Fifth Grade Week Of December 14

Hello 5th Grade families,

I hope you had a nice weekend. We have one more week before Christmas Break! Although it is exciting, I hope our students continue their routine and schedule, stay hydrated, and get plenty of rest. Linked below is our schedule and assignments for the week. Please note that we are finishing Unit 2 in math, and will be taking a Unit 2 Post-Assessment on Thursday. Also, we will have a short science mystery on Friday, followed by our Christmas Party (We will watch a Christmas movie as a class- fun snacks encouraged!). Friday is a Noon dismissal day. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Best,

Crystal Hewitt

5th Grade Assignments Week of December 145th Grade Schedule Week of December 14

Dear 5th Grade families,

I am writing to let you know that the 5th graders’ report cards will be ready for pick-up at the office this week, as well as a Christmas goodie bag for them, and materials for students if needed. If you are not able to pick up the report cards, they will be mailed to you next week. Linked below is also our schedule and review of assignments for the week. Please note that in our schedule we have All School Mass on Tuesday morning, and on Wednesday (Pajama Day) Mrs. Murray will read to the 5th graders via zoom at 9:30. 
If you have not already done so, will you please drop off the following for your child:-cereal box project -positive name adjective poster-animal ‘food chain’ artwork

I wish that I could see the 5th graders very much, but understand the circumstances and importance of everyone staying safe. 
Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best, Crystal Hewitt

5th Grade Schedule Week of December 7
5th Grade Assignments Week of December 7

Week of November 30

Dear Fifth Grade Families,

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. I am grateful for our SPN community as we continue to navigate the school year together. If you have any questions or concerns (or catch any errors on my end), please reach out and I will do my best to answer them, or find someone who is able to help.

Attached you will find the 5th grade distance learning schedule for the week, and a review of our weekly assignments. 

Please note that I will not have 1:1 meetings with students tomorrow, but will see them for our end of the day meeting/prayer. They may use that time to finish their Diocese Christmas Card if they chose to participate in this year’s contest (Due 3pm Tuesday 12/1. Email: dcsadmin@csdo.org), or work on their assignments. Please let me know if you or your child would like to meet/check-in.

Below are Upcoming Dates: 

November 29: First Sunday of Advent 

November 30- December 2nd: All School in remote learning 

December 2: Advent Prayer Service 

December 3: Virtual Info Night 

December 3: TK-2nd grade return back from Thanksgiving break 

December 4: Make up Picture Day 

December 7: Report Cards go Home 

December 7: 3rd-4th return to campus (possibly 5th grade) 

December 8: All School Mass- Students will attend virtually with their classes December 8: Parish Council 6:30 

December 16: PTG Christmas Event 

December 18: Noon Dismissal – Remote learning day for all

December 19-January 3rd: Christmas Break 

January 3 and 4: No School – Teacher work days

Best,

Crystal Hewitt
5th Grade Schedule Week of November 30
Fifth Grade Assignment Summary Week of November 30

5th Grade Week of November 9

Dear 5th Grade Families,

Attached you will find the 5th grade schedule, assignments for the week, 5th grade supply list for those who will be returning to the classroom on November 30th, and a family guide to STAR testing as 5th grade will be taking their STAR Reading and STAR Math tests this week.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you,

Crystal Hewitt

5th Grade Schedule Week of November 10
5th Grade Assignments Week of November 10

5th Grade Supply List
Administering STAR Tests Remotely- Family Guide

Fifth Grade Week of February 11, 2020

Hi families,

In addition to what we are working on this week, students will also be given a lesson on ‘Understanding the Influence of the Media on our Circle of Grace’. Let me know if you have any questions about that!

Also, AR reading reports will be sent home on Tuesday. If you have any specific questions about your child’s progress in school, please feel free to reach out to let me know.

Finally, remember that we will be dismissed at noon this coming Wednesday and Friday.

Happy Valentine’s!

Ms. Crystal Hewitt

What we are working on this week:

Math (Bridges)-

ELA (Journeys)-

Informative Writing- Students will research and write a report on any topic in our unit that interests them so far. For example, they may research other endangered species, courageous individuals, or maritime disasters.

