Fifth Grade Updates:

We are off to a great start to the year!

• Reminder: Tomorrow, September 25th, is the Walk for Education, wear your spirit shirt & comfortable clothes as we will be outside in the afternoon.
• More fundraiser information came home yesterday, but this is for our Fifth Grade Field Trip. The fundraiser will help defray all or part of the cost of the trip and it is explained in the cover letter attached to the fundraiser packet. 
• Our field trip will be a trip to Camp Soles in May! We will have Coach buses for transportation, engage in awesome outdoor and team building activities, and go to the Oakhurst Grille and Event Center for an early dinner together. Many details will follow as the date gets closer.  
• Students can keep a beach towel in their cubbies in case we do a “lunch on the lawn” day.

ELA: 

• No spelling words this week. We are taking a break from testing spelling for a week or two. We are focusing on lots of independent reading and differentiated stations and small groups this week. 
• There will be a reading test at the end of the week on skills we have been working on such as theme and plot. 
• Each student should have a novel with them at all times that they are reading in case they finish something early or get any free time. They can borrow a book from any of the fifth grade teachers or check one out from our library. 
• Continue working towards the 25 Book Challenge. Blue book report forms are available in any homeroom. This is optional, but students can earn five Spartan bucks for each form/book completed. 
• We are starting new vivacious vocabulary words today.. We work on the words for two weeks before quizzing them for understanding. Look for the words in the blue switch binders for nightly quick review.
• Next Monday (Sept. 30th) all ELA classes will be beginning our Narrative writing piece. I have a special guest retired teacher, Mrs. Exton, coming in to kick off the writing. We will be writing little narrative books. Each student will have one to be graded and have as a keepsake. 
• Please try and do EDUCATION GALAXY at home each night for 20 minutes for Language Arts and Reading areas. The students are working towards earning stars and different levels of accomplishments. 
• There will not be much homework assigned coming up. 

MATH:

• We are almost through Unit 1 and most of the students are doing a great job embracing the strategies. We are about a week away from our first unit test.
• If your child is struggling with homework, we have “helpers” in the back of the math binder in the Math Strategies section. We are focusing a lot on writing how to solve expressions and equations using the strategies they are learning. This encourages them to stop and think about what they are doing and develop a plan before solving. 
• We also encourage all students to know their multiplication facts through 12 and have a computer program called, Reflex to help them along that path. Students will be receiving rewards for becoming 100% fluent in the near future so time spent on this program will help them reach that goal.
• We also have another computer program called Education Galaxy, for additional skill reinforcement on topics covered last year and this year. Students can work through the ranks, earn stars and compete against students within our school and across the country. This program is a great reincement as well as an opportunity to challenge your child because it works where their skills are and challenges them to go beyond.
• I will also be available after school starting in October several days a week for extra math help- I will keep you posted as the time draws near.
• Homework: Homework is assigned almost every day but Friday. Homework is an important component to our curriculum, but if your child is struggling and you are unable to help, please just sign their assignment and encourage them to see me in the morning. Students should be writing their work down, but if they forget, it can be found on the website under Adams, Hyatt or Irons.

Social Studies/Science:

• In Science, we have begun the Mixtures and Solutions investigations and are learning how to create and separate mixtures and solutions.  
• In Social Studies, we started the year off with an introduction on reading informational texts and the review of different types of maps.  Chapter one is focused on ancient 
• American civilizations and Native American cultures.  Currently, we are wrapping up the first chapter and are preparing for our first test and collaborative project.  Please be on the lookout for the study guide, which should be coming home with students this week. I will provide some in class time for students to begin working on the study guide, however, I recommend that students work on this nightly to be sure it is completed on the due date.
• Little homework is assigned in Science and Social Studies.  However, there will be some assignments. Please refer to the homework page frequently to be sure your child is prepared for class.