November 18: Class Movie Party (Soul Surfer)

November 21: "Dress Like a Friend" Spirit Day

November 24-28: Thanksgiving Break (No School)

December 17: National Treasures Museum (PBL Presentations) - 8:45 to 10 am

December 18: Class Holiday Party - 1:10 to 2:30 pm (More details to come)

December 22 - January 2: Winter Break (No school)

January 19: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (No School)

January 20-23: Science Camp

Click here for the yearlong school calendar

Thank you to Kim Tsuchida, Fred Lee, Shana Shepherd, and Vijay Naroth for being chaperones on our field trip last Monday to the planetarium at DeAnza College. Students learned about how the Earth, Moon, and Sun work together as a system, as well as what an eclipse is, why the sun appears to rise and set, and why we see different constellations during different seasons. It was a great learning opportunity!

We will finally have our movie party this week to celebrate finishing the Great Postcard Race. On Tuesday afternoon, we will be watching Soul Surfer and enjoying some popcorn and pineapple (in honor of Hawaii being the postcard from which we have received the most postcards). Soul Surfer is the inspiring story of Bethany Hamilton, who loses her arm in a shark attack, and her subsequent journey to recover and return to competitive surfing. To see a review from Common Sense Media, please click here.

Last week, students continued in our physical science unit titled Mixtures and Solutions by learning about various ways to separate solutions. This week they will discuss the differences between dissolving and melting through an experiment. If you would like to try an at-home activity to continue student learning, try this oobleck making experience.

We have launched a Project-Based Learning (PBL) experience in which students will work in groups of 3-4 to answer this driving question: How can we help protect national parks and solve the challenges they face so people and nature can thrive together?  Groups will research one of America’s national parks, explore the environmental and human challenges it faces, and develop creative, real-world solutions to help people and nature thrive together—culminating in a final presentation that showcases their findings and proposed actions. Be sure to ask your child what national park his or her group has been assigned!

Please mark for calendars for the morning of Wednesday, December 17 to come see the presentations in a museum-style format in the Barracuda Tank. The museum will feature all three fifth grade classes and will be open from 8:45 to 10:00 am that day.

I’m hoping students will finish their voting-rights essays this week. Many are currently in the revising and editing stage. My goal is for them to take greater ownership of this process by responding independently to the feedback I’ve provided, rather than relying on step-by-step guidance during conferences.

Over Thanksgiving break, I plan to grade the essays using the rubric students already have. Please be on the lookout for their graded work after the break! You’re also welcome to check your child’s Google Drive to see their progress.

We are in the middle of two novel studies! Some students are reading The Sign of the Beaver, while others are reading JoJo Makoons: The Used-to-be Best Friend. The Sign of the Beaver is a historical fiction novel set in 1768 in the Maine wilderness during the colonial era. JoJo Makoons is a modern story about a young girl growing up on her Ojibwe reservation. Both novels help students gain a deeper, more personal understanding of the resourcefulness and courage of Native American peoples. Be sure to ask your child how he or she is enjoying the new novel study!

For November, the award will go to the student who reads the greatest variety of books, both fiction and non-fiction. A new reading log for November went home on Thursday.

Mileage Club has started again!  For those of you unfamiliar with Mileage Club, it is a parent-led program that encourages children in grades 1-5 to either walk or run during their Wednesday lunch hour. On Wednesdays, students should dress in comfortable, athletic attire and sneakers if they are participating. Parents can join on the field to pass out cards and track laps every Wednesday! Sign up for that is here. Each lap brings them one step closer to reaching the next Mileage Club level. 

New this year, runners will be rewarded for achieving major club milestones at 5, 10, 15, and 20 mile intervals as well as for being the first to hit select mile markers. In addition to earning monthly running tokens for their chain, they will also be featured on the leaderboard. Last but not least, at the end of the school year, the top two runners in each grade receive gift cards to kick off their summer in style!  If you have any questions, please feel free to email parent volunteer lead Amanda Baldino at  amandapbaldino@gmail.com.

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.