It’s hard to believe, but April, Spring Break, and the final 9 weeks are all right around the corner!  While we are all understandably excited about all the fun that comes with this time of year, we ask that you please continue to emphasize to your child the importance of staying focused and completing daily classwork and homework assignments, so that they are demonstrating their true potential.  Any late assignment that is not turned in by Wednesday, March 31st at 5:00 pm will remain a 50 in the gradebook.  Please encourage your student to check their grades as well as their overdue assignments list prior to March 31st.  Thanks so much!

Yearbook orders have been extended!

Order at https://app.memberhub.gives/4b4b6c

Have a 5th grader and want to leave a special memory? Order 5th grade ads at https://app.memberhub.gives/ba12be

Don’t forget to send your school activity, learning adventures, or spirit day photos to gaesyearbook@gmail.com. If you are not participating in the Strawbridge Fall picture days, please send a headshot photo with your student name, teacher, and grade this week!

Dates to Remember:

3/30 – Math Angles and Triangles Test

3/30 –  Social Studies Midwest Region study guide due

3/31 – Social Studies Midwest Region Test

4/1 –  Science Light and Sound Test

4/2 –  End of Q3/half-day; Miss America, Camille Schrier visit

4/5 – 4/9 – Spring Break

4/12 –  PTA Spirit Night at Jimmy Johns

MATH

We will wrap up our unit on measurement of triangles and angles in math.  The test on these concepts will be on Tuesday, March 30th.  Your student should be reviewing the study guides, notes in their notebooks, and notes in student resources.  I also encourage them go on the portaportal site to prepare for the test. We will move into learning about transformations and congruency with geometric figures.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Figurative language will continue to be our focus in reading this week.  Please encourage your student to go the reading page of this blog and play the figurative language game for practice identifying the different types of figurative language.  We will also begin reading poetry for comprehension as well as writing poetry.  Due to the half day, as well as our special visit from Miss Schrier on Friday, we will not have Word Trek this week.  The students will also learn how to use interjections correctly in their writing.

SCIENCE

We will complete the unit on light and sound this week.  A test on these concepts will be on Thursday, April 1st.  We will spend some time reviewing in class.  To  prepare for the test at home, please have your child review the study guides, notes in their notebooks, and notes in student resources as well as the activities on the portaportal site.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Our study of the Midwest Region will come to an end this week.  Students were provided a Midwest Region study this past Wednesday. The study guide should be completed in preparation for the test on March 31st. It is due on Tuesday, March 30th, so that any questions can be answered.  It will be graded for completion.  Your student has a digital Midwest Region notebook in their drive as well as notes in their notebooks to help complete the study guide and prepare for the test as well.

We had a wonderful week!  The students worked very hard on planning, composing, editing, and then submitting the final draft of their Henrico County writing assessment.  I was so proud of their hard work!

March has been a month of celebrating with Music in our School’s, Youth Art Month, Women’s History Month, and Read Across America Month! Next week we will be celebrating Youth Art Month with some fun spirit days (YAM Spirit Week).

With spring on the horizon it’s easy to get caught up in spring fever.  Please emphasize with your child the importance of staying focused, as well as completing daily classwork and homework assignments, to ensure that they continue to demonstrate success.

Reminders for Teammates:  Please be ready to login promptly at 8:00 am.  We are off and running as soon as the school bell rings.  Teammates should not be eating during class.  Please remind them that we are eating breakfast before school and lunch at lunchtime.  They can get a quick snack during our 5 minute break after math.

Reminders for Classmates:   Please make sure computers are charged each night and brought in fully-charged.  Students should bring in their computer fully shut down so that they “start fresh” by opening on the HCPS network.  I suggest bringing in a snack to eat before school starts as we will not eat again until lunch at 11:00 am.

Reminders for all students:  Be sure to clean out your cache each day.  Close out Chrome windows one at a time rather than just closing Chrome.  Use the correct method for shutting down each day in order to ensure proper functioning of the computer throughout the day.

Chromebooks start/shutdown

Thank you so much for your help with these reminders!  I want us to finish this school year strong!  🙂

Mrs. Lucas has posted this link to help students prepare for their P.E. test.

Dates to Remember:

3/26 – Word Trek Lesson 23 Quizzes

3/30 – Angles and Triangles Test

3/30 – Midwest Study Guide due

3/31 – Midwest Region Test

4/1 – Light and Sound Test

4/2 – End of Q3/half-day; Miss America, Camille Schrier visit

4/5 – 4/9 – Spring Break

MATH

We will continue to work on measuring triangles and angles in math.  Students have been practicing using a protractor to measure and classify different types of angles and triangles. We will work on recognizing and identifying triangles by their side and angle measurements.  We will also work on finding the missing angle based on two given angles.  The test for angles and triangles is scheduled for March 30th.  Your student should have notes in their notebooks and can use the notes in the Student Resources folder.  The portaportal site is another great way to prepare.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Interpreting and recognizing different types of figurative language will be one of our focuses in reading this week.  Students will review previously learned types of figurative language.  They will recognize how the use of figurative language allows authors to create vivid descriptions that make stories “come alive” for the reader.  We will work to find examples of figurative language in Esperanza Rising  as well as identify what type of figurative specific examples are in short passages.  Expressing the main idea and summarizing events in our novel is also in the plans.  We are diving deep into the story and character development.  The students will also practice correctly using commas in a variety of ways.

