Updates: Week of January 23

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. 

Announcements

• Town Center Cookbook - We wanted to have the opportunity to create a TCE Family Traditions cookbook this year since our theme is all about family and celebrating the diversity within our community.  We would love to have you share one of your favorite family recipes to go into our cookbook this year.  If you are interested in participating, please send in your recipe to Casey Wagner, cwagner@coppellisd.com, or you may send in a paper copy of your recipe to the front office. 

• Snowman Stretch Challenge! We will be having another campus wide design challenge, and this time we are inviting the kids to design snowmen! Please see the flyer to read more about the challenge. All submissions are due February 1st. 
• Mrs. Martin, our PE Teacher, has an awesome community health challenge to share with our TCE families. Please read her letter explaining the challenge and then check out these linked flyers about the challenge and ways to earn points. 
• As a reminder, we did add headphones to the learners' supply kits this year. We invite the learners to watch videos, use online learning tools, and play educational games in class often, and it is really important that they have headphones for these tasks. If your learner does not have a pair of headphones at school, please help them locate a pair so that they can be prepared for class. 
• We do have a new Safety Patrol schedule! See this link for a copy of the schedule. 

Sky Ranch Updates

• Please see our Sky Ranch flyer for updates and details about our trip. Within this flyer, we have included a link to our payment letter and a place for you to ask questions about the trip (should you feel the need). 
• We will have an informational meeting for all 5th grade parents this Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 5:30 PM. 
• Our next payment of $50 is due on Friday, January 27th. 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.  Of course, we understand that sometimes budgets can be tight and it may be hard to make the payment by that date, and we are happy to help if we can, but we do need for you to communicate with us rather than just not pay. Thank you for understanding! 

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.

STAAR Updates
As we enter into the spring semester, we are getting closer to our STAAR tests. In preparation for the tests, we will be doing some practice assessments in reading, math, and science over the next few weeks, which your learners may tell you about. We will continue to engage our learners in innovative and collaborative lessons, but we want to provide them with some practice as well. You may also notice more STAAR-related homework coming home as well. As with everything we do, we have been talking to our learners about having a growth mindset when it comes to these assessments. We want them to have all the tools they need to feel successful! 

Math

In math we will be wrapping up our unit over expressions and equations. The learners will be working on a test review in class and will be taking an assessment later in the week.

Science

In science we will be continuing our unit over patterns in the natural world. This week the learners will be researching the Sun, Earth, and Moon. They will be crafting paragraphs based off their research.

Reading, Writing, & Spelling

In reading, we will continue to study different genres. This week we will be looking at two paired passages and analyzing how they compare and contrast. The learners will also be able to continue to graph their progress and set goals for themselves. 

In writing, we will continue to study expository writing. For their midyear writing assessment, the learners wrote to explain why cellphones are important in our lives. We really enjoyed reading the enlightening reasons they came up with! 

Social Studies

We are learning about the original 13 colonies and attempting to answer our essential question, "How were the three colonial regions alike and different?" We are also working to understand the big idea that where you live affects how you live.

Homework Tidbits

• Reading Homework: 
• We are counting down the weeks until STAAR! Starting this week we will have your learners studying STAAR Reading vocabulary words for homework. They will also be exposed to these words during the school days and will be assessed on Fridays. 
• In addition, we will be starting our weekly Article of the Week (AOW) homework this week. If you were here last year, this homework will look similar to last year's homework. The learners will be provided with a current events article, and they will have specific tasks to accomplish each night. 
• Weekly Spelling List - Quiz on Friday: As a note, the learners do have a weekly spelling list that they are expected to study throughout the week. We include "Study for Spelling Quiz" in the homework section of our daily agendas, so if every your learner says they don't have homework, they do. While we do cover spelling in class, it is important for them to take the time to study at home as well. 
• Math/Science Homework: The weekly homework packet will be including Math practice and Science practice. The learners will have up to 5 Math questions and 5 Science questions a week. The learners also need to be completing their Reflex Math time. If their Reflex Math is not completed for the week, they will be required to spend that time in Homework Club during Texan Town. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact your learner’s Math/Science teacher.

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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

Updates: Week 4

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. 

Announcements

• Safety Patrol is up and running, and our fifth graders are doing a fantastic job serving our school. Each learner that has signed up to participate in Safety Patrol received a copy of the Safety Patrol Schedule, which you can also access here. 
• We will start Texan Town this Friday, September 16th. In preparation for Texan Town, our learners will have the chance to fill out a job application and rank their top five club choices. Learners will also have the opportunity to run for Student Council on Monday. We encourage our learners to take a risk and try for Student Council if they're interested. 
• Destination Imagination and the Geography Club are both after school programs that will be offered this year. To learn more about these clubs, please access these links: Destination Imagine & Geography Club. 

