5C News November 26-December 1

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving with friends and family! I am excited to get back to learning and fun in Room 501.

Safe surf: Responsible Digital Citizenship: Tomorrow students will learn about Responsible Digital Citizenship from the presenters at Safe surf!

Students will learn…

• To become good cyber citizens and help ensure a bright future  
• To recognize cyberbullying and help put a stop to it  
• To identify tricks and secrets that predators may use  
• To understand the ramifications of inappropriate online behavior  
• To utilize social networking in an age-appropriate and respectful manner  

Hearing Screening: Monday, November 27th @ 2:50

Reading: This week in reading, we will begin Unit 3, Social Issues. Students will learn about some of the issues that exist in the world that authors have woven into their texts. Students will delve into books looking for the problems and injustices that affect not just the character and the reader but entire groups of people in their communities and beyond.

Writing:  This week in writing, we will begin Unit 3, From Essay and Narrative to Memoir. Students will learn to use their notebooks to research their lives, collecting both entries and idea-based writing. That is, they will learn that writers write both “big” and “small,” writing about large ideas or theories and then zooming in to write about one time when that idea was true. After a bit of collecting and pondering, children will be ready to select one of these entries as a “seed idea.”

Math: This week in math, we will continue to use models and strategies to divide whole numbers and decimals.  Students will learn how to use estimation to decide if a quotient is reasonable when dividing by two digit divisors.  When it comes to dividing with decimals, the students will determine patterns and ask themselves if their answers seem reasonable.

Social Studies:This week in Social Studies, we will continue our Native Americans unit. Students start working on putting together our Native American Fashion Show. They will be taking what they have learned about their cultural region (how where they live effect how they live) to create pieces to wear in the fashion show. Our fashion show is scheduled for Tuesday, December 5th. The time TBD later this week. Study guides will go home this Friday and our end of the unit assessment will be Friday, December 8th.

Important Vocabulary: cultures, nomadic, cultural regions, artifacts, mesas, and gorges

Science: Remember: Students will rotate every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for science. Our class is currently studying Mixtures and Solutions with Ms. Epstein.

November      

15: Parkway Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 pm, Central Middle

16: PSO Meeting, 7:00 pm

22-26: No School, Thanksgiving

27: Hearing Screenings and Safe Surf Presentations - Grades 4 and 5

December

6: Late Start, School begins at 11:05 am, Cardinals Day - wear Cardinal Red, and Parkway Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 pm, Central Middle

14: All Read, 3:25 pm and PSO Meeting, 7:00 pm

15: Country Western Day

21: Winter Parties, 9:45 am

22 - 31: Winter Break

January

1-3: No School, Winter Break

4: School Resumes

10: Late Start, School begins at 11:05 am, Spirit Day - PJ Day

11: All Read, 3:25 pm

15: No School, Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday

5C News November 13th-17th

Lately, I find myself continually feeling grateful for the gifts of you, and your children. Thanks for raising such great little people, and for all of your support this year. I am extremely grateful for all that you do and feel lucky to be a Highcroft Sweetie. Here’s what’s happening in our classroom this week!

Thank you Mrs. Gillies for sharing the some amazing story with us. We appreciate you!

Our Veteran’s Day Assembly was a great success! Lexi and Maya represented our class wonderfully as she taught the school about The Army.

Thank you Mr. Katcherside for coming and talking to us about what it truly means to be a veteran. Thank you also for your service to our country. It is because of you commitment to our country that we get to live freely!

Thank you to all the veteran's that have served and made this country a great place to live!

Parkways Food Pantry: Next week we are collecting food items for the new "Parkway Food Pantry."  Students can donate different food items that will be distributed to Parkway families. Thank you for your support.

What can you send?

1. Soups

2. Canned Ravioli

3. Spaghetti-O's

4. Pasta Sauce

5. Preserves

6. Condiments

7. Spices

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!

Participation Form

Reading: This week in reading, we will be wrapping up our third and final bend of our nonfiction reading unit, Tacking Complexity. Students will create Google Slide presentations that will help teach third and fourth graders about their Inquiry Topics. As the end of the week approaches, please take a moment to ask your child to share their presentation with you at home! This will be great practice for their teaching on Friday.  Our Learning Expo will take place Friday morning. I can’t wait to watch these fifth grader researchers share all they have learned with their Highcroft Sweeties.

