Showing posts with label spelling bee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spelling bee. Show all posts

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Week of November 4th




Hi everyone! Thank you for visiting our blog and taking the time to read this communication. We appreciate you!





Parent Compact
If you have not signed the 2019-2020 School-Parent Compact yet, please do so as soon as possible. (It's printed on yellow paper.) As a Title 1 school, we collaborate with parents and staff each year to update our school compact. It is a great reminder of the partnership required between the school and home in order to fully support each of our kids. I have also included a link to the document below. Please take a moment to review it, sign, and return to your child's homeroom teacher as soon as possible. This was due last Friday, November 1st.


Parent Survey
CISD is currently surveying our families in order to gain insight into your perception of our schools and district effectiveness. This survey shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete and will be a valuable source of information for us, as we work to make our schools and our district the best that they can be. You may complete the survey using a computer, tablet or smartphone.The survey closes Monday, November 4th. To take the survey, please visit https://surveys.panoramaed.com, then select your child(ren)’s school. If you have multiple children in CISD, we ask that you take the survey for each school your child attends.

Big picture

 TCE STEM Night
We are excited to partner with the Perot Museum again this year for our TCE S.T.E.M. Night. The museum staff is traveling to Town Center for a fun-filled, family night of learning. Space will be our theme this year, and we also have the Tech Truck returning with new stations to explore! Join us from 5:30-7:00 PM on Thursday, November 7th, to explore 20 different stations throughout the cafeteria and gym. All of our TCE staff will be here to join in the fun with you!


Give for Grants
We love the Coppell Education Foundation and their mission to fund educational, motivational and transformational programs for learning. Check out these grant proposals in the link below. We wrote a grant for Apple Pencils for the fifth graders. We'd love for you to consider supporting one or more of these grants.



Veteran's Day Ceremony
We will have our Annual Veteran's Day Ceremony in the TCE Gym on November 11th at 8:00 am. Ms. Martin included more information about this in her Parent Blog.

Colored Name Cards for Car Loop
A couple weeks ago, you received a colored name card to keep in your window as you drive through the car loop. We want to give a quick shout out to all of the parents that have already been using the colored name plates in the car loop line. They are so helpful when we're trying to make dismissal run quickly and efficiently. Thank you!

5th Grade Spelling Bee

Every year, the fifth grade has a School Spelling Bee. Prior to the School Bee, we have Class Bees, which are open to any student that wants to participate and serves as the "qualifier" for the School Bee. You can learn more in this letter explaining the School Bee

We are not allowed to post any study lists online, but we have sent study lists home with the students. (We initially had some issues with the copies, but all of the students have the correct lists now.) We will include some addition study resources in the "Option Homework and Review Resources" section of the blog below. 

Accessing Your Son/Daughter's Schoology
As we shared at Curriculum Night, Schoology is a great resource to use to learn more about what we are doing in class. If you login to your son/daughter's account (or ask them to login and show you), you'll be able to see resources added by teachers, assignments, pretests and quizzes, and discussions. Each of us uses Schoology differently, but it would be beneficial for each class of parents to visit from time to time. If you'd like to access your own account (rather than logging in as your child), you can use this site to learn more about how to do it. 

2019-2020 Creative Writing Competition
It's time for the 2019-2020 Creative Writing Competition sponsored by the Coppell Gifted Association. This will be the 12th year CGA has run this competition, and we'd love to have our 4th and 5th graders participate. Please see below for the link to register and important details:



As you know, we have a payment plan for our Sky Ranch trip. You can view the information letter hereThe second payment of $50 was due Friday, November 1st. The third payment of $50 will be due February 2nd. You may pay by cash, check, or online via this link. Please contact your homeroom teacher or Mrs. Ford, the Assistant Principal, if you would like to discuss payment plans. 







