Mrs. Gray

April Fools: Today I was able to fool your kiddos not once but twice. The first was with the National Flood Awareness Drill. Kiddos had to take their shoes and socks off and roll up their pants. They stood on their chairs (carefully of course) and then sat back in their chairs with their feet on their desks waiting for the flood waters to recede! They were not impressed that I got them. Check your email for pictures.

Read-A-Thon: Today kicks off our Read-A-Thon. Before break students brought home a pledge sheet and a log sheet. Time spent reading can be logged on that sheet or in Beanstack. The class has a goal of reading 3-=0,000

English Language Arts: This week we are back in our Journeys book reading a story called Dangerous Crossing. We will be working on visualizing (like seeing a movie of the story in your head) as well as cause and effect.

This week's greek root is -struct which means build. Our prefix is en- which means cause to. Students will have a greek quiz on Friday.

We will be starting to do some note taking this week for our National Park Research Project. Students have gotten quite a few responses from our National Parks.

Math: We are diving into chapter 9 this week. Chapter 9 deals, with line plots, coordinate grids, and measurement. Remember, videos will be posted on our website to help with math if your kiddo needs it.

Social Studies: This week we will be kicking off our Revolutionary War unit. This is one of my favorite things to teach all year! I can't wait to talk about the reasons for the Revolutionary War with the kiddos. Kiddos brought home their study guide for the southwest states/caps. Since there are only 4 states in the southwest their test will be next Friday, 4/12.

Science: Later this week we will be starting our living things unit learning about food webs. Students will also have the opportunity to learn from Farmer Sam in the garden as well.

Eclipse: Next Monday, 4/8 is a solar eclipse. On the west coast we will only see a small portion of the eclipse. But over on the east coast they will experience a total solar eclipse. Throughout the day we will be zooming with Expeditions in Education while they are at Cuyahoga Valley National Park where they will be experiencing a complete solar blackout. Be sure to ask your kiddo about it next MONDAY.

State Testing: We are scheduled to have our state testing the week of May 6th and the week of May 13. Please try to avoid making appointments for your students during the morning of those two weeks. As we get closer I will give some more information as well as specific dates and times.

March 11, 2024

Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Upcoming Dates:

March 12 - iready diagnostic Math

March 14: T2 Report Cards home

March 21 - Multiplying/Dividing Fractions Math Test

March 22 - Midwest States/Capitals Test

March 25-March 29 - Spring Break

Trimester 3: Yesterday was the beginning of the 3rd Trimester, which means that our 5th graders are about 60 days from being middle schoolers! Now is the time to solidify those study skills and get work turned in on time. I know as a parent we might want to let go of the reins a bit, but please don't. Your student still needs your support to be successful in 5th grade and in school in general. Grade checks will still be coming home on Thursdays. Please look at them and have a conversation with your child about their grades. Let's set them up for success: have conversations about what they are learning, what is hard and what is easy. Ask them if they need help with anything. Let them know how proud you are of the work they are doing. If your child does have missing work, help them come up with a plan to complete it. They will be bringing home an IOU sheet for each missing assignment. Please sign it and return it to school the next day. Missing work should be completed as soon as possible.

Absences: If your child is absent from school please let me know. Most of the time if you email by 10am I can have the work they missed in the office by the end of the day. Please also help your child get their work in as soon as possible. Our subjects build on each other daily and even a one day absence can be overwhelming when they return.

State Testing: We are scheduled to have our state testing the week of May 6th and the week of May 13. Please try to avoid making appointments for your students during the morning of those two weeks. As we get closer I will give some more information as well as specific dates and times.

iReady: Last week our kiddos completed the last reading diagnostic. And they rocked it! There will be a diagnostic growth report in their Friday Folders this week so you can see their progress. Starting tomorrow (Tuesday) we are doing the math diagnostic. Kids can bring a non-messy snack to munch on while they are testing.

Reading: Last week we didn't get to read much of Holes, due to taking the iready diagnostic, but we are back at it today. Zero and Caveman have both walked away from the camp and are in the middle of a dry lake bed with no water. We had a great discussion about how hindsight is 20/20.

