Mrs. Sewell's Blog

Update - 5th Grade Events

May 12 - 4H

May 13 - Palmer Trip

May 16 - Field Day

May 20 - Picnic

May 22 - 5B Awards

May 23 - Walk of Fame 1:45

Only 18 More Days of School

The CRCT is over and you should all be very proud of how well your students applied their testing strategies and all that they learned throughout the year. They were extremely focused.

The last few weeks of school hold many exciting events for fifth graders to look forward to… here are just a few of the important dates of upcoming events:

• Tuesday, May 20^th – Fifth Grade End of the Year Celebration – This will include various activities to enjoy – jumping machines, games, prizes, cookout and much more...
• Wednesday/Thursday May 21-22^nd – Honors Day – Parents of students receiving an award will receive an invitation to this special day.
• Friday, May 23^rd – Last day of School – Walk of Honor- Fifth grade will form a procession through the hallways as all the classes of Big Shanty honor them. 

Academically, between now and the end of the year, we will be studying geology and making an illustrated booklet of important concepts. In math, we will work on measurement and geometry.  In language arts, we will learn the 8 parts of speech. For reading, we will read a story per week from our reading books, with a test each Friday. In social studies, the focus will be on the United States after World War II.

Cool website that uses paper plates to create geometric solids: www.wholemovement.com

CRCT Schedule

CRCT testing will occur over 5 school days. It will begin Wednesday, April 23 and end Tuesday, April 29.

Wednesday, 4/23 (8:00 - 11:00) Reading

Thursday, 4/24 (8:00-11:00) English - Language Arts

Friday, 4/25 (8:00-11:00)  Math

Monday, 4/28 (8:00-11:00) Science

Tuesday, 4/29 (8:00-11:00) Social Studies

Students who are tardy or absent will take make-up tests starting 4/30. The results of the tests do not typically arrive until very close to the end of the school year. Let's keep the students positive, rested, and well-fed!

Science Visualizations

This site contains a wonderful collection of animations of all important science concepts.

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigation/visualization.cfm

Middle School Preparation

Our Author's Night Presentations were inspiring and so professional. Thanks to Jarena, Danielle, Jake, Katy, and Alexa for their great powerpoints of notable African-Americans. Another "Thank You" goes to Cora Sampson. She was a chaperone for our class trip and she has assembled an overflowing basket of Matchbox and Hot Wheels goodies for the Spring Carnival.

Our class trip was fantastic! The kids were totally fascinated by the fish, reptiles, butterflies, turtles, otters, ducks, and other forms of exotic life found in the Tennessee Aquarium. Then, the tour of the Racoon Mountain Caverns brought geology to life in a spectaular way. Also, the students' manners and maturity were exceptional. We should all be very proud of them.

                   

             

You have probably noticed that we are focussing very hard on math these last few weeks. We are ensuring that the students will have all the skills they need to do well on the upcoming CRCT. In addition to the online tests that can be done at home, students can study the min-lessons in thei math book or go to great math review websites such as: www.rainforestmaths.com.

Parents, please note that your child's registration form for Middle School is going home in their Thursday folder today, April 3. This is the only copy of the preprinted form and it is due back by April 16th. Also, remember that updated immunizations, or records, are needed before your child can attend middle school.

We had a wonderful visit to Awtrey Middle School! The Palmer field trip will be May 13. