Mrs. Sigrist

Communication: 

Email: gsigrist@buckeyeusd.org

Phone:  (916) 933-3767 ext. 2836

News

Dear Parents and Students,

Hello Everyone:

I just wanted to update you on a few upcoming events. As soon as I have times for all of these events, I will share them with you.

May 23 - Open House

May 24 - 5th Grade Video (https://www.pgschoolprograms.com/educators)

May 27 - Memorial Day, no school

May 31 - Pool Party (Our Annual Kickball Game will be in the morning)

May 31 - Band Assembly at 1:30

June 3 - Talent Show

June 5 - last day of school (minimum day) Promotion Ceremony will be from 8:30 - 9:30 (children typically leave with their parents after the promotion ceremony)

Promotions: Mark your calendars for Wednesday, June 5 at 8:30.  We will hold our fifth grade promotions assembly in the gym.  The students will sing a few songs, we will hand out awards and all classes will be called to the front for promotions.  Parents, grandparents, siblings and anyone else are welcome to attend!  Most students leave with their family after the ceremony which typically lasts about an hour.

Thanks so much for all of your help and support!

Mrs. S.

Previous Notes:  

Project LEAD (Legal Enrichment and Decision Making)

Project LEAD is an effective law-related education program established in El Dorado County by the Office of the District Attorney in 2016.  The 20 week curriculum teaches fifth grade students about the criminal justice system and the importance of making good decisions.  Volunteer's from within the District Attorney's office and partner agencies are instructors for the program and serve as role models in the classroom.  

District Attorney Nora Hall jump started the program last Wednesday with the help of some of our local sheriff officers.  Each week the students will get a new lesson building up to the culminating court visit we will make to a court room in Placerville in early spring.  

    I sent home report cards, Accelerated Reader reports, and a permission slip for our upcoming mission to Mars at the Challenger Learning Center. I highlighted books that we have read throughout the school year on one of the AR reports. The other one is a diagnostic that lets you know where your child is at this point in time. I rarely send home report cards at this point in the school year with 3's. I will be sending emails to parents that I would like to meet with over the next week to discuss a plan of action for trimester 3. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to send me an email. Also, due to the number of "no name" papers, students who forget to place their name on their paper will owe me study hall on Friday. Please don't forget to look over your child's weekly report.

I am handing out several stamps and positive action tickets for rewarding positive classroom behavior and to students who are doing well on their tests. However, I am also having to hand out a number of pink slips because I have had several students in the last couple of days feel it was ok to lie about misusing the Chromebook and talk to friends during a test. Time is being given for each assignment so if you see a lot of homework or they have a missing assignment on their weekly report, it might mean that they were not utilizing their classroom time for their studies. You all have access to their Accelerated Reader accounts and their Pearson accounts to look at their test scores. I am also trying to send home their math test papers the day they take their test so you have the opportunity to see how they are doing.

For most, I have seen recent improvements in the areas of organization, writing, comprehension, reading and/or math.  We will continue to work on these areas in the classroom, but I wanted to provide you with a list of ideas on areas on how you can help your child with these areas/concepts:

AR Goal:

• • Please make sure your child has a quiet place to read at home

  • Ask your child questions about the book they are reading

  • Encourage them to find books that are a “good fit”

  • If books are not within the AR system, I will sit with them to discuss the book and help them obtain points towards their AR goal.  I will also submit the book to our librarian to get a quiz set up in the system

Comprehension:

• • (Non-Fiction) Read and discuss questions that are assigned for homework in the Scholastic News magazines (you may also read and discuss Newsela articles)

  • (Non-Fiction/Fiction/AR) Read and discuss a book or news article that you two are reading together (Scholastic News is also available to them online)

Math:

• • Have your child demonstrate how to solve a problem from the concept that we are working on (each day, we will do problems from the book and they should always be in their notebooks as a quick reference)

  • Have them practice their math facts

  • Have them practice math concepts using programs like Khan Academy

Writing:

• • Have your child read their papers out loud to see if they are able to catch their mistakes (if there are any)

  • Ask questions about specific sections of their essay whether it be for clarification or assist them with adding in more concrete details/reasoning

  • Check to see if they are staying on topic

  • Make sure they are using R.A.C.E. (Restating the question, Answering the question, Citing evidence, and Explaining how their evidence supports their reasoning)

Organization:

• • Please check their agenda and cross reference it with their homework and ask about upcoming projects.  I have told the students to write down what is on the homework board even if they have completed it as a reference to help all of you know what we are working on in the classroom.

