Mrs. Fowler's Blog (2016-17): March 2017

Hello 5-2 Parents ~

It's been awhile since I've posted an update! Hopefully, your children have been keeping you updated on the 5-2 happenings. Here are a few highlights...

Important Dates

PARCC Testing Dates ~ We will be testing on each of the following dates from 1:15-3:00.
Thursday, 03/09 ~ ELA #1
Friday, 03/10 ~ ELA #2
Monday, 03/13 ~ ELA #3
Tuesday, 03/14 ~ MATH #1
Wednesday, 03/15 ~ MATH #2
Friday, 03/17 ~ MATH #3
Monday, 03/20 ~ MATH #4
Please be sure your child is well rested on these days, and do your best to avoid absences. Makeups are available, but many children experience anxiety since they miss instruction to take the makeup tests.

Progress Reports ~ Friday, March 10th

Parent Teacher Conferences ~ Thursday, March 23rd (PM) & Friday, March 24th (AM)

Please remember that this time is set aside for us to discuss your child's progress. Our spring conferences are optional, however, so if you are traveling on these dates, it is not necessary to re-schedule the conferences. If I have specific concerns about your child, I will be in touch with you. If I have not contacted you, then I do not feel the need to meet. If, however, you would like to meet and cannot make these dates, I will always make myself available.

Spring Break ~ March 27th - March 31st

Advanced Placement Testing (Math + ALA) ~ April 10th - 13th

Math

We have been adding and subtracting mixed numbers in Unit 8 for the past week, and will move on to multiplying and dividing fractions this week. These concepts can be tricky, so reviewing them on Khan will provide the additional practice many students need. We will be testing on Unit 8 before we leave for Spring Break.

Science

We wrapped up our Earth in Space unit last week with a final assessments. The students did exceptionally well in this unit - I was impressed with their scores! They should be looking to have their assessment signed and returned this weekend. As a culminating activity, your children had an opportunity to combine our poetry unit with our science unit to create their own constellation with a poem. Their creativity blew me away! Their work is hanging in our hall - look for your child's poem and constellation when you come visit for conferences!

Social Studies
We will be moving on to our Westward Expansion unit for the next couple of weeks, and our beloved Hacker's Trail simulation after Spring Break. This is an opportunity for students to take on the persona of pioneers moving west, and suffer the same "fates" the pioneers encountered as they traveled on the Oregon Trail.

Reading

We've moved on to study Poetry in reading, and your children have been surprised to enjoy the poems we've been reading. This unit is full of relevant and entertaining poems, and the kids have been delighted reading them. On Friday, they had a special guest, Mrs. FitzPatrick come to our classroom to teach a lesson from a favorite book of poems, Dear Mother, Dear Daughter. These are response poems written as letters from a daughter to her mother and back again about such topics as homework and bedtime. They prompted some excellent discussion with the students that brought laughter to the whole room!

Writing

Your children finished up their Response to Fiction Essay Unit this week by publishing their responses to The Liberation of Gabriel King. After giving them feedback on those essays, students wrote a timed response to a shared text from our Fiction Unit, "Yao Bai and the Egg Pirates." I was impressed with how hard the students worked to improve their writing for the final timed assessment. Your child should have given you two rubrics to sign and return this weekend.

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken in creative expression and knowledge."

― Albert Einstein

Cheers ~

Theresa Fowler