Math: We have transitioned from multiplying fractions to dividing fractions. We use a little trick to divide fractions, KFC. Not Kentucky Fried Chicken, but Keep, Flip Change. Meaning - keep the first number the same, flip the second fraction and then change the operation from division to multiplication. With doing the math diagnostic, we won't be doing math daily. I am hoping that we wrap the diagnostic up Thursday and are back to dividing fractions by Friday. We will be testing both multiplying and dividing fractions the following week. This will most likely happen on Thursday, March 21.

Don't forget there are resource videos both on the class website and in google classroom.

Writing: The reading diagnostic took more time than anticipated which pushed writing of our smart goals to this week. Students started their goals today and were asked to talk to you tonight to get some input. Tomorrow we will finish writing those goals.

Science: We had been focusing on separating salt from a solution. This week we move into separating dry mixtures and using a computer simulation to do so, in addition to our hands-on science investigation.

Social Studies: We are continuing to learn about the New England Colonies. Colonists came to the New England colonies for religious freedom, as well as economic and political opportunities. Did you know that the Puritans and Massachusetts Bay Company started what is now Harvard University in 1836?

You will notice that in Reading I am recording grade checks this is due to so many students not returning them. Grade Checks are expected to be completed on Thursdays in class and returned to class on Friday signed. They are worth 1 point. Please make sure that you are asking your child about grade checks on Thursday nights.

Have a great week!

Melanie

Hello everyone,

I was hoping for a better snow storm than we got. My girls were very bummed that we only got an inch of snow at our house.

Upcoming Dates:

March 6 - iready diagnostic Reading

March 14: T2 Report Cards home

March 22 - Midwest States/Capitals Test

March 25-March 29 - Spring Break

Trimester 3: Yesterday was the beginning of the 3rd Trimester, which means that our 5th graders are about 60 days from being middle schoolers! Now is the time to solidify those study skills and get work turned in on time. I know as a parent we might want to let go of the reins a bit, but please don't. Your student still needs your support to be successful in 5th grade and in school in general. Grade checks will still be coming home on Thursdays. Please look at them and have a conversation with your child about their grades. Let's set them up for success: have conversations about what they are learning, what is hard and what is easy. Ask them if they need help with anything. Let them know how proud you are of the work they are doing. If your child does have missing work, help them come up with a plan to complete it. They will be bringing home an IOU sheet for each missing assignment. Please sign it and return it to school the next day. Missing work should be completed as soon as possible.

Absences: If your child is absent from school please let me know. Most of the time if you email by 10am I can have the work they missed in the office by the end of the day. Please also help your child get their work in as soon as possible. Our subjects build on each other daily and even a one day absence can be overwhelming when they return.

State Testing: We are scheduled to have our state testing the week of May 6th and the week of May 13. Please try to avoid making appointments for your students during the morning of those two weeks. As we get closer I will give some more information as well as specific dates and times.

iReady: This week and next week we will be doing our final diagnostic for iReady. Today we will be talking about their last diagnosis and setting some goals for this one. This week is Reading and next week we will be doing Math.

Reading: The conversations we have had about the novel Holes have been amazing. Students are making connections between the characters.

Math: This week we are continuing to multiply fractions. The kids are doing a fantastic job with this. They still need reminders to simplify or reduce their answers. Don't forget there are resource videos both on the class website and in google classroom.

Writing: Later this week we are focusing on our SMART goals for the Third Trimester. SMART Goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. Students will be making 2 academic goals and 1 anything goal.

Science: Ask your kiddo about their salt experiment!

Social Studies: We are learning about the Puritans and the New England Colonies later this week. The Puritans have some very strict rules. Be sure to ask your child later this week about some of their consequences if these rules were broken.

Have a great week!

Melanie

February 26, 2024

Hi there! Happy Monday!

Upcoming Dates:

Thursday, 2/29 - Leap Day - PTC Give Back Day

Friday, 3/1 - End of 2nd Trimester - any late work due

*Southeast States and Capitals Test

Week of March 4th - our last iReady diagnostic - see below for more info

Wednesday, 3/6 - Early Release - 12:30 dismissal

March 25-March 29 - Spring Break

End of Trimester: The 2nd trimester ends Friday, 3/1. Any late/missing work is due on this day. I will not be accepting anything after 3/1 for the 2nd trimester. Last week your child brought home a grade check for all subjects. Be sure to check power school for missing work. I have been grading items as they have been coming in.