Math
In math this week, we will begin our 6 week long unit over fractions. It is imperative learners can recall their 4th grade fraction skills before starting this unit. Below, we have linked in optional homework that shows the types of prerequisite skills they should be prepared with. (This is the same optional homework that was provided a couple weeks ago.) If your learner does not usually complete the optional math homework, we would strongly encourage them to complete this review.

Science
In science, we will start explore Force and Motion. The learners will take a pre-test to before beginning learning experiences.


Reading
In reading, we will continue focusing on strategies to find the main ideas and supporting details of a nonfiction text.

We'd love for you to talk to your son/daughter about the nonfiction text we're reading in class, When Lunch Fights Back. You could also ask what strategies he/she uses to find the most important ideas in their books. 


Writing

In writing, we are continuing to write our informational books. We focused on asking questions about a partner's topic as a way of helping them elaborate.

We'd love for you to talk to your son/daughter about the topic he/she chose to write about for the first book of this unit!


Social Studies

The 5th graders have been researching the importance, history, and traditions of Veterans Day. This week, the students will write an essay based on what they've learned in their research.



As a reminder, all of the activities listed below are optional resources for you and your family.


Math

Click here for the optional homework for this week. (We strongly encourage your learner to complete this fraction review!)

Reading & Language Arts

We would love for your son/daughter to spend time reading at home! They can read any text that catches their interest. We are currently in our Nonfiction Unit, so any informational texts they are interested in would be great.

Here are a couple of websites that offer current event articles targeted towards preteens and teens. With your guidance, they could choose articles of interest to read.




If you would like some extra resources to help your son/daughter study for the Class and School Spelling Bees, you can use these sites:
Another great way to help your son/daughter prepare for the spelling bees is to help them practice spelling words aloud. We suggest practicing in front of the mirror.  

Your son/daughter can also work on an entry for the CGA writing competition. (See information above) 






November 7: STEM Night 
November 8: North Feeder Night at the Coppell HS Football Game
November 11: Veteran's Day Ceremony 8:00 AM




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Learners used Notability to take Mentor Sentence notes!

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Learners used Notability to take Mentor Sentence notes!

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Writing partnerships to add detail to their informational writing books.

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Making financial decisions with real world situations to create a budget in math.

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Making financial decisions with real world situations to create a budget in math.

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A fun way for learners to create a Venn Diagram in science for different types of energy!


Friday, October 25, 2019

Week of October 28




Hi everyone! Thank you for visiting our blog and taking the time to read this communication. We appreciate you!



Colored Name Cards for Car Loop
Earlier this week, you received a colored name card to keep in your window as you drive through the car loop. We want to give a quick shout out to all of the parents that have already been using the colored name plates in the car loop line. They are so helpful when we're trying to make dismissal run quickly and efficiently. Thank you!


Red Ribbon Run Rescheduled
Due to the weather, the Red Ribbon Run has been rescheduled to Thursday, Oct. 31st during your learner's Specials time (9:55-10:50).

Parent Compact
Today each child will come home with a copy of our 2019-2020 School-Parent Compact. (It's printed on yellow paper.) As a Title 1 school, we collaborate with parents and staff each year to update our school compact. It is a great reminder of the partnership required between the school and home in order to fully support each of our kids. I have also included a link to the document below. Please take a moment to review it, sign, and return to your child's homeroom teacher by next Friday, November 1st. 

Parent Survey
CISD is currently surveying our families in order to gain insight into your perception of our schools and district effectiveness. This survey shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete and will be a valuable source of information for us, as we work to make our schools and our district the best that they can be. You may complete the survey online between now and Nov. 4, using a computer, tablet or smartphone. To take the survey, please visit https://surveys.panoramaed.com, then select your child(ren)’s school. If you have multiple children in CISD, we ask that you take the survey for each school your child attends.


Give for Grants
We love the Coppell Education Foundation and their mission to fund educational, motivational and transformational programs for learning. Check out these grant proposals in the link below. We wrote a grant for Apple Pencils for the fifth graders. We'd love for you to consider supporting one or more of these grants.



