Friday the thirteenth - black Friday. Raining outside and flowers on all the trees. Summer is just around the corner. The class reminded me that it is about two months or one fifth of the school year left.
Next week are several events. The first is sports day. It will be on Tuesday unless the AQI is high and then it will be on Thursday. Students need to remember to bring with them clothing and items for swimming, running and being outdoors. Hats, glasses, sunscreen, water bottles, swim togs and sneakers are the order of the day.
Next week we also begin our middle school transition time. Students get an intro from the MS administration on Thursday, have a visit to a grade 6 class on Friday and get a look at the choices for music classes in MS also on Friday. Should be a great start to transitioning the class to the middle school. I will keep you informed of due dates for forms.
We have been quite busy reading about and learning about Literary Essays. Next week we will start the first draft of our newest learning. The introduction has the thesis statement, then there is the support of the thesis and finally a conclusion. I expect to complete this prior to the May long weekend. We will be publishing literary essays on our reading blogs for the rest of the year.
Our math has taken us on a pathway of three-dimension objects and their volume. Now it is time to integrate fractions into this. It can be challenging to figure this out but once again it is an example of why multiplication abilities are so important. Base TIMES height or length TIMES width TIMES height are the two formulas we look at for volume. Once again there is a lot of multiplication.
In science this week we looked at physical and chemical changes, displacement to measure volume, movement of molecules at different temperatures and finally how to model science experiments. Next week we begin to look at how to write up a science experiment with a lab report. While this is only basic, it is a good intro for students since they will be writing science lab reports for many years to come.
I want to thank all of you for your time and effort during student-led conferences. I really feel strongly about these and the importance they hold in reflecting on our our year in grade 5. I hope you gained a further insight into your students learning and also into the fabulous growth I have seen this year. I cannot be more proud of the students for the work they have done this year.
If there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me and I will set up a time for us to meet.
