Enjoy Your Summer!

We enjoyed working with your children this year!  We hope you have a wonderful summer!  We look forward to seeing you in the fall. 

Summer Homework

Students entering fifth grade will have reading and math homework to complete over the summer. The summer reading assignment for students entering fifth grade is to read Holes by Louis Sachar.  Students should be ready to take a quiz over the novel and will complete activities related to this reading during the first weeks of school in August. Students should also complete their summer reading calendar and return it to their fifth grade teacher in August. For their math assignment, students will need to complete the weekly IXL schedule provided to them by their fourth grade teachers. Teachers will print reports showing the frequency and length of visits and what content was practiced/mastered. 

Students entering sixth grade will also have reading and math homework to complete. The summer reading assignment for students entering sixth grade consists of reading one book called Takeoffs and Landings and is provided by the school. Students will complete the Required Books Form located in the "Summer Reading" section of the St. Paul's website after reading this book. For their math assignment, students will need to spend at least five hours total on DreamBox. The teachers will print the reports that document the length of time students spent on the program each week as well as the lessons they completed, and this data will be used to determine their first grade for sixth grade math. The school has paid for an extension account so these fifth grade students have access to this great resource over the summer, and we want them to take full advantage of it.  

Is your child entering fifth grade in August 2016?
Below are some of the highlights of Fifth Grade at St. Paul's.

• Celebrating The Presidents of The United States of America During an Integrated, Thematic Unit
• Writing a Resume, Interviewing for a Job, and Running a Business in an interactive City Experience
• Participating in WordMasters, a National Vocabulary Competition
• Leading the Second Floor Chapel at Least Once During the Year
• Having Extra Privileges Such as Attending Student Council Speeches & Middle School Pep Rallies
• Exhibiting Life Skills & Being Great Role Models for the Younger Students in the Division

For more information about fifth grade and the learning objectives covered during the year, please visit the Fifth Grade Curriculum Packet page on this blog.

Fifth Grade Teachers

The two fifth grade homeroom teachers are Becky Nash and Maeve O'Connor. Both teachers teach reading and language arts to their homeroom students. Mrs. Nash teaches social studies to all fifth grade students, and Miss O'Connor teaches science to all fifth grade students. Fifth graders have math with Gretchen Beilharz. If you would like to learn more about the teachers you can visit the bio section of the St. Paul's website.

May 16-May 20

Upcoming Events

Monday, May 23rd ~ All Book Contract Projects Due, Yearbook Signing at 11 am in the gym

Tuesday, May 24th ~ 3rd - 8th Grade Field Day, Parent Activities, and Picnic on the Field*

Wednesday, May 25th ~ 8th Grade Recognition Chapel for Grades 3-8 

Thursday, May 26th ~ Last Day of School, grades 3-8 will take a field trip to Ward Parkway Lanes.  We will leave St. Paul's at 10:00am and return by 12:20.  Students will eat lunch in the classrooms upon our return.  Students should bring socks, a sack lunch, and up to $4 for treats.  

* Mrs. S and Mr. Kurt are planning a great day of activities for our 3^rd-8^th grade students to enjoy on Tuesday, May 24. As a special treat for our 3^rd-5th grade students, parents are invited to join them for parent/child activities at 11:00 am, followed by lunch on the field from 11:30-12:00. You can pack a picnic lunch for yourself and/or your children, grab your favorite take-out lunch on your way to the school, or sign up for a hotdog lunch through the school. Students will sign up for hot lunch with their class as normal, but parents need to pre-order their lunch by clicking here. To ensure we have enough food prepared for students and guests, guest lunches will not be available unless pre-ordered.

Summer Opportunity Note:

Mrs. Nash would like to invited any interested fifth graders to join her for a fun summer opportunity!  She is offering a "Mysteries in American History" class this summer through the St. Paul's Summer in the City Program. This class is for any students going from 5th-8th grade. We will explore many of America's unexplained historical events, such as Amelia Earhart's disappearance and the USS Maine explosion. The class is from 9 am-12 pm during the week of July 11th-15th. For more information or to register your child, please visit http://www.speds.org/Page/Programs/Summer-Program.

Academics

In Language Arts this week, students learned about adverbs and pronouns. Students have also spent time focusing on classifying sentences. Additionally, we completed Wordly Wise 20, our final Wordly Wise lesson of the year! Next week, we will wrap up the year with a few review activities focused on the parts of speech we have learned this year. 