State Testing: We are scheduled to have our state testing the week of May 6th and the week of May 13. Please try to avoid making appointments for your students during the morning of those two weeks. As we get closer I will give some more information as well as specific dates and times.

iReady: This Wednesday kids will be enjoying some popcorn from filling up their incentive chart. Next week, we will be doing our final diagnostic for the year. This week we will be looking at growth from our first and second diagnostic assessments. We will start with Reading next week on March 5th. Please encourage your kiddo to take their time and do their best.

Reading: We are continuing to read the book Holes. The kiddos are doing great with our discussion questions. Students are making some great connections with the characters.

Math: This week we are starting chapter 7 which is all about multiplying fractions. Resource videos for home help have been posted on google classroom and our on class webpage here.

Test corrections for chapter 6 are due tomorrow, IF your child chooses to make corrections! I have 3 students who haven't finished yet. They will bring home their test tomorrow and then corrections will be due the next day. They know who they are. Overall the kids did really well with this test. Average test score was 85%, which is amazing for this tough test.

Writing: Today students finished writing their letter to their national park for information. Tomorrow we will learn how to address an envelope. Letters will be mailed by Wednesday!

Science: We are continuing to work on separating mixtures.

Social Studies: Last week, we watched a video about the life of pilgrims in Plymouth. This week we will be discussing learning about what life was like in the Northern Colonies. This Friday is the final test for the Southeast States and Capitals. There are quite a few resources in google classroom that students can use. I will randomly quiz E in the car, by saying a state or capital of the southeast and then she gives me the match to it. It's a quick and easy way to help kids study.

Have a great week! If you have any questions, please reach out

February 19, 2024

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and didn't get too wet! It was wonderful to have 4 days at home. I spent Friday watching my great niece. What a treat!

Upcoming Dates:

Wednesday, 2/21 - Early Release 12:30pm Dismissal

Friday, 2/23 - Bearcat of Character Assemblies

Friday, 2/23 - Chapter 6 Math Test

Friday, 2/23 - PTC Sweetheart Dance

Friday, 3/1 - End of 2nd trimester - any late work due!

March 25-March 29 - Spring Break

End of Trimester: The 2nd trimester ends Friday, 3/1. Any late/missing work is due on this day. I will not be accepting anything after 3/1 for the 2nd trimester. Tomorrow, your kiddo will be bringing home grade sheets for Reading, English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies as those have all been updated as of today. I am still updating math so those will be coming home no later than Friday 2/23. Please sign the front half page and return it to me. You may keep the rest of the report. Have your child look through their binder and backpack for any unfinished work. It is more than likely that they have the assignment that is missing. If they don't have the papers your kiddo can check the no name bucket, there are quite a few assignments there. If the assignment is not in either of those two places then they can check the extra papers organizer or see me if they can't find it there.I will be reminding them of all of this as well!

State Testing: We are scheduled to have our state testing the week of May 6th and the week of May 13. Please try to avoid making appointments for your students during the morning of those two weeks. As we get closer I will give some more information as well as specific dates and times.

Blankets: All of the fleece blankets were delivered last week prior to Valentine's Day. They went to residents at Casscade's Memory Unit, Mountain View Home Care, and Golden Empire Nursing and Rehab Center. All of the caregivers I spoke with were so appreciative of the blankets and the valentines that students from UH made for them. One of the blankets went to Mr. Selby's 96 year old grandmother. He came in and shared with the kids a picture of her holding her blanket! I am so proud of our kids for making a positive impact on our community!

iReady: Last week the kiddos filled up their "iReady popcorn" board. Anytime a student completes a lesson at 80% or better they can put their name on the board. This is the 3rd challenge they have created. They will be enjoying some popcorn this weekend! Stay tuned for the next challenge board.

Reading: We are continuing to read the book Holes.

