Last Few Days

First and foremost... Last call for any fun pictures from this year!!  First day of school, Lung Lab, holiday parties, Ameritowne, etc.  I will be finishing up on Friday!!

Thursday 5/26 - Field Day in the morning.  Please be aware of the weather and make sure kiddos are dressed appropriately and have applied sunscreen.  That afternoon they have earned a Pop and Drop.

Tuesday 5/31 - Outdoor Ed.  Students will need to be AT Gold Rush BY 8am!!  Buses will leave shortly there after and we will dismiss at 4 (regular time).  Please have students meet at the back playground just like their normal line up.  Again, be aware of weather and dress appropriately.  They need to bring a sack lunch and water bottle.  Hats, glasses, etc are fine as well.  Outdoor Ed policy is no cell phones so please have your kiddo keep it home that day.

Wednesday 6/1 - Yearbook and T-Shirt signing.  We will have a block of time in the afternoon for all fifth graders to get together and sign yearbooks and class t-shirts if they so choose.  Please have your kiddo bring a pen (for yearbooks) and/or a fabric pen (for t-shirts).

Thursday 6/2 - Last Day Picnic.  See you at Tallman Park around 11.  Slideshow presentations at 2:30 in the Gold Rush gym. 

Finally, the class T-shirts are for kiddos to wear when they feel like it; it's completely voluntary.  Most (including me) will be wearing it to Outdoor Ed, but again... all activities or none is completely your decision.

Yikes!!  I hope I've got everything covered! =)

Tallman Park

Hello families!  

We are excited to celebrate the end of our students' elementary education with a big celebratory picnic.  This year's picnic will be at Tallman Park (across the street from Legend HS) on June 2nd from 11am - 2pm.  Students will ride buses to and from this event and will, therefore, need a permission slip filled out on RevTrak and have to pay a small fee of $4.50.

Students will be provided with sub sandwiches there courtesy of Gold Rush, but we would love your help with a few other items.  Please see our Sign-Up to help out.  We welcome family to the event to join in the fun, but, unfortunately, cannot provide food for all, so please pack a lunch for yourself and head to the park!  Also in the sign-up is a place to volunteer to help with set-up and clean up: this helps us out a lot!!

We do have the whole park to ourselves this day so you are welcome to bring fun outdoor games (frisbees, soccer balls, etc.) and such as long as students are responsible for their own belongings.

After the picnic we will return to Gold Rush and gather in the gym for our End of Year Slideshows.  If you are only attending this portion of the day we should be beginning around 2:15.  Also, if you haven't already done so, please make sure you get a baby/toddler picture and a current picture emailed to your child's classroom teacher ASAP.  We are also looking for any fun pictures you have of the class from the year (Digger Dash, field trips, class parties, etc.).

At the end of the slideshow please stay in the gym while the students return to their classes for final good-byes.  Administration will speak to you for a few minutes and give you instruction on how to help the school say farewell to these great kiddos in our traditional Clap-Out. 

Thank you for all your support this year.  We are sad to see these kiddos moving on but know they are ready for what lies ahead!  We have all truly had a great year!

Sincerely,

The 5th Grade Team

Growing and Changing 5th Grade Discussion

May 2, 2016

 Our fifth grade students will have the opportunity to learn about the changes that occur during puberty including male and female anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system. This health information is provided to students in alignment with Health Standards 2 and 3: standards are available on the District web site.

The students will watch a video appropriate to the topic and their age in gender-like groups. The video covers the anatomy of the reproductive system, the menstrual cycle, feminine hygiene, changes that may occur for boys including erections and nocturnal emissions.  It is presented in an up-to-date format with age-appropriate questions and answers from students.  

Video to be shown is:

“Always Changing/Always Growing” 2008

http://www.pgschoolprograms.com/parents.php    

 - The videos are located towards the bottom of the screen

**Parents are welcomed to preview the video at home in order to facilitate family follow-up discussion of these topics.  The video is online and is included in the above link.

After the students view the video, boys and girls will stay separated during a follow-up class presentation in order to promote more participation and decrease disruptions from giggles.  Boys and girls will be taught both the male and female material. The outline for the classroom presentation includes the following subjects:

Anatomy and function of reproductive organs:

• For males: testicles, scrotum, urethra, epidiiymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, prostate, penis

• For females: ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus and endometrium, cervix, vagina

Body changes that occur during puberty;

• For males: facial hair, deepening voice, enlargement of reproductive organs (testis & penis), testicles produce sperm, shoulders broaden, 

• For females: breasts develop, hips widen, uterus/vagina grow, ovulation, menstrual cycle

• For BOTH males and females: growth spurt, active oil and sweat glands, underarm hair, pubic hair, hormones, hygiene issues.

This class will be presented by: Kelly Driver, BSN, RN, School Nurse Consultant.

    

Date of presentation by the nurse: May 19th, 2016

To keep the lines of communication strong between you and your child, we will encourage students to talk with their parents about these topics. Other resources for you to explore with your son or daughter:

• www.kidshealth.org is another good website

•  www.always.com information parents/girls and resources for educators

• www.girlshealth.gov promotes healthy, positive behaviors in girls between 10    and 16. 

If for some reason you would prefer that your child not be involved, please indicate this to your teacher either in the form of a note or email by Monday, May 16th and we will discreetly plan another activity for your student.

