Friday, January 31, 2020

5-2 Updates ~ 01/31/20

Hello 5-2 Parents ~

I hope you're managing to stay cheerful despite our seeming record run of cloudy days! At least we have the Superbowl to look forward to this weekend - that should bring some cheer into our homes :)

5 Essentials Survey
The 5Essentials Survey gives students, teachers, and parents the opportunity to provide input about the school environment. This data forms the basis for reliably predicting student outcomes and school improvement. Your feedback and input provide valuable information to the district and our schools. Please take a moment to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in this survey
https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/



Important Dates

Global School Play Day ~ Wednesday, February 5th ~ Please send in games, toys, crafts, or dress-up activities with your child for a day of unstructured play!  NO ELECTRONICS, PLEASE!  We are specifically looking for math games during our math block, but the rest of the day is an unstructured day of play. For more information on this national movement, please click on this link: https://www.globalschoolplayday.com/

Valentine's Day Party ~ Wednesday, 02/12, 2:15-3:15pm ~ A great big THANK YOU to our wonderful room moms for planning our LAST classroom party! Consistent with our district allergy policy, we are asking that you DO NOT INCLUDE ANY FOOD OR CANDY ITEMS with your child's individual Valentines. There are many clever and creative alternatives to food items, including pencils, tattoos, stickers, & bubbles... but the nicest way to say "Happy Valentine's Day" is to write a nice note! We are also asking students to bring in something to collect their valentines. A simple box or bag is all that they will need.

Parent-Teacher Conferences ~ Thursday, 02/13 & Friday, 02/14 - watch for the Signup Genius link to be emailed on Monday. If you do not receive the link, or you have trouble signing up, please let me know. I look forward to meeting with all of you to discuss your child's progress!


Erin's Law ~ Wednesday, February 20th ~ A presentation about personal body safety is scheduled from 2:00-3:00pm, and will be made by our Social Worker, Mrs. Cheree Heardt. 



Math
Our math class just began Unit 9 Multiplying and Dividing Decimals this week. This unit is longer than the last several units, so we won't be testing until the last week of February. Please encourage your children to practice these skills on Khan Academy throughout this unit.

Science
Your child may have shared with you we began our investigation into Matter last week. They've been exploring the properties of the three states of matter through several experiments, and they even built a model that proves air has weight! Ask your child to describe their model, or have them show you the video they posted in our Google Classroom.

In this unit, students will:
~ Define matter and identify many of its common properties.
~ Become familiar with the common states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
~ Plan and conduct an investigation to prove that air has weight.
~ Conduct investigations on the physical properties of matter.
~ Show that the weight of matter doesn't change when heated or cooled.
~ Discover the differences between physical and chemical changes
~ Plan and conduct experiments to show weight of matter stays the same when changed.
~ Discover how unusual mixtures have properties unlike other materials.

Reading
We continue to explore the elements of nonfiction in our reading unit. In addition to their book club novel, your children should be reading nonfiction texts regularly to increase comprehension.

BioBottle projects and speeches are due on 02/11. Your child should have shared they will need a 2-liter bottle and a styrofoam ball to complete this project. They should be done with the organizer and summary by this point and begun work on the project itself. Ask your child to show you their progress on the project on Google Classroom.

Writing
Your children were excited to begin the publication process in our Fiction Unit this week. We will spend the next two weeks revising and editing our stories, then publishing after conferences. Your children are quite talented writers - I can't wait for you to read their published stories! 


As always ~ should you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me!



"You will never have this day with your children again.  Tomorrow they will be a little bigger than they are today.  This day is a gift.  Breathe and notice.  Smell and touch them; study their faces and pay attention.  Relish the charms of the present.  
Enjoy today.  It will be gone before you know it."
― Jen Hatmaker

Cheers ~
Theresa Fowler




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5-2 Updates ~ 01/31/20

Hello 5-2 Parents ~ I hope you're managing to stay cheerful despite our seeming record run of cloudy days! At least we have the ...