Hope you are all enjoying this first weekend of fall!!
Shout out to Rachel Rafik for winning the HOOT lunch award with Mrs. FitzPatrick and Ms. Davis for 5th grade this week!! To earn this award, you need to earn at least one HOOT for behavior that goes above and beyond expectations, then once a month they draw only one name from all the 5th graders who earned an award...and our very own Rachel's name was drawn! Congratulations, Rachel!!
We celebrated Jeremy Allen's birthday this week with our traditional 5-2 birthday celebration - if you haven't seen the picture below to see how we celebrate our friends' birthdays, scroll down! Our birthday boy took the spotlight as all the students in the room shouted out how they would describe him, and I recorded them on the board behind him. And yes - those are all compliments according to Jeremy ;) Happy 11th birthday, Jeremy!!
Important Dates
Cultural Arts Assembly ~ Tuesday, 10/04 ~ Thanks to the PTA, our students will be entertained and educated at an assembly about "Honest Abe!"
International Walk to School Day ~ Wednesday, 10/05. This event aims to encourage healthier habits, bring awareness to the environment, and promote safe routes to school. We hope many OMS families will join us on this day as well as consider this a preferred option for getting to and from school, weather permitting, throughout the school year. OMS teachers and staff will walk with students along each of these routes. Join us on one of the following walk-to-school routes! Starting time and place is indicated.
*In case of inclement weather, we will send a SchoolMessenger email around 8am indicating the event will be rescheduled to the rain date of Oct. 6th.
Re-enactment ~ Thursday, October 6th - Our 5th graders will have an opportunity to take a step back in time to 1776 and visit a frontier camp! Traditionally, we have had this Re-enactment on the Olive field, but we had to move the event due to the construction. This year, we will be traveling to the field next to our administration offices on Dunton by bus. This is such an exciting experience for the 5th graders as they get to meet with and learn from several re-enactors from that time period. From militia members to school teachers, they learn what life was like on the frontier at that time. Permission slips went home this week - please just sign and return the form with $3.25 before Friday. Thank you!
Math
Unit 1 Assessments were taken on Thursday, and were sent home on Friday to be signed and returned. I have students attach their Self-Assessments to the test, and I have them record the score they believe they will receive after they complete the test. It's a great opportunity to reflect on their study skills, and their ability to monitor their learning. Take the opportunity to discuss the score they received, and the score they thought they earned. I was impressed with the number of students who hit their number perfectly :) We started Unit 2 - Addition/Subtraction/Multiplication Algorithms on Friday with a pre-test. Please have your child practice their multiplication facts at home on Everyday Math Facts Dash. Automaticity with math facts is critical in 5th grade as the concepts we teach demand they know their facts. I've discussed this with the students I've noticed still struggling to recall their facts. As I tell them, 5th grade math will be very challenging if they don't know their facts well.
Social Studies
As you saw, we finished Unit 10 in Social Studies with a test on Monday. I was truly impressed with their scores on this test! The average score was a 92%A - the highest I've ever seen on the 1st content area test! This tells me that the students heeded my warning to study, and used the study strategies we discussed in class - give your child on the back! Learning how to study well for assessments is a learned skill, and clearly your children have learned that well!
We started Unit 11 on Tuesday - a closer look at some of the famous loyalists and patriots who impacted our decision to declare independence prior to the Revolutionary War. Students are expected know these 6 historical figures, their arguments for or against independence, and the actions they took to defend or oppose independence. They completed an organizer last week, and I've posted the key so students are studying the correct information. They are also working on creating Debate Cards in Google Draw to help prepare them for the Unit 11 Assessment. The Debate Cards are due on Tuesday, 9/27, but they should be working on them at home this weekend. The Unit 11 Assessment is scheduled for Friday, 9/30.