This week in Reading, students in both classes had work periods to complete their book contract projects.  Completed projects are due this coming Monday, May 23rd. We will share these projects in class next week. 

In Social Studies, we continued our study of the Civil War. Several groups presented read aloud plays to help us learn about various aspects of the war. We also spent time understanding how the states were divided during this time, we learned more about the Battles of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg address, and we analyzed what life was like for the hundreds of thousands of people serving in the war.

In Science we reviewed, reviewed, and then reviewed some more for our Solar System test.  Students played review bingo, kahoot, and 4 corners in preparation for the test today.  Next week, we will have our much anticipated 3D car race and do some fun science experiments as well.

May 9th - 13th

Upcoming Events

Friday, May 20th ~ Science Test, Outer Space

Monday, May 23rd ~ All Book Contract Projects Due, Yearbook Signing at 11 am in the gym

Tuesday, May 24th ~ 3rd - 8th Grade Field Day

Tuesday, May 24th ~ 11:00 am Parent Act*

Tuesday, May 24th ~ Picnic Lunch on the Field*

Wednesday, May 25th ~ 8th Grade Recognition Chapel for Grades 3-8

Thursday, May 26th ~ Last Day of School, grades 3-8 will take a field trip to Ward Parkway Lanes.  We will leave St. Paul's at 10:00am and return by 12:20.  Students will eat lunch in the classrooms upon our return.  Students should bring socks, a sack lunch, and up to $4 for treats.  

* Parents are invited up to the field to participate in games with their child at 11 am on Tuesday, May 24th.  The parent picnic will immediately follow and will go from 11:30 am-12 pm. 

Summer Opportunity Note:

Mrs. Nash would like to invited any interested fifth graders to join her for a fun summer opportunity!  She is offering a "Mysteries in American History" class this summer through the St. Paul's Summer in the City Program. This class is for any students going from 5th-8th grade. We will explore many of America's unexplained historical events, such as Amelia Earhart's disappearance and the USS Maine explosion. The class is from 9 am-12 pm during the week of July 11th-15th. For more information or to register your child, please visit http://www.speds.org/Page/Programs/Summer-Program.

Academics

In Language Arts this week, students learned all about prepositions.  To show what they learned, students wrote a "Preposition Poem" guiding an animal of their choice through an assortment of obstacles.  Students also began arranging their writing portfolios, including all of the papers we have written this year.  The writing portfolios will be on display in the 2nd floor commons on Monday, May 23rd and Tuesday, May 24th.  Lastly, students completed Wordly Wise 19 this week.  Wordly Wise Lesson 20 is due next Thursday, and we will take our final Wordly Wise test next Friday.  

This week in Reading, both classes finished their reading assignments for their book contracts.  Students will have all next week to work on the projects and assignments that go along with the book contract.  Completed book contract projects are due for all classes Monday, May 23rd.  

In Social Studies this week, we learned about the events leading to the start of the Civil War and the differences between the north and the south during this time period. Students also were placed in groups to present a read aloud play about a different aspect of the Civil War, including the beginning of the war, the Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg, and the end of the war. Over the next week, each group will present their plays to the class and we will complete other classroom activities to help us understand how the war progressed. On Friday morning, we also had many students come share their enrichment projects on a topic related to the war they chose to research. The presentations were very well done, and we had a fantastic time learning from each student!

In Science this week, we learned all about the phases of the moon.  Students drew and labeled diagrams, made fortune tellers, played four corners, and participated in quiz shows to understand the 8 phases.  Students now have all of the information they need for the test next Friday, May 20th.  Until then, we will be reviewing the concepts in class.  Today, students took home a study guide for the first part of the test.  Students will also be asked to fill out a diagram for the life cycle of a star and draw and label the 8 phases of the moon in order.  

May 2nd - May 6th

Upcoming Events

Monday, May 9th ~ Mercado Day, 1:00-2:15 pm*

Wednesday, May 11th ~ Math Test**

Friday, May 13th ~ Social Studies Enrichment Celebration

Friday, May 20th ~ Science Test, Outer Space

Monday, May 23rd ~ All Book Contract Projects Due, Yearbook Signing at 11 am in the gym

Tuesday, May 24th ~ 3rd - 8th Grade Field Day

Wednesday, May 25th ~ 8th Grade Recognition Chapel for Grades 3-8

Thursday, May 26th ~ Last Day of School

*Parents are invited to the MPR to listen to students' presentations about their Spanish speaking countries and participate in a market day.