Objectives:

• Plan a research report
• Use print and digital sources to gather information
• Practice organizational skills related to writing a research report

Science (Mystery Science)-

Mystery: How can you save a town from a hurricane?

In this Mystery, students examine the causes of flooding using the real-world example of Hurricane Katrina. In the activity, Save Beachtown, students propose plans to prevent flooding and save historic buildings in a coastal town–all while staying within budget!

Religion-

Unit 1 Review-

The Unit 1 Review provides the opportunity to assess the students’ understanding of the faith concepts presented in the unit and to affirm them in their growing knowledge and love of God.

Social Studies-

• American Indian Cultural Regions

Essential Question: How and why did American cultural regions differ?

Important Dates:
● February 12: Noon dismissal
● February 14: Valentines Day + Noon Dismissal
● February 17: No School President’s Day
● February 18: STAR testing date opens
● February 22: Crab Feed
● February 24: Free Dress Feb Birthdays
● February 26: Ash Wednesday – All School Mass

Fifth Grade Week of February 3, 2020

What we are working on this week:

Math (Bridges)-

ELA (Journeys)-

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

We will read, comprehend, and reflect on the novel as a class.

Science (Mystery Science)-

Mystery: How can you save a town from a hurricane?

In this Mystery, students examine the causes of flooding using the real-world example of Hurricane Katrina. In the activity, Save Beachtown, students propose plans to prevent flooding and save historic buildings in a coastal town–all while staying within budget!

Religion-

Chapter 4: Great is the Lord

Key Concept: God sent Jesus, his only Son, to redeem us from the effects of Original Sin.

Catholic Social Teaching: Preserving God’s gift of water

Social Studies-

• American Indian Cultural Regions

Essential Question: How and why did American cultural regions differ?

Important Dates:

● February 3: Open House Free Dress
● February 4: PTG Dine and Donate MOD pizza
● February 9: Family Mass; 5th + 6th Grade
● February 12: Noon dismissal
● February 14: Valentines Day + Noon Dismissal
● February 17: No School President’s Day
● February 18: STAR testing date opens
● February 22: Crab Feed
● February 24: Free Dress Feb Birthdays
● February 26: Ash Wednesday – All School Mass

Fifth Grade Week of January 13, 2020

Dear families,

This week, I will provide time for students to practice their Oratorical Fest speeches. If you haven’t done so yet, please make sure to get a copy to me of the speech chosen by you and your child.

In class, we are also starting something where students are each given an ‘Expectations Card’. These cards are used by grades 6-8, and my intention is to help transition and prepare our fifth graders to the ‘upstairs policies’. The expectations are similar to our school-wide learning expectations:

• Respect yourself and others

• Contribute to the learning environment

• Follow school and classroom procedures

If their card is signed 5 times in a week for not meeting these expectations, it will result in a Parent Communication Form. We reviewed these expectations as a class, and role-played what the expectations look like vs. what they don’t look like.

Finally, with the help of our garden teacher, Ms. Kristen, the 5th graders have started presenting ‘Green Team Information’ to grades 1-8, including how to properly dispose of waste at SPN. They have done a great job with this!

I hope you all have a great week,

Crystal Hewitt

What we are working on this week:

Math (Bridges)-

ELA (Journeys)-

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Everglades Forever

We are reading the novel, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe together as a class

Everglades Forever is lesson 8 of our Journey’s Unit. We will:

• Think through the text, determine the author’s purpose, explain scientific ideas, and practice domain specific vocabulary. Additionally, we will work on informative writing with a cause and effect essay.

Science (Mystery Science)-

Mystery: When you turn on a faucet, where does the water come from (Water As a Natural Resource)?

Religion-

Chapter 4: Great is the Lord

Goal: To explore the attributes of God that reveal to us who God is

Social Studies-

• American Indians and Their Land

Description: In a Visual Discovery activity, students work in pairs, using maps and photographs to trace migration routes of the first Americans and to summarize how these groups adapted to different environments.

Essential Question: How did American Indians adapt to different environments in North America?

