Merry Christmas!

Our theme for the 4th week of Advent is titled "Turn to the Lord." Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

What a beautiful way to begin Christmas break watching our 5th graders singing and leading the entire school in our Advent service this morning.  We are so PROUD! 

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

  

Week 14 News

Our theme for the third week of Advent is titled "Shout for JOY!" O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel!  Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!

Reminders 

• Parents...Please make sure your child has the appropriate outdoor gear with them.  We go out for recess when the "feels like" temp is above 10 degrees.  Many students have only a sweatshirt.  Yes, we know, we have kids too who choose not to wear a coat! If that is their desire then please remind them not to complain when they go outside for recess and its COLD! 😆

Upcoming Events

• MONDAY: Advent Prayer service @ 2:55
• TUESDAY: Reconciliation, Winter Band Concert @ 7 in Parish Hall
• WEDNESDAY:  Liturgy @ 8:45
• THURSDAY: 
• FRIDAY: Advent Prayer service @ 10:00, Sing along in gym at 10:30, DISMISSAL @ 11:20

December 10-14  Third Week of Advent "Shout for Joy!"

What an amazing day yesterday for our 5th grade Mission benefiting West Des Moines Human Services and Connection Cafe.  The wonderful generosity from our Saint Francis community was overwhelming.  Your children worked so hard gathering, sorting, a wrapping donations from each grade level.  It was touching to see them helping each other with the wrapping part which as you all know isn't as easy as it looks.  The day was filled with smiles, laughter, joy, happiness, and community building within our 5th grade.  Special thanks to the parents that helped deliver all of the boxes to WDM for us and to all who contributed our wrapping supplies.  Again, we are speechless as teachers at the generosity of our SFA community.  Thank You!!

SHOPPING, BOXING, WRAPPING, PACKING, and RELAXING!

Shopping!

More Shopping!!

Boxing it up!

Wrapping

                      

Packing!

RELAXING!

This will be our last newsletter until January!

Have a Blessed Christmas!

Religion – We are continuing with our unit on The 25 Days of Christ.  We are using this theme to learn about 25 major events in Christ’s life.  We are learning about these events through scripture, art, videos, and individual reflection.  Please feel free to visit this website for more information. http://25daysofchrist.com/pages/the-25-days-new-testament-edition We will continue with these lessons through Christmas.  Advent Prayer Services will be held Dec. 4 at 2:55, Dec. 10 at 2:55, Dec. 17 at 2:55. and Friday Dec. 21 at 10:00.  Following Christmas Break, we will begin a unit on Sacraments.

Reading – Mrs. Anderson’s and Mrs. Schaffer’s Classes have continued with the whole class book-A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  It’s been a challenging but very intriguing and interesting book. Comprehension activities have been and will continue to be highlighted throughout the reading of this book. This will be able to count as one of the 40 books students need to read by the end of the school year.  Mrs. Alsin’s Class is continuing to read the novel and almost to the end of Restart, by Gordon Korman. Different comprehension strategies are being utilized to enhance our understanding of the story. We will also still offer independent reading time so that the students can continue working on their 40 books!

Math – We continue our unit on Division. We will transition to the traditional way only to solve division problems. We will start with remainders, transition to fractions, and then complete the unit with decimals. We will also learn how to interpret remainders in story problems.

S.S. / Science - We will be starting our unit on Force and Motion this week after a week of Geographic Bee FUN!  We have 25 fifth graders moving on to the written portion of the Geo Bee. Congrats to all. We sure learned a lot of interesting things!

Language Arts – We wrapped up our verb unit with the assessment on Friday.  Watch for corrected tests to come home next week. In preparing to write the body of our personal narrative, we’ve taken time to learn about the appropriate way to use quotation marks when incorporating dialogue in writing,word choice, pacing, problem and solution,transitions, and point of view.  Next week, we will look at figurative language and how to “show not tell” in writing. We’ll then begin writing the body of the narrative. This will continue following Christmas Break.

Spelling – There will be no spelling next week.  Following Christmas Break, the Spelling List will consist of words with the soft letter “g” sound.  The skill will be similes.