**Each student has a folder in the Office 365 account that contains all necessary materials for the Math test they will have on Wednesday. The can access this through OneDrive.

Summer Opportunity Note:

Mrs. Nash would like to invited any interested fifth graders to join her for a fun summer opportunity!  She is offering a "Mysteries in American History" class this summer through the St. Paul's Summer in the City Program. This class is for any students going from 5th-8th grade. We will explore many of America's unexplained historical events, such as Amelia Earhart's disappearance and the USS Maine explosion. The class is from 9 am-12 pm during the week of July 11th-15th. For more information or to register your child, please visit http://www.speds.org/Page/Programs/Summer-Program.

Academics

In Language Arts, we finished our Persuasive Writing Project using adjectives. Students finished rough drafts, individually revised and edited, and then worked with a partner to make any final changes before publishing their work. We also completed Wordly Wise Lesson 18 this week and took the test on Friday. Students will need to complete Lesson 19 by Thursday, May 12th.

In Reading,  students in both classes continued their book contracts this week  Students will finish the books next Friday, and then have four work days the following weeks to work on the other components of the project.  Students also created book trailers advertising the book report books they read.  We will watch them next week! In Mrs. Nash's Class, all work for this unit is completed in an online class notebook that students can access from home and school. Miss O'Connor's class is keeping all of their work for this project in a Book Contract portfolio.

In Social Studies, students shared Chapter 9 projects in class. We also started our final unit of the year over the Civil War. Students have an enrichment opportunity in conjunction with this unit. They may choose to research a specific topic within the context of the Civil War. For the students who choose to participate, we will have a celebration and present projects on Friday, May 13^th from 7:15-8:00. Breakfast treats will be provided at this activity.

In Science this week, we learned all about the life cycles of stars.  Through songs, video clips, discussions, and foldables, we learned the characteristics of stars in each life cycle and made a diagram to show what we learned.  Next week, we will learn about the eight moon phases.  That will wrap up our space unit, and we will take a final test on Friday, May 20th.

April 25th - April 29th

Upcoming Events

Friday, April 29th ~ Art Show from 3:30-7:30

Tuesday, May 3rd ~ Middle School Book Fair*

Wednesday, May 4th ~ Middle School Dodge Ball Tournament**

Friday, May 6th ~ Fourth Quarter Book "Reports" (Book Trailers) Due

Monday, May 9th ~ Mercado Day, 1:00-2:15 pm***

Friday, May 13th ~ Social Studies Enrichment Celebration

Friday, May 20th ~ Science Test, Outer Space

Tuesday, May 24th ~ 3rd - 8th Grade Field Day

Thursday, May 26th ~ Last Day of School

*Middle School has a Book Fair each spring to help students find great books to read over the summer. Fifth grade is invited to participate each year, so each class will be attending the book fair the afternoon of May 3rd. Miss O'Connor's class will visit from 2:00-2:30 and Mrs. Nash's class will visit from 2:30-3:00.

**5th graders are invited to watch the Middle School Dodge Ball Tournament.  Students are asked to bring a $1 donation for our sister school in Haiti.  

 ***Parents are invited to the MPR to listen to students' presentations about their Spanish speaking countries and participate in a market day.  

Academics

In Language Arts, we resumed Wordly Wise this week.  Students completed lesson 17.  Lesson 18 is due next Thursday with a test over the lesson on Friday.  We also began a persuasive writing project with a focus on using adjectives in our writing.  Students have brainstormed, completed a graphic organizer, and started their rough drafts.  We also did a series of mini-lessons on persuasive writing and types of adjectives.  Students will finalize their papers next week.   

In Reading,  both classes began their Book Contracts. Each student in Mrs. Nash's class is reading one of the following books: Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper, Daphne’s Book by Mary Downing Hahn, The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies, or Belle Prater’s Boy by Ruth White. In Miss O'Connor's class, students are reading Indian Captive by Lois Lenski, Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis, Wizard's Hall by Jane Yolen, or The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli.  Each day, students are reading an assigned number of pages and writing a journal response. They will also be completing several other reading activities in conjunction with the book. In Mrs. Nash's Class, all work for this unit is completed in an online class notebook that students can access from home and school. Miss O'Connor's class is keeping all of their work for this project in a Book Contract portfolio.  