Important Dates:

● January 17: Elementary Staff Day – School closed

● January 20: Holiday – Martin Luther King day

● January 21: Oratorical Auditions complete

● January 26: Mass + Open House * 9-12

● January 26-31: Catholic Schools Week

● January 31: Noon Dismissal; Faculty brunch 10:30-11:30

Fifth Grade Week of December 16, 2019

Dear families,

Fulfilled, happy, confident, responsible, kind, and loving. We have learned that these are goals families want for their children, and as teachers, what we want for our students. In the classroom, we will continue to enhance our abilities to learn, work, and spend time together. In addition to our social-emotional curriculum, The Zones of Regulation, we will try using some strategies to build on social-emotional skills from the following website:

sanfordharmony.org

We recognize that as a family member, you are our students’ first teacher, and I am grateful to partner with you to help our children become tolerant, compassionate, and caring adults.

This week, in addition to community building, we will enjoy some fun Christmas activities, as well as review and complete concepts from last week.

Lastly, we are so excited for our first class field trip to the Exploratorium on Wednesday December 18. Thank you for all of your help with this!

Have a great week!

Ms. Crystal Hewitt

What we are working on this week:

Math (Bridges)-

• Unit 3: Place Value and Decimals

In this unit, students study skills and concepts related to place value, from reading, writing, and comparing decimals to rounding and examining the decimal patterns of multiplying and dividing numbers by 10. Students use their place value understanding to add and subtract decimals to hundredths.

• Unit 3: Module 3

We are completing and reviewing Module 3- Conversions: Students use units of computer memory- bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes- to explore conversions within a given system of measurement, and then extend the strategies they develop to making metric conversions. Students also continue their work adding and subtracting decimals in a vertical format and solving story problems that involve decimal amounts.

ELA-

We have completed reading Wonder! Before we begin our next unit, we will complete the following:

• Response to Literature Essay

Choose a topic (Theme, Character, or Setting), and write a 2-3 page essay analyzing how that topic is portrayed in the novel. Present your essay ideas to the class.

Science (Mystery Science)-

We will review concepts that we have learned so far before our exciting field trip to the Exploratorium on Wednesday. We may also do a ‘Winter Special’ on the following mystery: Why is snow white?

Religion-

• Faith families
• Advent Prayer Service
• Great is the Lord- Topics:

1. One, almighty, holy, eternal, love, and truth are qualities about himself that God has revealed.

2. God is the creator of everyone and everything, visible and invisible.

3. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and turned away from his goodness. This sin caused the beginning of all other sin in the world.

Social Studies-

• American Indians and Their Land

Description:In a Visual Discovery activity, students work in pairs, using maps and photographs to trace migration routes of the first Americans and to summarize how these groups adapted to different environments.

Essential Question: How did American Indians adapt to different environments in North America?

Important Dates:

• December 17: All school practice for Christmas Concert 10:45-12
• December 18: Fifth grade out at field trip all day
• December 19: Christmas Concert
• December 20: Noon dismissal; students wear red and green free dress
• January 6: School starts back

Fifth Grade Week of December 9, 2019

Happy Advent!

The fifth graders have been discussing the importance of being kind and empathetic towards each other, as well as practicing recognizing what they are grateful for. They have been very open, and seem to love these powerful conversations. I encourage you to continue discussions like this at home:

• What does it mean to be respectful to everyone in my community? (classmates, teachers, friends, teammates, and family)
• “When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.” What does that mean?
• Why does every word matter?
• What am I grateful for today?

A field trip form, as well as a ‘Media Balance & Well-Being’ form was sent home last week (after our common sense media lesson). Thank you for getting these signed forms back as soon as possible.

Have a wonderful week,

Ms. Crystal Hewitt

What we are working on this week:

Math (Bridges)-

• Unit 3: Place Value and Decimals

In this unit, students study skills and concepts related to place value, from reading, writing, and comparing decimals to rounding and examining the decimal patterns of multiplying and dividing numbers by 10. Students use their place value understanding to add and subtract decimals to hundredths.

• Unit 3: Module 3

We are transitioning into Module 3- Conversions: Students use units of computer memory- bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes- to explore conversions within a given system of measurement, and then extend the strategies they develop to making metric conversions. Students also continue their work adding and subtracting decimals in a vertical format and solving story problems that involve decimal amounts.

