May 25 - Off they go! Congratulations!

We had a lovely final week together, filled with lots of closure activities.  I hope you had a chance to look at your student's writing portfolio which came home on Wednesday, along with their computer and charging cable.  I was so impressed by how much they grew! We did so much writing this year - much of which did not make it into the portfolio.  I find that frequent writing projects are the best way to develop critical thinking skills in my students and it gives them a leg up on their peers in middle school.  Hopefully, they have a strong enough foundation to navigate the challenges that generative AI will likely present to their generation.

Check your email for links to Natasha's Young Ameritowne and Main Event photos as well as graduation and the graduation slide show.  Below are some of the videos that my students  made the last week of school - we started working on them when Field Day was postponed.  As you will see, this is 100% student created and edited, and the main audience was this year's fourth graders.  Enjoy!  

I hope you have a fabulous summer break filled with lots of family time, wonder and new experiences!  Childhood is vanishingly brief... This crew is truly ready for middle school. I will miss them and hope they keep in touch! 

The fifth graders did a fabulous job of running stations for the younger students during field day today.  Since we had a rain day on Thursday, we pivoted to  making short movies about their experiences during their time at Bear Creek.  Look for those videos next week, along with a recording of their "This I Believe" essay.  Their essays are up in the hallway for you to read while you wait for the doors to open for graduation.  We will leave them up until next fall - there is a copy in their portfolio.

On Wednesday, we go to the Main Event for bowling, laser tag and arcade games.  The only people who should bring a lunch are those kids who have severe food allergies - everyone else gets pizza.  We will sign yearbooks when we return from this trip.  Thursday, graduation starts at 1:15 but the doors open at 12:50 and you need to sign in when you arrive. This crew is ready for middle school! 

May 11 - Off to Ameritowne!

On Monday, we will hop on the bus at 9:00 and head down to Ameritowne in Golden.  Students should bring a disposable/sack lunch and leave most of their "stuff" at school since it's hard to retrieve lost and found items from this site.  They do not need to wear their Bear Creek shirt - they will be given uniforms to wear!  They should bring their instrument since they have their final practice before the concert on Monday at 2:00 when we get back.  

Last week, students drafted their "This I Believe" essay that will be up in the hallway for graduation.  We have a tiny bit of writing left to finish before the year ends, then I will send it all home in a portfolio.  Their computer will come home next week, too!   

This week, they will learn their graduation song, help manage Field Day on Thursday (you are invited to join your student from 11:15-12:05) and do some planting in the garden.  It's hard to believe that we have reached the final two weeks of school.  This crew has grown so much - they are ready for middle school!

I wanted to thank you for all of the lovely notes and gifts that my students brought in last week, as well as the food that was provided through the PTO!  I feel deeply appreciated by our community and I do not take this for granted.  Your support makes a huge impact on our collective success!  Many thanks!

This is the video that all of the fifth graders helped to create in a single day!

The parent who is assembling the end of year slideshow is asking for all photos to be submitted by May 1.  So far, I have 15 responses from my class.  Please make an effort to get those photos turned in! 

The interviews for jobs at Young Ameritowne will occur this Wednesday.  Students often bring some nice clothes to change into since it happens after lunch.  Parent volunteers should have received an email with instructions last Thursday.  We also appear to have enough parents who have completed the Raptor background check to meet the needs of our two upcoming field trips.  We will send an email to those parents this week so that you can officially mark your calendars!  Be sure to review the calendar of scheduled events that I wrote last week - there is a lot coming up!

The District-wide Battle of the Books competition occurred on Saturday and our fifth grader team came in second place!  Congratulations to all who participated throughout the year!  

I am starting to see more of the conflict that typically creeps in as kids prepare to head off in different directions.  The psychologists tell me that this is "normal," but that doesn't make it easier to navigate!  The theory is that kids get into fights to make it easier for them to leave. When they come to talk to me, I try to listen, remind them that this is normal and encourage them to practice empathy.  You may see this sort of behavior again in the future as your children continue to take bigger steps out into the world. 

April 19 - Save the dates!

We are almost done with testing and the kids are working so hard!  I am super proud of their effort.  For this week, I thought I should try to pull together a list of all of the upcoming events and deadlines that you should be aware of.  

Tuesday, April 22 is the last day of CMAS (science) testing. All makeups are due by April 25.  Please continue to send a high protein snack and make sure your kids are well-rested all week since we will spread out the required iReady and iXL assessments over the remaining three days.  At that point, we will be done with mandatory testing, but we have a few writing projects, the Gray Area Mystery and Young Ameritowne to squeeze in between the following events:

• April 22 - Primary election for mayor and judge (Interested kids should be practicing their speeches this weekend.)

• April 25 - Rainbow day (Fifth graders have been asked to wear blue.)

