Grade 5

Dear Families, January 10, 2021

The Fifth Grade Team wishes you a Happy New Year.

May this year bring you and your family renewed hope, good health and much happiness.

Here is an update on curriculum:

Math- This past week (week of January 4th) we continued our decimal unit and started operations with decimals. The students will be learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction. We will be creating decimal models as representations to assist with these operations.

Science- This past week (week of January 4th) we have begun our new unit on Antarctica. In this unit the students will be going on an expedition to Antarctica (introductory video). They will be keeping a video journal (vlog) along the way. The following are the essential questions which will guide our learning throughout the unit: (1) How does the movement of the Earth affect day/night and seasons? (2) How much of the water on Earth is freshwater and saltwater? (3) How can we engineer fresh drinking water? (4) How do Earth’s systems work together? Where do glaciers go and where do they come from? (5) How can I document and effectively share research?

Social Studies- We will be finishing our Native American unit with a STEM activity regarding Native American shelters. Then we will be moving on to our Exploration unit.

ILA (Integrated Language Arts) - This past week (week of January 4th) we have begun our new unit on nonfiction reading called, “Tackling Complexity.” The unit focuses on how nonfiction texts become more complex and the strategies readers can use to meet those challenges. Students begin by reading widely, exploring topics of interest and expertise, or perhaps uncovering new interests. In time, students will focus on building a body of knowledge on a particular topic, and they will seek to find multiple texts on a topic of choice. This, in turn, will lead to the writing of an informational text, filled with interesting nonfiction author's craft techniques.

Some news:

For those students returning to the building this week, we will adhere to the hybrid model. For all, the daily school schedule returns. (Dr. Amori attached these schedules to her email on Friday.) As you know, all students are home this Wednesday when we follow the Early Dismissal schedule that has been utilized on Wednesdays for several weeks now.

Beginning next Wednesday, January 20th (following the long weekend) we will be "all in" and will follow the daily school schedule each day.

For those with children who are returning to the building this week, please encourage your child to carefully prepare the backpack:

Chromebook (charged)

Notebooks

Writing utensils

Books (perhaps returning class and school library books)

Snack

Water Bottle

Mask

*All JRMS students will be issued a locker (not a lock) to store only jackets and lunch.

A few more reminders:

-Students will log into period 9 at 3:10 to allow for a short snack break for those in the building.

-With less than two weeks remaining in the second marking period, we strongly suggest that students and family members check PowerSchool for missing assignments. The team is concerned that several December assignments are outstanding. These assignments will need to be done after school hours. While we no longer have Office Hours, we welcome questions from students in person or through email. Thank you for any support and encouragement you can provide.

-Please return any books borrowed from the class libraries. Ms. Rimkunas is specifically looking for a public library graphic novel titled, "Bully for You" by Paul Tobin. It is long overdue!

Also, students are encouraged to bring in any nonfiction books they are currently reading for the new ILA unit. Students will also have an opportunity this week to choose books from the class library as well as the school library. Cohort C students may request books from either library. These books can be left at the lobby for pick up, if the student wishes.

Thank you for your continued support.

This email will also be posted to the JRMS Learning Hub

The Fifth Grade Team

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”- Edith Sitwell

Dear Students and Family Members,

We want to wish you a very happy holiday season. Best wishes for a new year filled with hope and good health.

Class, you are invited to wear your favorite holiday attire tomorrow! 'Tis the season!

Tomorrow is the last academic day of the calendar year. As you know, activities are planned for Wednesday. Check in to period 1 at 8:55 and return to your period 1 class at 1PM. Students have been provided information to plan their day. (Students, refer to Mrs. Spies's email on Friday morning, December 18th @ 9AM for details.)

Students, as the year comes to a close, you are encouraged to make sure you are caught up on assignments. Please check PowerSchool as well as the Assignment Board. Let's begin the holiday break feeling like we have done our very best. Feel free to attend Office Hours tomorrow or even to use some time on Wednesday to catch up. Reach out to us with any questions.

Here's a link to the Learning Hub where you will find the Assignment Board: Click here

Relax, stay warm, smile, be sweet to one another just like this marshmallow snowperson!

Here's to brighter days in 2021,

Your 5th grade teachers:

Mr. Donnelly

Mrs. Muscarelle

Mrs. Papallo

Ms. Rimkunas

Miss Steeves

November 14, 2020

Hello Class and Families,

As many transition back to Hybrid Learning on Monday, we wish to confirm schedules and expectations. Much of what is shared here was also in Dr. Amori's email; however, there are a few pieces of information specific to grade 5.

Hybrid learners:

If your last name is A-K, you will report to JRMS on Monday and Tuesday. (Cohort A)

If your last name is L-Z, you will report to JRMS on Thursday and Friday. (Cohort B)

On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday we will follow a regular schedule, and students learning from home will log on to all of their classes.

-Due to a snack break during period 9, at home learners please log on at 3:10.

-While students in grades 6-8 are not logging on during period 3, 5th graders are expected to do so.

