March 13: Report cards go home

March 16, 17, and 19: Mid-year conferences (for select students)

March 20: Staff Development Day (No School)

April 10: Colonial Days (half-day, in-school field trip experience)

April 13-17: Spring Break (No School)

Click here for the yearlong school calendar

As you may or may not know, the yearbook traditionally has a section for fifth grade baby photos, and this year is no different! Please email me a photo of your fifth grader for the yearbook. It should be an individual photo and one that your fifth grader will be happy to see! The final deadline for baby photos is Tuesday, March 3 at 5 pm.

As you saw from Mr. Kretsch's email, fifth graders will participate in a 5 session Puberty Talk the week of April 6 (please note change in date).  The talks will cover personal hygiene, physical and sexual development, conception and pregnancy, and more. Please refer to this resource from the Health Connected website for more details about the curriculum, including the curriculum's table of contents pages. I have been trained in the curriculum and will be delivering the content to our students.

If you would like to view the curriculum binder in person, please contact the Bagby front office. A family information session will be held on 2/23 at 5:30 pm via Zoom. Please see Mr. Kretsch's email (dated 2/1/2026) for the link. State law allows you to remove your student from the sexual education course. If you do not want your child to participate, please email me by March 6.

We are currently in a Life Sciences unit titled Living Systems. Last week we designed a compost jar for the purpose of observing (over six weeks) what happens when compost worms interact with organic litter. Students also modeled food chains and food webs and in a woods ecosystem.

We are getting closer to "publishing" our personal narratives for classmates and families to enjoy. This week I will be helping students with final edits of their stories, and then we will have our publishing party next week. I will also provide an anthology of the stories online for families to enjoy. 

March 16-19 will be early dismissal days to accommodate March parent-teacher conferences. These limited conference times are typically reserved for students for whom I have behavioral concerns or students who are at risk for not meeting the end of year standards for their grade. If your child falls into one of these two categories, and we do not have an already scheduled IEP meeting, you will receive an email request from me to schedule a conference time. If you do not hear from me, then your child does not fall into either category. If, however, you would like a conference, please email me, and I will let you know if I am able to make time to meet during the March conference week, or we can schedule another time. 

In May, students will take the CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress). It's a system of tests that evaluate students' knowledge and skills in English language arts, mathematics, and science. The tests help teachers, students, and families understand how well students are doing. Results are reported as scale scores and achievement levels. Parents will receive a copy of student scores over the summer. Overall state and district results are released on the California Department of Education (CDE) website in the fall.

I have been helping students prepare for the CAASPP test by doing weekly, shorter assessments called IABs. These are short, focused online mini-assessments provided by the state that allow me to identify any learning gaps. As learning gaps are identified, I will have students complete review packets to sharpen their skills.

Before the break, students either finished reading either a historical fiction novel titled The Watsons Go to Birmingham or finished reading a series of biographies covering African American heroes. Those who read The Watsons Go to Birmingham will be working on a theme analysis essay over the next two weeks. The essay will require them to think deeply about the author's message and to use evidence from the text to support their interpretation of the book.

Let’s get wild about reading! Our 6th annual CEF Read-a-thon, a district-wide reading competition and fundraiser, runs from February 2nd through March 4th. Students can earn reading rewards individually, as a class, and as a school. This is a great way to motivate your kids to read! Learn more here. 

Although we have finished our in class unit on Colonial Days, our learning will continue on Friday, April 10, with a special half-day, in-school field trip. During this experience, students will step into “a day in the life” of colonial children by participating in activities such as (virtual) cow milking, candle dipping, colonial schoolyard games, butter churning, and more. The stations will be led by parent volunteers who will receive training from the organization hosting the event. We will share additional details about this special day as the date approaches.

We have PE weekly on Tuesday mornings from 8:20 - 9:05 am with Miss Kelly (our new PE teacher).  On Tuesdays, please make sure your child is wearing shoes in which they can run. I also recommend a hat and an extra water bottle for hot days. 

We have Music on Friday afternoons from 1:10-1:55 pm. We have Art every other week on Tuesday mornings from 9:30 - 10:20 am beginning the week of August 18. 

Our weekly visit to the school library will be Thursdays from 8:40 to 9:00 am. 

This year, we will be managing some assignments and hand outs (such as study guides) on Google Classroom. Students will learn how to access Google Classroom this week. Please take some time to have your child login also from a home device and then please bookmark that page so that you will be to access it quickly when needed!

If you are looking for books for your family's library, please consider ordering from Scholastic Books. You can have books shipped directly to your home or to school. Every order earns points for our class, and points help us grow our classroom library. When using the Scholastic website, our class activation code is GKMNT. Place an order of $25 or more and you can pick a FREE $5 book (use code READS at checkout). Here is an online flyer.