• April 29 - General election for mayor and judge (The three kids from each class who "won" their primary will give a speech to the entire 5th grade.)

• April 29 - Fifth grade music performance in they gym at 2:00, parents are invited

• April 30 - Job interviews at 1:00 (Kids generally dress up for this activity and we have enough volunteers - thanks!)

• May 1 - Photos are due for the end of year slideshow.  We could use more group photos!

• May 1 - Bear Creek Cultural Festival from 4-6:30 

• May 6 - Spotlights performance in the gym at 5:00, followed by SHMS welcome night at 6:30 at Southern Hills

• May 9 - Author Max Brallier will visit (you can pre-order a signed copy of his book)

• May 12 - Young Ameritowne field trip (we will be in Golden from 9-2, send a lunch!)  We will be back in time for Instrumental Music so please send their instrument for a final rehearsal!

• May 13 - Band Concert at Southern Hills starts at 6:30 (students need to arrive much earlier)

• May 14 - Orchestra Concert at Southern Hills starts at 6:30 (students need to arrive much earlier)

• May 15 - Field Day (Parents are invited - look for more info as the date gets closer.) Afterwards, we will have popsicles at the flagpole from 3-4 so that the community can celebrate our retirees, Mrs. Hattendorf and Mrs. Rodgers.

• May 21 - Main Event field trip (we will be in Thornton from 10-1:30, then sign yearbooks). Students should wear their green shirts to this field trip.

• May 22 - 5th grade "graduation" starts at 1:15 in the gym, followed by the end of year slideshow.  Bring tissues!

As always, thanks for all of your support this year.  This group has made phenomenal growth and they are ready for the next step in their educational journey! 

To finish the current science unit, we've been experimenting with plants and algae, comparing how they grow under different conditions. You can see this in some of the photos above. We've also been learning about how plants adapt to their environment  and on Friday, I sent home a Cape Sundew (Drosera capensis). This carnivorous plant is somewhat easier to care for than a Venus Flytrap - which will be coming home shortly.  Here are the specialized directions for caring for the flytrap and the sundew, which my husband started from seed last year.

We will start Young Ameritowne this week.  As of this moment, we have enough parent volunteers for the Young Ameritowne interviews on April 30 - many thanks to all who offered to help!  The permission slips for our final two field trips went home last week and folks who want to volunteer for these opportunities need to sign up on the Google forms that we emailed.  Carolyn ensures that everyone's background check is up to date and lets us know who can come.  All spots are on a first come first served basis.  

Thanks for sending in photos for the graduation slideshow! It's so much fun to watch them trickle in and I look forward to seeing the final product. This week, the fifth grade class of 2018 returned for a reunion and about half of the class attended.  It is always so magical for teachers to see how their former students have grown up and to hear where they are headed for the next leg of their life's journey.  I look forward to reconnecting with this class in 2032!

April 6 - CMAS begins!!

This week's photos include the dragons that fifth graders made in art.  I always love this project and am grateful that Brie puts them up in the front hallway!  Be sure to check it out if you are in the building in the next few weeks.  Also, be on the lookout for upcoming emails regarding photos for graduation, volunteer opportunities and permission slips for our final field trips!  

Wednesday morning, Mr. Dayhoff invited my students from the 2018 class that looped with me from fourth to fifth grade to surprise me at Bear Creek with the announcement of the Impact on Education award.  I was beyond thrilled to have the chance to reconnect with these students (now juniors in high school) and hear their memories of Bear Creek.  I could not believe that they all got up so early in the morning, just to surprise me! I have no words to express my deep appreciation for this amazing group of Bear Creek graduates! 🥰 In April, the current seniors will continue the tradition of returning to Bear Creek with their parents for a potluck before they graduate from high school.  I am always in awe of the accomplishments of my former students and love to hear about their next steps as they head out into the world.  Bear Creek truly is a special place that fosters a deep sense of community and belonging.  Students don't always realize this until they leave, but it's a frequent refrain that I hear when alumni return for events like Carnival, Lip Sync, and various graduation celebrations.

I hope you are all having a restful spring break and that your students will be ready to tackle CMAS when they return! We will minimize the homework and sprinkle in some additional project based learning to lighten the load.  More about that next week!

Science will be the big focus for the next few weeks as we study all aspects of the biosphere.  In math, we will all review fifth grade math concepts, experiment with the CMAS tools and have students practice "explaining" how they solved the problem - it's a lot harder on the computer than it is on paper!  While I am not the biggest fan of CMAS, I do work hard to make sure that our students are well prepared.  Our excellent science performance two years ago earned us a grant that led to the creation of the Curiosity Lab and our high scores have helped Bear Creek maintain its student population (although with large class sizes) while other BVSD schools fall.  This is important for many reasons; for example,  maintaining two rounds per grade level coupled with our creative solution for running the library has prevented our specialists from having to travel to other schools.  

