Next week is Kindness Week at Glen Allen!  Thanks so much to Mrs. Sitter for organizing this for our school.  It gives us a chance to consciously focus on the kind actions we do every day, and to recognize others for being the wonderful people they are.  Kindness Week Teacher 2020

Benchmark testing is going great!  Please continue to encourage your student to review all notes and PortaPortal links for the Math benchmark this week.  Also be sure that your child gets a good night’s sleep, eats a nutritious breakfast, and arrives at school on time on testing days as we will begin right at 8:00.

The parent window is open to enter your child’s electives for next year.  Please refer to the packet from Hungary Creek for details on how to access this site as well as the elective details.

We are gearing up for the 5th Grade Chorus performance, “Gotta Be Jazz,” in February. Mr. Mills has supplied the music for students to practice at home: Gotta Be Jazz. Enjoy!

MATH

The Probability and Statistics Test has been rescheduled for Wednesday, January 29th.  Your student has lots of notes in their notebooks that cover probability, tree diagrams, graphs, mean, median, mode, and range, and stem and leaf.  We will continue to review all previously taught skills to prepare for the Math Benchmark on Thursday, January 30th and Friday, January 31st.  You student should be using their notebooks each evening as they complete homework.  Weekly Math is due on Wednesday, January 29th.

We will also start learning about the Stock Market this week in order to play the Stock Market Game.  Students will work in teams to buy and sell stocks in order to earn money.  This is always a great activity!  Please feel free to add your knowledge and experience to this activity by teaching your student and giving hints about what to look for and what to buy.

LANGUAGE ARTS

This week we will focus on fact and opinion, author’s purpose, and media messages.  In Language, we will work with prepositions and prepositional phrases as well as using I and me correctly.  The fantasy book report is due on Friday, February 25th.  Please let me know if you have questions about this assignment.

SCIENCE

The students will be experimenting this week to decide if there Old Wives’ Tales are true or not.  They are have so much fun designing their experiments and are more than ready to get to it!  Your student may be bringing home a permission slip to participate in another student’s experiment.  Students that are eating anything will receive a permission slip.  Without a signed permission slip turned in, they will not be able to participate that day.  Your student may also ask to bring in supplies.  Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this assignment.  Next week we start our matter unit!

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will begin exploring the Northeast Region this week.  We will begin with learning the states and capitals of the region.  There will be a Quick Check Quiz on Thursday, February 6th.  This quiz will only require matching each state in the region with the correct capital.  We will also learn about the Northeast Region’s climate this week.

IMPORTANT DATES

1/27 – Student Holiday

1/29 – Probability and Statistics Math Test – THIS IS A CHANGE

1/30-31 – Math Benchmark

2/7 – YMCA Field Trip

2/10 – Report Cards go home

2/25 – Fantasy Book Report due

Just a reminder that the Glen Allen Science Fair has been rescheduled for Thursday, January 23 due to the conflict with the Hungary Creek Curriculum Fair.  The Science Fair will take place from 6:30 – 7:30.  Students should bring their boards to school the night of the fair.  They will leave them in the wet area before leaving Thursday evening, and I will send them home as soon as they are graded.  Thanks so much!

YMCA Field Trip money is due this Friday, January 24th.

This week and next week we have benchmark testing for Reading and Math. Each test is split over two mornings. Please ensure your child is reviewing all notes and PortaPortal links so they can feel confident before test day! Also be sure that your child gets a good night’s rest, eats a nutritious breakfast, and arrives at school on time on testing days as we will begin right at 8:00.

The parent window will open on January 21st to enter your child’s electives for next year.  Please refer to the packet from Hungary Creek for details on how to access this site as well as the elective details.  Please let me know if you have concerns or questions regarding my recommendations.  Thanks!

MATH

The Math Benchmark will be given on Thursday, January 30th and Friday, January 31st.  Your student has lots of notes and study guides to help prepare for this assessment.  There are also many valuable resources on the portaportal.  https://portaportal.com/member/GAES5thGrade  This week we will review all things statistics to get ready for the test on probability, tree diagrams, fundamental counting principle, stem and leaf, mean, median, mode, and range as well as graphs.  This test will be given on Tuesday, January 28th.  We will also begin working with variables.  Weekly Math (blue logic puzzle) is due on Wednesday, January 22nd.