Classroom Communities

• We have emphasized that at TCE, we are one big family. In keeping with that theme, we will be showcasing family pictures in our classrooms again this year. If you have not already done so, please send a picture of your family to your child's teacher. You may email the picture or send in a printed picture. Thank you for your help with this! 

Curriculum Tidbits

Math

This week in Math we will continue to focus on Whole Number Operations. The learners will be working on estimating and different algebraic expressions.

Science

This week in Science we will begin investigating different properties of matter. We will be looking at the different ways that we can describe properties of matter.

Reading

In reading, we have been enjoying our first short story, Charles, through the Junior Great Books curriculum. The learners will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of self-paced stations including focusing on vocabulary, point of view, and theme. Then we will wrap up our study of the story with a "Great Debate" in which the learners will discuss their ideas about the story.

Writing & Spelling

This next week we will begin our narrative writing unit. We are excited to dive back into the narrative writing process and watch as our learners get creative with their writing. Learners will have the opportunity to work through a set of blended, self-paced lessons in which they will learn about refining their craft as writers.

In spelling, the learners will continue to get a new list each week, study and understand the spelling patterns throughout the week, and take a quiz on Friday. As requested at Curriculum Night, you may access the learner's spelling lists on our class websites.

Social Studies

This week we will finish our study of map tools and the physical geography of the United States! The learners will participate in a review game on Tuesday and will take a test over what they've learned on Friday.

In addition, we will celebrate Constitution Day at the end of the week as we begin our unit on the Constitution of the United States.

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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

Updates: Week 2

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. 

Announcements

• 3rd-5th Grade Curriculum Night will be this Thursday, September 2, from 6:30-7:30. (Each grade will be in a different room. We will email later this week about which room we will be in.) During this evening, we will share a presentation with important details, guidelines, and procedures for 5th grade. We will share our presentation after Curriculum Night, so if you aren't able to make it, you'll still be able to access the information. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• If you have not yet done so, please take a few minutes to complete your child's Student Information Form online. Your teacher has emailed this link out to you, but if you do not have it, please email them for it. This is a very important document and we really appreciate you completing it. 
• This Tuesday, the 5th graders will have the opportunity to attend an information meeting to learn more about Safety Patrol. Once we have the meeting, Mr. Shelby will begin to create a schedule for all those participating. We will share that schedule on this blog once we have it. Thank you, in advance, to all of the 5th graders (and their families) that have volunteered to participate. If you have not yet seen the letter that went home regarding safety patrol, you may access it here. 

Classroom Communities

• We have worked hard to foster safe and comfortable learning communities in our classrooms through various activities during the first week. One of the activities we did was to invite the learners to create their own class code. Ask your learner about his/her class code! 
• Last Friday, the learners participated in Growth Mindset stations. During this activity, they learned about a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset. Ask your learner if he/she can tell you the difference! 
• We have emphasized that at TCE, we are one big family. In keeping with that theme, we will be showcasing family pictures in our classrooms again this year. If you have not already done so, please send a picture of your family to your child's teacher. You may email the picture or send in a printed picture. Thank you for your help with this! 

Curriculum Tidbits

Math

This week in Math we will be focusing on Whole Number Operations. The learners will be reviewing multiplication and division concepts.

Science

This week in Science we will be continuing our discussion of science writing, the scientific method, and the Engineering Design Process.

Reading

In reading, we will take the data from our genre pretest to create self-paced blended learning opportunities based on learner needs. Once the learners have learned about each of the genres, they will be able to create a small project to share what they've learned.

Writing

Last week the learners started the year with two writing assignments! They wrote about the legacy they want to leave at TCE, and their personal hopes and dreams. Be on the look out for these displayed in your learner's classrooms. This next week we will begin our narrative writing unit. We are excited to dive back into the narrative writing process and watch as our learners get creative with their writing.

Social Studies

Last week we started our first unit of the year: Geography. This week we will begin to dive into our study of map tools and the physical geography of the United States!

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

Important Papers Coming Home/Student Info Forms

Please be on the look out for a few important papers that have been sent home with your learner. The first is a pink packet, and it includes our Responsible Use Policy. The second is a neon yellow paper, and it is a Safety Patrol permission slip. You may read more about Safety Patrol on that letter, and you and your family may decide if your son/daughter will sign up. 

Both of these forms are due this Friday, August 26th. 

Finally, please make sure that you have completed the Student Information form that your child's teacher has emailed about. If you do not have the link, please don't hesitate to email and ask your child's homeroom teacher as this is an important piece of communication and safety for us. 

We hope you and your family have enjoyed the first week of school as much as we have!