Dear Parents,
A Note From the Art Teacher:
I am working on the idea for the end of year gift. I have a fabulous idea and need to get some stuff lined up. I am ordering supplies now! This year, the students are creating four beautiful pieces of art for the teachers' lounge. I will also have the lounge painted in some cafe style colors that will make it a nicer place...warm and inviting. I need parent volunteers to help paint the lounge. I am thinking I will need about 8-10 volunteers. If two parents took a wall I think it could be done in one morning/afternoon. I am hoping to start the painting in mid-April. Please let me know if you are able to help.
Thanks so much for you support!
Sharon
We are having a poster contest to promote energy awareness in our school, home, and community. There will be one winner from each grade level. The winning posters will be placed on the Watt Watchers wall for the remainder of the school year.
Directions: Entries must be on paper 8 ½" X 11". All posters must be 2-dimensional. Be creative!! Have fun!! Be sure to put your name and your teacher’s name on the back of the poster. Deadline: Turn posters in to the front office by Friday, November 30.
ROBOLAB VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!
Our class will be working with the robo lab materials and facilitators, Lavonna
Gonzalez & Del Sukarto during the week of November 30-December 4 from 1:25-2:25. We are in need of volunteers for each day. The optimum would be two volunteers per day. Please let me know if you are available to assist in this wonderful opportunity! No experience required!
The Math Envision website is now available for you and your child to access from home. This website will be especially helpful for students who forget their textbook or homework sheets.
To login:
Have you ever been to a 5th grade Awards Ceremony? They are absolutely wonderful. It is an event which takes a great deal of planning and many helping hands. Even though the date is way off on May 27th, the planning must start soon. Volunteers are asked to share their talents in the areas of the awards ceremony itself (decorations, DVD, invitations, programs, teacher and student gifts), the after school off site event and the picnic in the park. I promise there will be very few meetings to attend. If you are interested in volunteering to put on this very memorable event, please contact Monica von Waaden at Monica@vonwaaden.net or 257-0644.
SPELLING: Spelling pre-tests are given each Monday. Students are to create their spelling lists from words that they missed on their pretest and words of their own choosing, which may be chosen from math, science, and social studies textbooks. List is to be reviewed and Super Speller sheet is to be signed by parents each Monday night. This ensures that their words are spelled correctly and that you feel their individualized lists are challenging. Students may choose spelling jobs from the list below, which are due each Friday before the spelling test.
Spelling List for week of November 30 - December 4:
1. carving
2. monument
3. memorial
4. displays
5. process
6. gallery
7. portrait
8. impression
9. style
10. decoration
11. quality
12. technique
13. original
14. fabric
15. medium
16. texture
17. jewelry
18. charcoal
19. glaze
20. creative
BONUS WORDS:
1. awesome
2. dedicate
3. explosives
4. nostril
5. sculpture
Spelling Jobs:
Choose a combination of jobs that total 20 points:
1. Alphabetize the words. (5 pts.)
2. Write the dictionary respelling of each word. (5 pts.)
3. Divide each word into syllables. (5 pts.)
4. Write the words and circle all the vowels. (5 pts.)
5. Write the words and circle all the consonants. (5 pts.)
6. Write the words and cross out the silent letters. (5 pts.)
7. Write the words neatly in pen 3 times each. (5 pts.)
8. Make a set of flash cards for studying your words. (5 pts.)
9. Write your spelling words and next to them write a rhyming word.
Example: men-pen Underline the spelling word (5 pts.)
10. Write each word using Rainbow spelling. (5 pts.)
11. Write the definition for each word. (10 pts.)
12. Write sentences using each word. (10 pts.)
13. Write a synonym for each word. (10 pts.)
14. Write an antonym for each word. (10 pts.)
15. Add prefixes and/or suffixes to each word. (10 pts.)
16. Write newspaper headlines using your words. (10 pts.)
17. Classify the words according to parts of speech. (10 pts.)
18. Cut letters out of magazines to spell your words, glue on paper. (15 pts.)
19. Use the words in similes (20 pts.)
20. Write an alliteration using the words. (20 pts.)
21. Write a story using the words (20 pts.)
22. Write couplets using the words (20 pts.): He was fast; In the past
*Please refer to the bottom of the page for information regarding Super-Spellers.
LANGUAGE ARTS: Our next unit of study centers around the historical fiction novel, The Sign of the Beaver, written by Elizabeth George Speare. The plot is about a young boy who is left alone for the summer in the Maine wilderness during the late 1700's and is befriended by some Native American Indians. The story is an introduction to life among pioneers and Native Americans in the eighteenth-century American colonies and ties in with our Social Studies unit.
BOOK BINGO: Graphic Organizers and Outlines are due Friday, December 4, and the Book Bingo itself will be due Monday, December 14. Please remember to help your child follow instructions and pay attention to the notes I've written on the graded Book Bingos for help on the next one. Book Bingos should be typed in black ink, 14 size font, Times New Roman style, and double-spaced. Each student has a Book Bingo folder with SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS for successfully completing this project.
MATH: Our next unit of study is: 7.1 Meanings of Fractions, 7.3 Mixed Numbers and Improper Fractions, 7.4 Tenths and Hundredths, 7.5 Thousandths, and 7.6 Fractions and Decimals on the Number Line. We will have a REVIEW on Tuesday, December 1 and a TEST on Wednesday, December 2.
