September Newsletter

Welcome to a new and exciting year in Grade 5! Grade 5 has so many new things to offer students that this year will sure to be fun filled!
Communication is very important to me. I feel communication between everyone involved in your child’s education is extremely important for success. Please use my blog (www.mrsshieldsblog.blogspot.com) as a constant means of communication. I encourage parents to check the blog daily to keep up to date with what is going on in the classroom. I try to update my blog daily by including daily happenings, due dates, reminders, educational links, newsletters, and examples of student work. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me through email, kshields@mail.gssd.ca, or by phone 745-2171.

Grade 5 will be hosting a parent night on Wednesday, September 14 at 7:00 in Room 20 (Mrs. Shields classroom) to help clarify any questions you may have. Mrs. Gale and I strongly encourage you to attend this important evening. (It is not necessary for students to attend this meeting)
Attached to the newsletter you will find an email request form. Email is a very important means of communication for me. I like to send Markbook updates to the parents directly on a monthly basis so parents are aware of how their child is doing in the various subjects. With the click of a button, I am able to send an email printout of your child’s Markbook which includes each assignment and grade, as well the overall grade. You are will also be able to see if your child is missing any assignments or has been late in handing in any of these assignments. Monthly newsletters will also be sent through email rather than paper copies, unless otherwise requested.

Students will be provided with a day planner. Using a day planner is one of the most important skills your child will develop over the course of the school year. Students are expected to use their day planner as an organizational and communication tool. Students will be responsible for entering information into their day planners, taking it home and returning it back to school daily. Your support in this is appreciated.
Here is a breakdown of what the month of September will look like for us:
Language Arts:

We are using a Centers approach to Language Arts. All Grade 5 students have been split into 8 different small groups. Smaller reading groups have been created to help create individualized instruction. Students may be completing these Centers in either my or Mrs. Gale’s classroom.
Guided Reading – Students will be enjoying a variety of stories and poems in small groups. We will be working on reading fluency, comprehension, and written responses. Some stories or poems that we work on will lend themselves to students also writing stories or poems with similar elements, topics, or structures found in the initial story or poem.
Independent Reading – Students will be learning how to select a book that is “just right” for them. Too easy a book does not challenge and too hard a book makes reading enjoyment and comprehension very difficult. Throughout the year students will learn a variety of reading strategies that will assist them in their reading and comprehension of what they are reading.
Students will work on individual stations if they are not at one of these two reading stations. These stations include: SMARTboard, computers, SURF (novel on CD or Raz Kids), Science/Social, Math, Spelling, Newspaper, and Creative Writing.
Spelling words will be given every Monday (or first day of the week in the case of a long weekend). Students will be choosing 7 words from a word list provided from the story they are reading in Guided Reading. Each student will have an individualized list therefore it is very important for students to write their words in their agendas. Students will write their Spelling test every Friday. Please practice these words throughout the week.

Students will be writing a TWAS (This Week At School) every Friday. TWAS is a letter writing activity where students summarize what they have done at school during the week. Enjoy reading these summaries as they will be a collection of the entire year! Please sign and return these on the following Monday.
We will also be using the 6+1 Writing strategies within our creative writing class. With this system, students are encouraged to be creative and let their individualities shine! At this stage in our writing process, we are focusing on Ideas, the first of the 6+1 traits. With this trait, we are not concerned about spelling words correctly. We want kids to step out of their comfort zone and use words that may not be common place for them.
Read aloud has been scheduled into our day. I feel reading aloud to students is a critical component of modeling reading strategies and allowing students to simply enjoy a good book. We are starting off the year with “Hatchet,” an adventure filled realistic fiction book.
Math:

We will be using a Math Pod approach during our Math classes. Within this system, students rotate through three separate stations. One station is always computer based. I will continue to post the sites we use in the pods on my blog site for students to practice the skills. A second station, guided by myself, is for introducing new concepts. At this station, we often work through examples and begin working on the new concepts. The third station is meant for reinforcement of the previous lesson. The activities done at this station are usually hands on.
Our first unit in Math is Patterns and Equations. Throughout this unit students will be analyzing number patterns and stating pattern rules. We will also be working with problem solving strategies by applying patterning. Students will also be working with number expressions and solving equations.
We will also work to practice our problem solving skills using Problem Solvers and Exemplars.

Social Studies:

Our first unit in Social is titled Canada-The Land. Within this unit, students will be comparing physical and political maps, as well as defining a country, a province, and a municipality. Students will also be challenged to identify all of the provinces and territories, as well as when they entered into Confederation. Students will also spend some time discussing how the Western expansion of Canada affected our country. Focus will then shift to the 7 Physical Regions of Canada (ex. The Canadian Shield). Lastly, students will investigate a variety of Canadian symbols.

Science:

We are kicking off our year with the Life Science unit – Human Body Systems. Students will learn how to maintain a healthy body. Students will also investigate the structure and function of the major organs of a variety of human body systems. Lastly, students will discuss how the various human body systems function together.

Physical Education/Health (Mr. Leidl):

The Grade 5’s will begin their Physical Education classes focusing on sending and receiving skills. Students will also work on fitness planning, strength training, and flexibility skills. Participation, fun, and enthusiasm are required.

Students will get an overview of the Grade 5 Health Curriculum which will begin with a unit on Personal, Social, and Emotional Wellness. Students will learn strategies to improve their fitness and wellness initiatives.

Arts Education (Mrs. Schentag):

Welcome back to another school year! I hope that everyone had a relaxing and fun-filled summer holiday.

I am very excited to be teaching your child Arts Ed this year, as well as working with them in the library. This year in Arts Ed I will be implementing the new curriculum so the students will be exposed to entirely new content and experiences in the 4 strands of Arts Ed - Visual Arts, Drama, Dance and Music. The emphasis in this new curriculum will be on pop culture and how it influences the students' lives and choices. Students will draw from their own experiences with pop culture to inspire them in the artwork that they complete this year.

For the month of September, we will be working on a Visual Arts unit. The students will learn about what pop culture and pop art is and then complete various art projects based upon this knowledge. We will discuss and explore how the media influences the students' decision-making as well as learn about the Elements of Art, such as line, shape, colour and texture.

One main project that we will be completing in this unit is a "Me" Box. Students have already been asked to bring a shoebox to school. They will also be asked to bring a number of articles from home that they can use to decorate this box. Please watch for a letter to be brought home by your child in the next day or 2 explaining this assignment in more detail. Thank you for helping them get prepared for this assignment.

I look forward to a fun and rewarding school year. Please let me know if you have any concerns or questions. I do welcome anyone who has any artistic talents that they would like to share with the students. Just give me a call at school!

Have a great year everyone!!

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