As we prepare for our final week of April and beginning of May there are just a few reminders we want to share.
We sent home our Family Life letter for you to read. Family Life will be our focus in religion for the fourth quarter. This program focuses on family relationships with God. On Wednesday, May 2, Healthworld Outreach in Barrington will come to St. Cletus and present their Boy/Girl talk that follows our Family Life Curriculum. There were permission slips sent home for participation in this activity. The forms need to be returned with the money ASAP. As a follow-up to their presentation the students will be separated into boy and girl groups to discuss any questions or concerns. These groups will discuss developmental changes that are a part of puberty.
Nicor will be coming to give a short presentation and to award Wren Decker and Anthony Orloff for their winning poster entries on Monday, April 30, at 1:00 PM.
In social studies, we are studying Colonial America. Both classes are beginning Chapter 6 and will be doing diverse activities in completing this chapter. ( For example, room 116 students are creating notes for the chapter on the smartboard and will present to the class. Room 117 students are working on projects.) The students are connecting their social studies to the novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond in reading. It is a great experience to connect their literature experience to social studies.
In reading, we are completing the novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond. The students have been working on their final assessment for the novel in school. Their final project is an ABC book describing and illustrating main ideas, characters, and the setting of the novel. In language arts, we are writing our first drafts of our Black History Reports and are anxious to publish the reports. Our April/May poems our first attempt at poetry using two different voices. The students will write on a passionate subject, and create a venn diagram, showing two different sides to a topic, or two voices. In spelling, we continue to work with contractions.
Have you been seeing science experiments coming home? Your child is required to complete four at home experiments this quarter. The due date is May 21. Our science classroom is bursting with activities. We continue to monitor our habitats, observing and taking notes on the changes within the habitat. We are not only learning scientific principles, but learning how to work within a group. We will be working on cells again. Our focus will be on mitosis, cell division. We will also be involved in studying and comparing moths and butterflies. We are waiting for our caterpillars and our Luna moth cocoon to arrive. We will research and present a report about one butterfly and one moth. Information will follow this week. It will be due May 19. After that we will conclude the year be studying matter.
We are continuing our decimal work in math by learning how to multiply decimals. Right now we are learning how to change fractions into decimals and percents. After completing our decimal work we will focus on fractions. We continue to review using our starters, stumpers and independent task cards.
Last but not least, please remember the 5th grade service project is collecting cans and donating the proceeds to our St. Vincent de Paul Society. We have been collecting cans throughout the school; however, we can also use cans the students bring from home. Next time you go to put them in YOUR recycling bin, stop, and put them in a bag for your child to bring to school.
Thank you for your continued support and cooperation, Mrs. Clancy and Mrs. Kensek
5th Grade News, May 11, 2012
Wow! It’s May. How did that sneak up on us? Healthworld presented their Boy and Girl Talk to the 5th grade this week. They presented to the boys and girls separately, and we conducted a follow-up in our classrooms; Mrs. Kensek with the girls, and Mr. Taylor with the boys.
May 10, the students of Room 116 competed against the 5th graders at St. Francis in the Battle of the Books! It was a great battle and we received 2nd place. Congratulations Jessica, Emily Rausch, Enrique, and John Kane!
On Monday, May 15, the 5th graders will be leading the School Mass. It will also be the installation of the Student Council for the 2012-2013 school year.
In social studies, we are studying Colonial America. Room 116 students created notes for the chapter on the smartboard and presented to the class. Room 117 students created colonial projects. We will be working on the causes leading to the Revolutionary War and then end the year studying the war itself. Students will be working on activities and projects focusing on these themes.
In reading, we are completing different novels of choice. They are completing an independent study of the novel and have to plan their time accordingly to finish on the due date. All written work and projects are to be completed in class, but they should be reading every evening for 20 minutes. They still have a Write Night every Thursday; however, they are now completing different assignments. Our April/May poems are our first attempts at poetry using two different voices. The students will write from their heart on a passionate subject, and create a venn diagram, showing two different sides to a topic, or two voices.
Have you been seeing science experiments coming home? Your child is required to complete four at home experiments this quarter. The due date is May 24. We are also involved in studying and comparing moths and butterflies. We are watching and waiting for our caterpillars to become butterflies. Our beautiful Luna moth to appeared from its cocoon May 4th and was set free. We are researching and writing a report about one butterfly and one moth. I t is due May 17. Guidelines are on the front of our butterfly packet. After that we will be studying matter.
We are working on decimals in math, learning how to multiply and divide them. Next, we will be working with fractions. Listen for your child talking about LCM’s, GCF’s, “shmooves” and T charts. We continue to review using our starters, stumpers and independent task cards.