Math: This week we are wrapping up adding and subtracting fractions. Their test will be on Friday. Be on the lookout for the review on Thursday. Don't forget there are resource videos both on the class website and in google classroom.

Writing: Students will be writing a letter to their National Park this week to gather some information before we start researching. On Tuesday or Wednesday kids will learn what National Park they will be learning about. I still have a few who have not turned in their sheet.

Science: This week we will be learning how to separate solutions by evaporation.

Social Studies: We continue to learn about the 13 colonies. Last week we wrapped up our discussion on the first settlements in the New World: St. Augustine, Quebec, Roanoke and Jamestown.

Did you know that Union Hill is on social media?! Check out the attached flyer. PTC also has a facebook page and a UH Bearcat Chat Group that is wonderful.

Follow Us On Social Media Flyer.pdf

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Melanie

February 11, 2024

Greetings!

This week is a short week since we have both Friday, 2/16 and Monday 2/19 off for Presidents weekend.

Tomorrow we welcome Jaden to our classroom. If your child is choosing to give valentines please be sure to have your child do a valentine for him.

Valentines: Thank you to all that signed up to bring items for our ice cream sundaes on Wednesday afternoon. Here is the link https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A4BA5A623A6FD0-47897778-valentines#/.

Math: We are in the middle of chapter 6 and should be testing by the end of next week, mostly likely Thursday. Today we focused on reducing fractions using the Greatest Common Factor. Students who struggle with multiplication facts have a tougher time with this concept. Students can and are encouraged to use a multiplication chart to help speed up the process. Videos have been posted in google classroom and on the classroom website.

Reading: We are continuing to read the novel Holes. There are some fantastic passages in this novel. Be sure to ask your kiddo about the warden and what she is looking for.

Greek: Our root this week is scrib (to write). On Thursday students will be tested on the 10 greek words and their meaning.

Social Studies: Kids did a fantastic job on their NE states test. Today they started in the southwest region. They completed a map and got flashcards as well as an info packet today. The SE states will be tested on Friday, March 1st. On Tuesday, 2/20 the kids will have a practice test on the states only. Students will have an opportunity to use blooket and other similar courses to practice their states and capitals. Those resources will be posted on google classroom tomorrow.

We will also be discussing Plymouth and Jamestown settlements as we discuss their similarities and differences.

Science: Students are learning about mixtures. A mixture is made up of two or more items. Today students worked on their observation skills as they observed they created 3 different mixtures. Be sure to ask them about it.

Did know that UH is on facebook and instagram! We have lots of amazing things going on campus. Be sure to check them out!.

Have a wonderful week, and as always please let me know if you have any questions.

Melanie

January 29, 2024

Hi there! This warm weather has been amazing! I hope you all are getting some sunshine in your day!

Math: Chapter 5 math tests are coming home today. If your child wants to do test corrections they are due tomorrow. Late work will NOT be accepted for test corrections. We have started Chapter 6 as well. Chapter 6 is all about adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators. In google classroom, I added quite a few fraction help videos. If your student has any questions please have them look there or google skill they are having a tough time with. Here is the video that we watched today for adding unlike denominators: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULl0f_3cA_o&ab_channel=MathwithMr.J, Tomorrow we are subtracting with unlike denominators and here is the video we will watch in class; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzG8muuomas&ab_channel=MathwithMr.J

I have stressed to the kids that math is about the process. It is important that we follow ALL the steps to solve the problem. Steps for adding unlike fraction:

1. Find the common denominator by listing the LCM (least common multiplies)

2. Rename the fractions (make equivalent fractions)

3. Add

4. Simplify or Reduce

The kids did a great job with this today. You can see this when you look at theri math page 6-1 tonight.

Reading: We started the novel Holes. Holes is a realistic fiction about a boy who gets sent to Camp Green Lake for a crime he didn't really commit. Be sure to ask your kiddo about the camp. Today we read that Stanley only got a 4 minute ice cold shower. Over half the class moaned and groaned that they could NEVER take a 4 minute shower! haha.