SCIENCE
Just how does light work?  That’s what we’ll be discovering in science this week.  Students will be exposed to sound waves, prisms, reflection and refraction of light and light waves.  The test on sound and light is scheduled for April 1.  Your student should have notes in their notebook on this material.  They can also review the notes in student resources as well as the activities on the portaportal site to prepare for the test.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Our study of the Midwest Region continues.  This week we will learn about the cultural influences and the human environment interactions of the region.  The Midwest Region study guide will be provided to students on Wednesday, March 24th to complete in preparation for the test on March 31th.  The study guide will be due on March 30, so that any questions the students may have can be answered.

We had another great week!  Pi Day was super fun!  Please don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour tonight as we spring forward!

BookHub pickup is each Wednesday from 10:30-11:30 for virtual students.  Those who need both can make one trip and those families who only need the book can pick up before the lunch line starts at 11:30.  Special arrangements can be made on other days as necessary.

Please continue to remind your child to shut down and charge the Chromebook each evening. Also, for the virtual students it’s imperative that they are logged onto the Team’s meeting on time each morning as our instructional day begins promptly at 8:00.

Please make sure your child is shutting down their Chromebook correctly so updates can load: Chromebooks start/shutdown

Chromebook issues? Start here: https://sites.google.com/henrico.k12.va.us/other-apps/home

Dates to Remember:

3/15 – 3/19 – 5th Grade Writing Assessment

3/16 – Math Circles Quiz

3/18 – Science Sound Quiz

3/19 – Word Trek Lesson 22 Quizzes

3/30 – Angles and Triangles Test

3/31 – Midwest Region Test

4/2 – End of Quarter 3

4/2 – Miss America, Camille Schrier visit

4/2 – Half-day for students

4/5 – 4/9 – Spring Break

MATH

We will wrap up our unit on circles this week.  Students should know how to measure and recognize the circumference, diameter, radius, and chord of a circle for our test on Tuesday, March 16th.  Please refer to the notes in the student resources folder and on the portaportal site to review and prepare for this test.  Your student should also have notes in their notebooks.  Our study of measurement will continue this week as we move into recognizing and measuring different types of angles and triangles.  Students will recognize and measure right, obtuse, acute and straight angles.

LANGUAGE ARTS

We will continue with our novel study.  The students will be describing character traits, recognizing author’s purpose, identifying cause and effect as skills this week.  We will also do the Henrico County writing assessment.  The students will be given a prompt to respond to.  This will take place over the course of several days.

SCIENCE

Frequency and pitch will be the focus this week in our sound unit.  Students will develop an understanding of how sound interacts with different states of matter, ie. solid, liquid, and gas. We will have a graded classwork checkup on sound on Thursday, March 18th.  Be sure to utilize the notes in the student resources folder, as well as the portaportal site to review these concepts on sound.  Your student should also have notes in their notebook and a study guide in their drive.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We continue our study of the Midwest Region.  This week we will focus on the physical features and the climate of the region.  Students will read about America’s Heartland and the history of settling the Midwest as part of the asynchronous learning on Wednesday.

We had a great first week in our new learning environments this week!  All of the students were patient, kind, and helpful as we worked through some technology kinks.  One thing is for sure about this year, these students are learning how to be great problem-solvers and team players!  🙂

March is Youth Art Month and Music in our Schools Month!  Click here for a link to Mrs. Siler’s art calendar.  There is a drawing prompt for every day of March!

Want library books?  Click here for Mrs. Harris’s library page.  The Book Hub is open!

The students will need one piece of paper and markers for PE this week.

Please be sure to remind your student to shut their computers down each night after clearing out their cache.  Click here if they are still experiencing problems.  For the correct way to shutdown and start your Chromebook –  Chromebooks start/shutdown

Dates to Remember:

3/8 – Social Studies Quiz on Midwest States and Capitals and Map Quiz

3/11 – Cause and Effect Classwork Checkup

3/12 – Word Trek quizzes for Lesson 21

3/12 – Student half-day

3/12 – Pi Day fun!  A few supplies will be needed.

3/14 – Official Pi Day

3/16 – Circles Quiz

3/15 – 3/19 – 5th Grade Writing Assessment

4/2 – Miss America, Camille Schrier visit

4/2 –  End of Q3

4/2 – Student half-day

4/5 – 4/9 Spring Break

MATH

We will be learning all about circles in math this week!  Students will learn how to measure and recognize the circumference, diameter, radius, and chord of a circle.  Please refer to the notes in the student resources folder.  Please encourage your student to use our portaportal site to review and practice these skills.  We will have an early celebration of Pi day on Friday with some fun activities planned!  If your student is virtual it would be great if they have markers, white paper, pipe cleaners (if possible), a piece of string or yarn, and a round object.  The quiz for this unit will take place on Tuesday, March 16th.

READING

We will continue reading Esperanza Rising this week.  The students will continue looking for cause and effect relationships in the story as it is our skill this week.  We will also focus on recognizing the symbolism found in the story as well as describing the character traits we see in the main characters.  This is a great story, and the students are already connecting their own experiences to the characters!  🙂

SCIENCE
It’s all about sound in Science!  Students will investigate how sound is created, transmitted, and used.  Key vocabulary that will be introduced include wavelength, compression waves, waves, frequency, and vibrations.  This is such a fun unit!  Be sure to utilize the notes in the student resources folder, as well as the portaportal site to review these new concepts.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We are enjoying learning all about the 12 states in the Midwest Region.  This week we will look at the important natural resources that this region provides. We will also work on completion of the Midwest My Maps project.  The quiz on the states and capitals and map location of the 12 states is on Monday, March 8th.  Please encourage your student to use the notes in the student resources folder to help prepare for this.