5th Grade Weekly Update
Mrs. Livesay
January 22-January 26
Reminders & Classroom News
January 30th-February 1st: Spring Conferences sign up
February 2nd--Special Surprise (don't miss school!)
February 5th-February 9th: Wish Week! 💫
February 6th-7th: Mrs. Livesay out at trainings all day
February 7th--Front Desk book due at school (see below)
February 9th-PTO meeting 8:30-9:15 in library
February 14th: Valentine's Day "Party with a Purpose"❤️
February 16th: No school--Teacher Work Day
February 19th: No school--Presidents' Day 🇺🇲
February 21st: Family Paint Night 🎨
New NOVEL COMING UP!
With us wrapping up our hard work reading through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, we are ready and anxious to begin our next novel study! We will be reading Front Desk, by Kelly Yang. This touching story tell about a 10-year-old girl who manages a motel with her parents, helps immigrants, and faces challenges and racism in the 1990s. It includes plenty of humor, thought-provoking themes, and kid-relatable content.
Each student will need to purchase his/her own book (we will be writing in these so make sure it is a fresh, unwritten copy). Please send a copy of the book to school by February 7th. Here is a link to order through Amazon. Thank you!
Wish Week!
Wish Week starts Monday, February 5th and is sure to be lots of fun! Be sure to check out this calendar of spirit days, restaurant nights, and fun events so you don’t miss out!
Spirit Days start on Monday, February 5th with “Wear Any Be A Good Person shirt or WHITE”. The remainder of the week is outlined below:
Tuesday, 2/6 - Bling Out- think shiny, gold, silver and sequins!
Wednesday, 2/7 - Hogwarts House Colors or Harry Potter Character
Thursday, 2/8 - Students dress as teachers and vice versa!
Friday, 2/9 - 2024 BE A GOOD PERSON SHIRT (add wizard/witch flair!)
Valentine's Day--Party with a Purpose
Hello Parents!
Each year, Heritage Elementary does something extra special for Valentine's Day to reach out and lend a helping hand to our community. It's called "Party with a Purpose". This year, we have chosen to have a stuffed animal drive for Children's Hospital. Being in the hospital is a scary place for kids. The Child Life specialists at CHCO bring stuffed animals to patients to help create a calm, safe environment and, hopefully, speed up the recovery process. (Shamless plug: above is a picture of my own child at CHCO with one of many stuffies he's received during unexpected and unwanted visits!)
Here's what you can do:
1. Have your child donate a new stuffed animal (please no stains, rips, tears). Dollar Store and Walmart are great places to find cheap stuffed animals this time of year.
2. If your child has a stuffed animal that is in new/pristine condition, they may donate that, as well. (please ensure the fabric tag that is usually attached to the stuffed animal's leg is still in tact and good condition).
3. Stuffed animals can be any size. Your child may donate as many stuffed animals as they wish.
4. Bring to school starting February 1st. Deadline to donate is February 14th.
To learn more about how Children's Hospital Colorado uses stuffed animals to treat patients, check out this article.
Thank you for supporting such a wonderful cause!
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WHat we are Learning
These next few weeks, we will be answering the question, "What can learning about different cultures teach us?" as we explore the genre of realistic fiction. We will continue to explore theme as well as summarizing what we read. We will also be wrapping up our novel study in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone this week. Be sure your child is in school Friday, February 2nd--we have a SPECIAL surprise for them that day!!!
Unit 7 wrapped up our work in adding and subtracting fractions. Now, we move on to multiplying and dividing fractions. Here's some helpful videos to remind you of the process (if you're like me--you NEED the refresher!):
Our week wrapped up our Explorer Simulation. Most of the kids made it to the New World and back (unfortunately, some did not make it along the way--darn scurvy!) and learned first had the trials and challenges these men and women had along the way. We began our unit on "The First American Colonies" by looking at the haunting story of "The Lost Colony of Roanoke". Ask your child to tell you this true, yet fascinating story!
Each day, the kids wrote in their Explorer Journals a first-hand account of the day before's events while sailing for the New World. These entries were to be written in first person--as if they were actually there. We included lots of details to bring our writing to life and make it sound like it was actually happening.