Newsletters
Update: September 3, 2019
Here is the link to my Back to School Night Presentation. Please let me know if you have any questions.
I have a few important things for this week to keep you in the loop about!
Picture Day is tomorrow (Wednesday)
We have PE this week so kids need sneakers
Classroom Volunteers I am still in need of a room parent to plan our fall, winter and spring parties. Please send me an email if interested.
I could also use someone on Thursdays during our Science modules to set up and clean up experiment supplies. Send me an email if interested.
Young AmeriTowne
permissions slips and payments are due by Friday
Our trip is next Wednesday, September 11 from 8:15-1:45
Students must have a sack lunch
Chaperones- I am looking for 4-5 chaperones for AmeriTowne next Wednesday. If you are available and would like to help out please send that slip back by Thursday. Name will be drawn randomly if there are more than 5 volunteer slips turned in.
Cost
The cost of AmeriTowne is due to having to rent charter buses due to a district wide shortage of bus drivers. We cannot use school buses for the length of field trip required for Young AmeriTowne. We are working on several ways to bring down the cost of Outdoor Education to help with the increase for this field trip.
If the cost of the trip is a hardship for your family at this time, please contact me. We have scholarships available!
Content Fridays
Due to the time restrictions of our literacy block during the week, we set aside Fridays from after Specials to the end of the day to teach content in Science and Social Studies. Since we immerse students in these areas on Fridays, missing a Friday is very difficult for making up missed work. A lot of Science and Social Studies has to be done in class because it is hands on and interactive. When at all possible please do not schedule appointments on Friday or pull your child out early. They will miss so much content. As always, I understand that sometimes things come up and it can’t be avoided, and I will do my best to get your child caught up, but if it is avoidable please schedule around it. Thank you for your support!
Dear Families,
We had a wonderful first week! I have such a great bunch this year! This is my first official newsletter of the year. You should expect one about every two weeks. I also have a website where I archive all the newsletters. You can also find our daily schedule, and my homework calendar. My site can be found here.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, August 24 Coyote Hills Community Movie Night
Thursday, August 29 Back to School Night 6-7:30
Monday, September 2 No School Labor Day
Wednesday, September 11 Young AmeriTowne Field Trip for 5th grade
Curriculum Updates
We did some getting to know you activities and team building activities last week to build a sense of community. This week we are starting to get into our regular routine.
We took our Unit 1 math pre-assessment today and will start with Unit 1 tomorrow. Unit 1 covers expressions, equations, and volume. We will focus on justification of answers and showing work to accurately demonstrate depth of knowledge.
We are beginning literacy instruction this week as well. We are starting with a fiction interpretation unit in reading. We will be working on making meaning using evidence from the text and determining theme. Students will have the opportunity to work in book clubs with some of their classmates to work on conversation skills around what they have read and share thinking.
In writing, we are beginning a schoolwide writing project called, “I am…I am Coyote.” Fifth grade will be working on personal narratives and how to write an effectively organized story with appropriate pacing and detail. We are also working on grammar and conventions.
For Social Studies, we are working on learning about finance and the economy to prepare for our day at Young AmeriTowne. Look for a permission slip later this week.
In Science we are focusing on Living Systems. We will examine life cycles for both plants and animals as well as systems of respiration, circulation and digestion.