Veteran's Day Ceremony
We will have our Annual Veteran's Day Ceremony in the TCE Gym on November 11th at 8:00 am. Ms. Martin included more information about this in her Parent Blog.

5th Grade Spelling Bee

Every year, the fifth grade has a School Spelling Bee. Prior to the School Bee, we have Class Bees, which are open to any student that wants to participate and serves as the "qualifier" for the School Bee. You can learn more in this letter explaining the School Bee

We are not allowed to post any study lists online, but we have sent study lists home with the students. (We initially had some issues with the copies, but all of the students have the correct lists now.) We will include some addition study resources in the "Option Homework and Review Resources" section of the blog below. 

Accessing Your Son/Daughter's Schoology
As we shared at Curriculum Night, Schoology is a great resource to use to learn more about what we are doing in class. If you login to your son/daughter's account (or ask them to login and show you), you'll be able to see resources added by teachers, assignments, pretests and quizzes, and discussions. Each of us uses Schoology differently, but it would be beneficial for each class of parents to visit from time to time. If you'd like to access your own account (rather than logging in as your child), you can use this site to learn more about how to do it. 

2019-2020 Creative Writing Competition
It's time for the 2019-2020 Creative Writing Competition sponsored by the Coppell Gifted Association. This will be the 12th year CGA has run this competition, and we'd love to have our 4th and 5th graders participate. Please see below for the link to register and important details:


KTEX Spotlight
The 5th graders in the KTEX Productions & KTEX Editing Club produce our Daily Announcements show called KTEX. On Fridays, we put on a longer show with extra segments such as Jokes, Weather, Sports, and a Global Goals Update. The learners write the script and run all of the equipment! We thought you might enjoy seeing the Friday Show each week. Click here to see the Friday Show from Friday, October 25th. 





As you know, we have a payment plan for our Sky Ranch trip. You can view the information letter here. The second payment of $50 is due Friday, November 1st. You may pay by cash, check, or online via this link. Please contact your homeroom teacher or Mrs. Ford, the Assistant Principal, if you would like to discuss payment plans. 








Math
In math next week, we will be continuing our financial literacy unit by exploring budgeting, taxes, and forms of payments. Please consider talking to your learners about your family's finance choices as a way to reinforce our unit! 

Science

In science next week, we will be continuing our types of energy unit by exploring the workflow experiences. We will specifically explore electrical energy and parallel/series circuits!

Reading

In reading, we have been focusing on strategies to find the main ideas and supporting details of a nonfiction text.

We'd love for you to talk to your son/daughter about the nonfiction text we're reading in class, When Lunch Fights Back. You could also ask what strategies he/she uses to find the most important ideas in their books. 


Writing

In writing, we are continuing to write our informational books. We focused on asking questions about a partner's topic as a way of helping them elaborate.

We'd love for you to talk to your son/daughter about the topic he/she chose to write about for the first book of this unit!


Social Studies

We completed a Mind Mission about Valley Forge this week. The learners were challenged with the task of designing a shoe that would have kept the soldiers' feet warm in the snow while they camped at Valley Forge during the American Revolution. We'd love for you to ask them about their design!



As a reminder, all of the activities listed below are optional resources for you and your family.


Math

Click here for the optional homework for this week.

Reading & Language Arts

We would love for your son/daughter to spend time reading at home! They can read any text that catches their interest. We are currently in our Nonfiction Unit, so any informational texts they are interested in would be great.

Here are a couple of websites that offer current event articles targeted towards preteens and teens. With your guidance, they could choose articles of interest to read.




If you would like some extra resources to help your son/daughter study for the Class and School Spelling Bees, you can use these sites:
Another great way to help your son/daughter prepare for the spelling bees is to help them practice spelling words aloud. We suggest practicing in front of the mirror.  