Once we reach CMAS, we will stop switching classes for math.  Instead, we will start the project based learning phase of the year which includes the Young Ameritowne project. Students will take on a different roles in running a business which culminates in traveling to Golden and running a (fake) town for a day.  This project involves a lot of consumer math and a return to civics and government.   There will be some opportunities for parent to volunteer, so if you would like to help with "job interviews" or join us on one of our two field trips in May, you might want to start thinking about getting cleared through the Raptor system.  

During our library time this week, students practiced teamwork while building a "strawbee" tower to hold a "pot of gold."  We have been sneaking in some extra social/emotional learning lessons since the amount of conflict that students are having is on the rise. I want to send them to middle school with a solid set of tools to manage these types of challenges.  I will be adding a couple of lunch bunch conversations this week to further this effort.  If you are aware that your child would benefit from some extra support, please drop me a note!  In case I don't say it often enough, thank you again for all of your support.  

We had our second unit science test this week and everyone scored 70% or higher!  As part of the assessment, students needed to apply what they had learned to a new phenomena that they hadn't seen before.  I was impressed by my students' reasoning abilities and their skills in explaining their thinking.  In general, this class LOVES science!

We have been practicing writing prompts in anticipation of CMAS and my students are beginning to master the fine art of citing text!  This class contains some phenomenal writers and my students enjoyed reading their personal sequel to a Ray Bradbury story this week during "author's chair."  About half of my students volunteered to share their writing - their creativity and bravery were well received.  Students also spent some time in the Creativity Lab creating free builds using Lego.  In music, they worked to create pieces for the upcoming 5th grade music performance in May.  

This week, we have PE, start our final science unit, finish the math book(!!) and practice for CMAS.  Needless to say, we are all excited for Spring Break and more sunshine in the afternoon!! (Don't forget to reset your clock!)

NOTE: Basketball Intramurals start Wed.

Basketball Intramurals for 4th and 5th grade will be held Wednesdays, March 5, 12 and 19 from 3-3:45.  Your child can sign up using the form at the top of this page or through the link in Friday's Blast.

March 2 - We are in the groove!

I deeply appreciate the time that you made for conferences over the past two weeks.  I truly enjoy these conversations and I think it's great practice for my students.  They have grown so much this year and it's always good for me to stop and reflect on this as I approach the testing season...

We have been doing a lot of writing over the past week to practice for CMAS prompts.  I tried out a new (AI) tool to see if it would give better, more timely feedback but was not impressed by the quality...  I spent as much time correcting the comments as I would if I had just written them from scratch.  However, I believe that the major testing companies are moving to AI grading (if they haven't already), so I suppose it's worth learning to work within that system.   

We will continue to work on writing this week as we wind down the space/physical science unit and take the unit test.  We need to finish life sciences before mid-April.  We've taken a short break from book groups but students should still be reading independently.  I am always happy to give personalized book recommendations when kids ask!

Feb. 23 - Last week of conferences

I thoroughly enjoyed the conferences that we had last week and look forward to completing them on Tuesday and Thursday this week.  Please drop me a note if you are not sure when you should arrive!  Last week felt a bit "off" with so much indoor recess and the shortened schedule, but that should improve this week.  We will have PE again on Monday before switching back to Art on Tuesday.  We squeezed a lot of science into our time together and will likely continue doing more experiments this week. 

We got our CMAS schedule last week.  Fifth grade will begin testing within the first 20 minutes of school every day from April 8-17 and on April 22.  All of the makeup tests need to be done by April 25.  There is a four day weekend April 18-21 so it would be great if you could plan to have your child at school (on time) for the testing days.   We will stop switching classes for math once we get into the CMAS schedule, but both classes are on track to finish the curriculum in time.  Otherwise, Lip Sync is in full swing, the Battle of the Books kids are getting prepared to determine who will represent us at the District competition and my class has enjoyed putting together some reader's theater skits for Black History Month.  Look for their videos in the near future!

February 26 - Conferences begin!

Our Valentine's Boxed Lunch exchange was a huge success - thank you so much for supporting this activity!  Most kids truly love it.  We've finished up the book groups for the moment.  I am looking forward to connecting with everyone over the next two weeks for student/parent/teacher conferences.  Your child should join us for this 15 minute conference and you should look for their writing in the hallway!  The science research projects are on the wall near the library.  The Winter Small Moment writing and Solar system models are near my classroom.

We only have five weeks until Spring Break!!  CMAS begins a week after that so I am feeling crunched for time - we still have  a lot material to cover in science.  I have not seen the official CMAS schedule yet, but the window is open from April 7-25 and we need to complete 9 days of testing.  It would be fantastic if your child could be at school (on time) during the testing window.  We typically start about 15 minutes after school begins and the tests vary in length between 65 and 90 minutes.

