And We're Off!

It has been an excellent start to our learning year here in 5A! We are becoming more familiar with our routines and expectations, and are enjoying our new classmates and classroom! Students have been introduced to the main learning areas of this term, as well as participating outside of the classroom, be it Track and Field, student librarians, patrols, etc. We are a busy place! Tech team applications have been submitted as well. Thank-you to all parents for bringing in all the required student materials and fees for the upcoming year as well.

Open House

Thank-you as well to all who came out in support of the Open House on the 11th. It was great meeting you (and putting names to faces). The main message for the evening was simple - the grade 5 expectations newsletter (posted digitally here on the blog as well) and best ways to contact me. Please EMAIL me if you have any questions or concerns regarding any facet of your child's education and development. I will respond a.s.a.p. with a follow-up email or phone call at a time that works for both of us.

As well, I encourage those interested to follow "@5ANews" on Twitter for updates and reminders of all things 5A.

In the classroom...

Social Contract: We have built our social contract and classroom agreements for the year. This 'living' document describes the ideal classroom that we want to be in, as well as the expectations of each of us to ensure we are all reaching our learning potential. We will revisit this document throughout the year and when necessary.

ELA: We are readers in 5A. We will spend much time this year reading and responding to different texts in class and at home. We are learning to read more critically by asking questions, making comments and connections as well as predictions when we read. We are also learning how to edit our writing for spelling and punctuation. We are learning new vocabulary with our "3 PT Approaches".

As well, we are dedicating a portion of our ELA time each cycle for INQUIRY-based learning! An exciting area that I've had the privilege to work with Mrs. Eby and Mrs. Wyant in these past few years! Parents can also look out for our home reading program called READ AROUND THE WORLD coming later this month.

** Coming Soon:

1. Students will have/manage their own blog space for reading and responding to different texts (including peer responses).

2. Students will build their reading inventory via ReadTheory.Org, a powerful site that promotes comprehension skills and strategies when reading.


What is a Blog? Click to Watch!




MATH: Our investigations in math this term can be divided into key learning areas:

Mental Math: Students learn to use a variety of mental math strategies when approaching computations.

Place Value: Provides the foundation for much of our math learning this entire year.

Automaticity: Students are working towards 100% automaticity with their math facts to 81 (learning goal and curricular outcome).

Data Management: A small unit that focuses on representing (and understanding) data in a variety of different ways (charts, line plots, diagrams, etc.)

SCIENCE: Students are learning what nutrients are and how to follow Canada's Food Guide to make healthy food choices. This unit is a nice segue to our look at Body Systems (starting with the digestive system).

SOCIAL STUDIES: Our "big idea" in social studies this term asks the question - "How do we know about the long ago past?" From stories to theories, students will look (and ask) about the long ago past and how it influenced the development of Canada.

There is always more, but we will stop there for now....