Updates and announcements

It was so wonderful getting to meet with all of you last week! Parent teacher conferences are one of my favorite times of year. I am happy to be setting into our new house more and am grateful for the three day weekend. I finally got my sewing room set up and got to work on some bowl cozies.

The Read a thon is this Thursday. I look forward to seeing our parents read to the students selections from their favorite books.

Friday is another half day.

Our week in learning

Students will learn about the idiom “To kill two birds with one stone.”

Students will learn about the roots medicus, sanus, and holos. Students will be quizzed over these roots next Wednesday. Students should expect a similar quiz each week.

Students learned about the poem “Narcissa” on 10/16. Students will recite “Narcissa” on 10/30. Students will learn about the poem “The Road Not Taken” on 10/30 and recite it on 11/13.

In Literature, students will start reading “Where the Red Fern Grows”, ending the week with chapter 3. Students will journal every day we read in Literature about a given prompt. We are a spoiler-free school, so if students or older siblings know the end, please encourage your child to discover the text on their own (especially the ending). 

In Grammar, students will review interjections and possessive notes. They will get a practice test containing questions on complex sentences, independent clauses, dependent clauses, and direct objects. Their grammar test will be on 11/1.

This week in Science, students will continue studying classification. On Tuesday, students will review the correct answers to the Animal Kingdom quiz they took on Friday. This should be kept and used to study, as similar questions will be on the unit test. Students will learn about Kingdom Fungi on Thursday, and take an open notes quiz on Friday to test their knowledge. They will continue filling out their study guides, which are now due November 8^th with the test being November 12^th.  By the 29^th, students should have their experiment designed and materials listed and gathered in anticipation of beginning trials by November 4^th. They are also welcome to begin trials earlier!

This week in history, students will be tested on Unit 4: The Reformation, on Wednesday. Their study guides are due on Tuesday, which will be review day. Thursday will be an activity day, learning about Henry VIII, and Friday will be a review day for their 50 States quiz, which will occur on Wednesday, November 6^th. Encourage your children to be diligently preparing for this quiz at home - consider using the website https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3003 for practice.

In math, students will multiply a fraction by a fraction and solve word problems that involve multiplying a fraction by a fraction. Here are the dates for math groups for the rest of the quarter:

10/30

11/6

11/13

When a “test b” (multiplication test) is assigned for homework, it contains questions very similar to a quiz the following day. We take a lot of low-stakes math quizzes in fifth grade. All math workbook assignments are half of every type of problem. Please keep in mind that students may do test corrections on any math quiz for partial credit (fill in the blank sheets, not multiple choice homework sheets).

Congratulations to the Prep football team for making the playoffs! Due to AIA regulations and the scheduled playoff game this Friday, Movie Night is moved to Friday, November 22nd. Details can be found in the school newsletter. 

Parents, thank you for partnering with us in your child's learning.  We believe that homework, while important, needs to be carefully balanced with a child's full family and extra-curricular life.  With that in mind, please reflect on your child's experience with homework in the first quarter by responding to a short survey. 

Updates and announcements

We are running full force into this second quarter! I love this quarter because students get to learn about some of my favorite topics, like the Reformation, the Golden Age of England, Classification, fractions, and persuasive writing. Coupled with this is a wacky weekly schedule filled with 3 day weekends and 2 or 3 day weeks. We use every day to its fullest during this quarter. If your child has a planned absence, please let me know so I can coordinate their work and assessments (especially around Thanksgiving).

There are no clubs or tutoring this week due to the half days.

Please send in “Where the Red Fern Grows” with your child next week.

Our week in learning

Students will learn about the idiom “The grass is always greener on the other side.”

Students will learn about the roots pais, schole, ludo, and iatros. Students will be quizzed over these roots next Wednesday. Students should expect a similar quiz each week.

Students learned about the poem “Narcissa” on 10/16. Students will recite “Narcissa” on 10/30. 

In Literature, students will start a poetry unit, learning about and identifying alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme schemes, slant rhymes, and imagery. 

