Updates and announcements

Our field trip is tomorrow! Please be sure to send students with a backpack containing their packed lunch, water bottle, jacket, and sunscreen. We will leave the school at 8:30 and arrive back at 2:30. For more specific information, please refer to previous emails sent.

We have an exciting opportunity to watch members of the Phoenix Symphony today. They will be performing a short concert and talking about their various pieces.

We are in desperate need of Kleenexes and hand sanitizer. Many students were sick last week, depleting our supply.

Please check the “Important Dates” section for upcoming breaks.

Our week in learning

We will finish reading The Secret Garden this week and will begin a writing assignment based on the character studies we have been working on throughout the book. Our next book will be Across Five Aprils, which we will begin when we return from Spring Break.

In Grammar and Writing we will add the noun job of Predicate Nouns and will add this to our diagrams.

Our  Greek and Latin Roots quiz over roots 51-75 will be Friday, March 3rd.However, we will still be having our weekly quiz on Wednesday. Students were given the review sheet on Friday, and this should be complete by Tuesday.

The Tyger, by William Blake will be recited Wednesday, March 8th.

This week we will be studying the life of the famous botanist, George Washington Carver.

This week, students will continue learning about westward expansion before the Civil War. Students will cover the exploration of Lewis and Clark, the resistance of the Native Americans and Tecumseh, as well as advances in transportation.

After the unit assessment over decimals Monday, we will begin our next unit covering averages and rate.

Updates and announcements

We are so excited to be back to a somewhat normal week in 5A! While last week was fun, it is nice getting back to a routine.

Spirit wear day is on Friday. Students can wear a Great Hearts shirt and their uniform bottoms.

Our field trip to the Renaissance Fair is next Tuesday, February 28^th. Please have students bring a backpack to hold their packed lunch and water bottles.

Our week in learning

This week we will be using part of our literature time to give our Explorer Presentations. All of the students have signed up for a time slot and should bring their presentation boards the day of their speech.

We will be typing our final drafts of our explorer essays in class and will be reviewing grammar concepts we have covered this year.

We will have our quiz over Roots on Wednesday.  Students should study these nightly! This week we will finish up roots 50-75. The test over these will be Friday, March 3rd.

We introduced our new poem, The Tyger, by William Blake, these will be recited Wednesday, March 8th.

The class will be working on a Written Assessment this week. The students will receive the prompts on Tuesday and brainstorm/plan. On Thursday, they will complete the actual assessment. Though they will be allowed to use their notebooks when planning, the assessment will be closed note. The assessment will be graded on breadth of content knowledge and grammatical proficiency.

This week, students will finish the Age of Exploration unit. We will review their study guides on Tuesday. The study guides are due on Wednesday 2/22, and the test is also on Wednesday. Students will be getting their study guides on Monday, 2/13 due on Wednesday 2/22. We will study the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions in Geography. Students will begin learning about westward expansion before the Civil War on Friday, starting with Daniel Boone.

We will finish up our study of decimals this week. We will learn how to multiply and divide a decimal by a decimal, will review, and will take our Unit Test next Monday, February 27th. Our review date falls on a Friday, so will have math groups on Friday rather than Wednesday. If you are able to help out, please let me know!

Updates and announcements

What a busy and exciting week we have ahead of us! Students get too look forward to both Great Hearts Day and Athletic Field Day this week.

Tomorrow, 2/14, is Great Hearts Day. While we do not need volunteers to come in, we will be making a “Friendship Snack Mix”. Students will bring in a sandwich bag of their favorite dry snack (NUT FREE), and we mix all the snacks together and redistribute. Students will also be writing and decorating acrostic poems for each other. If you have any spare scrapbooking or decorating supplies to donate for this, please let me know if you can send them in tomorrow.

Class picture day is on Thursday, 2/16.

Athletic Field Day is on Friday, 2/17. We are still in need of one more parent volunteer and a cooler with wheels. If you are able to donate one for the day, or volunteer, please email me.

Our week in learning

We are enjoying reading and discussing The Secret Garden, we will continue this novel study for about two more weeks.

Students should have completed an outline of the body of their paragraph at this point. This week we will be completing our rough drafts and peer and self-editing and will be ready to type essays in class the following week. Students should be working on their projects at home. We will begin presentations on Tuesday, February 21st. Please let Mrs. Anderson know if you have any questions regarding these!

We will have our quiz over Roots 62-65 on Wednesday.  Students should study these nightly!

We introduced our new poem, I, Too, by Langston Hughes last week. We will recite these poems on Wednesday, February 15th (Note the date change!).

This week in science we will be reviewing plant anatomy, taking a quiz Tuesday, and then learning about Photosynthesis for the rest of the week.

This week, students will finish learning about the Age of Exploration. We will learn about Sir Francis Drake’s journey around the world, the French and Dutch explorers, and the growth of slavery during the Age of Exploration. Please note that the topic of slavery is very serious and we will be discussing the brutality of the middle passage. This chapter will be discussed with homeroom teachers on Friday. Students will be getting their study guides on Monday, 2/13 due on Wednesday 2/22. The test will also be on Wednesday 2/22. We will go over the study guide on Tuesday, 2/21.

We are continuing our study of decimals this week and will be practicing multiplying decimals by decimals. As we prepare for AZMerit, we are aiming to complete this chapter in a timely manner and therefore will not be having math groups this week. We will keep you posted on the next time they are scheduled!

Updates and Announcements

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! It is nice to get outside now that the weather is warming up. Paul and I made it to Tucson this weekend to watch the Seattle Sounders play in a pre-season soccer game against Portland.

Permission slips for the field trip are due on THURSDAY this week, February 9^th. Please send in the filled-out permission slip and money by Thursday. If you need another copy of the permission slip, I have extras in the classroom.

Our Great Hearts Day celebration will be next Tuesday, February 14^th, 2:00-3:00. We will be looking for food donations and volunteers to help with food, crafts, and games. Keep an eye out for the sign-up genius.

Athletic Field Day will be next Friday, February 17^th. While I will not be sending out a sign-up genius, I will take a couple volunteers “first come, first serve” to help on the day of the event. If you are able to volunteer on-site, please email me. Volunteers must have fingerprint clearance. We are also looking for a parent or two to donate healthy snacks and 2 coolers with wheels to carry water bottles. Please look at last week’s blog post for specific information regarding student dress code for the day and volunteer opportunities to help Coach Rubino and Coach Steinmann.

Class pictures are on Thursday, February 16^th.

Our week in learning

We are enjoying reading The Secret Garden and identifying character traits as we read. We are continuing our study of characters this week.

Students are beginning their explorer reports today. They should have their materials in class each day to research. We will complete outlines on Thursday and Friday. Although we have a timeline of due dates, these may be adjusted to ensure that as the majority work is done in class. We will keep you updated on all due dates as we progress,

We will have our quiz over Roots 62-65 on Wednesday.  Students should study these nightly!

We introduced our new poem, I, Too, by Langston Hughes last week. We will recite these poems on Wednesday, February 22nd.

This week we will be learning about the different kinds of seeds that develop into angiosperms. There will be a unit test on Friday the 10th. The students will receive a study guide on Monday and should study all plant notes throughout the week.

This week, students will continue to learn about the Age of Exploration. We will be covering Christopher Columbus, Spanish encomiendas and slavery, and Magellan’s voyage around the world. Take note that we will be discussing the slavery of African people during the Age of Exploration this week and next week. Students will continue their study of United States Geography with the Midwest.

This week we will continue our study of multiplication and division of decimals and learning to convert fractions into decimals. There are no math groups this week.