February and March Newsletter

Hello 2013.  The start of a new year is also the start of new units of study.  On top of that, we are filled to the brim with all sorts of projects, field trips and extra-curricular activities in the upcoming months.  Before you know it June will be here.

Speaking of, the end of May is the 5th grade field trip to Club Getaway.  We bring this up because there is much to do in the form of fund raising, getting chaperones for the trip, making sure all permission slips are returned, so on.  The parents in charge of Club Getaway will need to have everyone's deposit to them as soon as possible.  No child will be unable to go due to financial need, so give what you can for the trip.  However, the privilege to go to Club Getaway is earned by the student.  The fifth grade teachers are expecting exemplary behavior.

The Spring semester is a time for projects and field trips.  Please be sure to help your child along as they bring home materials for work they are doing for these assignments or projects.  Also, it is greatly helpful if parents and guardians can return permission slips as promptly as possible.

Here again, are our units of study:

Math: 

We have now finished addition/subtraction of large numbers along with number sense, multiplication and division, and 2-D geometrical shapes with perimeter, area and angle measures.  We are now moving into fractions, percent and decimals.  This is the groundwork for the challenging work ahead dealing with ratio, data and the use of graphs and graphing.  Test prep is just around the corner as well.  For test prep we will be reviewing concepts, as well as making sure to touch base with all Common Core math concepts that could, or will, be covered in the New York State Math Test.  

Reading:

We will be immersing students in nonfiction reading, exposing them to hybrid, expository and narrative texts.  We will be working on using text features and structures in order to locate information and synthesize this information across texts.  We will focus on finding the main idea and supporting details as we read.  After gathering information with a variety of graphic organizers, students will begin to grow ideas about their topics of study.

Students will be bringing nonfiction texts home to read alongside their independent reading books. We will be using their research to help them formulate a nonfiction book of their own.

Test prep has begun!  We will be preparing your child for the upcoming NYS ELA test that is being held in April.  We have gathered a mixture of genres and practice questions that are common core aligned to ensure that they are being exposed to material that we expect to see on the test.

Writing Workshop:

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As we begin our Non Fiction Unit students will take notes about nonfiction topics during writing workshop. They will gather information about a topic from a variety of sources.  They will publish a nonfiction text (All About Book or a Question & Answer Book) that is organized and clear to the reader.  As with all of our writing pieces students must progress through the writing cycle: collecting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing and celebrating.

Social Studies:

In Social Studies, we are currently engaged in a study of Latin America organized around the essential question “How do geography, economics, people, and key events connect to shape a region?” Our studies begin with the geography of the region, which gives us a basis on which to build our knowledge. We will proceed in a more or less chronological fashion, beginning with case studies of the major civilizations of the western hemisphere (Inca, Maya, Aztec etc...), and continuing through the process of colonization and the years of European domination. We will then explore Latin American nations and their road to independence, as well as the growth and expansion of these newly liberated countries.

Important Dates:

February

6th-50's dress up day
13th- Valentine's Dance and Mask of Zorro trip
18th and 19th-no school
21st- class 302,305,307 and 309 trip to Whitney Museum
22nd- class 301 and 308 trip to Whitney Museum

March 
12th/13th?- Parent Teacher Conferences, Half Day
13th-black/white dress up day
March 25th- April 2nd No school Spring Recess

April 
School resumes April 3rd
10th- 80's dress up day
16th- 18th ELA exam
24th-26th Math exam

May 
10th- Outrageous Animals visits 5th grade
27th- Memorial Day No School
30th-31st Club Getaway!

June 
6th-No Students
10th- Half Day for Students
Graduation, graduation party and awards ceremony- tbd
26th-last day of school -half day