Math Homework

Monday– Home Connections page 51-52

Tuesday– Student Book page 97

Wednesday– Student Book page 100

Thursday– Student Book page 103

ELA (Journeys)-

We have completed reading Wonder! Before we begin our next unit, we will work on the following:

• Response to Literature Essay

Choose a topic (Theme, Character, or Setting), and write a 2-3 page essay analyzing how that topic is portrayed in the novel. Present your essay ideas to the class.

Students will work on the essay in sections in class. Any unfinished work will be homework, as well as reading for 30 minutes.

P.S. Reading out loud together, and/or taking turns reading to each other definitely counts as reading!

Science (Mystery Science)-

Before continuing our Unit on Watery Planet, students will create a poster which demonstrates what they know about the Biosphere, Atmosphere, Geosphere, and Hydrosphere, and how the systems connect.

Religion-

• The Holy Trinity Assessment
• Creche/Nativity Project:

We are completing a class Creche/Nativity project this week, which we will give to the Church.

Social Studies-

• American Indians and Their Land

Description: In a Visual Discovery activity, students work in pairs, using maps and photographs to trace migration routes of the first Americans and to summarize how these groups adapted to different environments.

Essential Question: How did American Indians adapt to different environments in North America?

Important Dates:

12/14 – Adopt a Family gifts due

12/16 – Free Dress for December Bdays

12/16 – 5th Grade Art Docent Project

12/18 – 5th Grade Field Trip to Exploratorium!

12/19 – Christmas Concert

12/20 – Noon dismissal; NO SHARE AND CARE

12/21 – 1/5 – Christmas Break, no school no Share and Care

12/24 – Family Mass

Fifth Grade Week of December 2, 2019

Hello everyone,

I hope you had a great week. Thank you parents for such a generous donation of books from the book fair! The fifth graders are so excited to read them, and add on to our classroom library.

Just a heads up, information will be coming home this week about our first class field trip to the Exploratorium this month. I am excited for this month-we have a lot to look forward to!

Happy Advent,

Ms. Crystal Hewitt

What we are working on this week:

Math (Bridges)-

• Unit 3: Place Value and Decimals

In this unit, students study skills and concepts related to place value, from reading, writing, and comparing decimals to rounding and examining the decimal patterns of multiplying and dividing numbers by 10. Students use their place value understanding to add and subtract decimals to hundredths.

• Unit 3: Module 2

This module focuses on place value, with an emphasis on subtracting decimal numbers.

Math Homework

Monday– Home Connections page 45-46

Tuesday– Student Book page 83

Wednesday– Student Book page 85

Thursday– Student Book page 87

ELA (Journeys)-

Continue class unit on the novel ‘Wonder’, and work on the following:

• Use strategies to determine the meaning of words ands phrases
• Describe how point of view influences telling of a story
• Cite text evidence that supports analysis of the text
• Proficiently read and comprehend grade level literature

ELA Homework will be given every day this week (Incomplete work for the day will be homework, as well as additional assignments on some days), including reading for 20 minutes. Students are randomly asked to get a parent signature for reading on some nights.

P.S. Reading out loud together, and/or taking turns reading to each other definitely counts as reading!

Science (Mystery Science)-

We finished our unit, Web of Life (Ecosystems & the Food Web)! We will begin the next unit, Watery Planet (Water Cycle & Earth’s Systems)

• Mystery 1: Water On Earth’s Surface- How much water is in the world?

In this Mystery, students use estimation and graphing to discover the surprising difference in the amounts of fresh and salt water on Earth.

Religion-

• The Holy Trinity (We will be finishing this chapter this week!)

Faith Focus: What is the mystery of the Holy Trinity?

Key Concept: The Holy Trinity is the central belief of the Catholic Faith

• We are also looking forward to a visit from Father Robert, to talk about Advent with us.

Social Studies-

• American Indians and Their Land

Description: In a Visual Discovery activity, students work in pairs, using maps and photographs to trace migration routes of the first Americans and to summarize how these groups adapted to different environments.

Essential Question: How did American Indians adapt to different environments in North America?