Week 25 News

Upcoming Events : April 9-12

• MONDAY:  No Classes - Teacher Professional Development 

• TUESDAY:  Spirit Wear 

• WEDNESDAY:  Liturgy @ 8:45am

• THURSDAY:  

• FRIDAY:  Prayer Service @ 8:40, Reconciliation

As Jesus rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they has seen.  

Luke 19:36-37

Religion –We continue to work through presenting our Google Slide Presentations on the 7 Sacraments. We will be starting a unit on the 10 Commandments next week.   Throughout Lent we will be attending school wide prayer services. Our last service will be held on April 12 at 8:40, and Stations of the Cross on April 19 at 2:30.  

Reading/Language Arts – Mrs. Schaffer’s Class has started a round of Special Needs Lit Circles.  The main character in each of the books chosen is dealing with a special need. Following the reading of these books, groups will research and present information on their character’s special need and how it was portrayed within the book.  Comprehension strategies are being emphasized as well. Mrs. Anderson’s class continues the whole class book Restart focusing on comprehension strategies and Mrs. Alsin’s class is finishing the whole class book Bridge to Terabithia.    

Math – Your child will be bringing home the assessment for your review over fractions, decimals, and percents on Tuesday. Please discuss the results with your child, sign, and return.

Social Studies - Students are back to weekly geography quizzes on Fridays as we study map skills from a variety of different places.  Look for these to come home each week to be signed.

Science - We finished our unit over the Respiratory system with a fantastic hands-on LAB working with props brought in by Shannon Umthum (Landon) and Teresa Aoki (Joaquin). Their knowledge is amazing and students got the chance to listen to the heart and bowel sounds on SAM (Student Auscultation Manikin) that is used for training real doctors.  This simulation was very unique and we wish we would have had more time. A big thanks to both these moms for taking time to bring in SAM. Students will be bringing home their assessment over the Respiratory system on Tuesday, please go over it with them and sign to be returned. We wasted no time jumping into our next science unit-over Weather, with a presentation by Zach Sharpe from the Iowa Storm Chasing team.  He had lots of great video of storms he has chased and talked to students about his experiences, which generated tons of amazing questions. We will continue discussing Weather this week.

Language Arts – We finished up Figurative Language this week with the assessment on Thursday.  We started our next unit on Poetry. This will be the focus for the next couple of weeks.

Spelling –  The next Spelling List will consist of words that contain words with the word endings -le, -el, -al  We will review how to determine the meaning of words using context clues as well.

Week 24 News

Upcoming Events : April 1-5

• MONDAY:  April 1 

• TUESDAY:  Water Rocks Assembly 

• WEDNESDAY:  Liturgy @ 8:45am

• THURSDAY:  Lent prayer service @ 8:40am

• FRIDAY:  Weather Presentation by Meteorologist Zach Sharpe from Iowa Storm Chasers Network

• MONDAY April 8: No classes - Teacher Professional Development

Religion – We continue to work through presenting our Google Slide Presentations on the 7 Sacraments. Mrs. Anderson’s class has completed the Works of Mercy Assessment.  Mrs. Schaffer’s class and Mrs. Alsin’s class will be taking the assessment next week. We will then begin a unit on the 10 Commandments. Throughout Lent we will be attending school wide prayer services. These services will be held on April 4 at 8:40, April 12 at 8:40, and Stations of the Cross on April 19 at 2:30.  

Reading/Language Arts – Mrs, Schaffer’s class spent time this week learning about the comprehension strategies of Determining Importance and Sensory Image.  Mrs. Anderson’s class began the whole class book Restart and Mrs. Alsin’s class continued reading the whole class book Bridge to Terabithia.  Next week, Mrs. Schaffer’s class will complete another round of Lit Circles focusing on special needs and Mrs. Alsin and Mrs. Anderson’s Classes will continue with their whole class books. Many comprehension strategies are being utilized throughout all of these lessons.   

Math – The students will be taking the Oral and Slate and Open Response portions of the assessment for the fraction, decimal, and percent unit on Monday, April 1. Not an April Fool’s joke! :) The students will then proceed to take the Written Response portion of the assessment. Please continue to reinforce the importance of basic fact practice at home.

Science - We spent the week learning the main parts of the respiratory system.  We explored the lungs and finished the week creating our own in a very interactive Lab.  We will continue with this unit next week and test over this material on Friday April 5th.Language Arts – We spent this week learning about Figurative Language (similes,metaphors, idioms, personification, onomatopoeia).  We will continue next week (oxymorons and hyperboles) and assess on it next week and then begin a unit on Poetry.

Spelling –  The next Spelling List will consist of words that contain words with the Greek and Latin roots, homo, phobia, auto, and tract.  We will review synonyms, antonyms, and homographs as well too.

Week 23 News

REMINDERS:

• We are all excited for Spring Break, however it begins on Friday March 15 and classes resume on Monday March 25th.  If your child will be out of school any other days, please let us know.  We are testing in some areas and students have been notified to communicate with their teacher and should be ready to take these exams early or upon their first day of return to school.

