January 9

Happy Monday

Just a couple of notes about the next two weeks.  As mentioned before, I will be at a conference on Wednesday and Thursday.  Mrs. Bishop really loved the kids (no surprise there) and will be back.

Wax Museum on Friday - the students will be ready at 11:00 to share their knowledge with you.  They will be in order of their presidential number.  We will be in the gym until 12:20.  They have done a great job on their speeches.

Next week - We will not have school on Monday (MLK Day) or Friday (Teacher training day).  Therefore, Thursday will be an early day.

Science Fair - Judges will begin scoring the students' projects on Wednesday, February 1.  Parents will be allowed to view the projects during the day on Friday, after the judges have made their decision.  Projects will need to go home on Friday.  Students will have a desk to display their boards, reports, and any items that were used in their project ie. plants, crystals, etc.

Skyward Access - a letter will be coming home this week that has information for accessing our online student information.  This will be the site for you to register and complete forms online.  Please be sure to ask your child for the paper.  They are specific for each family.

Please e-mail with any questions.

Mrs. French's Spelling Words
jewel, sparkle, angle, shovel, single, normal, angel, legal, whistle, fossil, puzzle, bushel, mortal, gentle, level, label, pedal, ankle, needle, devil
Challenge: mineral, influential, vital, neutral, kernel

Please check Ms. Stanger's blog page for spelling words.

Both math classes are working on computation with decimals.  Please check your child's homework and corrected papers to assess progress.  Also, MCAP and MCOMP practice tests are great sources for information on what is expected of students in 5th grade.  You are welcome to correct, complete, or find resources with similar problems to help your child become fluent in these problem types.

Very Important: Please practice math facts at home.  Children who do not have mastery of their basic facts struggle with grade-level content.  We need to give them every opportunity for success.  This is not a part of our daily lessons so they really need the help at home.

Writing - students are practicing their persuasive writing each week at computer lab.  This is the format they will use to take the scored test.  Keyboarding practice at home would be very helpful.

Recommended Homework Schedule
Many people are under the impression that we don't give a lot of homework in 5th grade.  This may appear to be true but actually students should be working at least an hour each day.  This increases when students are working on one of the many home projects we have in 5th grade.
20 minutes - reading grade level texts (this should be in novel format); included in this should be 1 minute fluency practice reading grade level text aloud
15 minutes - practice with basic facts
15 minutes - practice spelling and vocabulary
Additional time required for work not completed in class and for home projects such as science fair.

I look forward to seeing you at the Wax Museum on Friday.

Mrs. French