January 27 - 5th Grade Newsletter

Upcoming Dates

• Fri, Feb 3 Early Release

Reproductive Health Video

• Mon, Feb 6 Winter Break, no school
• Tues, Feb 14 Valentine’s Day Parties
• Fri, Feb 17 Symphony Field Trip + Lunch out
• Fri, Mar 3 Read-A-Thon

Volunteers for

Read-a-Thon/Camp Update

We are looking for a few parents to help get prizes and serve lunch for our upcoming Read-a-Thon, which takes place Friday, March 3rd. This is the last fundraiser for camp!!!  Please let us know if you can help!

Between the two can drives, we’ve raised enough to cover $62.50 for each student!!!!!  The remaining portion for Camp Pendalouan can be covered by funds raised in reading pledges for the Read-a-thon, or you can write a check for $37.50.  We are so excited about this!  Way to go!

Upcoming Field Trip

On Friday, February 17, we will be heading to the Grand Rapids Symphony. For this trip we do not need any chaperones.  We will be leaving right after special for an 11:15 performance. Since we will not return to school until after lunch, we will be stopping at McDonalds/Taco Bell/KFC in Jenison to have lunch. Please send enough money for your child to have lunch there OR students can pack a lunch to eat at the restaurant.

Valentine Cards

We will be passing out Valentine cards on Monday, Feb. 14th. It is optional; however, we ask that your child hands one out to everyone in the class if he/she participates. Then, for the party, the 5th graders will be planning it.  Along with the snacks they plan, they will be planning games and/or watching a movie. We will give them some movie choices that are either G or PG rating. Please let us know if you have ideas of some good movies or any concerns.

Human Body Unit

This unit in science will take about 8 weeks to complete. Your child will be introduced to 8 different systems. They will need to understand the main functions of each system and then how all the systems work together to complete a task. To make this unit ‘easier’, I encourage all students to review their notes at home throughout the week. It’s really important that they do not fall behind in their systems. After each system, there will be a short quiz.

Subject Overview

Reading: We are in full swing with our M-Step prep, focusing on identifying main idea, supporting details, compare/contrast, as well as text structures of nonfiction passages.  We will begin historical fiction book clubs in the very near future.

Math: We just finished Unit 4 and are now beginning Unit 5, which is division of whole numbers and decimals.  You should notice homework starting up again.

SS: Students are studying Life in Colonial America.

Science: Students are studying what the function is of the circulatory system and how it works.

Upcoming Dates

• Jan 16 Mother/Son Bowling forms due
• Jan 20 Camp Chaperone forms due
• Jan 21 Mother/Son Bowling
• Jan 26 Skating Party
• Feb 3 Health Video/Early Release Day
• Feb 6 No School, winter break

Volunteers-­Read-­a-­Thon

We are looking for a few parents to help get prizes and serve lunch for our upcoming Read-­a-­Thon, which takes place March 3rd.  This is the last fundraiser for camp!!! Let us know if you can help.

Snack Break

Fifth graders get about 5 minutes in the morning to have a snack and restroom break. During this time we have asked your child to limit their snack to one snack. We have also talked to them about not having (or bringing in) a large bag of candy, as this creates chaos with trading and sharing.  

­Can Drive Volunteers/Results

Thank you so much for helping return cans!  It certainly is not the most glorious of jobs, but we sure appreciate your service.  Because of your efforts, a little over $1,400 was raised to help our 5th graders attend camp in the spring.  The winning K-4 class was Mrs. DeSmit, and the winning 5th grade class was Mr. Bolhuis.

If you are interested in being a camp chaperone from Wednesday, May 3 through Friday, May 5, a form went home with all students today.  These are due back on January 20th.

Valentine Cards

We will be passing out Valentine cards on Tuesday, Feb. 14th. It is optional; however, we ask that your child hands one out to everyone in the class if he/she participates. Then for the party, the 5th graders will be planning it. Along with the snacks they plan, they will be planning games and/or watch a movie. We will give them some movie choices that are either G or PG rating. Please let us know if you have ideas of some good movies or any concerns.

Human Body Unit... The upcoming unit in science will take about 6- 8 weeks to complete. Your child will be introduced to 8 different systems. They will need to understand the main functions of each system and then how all the systems work together to complete a task. To make this unit ‘easier’, I encourage all students to review their notes at home throughout the week. It’s really important that they do not fall behind in their systems. After each system, there will be a short quiz.

Subject Overview

Reading: We will be starting Historical fiction book clubs on Monday.

Writing: Students are finishing up informational papers and will soon begin a historical fiction piece.

Math: Unit 5 is division of whole numbers.

SS: Students are studying Colonization and Settlement.

Science: Students are finishing typing up their non-fiction book. The following week, they will be starting the Human Body Unit.