Tuesday, April 12, 2011

CLASSROOM UPDATE APRIL 15, 2011
Well AIMS week is officially over. I am very proud of the class for taking the test seriously and putting forth their best effort. Thank you for getting your child school on time each day!

Next week we will get back to our normal academic schedule. We will resume math lessons, independent reading and filling out reading logs each evening. Spelling and vocabulary words will continue after Spring Break. Our big focus will be on social studies and science these last 5 1/2 weeks of school.

Progress Reports will be coming home next Wednesday...please remind your child to stay "on the ball" for the remaining weeks of school. We will be very busy!
Please also remind your child to dress according to the LPA dress code policy each day. Many students are coming to school without a belt, shorts that are too short, and shirts that do not fit properly. If you have questions regarding the dress code, please consult your handbook.

In Science this week, students learned about Tsunamis, the solar system and what an owl eats. Ask your child about dissecting owl pellets...it's fascinating!
We will continue learning about the solar system through the end of the year. Students will complete a final power point presentation on an assigned planet to share with the class.

Don’t forget…Spring Break is April 21-25. I wish you all a very relaxing break and look forward to getting back to 5th grade learning on Tuesday, April 26th.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Classroom News: April 8, 2011 AIMS TESTING NEXT WEEK

Academics
Reading/Writing: We continue to read short stories. Our goal this week was to “read between the lines” and make inferences.

This week in writing, students were instructed in how to improve their rough drafts. Students wrote a narrative and then applied revising and editing techniques to make their writing clear and interesting.

Next week students will begin brainstorming their own creative mixed-up animal stories.

Spelling: The spelling goal this week was to identify spelling errors. Students were tested on commonly misspelled words.
Vocabulary: Students took their vocabulary quiz last week, so new words will not be introduced until after the AIMS test.

Math:
Saxon Math concepts this week: Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions, converting fractions, decimals and percents, and area and perimeter. Students also continued to learn about Euler graphs.

AIMS Prep: We have been reviewing concepts each day in preparation for the AIMS test next week.

S.S./Counseling: Mrs. Russell taught students some relaxation techniques to think about before testing next week. She then played a game with students to practice testing strategies.

Science: Next week we will begin our unit on the solar system.

PARENT NOTES

AIMS Testing: Students will take the AIMS test next week. Please make sure your child is at school every day and on time. We will begin testing first thing in the morning. In order to be successful, students need to get enough sleep during testing week, and they should eat healthy food to keep their brains fueled.
There will be no homework during testing week except for missing, late or absent make-up work.

Reminder: Students with late work must attend detention. I remind them weekly that late and missing work negatively impacts their overall grade. We should all strive to be the best we can be! Homework is due the day after it is assigned unless it is a weekly assignment or a long-term assignment. Students are still required to read each evening and fill in their reading log.

Dress Code: Students need to come to school each day in the proper attire. Some students are wearing alternative colors under their red, white or blue shirt. Only the aforementioned colors are allowed. As the year has progressed, many students have grown and hence, outgrown their uniform clothes. Please make sure your child’s shirts and shorts/pants still fit. Girls’ shirts must be long enough to be tucked in and shorts and pants need to be loose enough for the shirts to be tucked in. Boy’ shirts should not be so long that it is difficult to tuck them in.

IMPORTANT DATES:
April:
8- Character Lunch
8- Spin Meeting/Bingo Night
11-15- Aims Testing
15- Glow Ball Event
16- Annual Golf Tournament
18-22- Penny War Week
20- Jump Rope for Heart
20- End of Coupon Book Sales
20- Spirit Week Begins
21-25- Easter Break
29- Last Student Council Dance

May:
3-7 Teacher Appreciation
12 Field Day
10-14 Book Fair
14 Breakfast with principal
26 Yearbook Signing
28 Last Day of School

Monday, April 4, 2011

CLASSROOM NEWS FROM MRS. DENNY'S 5TH GRADE

CURRICULUM:
Reading/Writing: We are reading short stories and determining the author’s purpose: to inform, to entertain, to persuade, etc.

Students have been sharing their train stories with the class, and next week they will give their oral book report to the class. Your child has been assigned a specific date to deliver his/her oral report next week.

A concept introduced in writing this week was persuasion. Some persuasive techniques discussed included peer pressure, loaded words, repetition, and band wagon.
Students will be using those techniques in their own writing.

Spelling: Our unit this week focused on words with Greek and Latin roots.

Math:
Saxon Math concepts this week: Finding the greatest common factor in order to reduce fractions, finding the least common multiple in order to add and subtract fractions, multiplying and dividing fractions, converting fractions, decimals and percents, and area and perimeter.

AIMS Prep: We have been reviewing concepts each day in preparation for the AIMS test.

S.S./Counseling: Mrs. Russell was absent this week. Next week she will work with students on testing strategies.

Science: Our upcoming unit will be “out of this world.” We will begin exploring the solar system.

AIMS Testing: Students will take the AIMS test the week of April 11th. Please make sure your child is at school every day and on time. We will begin testing first thing in the morning. In order to be successful, students need to get enough sleep during testing week, and they should eat healthy food to keep their brains fueled.
There will be no homework during testing week except for missing, late or absent make-up work.