  • Please check to see their backpack is free from loose papers or Friday papers that need to stay home

     We also have our field trip to the Challenger Learning Center as we take part in a simulation of what it is like to be an astronaut in space and a technician in mission control.    

     I have asked all of the students to take part in the reading challenge put on by Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.  They have until February 12th to get their handouts turned in.  

     As always, if you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to send me an email.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sigrist

    I sent home Weekly Reports on Friday so students should be asking you to look over their agendas and their Weekly Reports.  Several students are still getting used to the daily routine of having work that needs to be completed and returned the next day.  I also noticed several students still need to work on filling in their agendas.  I have been checking agendas, and I am planning on grouping work together to prevent students from having too many loose papers.  Several students had a difficult time remaining on task and chose to talk with their friends rather than finish their work this week.  However, I have several students who have adjusted to our routine and are ready for the next week.  I praised those who were doing their best and I provided gentle reminders to those who needed to get back on track.  

I will be adding to our routine next week.  Just like this week, I will make sure they have at least an hour to work on classwork throughout the day.  If your child is bringing home a lot of work next week, please feel free to email me and we can chat about whether or not it is the workload or whether it is due to off task behavior.  I have several students have been sacrificing quality to prevent themselves from having homework.  Others are spending their time chatting with friends which has left them with forgetting assignments and having late/missing work.  However, I have a few who are doing an outstanding job and I am pleased with their progress thus far.  I will be placing work that is still missing over the last couple of weeks on next week's Weekly Report.  I added the students to Xtra Math to help with math fact practice and Khan Academy to help with math in general.  I want to provide all of my students an extra boost in the area of math to help them get to their next level.  I am hoping to provide assignments to each student based upon skill level and need for either advancement or a little extra practice.  

I will be sending a schedule for parents to help in the classroom soon.   

Also, our class will get to be with their buddies this upcoming Friday.  Roughly every month, we will be working on an activity with our buddies.  

Parents and students, if you ever have a question, please don't hesitate to send me an email.  I am excited to be working with all of you this year.  I truly think we are going to have an awesome school year.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sigrist

Welcome back!  Parents, I want to thank all of my parents who were able to attend.  Those who weren't able to attend, I sent home paperwork that I would like filled out along with the survey listed below.  It helps me stay organized.  Parents, if you were unable to make it to Back to School Night, my presentation is listed Back to School Night Presentation for your information.  In addition, I always list projects/concepts that we are learning in class to keep you up to date.  That information can be found in the agenda listed below.  Also, our 5th grade main page has important reminders about upcoming events.  I would love volunteers to help me with Life Lab and our Art Program.  I sent the students home with Scholastic Book Orders.  If you ever place an order online, please send me an email so I know it is waiting for you.  I know several of you have other students here on campus so I will be happy to open up the other catalogs for you to order from to make it convenient for you.  Parents, if you would like to place an order online, my order number is HMYFF.  I will be asking that they have a book to read with them every day.  I also have a wide variety of books for my students to choose from.  They are welcome to take them home so long as they get returned. 

Please take a moment to fill out the following survey:  "Back to School Night Survey"   (The survey is to assist me in setting up volunteers and an email list in Google.)

Technology

I have provided the students with their own Google email address and password along with additional user names and passwords for programs that we will be utilizing throughout the school year.  Some of these programs include Tenmarks, Typing Club, and Khan Academy which provide help, practice, and enrichment.  Parents, you can find these at the back of their agendas.  We will be working on assignments and sharing documents as we work on projects.  We will be discussing the format (layout, grammar, content, spelling) that is to be used when sending emails.  I plan to get the students utilizing Google Drive to work on individual and group projects.