Writing:  This week in writing, students will learn that informational writers include text features to support a reader’s navigation through the text. We will also learn that research writers craft introductions that both explain the structure of their writing and lure readers in. At the end of the week, we will take some time to edit our writing. Students will use punctuation to pack facts and information into the sentences that they have already written. Early next week, students will show what they know about informational writing during an On Demand assessment. Tuesday, we will celebrate all that we have throughout our second unit, Research Reports.

Math: This week in math, we will continue Topic 5, Division. Students will learn that area models and arrays are two ways to represent division with multi-digit whole numbers. Then, students will learn to use partial quotients to divide. After that, we will find the quotient when the divisor is a multiple of 10. Finally, we will use estimation to place the first digit of the quotient. Early next week, we will review what we have learned about dividing by whole numbers and then Tuesday we will Show What We Know about division.

Social Studies: This week in Social Studies, we will continue our Native Americans unit. Students will learn about Native Americans and their environments. We will learn that as Native Americans spread across North America they settled in many types of environments, including grasslands, deserts, mountains, and arctic ice fields. Then, we will begin to study how Native Americans adapted to their environment.

Important Vocabulary: Adaptations, Driftwood, migration, and migrants

Science: Remember: Students will rotate every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for science. Our class is currently studying Mixtures and Solutions with Ms. Epstein.

November      

15: Parkway Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 pm, Central Middle

16: PSO Meeting, 7:00 pm

22-26: No School, Thanksgiving

27: Hearing Screenings and Safe Surf Presentations - Grades 4 and 5

December

6: Late Start, School begins at 11:05 am, Cardinals Day - wear Cardinal Red, and Parkway Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 pm, Central Middle

14: All Read, 3:25 pm and PSO Meeting, 7:00 pm

15: Country Western Day

21: Winter Parties, 9:45 am

22 - 31: Winter Break

January

1 - 3: Winter Break

 4: School Resumes

5C News November 6th - 10th

I can’t believe the first trimester is already over! I have had a blast getting to know your 5th graders over the past few months. I’m excited for a new trimester of learning and fun! Thank you for all you do to help your 5th grader be successful at school!

All Read: We will have All Read this Thursday, November 9th @ 3:25.

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!

Participation Form

Reading: This week in reading, we will continue Bend II of our Tackling Complexity unit.  Students will learn that researchers ask questions at different levels--from basic comprehension questions to those requiring in-depth exploration. We will also dive into the world of synthesizing texts. Over the next week, students will be creating presentations based on their inquiry research topics. We will be celebrating our learning by teaching 3rd and 4th grade about our topics during an Ed Camp next Friday, November 17th.

Writing:  This week in writing, we will continue Bend II of our Westward Expansion unit. Students will learn that writers organize their research by categorizing facts and analyzing what they’ve collected, so they’re prepared to use their organized information to flash-draft a report. After a day of drafting, students will learn that every single story, every fact, has multiple points of view from which it can be seen and that writers ask themselves, “What are some other ways to see this?” Lastly, students will make their writing easier for their reader to take in by relying on patterning in words, structures, and meanings.

Math: This week in math, we will begin Topic 5, Division. We will start the week by reviewing what we already know about division. After a day of review, students will use models and strategies to divide whole numbers and learn to use place value patterns and mental math to divide.

Social Studies: This week in Social Studies, we will continue our unit, Native Americans, and Their Land. Students will read and listen to origin stories, learn about migration routes, identify some of the ways the Inuit adapted to the environment in the Arctic.

Science: Remember: Students will rotate every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for science. Our class is currently studying Mixtures and Solutions with Ms. Epstine.

November

6: No School - Records Day

9: Picture Retake Day and All Read, 3:25 pm

10: Veterans Day Celebration, 9:00 am, Grades 4 & 5 wear Blue        

15: Parkway Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 pm, Central Middle

16: PSO Meeting, 7:00 pm

22-26: No School, Thanksgiving

27: Hearing Screenings and Safe Surf Presentations - Grades 4 and 5

December

6: Late Start, School begins at 11:05 am, Cardinals Day - wear Cardinal Red, and Parkway Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 pm, Central Middle

14: All Read, 3:25 pm and PSO Meeting, 7:00 pm

15: Country Western Day

21: Winter Parties, 9:45 am

22 - 31: Winter Break

January

1 - 3: Winter Break

 4: School Resumes