I have a number of important updates regarding our academic progress that you should be aware of. Let's begin with a mathematics update:
MATH
We wrapped up the final chapter of instruction for the 2nd trimester last Thursday with a lesson on comparing data sets in Chapter 16. The final chapter test (Chapter 16) will take place tomorrow morning. Students completed a chapter review on page 426 for homework on Thursday night and are now ready to test out of the chapter.
You will recall that I sent home a math update during the last week of January updating your child's progress through the decimal chapters (11-13) and algebraic expressions and equations (ch 14). I will be sending home an updated report of their progress through chapters 15 (integers, +/-) and 16 (percent, %) at the end of this week.
Students will be receiving a "study guide" this week for the upcoming CVUSD 2nd Trimester Math Test which is scheduled to take place during the week of the 27th. We will review all material covered in chapters 11 through 16 this week. Feel free to administer a detailed review of those chapters as additional homework practice this week to help prepare your child to do their best. Any feedback regarding areas of concern should be e-mailed to me right away so I can personally check in with your child during the day and/or cover that material during math.
Every Wednesday we continue to split up for math intervention groups from 11-11:45. We strategically break up the class and focus on areas of concern and/or accelerate instruction depending on the need of the student. We are going to focus our efforts on preparing for the 2nd Trimester exam.
The district test is made up of 35 multiple-choice questions covering decimal operations (add/subtract/multiply/divide), algebraic expressions and equations, integers, and percent.
LANGUAGE ARTS
We are going to complete Lesson 20 ("The Invention Convention") this week which is a reader's theater piece. In addition to acting out the story in role-playing fashion, the fifth lesson of every theme is a cumulative review of vocabulary, grammar, and spelling standards.
In Theme 4 ("Dare to Be Great") the class has studied the use of pronouns (subjective/objective, possessive/reflexive) and verbs (main and helping) in grammar. We have learned two dozen or so new vocabulary words. And class has had the most rigorous list of spelling words this year so far, without a doubt. We've covered words with prefixes (in-, ir-, il-, and im-) suffixes, (-ous, -ious, -tion) and homophones.
The class has completed biweekly tests after lessons 17 and 19. The most recent was taken in class this past Friday, and the one preceding that was graded and sent home in your child's Proctor folder. As you can see, the vocabulary section was particularly grueling, and the grammar section was not forgiving either. Any additional materials you can use with your child for test-taking practice or review in the next month leading up the state testing would be very helpful. One good place to pick up some materials is over at Lakeshore Learning in San Leandro. They ought to start putting out the 2012 test prep materials soon. Good for extra practice.
We have two major upcoming tests in language arts. One is a summative Theme Skills Test which will review everything we've been studying in Theme 4 (Lessons 16-20) and what the district uses for their promotion/assignment criteria. The other is a summative Midyear Test put out by the publisher which is a comprehensive review of everything covered from the first day of school until now.
The class will complete the Midyear Test this week and the Theme Skills Test during the 2nd trimester testing window which opens the week of February 27th.
SCIENCE
Most importantly, the Proctor Science Fair will take place at 6pm on Wednesday, March 7th. All students have submitted their idea proposals and should be planning to complete their projects soon. There is one more weekend before the projects are due. Because the 5th grade team will be out of town at a math seminar on Tuesday, March 6, we are asking that all Science Fair projects come to school on Friday, March 2. We will begin sharing projects that day. If your child will need that extra weekend (March 3-4), they should let me know in advance. Late arriving projects are welcome that Monday, March 5, but no later than that. There will not be time to share on Tuesday with me being out of town, and the Science Committee is rounding up projects on Wednesday morning at 8:30am for set-up in the cafeteria. So, plan on having your Science Fair project complete by Friday, March 2. Thank you!
Last week Mr. Reynes wrapped up a very exciting lab on chemical reactions. We completed a chapter 2 review for homework and in class. Students will prepare to complete our final test in Physical Science this week and then we move straight into Life Science where we will be studying body systems and plant and animal cells.
