Weekly Notes

Reports

In a recent Blake Bear Connection there was information about the changes made to report cards: we are all now using an A P G (appropriate, progressing, with guidance) "scoring" system for personal development and work management. We retired the "E" for exceptional.Fall reports will be mailed home soon!

Character Study Poster
A link to the Character Poster Checklist is in the Projects tab above. Students are taking a deep dive into characterization. Some of our teaching/learning is about the difference between physical and personality traits, between preferences (likes and dislikes) and personality traits, and between talents and personality traits. The students are doing a terrific job thus far!

Be the president! 

Here's the link to a really fun and challenging game. Give it a try! (Beware-you'll be hearing the theme music in your sleep!) Also, we'll be concluding our study of government next Friday with a unit test. Students will be studying in class next week, and we'll be talking about how to prepare from home, too. 

Executive Command Link

GET YOUR PICTURES IN

A Request from Ms. Marmet and Ms. Champlin - Deadline:December 19th

Hello Fifth Grade Parents - 

We can hardly believe our children are in fifth grade! That means it is time to start gathering photos for the Fifth Grade DVD Scrapbook that will be featured at the closing ceremonies in June. That means we will need parents to start collecting and sending in photos for the scrapbook video. The scrapbook video is traditionally a montage of the fifth graders throughout their years at Highcroft.

Each family will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of this professionally produced DVD that will include the scrapbook, the fifth grade play and the closing ceremony. More information about purchasing will be provided in the Spring. 

In order to create the DVD, we need your help! We are asking each family to submit the following by December 19th, 2014.

1) One baby/toddler photo of your 5th grader (please only send one)

2) One current photo of your 5th grader (please only send one)

3) Any candid group photos of the fifth grade class that have been taken over the course of their years at Highcroft (PK-5th). ***Photos must be at school or school events

There are a few ways you can get your photos to us: (please send high resolution .jpg files)

1) Email pictures to marniemarmet@gmail.com (please put 5th Grade Video in the subject line)

2) Dropbox.com - uploading your pictures to this site automatically creates the best resolution of your photo (preferred method). To use dropbox you will need to create an account. You will be sent an email from either Marnie or Aleya via Dropbox. Follow the link. You may upload your pictures to the Fifth Grade Video shared box (which contains folders broken out by grade) or create your own folder and share it with Marnie or Aleya. As added insurance, please shoot one of us an email to let us know you added your photos.

3) Hard copies (least preferred) - you may leave these in the office

If you are uploading photos, we ask that you label each photo to ensure that your child's baby/toddler photo is correctly associated with your child's current photo. Our preferred labeling format is (surname) baby photo, (surname) current photo. Our suggestion for labeling group photos is to label with school year and event (i.e. Second grade - Butterfly cookies). If you are emailing photos, please be sure to put in the email, the name of your child and the year and the event of the group photo. If you are submitting hard copy photos, a large manilla envelope will be placed in the front office at Highcroft. Please do not send your only copy of a family favorite that is irreplaceable. While we make every effort to return originals, we cannot guarantee the return. Lastly, we ask that you send photos that we can clearly see your child's face (head shots). The point is to be able to identify your child. :) 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us for help!

Thank you,

Marnie Marmet: marniemarmet@gmail.com

Aleya Champlin: aleyachamplin@yahoo.com

YIKES......I never hit POST

Dear Families- I never published the blog from the week of Thanksgiving...Forgive me!

Here it is, a little late, but I hope you find it informative!

Best,
Maia

Social Studies
We learned about the legislative branch this week. Ask your child how old a person has to be to run for the Senate or how population is involved in determining the number of representatives a state has! Your government buff might even be able to tell you how laws are made, got for it, quiz them!!


Math
We are rockin' and rollin' with our fraction study. I am really happy with the students progress and hard work. They are quickly catching on to these new concepts.This week we have been working on adding and subtracting mixed numbers. Next week we will move on to using our understanding of fractions to solve real work problems.

A REMINDER- We are continuing to test students on their math facts approximately once a month. PLEASE continue to support your students as they practice their multiplication and division facts at home. Our next fact test will be December 5th.

Word Work/ Mega Words
We begun List 10 this week in Mega Words. List 10 focuses on VOWEL suffixes and the spelling rules and patterns associated with adding these vowel suffixes to words. We are reviewing  multi-syllabic words and how breaking words into chucks helps us spell more accurately. In Word Work we are working on editing, proper use of quotation marks and how depending on suffix or prefix, a words part of speech can change. Ex: agree vs. agreements.

Community Building
The week after Thanksgiving break we will be wrapping up a series of discussion about the evolving expectations and changing relationships that 5th grade often brings. The girls met with Ann Bellin, LS Assistant Director, and Erin Adams, Director of Counseling, while the boys met with Dr. Yu, LS Director, and Jon Halpern, LS Counselor. They explored topics such as increased academic responsibility, their new position as role models for younger students, changing social dynamics, and their responsibilities to one another (including how they treat each another) within the classroom and beyond. The students have engaged the dialogue thoughtfully and have some great ideas for creating an even stronger classroom community. 

I hope you have a wonderful, restful and rejuvenating Thanksgiving!