As I write this I am hoping that most of you are enjoying a long weekend with the family and perhaps even the extended family. Mid-autumn festival is a great time of the year for this to be a part of our life.
It was a really short week we just finished and next week is even shorter here at school since we will spend three days and two nights at Singing Deer Lodge in the annual grade 5 outdoor experience. More on this later.
Each week there is now up to four people who are in charge of the daily current events. Next week there is only one - Tuesday - Inseong. Remember that current events take the place of nightly homework and are not an add on. All students have an account with NEWSELA and we practiced with it here in class for three days last week. The website does not require a VPN to work but it is account specific so each student will have to login to use it. One thing I really like about it is the leveled reading available. This means that even my EAL students can have total use of the site. In case it does go down I have emailed three other sites students can use to our class email on Office 365. These sites are Time for Kids, Dogo News and Science News for Students.
We are lucky to host the son of one of the candidates for Head of School on Monday. The students are excited to have him in class for the day and we all hope he will leave with a really positive insight into 5HD. At supper time on Monday as your student about this.
Spirit week was a great success and the students really took it to heart. The pictures on this blog attest to the spirit 5HD shows the rest of the school.
Wednesday to Friday next week we will be out at Singing Deer Lodge. Students need to bring their packed items for overnight on Tuesday morning so we can be ready to leave first thing on Wednesday. Please, please please keep this light and to a minimum. We are only gone for two nights. This being said, the nights can be quite cool and the forecast is for showers most of the week. Please plan accordingly.
On Wednesday students need to bring with them a day pack that has a snack, lunch, water/drinks, and rain gear in it. Please remember nothing with nuts in it. I have a booklet (small) and pencil they will also be packing. Any electronics they bring (and I strongly recommend that other than a camera they do NOT bring any) should also be in the day pack. Remember they will be carrying around with them all afternoon on Wednesday as we can not get into the rooms until 5:00pm. Anyone with medications should also bring them at this time and give them to me with any special instructions.
Camp is always a great event of the year and one that students look back on as a highlight. We are really lucky that we can go for two nights this year. I think I am just as excited as the kiddies are.
One change in class this week is that I will no longer cover the nightly homework with the class unless there is a huge problem. Instead everyone will hand it in first thing in the morning and I will mark it and hand it back for the next night. Please make sure students look over what they did in case there were errors and corrections need to be done.
We will continue with our look at decimal fraction equations, explorers and exploration and start biographies this coming week.
As always, if there are any concerns or questions please let me know so and I will gladly set a time for us to meet.
Harold