In Social Studies, students worked in groups to plan and create their group project about their assigned period of time. While they had several options for how to present their information, most groups chose to make iMovies. We will share these in class on Monday before moving on to our final unit of the year over the Civil War. Students also received an enrichment opportunity this week in class. They may choose to research a specific topic within the context of the Civil War. For the students who choose to participate, we will have a celebration and present projects on Friday, May 13^th from 7:15-8:00. Breakfast treats will be provided at this activity.

In Science, students continued learning about our solar system.  We finished studying the characteristics of the four outer planets and began learning about the life-cycles of stars.  Did you know our Sun is only medium sized in relation to other stars?  The fifth graders now do!  We will continue learning about the life cycle of stars next week and then transition into moon phases.  Our final science test will be on Friday, May 20th and will cover the planets, smaller members of the solar system (asteroids, meteors, comets, and meteorites), the life cycle of stars, and the phases of the moon.  

April 18th - 22nd

Upcoming Events

Friday, April 29th ~ Art Show from 3:30-7:30

Tuesday, May 3rd ~ Middle School Book Fair*

Friday, May 6th ~ Fourth Quarter Book "Reports" (Book Trailers) Due

Monday, May 9th ~ Mercado Day, 1:00-2:15 pm**

Tuesday, May 24th ~ 3rd - 8th Grade Field Day

Thursday, May 26th ~ Last Day of School

*Middle School has a Book Fair each spring to help students find great books to read over the summer. Fifth grade is invited to participate each year, so each class will be attending the book fair the afternoon of May 3rd. Miss O'Connor's class will visit from 2:00-2:30 and Mrs. Nash's class will visit from 2:30-3:00.

 **Parents are invited to the MPR to listen to students' presentations about their Spanish speaking countries and participate in a market day.  

Academics

In language arts, we finished preparing for our final WordMasters Challenge of the year. We took the challenge this Friday. Now that we are finished with WordMasters, we will resume Wordly Wise. Students should begin working on Wordly Wise #17, which is due Thursday, April 28th. Next week, we will begin a persuasive writing project with a focus on using adjectives in our writing. 

In Reading, Miss O'Connor's class continued reading Out of My Mind.  We answered comprehension questions and wrote letters from the perspective of different characters to enhance our understanding of this novel.  We will finish the book on Tuesday.  Students in Mrs. Nash’s class took comprehension tests over Jayhawker and Elijah of Buxton. We also selected books for our next reading unit, which will be a book contract. Students in both classes should also be continuing to work on their book report books. 

In Social Studies, we made final preparations for our day at Exchange City on Tuesday. We also used class time to begin our next unit in social studies, which will focus on many historical events from the Louisiana Purchase all the way through the California Gold Rush. Students will be working in groups to complete a project for this unit, and all work should be completed in class. 

In Science, students continued learning about our solar system.  We learned how the Earth's tilt causes seasons and why we have leap years.  Then we focused on characteristics of other planets, starting with the inner planets and then moving to the outer planets.  

April 11th - 15th

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, April 19th ~ Exchange City Field Trip

Thursday, April 21st ~ Noon Dismissal, Professional Development for Teachers

Friday, April 22nd ~ WordMasters Challenge 3

Monday, May 9th ~ Mercado Day, 1:00-2:15pm*

 *Parents are invited to the MPR to listen to students' presentations about their Spanish speaking countries and participate in a market day  

Academics

This week, a large portion of our time was spent doing standardized testing.  The students worked very hard, and we are so proud of them.  Make-ups will begin next week.  

In Reading, Miss O'Connor's class continued reading Out of My Mind.  We have read through chapter 26 and focused on student led discussions to deepen our understanding of the text. In reading this week, students in Mrs. Nash’s class finished their novels Elijah of Buxton and Jayhawker. We will take comprehension tests over these books on Monday of next week and have final discussions as a group.

In Social Studies, we spent time completing several tasks to prepare for our Exchange City day. Students worked together to develop laws for their city. Students also spent a lot of time working with their business to develop products to sell, create an advertising plan, and finalizing all of their business paperwork.

In Science, we continued our study of the solar system.  Students finished their webquest, in which they learned how the solar system was created, what it takes to be a planet, how planets orbit around the sun, and many interesting facts in order to compare and contrast the planets.