I hope you enjoy the extra time off this weekend!  

Feb. 9 - Kindness Week / Valentine's Day!

This week, Bear Creek is celebrating "Kindness Week" and for fifth graders, this is a time to reflect on the qualities that make someone a good friend as well as ways that they can use their leadership role at Bear Creek to promote more kindness around our school.  From my perspective, the amount of friendship drama has dramatically increased in the past couple of weeks.  I think this is in part due to the shifting membership of friend groups as students determining their middle school next year as well as the ever present drama that surrounds Lip Sync...  Ms. Hatlen met with all of the fifth grade girls last Friday to reinforce the message that we expect students to be kind and continue to exemplify all of the values that are contained in the Bear Creek ROCKS acronym.  This might be a good time to check in with your child about how they are feeling about friends and middle school.  

The Southern Hills counselors will visit this week to talk about course selection and this will be a piece of the conversation that we have at February's conferences.  Your child should come with you to the conference!  Signups are live and at this point, there are only a few spots left.

I sent home information about our Valentine's celebration in last week's Friday folder.  In case you missed it, I included the highlights here:  To celebrate Valentine's Day, we do a "boxed lunch exchange" where students make lunch for a specific person in the class.  Instructions and "lunch suggestions" for your child's person came home in the Friday folder.  Parents do not need to buy everything that the child listed and the total cost should not exceed $10.  If this is a financial hardship for your family, please let the office know!  As explained in the letter that also came home, students should bring the lunch in a decorated container and the person who the lunch is for should be prominently displayed.  Inside, students can put clues about who made the lunch. Ice packs and thermoses will be returned - no refrigeration or heating is available at school.  Students can choose to exchange valentines but if they decide to do this, they should bring one for everyone in the class.  A class list was also in the Friday folder.  We "officially " discourage exchanging candy but a small treat can be included with the lunch. Thanks for supporting these Bear Creek traditions!

Most students have turned in their space research project. This writing along with their Winter Break reflections are something that you can read in the hallway when you come to conferences.  Quite a few students have some missing work this semester - it would be great to start the habit of looking at Schoology each weekend with your child so that they build the practice of checking for missing work (and even better - turning in their work on time).  In science, we are shifting away from space and diving into planet Earth this week. We have a lot to finish before CMAS so we will be ramping up the workload a bit.  For some students, this will mean additional homework beyond math and reading. 

Below are some photos to enjoy from last week.  I look forward to meeting with you in a week or two! 

I've begun some direct instruction about how brains learn and we worked on some executive function skills this week.  Every student made a checklist of missing work - some kids were missing  A LOT after only 8 days of school!  We will continue to practice these sorts of skills to ease the middle school transition.  

On Monday, we will get back to our regular schedule and start a new writing project as well as our next science unit. Please be sure to send appropriate shoes on Monday for the Avalanche hockey day! Outdoor gear for the weather is also appreciated - recess was chilly last week!

Report cards will be available via the IC portal on Monday afternoon.  Carolyn sent directions for accessing them in Friday's Blast.  I am not a huge fan of  some of  the report card categories...  Some standards are blank because we will complete them in the second semester. Please view this report as a snapshot in time on a few, very specific topics - it does not truly characterize your child's abilities!  For those of you who are new to Standards Based Grading,  a "3" means that your child is meeting expectations and a "2" means that they are making some progress. A "4" is not equivalent to an "A" but instead represents achievement that is above and beyond expectations (so they are uncommon).  The scores for "Essential Skills" are also a bit confusing since a "D" is the goal (Demonstrating)!  We can discuss this more at parent/teacher/student conferences in February - your child will attend, too!

It's been wonderful to reconnect with my class and I am  really looking forward to the upcoming semester!

December 21 - Happy Holidays!

We spent a busy week tidying up the first semester and taking a unit science test that included stations where students could apply their learning and demonstrate their knowledge.  I just love how well this group of students works together! The band/orchestra concert was excellent and I was impressed by their growth in such a short time.

I was overwhelmed by all of your kind words and generosity as we headed into the holiday season.  I tried to tuck thank you notes into Friday folders, but in case it did not arrive home, thank you so very much!  I hope everyone has a magnificent break Winter Break.       

Happy New Year!!

This week, we will finish up our Chemistry unit. I'm planning to do the test on Thursday since a few people are leaving early.  Most students have not turned in their interview, so this will become a Winter Break project.  The intention is to facilitate a conversation - not to cause stress.  I enjoy listening to the recordings and reading my students' reflection, but I do not grade the actual interview.  Ultimately, this is a fifth grade keepsake for you.

