Fifth Grade Weekly Newsletter #1

Hello Fifth Grade Families!

 

Welcome to fifth grade.  I hope that you and your family are easing back to the routine of things as we begin the new school year. 

 

Last week, we started to get to know each other as students completed back to school assignments.  Students also started sharing about themselves by bringing items that represented who they are.  We will continue presentations this week. 

 

Please note the following:

 

1. PE days are Tuesdays and Thursdays; and the first day is tomorrow. Students will change out of their regular uniform and change back after PE class.  It is important that students label every piece of their clothing. 
2. Students will most likely have math homework every night (except Fridays) and it’s due the next day.  Each homework assignment is worth five points.  Five points will be given if the student attempted all the problems and made necessary corrections as we correct the assignment in class.
3. Students write in their journal every day in the morning.  On Thursday night, students will bring their journal home and choose one to edit or add (They should already have four entries by then).  This particular piece will be read and graded on Friday.  Journal guidelines will be provided in the student’s notebook.
4. Corrected work will be sent home every Friday. Please review.  If you have any questions about any of the corrected work or assignments, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

A week in review:

Reading: The Wind in the Willows

Religion: Creation; First Friday Mass at 8:30 AM

Math: Comparing Numbers, Rounding, Problem Solving Strategy, Millions and Billions, Rounding Larger Numbers, Problem Solving Strategy; quiz on Thursday and Chapter Test on Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Language Arts: vocabulary, nouns

Social Studies: Unit 1 – The Ancient Americas

 

Ms. Ronquillo’s Contact Information:

e-mail:            kronquillo@sfsta.org

blog:               stafifthgrade.blogspot.com 

The View From Our Classroom

It's a beautiful day in the Richmond District! The sun is out.  That's the view from our classroom and that's the ocean in the horizon.  

Classroom Jobs

Thank you for the classroom helpers this week! Each student will have an opportunity to have a job throughout the year.  

Rules and Consequences

For our classroom to run well, we need to follow the rules.  If rules are broken, there are consequences.   When students show positive behavior, they will be rewarded. 

Establish The Need For Rules

The students worked in groups to come up with a game using only a pair of dice and 15 index cards.  Each group is to come up with a game, name it, play it, and explain to the class how to play it.  They were given 20 minutes.  The groups came up with the following: 

Table 1: Lost and Found

Table 2: Multi-Boobie Trap 

Table 3: Alien Race

Table 4: Drop the Dice 

Table 5: Fire Dice

Table 6: Lights, Camera, Action 

This led to the discussion of our classroom rules.  The fifth grade class rules are as follows:

Be Safe

Be Respectful

Be Responsible 

Getting to know "ME"

An example of the assignment: 

Part I:

Bring items to the classroom that represent who you are.  You must at least have five items and no more than ten.  Please do not bring items that are too valuable and/or cannot part with for about a month.  You may take pictures of items that you are not able to bring to class.  (Ms. Ronquillo will give you an example).

 

Part II:

Write about it.  Include all the items and explain why each one is important to you. 

 

Part III:

Presentation: explain the items you brought to class.

 

Due date: Friday, August 28, 2009.  

First Day of School!

I would like to welcome everyone back to STA.  It was great to meet all of the fifth graders today! We had a great first day.  Although we had a short day (11:00 AM dismissal), we were able to get to know each by playing a guessing game.    I've noticed that the fifth graders are hard workers, so please keep it up.  I'm looking forward to an awesome year! 

Summer Reading

I hope that you are enjoying the books for summer reading.  Please be reminded that the two book reports are due on the first day of school, Monday, August 24, 2009.  The creative project is due on Friday, September 4, 2009. Remember, do not wait until the last minute to finish your assignments! Happy Reading. 

One-Eyed Cat by Paula Fox

Howl's Moving Castle by Diane Wayne Jones

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

The Star Fisher by Lawrence Yep

Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt

The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth

The Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

Link for the book report form:

http://www.abcteach.com/free/b/bookreport_fun_nolines1a.pdf