In Grammar, students will learn about interjections and possessive notes. They will get a practice test containing questions on complex sentences, independent clauses, dependent clauses, and direct objects, which will be due on 10/29. Their grammar test will be on 11/1.

This week in science, students will continue their study of Kingdom Animalia. They will take a deep dive in Phylum Cnidaria on Tuesday. The study guide questions for Kingdom Animalia will be spread out throughout the week as homework. Students should have their research completed by Tuesday, with all the information and sources recorded in their packets. Their hypothesis for their experiment should be completed  by Thursday, and students will have a chance to workshop their completed hypothesis with their homeroom teacher. If your child is planning an experiment with a longer time frame (this includes many experiments with plants and animals), it is a good idea to start early so the results are ready by early November.

This week in History, students will finish instruction in our unit on the Reformation. We will finish our lesson on the Counter-Reformation, and discuss the revolution in science that was seen most prominently with Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei. Study guides are now due on Tuesday, October 29^th; our unit test will be on Wednesday, October 30^th. On Thursday, students will be quizzed on the Rocky Mountains, Southwest, and West Coast regions, and will learn about Alaska and Hawaii. On Friday, students will be quizzed on the location of Alaska and Hawaii and review all 50 States to prepare for their location test over all 50 States on Wednesday, November 6^th. Please encourage your children to utilize their paper protectors, as well as the website https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3003 for practice.

In math, students will solve word problems involving fractions and review for their test on 10/24. Students will start another unit on Fractions on Friday, starting with finding a fraction of a fraction. Here are the dates for math groups for the rest of the quarter:

10/23

10/30

11/6

11/13

When a “test b” (multiplication test) is assigned for homework, it contains questions very similar to a quiz the following day. We take a lot of low-stakes math quizzes in fifth grade. All math workbook assignments are half of every type of problem. Please keep in mind that students may do test corrections on any math quiz for partial credit (fill in the blank sheets, not multiple choice homework sheets).

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fall Break! We moved to a new house much closer to school, so though our break was not restful, it was quite fulfilling. Cosmo and Gustav are enjoying their bigger house and finding new places to hide.

Block scheduling starts this week. Please send in a reusable grocery bag with your child if you have not already done so.

Please sign up for a conference time if you have not already done so (link is in previous blog post).

Our week in learning

Students will learn about the idiom “Forty winks.”

Students will learn about the roots anthropos, vir, and femina. Students will be quizzed over these roots next Wednesday. Students should expect a similar quiz each week.

Students will learn about the poem “Narcissa” on 10/16. Students will recite “Narcissa” on 10/30. 

In Literature, students will start a poetry unit, learning about and identifying alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme schemes, slant rhymes, and imagery. 

In Grammar, students will learn about complex sentences, independent clauses, dependent clauses, and direct objects.

This week in science, we are beginning our science fair project. This project will take place over the course of Quarter 2, and on December 4th from 6PM-7PM, students will present their projects in the Arete gym for their classmates and families! On Monday, students will bring home a packet that contains due dates for all components on the projects and a place to record all data and assignments. Students will need to bring in their project idea signed by a parent or guardian to their homeroom teacher by 10/17. Please feel free to reach out to Ms. White with questions about potential projects. On Friday, students will have a chance to begin researching their projects on computers. This research should be completed by 10/22. We will also be studying classification. Study guides will go home on Tuesday, and students will learn about the Kingdom Animalia this week.

This week in history we will discuss the impact made by Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin in Switzerland, and King Henry VIII in England. We will compare them with Martin Luther, and discuss how the various churches in Protestantism developed. We will also learn about the Counter or Catholic Reformation, including Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits and the Council of Trent.

In math, students will learn about multiplying a fraction by a whole number, converting measurement expressed as a fraction of a unit to a smaller unit and visa versa, and word problems involving fractions. There will be no math groups this week. 

When a “test b” (multiplication test) is assigned for homework, it contains questions very similar to a quiz the following day. We take a lot of low-stakes math quizzes in fifth grade. All math workbook assignments are half of every type of problem. Please keep in mind that students may do test corrections on any math quiz for partial credit (fill in the blank sheets, not multiple choice homework sheets).