September Newsletter
Settling In
Although the school year is now a couple of weeks old, we want to wish all students and their families a warm welcome back to school. We are very excited to get back to work and interacting with students.
The beginning of the school year has always been an exciting time. Of course, the most exciting and mysterious aspect is the classroom chemistry that is created with 26 unique individuals coming together for the first time. While the chemistry and classroom dynamics are still taking shape, we are very much looking forward to watching this group grow, and we are excited for what they can become together.
Camp Cheley
The traditional fifth grade trip to Camp Cheley is coming up very quickly this year. Here is a very brief outline of the schedule:
Camp Cheley paperwork and payment ($250) is due Friday, September 15.
Doctor's signature is required on all medication forms, including over-the-counter meds.
Please discuss behavior expectations before signing paperwork (students must sign some of them). Students will be sent home if their choices pose a risk to themselves, other students, or staff; and/or students will be sent home if their choices negatively impact the enjoyment of the experience for others.
Buses leave Willow Creek at 7:00 a.m. SHARP on Wednesday, September 27. Students should arrive to school by 6:40 a.m. able to personally transport all gear.
We will stay overnight Wednesday and Thursday, September 27 & September 28.
Buses arrive at Willow Creek between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. on September 29. We know schedules are tight for all parents, but it is best if your student's ride home is waiting for their arrival at the school at 3:00 p.m. Please plan ahead.
As mentioned at the Camp Cheley Parent Information Night, we encourage families to borrow from friends and relatives the needed equipment for the trip prior to purchasing new materials. Families struggling to obtain materials off of the equipment list (provided via email on information night), such as duffel bags, sleep bags, etc. should contact fellow families and/or teachers as soon as possible, so we can assist you with the borrowing of necessary equipment.
If you're curious about Camp Cheley, please visit their website.
Back-To-School
As educators, we are fortunate at our school to have such an involved parent community. The high expectations you set for us leads to the high expectations we set for your children. And that explains the success we have had these many years.
Communication between parents, students, and teachers is crucial. Email during school hours is the best way to initiate contact with teachers. Teachers read and respond to emails between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays but not at all on weekends. Please allow 24 weekday hours for teachers to respond. If meeting in person is best, we can schedule a time. Please remember that it is your student's responsibility, not yours, to ask questions about homework, inquire about missed assignments, etc.
Many thanks to the parents in each room that volunteered to be room coordinators! When volunteer opportunities arise, such as classroom parties, grade level events, etc., they will be contacting all parents to solicit help.
We strongly feel that a large part of fifth grade is promoting responsibility and independence for all students. That will be a major focus in our hallway because we want to prepare students for the transition to middle school as best as possible. With parents' help, we can be successful. Here are the ways in which parents can assist their children to become more successful:
Please make sure that you are encouraging students to work through and solve problems on their own. As good as it feels to provide assistance to students, they need to practice independent problem-solving as much as possible.
Ask questions of students about their work and offer guidance. Through guidance and love, allow them to discover their own "better ways!"
Be careful with the "rescue". The natural inclination for parents is to protect kids from discomfort, disappointment, setbacks, or even failure. Each one of us has experienced these and all would agree they are unpleasant. However, all of these can be powerful learning tools and will help make kids stronger and feel more competent. That leads to higher self-esteem that is more organic and lasts longer. Protecting kids from unpleasant feelings may temporarily lead to higher self-esteem, but this is often short-lived because it's only on the surface.
Natural consequences are key to teaching responsibility. Please allow kids to face consequences. They will be fine!! If they forget their planners, lunches, homework pages, books, etc...please don't bring them to school for them! Natural consequences will ensure that these behaviors don't repeat.
We look forward to working with all of you in making students' fifth grade year productive and successful...in addition to memorable and fun.
Importance of Math Facts
By the beginning of fifth grade, your student should have automatic mastery of all math “facts”—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—of numbers from 1-12. Equally important, your student should understand how those “mathematical operations” work, along with the role of place value, fractions, decimals, and general concepts in geometry.