Your son/daughter can also work on an entry for the CGA writing competition. (See information above) 






November 7: STEM Night 
November 8: North Feeder Night at the Coppell HS Football Game
November 11: Veteran's Day Ceremony 8:00 AM




In honor of Red Ribbon Week, we had our first Friendship Friday of the year! Learners sat at any lunch table they wanted!







These learners enjoyed a quick game of Pass the Pigs during Slow Start in the morning.


This fifth grader took his writing planning a step farther by bringing pictures from home to add to his informational book.

Our 5th grade writers asked their partners Who, What, Where, Why, and How questions about their informational books as a way of helping each other elaborate. 



Our 5th grade writers asked their partners Who, What, Where, Why, and How questions about their informational books as a way of helping each other elaborate. 



Our 5th grade writers asked their partners Who, What, Where, Why, and How questions about their informational books as a way of helping each other elaborate. 



Our 5th grade writers asked their partners Who, What, Where, Why, and How questions about their informational books as a way of helping each other elaborate. 

What types of materials create open circuits and what types of materials create closed circuits?
Learners researched a specific type of tax (payroll, sales, property, or income) and then created #Keynote presentations to share their expertise with their group! 
Learners researched a specific type of tax (payroll, sales, property, or income) and then created #Keynote presentations to share their expertise with their group! 


Learners researched a specific type of tax (payroll, sales, property, or income) and then created #Keynote presentations to share their expertise with their group! 








Friday, October 18, 2019

Week of October 21

Hi everyone! Thank you for visiting our blog. During conferences, we got some great feedback from you about the blog! In an effort to make things easier to find, we've created more headings for the sections. 


The order of the blog is: 


  • Important Reminders & Announcements
  • Sky Ranch Updates
  • Curriculum Updates & Discussion Topics
  • Optional Homework & Resources for Review
  • Upcoming Events & Dates
  • Highlights from the Week (with pictures)

A few other reminders about the blog: 
  • There's a Google Calendar embedded at the top with important dates. 
  • If you prefer to read this blog in another language, you can use the translate widget at the bottom. 
  • You can also use the labels on the side to search for specific topics. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this communication each week! We appreciate it. 




Author's Visit Rescheduled
The Author's Visit with Elly Swartz has been rescheduled for sometime in the spring. If your son/daughter purchased a book, they can still get their copy in the spring. 


TCE Pumpkin Patch


5th Grade Spelling Bee

We talked to all of the fifth graders about our Class and School Spelling Bees in class this week. Every year, the fifth grade has a School Spelling Bee. Prior to the School Bee, we have Class Bees, which are open to any student that wants to participate and serves as the "qualifier" for the School Bee. Your son/daughter received a letter explaining the School Bee in class today. We also discussed this presentation with includes more specifics about the bees. 

We are not allowed to post any study lists online. However, we distributed those in class, and we are happy to send home extra copies if you'd like. We will include some addition study resources in the "Option Homework and Review Resources" section of the blog below. 

Accessing Your Son/Daughter's Schoology
As we shared at Curriculum Night, Schoology is a great resource to use to learn more about what we are doing in class. If you login to your son/daughter's account (or ask them to login and show you), you'll be able to see resources added by teachers, assignments, pretests and quizzes, and discussions. Each of us uses Schoology differently, but it would be beneficial for each class of parents to visit from time to time. If you'd like to access your own account (rather than logging in as your child), you can use this site to learn more about how to do it. 

Red Ribbon Week 
This information was also included in Ms. Martin's Parent Blog this week: 

Next week is Red Ribbon Week at Town Center Elementary. Red Ribbon Week is an alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention awareness campaign observed annually in October in the United States. This year's motto is, "Send a Message. Stay Drug Free." 

Our TCE Student Council has designated a dress up theme each day to help get kids involved and keep it at the forefront of their minds for the week as we continue to encourage our kids to make smart, healthy choices. 

Please refer to the attached graphic to see our dress up themes for each day. These are optional, but we'd love for our students to join in! 

In 5th grade, we'll be including some opportunities for the students to earn House Points by dressing up for these spirit days! 

