Back to School Forms and Money - Thank you to everyone who has already turned in the beginning of the year forms (Health Form, Park/Handbook/PG Movie Form, and Early Release Day Form), $6.00 supply money, and $7.00 LPTO room party money. If you have not yet turned in those items, please send them in with your child this week. The office needs to make sure all information is updated for the year. If you need another copy of a form, please let me know. Thank you!
Class Dojo - If you have not already signed up for Class Dojo, please set up your free account. This is how I will be communicating to you about your child's homework and reading log responsibility. Email invitations were sent out last week to help you set up your account. Please let me know if you need any assistance.
Class Updates:
We have had a very busy first full week of school! Check out some of the Student Selfie Projects that were created as a way for the class to get to know each other:
We were able to finish our class mission statement and work on setting goals. Each child make a Fifth Grade Bucket List of 10 things they would like to experience or accomplish during their last year in elementary school. The lists will hang as reminders in our classroom all year. Then, students chose one goal from their list and generated steps they could follow to accomplish that goal. I am so proud of the great ideas and big dreams that the students want to work towards! We also learned about having a growth mindset this week. The children worked in groups to act our skits on how they could use a growth mindset, rather than a fixed mindset to help them work through challenging situations that could arise at school or home. Here is fun take on the difference between having a growth vs. a fixed mindset:
The students also participated in a whole class team building challenge with a Breakout Box. Student worked in small groups to solve a variety of puzzles from decoding to unscrambling hidden messages in order to unlock a series of locks. All groups needed to solve the puzzles to see what what inside. The children did a fantastic job of working cooperatively and thinking creatively to unlock the box! They earned free reading time in the Sundial Garden, which will take place this week.
In reading, the students have been doing a great job of building up their reading stamina during independent reading. We have reviewed how to choose "good fit" books and each child is tracking their reading progress each day.
Our first writing unit this year will be on personal narrative. Students have been working on brainstorming "seed story" ideas for possible narratives. Ask your child if they can remember the difference between a "watermelon" story and a "seed" story.
For social studies, we have started the year learning about geography. This year we will expand our study of geography from Missouri to the United States as a whole. The children loved visiting different landforms in our country via Google Earth. We were able to take an up close look at Niagara Falls, Bryce Canyon, and the Rocky Mountains! Students are also reviewing how to read maps and globes. There will be a quiz on the continents and oceans on Thursday, September 1. Students each received a study guide to help them practice. An online practice quiz is also available here.
