Where Did September Go?

It is hard to believe that September is almost over.While it has only been a little over a month since your children walked through the door, eager and ready to be fifth graders, I sure do feel like we are becoming a family. As we all know families are full of love and appreciation, laughter and lots of joy, however, families are never complete without some trials and challenges. As a group we have been working hard on focus, attention and respect for everyone's learning. We are discussing the importance of supporting one another and remembering the powerful values of welcome, respect and safety, the corner stones of the lower school community. Just as our math muscles are growing, our reading stamina improving and our scientific thinking expanding, we are working on greater focus and attention during instruction,  self-monitoring of our own behavior and remembering that school is a place a for LEARNING!

MATH- We worked hard this week on learning and practicing the US algorithm for multiplication. I was able to work with each student this week, talking though this skill, seeing and understanding where they are and supporting them as they continue to work on mastering this fundamental strategy for solving larger multiplication problems. We ended the week with an introduction to 3 and 4-digit numbers multiplied by 2- digit numbers. Next week we will be working on DIVISION!

READING- We continue our reading journey with Regarding the Fountain, little by little putting together the clues to figure out why Dry Creek has no water.  Students are reading some assignments at home with discussion and overview in class. They are seeing the value of re-reading and peer discussion to more deeply engage with the story. We have been doing a variety of writing activities that pair nicely with the book. "Fonts and Me" was a particular favorite!


SCIENCE- Ask your students about science this week......

• Is there a difference between Heat Energy and Temperature ? ( hint: YES)
• The amount of heat energy an object has depends on what three things?
• How does a bulb thermometer work?

REMINDERS

• If you have not scheduled your FALL conference please be sure to do this ONLINE!
• Literacy Fest is October 13th. Please come, this is going to be a fantastic event!
• Please look for your child's Friday Folder each week in their backpack, remove work and return to school on Monday!
• Students should be READING over the weekend.Try to carve out this sacred time each weekend!