Week 13 News

Our theme for the second week of Advent is titled "Set Out in Haste."  We are hoping the joy of the season surrounds you as we continue to move toward the Manger.

Reminders 

• 5th Grade is in charge of this months Mission benefiting the Connection Cafe and West Des Moines Human Services.  We are in need of wrapping paper, shoeboxes, and rolls of tape for wrapping on Friday the 14th.  If you have any of these items, they would be much appreciated.  We will be putting together and wrapping care presents for families in need.  Click HERE for the detailed list of items needed for each grade.
• Parents...Please make sure your child has the appropriate outdoor gear with them.  We go out for recess when the "feels like" temp is above 10 degrees.  Many students have only a sweatshirt.  Yes, we know, we have kids too who choose not to wear a coat! If that is their desire then please remind them not to complain when they go outside for recess and its COLD! 😆

Upcoming Events

• MONDAY: Advent Prayer service @ 2:55
• TUESDAY: Adoration, SPIRITWEAR, Fieldtrip to the Playhouse 9-11:30
• WEDNESDAY:  
• THURSDAY: 5th Grade Christmas Musical 7pm - meet in the Music Room @ 6:30
• FRIDAY: 5th Grade MISSIONS DAY!  Woohoo, One of our FAVORITE days.

December 10-14  Second Week of Advent "Set Out in Haste"

We had fun Friday with our Skype with Tommy Greenwald. Students asked some really good questions to facilitate great discussion on what Authors need to do to be successful and create great interesting books.  All three 5th grade classes have been using a Tommy Greenwald book during read Aloud.  They are very good and students have loved them.

Religion –We held a special 5th grade prayer service in honor of St. Nicholas on Thursday.  Thank you all of the 5th graders for your respect and reverence. We are continuing with our unit on The 25 Days of Christ.  We are using this theme to learn about 25 major events in Christ’s life. We are learning about these events through scripture, art, videos, and individual reflection.  Please feel free to visit this website for more information. http://25daysofchrist.com/pages/the-25-days-new-testament-edition

We will continue with these lessons through Christmas.  Advent Prayer Services will be held Dec. 4 at 2:55, Dec. 10 at 2:55, Dec. 17 at 2:55. and Friday Dec. 21 at 10:00.

Reading – Mrs. Anderson’s and Mrs. Schaffer’s Class have continued with the whole class book-A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  It’s been a challenging but very intriguing and interesting start. Comprehension activities will be highlighted throughout the reading of this book. This will be able to count as one of the 40 books students need to read by the end of the school year.  Mrs. Alsin’s Class is continuing to read the novel, Restart, by Gordon Korman. Different comprehension strategies are being utilized to enhance our understanding of the story. We will also still offer independent reading time so that the students can continue working on their 40 books!

Math – We started our unit on Division. We will transition to the traditional way only to solve division problems. We will start with remainders, transition to fractions, and then complete the unit with decimals. We will also learn how to interpret remainders in story problems.

Science - Our investigation of Matter is complete.  Please look for this test to come home to be signed and returned. We spent the rest of this week on the Geography Bee activities holding a “mock” bee and will continue this next week.  

Language Arts – We continue to work through our verb unit as well as our personal narrative unit.   This week, we looked at verb tense and perfect verb tense. Next week we will focus on consistency in verb tense in writing.  The test will likely be at the end of next week. In preparing to write the body of our personal narrative, we’ve taken time to learn about the appropriate way to use quotation marks when incorporating dialogue in writing,word choice, pacing, problem and solution and transitions.  Next week, we will look at point of view and figurative language. We’ll then begin writing the body of the narrative.

Spelling – Our Spelling list next week will consist of contractions.  We will also spend time on synonyms and antonyms.

National Day of Mourning

Fifth Grade observing a National Day of Mourning for our 41st President and Patriot, 
George H.W. Bush.  

George Herbert Walker Bush (1924-2018), served as the 41st U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. He also was a two-term U.S. vice president under Ronald Reagan, from 1981 to 1989. Bush, a World War II naval aviator and Texas oil industry executive, began his political career in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1967.  May he rest in peace!