During Wednesdays of Hybrid Learning, we will follow a 1:40 early release schedule. Students are expected to log on to each of their classes on Wednesdays including FPA's. There is no FPA rotation as there was at the start of the year.

This email will be added to the JRMS Learning Hub website. You'll recall that the JRMS Learning Hub website is where you can find parent communication as well as an assignment board, a great place to check on homework/classwork.

(Go to the JRMS website. Click on Learning Hub link on the top bar.)

JRMS Learning Hub

We enjoyed our conferences last week and feel we have learned so much more about our students. We will spend this coming week sharing notes with our colleagues. Please continue to encourage your child to reach out to his/her teachers if there is a question, concern or comment. We are very receptive to feedback and feel that a conversation between student and teacher (in person or email) builds a strong relationship.

Here are the schedules. They have not changed.

Daily Schedule (M, T, Th, F)

Wednesday Early Dismissal Schedule: 1:40

Please encourage your hybrid learners to spend some time this weekend organizing their at-home work station!

We begin Quarter 2!

The Fifth Grade Team

October 23, 2020: Curriculum Updates

ILA: We are in the midst of a unit on interpreting fiction. Students are learning ways to “grow ideas” about their books. Our instructional read aloud text is Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate. This beautiful text provides further opportunities to grow ideas and interpret. Furthermore, we have started book club partnerships today. Students have created a plan to read a fiction text over the next two weeks. We anticipate rich discussions. In writer’s workshop (ILA Enhancement) students are gathering personal narratives in their writer’s notebook.

Science: We have been reading about and discussing the various elements of a food chain. Last week we learned about producers and how they make their own food through a process known as ‘photosynthesis’. This week we learned about the various types of consumers (herbivores “primary consumers”, carnivores “secondary consumers”, omnivores). Next week we will be talking about “Nature’s recyclers” known as decomposers.

Social Studies: We have just completed our Presidential Election Unit. Students were able to see the different steps you would take if you wanted to be the President of the United States. We will be beginning our map skills unit next week . Our focus will be on reading maps and sharing important information we are shown using maps. We will also be having the 50 state challenge where students will start learning the different states in the USA.

Math-We have finished our first unit, Place Value, and will be having our first unit test on Wednesday, October 28th. The students are place value experts and can successfully compare, order, round and write decimal numbers using multiple representations! Our next unit of study will be Writing and Interpreting Numerical Expressions.

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Here is our Open House presentation.

Click here to view.

September 25, 2020

Dear Families,

We have concluded our third week of school! Each week, we work toward solutions to situations that arise. We are optimistic that together we can work through the challenges this year presents. Continue to let us know when you wish to problem solve together. This is a lengthy email with lots of important information.

OPEN HOUSE

Thank you for joining our Open House this week. The Open House presentation is available on the JRMS Learning Hub site. Click here to view Open House presentation Any emails sent to you by the Fifth Grade Team (such as this one) will be posted on this site as well. You can also find assignments by class here too! Take a look...JRMS Learning Hub- click Grade 5

SNACK

A late afternoon snack will be restored beginning Tuesday, September 29th. Given our early lunch period, Dr. Amori and Mrs. Wallin, in conjunction with our school nurse, Mrs. Distler determined a way to provide a snack break for 5th graders with the least amount of impact on instructional time.During this time, we will be going outside, weather permitting; we will use the cafeteria and/or the Community Room (following lunch safety protocols) during inclement weather. Due to snack time at the beginning of period 9, we ask those working from home to join the Google Meet at 3:15. For those at home, this may be a nice time for a snack/restroom break as well.

MATH

This is a summary of the math materials that were distributed to your children this week. Cohort C families, the materials have been placed on the table in the front entrance to the school with your child’s name on them and can be picked up at any time.

Textbooks:

Math in Practice textbook A and B have been distributed. These books are at home copies. Please keep these copies at home. They will be used for remote learning, practice and as a glossary and returned to the school in June at the end of the school-year.

xtramath.org:

This free website is for math fact automaticity. Being able to recall the math facts automatically, will free up mental resources so other learning can take place. Your child has been issued an xtramath.org login and password. A parent registration letter has also been distributed to your child. The parent registration allows you to get reports and access your child's progress on the program. If you have completed your registration, your children can sign in using your email. If not, they need to use my email to sign in.

Here is how they'd sign in:

https://xtramath.org/#/signin/student_other

ixl.com:

This website is used for math skills practice. Each student was also given their login information (some students will be receiving this information on Tuesday). It is taped inside their agenda planner. As a general rule of thumb, a SmartScore of 80 indicates mastery of a skill. If your child gets a problem wrong, they will find an explanation of the problem is provided before they can continue and try another problem. Some students find it easiest to work with their white boards next to the chromebooks so they can work the problems and not try to do all the math mentally. Many are more willing to do the math using a white board instead of scrap paper so this method is encouraged.