SCIENCE: Please visit Mrs. Chrane's teacher webpage by going to the 5th grade page on the Canyon Creek website and clicking on her name. You can add your email address to her list from her teacher webpage.
SOCIAL STUDIES: We are now studying Chapter 13 "The Revolutionary War." Students learn how the American colonies defeated Britain in the Revolutionary War and compare the events of a class tug-of-war between two unequal opponents. The test will be Monday, November 23.
Daily Geographies are handed out on Mondays and due on Fridays. Students do one Daily Geography sheet per week. On Fridays, we correct them as a class, but they are not graded. Students then put the sheets in their binders to use for reference on the test we will take once a month; therefore, if they do the work and correct their mistakes, they will have the answers for their test! Our next quiz will be Friday, November 20.
DAILY READING: Students are expected to read 15-20 minutes each night and complete their reading log. Reading logs should be brought home each night in their binders. Their reading logs not only improve comprehension skills, but also show which books they are currently reading for their Book Bingo!
PLANNERS: The students each have a planner in their binder and they are to fill out their homework during the day. Homework is posted in the classroom and available for the student to copy daily. Always check your child's planner for testing dates. Students will know at least five days prior to testing.
TREASURE CHEST: Please help fill our treasure chest with "anything" you think the kids would like for our class auction. Students earn Comet Cash for good work and behavior. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated. (Dollar store trinkets are the best.) "One man's trash is another man's treasure!"
SUPER SPELLERS:
We welcome your child to participate in MATH SUPERSTARS, a voluntary program designed to enhance your child’s journey through mathematics outside of the classroom. By expressing an interest in more challenging problem solving, your child will take the first steps toward becoming an independent learner who is able to address many types of problems.
Your child is expected to complete one worksheet each week. Each problem is ranked according to it s level of difficulty. The more stars you see beside a problem, the higher the level of difficulty, and the more stars your child can earn for solving it.
Your role in MATH SUPERSTARS is to encourage and facilitate problem solving. During the week, allow time for your child to think about each problem. You may need to read the problem to your child, explaining any new words encountered. Feel free to offer guidance toward certain strategies, but please DO NO GIVE THE ANSWERS. In order for this program to be effective, the thinking must be done by the students.
It is normal for a child NOT to be able to complete every problem on a worksheet. The process of reading, understanding and approaching the problems is a valuable step in solving many types of problems. Remind your child that she or he is not expected to know the answers to every problem.
Your child will turn in ONE worksheet on most TUESDAYS. All the MATH SUPERSTAR sheets are online at www.canyoncreekpta.com under the enrichment tab. The worksheets for each grade are all listed according to the due dates. Please ONLY download and print out the worksheet that is due the following Tuesday. The due dates are printed on the backside of this letter. The graded worksheets will be returned in the following week’s Tuesday folder. The first worksheet is due on Tuesday, September 29th 2009.
Please make sure your child does NOT turn in worksheets ahead of the due dates. Graders are parent volunteers and it is not easy to grade around 100 worksheets every week (with some being different). Please appreciate the time and effort spent by the graders and do your best to make the job easy for them. Worksheets turned in ahead of time will NOT be graded and will be returned back to your child to be turned in at the correct time. The goal is not to complete all/many worksheets in one sitting, but rather develop a discipline to do one worksheet a week. If your child is absent from school on a Tuesday, just make a note on the worksheet.
The top ten students in each grade will receive a special award at the end of the year. Students who reach 100, 200, 300 and 400 points can write their own names on a star that will posted on the MATH SUPERSTAR wall in the school (wall beneath the stairs in the main hallway). Worksheets that are turned in late (not due to absence) will be graded, but will not count towards the final score for the top ten students.
Thank you for allowing your child the chance to embark on this mathematical adventure. We hope that the rewards will last a lifetime. If you have any questions about this program, please feel free to email me at mathsuperstars@canyoncreekpta.com.
Due Dates:
|
Worksheet
|
Due
|
|
|
|
|
#1
|
Tuesday 09/29/2009
|
|
#2
|
Tuesday 10/06/2009
|
|
#3
|
Tuesday 10/13/2009
|
|
#4
|
Tuesday 10/20/2009
|
|
#5
|
Tuesday 10/27/2009
|
|
#6
|
Tuesday 11/3/2009
|
|
#7
|
Tuesday 11/10/2009
|
|
#8
|
Tuesday 11/17/2009
|
|
#9
|
Tuesday 12/1/2009
|
|
#10
|
Tuesday 12/8/2009
|
|
#11
|
Tuesday 12/15/2009
|
|
#12
|
Tuesday 01/12/2010
|
|
#13
|
Tuesday 01/19/2010
|
|
#14
|
Tuesday 01/26/2010
|
|
#15
|
Tuesday 02/02/2010
|
|
#16
|
Tuesday 02/09/2010
|
|
#17
|
Tuesday 02/16/2010
|
|
#18
|
Tuesday 02/23/2010
|
|
#19
|
Tuesday 03/02/2010
|
|
#20
|
Tuesday 03/09/2010
|
|
#21
|
Tuesday 03/30/2010
|
|
#22
|
Tuesday 04/06/2010
|
|
#23
|
Tuesday 04/13/2010
|
|
#24
|
Tuesday 04/20/2010
|
|
#25
|
Tuesday 04/27/2010
|