Upcoming Events : March 11-14

• MONDAY:  Lent prayer service @ 8:40am

• TUESDAY:  Spirit Wear, Adoration, Science Test 

• WEDNESDAY:  Liturgy @ 8:45am

• THURSDAY:  

• FRIDAY:  NO SCHOOL!  Have a safe Spring Break
• MONDAY: March 25, classes resume

Religion –We continue to work through presenting our Google Slide Presentations on the 7 Sacraments.  We are also continuing to work through our unit on the Works of Mercy. Students will be responsible for knowing all of the Works of Mercy as well as how a 5th grader can serve others following the Works of Mercy.   Throughout Lent we will be attending school wide prayer services that will be held in the church. These services will be held on March 11 at 8:40, March 26 at 8:40, April 4 at 8:40, April 12 at 8:40, and Stations of the Cross on April 19th at 2:30.

Reading/Language Arts – Mrs. Schaffer’s and Mrs. Anderson’s classes have started a round of Literature Circles.  Group members are assigned chapters in their group’s book and a particular comprehension role each day.  Upon completion, groups discuss their completed roles and then receive new assignments. Mrs. Alsin’s class is reading the whole class book Bridge to Terabithia.  Many comprehension strategies are being utilized throughout this book.

Math –  We spent time working on improper fractions, mixed numbers, and parts/whole.  Next week, we will continue to spend time converting fractions to decimals and percents.        

Social Studies - Students are back to weekly geography quizzes on Fridays as we study map skills from a variety of different places.  Look for these to come home each week to be signed.

Science - We had a fun week learning about the circulatory system and some of the main functions on the heart.  Students will test over this material on Tuesday.

Language Arts – We spent time this week researching and organizing our information for our persuasive papers.  Next week, we will begin work on the rough draft, editing process and the final draft. I hope we can get these finished up before we leave Friday for Spring Break.  Following Spring Break, we’ll spend some time on Figurative Language and Poetry.

Spelling –  Next week’s Spelling List will consist of words that contain the Greek and Latin Roots poly, hexa, hepta, octa, multi, and deca.  We will also spend time learning about similes, metaphors, and idioms.

Week 22 News

Upcoming Events : March 4-8

• MONDAY:  

• TUESDAY:  

• WEDNESDAY:  Liturgy @ 8:45, ASH Wednesday Mass Celebration

• THURSDAY:  

• FRIDAY:  

Religion –We continue to work through presenting our Google Slide Presentations on the 7 Sacraments.  We are also continuing to work through our unit on the Works of Mercy. Students will be responsible for knowing all of the Works of Mercy as well as how a 5th grader can serve others following the Works of Mercy.  We will be attending Ash Wednesday mass on Wednesday to observe the beginning of Lent. Throughout Lent we will be attending school wide prayer services that will be held in the church. These services will be held on March 11 at 8:40, March 26 at 8:40, April 4 at 8:40, April 12 at 8:40, and Stations of the Cross on April 19th at 2:30.

Reading/Language Arts – Mrs. Schaffer’s and Mrs. Anderson’s classes have started a round of Literature Circles.  Group members are assigned chapters in their group’s book and a particular comprehension role each day.  Upon completion, groups discuss their completed roles and then receive new assignments. Mrs. Alsin’s class is reading the whole class book Bridge to Terabithia.  Many comprehension strategies are being utilized throughout this book.

Math –  We spent time working on improper fractions, mixed numbers, and parts/whole.  Next week, we will continue to spend time converting fractions to decimals and percents.       

Social Studies - Students are back to weekly geography quizes on Fridays as we study map skills from a variety of different places.  Look for these to come home each week to be signed.

Science - We have finished up our short unit about our individual health and ways to balance exercise and eating choices.  We started our discussion on some of the body systems and will focus mostly on the circulatory/cardiovascular system before moving to the respiratory system.  Students will use their ISN (Interactive Science Notebooks) and will be encouraged to bring them home to study nightly to get into some good study habits.

Language Arts – We spent this week learning about Interjections and Persuasive Writing.  Students chose their own persuasive topics today and will begin researching next week.  They will go through a guided process of researching and organizing. This information will then be taken through the writing process.

 

Spelling –  Next week’s Spelling List will consist of words that contain the Greek and Latin Roots trans, dict, duc, and duct.  We will also spend time learning about similes and metaphors.

Week 21 News

Reminders:

• The weather has been crazy, please look at the forecast and know that we will only stay inside if temps are not above 10 degrees.

Upcoming Events : February 25-March 1

• MONDAY:  

• TUESDAY:  

• WEDNESDAY:  Liturgy @ 8:45

• THURSDAY:  

• FRIDAY:  

Religion –We have finished our in class work time with the Google Slide Presentations on the 7 Sacraments.  Students will need to finish these on their own over the weekend-they will be due Monday February 25.  Students will then be presenting these to the class over the next several weeks. We encourage you to take a moment and view these presentations at home. We will be starting our unit on the Works of Mercy.  Students will be responsible for knowing all of the Works of Mercy as well as how a 5th grader can serve others following the Works of Mercy. A Lenten Service project will be required for all 5th graders. More information will be sent at a later date.

