Hi families! This week is going to be a busy week in the Hive! It is Principals Appreciation Week, Kindness Week, and the last week of the 2nd quarter! Please read all of the information below about our week ahead:
Important Announcements:
- Principals Appreciation Week:
- This week is Principals Appreciation Week in the State of Virginia. We want to thank Principal Smith for all that she does! All of this week we will have a blue box sitting out on a cart outside the front entrance at school if you would like to drop off a thank you note to Mrs. Smith. Let’s start off Kindness week by saying Thank You to our amazing Principal!
- Throughout the week, I will also share some optional activities the class will be able to do to show Mrs. Smith how much we appreciate her!
- Also, Wednesday just happens to be Mrs. Smith’s birthday! So if you do drop off a thank-you note, be sure to wish her a Happy Birthday as well! 🙂
- Kindness Week:
- This week is also Kindness week! Mrs. Jones, our school counselor, is challenging each Stinger to complete this challenge board. We look forward to hearing about how our Stingers are spreading kindness!
- Parent-Teacher Conferences:
- Conferences will be held on Thursday, Feb. 4th, from 3:00 – 6:00 pm. They will be held virtually on Microsoft Teams. The conference sign-up form can be found here: Conferences Sign-Up Form
- Please schedule a conference if you have specific concerns you would like to discuss. If you don’t have any specific concerns, it is not necessary that we meet. As always, I am available to meet anytime you have a question or a concern. We also can communicate through email or Class Dojo any time you have a question or a concern.
Mrs. Jacobsen’s Homeroom
- Morning Meetings (8:00 – 8:15): We will continue to build our classroom community with activities and questions that will allow us to get to know our classmates better.
- Small Group Reading Block (9:55 – 10:30): This week we will continue our study of the paired texts – “The Rise of Roblox” and “A Sweet Treat in a Tough Time.” These are two short texts that go together and discuss a similar topic. We will meet in small groups to discuss the texts. We will focus on the important reading skill of compare and contrast while we review important concepts in the articles. Students will have 2 reading menus this week: one menu to complete on Tuesday & Wednesday (due Thursday at 8:00 am) and another menu on Thursday & Friday (due Monday at 8:00 am). While students are not working with me in their reading group, they must be working on their Reading Menu in the “lobby.” As I have discussed with the students, they must click to join our class meeting, but then be in the “lobby” so I can see that they are present in class. All students in 5th grade will have the same reading menu assignments. The assignments in this menu will consist of a mix of reading, writing, science, and social studies activities. Students will have 2 days to complete the “Must-Do’s” in their menu, and they will be due by 8:00 am on the following morning.
- Students also will continue practicing with Wordly Wise Lesson 7 words this week.
- Class Read-Aloud: From 1:00-1:15 each day, I will be reading aloud from our class novel. Please encourage your child to enjoy listening to the story and not to do anything else during this time.
Math Classes:
-
Math 5 and Math 5/6:
- This week we will continue with our unit on Fractions & Decimals (SOL 5.2a). We have learned how to convert fractions to decimals, and this week we will learn how to convert decimals into fractions. This can be a challenging skill, and continued practice is very important with these concepts.
- We will also spend time in this unit understanding how to identify fraction and decimal equivalents in models and pictures. While some students think that this may seem “easy” because it includes pictures, it is actually quite challenging if students don’t slow down and think carefully about the decimals and fractions represented. We will spend time this week doing problems like this and taking our time to understand how models can represent both fractions and decimals.
- Students will find notes, examples, videos, and other helpful websites in their Schoology course to use to help them study and review the concepts. They will need to look in the “SOL 5.2 Fractions & Decimals” folder in their Math course in Schoology.
- Throughout the unit, students will complete independent assignments in the afternoon to help understand and practice these math concepts. It is very important that students complete their assignments on time so they do not get behind on learning these concepts.
- The SOL 5.2a Fractions & Decimals Quiz will be on Thursday 1/28.
- DREAMBOX REMINDER: Students in all math classes must be working in Dreambox throughout the week. As I have discussed in class, students are required to complete 4 lessons per week (or 60 minutes per week) on Dreambox. A “week” on Dreambox begins on Sunday morning and ends on Saturday evening. I will count all of the minutes and lessons that occur during that time. Every Sunday morning, the time starts over again.
Have a great week, everyone! Thank you for all of your continued support!
Mrs. Jacobsen