LANGUAGE ARTS

The Reading Benchmark will be given on Thursday, January 23rd and Friday, January 24th.  The students have notes in their reading notebook to help them prepare for this assessment.  We will continue working with author’s purpose and context clues this week.  The students will work with a partner to make up words and then write sentences using the 6 ways to find meaning of an unknown word, aka context clues, to help the reader define their new words.  The students are finishing their county writing, My Favorite Place to Have Lunch, this week as well.  We will also review correct comma usage.  Book report information came home last week.  Your student needs to have their fantasy book approved by me before this Friday.

SCIENCE

The students will work on designing their experiments for the Old Wives’ Tales projects this week.  We are hoping to perform experiments on Friday.  This is such a fun activity!  There is a quiz on Scientific Method on Thursday, January 23rd.  Your student has lots of notes and a study guide to help prepare for this quiz.

SOCIAL STUDIES
The students are working hard on their Pack Your Bags projects, and they are looking great!  The test for the Southeast Region will be given on Tuesday, January 22nd.  Your student was given a study guide to fill out that is due on the 22nd as well.  Next, we will head into the Northeast Region.

IMPORTANT DATES

1/20 – School Holiday – school closed for MLK Day

1/21 – Middle School Course Selection Window opens

1/22 – Southeast Region Test

1/23 – Scientific Method Quiz

1/23-24 –  Reading Benchmark

1/23 – Science Fair – THIS IS A CHANGE

1/24 – End of Marking Period 2

1/24 – YMCA permission slips and money due

1/28 – Statistics Math Test

1/30-31 – Math Benchmark

2/25 – Fantasy Book Report due

Our first week of 2020 was successful!

On Tuesday, administrators from Hungary Creek Middle School visited our 5th grade classes and talked about the transition to middle school. A lot of information was shared, and students were able to ask questions. Your child brought home a packet from this meeting and a Planning Guide booklet. Please take time to sit with your child and discuss middle school class options. 5th grade teachers are currently inputting our recommendations for what classes would best suit each child based on guidelines we have to follow. You will be able to access the Parent Portal to confirm class selections and enter electives for your child starting January 21st.

We encourage our families to attend the HCMS Curriculum Fair on January 16th! It will be from 6:00-7:30 pm and provides an opportunity to talk to counselors, meet teachers, and explore options for academics and extra curricular activities. Plus, you can walk around the building and get the feel of being a middle schooler!

****Please note that the Glen Allen Science Fair has been rescheduled for Thursday, January 23 due to the conflict with the Hungary Creek Curriculum Fair. The Science Fair will take place from 6:30 – 7:30. All Cubs are invited to attend!

PE: Mrs. Lucas has started the aquatic safety unit with all 5th grade students. This unit culminates with a short field trip to the YMCA where students put their safety knowledge to the test in the pool. Permission forms will be sent home Monday. Please read carefully and ensure you have signed all pages.  Students have their safety workbook in their purple take home folders if you want to help them prepare!  Students will need to have their PE homework, pages 1-4 and page 15 #1-11, complete this week on the day that they have PE.

MATH

This week we will continue analyzing data using mean, median, mode, and range (5.16 & 6.15).  In class we will generate data using a variety of activities.  In stations the students will practice solving a tangram puzzle and review previously taught skills.  Weekly Math (blue logic puzzle) is due on Wednesday, January 15th. There will be a test on graphs, stem and leaf plots, tree diagrams, and mean, median, mode, and range on Tuesday, January 28th.  Your student has lots of notes in their math notebook and two study guides to help prepare for this assessment.

LANGUAGE ARTS

The students will bring home paperwork for their fantasy book report this week.  This book report is due on Tuesday, February 25h.  All books must be approved by me prior to Friday, January 25th.  The students need to have their book report book approved by Friday, January 24th.  Students also need a book to read each day at school.  They will be reading the book of their choice and completing a reading response in their Reading Response Journal (RRJ).

We also use our RRJs for our Book Buddy meetings.  We have been meeting with Mrs. Loftis’s class since the beginning of the year.  Our fifth graders put the skill that the second graders are using their RRJs and use it to teach, model, and practice with their buddies.  The skills the second graders are using are also skills that the fifth graders use, sometimes in a different format.  It has been a huge success!  You would be so impressed watching our students be teachers to the younger kids!  They are amazing!  🙂

SCIENCE

The students will work on finishing their wildflower stem activity.  There will be a quiz on Plants (4.4) on Wednesday, January 15th.  We will then work on reviewing the scientific method.  The students will design an experiment to prove or disprove an Old Wives’ Tale.  They will work in groups to design and perform an experiment.  Then they will make conclusions and display their data on a chart.  This is always a fun activity!  Don’t be surprised if your student brings home a permission slip to eat carrots or asked to bring in something from home.  🙂  We will have a quiz on scientific method on Thursday, January 23rd.

