October 25, 2019
Dear 5th Grade Families,
Report cards are being sent your way today! Please review your child's report card with them, reading the grades, the comments, and the 21st century skills reflections. Remember, this is only the 1st quarter. Students have so much time to grow, and they are already rocking it out in 5th grade!
A reminder that parent/teacher conferences are next Wednesday and Friday, October 30 and November 1. A link to sign-up genius has been shared, but it is just about full. Please click the link to see if anything is left. If you are not able to claim a spot, and would like a conference, please send us an email and we'll make it happen. Conference sign-up
We will visit the Carl Sandburg Home on Thursday, October 31st. We are all set on drivers! Yes, this trip is on Halloween- students may wear a costume, as per school allowances (no gore, face masks, or "weapons"), but they need to consider that we will be outside most of the day, and walking around the property significantly. Dress for comfort! Carl Sandburg field trip Thanks to all of our drivers!
A reminder that we send home graded/checked work weekly- please be sure to have your child share their homework folder with you on Mondays and Fridays, to obtain any important work that has been passed back, information that has been sent home, and homework sheets explaining the week's homework and upcoming events.
If you have questions or concerns regarding your child, please email us, and we will do our best to get back to you ASAP.
ACADEMICS
Language Arts: Our Wonder unit is finished, but the lessons we learned about kindness, empathy, and compassion will continue all year!
We'll be doing a mini Carl Sandburg unit next week to get ready for our field trip to the Carl Sandburg Home, looking at his poetry and bringing some of them to life!
We have also begun our personal narrative unit- students will be learning about this genre of writing, and choosing an experience from their lives that they have the authority on, and can tell a complete story about. I can't wait to read their stories- ask them if they've decided on their topic!
Math: In math we have moved on to starting to Investigate volume. This unit specifically focuses on volume of solid objects such as cubes, and students are building and putting together boxes to understand what volume is before learning the formula to calculate it. Moving forward they will look at doubling the volume of cubes and calculating the volume for larger 3-D objects.
Science: In Science : Students are studying Genetics. Topics include understanding how heredity works and what the differences are between inherited and acquired traits. We also specifically look at how genes and DNA are related to code for specific traits. This unit has a upcoming field trip to Carl Sandburg house in Flat Rock, NC to study the genetic line of goats that reside there and how they were bred for desired physiologic and anatomical traits.
Social Studies: Our Native American unit has moved from the Desert Southwest up the coast to learning about the Pacific Northwest Coastal Native Americans. We are learning about dugouts, totem poles, pit houses, and salmon fishing and whaling. Students presented their dances they created for the Desert Southwest region, which were centered around two Tomie DePaola books. During this unit, as we move through the regions, we'll be studying primary source documents, various art styles and creating art (next up, Haida prints!), and soon we'll begin our next book, The Birchbark House, which is about an Ojibwa family.
**Fifth grade students visit the ArtSpace library bi-weekly. Books are due two weeks after they are checked out!
A message from Ms. Beth Garrison:
- ArtSpace's annual Haunted Carnival will take place on Friday, October 25th from 5:30-7:30pm. Come in costume and enjoy a haunted house and thrilling games. The haunted house portion of the carnival will be family friendly from 5:30-6:30 and then shift to quite scary from 6:30-7:30 (held in a separate area than the games). There will be a costume contest at 6:15pm and a carved or decorated pumpkin contest at 7:00pm (please decorate or carve your pumpkin at home). $5 per person or $20 per family max. Concessions will also be sold. This is a fundraiser for the 8th Grade Outer Banks trip.
There will be prizes for contest winners as well as prizes at each of the game booths. Costume contest categories are:
Best real animal
Best imaginary animal
Best real person
Best character (not real person)
Best homemade
Best Halloween themed
THE LION KING IS COMING SOON!
- Tickets are now available to purchase for this exciting production directed by the amazing Ms. Waterfall and starring a group of talented and dedicated ArtSpace students. This year, we are taking our talents on the road to a larger venue, at Owen Middle School. Help us fill the house and enrich the performance experience! Please share the event with friends and family. To purchase tickets, follow the link! See you in the Pridelands! Lion King Tickets
A message from Mr. Clay & Ms. Tami (who are visiting Uganda next week!):
- "I would love to be able to hand out cards to kids with bright, colorful imagery and universal symbols like hearts, sunshine, animals, flowers, mountains, etc. These kids will need something that they can relate to so stories or messages in English may not be relatable to all of them. The indigenous languages in the country are Bantu, Sudanic, Nilotic, Swahili, and Luganda (if anybody knows any of those feel free to throw those in.) We know that a little ArtSpace love will go a long way." Clay & Tami
- If you or your family would like to contribute to this by creating something described above, please send it in by TUESDAY, 10/29! Thank you!
A message from Ms. Nica:
- "I have put a bright green bin in the multi-purpose room for unwanted clothing/fabric donations for the up-cycle class starting November 8th.
Feel free to get rid of anything that no longer serves you, I appreciate it!"
A message from the Ransoms:
- Happy Halloween!
- We’ll be carving around 100+ pumpkins for Halloween night only for a special display. Come and trick or treat or come just for the display. These pumpkins are up in the trees, on the roof, and throughout our yard on elevated stands. They are lit approximately 6:00-11:00 pm, so come on your way or way home from wherever else you're headed.
- 32 Pinehurst Road (Beverly Hills neighborhood), Asheville ;Parking available on Pinehurst Rd, or Pinehurst Court
- We have a Haunted Appalachia theme this year. We do take optional donations for a local nonprofit- Pisgah Legal Services which provides legal assistance for local folks.