Look for a study guide to come home for the science test this week, probably tomorrow.
SOCIAL STUDIES
At the moment, we are finishing the final lessons of Unit 4 on Life in the Colonies. Students have been storing information on important people and events during this historical time period of early American history in a folder we keep in class. Soon the class will be divided into small groups to complete a unit project creating a Colonial Newspaper. The details of how this project will be completed - in class, primarily - will be sent home this week. There will be four sections: news article, editorial, political cartoon, and advertisements.
Up next, we begin studying the Causes of the American Revolution in Unit 5. And that brings me to one of our first major field trips. It will take place on campus when we do the Walk Through the American Revolution at the end of next month. Roles will be assigned to all students which they will need to memorize and make costumes for. There is no need to buy anything, but I will have some recommendations for your child. I did this with last year's class, and it's really an amazing event that parents (not children) are encouraged to attend. More details will be sent home in the coming weeks, but be on the lookout for details regarding this exciting event!
FIELD TRIP - APRIL 4
A number of classes from our school, including Room 16 (!) will be attending the annual spring musical at Chabot Elementary School on Wednesday morning, April 4. This is the same day as Open House, and the week prior to Spring Break. The students at Chabot are doing a section of Sondheim's "Into the Woods" and we are excited to attend. If you'd like to mark your calendar, we could use about 4-5 parent chaperones to shuttle students across town that morning to and from Chabot. For now, just mark your calendars.
THANK YOU!
I appreciate all of the help I have received and we, as a classroom, have enjoyed from our wonderful parent volunteers. Erin Padavana and Sabine Claussenius put together a tremendous Valentine's Day party complete with lots of goodies and fun crafts for the class to enjoy. We have some upcoming fun class activities coming up that you can be a part of. Feel free to contact Francine Fiebig (francinefiebig@hotmail.com), Erin (padavana@sbcglobal.net), or Sabine (yllwladybug@yahoo.com) if you'd like to get involved with our March activity. I believe we're aiming to do something the afternoon of Friday, March 16. But simply THANK YOU to all who have contributed! The kids love the extra attention and fun that comes with enjoying these events.
And thank you very much for responding so quickly and so generously to my WISH LIST request items. We are replenished with tissues, markers, and disinfecting wipes. VERY HELPFUL!
The last WISH LIST item I am chasing down right now are SPEAKERS that I can connect to my MacBook. This comes in handy in a variety of ways as it relates to instruction using our brand-new, beautiful projector and document camera. So if you happen to have any speakers, or would like to donate speakers to the classroom, we will put them to immediate use!
BULLYING
On a bit of more serious note, bullying has become a much bigger problem than I can recall at our school. I noticed this year while coach the lunch time football games to the extent that I was very close to canceling the season. With a few conditions hinging on behavior, we managed to successfully play the championship game. But there have been numerous other incidents before school, during recess, lunch, and after school that have caused concern.
Ms. Garcia has asked that all students are to be picked up in the lower parking lot and not to loiter in the courtyard between our classroom and the office after school. Apparently, there have been incidents happening in that area under the trees.
I notice that a number of students in Room 16 are typically waiting at the bottom of the stairs before school instead of going to the upper playground. When you drop off your children at school, please encourage them to leave their bag by the classroom and go to the upper playground instead of lingering by the bottom of the stairs.
One final aspect that has increasingly become a concern in Room 16 is the use of Facebook amongst children in the classroom. Several students, I might add. And a few that have send "Friend Requests" to me, which I do not respond to. Unfortunately, the by-product of FB using that I have witnesses this year is that feelings get hurt, students cannot focus on school work or instruction. Consequently, the reality is that grades are effected and the sad part is that it has nothing to do with conceptual understanding.
Have a great weekend!
See you in the morning.
Regards,
Mr. McMurray
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