Hello 5-2 Families ~
Well, since March came in "like a lion" yesterday with ANOTHER snow storm....let's just hope that means it will go out 'like a lamb!" I don't know how much more of this crazy weather I can take!!
Important Dates
Tuesday, March 4th ~ 5th Grade Band Concert at 7pm
ISAT Testing ~ It's that time of year again! Our ISATS are scheduled as follows:
- Monday, March 3rd, 1:30-2:45pm - Reading #1
- Tuesday, March 4th, 1:30-2:45 - Reading #2
- Wednesday, March 5th, 1:30-2:45 - Reading #3
- Monday, March 10th, 1:30-2:45 - Math #1
- Tuesday, March 11th, 1:30-2:45 - Math #2
- Wednesday, March 12th, 1:30-2:45 - Math #3
Please encourage your child to get a full night's sleep prior to the test dates, and please do your best to minimize absences during these times. It can be very challenging to schedule make-up tests since our window to do so is so small. Students often feel overwhelmed at missing instruction in order to makeup tests later in the week, resulting in additional homework. Thank you for your support!
Please be sure your child has several #2 pencils for the ISAT tests.
Students will also NOT be assigned homework the night before an ISAT test to minimize demands on their time and to ensure a good night's rest :) This does mean they do NOT have a BLB due this week or next.
Friday, March 14th ~ Progress Reports sent home
Thursday, March 20th & 21st ~ As you have heard, these are now student attendance days due to the number of extreme weather days we have had to take this winter. This means we will no longer meet for parent-teacher conferences. Many questions during the 5th grade spring conferences are about middle school transitions, including placement into classes. I will do my best to continue to update you via this blog about the transitions, and try to answer those questions that I am frequently asked about the transition. Several other questions are related to the end of the year 5th grade activities. Again, I will keep you posted about all those activities via this blog. If you have ANY questions at all, please do not hesistate to contact me. I fully appreciate the additional anxiety families feel during this transition, and want to make it as smooth as possible :)
If I feel it is important to still meet with you about the progress of your child, I will reach out to you individually to set up a time to meet. If I do not reach out to you, please assume your child is making progress and I have no concerns about them. Several parents have approached me about setting up a conference time because those days have been canceled. If you have pressing concerns, I would be happy to meet with you. But if you have questions that can be answered via email, please feel free to contact me this way instead. It can get challenging trying to schedule 19 parent-teacher conferences after school :) That being said, I would be happy to meet with all 19 of you if there is a need!
Well, since March came in "like a lion" yesterday with ANOTHER snow storm....let's just hope that means it will go out 'like a lamb!" I don't know how much more of this crazy weather I can take!!
Important Dates
Tuesday, March 4th ~ 5th Grade Band Concert at 7pm
ISAT Testing ~ It's that time of year again! Our ISATS are scheduled as follows:
- Monday, March 3rd, 1:30-2:45pm - Reading #1
- Tuesday, March 4th, 1:30-2:45 - Reading #2
- Wednesday, March 5th, 1:30-2:45 - Reading #3
- Monday, March 10th, 1:30-2:45 - Math #1
- Tuesday, March 11th, 1:30-2:45 - Math #2
- Wednesday, March 12th, 1:30-2:45 - Math #3
Please encourage your child to get a full night's sleep prior to the test dates, and please do your best to minimize absences during these times. It can be very challenging to schedule make-up tests since our window to do so is so small. Students often feel overwhelmed at missing instruction in order to makeup tests later in the week, resulting in additional homework. Thank you for your support!
Please be sure your child has several #2 pencils for the ISAT tests.
Students will also NOT be assigned homework the night before an ISAT test to minimize demands on their time and to ensure a good night's rest :) This does mean they do NOT have a BLB due this week or next.
Friday, March 14th ~ Progress Reports sent home
Thursday, March 20th & 21st ~ As you have heard, these are now student attendance days due to the number of extreme weather days we have had to take this winter. This means we will no longer meet for parent-teacher conferences. Many questions during the 5th grade spring conferences are about middle school transitions, including placement into classes. I will do my best to continue to update you via this blog about the transitions, and try to answer those questions that I am frequently asked about the transition. Several other questions are related to the end of the year 5th grade activities. Again, I will keep you posted about all those activities via this blog. If you have ANY questions at all, please do not hesistate to contact me. I fully appreciate the additional anxiety families feel during this transition, and want to make it as smooth as possible :)
If I feel it is important to still meet with you about the progress of your child, I will reach out to you individually to set up a time to meet. If I do not reach out to you, please assume your child is making progress and I have no concerns about them. Several parents have approached me about setting up a conference time because those days have been canceled. If you have pressing concerns, I would be happy to meet with you. But if you have questions that can be answered via email, please feel free to contact me this way instead. It can get challenging trying to schedule 19 parent-teacher conferences after school :) That being said, I would be happy to meet with all 19 of you if there is a need!
Math
The Unit 7 Assessment will be coming home for a sign and return on Monday. This was a challenging test with several difficult concepts. A number of students chose to re-take the test on Friday, so their tests will be coming home with the new scores. It was a great lesson in the importance of taking ownership of their learning by preparing for assessments prior the test date. Most importantly, I was pleased to see that most students significantly improved their assessment scores, demonstrating their mastery of the information.
Watanuki Math
Mrs. Watanuki's math class is exploring probability and the chance of outcomes. Students have learned about random numbers, tree diagrams,the multiplication counting principal and Venn diagrams. Students have investigated how probability relates to carnival games and even created games of their own. This week we will wrap up the unit by focusing on fair and unfair games and strategies for taking multiple choice tests. We are scheduled to review for this test on Thursday and test on Friday. Next week we will complete our math ISAT testing and even hold a Probability Carnival for a very lucky second grade class.
Watanuki Math
Mrs. Watanuki's math class is exploring probability and the chance of outcomes. Students have learned about random numbers, tree diagrams,the multiplication counting principal and Venn diagrams. Students have investigated how probability relates to carnival games and even created games of their own. This week we will wrap up the unit by focusing on fair and unfair games and strategies for taking multiple choice tests. We are scheduled to review for this test on Thursday and test on Friday. Next week we will complete our math ISAT testing and even hold a Probability Carnival for a very lucky second grade class.
Science/Social Studies
We spent the week during our content hour taking and reviewing ISAT/Common Core sample tests. When we are finished reviewing them, I have had the students bring them home for a signature. My intention is to give you an opportunity to review the types of questions that will appear on standardized tests going forward. You should notice to rigor and the expectations have increased, but you will be pleased to hear that your students are rising to the challenge! While it is difficult, I am impressed with the attentiveness they are giving to these lessons and their desire to meet the higher standard placed in front of them.This week, we will begin our study of The US Constitution with a variety of texts - they will even be able to engage in a short drama about the Constitutional Convention.
Reading
Our ISATs will be during our reading block for the first 3 days of this week. We will start Treasures Unit 4 Week 3 on Thursday and Friday, but will not return to it until NEXT Thursday and Friday. So, the packets and Spelling City they will be assigned will not be due until NEXT Friday, 3/14.
Writing
We will finish up our Response to Fiction essays this week, with their final essays due on Friday. These will primarily be completed in class, so you probably will not see these essays come home until after they have been graded. I will score them next week and send them home with a WEX Summative grade of behaviors during writing next Monday - both of these scores are significant portions of the Communications grade and will be included in their progress reports next Friday.
“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.”
- Clay P. Bedford
Stay Warm!
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