Finally, it would be great if all of my students read a book over the holidays.  The more kids read, the easier school becomes... I am happy to provide book recommendations!  Students will record a book review when we return in January, so reading now will prevent extra homework when we get back.  

I will likely post a note next weekend, but in case you head out early, I hope you have a delightful Winter Break with your marvelous children.  I look forward to reconnecting in January!

Here is a message from Mrs. Fries  (ALL of this info plus more PE pictures can be found on the PE website BCE PE WEBSITE )

Monday January 13th  

The Colorado Avalanche hockey program is offering schools around Colorado a 45 minute session to provide hands-on hockey instruction from USA Hockey certified Avalanche representatives. They are coming to Bear Creek on Monday, January 13th during your students Specials time. All students and all grades will be offered this opportunity! We need you to fill out the electronic waiver that was linked in the BLAST in order for your student to participate. We would appreciate you filling this out as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation with this! 

4th/5th Grade Intramurals HOCKEY    December 18th, January 8th & 15th

This will coincide with our hockey unit. Students will be put on a team and will play a round robin tourney the first two days and then finish with a double elimination tournament on the last day. Please fill out the form that was linked in the Bear Creek BLAST for your student to participate by Dec 16th.

This week, I will work hard to get students to turn in any missing work as we begin our first science unit!  This week's Friday folder will have a lot of information in it, so please be sure to look for it!  You should find the research paper on the American Revolution topic or person, the study materials and test score (the test was on the computer), and the character analysis from the historical fiction book that your child read.

We are starting a new project which is based on a StoryCorp-style interview.  We will learn about interviewing this week, choose a person to interview (preferably an older family member who you don't get to see often - but I am flexible) and develop a set of questions.  (These will be printed and sent home in this week's Friday folder.) It would be terrific if you could help your child record the interview.  It's nominally due January 7, but we can also make arrangements for a later date if that's helpful.  Ideally, the recording should be three to five minutes long!

We will begin our study of Human Growth and Development the first week that we get back in January.  I will be sending home a letter in early December with details, but thought you should know as you begin to finalize your travel plans.  We mostly talk about the changes that happen to bodies during puberty - although students groan and fuss a lot, they generally enjoy learning about this topic.

Finally, if you would like to order any books from Scholastic for the holidays, the order needs to be turned in by November 22.  My class code is GXBBF.  Here's an electronic link to the fliers: https://clubs.scholastic.com/all-flyers/ where you can shop from any section.  I will be traveling over the holiday - I hope you all have a wonderful fall break!

We will investigate the basic structure of the federal government this week, then leave social studies behind for a bit and focus on science until Spring Break.  We did a bit of engineering and data gathering this week, too. 

We are in the middle school open enrollment period - please drop me a note if you have questions.  I encourage students to visit the middle schools if they get the chance - it helps to remove some of the mystery (and trepidation!).

Friday afternoon, we took a break and met with folks who train puppies for blind people (thanks Lenox)!  Students asked excellent questions and were very respectful!  

The pictures on the left (below) were created during art class two weeks ago and the kids had a watch party for their Scooby Doo clips last Friday (your child can show you theirs in WeVideo).  This week, we have PE so please remember to send appropriate shoes.  Also, the temperature is starting to fall and kids have complaining about being cold at recess.  We all go outside, regardless of the weather...  

This week, students will continue working on their individual research projects using Noodle Tools to track their notes and sources.  Their first drafts are due on Wednesday.  As  a class, we are discussing the events that culminated in the writing of our US Constitution and students are practicing taking notes on paper.  This is a somewhat novel skill!  We are also finishing up most of the book groups this week and I am planning to complete at least one more round before Fall break.  In addition, I plan to have students record a book recommendation for students in 3rd or 4th grade to be posted in the library.  Needless to say, you should see your child reading at home!!

Don't forget to set your clock back by an hour this weekend!  I am looking forward to waking up after the sun rises!!

We did a couple of fun mini-challenges this week (pictured above).  In one, students build a duck out of 6 LEGO bricks, then looked at each other's ducks, spent a minute building as many ducks as they could (10 was the max) and finally built the "best duck."  Only three students rebuilt their first duck, illustrating that their first idea is not always "the best!"  We also did a community building / teamwork challenge to lift a ball that was suspended on a lot of strings.  Students then dropped their string to see how few (4) could keep the ball aloft. This activity grew from a conversation about how at first, the 13 colonies were independent groups but increasing pressure from England banded them together to eventually form a new country. (I was mostly looking for a reason to continue our learning outdoors since it was so beautiful on Friday!)

