Daylight Savings: Set your clocks back one hour before you go to bed Saturday night.
Halloween Party: We will celebrate Halloween on October 31st beginning with our annual parade at2:15pm, followed by our class parties. If your child would like to bring a costume to school for the festivities, please be sure they can slip it on over their clothes. No masks, makeup, or weapons are allowed. We honor a food-free celebratory environment in accordance with Parkway's food policy, so no candy or food is allowed. If you are joining us for the celebration, please be sure to sign in before going to your child's class.
Veteran’s Day Celebration: In recognition of Veterans Day, we will host our second annual Veterans Day Celebration on November 10, 2017. We invite (invitation attached here) our students' family members who are veterans and active service members to join us as we honor and celebrate their service. As a part of our celebration, we are creating a Heroes Wall of Honor. If your child would like to participate, have him or her complete the 'My Hero' form that can be printed from here. Please return the form to your child's teacher or the front office by November 3, 2017. We also invite our students to create a project that will be displayed and presented during the assembly. Guidelines for the projects can be found here. Thank you for your participation in helping us honor the men and women who serve our country.
Picture Retake Day: Picture Retake Day is November 9th. If you would like for your child to retake his or her school picture, please return the original photo packet that you received. Also, please email your child's teacher so that she is aware that your child should have his or her picture retaken. We want to ensure that no one misses out on the retake opportunity.
Adopt-A_Highcroft-Family: It’s fast approaching that time of year when we reach out to our Highcroft families and ask for help assisting those in our school community who need support during the holiday season. We hope you will choose to participate in our Adopt-A-Highcroft-Family program this year and help brighten the holiday season for some of our families! Whether this is your first year at Highcroft or you’ve participated in past years, it is your generosity that makes this program successful. Please take a moment to read the attached flyer. We truly hope you will consider participating and lending your support. Thank you in advance!
Reading: This week in reading, we will apply our knowledge about nonfiction reading to inquiry projects. I will encourage students to be independent researchers. We will spend the first few days of Bend II, conducting primary research out in the world. Students might conduct interviews, survey the class, or make observations. See the student research plan below for primary research examples. After a few days of primary research, students will be guided back into their texts. Students will learn that once you have some expertise on your topic, you are more knowledgeable when you come to your texts, you see more in texts when you look through your expert eyes.
Writing: In Bend II, students will learn to make use of primary sources in their informational writing. They’ll also study texts--including film clip--analyzing what writers do in terms of craft, structure, and perspective. Lastly, students will learn how to organize their research by categorizing facts and analysis they’ve collected, so they’re prepared to use their organized information to flash draft a report.
Math: This week in math, we will transition from multiplication to division. Students will use models and strategies to divide whole numbers. Students will learn to use place value patterns and mental math to divide.
Social Studies: This week in Social Studies, we will begin our unit, Native Americans, and Their Land. Students will learn how Native Americans settled North America by using a “zoom lens” to focus in on different aspects of their journey.
Science: On Thursday, students will join Ms. Esptine to learn about Mixtures and Solutions. Students will rotate every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for science. This unit introduces fifth graders to classifying matter in various states based on its physical properties, analyzing whether or not substances combine to create a chemical reaction, measure the mass of an object to the nearest gram using a balance, describe the physical properties of mixtures, and finally recognize the relationship between saturation and concentration. WOW!!! Do this sound fun or what!!!!
October 31: Halloween Parade, 2:15 pm
November 1: Late Start, School begins at 11:05 am
November 4: All Play 6K at Creve Coeur Park
November 6: No School - Records Day
November 9: Picture Retake Day and All Read, 3:25
November 10: Veterans Day Celebration
November 15: Parkway Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 pm, Central Middle
November 16: PSO Meeting, 7:00 pm
November 22-26: No School, Thanksgiving
November 27: Hearing Screenings