Week 12 News

Upcoming Events

• MONDAY: 
• TUESDAY: Advent Prayer service @ 2:55
• WEDNESDAY:  
• THURSDAY:
• FRIDAY: Tommy Greenwald Skype

Reminders

• Tommy Greenwald book orders if you would like an autographed book.
• Hats, gloves, winter coats...oh my!  The weather is cold, please be prepared.

December 3-7

Happy New Year! (Liturgical, that is)

Religion –We’ve completed our unit on the Liturgical Seasons.  Watch for corrected assessments to come home soon. We started our unit on The 25 Days of Christ.  We are using this theme to learn about 25 major events in Christ’s life. We are learning about these events through scripture, art, videos, and individual reflection.  Please feel free to visit this website for more information. http://25daysofchrist.com/pages/the-25-days-new-testament-edition

We will continue with these lessons through Christmas.  Advent Prayer Services will be held Dec. 4 at 2:55, Dec. 10 at 2:55, Dec. 17 at 2:55. and Friday Dec. 21 at 10:00.

Reading – Mrs. Schaffer’s Class has started the whole class book-A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  Her class began this week by learning about Charles Dickens and his background as well as reading Stave 1.  Mrs. Anderson’s class will begin this book this week. Comprehension activities will be highlighted throughout the reading of this book. This will be able to count as one of the 40 books students need to read by the end of the school year.  Mrs. Alsin’s Class is continuing to read the novel, Restart, by Gordon Korman. Different comprehension strategies are being utilized to enhance our understanding of the story. We will also still offer independent reading time so that the students can continue working on their 40 books!

Math – Your child will be finishing the Unit 3 test over Geometry on Monday. Look for tests to come home later next week. Please review, sign, and return with your child. We will start Unit 4: Division next.

Science - Our investigation of Matter is almost complete as we Test over this unit Tuesday.  Students have learned about the 3 main forms of matter and how they change from one state to the next.  We explored hand-on about weight, mass, volume, and density. I am so impressed on the excitement to make density towers at home.  YaY! Awesome! I hope to post some of those with student permission soon. We will devote the rest of this week on the Geography Bee activities and get back to force and motion next week.

Language Arts – We continue to work through our verb unit as well as our personal narrative unit.  We’ve spent time identifying action, helping, and linking verbs in sentences. Next week, we will look at verb tense and consistency in verb tense in writing.  In preparing to write the body of our personal narrative, we’ve taken time to learn about the appropriate way to use quotation marks when incorporating dialogue in writing as well as word choice.  Next week we’ll look at pacing, problem and solution and transitions.

Spelling – Our Spelling list next week will consist of homophones!  It will be important to not only know how to spell them, but also know when to use the appropriate form of the homophone.

Week 11 News

Upcoming Events

• MONDAY: 
• TUESDAY: Spiritwear (SFA or DCHS top with Dress code bottoms), Adoration
• WEDNESDAY:  Catholic Youth Camp and Heart Challenge Assemblies
• THURSDAY:
• FRIDAY: NO CLASSES, Teacher Professional Development
• End of Trimester on Tuesday, Nov. 20
• No School on Wednesday, Nov. 21
• Thanksgiving Break Nov. 22 - 25

Reminders

• Hats, gloves, winter coats...oh my!  The weather is cold, please be prepared.

November 12-15

Dear Families,

This will be our last newsletter before Thanksgiving. We want to thank you for letting us be a part of your child’s education. We feel so blessed to be a part of the SFA family and look forward to sharing all the fun activities that December has in store!

Christ’s peace ~ Micki, Lisa, and Kristin

Religion -Liturgical Seasons Unit is well underway.  We’ve been learning about the different seasons in the church year as well as the colors and symbols that coordinate with each season.  We anticipate completing and assessing over this unit just before Thanksgiving Break. We will then begin a unit titled the 25 Days of Christ.  We will be using this theme to learn about 25 major events in Christ’s life. We are learning about these events through scripture, art, videos, and individual reflection.  Please feel free to visit this website for more information. http://25daysofchrist.com/pages/the-25-days-new-testament-edition

We will continue with these lessons through Christmas.  

