Hey parents! Happy 2020! I hope this year brings much joy and laughter to your family! Check out what we’ve been up to and see some things that are coming up!

Miscellaneous

• Jet’s Pizza Night TONIGHT (Jan 9!)
• Screenagers: The Next Chapter Event – Tuesday, January 21st, at the Hudsonville Freshman Campus from 6:00-8:00
• Early Release – Friday, Jan. 31

Community Education Opportunity: Film Screening and Panel Discussion of Screenagers: The Next Chapter

As a 5th grade team, we feel this would be a great opportunity for parents to check this out as it is in line with a lot of things we’ve been noticing and observing in students as technology continues to play an important role in students’ lives. Check out the trailer for the film, Screenagers: The Next Chapter, or the original film, Screenagers, to help inform you and your family as you navigate the increasing social demands and pressures of today’s students with technology.

• Hudsonville Community Education Screenagers Event Site
• Screenagers Official Website

Math:
We are getting into our fourth unit, multiplication with whole numbers and decimals.
To prepare and review, students should be completing MobyMax Fact Fluency practice at home for five minutes per day unless they have mastered all math facts.

ELA:
We’re beginning a reading and writing unit which will be investigating non-fiction texts and tackling text complexity.
Students should be reading for 20 minutes each night and filling out the reading log.

Science:
We’re discussing collaborative work practices and scientific understanding.

Social Studies:
We will be continuing our fourth unit, Life in the Colonies.

New Podcast ALERT!

We had the opportunity to host and interview Hudsonville Public Schools Board President, Ken Hall, in our classroom!  January is Board Member Appreciation Month and we wanted to invite him in to see and experience life in our building!  Students welcomed him, asked questions, gave him a tour of the building. On the tour students highlighted special areas, events, and memories that were important to them as they led him around the school visiting several classrooms where learning was taking place.  Lastly, a small team of students, Cal, Morgan, & Alison, developed questions and conducted a podcast interview which you are about to hear! They wanted to him to share a little about his role, find out about how reading plays a role in his life, and get advice about how to develop a growth mindset.

The Bubble Gum Podcast

We want to thank Mr. Hall for taking the time to join and share with us today, as well as his role in helping make Hudsonville Public Schools a great place to learn! Also, many thanks to the other board members who serve alongside Mr. Hall who work as a team to represent the tax payers of Hudsonville and make this an extraordinary community.

Our Class at Work

Students with Hudsonville Public Schools Board President, Ken Hall, as they conduct a podcast interview during his visit to our class.

Miscellaneous

• Early Release – Friday, December 13
• Upcoming Spirit Week – December 16-20
  • Monday- Green/Red Day
  • Tuesday- Holiday Hat Day
  • Wednesday- Cozy Scarf/Socks Day
  • Thursday- PJ Day
  • Friday- Holiday Sweater Day
• Holiday Party Details! -Friday, December 20th!
  • Thanks to everyone who signed up for something! There are still some spots available for things to bring and we could use another cook and server if you’re available! Check the Sign Up below!
  • Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: https://signup.com/go/qnPdPhy
• Penguin Patch Shopping Day- Wednesday, December 16th!

To help prepare for the test, students worked together to write their own work problems based on equations that we’ve been working on.

They needed to write out a situation that went with the equation. The group also needed to write out how to solve the problem on the back of the card. Later, students traveled in pairs to solve their classmates’ word problems!

Miscellaneous

• Georgetown Elementary Holiday Program will be held on December 12.
• Early Release – Friday, December 13
• Upcoming Spirit Week – December 16-20
  • Monday- Green/Red Day
  • Tuesday- Holiday Hat Day
  • Wednesday- Cozy Scarf/Socks Day
  • Thursday- PJ Day
  • Friday- Holiday Sweater Day
• Fifth grade classroom holiday parties will be held on Friday, Dec. 20. Below is the sign up for our Holiday Party! We will be doing a special holiday breakfast for the kids! Click on the link below to sign up to either bring in items or serve in person.  If you served in person at the Halloween Party, please give a window of time during the sign up window to allow for others that haven’t had the opportunity to serve to sign up.
  Thanks for your help to make this a special event for your kids!
  Here’s how it works in 3 easy steps:
  1. Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: https://signup.com/go/qnPdPhy
  2. Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
  3. Sign up! It’s Easy – you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.
• Penguin Patch Shopping Day- Wednesday, December 18!

Mr. Cooley’s Dad, Mike Cooley Sr., came in to share about the writing process with us! He told stories from his book, The Power of Forgiveness, and encouraged us to write our own stories. Thanks, Mr. Cooley Sr.!

We had to opportunity to share some of our favorite stories with our kindergarten buddies in Mrs. Tindall’s class!

We got to prepare reading by doing what teachers do and place sticky notes in areas where we wanted to ask questions or make predictions.

We had fun getting cozy and sharing some reading!

The annual candy cane sale has returned. Our fifth-grade classes will sell candy canes to help raise money for their end of year activities. This year the sale runs from Wednesday, December 4 through Wednesday, December 18.The cost for each candy cane is $1.00, and they will be delivered the same day they are ordered. Thank you for your support, and happy holidays!

See what’s coming up below!