This week, students will write a short research paper about an event or person related to the American Revolution in order to build a giant timeline of events and practice writing using different text structures.  They will submit a question that could be answered by reading their paper so that the class can participate in a scavenger hunt for information.  We have also been putting some time into studying morphemes (the smallest chunk of a word that has meaning) to build vocabulary and working with syllables in an attempt to improve spelling.  Finally, we started a new round of book groups and will continue meeting on Tuesday (Hatchet, Save Me a Seat), and Wednesday (Rain Reign, or When You Reach Me) for the next couple of weeks.  I started a new (short) read aloud so there will be less time to read in class this week - hopefully you will see a book at home! 

We have our Halloween parade and party on Thursday this week. Students should wear their (not-too-scary/gory) costume to school.  The parade will start around 8:15 and the blacktop outside of the gym is a great place to view it! The class will probably watch a movie that day - it would be lovely if a few parents would like to send in donuts for the kids to enjoy.  Students who have food allergies or donut aversions should bring their own special snack!

Finally, here is note from the office: BVSD has loaded the 1:Web fees to Infinite Campus so it's time to pay the fee on Infinite Campus. Don't go through RevTrak for this payment. Instead, log into IC, find "Fees" on the left navigation bar, add the 1:Web fee to the cart and then go to the cart to check out. Please reach out to Michelle in the office if you have any questions.

October 20 - Conferences!

I don't feel that I have much to add this week since I've been meeting with everyone at conferences.  We will start learning about the American Revolution on Monday and finish up the historical fiction books this week with some literary analysis.  We will go to see Fairview's marching band on Wednesday so please send a cold lunch - I have seen confirmation on the busses so I think it will really happen!  I understand that fifth grade parents are feeding the teachers for this week's conferences on Wednesday - thank you so much! It really helps us get through the evening!

Oct. 13 - The Carnival was Joyful!!

The carnival was a huge success - thanks to everyone who made it happen!  I absolutely love having the opportunity to visit with my former students and I enjoyed seeing so many of them this week!  In general, they all seem to have successfully settled into their new school year.  My current students were fabulous hosts and did a terrific job of manning their stations. They even helped to clean up as the carnival came to a close!  GREAT JOB!!! I believe the last meeting is this Wednesday.

Conferences begin this week so it will be somewhat lowkey.  We will start the next Reading Module and have  a social studies test on the 13 Colonies. All students are now reading a historical fiction book and almost everyone has finished their graphic novel partner project - I hope to get those up on the wall outside of my classroom so you can scan them on your smartphone.

I am emailing home a permission slip to go to see the Fairview Marching band on October 23.  Students will need to pack a lunch that day.  Last year, we had to cancel the day of the event because there were no busses...  I thought we would try one more time since the students really enjoy this activity!

This week, we wrote about a "small moment" memory from Cal-Wood and we also wrote a poem about a different event from the trip.  This crew does not have a lot of experience writing poetry so we reviewed figurative language and read some examples of narrative poems from folks like Mary Oliver.  They listened to some peer examples and embraced a bit of editing.  These pieces will replace their illustrated quotes in the front hallway next week.

Students also peer edited the small moment story, edited their own writing based on peer feedback, then graded their own writing using the rubric.  I plan to grade the final drafts this weekend so that we can get all of this writing put up for you to read when you come for conferences.  Please let me know if you had trouble signing up for a time slot! You can also check out their invention writing (pictured above), which is across from the library.

This week, we had a quick overview of the early settlements (St. Augustine, Roanoke, Jamestown and Plymouth) and will start working on the regional differences of the 13 colonies next week.  After watching a snippet of a movie about life in Plymouth, a student asked, "Do you think they liked doing all of that work?  What did they do for fun?"  Good questions! Students will learn about this history in much more depth in middle school - we try to work on the big theme and have had to trim a few of the projects to make space for the new reading curriculum. I plan to do a test on the 13 colonies the week of Oct. 15, then go right into the American Revolution.  Students have all been assigned a historical fiction book to read that should help them get a sense of what it was like to live during this time period.  

Finally, I am placing a Scholastic Book order on Sunday night.  My class code is  GXBBF.  Here's an electronic link to the fliers: https://clubs.scholastic.com/all-flyers/ where you can shop from any section.  I find that the book selection varies a lot over the year, but I do use the points to help build my library.  

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Carnival!

Sept. 29 - We ROCKED Cal-Wood!

We had a lovely visit to the mountains, saw lots of wildlife, learned about fire ecology, orienteering and shelter building and we strengthened our community within fifth grade.  I shared photographs via email so that you can save the ones that you like!  I deeply appreciate your support of this fifth grade rite of passage.  Thank you so much for the lovely meal and gift card that were waiting for me upon my return!  

