregarded our quiet line expectations. It was a good feeling as we went inside.  I felt proud knowing that we have students who would take notice and think of how to encourage others! 🙂

See What Was Happening This Past Week!

We started safeties this past week!

We read safely with some 1st graders this week!

We played WAR to practice comparing fractions!

 

Hey, Parents! Check out some of what we’re working on this upcoming week!

Math

Hey Parents!

We’re wrapping up another great week at GES! These fuller days have us stretching ourselves into a little bit more of a routine.  That said, please make sure your child is getting enough sleep at night as some of us are dragging a little during the day.  Check a couple updates below and see some of what we’re doing during the day!

Enjoy a safe and fun LONG weekend! See you Tuesday!

Mr. Cooley

Miscellaneous

• No school Friday, September 4 or Monday, September 7.
• Students watched a video about the opportunity to serve as a safety at the end of the day. Safety applications due Wednesday, September 9.

The virtual classroom is a space for students to explore a bit about me and what I am passionate about, as well as explore some links that they’ll use.  By clicking on the images in the classroom, your child may find videos, photos, and books that I love and cannot wait to share with them! There’s even an activity hidden where students can create a slide that tells me a little bit about themselves! Have fun while we wait for our first day of school on Monday! Click on the image below to enter the virtual classroom!

Welcome Students & Parents!

I’ll use this blog as a way to communicate important information that affects my 5th classroom. Reminders such as field trip dates, conferences, updates to policies, etc, will be posted here. Also, you can find information out about me, as well as the whole 5th Grade teaching team. My goal is to communicate effectively with you to ensure a positive home and school relationship that best supports the learning that is happening in the classroom.

Check out the tabs and links provided on the blog to get oriented with what information will be provided here! Also, SUBSCRIBE to this blog to receive automatic updates anytime a new post appears.  This way you’ll always have the most up-to-date information on all things happening in our room!

Important note on subscribing: Be sure to check your spam folder as posts may end up there.

I’m looking forward to a fantastic year!

Sincerely,

Mr. Cooley

Hey families! Today would have been our first day at camp and even though that’s sad, my challenge for you sometime this weekend, is to do something camp-related so we can still celebrate and do something unique and special! Below, you can find a link for a FlipGrid topic: 5th Grade Camp. Your child can access it using their Hudsonville student email address and find a few videos from me and others enjoying a little bit of the camping experience from home! Share a fun, quick video of you guys (safely) roasting a marshmallow or making an indoor s’more! Or, perhaps have a camp out in the living room and set up the tent and sleep in sleeping bags! The possibilities are endless! Share your camp fun videos and let’s focus on the positive!

Parents, grandparents, and guardians,

Thank you so much for all that you are doing to support your child during this time apart. You are standing in the gap and partnering with myself, our building, and your child, as they access materials, content, and understanding.  I know that this has probably been difficult and stressful at times, but through it all, my hope is that you are forming deeper, meaningful, and lasting bonds with your children.  I hope that this time will be formative for your family, strengthening you all together.  Please know that I appreciate everything you are doing during this time.  We are a team.  We are better together even when we’re apart.  Let’s continue to support one another as we navigate these uncertain times.

From myself, and the Georgetown Staff, here is a message of thanks that we’d like you to see and hear! From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!