See the graphic about Spirit Days below: 

2019-2020 Creative Writing Competition
It's time for the 2019-2020 Creative Writing Competition sponsored by the Coppell Gifted Association. This will be the 12th year CGA has run this competition, and we'd love to have our 4th and 5th graders participate. Please see below for the link to register and important details:

KTEX Spotlight
The 5th graders in the KTEX Productions & KTEX Editing Club produce our Daily Announcements show called KTEX. On Fridays, we put on a longer show with extra segments such as Jokes, Weather, Sports, and a Global Goals Update. The learners write the script and run all of the equipment! We thought you might enjoy seeing the Friday Show each week. Click here to see the Friday Show from Friday, October 4th. 





As you know, we have a payment plan for our Sky Ranch trip. You can view the information letter here. The second payment of $50 is due Friday, November 1st. You may pay by cash, check, or online via this link. Please contact your homeroom teacher or Mrs. Ford, the Assistant Principal, if you would like to discuss payment plans. 








Math
In math next week, we are wrapping up our unit over Decimal Operations with a post-assessment. Then, we start out next unit, Personal Finance. Our focus questions for this unit are: "What makes a good financial decision?" and "Why is budgeting important?"

Science
In science next week, we will continue exploring the different types of energy, including mechanical, electrical, light, thermal, and sound. The students are using the Apple app, Numbers, to keep track of their progression of learning in their "Energy Workflow."

Reading
In reading, we just started Unit 2: Moving Up Levels of Nonfiction. In this unit, we'll be focusing on identifying main ideas and supporting details in the text, analyzing author's craft, making inferences, comparing and contrasting, and analyzing the effect of text structure on the author's purpose. This week we will focus specifically on using text features to preview our books and strategies for determining main ideas in a text.

We'd love for you to talk to your son/daughter about nonfiction texts. What topics are they reading about in class? What big ideas have they found in their books so far?  


Writing
In writing, we just started our informational unit! We have already been blown away by the writing they did on their preassessments. This week we'll focus on writing to teach. Our writers will practice planning their writing by answering "who, what, when, where, and why" in their informational books.

We'd love for you to talk to your son/daughter about the topic he/she chose to write about for the first book of this unit!


Social Studies
Last week, we learned all about the Declaration of Independence. This week, we will dive into the American Revolution. We'll also learn a tidbit about the Star Spangled Banner and Paul Revere's Ride.


As a reminder, all of the activities listed below are optional resources for you and your family.


Math
For our optional weekly homework this week, we have a fraction review to practice the standards they learned last year. Click here for the link.

Reading & Language Arts
We would love for your son/daughter to spend time reading at home! They can read any text that catches their interest. We are currently at the beginning of our Nonfiction Unit, so any informational texts they are interested in would be great.

Here are a couple of websites that offer current event articles targeted towards preteens and teens. With your guidance, they could choose articles of interest to read.

If you would like some extra resources to help your son/daughter study for the Class and School Spelling Bees, you can use these sites:
Another great way to help your son/daughter prepare for the spelling bees is to help them practice spelling words aloud. We suggest practicing in front of the mirror.  

Your son/daughter can also work on an entry for the CGA writing competition. (See information above) 






October 21-25: Red Ribbon Week 
October 25: Red Ribbon Run
October 25: Miss Taylor's Birthday
November 7: STEM Night (More info coming soon)



One of Mrs. Foroodi's students brought his microscope from home to share with the class! 
The students loved exploring the microscope! 

Students worked together to solve a "Digital Breakout" about the Declaration of Independence and the events leading up to the American Revolution. 


Students worked together to solve a "Digital Breakout" about the Declaration of Independence and the events leading up to the American Revolution.


Students worked together to solve a "Digital Breakout" about the Declaration of Independence and the events leading up to the American Revolution. 


Students worked together to solve a "Digital Breakout" about the Declaration of Independence and the events leading up to the American Revolution.