Reading/Language Arts –  All three classes are continuing to learn about and apply all of the comprehension strategies.   Following Thanksgiving Break, Mrs. Schaffer’s class will begin the whole class book, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  This will be able to count as one of the 40 books students need to read by the end of the school year.  Mrs. Anderson’s class will be starting Guided Reading groups. We will apply the comprehension strategies we’ve been learning about to this book.  We will also still offer independent reading time so that the students can continue working on their 40 books!

Math – We continue to work in Unit 3 - Geometry.  Lots of new vocabulary is being introduced. Your child can review his/her spiral and notecards each night to reinforce the concepts covered in class.  Continued practice of basic math facts will improve accuracy and speed.

Social Studies - We have completed our units over Geography and American Indians and their Cultural Regions.  Both of these assessments were taken online in class. Today your child is bringing home a form to sign so I know that you have seen their scores.  All students know how to get into their TCI online textbook. Please let me know if you have questions.

Science - We started our unit over Matter this week, discussing physical properties and the differences between weight and mass.  Lots of fun learning in this unit that we will continue with next week.

Language Arts – We’ve spent the last week listening to example of well written personal narratives and using them to generate our own ideas for personal narratives.  Next week, we will choose one of the ideas generated and begin to take it through the writing process. We also wrapped up our unit on nouns with a test today.  Our next grammar focus will be verbs.

Spelling –  Next week’s Spelling words will consist of words with the suffixes -ness and -ly.  We will also review antonyms. There will not be a spelling list the week of Thanksgiving.  The week following Thanksgiving our list will consist of words with the ei sounds and the ie sound.

Week 10 News

Upcoming Events

• Finally a regular school week

Reminders

• Please send warm clothing for recess.
• NO MORE SHORTS!

November 5-9 

Religion – Our Wax Museum was a huge success!  Thank you so much for supporting your child by helping to put together a costume and listening to him/her practice his/her speech!  We are so proud of all of the students! We also started our unit on the Liturgical Calendar in preparation for the church new year beginning the first week of Advent.

Reading/Language Arts – We will continue with mini lessons on the comprehension strategies next week.  Many students are well on their way to their 40 books! Keep on reading!

Math – We continue to work in Unit 3 - Geometry.  Lots of new vocabulary is being introduced. Your child can review his/her spiral each night as well as the studyguide they are creating to reinforce the concepts covered in class. We began using a half-size protractor this week to measure angles to the nearest degree. Continued practice of basic math facts will improve accuracy and speed.

Social Studies - We will quiz over Lesson 3 on Monday, American Indians and their Cultural Regions.  Students have been reading all about the different regions American Indians settled and how they adapted to that area, what artifacts they left behind, their homes, and animals they ate.  We will be switching gears soon back to science.

Language Arts – We spent the week listening to examples of personal narrartives writtem by Jerry Spinelli and using them to help us brainstrom ideas for our own narratives.  We discussed the importance of sensory details, dialogue, and choosing “seed” topics vs. “watermelon” topics. This will continue next week. We also started a Grammar Unit on Nouns.  We’ve discussed that nouns include more than just a person, place, or thing-they include thoughts, feelings, and ideas as well. We also looked at singular and plural nouns and common and proper nouns.  Next week we will look at possessive nouns. Watch for a test date over Nouns soon!

Spelling – Rule: Prefixes: -in (not), -im(not), mis (wrong, bad), and -il (not).

Saints Wax Museum

Parents,

You are invited!  As reported in our last two newsletters/blog posts, Thursday November 1st following mass at 10:10 a.m, will be our annual 5th grade Saints Wax Museum.  

Students have been researching information regarding his/her chosen saint throughout this past week.  To conclude the research and as a part of the the Museum, students will be asked to write a brief report (paragraph or slightly more) on his/her saint and do their best to memorize as much of their report as possible.  

Students will also be asked to put together a "costume" as well as find props that represent his/her saint.  Please don't feel as though you need to purchase any items.  Look for items around home that could be used.  For example, St. Christopher is pictured wearing what looks like a robe/sheet wrapped around him.  For this costume a bed sheet could be used to just drape around a student's existing clothing. St. Christopher is the patron saint of automobile drivers.  Small matchbox cars could be used as props on the student's desk to represent this particular saint.  If you are unable to find props to represent a saint, a poster could be made illustrating props.  