Miscellaneous

• Early Release – Friday, November 15
• Parent-teacher conferences will be held on November 18 and 20. Find our class conference schedule HERE.
• Report cards – you will receive your child’s report card at your conference.
• Goodies Factory Fundraiser Item Pick Up on NOVEMBER 21 from 3:00-5:00 PM!
• • If your child participated in the fundraiser, items must be picked up on Thursday, November 21 between 3:00 and 5:00 PM.
  • If you’re unable to pick up items during this time, please make arrangements with a friend, neighbor, or family member.

Georgetown Elementary Holiday Program will be held on December 12.

Our Class at Work

We’ve been working on the Columbian Exchange, or the movement of animals, plants, and diseases around the world during the age of exploration.

In this activity, students had to correctly label foods, animals, and diseases on a map according to where they originally came from.

Students were surprised to see how the movement of these goods from one continent to another impacted people and people and their cultures!

Miscellaneous

• Early Release – Friday, November 15
• Parent-teacher conferences will be held on November 18 and 20. 
• Individual conference times were communicated earlier last week. Reference the Fall Conference 2019 Google Form for the schedule!
• Goodies Factory Fundraiser

• • If your child participated in the fundraiser, items must be picked up on Thursday, November 21 between 3:00 and 5:00 PM.
  • If you’re unable to pick up items during this time, please make arrangements with a friend, neighbor, or family member.
• Georgetown Elementary Holiday Program will be held on December 12.
• Our Class Holiday Party will be on Friday, December 20th and will involve a pancake breakfast for students. Our approximate timeframe will be:
  • 9-9:45 setup/cook while students are at specials
  • 9:45-10:45 eat/activities/cleanup
• More info, including signup link, to come soon!

Math:

• We are getting into our third unit, multiplying and dividing fractions. 
• Students should be completing Moby Max Fact Fluency practice at home for five minutes per day unless they have mastered all math facts.

ELA:

• We’re beginning a reading and writing unit which will focus on theme.
• Students should be reading for 20 minutes each night and filling out the reading log.

Science: 

• We’re discussing collaborative work practices and scientific understanding.

Social Studies:

• We will be continuing our second unit, Three Worlds Meet.

Picture This…Our Class at Work!

In writer’s workshop, we have been working through making Revision Decisions. As writer’s, we understand that we always have choices that can help our writing sound smoother and be better constructed.

In this lesson, our focus was on Talk It Out, which was all about when writer’s revise, they often need to talk it out loud with others to get the best version of their writing.

This task was where students had to combine sentences by deleting, rearranging, adding connectors, and/or trying new verb endings (all previous mini-lessons) and talk through which options sounded the best.

It was great to see groups work together and take risks as they tried some new things in their writing!

Miscellaneous

• Parent-teacher conferences will be held on November 18 and 20. 
• Individual conference times were communicated earlier this week.

Goodies Factory Fundraiser

• If your child participated in the fundraiser, items must be picked up on Thursday, November 21 between 3:00 and 5:00 PM.
• If you’re unable to pick up items during this time, please make arrangements with a friend, neighbor, or family member.

Thank you to parents who volunteered or donated items for our fall party!

The Bubble Gum Podcast: Episode #4 “Growth Mindset Matters” is LIVE!

Goodies Factory Fundraising!

• Goodies Factory fundraiser orders and payment are due on Monday, Oct. 28.
• Please turn in one check payable to Georgetown Elementary for the entire order  AND BOTH WHITE AND YELLOW FORMS TO SCHOOL. 
• Plan to pick up ALL items on Thursday, November 21st, from 3:00-5:00 PM.  Please note that we cannot hold any items overnight!
• Turkey Trot on Tuesday, October 29
• Picture retake on Tuesday, October 29
• Halloween Party on Thursday, October 31. Please refer to the party link for details. 

Math:

• We are getting into our third unit, multiplying and dividing fractions. 
• Students should be completing Moby Max Fact Fluency practice at home for five minutes per day unless they have mastered all math facts.

ELA:

• We’re beginning a reading and writing unit which will focus on theme.
• Students should be reading for 20 minutes each night and filling out the reading log.

Science: 

• We’re discussing collaborative work practices and scientific understanding.

Social Studies:

• We will be continuing our second unit, Three Worlds Meet.

Picture This.. Our Class at Work!

We shared our Growth Mindset interviews with each other today!

It was great to see how much “failure” stories overlapped with each other! It’s so great to hear and learn about the failures, challenges, motivation, and encouragement from others’ experiences!

Goodies Factory Fundraising!

• Goodies Factory fundraiser orders and payment are due on Monday, Oct. 28.
• Please turn in one check payable to Georgetown Elementary for the entire order  AND BOTH WHITE AND YELLOW FORMS TO SCHOOL. 
• Plan to pick up ALL items on Thursday, November 21st, from 3:00-5:00 PM. 
• Please note that we cannot hold any items overnight!

Important Reminders:

• Early Release and Popcorn Day Friday, October 18
• Turkey Trot on Tuesday, October 29

Podcast Episode #3 is Available!

• Check out Addison, Teegan, and Caleb talking about some great books by finding us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, listening through our blog, or any other places that you find podcasts! Tune in and subscribe!

Picture This… Our Class at Work!

We had fun practicing adding decimals through games!

Partners helped each other by working together on problems and correcting each other’s mistakes.

We had fun practicing in a more relaxed and calm way!