Writing: Everyday the kids are continuing to journal write to go along with our SEL (social emotional learning) lessons. Today's talk was about understanding someone else's perception and why that is important. It was an amazing discussion. I can't wait to read their writing on Friday. They are expected to write a minimum of 4 sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation. Also, the word I should always be capitalized. Each day is worth 5 points, for a total of 25 at the end of the week.

Social Studies: Be sure to have your kiddo keep practicing the states and capitals of the North East Region. Their test is NEXT Friday, 2/9. We are also digging into Colonial America. Did you know that St. Augustine in Florida was the first settlement in the new world? It was a Spanish Settlement.

Science: We will be digging into our mixtures unit with an investigation where the kids will observe 3 different materials that are mixed together and learn how to separate them out!

Speeches - I am so proud of the speeches my kiddos wrote! They were fantastic! Many of them also tried out to represent Union Hill at the Nevada County Speech Contest. Way to go kiddos!

Hot cocoa celebration - Thank you to those who donated to help make our hot cocoa celebration possible! The kids enjoyed it. Our next iready celebration will be popcorn!

Volunteers: I am looking for someone or a couple someones to come in and read with kids on Mondays and Fridays. I could have one person on Monday and a different person on Friday. Probably 45-60 min, and the time can be flexible. Let me know if you are interested or if you would like more information.

Behavior - We are still working on our noise level in class and the appropriate times to talk. Please continue to have those conversations with your child!

I appreciate all of your support! Thanks for sending me amazing kiddos to work with everyday!

And thank you for all the flowers yesterday and the snacks today! You all rock!

Melanie

August 18, 2023

The first weekThe first week of school has been absolutely amazing with your kiddos. I am loving getting to know each of them even more. (I had a few when I taught 2nd grade.)

This week weThis week we focused on establishing our routines and procedures. We also have done some team building activities. Be sure to ask your kiddo which one was their favorite - the puzzle, the cup challenge, or maybe it's the random seats!

Our lunch isOur lunch is a bit later this year (12:13-12:48), which means the students have been pretty hungry. Please be sure to send them with a substantial snack while they get used to the later time.

Special Schedule:Special Schedule:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday - PEMonday/Wednesday/Friday - PE with Mr. Dudek

Tuesday - Library with Mrs. Lloyd

Tuesday/Thursday - Technology with Mrs. Riley

Tuesday - Music with Mr. Lynn

Next week we will be starting to tip our toe into the 5th grade curriculum while continuing to reinforce/reteach expectations when needed while still working on building our classroom community.

iReady:

We have transitionedWe have transitioned as a school site to a program called iReady. Early in the week we will be doing the diagnostic testing for it. Students will then have an individualized learning plan that they will work on during class in addition to our normal curriculum. iReady takes the place of Lexia.

Math:

This next weekThis next week in math we will continue to review addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as we practice our routines for math instruction.

Reading:

On Wednesday, we will crack open our journeys books for our very first story of the year called A Package for Ms. Jewls. While reading this story we will be focusing on story elements (setting, characters, main events, problem and solution). We will also be learning the vocabulary for the story.

Greek/Latin:

This next week we will be setting up our interactive word study notebooks for Greek and Latin. Throughout the year students will be learning about suffixes, prefixes and root words.

Thank you again for sending me such amazing kiddos to work and learn with each and every day. This will probably be my last paper newsletter, as we will be transitioning to an electronic one next week. I just need to get my email list ready to go.

***Be sure to SAVE THE DATE!! Back to School Night for Grads 1-8 is Tuesday, August 29th. Please plan on attending. You will have the opportunity to meet our new principal as well as learn more about what to expect in 5th grade.

Have a wonderful weekend. Be sure to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. If you haven’t gotten your kiddos school supplies (binder and 8 packet tab dividers) please do so this weekend.

Melanie Gray

August 23, 2023

This week the students created their class creed. So proud of the work that they put into this!

August 14, 2023

Greetings! I hope you all had a wonderful summer! I can't believe the first day of school is here! My youngest will be in Tk and my oldest in 5th grade. Somehow time seems to go faster the older they get! I am so looking forward to meeting you and your children. This year is going to be amazing!

See you soon!

Mrs. Gray