Before leaving on Wednesday, we watched a lot of the book reviews that students created - they were entertaining and informative!  This week, we will finish up the graphic novel comparison project, create some writing around the Cal-Wood experience, and shift into the colonization phase of US History.  (The next book to come home will be historical fiction.)  You should be able to see a variety of writing on the walls when you come for parent teacher conferences in person on October 15, 17 or 23.  Carolyn will send out information about how to sign up on Oct. 6, which is when the sign up opens.  The conference slot will be 15 minutes long with 5 minutes between groups.  (Note: your kids will stay home for this one but they will join us in the spring).  Please drop me an email if you have questions.

Please drop off your child's labeled medicine in the office on Monday so that we can start assembling these materials for the adults to carry.  This process is more complicated that it seems like it should be, so we appreciate your help in getting this in before Wednesday!

This week, we wrapped up our study of the initial encounters between European explorers and the people who were living in North and South America.  On Tuesday, we harvested the "New World" vegetables - tomatoes and potatoes - and enjoyed making French fries with catsup as a capstone activity to the study of the Columbian Exchange.  When we return from CalWood, we will start learning about the colonization of North America, leading to the founding of the United States. 

This week, Rynne led a team to create a three-level time line, showing the pace of inventions over time and we put everyone's invention writing up in the hallway by the library.  We also practiced recording a book review using WeVideo in preparation for the comparison between books and graphic novels that partners will start this week.  

Finally, we spent some time in the Curiosity Lab this week, building a model to demonstrate how to use block and tackle to lift a heavy object.  I made another short movie (below) and eventually will learn what changed in making a Google Sites slide carousels so I can do this more quickly in the future!  Happy fall!

Sept. 16 - one more week until Cal-Wood!

Friday is picture day!  I signed up for 8:00 in the morning so it will be important for everyone to be on time!  

I am still missing a handful of Cal-Wood forms.  We need all of the completed forms at school as soon as possible! Thanks for your help with this.  

I've noticed that my class is still building stamina for the fifth grade schedule - snack is a bit earlier and lunch a bit later than it was in fourth grade.  Some students are arriving at school very sleepy and I regularly have a handful of students who did not finish their homework.  A lot of our focus in fifth grade centers around building strong school habits so that when they get to middle school next year and have eight different teachers to navigate, their habits are already routine.  You can support your child by encouraging 8 hours of sleep, asking if they have any homework on Monday-Thursday  (in addition to 25 minutes of daily reading) and sending in a healthy snack so they have the energy to make it to lunch at 12:30.  As kids enter puberty, their need for food and sleep increases.  We will be discussing this in depth in January, but for some of my students, this will be old news by then...  

We finished up the baseline research project on inventions and  I will get that put up in the hallway shortly.  I individually conferenced with each student last week and they were very receptive to my feedback - hooray! I spent several hours "grading" them but you should view the "grade" as areas for growth rather than a real grade. (This is not part of my gradebook for report cards!)  At the beginning of the year, I like to have authentic examples of where they are starting from and I try to focus on one or two areas to improve with each writing piece, so you should not be looking for perfection when I send these home in Friday folders. I generally do not edit their final draft for them but give feedback on the rubric in Schoology.  

We started a book review project where kids are creating a short video review of a chapter book that they would recommend to a peer.  We are filming these with WeVideo and will attach them to QR codes so that folks can watch them in the library.  This is a good way for me to review the elements of a story, provide an audience for their writing and teach them to create a green screen video for future presentations.  The added benefit is that when kids see a great book review, they race to the shelves to find the book.  This happened last week when I showed examples from last year's class and suddenly, everyone wanted to read Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, thanks to Quinn! 

Last week, we talked about how to really "read" graphic novels and discussed the special vocabulary that accompanies this format of writing (frame, panel, gutter, splash, bleed, emanata, icons, thought bubble, speech bubble, narration box, motion lines, etc.) by looking at examples from some of their favorite graphic novels. This week, we are doing a short book group discussion of the graphic novels that I have multiple copies of so that they can show me that they know how to find these features independently.  They will read a second graphic novel in class to focus on recognizing the elements of a story and  literary features.   We also look at the art style and analyze how the decisions that artists make influence the storytelling. This has application to media literacy, which we will tackle later in the year.  Finally, students are working in pairs to read both the novel and graphic novel adaptation of the same story and they will create a presentation to compare and contrast the two formats to argue which is "better" if you only have time to read one.   This will also be filmed with a green screen - but this time we will add a slide show presentation to the background. Since both partners need to read both the grahic novel (in class) and the chapter book (at home), we probably won't get this finished until after we get back from Cal-Wood.

We will have a social studies test this week that students can "study for" (I will send home a guide) as well as an IntoReading test which they just show up to take (this gives me feedback).  We will talk about ways to study for a test when needed but in general, I like for my students to learn the material as we go. My math class will also have a test on Module 3 and after this test, I plan to move students around if their class average is below 80%, the pace feels too fast or if students are too busy after school to complete their homework on a regular basis.  

