1204 E. 163rd Street
Pleasant Hill, MO 64080
816-540-3156
October 2011
Important DatesOct. 4: Picture Retakes Oct. 7: 3 Hour Early Release (Homecoming) Oct. 11: 5th Grade PTO Performance Oct. 14: 3 Hour Early Release (work day); End of 1st Quarter Oct. 18 & 19: Parent-Teacher Conferences Oct. 24-28: Red Ribbon Week | 5B TEAM NEWSLETTER |
Rooster Time for this Week:
We have begun working on class books in rooster time. We are going to be doing small groups and working on expectations of Rooster time. We may be doing some cross team switching with small groups during this time.
School and Class Expectations:
We have been working with the students on school wide and classroom expectations. Some students still need some general reminders about having all of their materials prepared for class. We are still working very hard on traveling to and from lunch. Some students are still needing extra encouragement when it comes to lunch room behaviors, such as pushing in chairs and cleaning up their areas. It is encouraged to discuss these positive behaviors at home!
Conference Sign-ups:
If you were unable to attend meet the teacher night, please contact Mrs. Murray either by phone or email so that we can sign you and your student up for parent teacher conferences. We will be sending home reminders next week (Oct. 3-7)
Planners: Planners are a great organizational tool for students and a great communication tool for parents. Students are expected to fill out their planner in each core class daily (listing assignments, due dates etc.) and take them home daily. Teachers will sign planners for each class and sometimes may write an important note. We will do periodic planner checks throughout the year spot checking to see if planners are being utilized in this manner. Students may receive a small reward for having a filled out and signed planner (signed by the teacher). Parents are not required to sign planners.
AR
Just a reminder, students need 10 AR points before the end of 1st quarter, on October 14, 2011. These points may come from AR books and non AR points, or Bloom’s questions. Feel free to contact your student’s rooster teacher for a copy of the Bloom’s questions or see our blog. There is a link to the questions and AR procedures on School Related
Science-Social Studies--Mr. Haight
Social Studies --
Science --
In Science we will be learning about cells, tissue, organs, and body systems. The chapter two test should be in two weeks.
Math--Mrs. Lucht
Parents and Students, We are working hard to accomplish 5 Accelerated
Math tests by the end of the quarter. During math club on Wednesday mornings,
we are now doing Accelerated Math. The students can come at 7:25 a.m. and
eat donuts and do AM. Also, on Thursday nights we have homework club and
the students can stay from 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.to work on AM or homework
and get extra help.
We are having a great time in math right now and are currently studying
algebraic expressions, variables, and equations. We've seen that like
a balance scale, in order to balance, both sides must be equal.
We are currently having math pull out on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
All of our team of teachers are teaching math at that time. The students
are with a new little group of students working on fractions, decimals,
and percents right now.
Thank you so much for all you do to help me teach math to your students.
I truly appreciate all of you.
Communication Arts--Mrs. Murray
We are finally back to one weekly theme a week! At first we were spreading this out over 2 weeks, just to get some routines down. The students schedule in class for the week as with homework and classwork is mostly like this: Monday: Vocabulary day where the students create a foldable (due on Tuesday) with the definition, sentence, and a reminder (such as a synonym or antonym of the word) or a picture reminder and the will read the introduction to the theme story and as a class we will model the comprehension skill for the week. Tuesday we will hand out spelling and this will be due on Thursday. We will also read the main selection and the students will complete a comprehension check or organizer that corresponds with the story. Grammar will also be introduced. Wednesday will be small groups and in class practice of materials for the story. Thursday will be turn in spelling homework day and finish small groups and reinforcement of skills. Friday will be assessments with our Map Quiz and spelling test, along with a writing activity. Next week we will be reading about Rescue Dogs. The following week, we will have a Unit 1 review and common assessment. We will then begin Unit 2! Please have your students bring in an AR book and their planner and binder daily! Have a great month.
Ms. Love’s News--
Communication Arts
Students are focusing on writing short reports. These reports are on people, places, and events. Students are analyzing and synthesizing the information in order to write the report. Students are also working on recognizing literary element and applying them to a story.
Math
Students are working on data analysis. Students have been collecting data, developing tables, and creating various types of graph. Students continue to practice basic facts and operations.
Mrs. Meyer’s News--
Mrs. Meyer's communication arts class is working hard on learning comprehension skills. We have covered characters. setting, plot, summarizing, and cause and effect. We will be covering inferences, main ideas and supporting details, and problem and solution soon. Students are working on using graphic organizers, writing, and proofreading skills as well. Please encourage your child to study their spelling words and work on their AR points each day. The end of the quarter is coming up Oct. 14th and they need 10 points by then.
In math, we are working on addition and subtraction of larger numbers, multiplication facts, time, money, word problems, and reading charts and tables. We will be working on geometry and fractions soon.
