We had a fantastic first two days of school! Our class consists of 29 students, and together they are a thoughtful, funny, and energetic group. I am confident that we have a great year ahead!

August 27: Back to School Night (Time TBD)

September 7: Labor Day (No School)

September 18: Fall Picture Day

September 21-25: Book Fair

September 29 - October 2: Science Camp

October 5-9: Goal Setting Conferences

October 9: Staff Development Day (No School)

October 12: No School 

Click here for the yearlong school calendar

Thank you to those of you who have already completed this form. If you haven't already, please complete this survey as a way to introduce me to you and your family. If you can please complete this by Friday, August 21, I would greatly appreciate it!

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!

Our science curriculum continues to be FOSS Pathways, developed at the Lawrence Hall of Science. The curriculum is based on the Next Generation Science Standards and is very hands-on. This year we are starting with the Earth Science unit titled Earth and Sun. A detailed letter explaining what students will be learning in this unit will be in this week's Thursday Envelope.

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.

This year, all three fifth grade classes will participate in "The Great Postcard Race."  If you were in my class last year, this should sound familiar! The goal of this race is to receive a postcard from each of the 50 states as a class. Postcards can be mailed to our class or to an individual student. The postcards must be dated after August 13 and include something we can learn about the state (through the photo or through a note written on the postcard). One of the fifth grade Social Studies standards is to learn about the 50 states and memorize the capitals for each. This race will help us learn and appreciate the uniqueness of each state throughout the school year. Each fifth grade class will receive a party after all 50 postcards have been received, and the class that comes in FIRST will earn something extra. I have listed specific rules and tips in this document. 

We have PE weekly on Tuesday mornings from 8:20 - 9:05 am with Ms. Wickemeyer's class.  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 will have Music every other week beginning August 17 on Monday mornings from 9:00-9:50 am.  On those same weeks, we will also visit our school library on Mondays from 9:55-10:15 am. We have Art on the alternate weeks (the weeks that we don't have music) on Monday mornings from 9:30 - 10:20 am beginning the week of August 24.