Missing Book:
One of the public library books on poetry is missing. We will have to pay for it with our classroom funds 
Could you please check your child’s room to see if the book The Wishing Bone by Stephen Mitchell is possibly there? I really do not want to spend our classroom money on a lost book. Thank you!

NOTES FOR PARENTS:
Can You Help?
We are still in desperate need of more kleenex, markers and colored pencils.

Dress Code: Students need to come to school each day in the proper attire. Thank you for encouraging your child to wear a belt each day…that always seems to be a battle.
As the year has progressed, many students have grown and hence, outgrown their uniform clothes. Please make sure your child’s shirts and shorts/pants still fit. Girls’ shirts must be long enough to be tucked in and shorts and pants need to be loose enough for the shirts to be tucked in. Boy’ shirts should not be so long that it is difficult to tuck them in.

IMPORTANT DATES:
April:
1-Talent Show winners perform
6-Duds for dollars: $1.00 dress down day
8- SPIN Night/Bingo 5:30-6:30
11-15- Aims Testing
15- Glow Ball
16- Golf Tournament
18- Penny War Week Begins
20- Jump Rope for Heart
21, 22, 25-Easter Break
26- Student Council Dance

May:
2-6 Teacher Appreciation Week
and Book Fair

6- Mother/Daughter Event
13-Character Winner Movie
25- Last Day of School

Monday, March 28, 2011

HAPPY SPRING!!!!

ACADEMICS:
Reading/Writing: Students have been reading short stories to learn how to infer, draw conclusions and determine an author’s purpose.

Students should have finished up a fictional train trip story. Students were instructed on writing stories with clear ideas, rich
language and very few errors. These were due on Friday. Aout 10 students still need to turn in their story.

Spelling: Our focus this week was contractions. Please remind students to practice their words using spellingcity.com.

Vocabulary: Students have written the definitions for these math terms: mean, mode, median, range, equilateral triangle, isosceles triangle and scalene triangle. The vocabulary test will be on Thursday, March 31st.

Math:
Saxon Math concepts this week:
equivalent fractions, finding the greatest common factor, reducing fractions, multiplying and dividing fractions, converting fractions, 2 and 3 digit division review, and probability,

AIMS Prep: We have been reviewing concepts each day in preparation for the Aims test in April.

S.S.: Mrs. Russell has been working with the students on understanding their own personality traits.

Students wrote new behavior and academic goals for the 4th quarter. I am hoping they will achieve their goals. Please discuss your child’s new goals, sign the form and return it to school. Thank you!

NOTES TO PARENTS:

Poetry Books: The poetry books have arrived. The students are very excited about being published authors! Ask your child to read their published work.

Spring Pictures: Next Tuesday (3/29) students are allowed to dress up for spring pictures. Every student will have his/her picture taken. Once the pictures are processed, they will be sent home for your preview.

Career Day: Be on the look out for a special informational career day on May 13th. If you have a career you’d like to come and share with the students, please fill out the form that went home with your child on Thursday.

4th Quarter: We are in the home stretch of the school year. I would encourage you to remind your child to put forth his/her best effort this quarter and finish the year strong.

Detention: Congratulate your child if they have not gone to detention this year! Some reasons your child might be required to serve detention are:

-Late or missing work
-Not wearing a belt to school on any given day (new this quarter).
-Not returning a signed Think-Time plan
-Fighting
-Defiance and/or disrespect

IMPORTANT DATES:
March:
25- Mother/Son Dinner Dance
28 – Talent Show
29- Spring Pictures
April:
1-Night Time Talent Show for winners
4- Booklet Fundraiser
6- $1.00 Dress Down Day
8- SPIN meeting/Bingo Night
9- Character Lunch
9- Bingo Night
11-15- Aims Testing
15- Glow Ball
16- Golf Tournament
18- Penny War Week Begins
20- Jump for Heart
21-25- Easter Break

Thursday, March 10, 2011

HELLO FROM 5TH GRADE

Academics:
Reading/Writing:
Students were assessed in reading and writing this week. Their writing assessment this week was to write a persuasive letter to the principal in favor of a longer lunch break.
Students did some AIMs practice reading as well.

In grammar, students are learning about prepositions and prepositional phrases, conjunctions, possessive nouns and good word choice.

Spelling: This week’s words focused on onomatopoeia... words that imitate sounds.

Vocabulary: Math terminology was the focus this week. The test will be next Tuesday, March 15. The words are geometric solid, vertex, edge, face, net, sphere, cylinder, rectangular prism, cube, triangular pyramid and rectangular pyramid

Math:
Saxon Math concepts this week: Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions, and probability.
We continue to review prime numbers, graphing, fractions and percents. We are still reviewing math concepts in preparation for the AIMS test in April.

S.S.- Students worked on identifying information from an informational article.
With so much time devoted to science fair projects last quarter and AIMS testing preparation, we will be focusing much more on social studies in the 4th quarter. We will be studying American History beginning with exploration and colonization.

Counseling: Mrs. Russell worked with the students on their personality traits.