Ashley Dalcerri

Allison Hawk

Bev Holtzer

Kylee Lautenbach

Lauren Rayens

End of Year Celebration

Can you believe that the end of elementary school is approaching?!

Every year on the last day of school we like to celebrate this milestone in your kiddo's lives.  We do this in two ways: a fun picnic in the park with the entire fifth grade and their families and and slideshow presentation showing their growth.

For our Fifth Grade Celebration slide show, I am asking that you send in two digital photos of your kiddo - one from when they are little and one from this year.  I will compile them and create a slide show, and on the last day of school you are invited to come and watch with the entire fifth grade.  Also, I will make you a copy of this for your keepsakes.

Please have photos emailed to me by May 20th!

Historical Research Paper

In an effort to make assignments more authentic to students, they will be helping create a Colonial America Text book for their Informational Research Papers this year.  They will be working in collaborative groups to take on a "chapter" of this book.  We have brainstormed what topics should be covered, broken into groups, began researching our topics, and studied other text books as mentors.  In the coming weeks we will be drafting and redrafting our essays with different lenses to improve upon our writing.  We will also be using technology to give our book a real textbook feel and creating a pdf document of the entire book.

We will covering the following topics:
- Effective notetaking
- Domain specific vocabulary
- Including geography
- Looking for patterns
- Including insights
- Timelines
- Different non-fiction text structures

Song Project

As you saw in the handout that went home yesterday, we have an end of the year project that I introduced.  I am attaching the letter here for your reference at home as well.

Thank you for your support!

Shared Reading Project

I’ve heard countless requests for shared reading songs over the past few weeks. Well, here’s your chance to choose the song!  Yeah! Here’s what you need to do:

Finding a Song

1. Choose a song that has appropriate language AND content for school
2. Get the lyrics for your song (using the internet is the easiest way). Some lyric sites you might want to try are www.azlyrics.com and www.lyrics.com
3. Copy and paste the lyrics into a word document so that you can control how big the font will be. Email me your lyrics as an attachment.
4. Review the words/meaning with your mom or dad and have them fill out the form on the bottom portion of this paper. Cut on the dotted line and attach the form to your lyrics with a staple or paper clip.
5. Turn in your signed form by Monday, May 9th.

Presentation

1. On the day of your presentation you will need to turn in an annotated version of your lyrics (the entire song) on paper to me.
2. You will be assigned a day to present (sometime between May 12 – May 27)
3. You will read your lyrics to the class from the Promethean.
4. Pick one stanza to read line by line and give your own interpretation (like we have been doing in class).
5. Next, I want you to discuss what YOU think the whole song means (what is the overall theme). For example, when I presented “New Shoes” we decided that the theme was “changing your attitude can change your life.” Create a “Theme poster” like we’ve done for all of our songs (the ones that are posted in the front of the room).
6. Lastly, you may choose to play your song for the class. This is OPTIONAL. You may bring in a CD or your I-Pod for that one day. I will provide the docking station for I-Pods if you should chose that option.

End of the Year

I just wanted to give you all a head's up for all the events that are coming up this year.  The end of fifth grade can get a little crazy!! Please know that with all of these events more information will be coming as they approach.

May 5 - Cimarron Middle School Tour
May 19 - "Growing and Changing" Discussion with the nurse
May 26 - Field Day
May 30 - Memorial Day
May 31 - Outdoor Ed
June 2 - End of year picnic in the park, slideshow ceremony

Currently, the registration link is open for Outdoor Ed. on RevTrack.  Please make sure you go there to sign up!

Conferences

Conferences will be Wednesday, February 16th and Thursday, February 15th.  Be sure to see Jenny Brown's Blog to schedule those times.  The system only lets us to specific times and days; if these don't work for you, email me and we can see what else we can do.  I am here by 8am most mornings and stay until 5pm most days.

I look forward to seeing you then!

Geography Study

Traditionally, fifth grade geography is centered around the U.S. states and regions.  Th regions are: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and the West.  We look for defining characteristics of the ares through the concepts of climate, landforms, natural resources, industry, agriculture, and culture.  We also look at population density, reasons for this, and why people migrate to particular areas.

To get students more engaged, this year we, as a fifth grade team, have changed the unit a bit. While still focusing on the same concepts we changed it up a bit to add a little more interest.   Students began by studying NFL teams across the nation: locating them, looking at why they're located in particular places, population, why they have their given mascot.  In the end, students will work in collaborative groups to present a proposal for a new NFL team to the commissioner (me!).  They will be assessed on the concepts, the presentation, the thoughtfulness of their proposed team, and how they collaborated.  Below is the rubric I will be using to score.

Preparing for Middle School

As the new year rolls around, preparations for next year have begun.  Today in class we had a lot of discussions on classes for next year at Cimarron Middle School.  Your kiddo will bring home two things today: a packet of course descriptions and a form for elective choices.  Students and parents should discuss the options together and number a 1st and 2nd preference on the sheet (we went over how to do this in class).  The second choice is just in case their first is filled.  This form is due back to me by Thursday, January 21st.

**** If your kiddos is attending another middle school next year, I still need this form back.  There is a line near the top that you would just check stating you're enrolling at a different school.

Also, we will be having discussions as the year progresses that talk about being a prepared 6th grader and how expectations will be higher.  This includes: work load, behavior, and concepts.  I have no doubts in this particular classes readiness for next year!! =)