Week of 11/29-12/3

We will resume our spelling and vocabulay tests this week. The spelling test will be on Wednesday over Lesson 14. The list went home on Wednesday before Thanksgiving break. The vocabulary test will be on Friday. The list went home on Monday, Nov. 29.

Countdown summaries are due by Friday, December 3. The summary should be written for the last half of the book (Chapters 14-28). Each summary should be edited by at least two adults, as well. Pleaes return your edit sheet along with your typed summary to school by Friday for full credit.

We are starting a new novel this week called On My Honor. All of the reading will be done at school, however, if needed, additional time at home might be necessary.

We are continuing with Unit 5 in math this week. We will test over this unit next Thursday, December 9. I will send home a study guide early in the week to help prepare for the test.

Students will be presenting their readers theater plays on Friday, December 3. We will begin at 1:30. There are four groups to present. If you'd like to attend, please feel free to drop in.

ISTEP+ Info

Fifth graders will be taking the ISTEP+ online this spring. If you'd like to go through a test run with your child, please use the following link. We will go through a test run here at school eventually, but if you'd like to see it, go for  it!

No login is required. Simply select your grade level, click Start the Test, and click Log In (no ID or password needs to be entered).


Here's the link:

http://learnoas.ctb.com/ISTEP/

Notes for this short week 11/22-11/24

• MANY THANKS FOR ALL OF THE DONATIONS SO FAR!!! We are still in need of index cards, clean chip bags, and colored plastic bags! Thanks!
• We will NOT have a spelling or vocabulary list this week.
• We WILL have a Social Studies test over Chapter 2 on Wednesday. We began reviewing for the test today using pages 98-99 in the Social Studies book. Students are writing definitions, sentences, and answering questions to prepare them for the test. The students were encouraged to bring their books and study review sheets home tonight to finish, but will also receive time in class tomorrow. We will go over the correct answers tomorrow, too.
• Countdown summaries are due next Friday, 12/3. The students should finish the book and write a five paragraph essay about over the last portion of the book, Chapters 13-28. The students received an information sheet, as well as an editor's checklist for editing their work with two adults.
• There is math homework tonight: Study Link 5.6. All students were given time to ask questions individually and as a class today, so my assumption, at this point, is no one has any questions. Don't forget students can access their reference book online if more information is necessary.

We would be so thankful for . . .

by December 3 if you're able to donate any of the following:

• index cards of all sizes
• plastic bags from various stores (Walmart, Target, Kohls, Marsh, Kroger, Justice, etc)
• empty and clean large or small chip bags (Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos, etc)
• parchment paper (at least enough for 15 students)
• Hershey kisses
• CHEER item donations (see Brown Barker for item suggestions)

Many thanks for your donations in advance!

Spirit Day: November 19

I KNOW WE CAN WIN THIS ONE!!!!!!!!!
On November 19 wear GREEN to school to show your support! The CLASS with the MOST green will receive a POPCORN party!! Please remember the spirit day rules by following the dress code and no hair coloring or face painting.


Movie Night Spirit Night: (See permission slip attached to today's email)
Wear your P.J’s to Movie Night for $1.00!!!! If you would like to wear your P.J’s (must wear regular footwear that is acceptable to the school’s dress code) to movie night, bring $1.00 with you to movie night!

November 15-19

After coming back from a wonderful three-day weekend, we're all feeling a little more revived and ready to head into a full five-day week!

Tuesday: Veteran's Day word search is due and Yankee Candle pick up at Harris Center from 4-8p

Wednesday: Spelling test--no packet will be due this week. The list went home with students in their "Friday Papers" on Thursday. It's also the second day to pick up Yankee Candles from 4-8p.

Friday: Vocabulary test-the list will go home today with students

Other assignments might come up throughout the week. These will be written in your child's assignment notebook.

We Support our Bburg Families by December 3

Each year the Brownsburg Cheer Committee provides help for many families in our Brownsburg community. All Brownsburg schools support the Cheer Committee with donations from the students and their families. Our school began collecting items today. Friday, December 3, will be the last day for the collection of items. Student Council has set a goal of collecting 1,000 items and our class would enjoy helping them with this collection to support our three Student Council members. If our school meets this goal, there will be a special reward!
Watch for the details of the reward in the next Brown Barker.


Items Assigned to Brown


Baby Cereal

Baby Food

Cake/Brownie Mix

Canned Fruit

Cereal

Pasta/Rice

Peanut Butter/Jelly

Pop Tarts

Soup

Toothpaste

Important Links

If you're looking for a specific website either that you've worked on in class or that I've mentioned with your parents this week, please take a look at the bottom of this blog for our 5th grade links!