Notes to Parents:
Report Cards:
Report cards will come home on Wednesday. Please praise your child for a job well done in his/her areas of strength, and then ask your child what he/she could do to improve deficient subject areas.

Attendance: Please remember that class time is a valuable time for all students. You never know what a discussion might hold or what questions a fellow classmate might ask to make a lesson clearer. By missing part of a day, or a whole day, students miss valuable lesson concepts which they may need for a follow-up lesson or for a testing situation. Missing class time often makes the student feel lost and disorganized as it creates gaps in their learning. While I understand there are often extenuating circumstances, I am hoping students are on time and in their seats the entire day 

Reminder: Grade books closed on Friday in order to prepare grades for the 3rd quarter report cards. If your child has late work, those assignments must still be completed, and the missing assignment will be reflected in the 3rd quarter grades.

Can you help? We are still in desperate need of Kleenex, markers and colored pencils.

Important Dates:
March:
11-End of 3rd Quarter. All work must be in.

14- Dentist

16- Report Card Day. ½ day with no lunch or after school

17-20- Spring Break

22- Cookie Dough Delivered

22- Skate Night

25- Mother/Son Dance

29- Spring pictures. These will only be taken for those who want to order pictures.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

March 4th Class Newsletter

Academics:
Reading/Writing: We have finished our poetry unit. Students had fun reading and writing a variety of poetry. They wrote poems using similies and metaphors. They also wrote couplets, triplets, Cinquains, Haikus, Limericks and Free Verse poems.

Students are also being tested in reading this week and will complete a writing assessment next week.

Spelling: This week’s words focused on words with dipthongs and digraphs.

Vocabulary: Students took a vocabulary test on Friday.

Math:
Saxon Math concepts this week: prime numbers, improper fractions, reducing fractions, greatest common factors, and geometrical shapes. We continue to review decimals, graphing, fractions and percents. We are also beginning to review math concepts in preparation for the AIMS test in April.

Science Fair: We have finished sharing the science fair display boards. They were all excellent! Thank you, parents, for the time and effort you put in to help your child complete his/her project.

Students received 3 separate grades for this long term project:
-They received points for meeting their deadlines along the way.
-They received points for a completed science notebook/
journal with all of their science experiment notes.
-They also received a grade for having all parts of the scientific method portrayed on their display board.

Congratulations to Ethan Altamirano for winning 1st place in our classroom.

S.S./Counseling: Mrs. Russell continues to work with the students on making good choices.

Notes to Parents:
Fieldtrip: Thank you to Mrs. Adduci, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Velarde and Mrs. Ortega for escorting students to the rodeo! We had a great time and learned what it means to “Cowboy Up!”

Poetry Books: All 5th grade poetry books have been sent to Student Treasures Publishing Co. Those students who finished their book and turned in a parent form will receive a free copy of their book sometime in May.

Reminder: Grade books will close next Friday, March 11th in order to prepare grades for the 3rd quarter report cards. If your child has late work, those assignments must still be completed, and the missing assignment will be reflected in the 3rd quarter grades.

Can you help? We are still in desperate need of Kleenex, markers and colored pencils.
Thank you to Alex Phillips and Timothy Pate for making a donation 

Important Dates
March:
4- Pancake Breakfast with
principal

11- Character Lunch & Movie

11- End of Quarter: All work must be in.

14- Dentist

16- Report Card Day: ½ Day with No lunch or after school

17-20- Spring Break

22- Cookie Dough Delivered

22- Skate Night 6-8 p.m.

25- Mother/Son Luau

29- Spring pictures. These will only be taken for those who want to order pictures.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

February 18-Classroom News

ACADEMICS:
Math-decimals,improper fractions, measurement (metric and customary)

Reading/Writing-Poetry has been the focus this week. Students are working hard to get all of their poetry written so they can create their poetry book that will get published.
Please return the poetry form indicating "yes" that you would like to purchase an additional poetry book of your child's poem OR "no" you will not purchase an additional book. We are unable to get the free books unless EVERYONE returns the form. Thank you for your help.

S.S.-Character counts lessons on the caring pillar. We have also been working on treating others with respect and talking to one another respectfully.
Students have been reading about Native American cultures.

Science-Wow! What fun to see how much learning occurred by going through the scientific method. Thank you parents for your role in helping your child succeed at this long term project! The science fair display boards look great!
Congratulations to the students who completed their science fair experiment and got everything turned in. The science fair project, journal and turn in date points will make up the 3rd trimester science grade.

Spelling- Words with silent letters and the schwa sound.

Vocabulary-Our new words are considerate, compassionate, metric system, customary system, insatiable, flashback, foreshadowing and chronological.

Notes for Parents:

Fieldtrip:Our fieldtrip to the rodeo is next Tuesday, Feb. 22. Please sign and return the permission slip by Monday. Students are allowed to wear jeans with a La Paloma shirt that day. Remember our rodeo break is Feb. 24-27th.

Counselor: Mrs. Russell began a career unit.

Important Dates:
February
22-Rodeo Fieldtrip
23-Grandparents Day k-3 All students may wear western attire.
24-27-Rodeo Break