Reading/Language Arts – We are continuing to work through our MLK unit/informative writing pieces.  We will move back into our routine of independently reading, conferencing, and journal writing about current reading selections after MLK. We will also take some time to read in Literature Circles.  

Math –  We spent time working on improper fractions, mixed numbers, and parts/whole.  Next week, we will spend time converting fractions to decimals and percents.     

Science - We spent the week discussing our general health, which seems like a good thing with all the sickness going around.  We practiced washing our hands with a fun experiment with “Glo-germ” ask your child about that. We will continue with health and begin discussing the Heart next.

Language Arts – We took our Preposition Test this week.  The application portion was challenging. Students were told that they may choose to retake this portion of the test on Monday at 8:00 if they’d like to increase their score.  We also continued with our unit on persuasion by looking at the pros and cons of drinking juice and the importance of including facts and research when working with persuasion.    

 

Spelling –  Our Spelling list next week will consist of words that are homographs.  Your child will need to know how to spell the words as well their multiple meanings and how to determine the correct meaning in context.

Week 20 News

Upcoming Events : February 19-22

• MONDAY:  No Classes, Teacher Professional Development, Make-up Parent Teacher Conferences 4:30-7:30

• TUESDAY:  

• WEDNESDAY:  Liturgy @ 8:45

• THURSDAY:  

• FRIDAY:  Mission Awareness Dress Down, End of Trimester 2

Religion –We are continuing with our unit on the seven sacraments.  Students continued working on their Google Slide presentations this week.  This will continue next week as well. We will be presenting these in class upon completing them.  

Reading/Language Arts – We are continuing to work on our MLK unit.  We are pairing reading strategies with learning about an important historical figure and non fiction pieces of writing.  We began writing an informative paper about MLK this week. This should be wrapped up next week.

Math – We will be working on Chapter 5 in Math. This chapter focuses on fractions, proportions, and percents. Please look for everyday opportunities to incorporate into your child’s learning.   
  

Science - We will begin our Health Unit this week and start discussing the Heart and Lungs. These are the two main body systems that our part of 5th grade curriculum.

Social Studies - We have debriefed all BizTown information and will be getting back to daily geography mapping skills beginning next week.

Language Arts –  Students continued working with persuasion strategies and persuasive writing this week.  Wednesday was spent learning about and creating Valentine puns. The preposition unit is wrapping up.  The students were asked to review their notes this week, a review will be held in class on Tuesday with a quiz to follow on Wednesday.  Interjections will follow!

 

Spelling – The Spelling list next week will consist of words with the prefixes uni, bi, tri, quad, and pent.

Week 19 News

Upcoming Events : February 11-18

• MONDAY:  Parent Teacher Conferences 4:30-7:30

• TUESDAY:  Parent Teacher Conferences 4:30-7:30

• WEDNESDAY:  Liturgy @ 8:45, St. Valentine's Parties @ 2:30 💗

• THURSDAY:  NO CLASSES, Parent Teacher Conferences 8:30-12:00

• FRIDAY:  NO SCHOOL
• MONDAY:  NO CLASSES, Teacher Professional Development 

Religion –We are continuing with our unit on the seven sacraments.  Students began working on their Google Slide presentations this week.  This will continue next week. We will be presenting these in class upon completing them.  We are asking that students include personal photos of themselves or family members receiving the sacraments.  Any photos you may have can be uploaded directly to your child’s google account. If it is easier to email them directly to your child’s teacher, please feel free to do so.  If your photos are hard copies, simply take a photo of the photo with your cell phone and email or upload it. Thank you! We will also have generic photos of the sacraments for any student who does not have a picture for any particular sacrament.  

Reading/Language Arts – We are continuing to work on our MLK unit.  We are pairing reading strategies with learning about an important historical figure and non fiction pieces of writing.  We will be writing an informative paper about MLK following the presentation of information.

Math –  You will be receiving your child’s assessment on Financial Literacy at conferences. We will be picking back up with Chapter 5 now that we are done with BizTown.  Studylink homework will resume. Please encourage your child to continue to work on his/her basic facts to increase accuracy and speed. Thank you!

More pics to come!

Social Studies - BizTown was a HUGE success.  We are so proud of all the students for conducting themselves in such a business-like fashion.  It is always fun to report that every business paid off all their loans and made a profit.  We will be debriefing Monday and watching the amazing video ads that were created.

Language Arts – Persuasive Letter Writing was taught this week.  Letters to the Editor were written for Biz Town. Students chose something they would like to see changed at school and developed a persuasive argument with reasons, examples, and evidence.  Students also learned about persuasive strategies used in commercials. Next week students will learn how reviews (book, restaurant etc.) are a form of persuasion as well. Prepositions will also continue next week.

 

Spelling – There will not be a Spelling list next week due to the short week with conferences.