11/9 Update

No math homework tonight, however we worked on changing improper fractions to a mixed number. Example: 7/2 = 2 1/2. We also play "Fraction Top-It" in small groups to work on equivalent fractions. The Everyday Math online games offers opportunities to practice these basic skills. Triple A Math website does, too. See the links to these at the bottom of the blog.

Spelling packet and test on Thursday this week. Spelling list went home on Thursday.

Chic Fil A day/night tomorrow! A portion of the proceeds goes directly to Brown! Just mention us for lunch or dinner!

Tonight's Homework

Math: Study Link 5.1 due Tuesday--the answers to this assignment came home with the family letter via email and/or paper copy. Feel free to guide your child in getting the correct answers. The better they understand today's/tonight's skill, the better off they'll be! We did, however, work on this same skill during math this morning, so it should just be more practice.

Spelling: The spelling test will be on Thursday this week. The spelling packet is also due on Thursday. We will NOT have time to complete any portion of the packet at school this week, so please plan to work on the packet at home this week.

Reading/Writing: Countdown summaries for the remainder of the book are due on December 3. The instruction sheet came home with the fifth graders on Thursday.

No school on Friday!!! Enjoy another three-day weekend!

Island Celebration: Thursday

We will celebrate the culmination of our Island of the Blue Dolphin unit on Thursday by watching the video to compare and contrast it to the novel. We also plan to dress in our island gear (flip flops, sunglasses, hawaiian shirts, shorts, etc) for that day. Remember, however, that if you plan to wear flip flops, you MUST wear your regular shoes to and from school.

We will also plan to enjoy some snacks during our movie. I will provide the popcorn, but if you have any ideas and wish to donate something fun for the event, please contact Mrs. Hill!

We're counting down to the end of Countdown!

Everyone turned in their Countdown novel summaries this week! This is cause for a celebration!  We will be enjoying POPCORN this afternoon to celebrate all of our acheivements for the first nine weeks!

I'm anxious, as many of the kids are now, to begin reading past Chapter 12 and into the end of the book! We will NOT have weekly book club summaries due each week until after we finish this novel. However, all students will bring home a summary assignment sheet again today that is due December 3. The goal is for each student to read through the book to the end and write a five paragraph summary over Chapters 13 through 28, as they did for the first 12 chapters.

Please read through the summary assignment with your child and encourage him or her to ask any questions that might come up!

Homework for Week of 11/1-11/4

FYI: Each day most of the students have a 20+ minute study hall period right after recess from 1:25 to 1:45. This is a time for students that are not in Reading Coach or Successmaker to catch up on assignments, read quietly, and/or organize themselves before the afternoon. Any of the assignments on our assignment board can be completed or worked on during this time period each day.

Unit 4 Math Test will be Wednesday, November 3. Students received a review sheet on Monday that will mimick the test. We went over many of the problems together for understanding. Please remember that I am only concerned with the students answering the problems correctly, not with how they got the answer (i.e. partial quotient method vs. doghouse method for dividing). Ask your child if you're unsure what I mean.

Science packet about worms is due on Thursday. We completed the first page for Morning Work on Monday (allotted 15 minutes to complete if buckled down upon arrival). We will have more time on Wednesday to complete a page for Morning Work as well. However, the remainder of the packet is to be completed during Study Hall time or at home.

We just finished reading through Chapter 23 in our Island of the Blue Dolphins novel today. Therefore, the corresponding pages in the student packets are assigned to be completed by Thursday. Just to give you an idea on timing given to work in class on this assignment: we will spend from 10:30 to 11:30 today quietly working around the room on this assignment. This provides the students with a chance to catch up and ask questions as needed.

Please ask your child if you have any questions or concerns about assignments. Each child should be filling out his or her assignment notebook each evening. We discuss these assignments as a class and the students write them each day in their notebooks. I encourage you to double-check with your child each night.

Scholastic Book Orders for November

Scholastic Book Order forms went home on Friday. This is an excellent opportunity to grab a few early holiday gifts for your kids. I don't send home these forms often, but when I do, it's because the kids tell me how awesome the catalog is for that particular month. If you'd like to place an order, please do so and send the form and payment to school by Thursday, November 11. This will allow plenty of time for me to submit the order and return the books to you.

***If you wish for any of the order to be a surprise, please contact me via email or note before the end of November.

Thanks for your order!