5th+Grade

5th Grade News = = =Week of October 22-26= Your students have a busy week! This week, with the help of the BA SADD club, we will recognize National Red Ribbon week. Tuesday-The students will attend a session with Doug Kahn, a Beaufort Academy parent and DEA officer.

Thursday-You and your family are invited to the SADD pancake breakfast (7:00-7:50). A breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and juice will be just $5. Hot chocolate will also be sold for $1. Also on Thursday- The Fall Festival (3:00-5:00) BA families and friends are all welcome to come join in the fun of our old fashioned Halloween Carnival. This event is free!

Friday-The students will attend an educational session led by Frank Hamilton from MADD.

Ongoing- We are collecting can goods and other non-perishable food items for HELP of Beaufort.

Uniform exceptions for the week: Thursday-Students may wear any Fall Festival t-shirt from this year or years past. Friday-Students are encouraged to wear a red shirt

In class, we are still reading __The Egypt Game__. Please ask your students about it. The rising action of the plot is building, and the students are hooked!

We have also begun the WordMasters Challenge. Please encourage your student to use the words from our list as well as look for them in his or her reading. Please visit the website to learn more about the challenge. [|WordMasters website]

=Week of October 15-19= This week we are continuing our novel study. You will find that much of our homework will not involve reading but will require the students to get back into the text to search for evidence such as quotes or passages to answer questions. At this point, students benefit from reading the novel at school (indepently and whole group) so that we can discuss the elements as we encounter them.

This week I will introduce a new program called WordMasters Challenge. This is a national analogy-based competition that will enble our students to develop their critical thinking, reasoning, and vocabulary skills. I am excited that we have been allowed to participate in this program. The students will be given the first list tomorrow in class.

=Week of October 9-12= We had a great week. We began reading our first novel, __The Egypt Game__, Zilpha Keatley Snyder. This novel is a classic, as it touches on the universal themes of friendship, family, and the importance of accepting others despite differences. This story also parallels the fifth grade history unit on ancient Egypt. Mrs. Hincher and I believe that the students benefit from this cross-curricular approach.

=Study Guide for test tomorrow = =Week of October 1-5= We will have our 1st grammar test on Thursday. It will be on complete and simple subjects and predicates. We have had many chances for practice and review, so we should all be ready! I will send home a study guide tomorrow, but in the meanwhile, I have advised the students to review the work we have done in class. Please help me reinforce that the subject is who or what the sentence is about, and the predicate is what the subject is or is doing. The most helpful study tool is the packet I sent home today.

We reached the mid-way point of our first trimester. Time flies! If you have not done so, please check your student's grades online. We have set aside time for parent conferences this Thursday afternoon. If we have not requested a conference with you, then we do not feel a conference is necessary at this time.

Don't forget...Friday is a half day, and we will dismiss at 11:30. Lunch will not be served. Monday is a holiday. We will see you on Tuesday, October 9th.

School picture proofs should be in soon. I will send those home once I receive them. Retakes are scheduled for Thursday, October 11th if necessary.

=***Grammar Test*** Thursday, October 4= =We will begin __The Egypt Game__ next week.= =Week of September 24-28= Is it the end of September already? It is hard to believe, but the cooler weather is telling us that the first days of fall really are here. Well, we have a week of grammar ahead of us! Subjects, predicates, fragments, and run-ons are the focus this week. The main focus of our grammar lessons will be how to apply these rules to improve our writing. Grammar taught in isolation (how you and I were taught) has gone the way of green chalkboard and yellow chalk! Thank goodness! Research has proven that when students apply the grammar rules to their writing or even have the chance to recognize these rules in their reading, the lessons are more meaningful.

Next week, we will have time set aside for parent conferences. If you would like to schedule a conference for Thursday evening, let me know. If I feel as though a conference is necessary, I will contact you. Otherwise, a conference is not necessary. We will have a half-day Friday, October 5th and no school on Monday, October 8th. Enjoy your fall break!

Noteworthy: Fall Festival t-shirts are order forms were sent via email. Those orders are due October 2nd. Students will be allowed to wear those shirts every Friday throughout the school year. Fall Festival is Thursday, October 25th. =Week of September 17-21= Wow! This was a busy week. The students were treated to a guidance lesson from Mrs. Melville, the BA guidance counselor. Mrs. Melville is a great resource for our students whether they need help with social, school, or even home issues. Her first lesson focused on accepting others' differences. We are looking forward to more sessions with Mrs. Melville. We also had the opportunity to hear Mrs. Reilly, our media specialist, explain the school's Acceptable Use Policy. Although there was much to cover, Mrs. Reilly's overall message to us was to practice responsibility while using any electronic devices at school or at home. If you and your student have not signed the behavior pledge that contains the agreement to abide by the Acceptable Use Police (AUP), please do so as soon as possible. Your student has a copy of this agreement if yours has not yet been turned in.

In the classroom... We ended the week with a comparison of two non-fiction texts, and our mouths were watering! We learned all about the invention of Hershey's milk chocolate as well as Reese's Pieces. Believe it or not, neither was easy to create! It is important for students to read non-fiction as the majority of their reading at school from this point on will stem from content area text books and supplemental materials. I am thrilled that we have our Scholastic magazines to give us such an entertaining introduction.

=Week of September 10-14= This week the school had an assembly and a flag ceremony to honor the memory of those killed in the September 11th attacks. It was meaningful to watch as the school sat quietly and listened to Mrs. Corner speak about the day.

Tomorrow is picture day! Students are to wear the regular dress code. Proofs and order forms will be be sent home in a few weeks.

=Week of September 4-7=

Hope you all had a great Labor Day. This week we have moved into our Scholastic Storyworks magazine which is a great way for the students to read from several genres. Currently, we are reading about an elementary school in Indiana that was destroyed by a tornado. It is a fabulous non-fiction piece of hope, strength, and courage. We will reach out to the students by writing them letters. Hopefully, the practical application of writing these students will stick with our students as they focus on kindness and encouragement while learning the parts of a friendly letter.

=Week of August 23-24=

What a great first day! I loved seeing all of the eager faces. The students seemed to do quite well with lockers, schedules, and new teachers.

A couple of things: Please remember to buy your books at your earliest convenience. [|Click here for MBS Direct website]

Uniforms are khaki bottoms and solid color tops. Students must wear tennis shoes for PE. They may not wear Tom's, Uggs, Sperries, etc.

Fridays are BA t-shirt days. Students may wear khaki bottoms and a BA t-shirt. Shirts must be tucked in, and belts must be worn.

We'll begin going over our summer reading Monday. = Week of August 27-31 =

Happy second week of school! This week we are finishing up our genre study as well as reviewing our summer reading. We have heard some super newspaper reports on __The Ghost of Fossil Glen__. We are going to practice our genre knowledge by categorizing our independent summer novels into the appropriate genres. I am also going to collect a baseline writing sample from each student (in class) so we can watch the fabulous progress throughout the year.

Just a few things to remember:
 * please make sure your student is adhering to the dress code
 * Running club will start next week. Your student will need a signed permission slip to participate. Mrs. Ambrose spoke to the class today about running club and passed out permission slips to those students who were interested.
 * Remind your students that homework assignments will not be posted on my wikispace. If there are questions about an assignment, please have your student call a friend in the class first. This is a wonderful lesson in accountability for them, and it takes the pressure off the parent!

Most importantly...we have a school holiday next Monday, September 3 to celebrate Labor Day with our friends and families. Enjoy!