The image below shows the many basic, memorized math facts that need to be mastered to solve a simple addition of fractions math problem. If your child is still struggling to have automatic mastery of all math "facts"- addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, please assist them using Reflex Math, flash cards, oral quizzing, and practice, as they will continue to fall behind in all math units.
Academics
Math
Students will focus intensively on the critical areas specified by the standards for mathematics in Grade 5: In Unit 1 students use the study of volume to review and extend a host of skills and concepts related to multiplication. They will use expressions and equations with parenthesis to represent different rectangular prisms, find the surface area of boxes, develop multi-digit multiplication strategies to solve real-world and mathematical problems, and revisit multiplication and division through the lens of the area model and order of operations.
See below for links to specific information related to math work.
Reading
Fifth grade eading is focused on reading quality literature that includes rich vocabulary and thought-provoking content. The highly engaging literature promotes students' processes of sharing and justifying ideas and interpretations.
September's reading will focus on powerful, dynamic characters written into eventful, suspenseful, and even humorous plots with themes of wilderness survival that connect to Camp Cheley. Students will study story elements, including the many types of characters found in stories. Students will develop their ability to infer character personality traits through the character's actions and use those inferences to deepen their own understanding of their individual character.
Writing
Throughout the year, a consistent writing focus is centered around self-reflection. Students will celebrate successes but also look for areas of improvement. They will be writing weekly to build reflective practices for school and in daily life.
In September, writing instruction focuses on expository writing. The goal is to provide a structure for expository writing with specific emphasis on stating a clear claim or topic, supporting thinking with scientific evidence or textual support, and offering thorough analysis, all with attention to mechanics and grammar.
Social Studies
We begin with a study of indigenous people with heavy emphasis on distinctiveness of cultural areas of native people in North America. Our work strives to understand the effect that geographical region had on Indigenous people's lifestyle, including adaptation to the environment and climate for survival. Students will use print and Internet multimedia resources as well as traditional folktales and origin stories to find as much detail as possible to support how Indigenous people in each region met basic survival needs using the resources around them. Students will focus their learning on regional climate, water sources, landscape, plants, animals, food sources, clothing, shelter, traditions and beliefs, and arts and crafts of specific Indigenous nations.
Science
We began our earth science unit with a study of minerals, rocks, and earth structures. During the unit, students learned how to identify minerals and how minerals are used. Next, we focused on different types of rocks and how they are formed in the rock cycle. Finally, we studied the composition of earth's layers, tectonic plates, and various land forms.
Following our Solid Earth unit, students will turn to weather. Our weather unit will focus on Earth’s atmosphere, weather, and water.
Understanding weather is more than reading data from a weather center. Students need to grapple with ideas about atoms and molecules, changes of state, and heat transfer before they can launch into the bigger ideas involving air masses and fronts, convection cells and winds, and the development of severe weather.
An atmosphere without water vapor would be an alien and hostile place. The importance of water on Earth is a major element of this course.
Math
Family letters containing overviews of current math content and objectives can be found here:
Social Emotional Learning
Willow Creek is committed to teaching the whole child and has created a focus this year on teaching Social Emotional Learning lessons in the classroom. The program Second Step was adopted by the district and will be in use to guide instruction and discussions throughout the year. Students will learn to have empathy, manage emotions and solve problems in order to promote positive relationships with their teachers and peers and increase their feelings of school connectedness. Studies have shown that as students feel more connected to their school and peers they have more positive academic self-concepts, more motivation for academic success and more overall engagement for learning. Each month we will highlight for you a brief focus for the month to allow for continued conversations at home. The Home Link pages will be linked to this section to support the discussion at home.
August:
September
Important Events
Within the calendar you can find important events, event timeframes, and additional brief notes about many events.
Please see the Calendar Page within this website for upcoming important events.
If looking for WC Accountability dates, please see Calendar Page as well.