Class Update 4/18/17

Important Updates:

Parent volunteers are needed for Long's annual field day, which is scheduled for Friday, May 19th. Please use the this link to sign up if you are interested. Volunteers will be leading our class around from station to station. Thank you for volunteering!

Permission slips have been sent home for our upcoming Science Center Field Trip. Please sign and return the form with the fee, and send it back with your child. Please take note there is a place on the bottom of the permission slip to check that your child will either need to pack a lunch that day or order a sack lunch from the cafeteria. (LEAP students will be enjoying Space Camp that week, so they will not need to worry about the field trip slip.)

Save the Date! DARE Graduation will be May 18th at 1:30.

Class Updates:

Thanks to LPTO for funding some new seating options for the students, as well as laptop and standing desks. The children love them! Our classroom setup has also changed to be wired and ready for MAP Testing. The students did a fantastic job with their first day, and I am proud of their effort!

We are taking advantage of having all of these laptops by trying out the Prodigy website to practice our math skills. Students can play Prodigy at home as well to review what we have learned throughout year. Check it out!
                                                  

Students are participating in MAP Testing beginning this week and lasting through the first week in May. It is important that students are getting a full night's sleep and eating a healthy breakfast each day. Students will not have homework other than to complete their reading log minutes on evenings before testing.

In math, we are learning about measurement. Students are learning how to convert between units of measurement in both the customary and metric systems of measurement. The children should be studying their "benchmark" measurements on the yellow study guide in their folders. We have also been reviewing all skills learned from this year. A measurement quiz will not be given until after MAP testing is over. Take a look at some of the "Geome-tree Posters" students designed to help them learn how to classify quadrilaterals.

As we finish state testing, we will start up some new projects and units. In writing, students will be composing a DARE essay as the final step to graduate from the DARE Program. The DARE essay focuses on using the DARE Decision Making Model, which is a large focus of the program. More details to come on this assignment once testing is over in English Language Arts. We will continue to work on reading and analyzing poetry. In addition, students will have a social studies project about the colonists.

Important Upcoming Dates

Please make note of the following upcoming due dates and events:

5th Grade Party Forms and Fees are due Thursday, April 13th. These yellow forms came home with students in their Flyer Folders last Thursday. Please send the completed form and the $20 fee back to school with your child.

There is no school on Friday, April 14th.

Spring Picture Order Forms are due by Monday, April 17th if you would like to order spring pictures. *This is a deadline extension from the original due date on the order form.

5th Grade MAP Testing will take place over a three week period. The dates students will be testing are April 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 and May 2, 3, and 4.

Class Update 4/3/17

Important Reminders:

This Wednesday, the 5th, is an early release day with a 1:40 dismissal time. Please make sure your child knows how they are getting home that day in case it is different from the normal routine.

Soon students will be participating in MAP Testing in English Language Arts, Math, and Science. The dates for fifth grade testing are as follows:

• April 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28 and May 3, 4, and 5

It is very important that students are in school daily as we prepare for these tests. Attendance on testing days is also critical to student success. Children will benefit from getting a good night's sleep and eating a healthy breakfast throughout the testing window.

Long School Night at Grant's Farm is on April 21st and Long Elementary Cardinals Game Cardinals Flyer (3).pdf is on May 31st.

Class Updates:

In math, we are finishing up the last of our chapters on fractions. Students have a Chapter 10 Quiz tomorrow on multiplying and dividing fractions. The children have a study guide and were given extra practice problems. If they complete at least half of the extra problems they can earn extra credit. We have also started to learn about geometry. Concepts will include classifying polygons and 3-D shapes.

In reading, the students are learning how to do a "close reading" of a poem. We are looking at how an author uses a variety of figurative language and imagery to make a poem descriptive and add to its meaning. For writing, we are reviewing the three main genres of writing we covered this year, which are narrative, informational, and argumentative.

Our last STEM project was to design a rubber band powered "moon rover" out of items like cardboard, straws, pencils, and candy. The students found it to be a challenge to figure out how to use the rubber bands to make the wheels turn, but were very creative with their solutions!