Friday, September 2, 2016

Dear Parents,

We are off to a great start in our 5/6 classroom.  Like all of the other teachers at EMES, I wonder how I got so lucky to have the best group of students.

Academically, we have gotten into some purposeful learning. 

Literacy: In literacy we have been working on inference, which will be part of our discussions all year long. We are also reading our first class book, The Cay by Theodore Taylor. Our discussions have been quite rich. Chapter 3 will be discussed on Tuesday. It is important that your child complete the guiding question responses in order to be ready to participate.

The quote response about beginnings is due Tuesday, September 6, 2016.

Geography: We had a quick assessment on the  states. Many students had forgotten them since last year. Students will have the opportunity to retake it next week. Today students learned about geographical terms such as equator, latitude, longitude, etc. EMES will take part in the Geo Bee. If your child is interested in geography he or she might want to take part in it. We will have an initial meeting soon.

Math: 5th Grade: Students had timed tests in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. For many students there is much work to be done as having instant recall of the facts is crucial for performing well in fifth grade math.  Students also played some math games and worked on a challenge activity that helped them understand that 292 million is a huge number and that when thought of as a line of one inch segments would stretch from New York City to....... Well, ask your fifth grader. The word problem, “All That Glitters” is due Monday, September 12th.  Students may choose between the mild or medium versions. They are expected to choose for their ability, not for ease of completion. Students have received directions for solving a word problem, a sample word problem, and a rubric. It is expected that these resources will be employed when solving word problems throughout the year. Students have received a challenge problem, The Railroad Problem. You may work on it with your child. It is expected that he or she work on it for at least 30 minutes. The steps should be written down, as it is very easy to forget what was done to solve it.

6th Grade: In 6th grade math, students worked on multiplication and division timed tests, as well as a math skills review assessment. 6th graders have a Problem of the Week, called the Railroad Problem. This assignment requires students to write step by step directions to show how they solved the problem. Ask your student if they solved the problem.

Here are some important dates to remember:

Picture day is Tuesday, September 6th.

Parent Information Night is Tuesday, September 6th from 6PM to 7:30 PM. There will be two information sessions in our classroom. The first will be from 6:00 - 6:25 and the second from 6:30 to 6:50. I will be speaking about the 5th and 6th grade academic program and expectations for students. This evening is not the usual open house. It is directed towards parents to inform you of what is going on in your child’s classroom.

The 5/6 team building  trip to the Wrightsville Dam is on Friday, September 9th. Please return the permission form by Tuesday, September 6th.

The all school hike form is also enclosed. Please sign it and return it by Friday, September 9th.

Boy, that is a lot of information. I hope that you have a great weekend, and I look forward to seeing you Tuesday evening.

Sincerely,

Mr. Quackenbush