January 22nd-26th

We had a busy, but great week in 5th grade! Thank you to everyone who came out to the Parent Informational Meeting for Sky Ranch! If you weren't able to make it, your child should have brought home the packet that was given during the meeting.

Important Sky Ranch Information

Please return all forms for your child by March 9th. Remember, Nurse Kane has extra forms for medication. EACH medication needs a form (this includes Advil, cough syrup, etc.).
**If you are planning on submitting your name for a parent chaperone, please return the Parent Chaperone Form by Friday, February 2nd!

Six Flags Read to Succeed

The Six Flags Read to Succeed forms came home with your learner this week. Your learner needs to log 6 hours of reading between now and February 23rd in order to receive a free ticket to Six Flags. Please have your learner complete their log and turn it into their homeroom by February 23rd if they choose to participate.

Homework

Please refer to our previous blog post to read more about homework and new additional resources for your child. 

What's Happening in the Classroom?

In reading, we have been focusing on how to make meaningful connections as we read nonfiction text. We are especially working on making connections in nonfiction social studies and science texts. 

In language arts, we focused on descriptive language and compound sentences regarding our mentor sentence. We also continued writing expository texts. 

In math, we are beginning our Coordinate Planes unit. We are exploring graphs, equations, and visuals as well as how they fit together. Ask your learner about the fun Desmos activity we explored in class!

In science, we have been exploring weathering, erosion, and deposition. Learners completed an exploration where they discovered how erosion affects homes along shorelines. 

In social studies, we have been reviewing the first documents of America, as well as diving into the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 

Week of 15th-19th

We made it through a short, sweet, and FREEZING cold week in C-Hall.  We hope everyone was able to enjoy their extra day off and stay warm and cozy!

We have a few updates to share with you all.  Thank you for taking the time to read our blog for what is happening in the classroom and for important dates.

Important Dates:

The PTO would like us to remind you to please purchase a yearbook if you are interested. The link to purchase a yearbook or put in an ad can be found here: Purchase a yearbook

There will be a Sky Ranch Parent Meeting on Jan. 23rd at 5:30pm. Please attend to receive detailed information about the trip as well as get info about volunteering to be a chaperone.

The 3rd Sky Ranch payment is due Friday, Jan. 26th ($50 cash or check made out to TCE, please put Sky Ranch and your student's name on the memo line)

New Resources at TCE:

We have recently acquired a few new digital resources for our learners to use in class.  We are really excited about these resources, some of which are because of PTO's generosity.

Spelling City Premium Accounts
Each learner has an individual account.  The learners can login at school or at home, and once they are logged in, they can play various games to practice the spelling words.  Please contact your learner's language arts teacher if they need another printout of their user information.

Raz Kids
Each learner in 3-5 will have an individual account on Raz Kids.  Learners will have access to leveled texts and reading activities.  We will be exploring this resource in class over the next few weeks.

Flocabulary
Learners will have access to Flocabulary through their own account.  Flocabulary is a great resource for learning new information through music, and it is something we will use in all subject areas.

Homework:

Math homework will come home on Mondays and it will need to be completed and returned by the following Friday.  This homework should take no longer than 20 minutes to complete the entire page.  Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.  Please make sure your learner is doing their Reflex Math 3 times a week until they get the green light if they are not fluent in their facts.

In language arts, your learner should be completing Raz-Kids twice a week for 15 minutes each!

What We Are Learning

In science this week, we started our unit on Earth's Changing Surface.  We examined the different types of landforms and how they were created by the weathering and the different types of erosion.  We took an Expedition to the Grand Canyon and explored the different types of landforms and the effects of weathering and erosion on our Earth.  We will continue with Earth's Changing Surface next week as we do hands-on investigations.

In math, learners are continuing to practice operations with fractions. Learners have also been analyzing graphs and data along with our fractions unit. This week we looked at data being represented by dot plots, frequency tables, and stem-and-leaf plots.

In language arts, we explored the importance of determining purpose while reading. Learners practiced underlining key information using various articles. Moreover, in spelling, we applied the 'floss rule' to our week's spelling words.

In social studies,  we are continuing our journey to the causes of the American Revolution.  This week we focused on the Articles of Confederation and stated dipping our toes into the Declaration of Independence.

Week of January 8th-12th

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.

What we are learning...

This week in Reading, we focused on making text codes while we are reading. We have discussed how good readers ask questions while they read, and how they use their comprehension strategies to help them. 

This week in math we have been continuing to practice strategies for operations with fractions. The learners have participated in many learning experiences such as allocating the hours in their day into fractions. Please see an example below!

In science this week, we have been exploring our new unit, Earth's Changing Surface. Learners went on a gallery walk where they asked questions and made observations about different landforms. They wrote acrostic poems about erosion and different types of landforms as well.

This week in Social Studies, we have learned about The United States' first documents, such as The Articles of Confederation, The Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution. 

Reminders

MLK Jr. Day is Monday, January 15th (no school)

The PTO would like us to remind you to please purchase a yearbook if you are interested. The link to purchase a yearbook or put in an ad can be found here: Purchase a yearbook

There will be a Sky Ranch Parent Meeting on Jan. 23rd at 5:30pm. Please attend to receive detailed information about the trip as well as get info about volunteering to be a chaperone.

The 3rd Sky Ranch payment is due Friday, Jan. 26th ($50 cash or check made out to TCE, please put Sky Ranch and your student's name on the memo line)

Examples of learner work from this week:

Welcome Back!

Welcome back Town Center families! We are so excited to start off 2018, celebrating old and new memories. Please continue to check the blog frequently as it will be a busy spring. We will continue to update the calendar with important announcements.

Announcements

***We will have a Sky Ranch informational meeting for all 5th grade parents on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 5:30 PM.

Our next payment of $50 is due on Friday, January 26th. After this payment, your paid balance should be at least $150. If you are unable to make these payments, please reach out to your son/daughter's homeroom teacher. 

There is no school on January 15th, 2018.