Reading
We continue to practice routines in our Schoolwide curriculum, and we are growing in our ability to have a conversation about what we read. I continue to be impressed at the depth with which your students discuss characters and events in the stories we read aloud. We also reflected on our reading conversations, discussing the difference between loud and softer voices in conversations and how they can be sure all voices are heard in these conversations. Ask your child who they consider themselves to be - a louder voice or a quieter voice. Either way, your children are working hard to be sure everyone has input into the conversation! They continue to be expected to read 20 minutes per night and record their thinking. Please be sure your child allows time in their schedule to read! This week, we will add a Reading Log to the expectation, where they will record the number of pages and minutes they record every night.
Grammar & Spelling... & Vocabulary!
As you may have noticed, your child has been assigned nightly spelling assignments on Spelling City and grammar assignments on No Red Ink. These are engaging sites that allow me to differentiate instruction based on your child's performance. Each week, students are pre-tested on the spelling and grammar lessons on Monday. If they demonstrate an understanding on the pre-test, they are advanced to challenging lists and concepts. We provide challenge lists for students on a weekly basis rather than for the entire year - this way we differentiate each student's instruction to their individual needs. If you have not seen these sites yet, just ask your child to log on and show you what they've been working on. These sites are fun and engaging for the students! Spelling City offers exciting online games to practice their spelling words and No Red Ink allows students to pick "favorites" from a huge selection of lists - from their favorite TV show to their favorite hobby. Then the grammar practice sentences are created using their indicated favorites. So much fun!
This week, we will add weekly Vocabulary activities and assessments. Just as with grammar and spelling, they will pre-test on the words and advance to the challenge if they score perfectly on the test.
Edmodo
As you are aware, much of our daily work is completed on Edmodo. You may have logged on to see some of the work they are involved in, and perhaps noticed some late assignments. Please know that many of their assignments are completed in small groups, so one member will submit the work, leaving the other members appearing as if they did not submit the assignment. I do grade those group assignments and post them on each of their accounts, but in the interim it may look as if your child did not submit an assignment. Many of these assignments are also classwork only, and do not go home as homework. If a student doesn't finish the assignment in class, I will give them time to complete the assignment the next day in class. Again, it may appear as if their assignment is late. Students also may show a late assignment if they have not correctly turned in their assignment, but it doesn't necessarily mean they have not completed the assignment. We're still fine tuning our training on Edmodo, though I think most of the students have mastered how to use it!
The assignment notebook is where homework assignments are recorded. If your child has a late assignment, you will receive notification with a late slip and strike sheet. If you have NOT received one of these sheets, assume that your child does not have a late assignment, even though Edmodo may show a late assignment
Edmodo is a great place to check out some of the things your child is working on in class, though! If you are not familiar with Edmodo, have your child log you on and show you around. You can find assignments, grades, and feedback. You will also find study guides for assessment, and other helpful information I share with students in 5-2!
Sketchnoting/Visual Notetaking
Sketchnoting/Visual Notetaking
Your children were introduced to sketchnoting or visual note taking as a way to take notes this week. Studies have proven that students who add pictures, shapes, or other visual elements to their note taking actually have greater focus and retention. It requires them to synthesize the information they are hearing or reading, and process it more deeply as they record it in visual way. We practiced the skill together in small groups with a social studies content book titled George vs George. Then, we had a couple of days of mandatory sketchnoting in the classroom this week - in other words, I told them they had to take notes using this strategy for two days to give them practice. Since this strategy for taking notes appeal to some students more than others, going forward, they know they can use a more traditional method of taking notes or they can sketchnote. So, don't be surprised if your child looks like they are doodling more on their work - it's good for them!
5th Grade Team Building
On Friday afternoon, Mrs. FitzPatrick and Ms. Davis led all of our 5th graders in a team building activity called Curmudgeon Rivver. Small groups of students had to work together to get from a sinking island to the mainland. All they had were a few enchanted lily pads to help them cross the Curmudgeon River! Dodging sharks, biting fish, water snakes and the curmudgeons (Mrs. FitzPatrick and Ms. Davis) we are happy to report all of our 5th graders made it safely to the mainland!
We worry about what a child will become tomorrow,
yet we forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher
As always...if you have any questions or concerns at all, please don't hesitate to contact me! Enjoy your weekend!
Cheers ~
Theresa Fowler
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