SOCIAL STUDIES

The students will continue working on their Pack Your Bags projects this week.  They will have Chapter 7 vocabulary in their notebooks on Monday.  The quiz on these words will be given on Thursday, January 16th.  Students will also get a study guide for the Southeast Region test this week.  It is a fill-in the blank study guide and will be graded.  The Southeast Region Test will be given on Wednesday, January 22nd.  Your student has many notes in their Social Studies notebook.

IMPORTANT DATES

1/15 – Plants Quiz 4.4

1/16 – Chapter 7 Vocabulary Quiz

1/16 – Hungary Creek Curriculum Fair

1/20 – School Holiday – school closed for MLK Day

1/22 – Southeast Region Test

1/23 – Scientific Method Quiz

1/23-24 –  Reading Benchmark

1/23 – Science Fair – THIS IS A CHANGE

1/24 – End of Marking Period 2

1/28 – Statistics Math Test

1/30-31 – Math Benchmark

2/25 – Fantasy Book Report due

Happy New Year!!!  I am so thrilled about the exciting possibilities in store for 2020!

The last school day of 2019 was a blast!  Thanks so much to all of the parents who made it possible for us to have such a fantastic day!  A huge thanks for all of the great gifts!  Although thank you notes were given out on Friday, I realize they may not have made it home.  🙂  Please know that I feel super blessed to be in such a generous and supportive community as Glen Allen!

The science fair is on the way! Students brought home a flyer with all the details, plus some ideas and resource links for experiments. Please complete the online registration form so the PTA can get an accurate count for planning. The PTA will supply a trifold for each participant.  Use this link to sign-up if you haven’t already.  https://tinyurl.com/yahxrs9W

We are gearing up for the 5th Grade Chorus performance, “Gotta Be Jazz,” in February. Mr. Mills has supplied the music for students to practice at home: Gotta Be Jazz. Enjoy!

MATH

We will work with probability this week.  We will start with reviewing basic probability vocabulary along with finding probability in data sets.  Then we will move into tree diagrams and the fundamental counting principle.  By the end of the week, we will be working with line plots and stem and leaf plots.  The Math Benchmark will be given on Thursday, January 30th and Friday, January 31st.  We will be reviewing in class and with homework in order to prepare for this assessment.  The students will be reminded to take their math notebooks home with them each evening to have the notes they need to complete homework correctly.  Please continue to encourage them to use the resources on the math page of this blog as well as the portaportal.  https://portaportal.com/member/GAES5thGrade  Weekly Math (green logic puzzle) is due on Wednesday, January 8th.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Word Trek will be passed out on Monday.  Author’s purpose, compare and contrast, and context clues are the skills we will be focusing on this week.  The students will apply these skills with Esperanza Rising as well as other passages and activities.  The students will work in partner groups to make a context clue poster using their Word Trek words.  They will also begin a context clue booklet where they will invent words.  The invented words will then be used in context in order for the reader to discern meaning.  The Reading Benchmark will be given on Thursday, January 23rd and Friday, January 24th.

SCIENCE

We will be reviewing the Plant Unit (4.4) this week.  The students will get review notes for their notebooks.  In Language they will get a Plant RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic).  They will choose two from six choices and write on a particular “piece” of this review material.  They will also work with a partner to construct a labelled flower using a variety of materials.  They will brainstorm and design together first and construct their flower by Friday. This is going to be super cool!  There will be a quiz on Plants on Wednesday, January 15th.

SOCIAL STUDIES

The Southeast Region is our focus again this week.  The students will begin the Pack Your Bags project.  They will work with a partner to create a suitcase (manila folder) that highlights pertinent information about their chosen state in the Southeast Region.  There will also be a quiz on Chapter 6 vocabulary on Thursday, January 9th.  Your student has these words in their social studies notebook already.  The students will need to fill in the correct vocabulary words without a word bank.

Important Dates:

1/9 – Chapter 6  Southeast Vocabulary Quiz

1/15 – Plants Quiz 4.4

1/16 – Science Fair  6:15-7:30

1/20 – School Holiday – school closed for MLK Day

1/23-24 –  Reading Benchmark

1/24 – End of Marking Period 2

1/30-31 – Math Benchmark