We ask that you encourage your child to practice memorizing his/her report at home over the weekend.  We also ask that you monitor your child's use of the internet when researching information regarding his/her saint this week to ensure that the information he/she is finding is from a catholic resource.  Additionally, we ask that you assist your child in ensuring costume/prop choices are brought to school next Thursday.

Two online resources include, www.catholic.org/saints/    or www.catholic-forum.com/saints/patron02.htm

Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.  We look forward to seeing you all next week!

Thank you.

Mrs. Schaffer, Mrs. Alsin, and Mrs. Anderson

Week 9 News

Upcoming Events

• Red Ribbon Week Activities - "Real Heroes Don't Do Drugs"
• MONDAY: 
• “Your Future So Bright, You Gotta Wear Shades”.   Students & staff may wear sunglasses or any other fun pair of glasses.
• ALICE Training - we will be sharing these strategies with our 5th graders.
• TUESDAY: 
• Be Your Own Hero”  Students and staff may wear a shirt representing an activity they are involved in or a something they are passionate about.  Uniform bottoms must be worn.
• WEDNESDAY:  
• “Favorite Literary Hero”  Students and staff may dress up as their favorite character from a book.“
• Schedule Switch - Our Wednesday and Thursday schedule will flip this week due to All Saints Day being on Thursday.  We will have PE on Wednesday, reminder for tennis shoes that day.
• THURSDAY:
• “Wear Red Day”  Students and staff may wear a red shirt with uniform bottoms.  
• SAINTS WAX MUSEUM - Thursday November 1st 10:10-10:45 in our 5th grade classrooms
• All Saints Day Celebrations in the afternoon Thursday November 1.
• FRIDAY:
• “Even Superheroes Need to Sleep”  Students and staff may wear pajamas.

Reminders

• NOVEMBER 1st NO more SHORTS or CAPRI bottoms.
• As the weather gets colder, please remember to send layers of clothing for outdoor recess.

October 29-November 2

Religion – We have been researching, writing and preparing for the Saint’s Wax Museum this week.  As a reminder, the wax museum will be held on November 1st in your child’s classroom from 10:10-10:45 (after mass).  We hope to see you there! Following the museum, we will begin a unit on the Liturgical Calendar in preparation for the church new year beginning the first week of Advent.

Reading/Language Arts –All three classes are continuing to learn about comprehension strategies.  Lessons revolve around teaching the students about the strategy, using a mentor text to practice the strategy and then suggestions on how to use the strategies in their independent reading.  These strategies will be stressed throughout the entire year. Many students are well on their way to their 40 books by the end of 5th grade! Keep on reading!

Math – We began Unit 3: Geometry this week. We are using a different study strategy to learn the concepts and all of the vocabulary that accompanies this chapter. The strategy focuses on the students not waiting to be assessed, but on the learners assessing themselves throughout a unit of study. We learned about this strategy on our last professional development day. It’s amazing how motivating using different colors of pens, highlighters, etc. and writing on anything other than lined paper. :) I am hopeful that it will also provide me the formative assessment information I need to make decisions to direct my instruction. This does not mean that we are taking a break from computation - please encourage nightly practice of math facts at home.  :) Thank you!

Social Studies -  We Are reading about American Indians and the Cultural regions they lived in and how they adapted to those environments.  Next week we will continue and also discuss why the Europeans came to America and the routes of exploration to the New World that were taken. All three 5th grades have started lessons from parent volunteers introducing Junior Achievement.  There are 6 lessons, so we will see these parents each week. This is wonderful preparation for 5th grade Biztown that will begin in January.

Language Arts – We wrapped up our non ficton quick write by writing a paragraph  detailing a battle scene similar to a scene found at the end of a Who Would Win book by Jerry Palotta.  We discussed how to write a paragraph and how to strenghthen our sentences.  We also started our Personal Narrative Unit by using Jerry Spinelli’s autobiography, Knots in my Yo-Yo String as a mentor text for ideas for our own personal narratives.  This process will continue next week. We will also begin a short grammar unit on Nouns.

Spelling – Next week’s Spelling list will consist of more plural words/rules.  We will also review synonymns, antonymns, and homographs.