Updates: Week of April 17

Thank you for taking the time to stop by our blog and read about what's going on in 5th Grade. Please be sure to check the Google Calendar that is linked at the top of the blog for important updates. 

STAAR Testing

• We have finished with our first round of STAAR testing. The 5th graders will take the Science STAAR test on Wednesday, May 10th. 

Sky Ranch Updates

• If your son/daughter has any dietary restrictions (vegetarian, gluten free, etc.), please email your son/daughter's teacher A.S.A.P. We will be turning in a final list of dietary restrictions to Sky Ranch this Friday, April 21st. 
• We sent permission slips for the zip line home a few weeks ago. These are due back on Friday, April 21st. 
• If your son/daughter is unable to swim, please let his/her teacher know. Learners will have the chance to swim during free time, and there will be life guards on duty. However, it is helpful for us to know if they are unable to swim. 
• As a reminder, medications will be administered only to students whose parents send medication with appropriate dosage and frequency information. If you have not yet turned in a medication request form to Nurse Kane please do so A.S.A.P. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. The blurb below was sent home to parents earlier this month: 
• All over-the-counter medications must be in the original bottle and have specific directions as to dosage and frequency written by the parent.  Each medication must have a Medication Request Form.  Prescription medications must be in the original bottle with dosage and frequency listed on the label.  Each medication should be separately bagged in a zip-lock bag with a completed medication form enclosed.    
• Our new Sky Ranch t-shirts have arrived, and we will be sending those home this week. 
• As the trip gets closer, and you begin to help your son/daughter prepare, this packing list may come in handy. Please note that we will be asking learners to wear their new Sky Ranch t-shirt on Wednesday, the first day of the trip. We will ask them to wear their blue grade level t-shirt on Friday, the last day of the trip. 

Coppell Middle School North Registration

• As you know, registration forms were due last Wednesday, April 12th. Please return your son/daughter's form A.S.A.P. if you have not already done so. 

Other Announcements

• Our Annual TCE Hoedown will be this Friday, April 21st. If you are willing and able, please sign up to volunteer. You may sign up here. 
• We hope your family will come out for this fun event. In fact, our TCE Learners want you to come so much that they made a cute video. 
• We will have Talent Show Auditions on Monday, April 24th for any learners that turned in their audition applications on time. We will let each learner know his/her assigned time later this week. If you have any questions regarding the Talent Show, you may review this letter. 
• 5th Grade Graduation will be Tuesday, May 30th at 1:00. While this is still a while away, we wanted to make sure it's on your radar. 

Curriculum Tidbits
*We hope that you will periodically check our Twitter accounts as we tweet glimpses of what we're learning in class. You can find our tweets by searching the hashtag #tce5th or by going to our individual pages.

Math

This week in math we will continue to work on the “The Price of a Great Looking Floor” project. The learners will be finishing up their kitchen floor designs and will begin calculating how much their floor will cost and how expensive it will be in instal.

In addition, the learners have started a project incorporating scratch coding and Makey Makeys.

Science
This week in science we will continue our life science unit. The learners will continue to explore ecosystems, food chains, and food webs. This weeks homework will focus solely on life science principles.

Language Arts & Reading
In reading, we will continue our study of Junior Great Books stories, focusing on character development and making inferences. We will also review our nonfiction reading strategies as we read about and review important science concepts. 

Social Studies
Last week we learned about famous Patriots and Loyalists and their arguments for and against declaring independence. Now we will learn about the main events of the America Revolution!

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Finally, thank you again for taking the time to read our blog. We know how important it is for our TCE families to know what is happening at school! If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask. Our contact information is linked below for your convenience.

5A Morgan Peccarelli - mpeccarelli@coppellisd.com

5B Kate Seifert - kseifert@coppellisd.com

5C Marly Natherson - mnatherson@coppellisd.com

5D Jenna Taylor - jltaylor@coppellisd.com

6th Grade Information

We have lots of information to share regarding CMS North, 6th grade registration, and parent meetings. For more information about 6th Grade Registration, please visit the CMS North website. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! 

Course Selection

• Coppell Middle School North counselors will be coming to visit our 5th graders on the morning of April 5th to talk about the transition to middle school and course selection. Learners will receive their course selection sheet on this day. These course selection sheets will be due back to your son/daughter's teacher on April 12th. 

• Once you begin the process of completing your learner's course selection form, please feel free to reach out to us with any questions you might have. 
• 6th Grade Course Selection Sheet
• Coppell Middle School Course Selection Catalog
• Originally, we shared that we would be going to North for the Elective Showcase. However, North has had to cancel, so we will not be going. 

Incoming 6th Grader Registration Parent Meeting

• There will be a meeting for the parents of incoming 6th graders on Thursday, April 6th from 6:00-7:00 in North's cafeteria. 
• The presentation for that meeting can be found here. The counselors and administration will plan to record that meeting for any parents that are unable to attend.  

CMS North Guest Speaker 

• Parent University 2.0 will be hosting a parent workshop on April 5th at Coppell Middle School North.  There will be two sessions (1:15 & 6:00).  The topic is Middle School Makeover and targets parents who will have students transitioning from 5th grade to middle school.
• You can learn more about the speaker, Michelle Icard, here and here. 
• The following is a short blurb about the event: 
• Every child needs to develop three things to become an adult, and the process of building this trifecta begins in middle school. I quiz the audience on what they think every kid needs to become an adult and surprise them when the three things aren’t quite what they expect. We cover brain, body and identity development in what I refer to as the “middle school construction project” and I use it to explain why kids this age are often perceived as judgmental or exclusive, though often their behavior stems from nervousness about where they fall on the "normal" scale in terms of their development. I cover the unique pressures facing kids in middle school and ways parents can help or hinder the process.
  
  Along these lines, I coach the audience on the importance of being “assistant managers” not “micromanagers” during the teen years. This part is also interactive as we brainstorm do’s and don’ts for managing risky behavior. I highlight the research of Laurence Steinberg at Temple University and teen risk taking.
  
  One of the biggest obstacles to staying connected with kids through the middle school years is understanding how they like to communicate. I offer concrete tips, based on recent neurological research out of Harvard for easy, practical ways to avoid conflict and get kids to open up about their peer experiences. 
  Finally, we walk through a six-step problem solving process every parent can begin to implement with their tween to teach kids creative and thoughtful problem solving, rather than being impulsive or relying on peers or parents to solve problems for them.
  Overall, the audience will leave feeling more confident, and less flustered, about parenting through middle school.