Hybrid Bags:

We have assembled some hybrid bags for students. These bags contain items that will make learning from home or school easier. The bags have some place value charts, a mini-workbook, and a ruler. Each student was also given a white board and marker so they don't have to share if they are in school, and all have one if they are at home. We didn't provide erasers, but a soft cloth works well. Another item that works well is a sock. If you have any that lost their mates, they have a new purpose! If your child comes to school, please send the bag with them. If they are home, please have the bags near their work station.

ILA

To reiterate the homework expectations, I will begin with a powerful quotation by literacy expert, Nancie Atwell.

There is no more important homework than reading. Research shows that the highest achieving students are those who devote leisure time to reading. Recently, the largest-ever international study of reading found that the single most important predictor of academic success is the amount of time children spend reading books, more important even than economic or social status. And one of the few predictors of high achievement in math and science is the amount of time children devote to pleasure reading.”

Students are expected to read a minimum of 30 minutes for homework. Students will be reading in school as well, yet homework is reading done at home. Students are expected to find at least one half hour over the course of a weekend (or long weekend) to read for at least 30 minutes. Mrs. Papallo and I will do all we can to assure that your child is reading books that are “just right” for him/her, those presenting a small challenge. Reading books that are too challenging is detrimental to reading growth. It’s like a beginning piano player trying to play a Beethoven symphony. In addition, students are expected to fill in a Reading Log that is currently housed in their Reader’s Notebook. (That’s the composition book with five tabs.) The logs will be in the first section. Students record their reading, so we can study their patterns and behaviors as a reader. When we want to get better at something, we keep track of the data.

Cohort C students agreed to using the paper log for convenience, then once a week transferring the Reading Log information to the digital Reading Log that was provided to all Cohort C students (via Google Classroom.) This way I can check logs frequently. Students were given the option to use a Digital Reading Notebook. All Cohort C students have a copy in Google Classroom. Some said yes, they wanted to use this; others prefer the pencil/paper Reader’s Notebook. Again, all will use the digital Reading Log that will be checked once a week.

In conclusion, I highly recommend that everyone get a free Hoopla account using your Mark Twain Library card. (When your child needs the next book, we want to be ready...Hoopla can provide an ebook or audio book in moments. You can google “Hoopla,” or find a link on the Mark Twain Library site.

So in a nutshell:

30+ of reading 5 times a week (at minimum)

Fill in the Reading Log daily- Students will be graded on their Reading Logs.

Enjoy your weekend. Be well. Enjoy your children.

The Fifth Grade Team

September 21, 2020

We begin our third week of school!

We understand the FPA schedule is challenging to follow, so we have made a slight change to the layout of the student friendly schedule stapled into the student agenda pad. Copies were emailed to students over the weekend and/or will be provided on Monday. The student schedule is the same, but now FPA's match a particular day of the week. For example, students will be told on Monday morning, "Today is a Thursday FPA schedule." Therefore, tomorrow, students need to look at their schedule for FPA's. This will last during the hybrid model.

Thank you for sending water bottles. We do have water coolers for refills.

Just a reminder that homework assignments are written in the student's agenda pad and homework and other assignments can also be found on this site (above.)

See you at our virtual Open House this week.

Schedule for Wednesdays:

-Sign in for attendance ONLY with period 1 teacher at 9AM.

-Do not attend Google Meets for each class today.

-If a staff member wishes to meet with a student (on Google Meets,) the student will be notified. Students are encouraged to check their school email.

-Students should work on assignments posted in Google Classroom from each of their teachers.

-Students may continue working on their FPA projects on Wednesdays. If Spanish is on the schedule for Wednesday, students should see Mrs. Laboon's Google Classroom for an assignment.

-Teachers are available via email until 12:00.

-Students have the option of using Google Meets if they have questions. Students can request a Google Meet with a teacher through email.

Friday, September 4, 2020

We are excited to welcome you to 5th grade! Before school starts on Tuesday, please follow these steps in order.

1. Open your er9 email.

2. Look for teacher invites to join Google Classrooms.

3. Accept all invitations to Google Classrooms.

First Week of School

If coming to the building:

• Head to first period classroom

• Teachers will guide you through your schedule.

If learning from home:
Go to the Google Classroom of your 1st period class at 8:55.

• Click on the Google Meet link in the top bar of the Google Classroom.

• Teachers will guide you through your schedule.

First Week Goals:

• Get familiar with your new surroundings (JRMS)

• Be introduced to the new safety procedures

• Learn how to follow your schedule

• Get to know each other!

Since you will not have a locker this year, you need to travel lightly. Here is a list of the supplies you will need to start the year:

-Water bottle filled and labeled

-Lunch ( if not purchasing)

- A small healthy snack (please include a napkin for your mask when eating)

-In the pencil pouch: 3-4 pencils, handheld pencil sharpener, scissors, glue stick and 2 highlighters.

-4 folders

-1 single subject notebook, 4 composition notebooks

Please leave home (for now) the rest of the supplies we requested, including the 3 ring binder.

We look forward to beginning our journey together!