February Newsletter

February Newsletter
Room 20
Mrs. Shields
http://mrsshieldsblog.blogspot.com/

Another month has quickly flown by! We continue to work like Busy Bees in the classroom!

Our class trip will be here before we know it. Thank you for the quick response with consent forms and supper orders. I am sure the kids are going to have a great time!

At the January assembly, the Grade 5’s were able to share their gifts with the other classrooms from Santa’s Workshop. The Grade 5’s purchased a box of 20 books for each classroom. All of the teachers and the students were thrilled with the generosity of the Grade 5’s. Students also donated $35 to the Merritt Family Children’s Fund. Great job Grade 5...I am very proud of you!

As you know, February break is a much awaited part of this month for the students. The Friday before break, we will be having a Winter Fun Afternoon by cross-country skiing. We will celebrate the Olympics and Valentine’s Day in one swoop!

Language Arts
We are continuing with Tales – Clever, Foolish, and Brave at Guided Reading. Students did a wonderful job writing their own Tales. These tales are posted in the hallway. Please stop by when you get a chance! We will continue with various reading strategies using the short stories within this anthology. Visualization, comprehension, and connecting, are only some of the strategies we continue to focus on.
Students have begun working with Conventions in 6+1 Writing. We have started to work on identifying missing periods, capital letters, quotation makes, indents, commas, and misspelled words. Conventions is a trait that is incorporated towards the end of the writing process. We will continue to work on the other traits as all 7 writing traits build together to create wonderful pieces of writing.
This year’s Grade 5 AFL (Assessment for Learning) provincial assessment will be given in April. This year’s topic is writing. We will continue to sharpen our writing skills and work hard to continue to create the masterpieces that we are!!
We are working on Lesson 15 in Spelling. Students are continuing to work hard in spelling and completing the short activities.
We will also continue with the visualization strategy in reading comprehension using a variety of children’s books. Students are doing a great job using their imaginations to visualize what they are reading.

Math
We will complete our Measurement unit before the February break. Students have done a wonderful job incorporating Area and Perimeter into read world situations, such as designing a house. To wrap up the unit, students will work in small groups to design a PJ Gillen Zoo. I am excited to see what students come up with!
Our next unit is Fractions and Decimals. The unit objectives are as follows:
• Model, compare, and order fractions and decimals.
• Explore equivalent fractions and decimals.
• Relate fractions to division and to decimals.
• Use decimals to record measurements.
• Estimate decimal sums and differences.
• Add decimals with tenths, hundredths, and thousandths.
• Subtract decimals with tenths, hundredths, and thousandths.
• Pose and solve problems involving fractions and decimals.

We will continue with the Problem Solvers as well, focusing on the strategies of Working Backwards and Guess and Check. We will also begin working on Exemplars as a form of problem solving. Exemplars are a GSSD mandated form of problem solving that will provide students with extra practice with their problem solving skills.

Social
We are currently finishing up our Canadian Symbols unit with a unit test on Wednesday, February 3, 2010. Our next unit will focus on Canadian Explorers. Students will have an opportunity to research and investigate a variety of Explorers that have had an impact on Canada. We will be writing an Expository paper on an explorer of the students’ choice. We will also investigate the First Nations peoples and the impact they have had on our country.
We will also have a classroom visitor, Mr. Garry Breitkreuz, to discuss his role in the federal government and the role the federal government plays in Canada on Tuesday, February 9, 2010.

Science – Mrs. Gale
During the month of February students will be working on an expository writing piece dealing with an element from the periodic table. They will also be dealing with the concepts of; mixtures, solutions, compounds, chemical and physical changes. These concepts are best learned through hands-on science, so students will be very busy mixing and observing! Towards the end of the month students will be selecting, and presenting a ‘kitchen’ science experiment to their classmates.

Health – Mr. Leidl
Students will participate in the HIV/AIDS Awareness Program as prescribed by Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Learning. The human reproduction component for Grade 5 will be completed by February 12th as well. For this section the boys will be instructed by Mr. Leidl and the girls will be instructed by Mrs. Schentag. As parents, if you have any questions about either of these two health units please feel free to contact Mr. Leidl @ 745-2171.

Physical Education – Mr. Leidl
Educational gymnastics, cross country skiing, and outdoor pursuits will continue to be explored during the month of February.

French – Mrs. Orosz
Students can recognize the written words in the play: L’Arbre Ungali and are able to read it aloud with expression, as well as doing gestures and oral activities based on the story. Their pronunciation is wonderful. We are building on their comprehension, and will begin re-telling the same story in different words, as a class. They will continue to work through guided written activities.