The class LOVED starting instrumental music this week! I reminded them that they are expected to take home their instrument after each class to practice.  Evidence shows that 10 minutes of practice every day is more effective than playing for 50 minutes on the weekend. 

We worked on our final "preliminary" writing piece this week, which was a short research project.  This class has done a good job of adopting Noodle Tools to help create their Works Cited.  These essays should be up on the wall outside of the library by the end of the week and we should also have finished an initial book review using WeVideo.  

CalWood forms are due this week.  Please get them turned in as soon as possible.  Also, as the weather begins to change, please send your child to school with appropriate gear for the weather.  We go outside when it is cold, wet and windy, so a jacket can make a huge difference!

Thanks for soaking in the summer memories that were posted on the wall during Back to School Night.  I plan to send home your child's planning document, rough draft and final draft this Friday.  I am still grading them and adding comments into Schoology (3 day weekends are great for catching up on paperwork and video making...) but I did finish updating all of the other assignments.  I believe you can get to Schoology as a parent through IC but you can also have your child log in if you are curious.  Again, the scores in Schoology do not directly relate to your child's overall grade, but they do help you to see if their work is getting turned in on time.

Instruments are due at school on Thursday (Sept. 5) this week.  Each group had the chance to meet with their Instrumental Music teacher on Thursday for the first time.  So far, so good! 

We are starting our next writing project this week, which involves creating a community timeline of significant inventions.  We've also started learning about the Age of Exploration and the Columbian Exchange.  Sadly, we've had to trim out some Social Studies activities this year to make space for our new (mandatory) reading curriculum, but students will have the change to learn about these interesting topics again in Middle School.  

The CMAS rankings for public schools across the state were finally published on Thursday and Bear Creek did extremely well, especially for a neighborhood school.  (The school that always tops the list is a gifted and talented magnet school in Denver.  Middle schools are included in the ranking as well, so it can be tricky to interpret the numbers.)  While there are many factors that contribute to our success, maintaining a strong partnership with parents is high on the list!  Thank you for all that you do to support your child (e.g. getting to school on time, getting a good night's sleep, keeping an eye on homework) and Bear Creek in general (TLC challenge, volunteering for committees, delivering yummy food and kind words, etc.).  We couldn't do this work without you!  Many thanks!!

 For the movie (above), kids were assigned a group and given a letter from the "ROCKS."  They needed to create a short skit showing how to follow "their letter" in a place at school where it was harder to do that. We filmed it in the new "Creation Station" using the Green Screen wall. They only had a 30 minutes to plan and execute their skit, but since we will be doing more skits at CalWood, I wanted them to have some experience!  

On Monday, we will start the iReady reading assessment and switch classes for math for the first time.  Please note that math class placement is a bit fluid at the beginning of the year as we get to know our learners. Students will begin sharing their "LifeBox" project following the schedule that I sent via email and we will start working on our first real piece of writing.   If your child forgets to bring their "LifeBox" on their assigned day, please just send it the following day!  For specials, we will have art this week for the entire week, followed by a week of music and then PE.

On Monday, students will meet the Instrumental Music teachers, and on Thursday, they will have the opportunity to test out two of the instruments that they might like to play.  When choosing an instrument, please remind your student that they need to transport it back and forth to school twice a week (some are much heavier than others) and they  need to practice at home! They won't bring their own instrument to school until Sept. 5.

Years ago, parents indicated that they were getting too much email from the school.  Based on their feedback, I switched over to maintaining a class website, and found that it has the added benefit that information doesn't get lost or accidentally deleted.  I still send email for important, time-critical or personal communication but this website is where I post photos, information about upcoming projects and general news from our classroom. I tend to update my blog on the weekend, so Sunday evening is a good time to check in.  I know that websites are not for everyone and I welcome feedback!  Please let me know if you are struggling to find information.

A QUICK NOTE ON  MY GRADING PHILOSOPHY

BVSD requires 4th and 5th grade teachers to use Schoology as our "Learning Management System" and parents have access to the grades in this system.  However, the "grade" that you see in Schoology does not directly translate to the standards based grading system that BVSD uses for elementary school report cards.  While I don't use Schoology to formally calculate a student's "grade" for my class, I have discovered that a lot of my students struggle to turn in their work and Schoology does a really good job of tracking completion.  (This will be yet another good habit to build before middle school.)  If a child completes a task but gets the answer wrong, does not fully complete the assignment, or uses incomplete sentences for a short answer question, I will give them  partial credit to avoid the "dreaded zero."  If your child has a very low grade in my class, it's probably because they have a lot of missing work. I DEEPLY believe in giving feedback and building strong school habits, but I also want my students to be curious and more focused on learning than on jumping through hoops.  There will be plenty of time to stress about grades later!!  

We can discuss this more at Back-To-School night on August 28 (in person).