Don't forget to check out the FAQ, Resources, and Bulletin Board! 

Welcome, Mrs. Wood!
Mrs. Wood has joined our 5th-grade team! We are rebooting the classroom expectations, schedule, and curriculum; ultimately creating a more positive and collaborative classroom environment. Co-teaching will help keep students focused and allow more options for project-based learning, small-group instruction, and intervention work. 

Mrs. Wood will be taking over science and history instruction while Mrs. Wytmans will continue teaching ELA. Students will be split into math groups taught by both of us. 

Please welcome Mrs. Wood to our class. We are so happy to have her!

Paws-itive News

Students completed their Astronomy test this past week, and we had a class average of 80%! In addition, students created a "doodle notes" style astronomy fact coloring home/study guide that impressed every other teacher who saw the copies being made. Eight students were able to present astronomy facts to the 1st graders, who are also studying the moon and stars. They did a fantastic job and maturely navigated being put on the spot with lots of questions from eager 6-year-olds.

Recently Mrs. Wytmans ran into our custodial staff cleaning the classroom, and they mentioned that they like to start with our class as a warm-up because "it's always the easiest one."  The students do such a good job of sweeping up, gathering items, and picking up stray trash from the floor that the custodians are able to just get straight to their job of mopping and vacuuming.

Action Requested
The MITCH Board recently approved changes to the school calendar by adding two NO SCHOOL days. These will be on March 24th and May 12th.  Please fill out this survey about your family needs on these two days. Calendar Update Survey

Field Trip
Our next field trip is February 8! Permission slips will be going home this week for our excursion to the symphony. Mrs. Wong has been preparing the students for this experience. Please note that we will be unable to accommodate parent volunteers at this event.

Upcoming Projects
Third Quarter is a busy one in fifth grade (which means Mrs. Wytmans is extra happy to have Mrs. Wood on board just in time!)

Culture Project:  Students will begin interviewing family members to learn more about their personal family cultures and cultural heritages. The information they gather will be turned into a presentation to share with the class.  Mrs. Wytmans & Mrs. Wood will be presenting this week, and students will begin presenting on February 10 at a rate of 2 -3 per week.  The calendar will be posted later this week after student sign-ups.

Core Knowledge Event: We will be collaborating with our 2nd-grade buddies to put on our first Core Knowledge event of the year! This event will be in connection with Read Across America and both grades' geography units. 

Architects in the Classroom. We are partnering with a local architect to learn about indigenous cultures and sustainable buildings. Students will be meeting with the architect weekly and practicing design and critical thinking skills. At the end of the 5-week residency, we will have created 2-D and 3-D models of buildings.

Volunteer Opportunities
As we begin to engage in more small group instruction, students will be moving table groups more often.  We have shifted where school supplies are stored, and students would benefit from a couple of storage options.
1. A cubby organizing cube or a magazine box.  See the images on this page. If you have organizing cubes or magazine boxes needing a home, please feel free to send them in for the students. The one pictured is from an IKEA cardboard 6-pack.

2. Chair pockets.  If you are interested in a sewing project, there are some easy DIY project instructions online for turning pillowcases into chairpockets.

Scholastic Flyers
Scholastic has made it even easier to shop for books. New paper flyers are available for students in the classroom, or you can browse the flyers at the link below.

You can also choose to have your books shipped to your home or delivered to me with our class order, which means that even extended family and friends can order and earn FREE books for our class. Feel free to share the Class Page link. 

With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS). 

Class Order Due Date: 02/10/23

Class Code: JV32M

 Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/JV32M

 Shop Digital Flyers for Our Grade with Your Child: https://clubs.scholastic.com/grade5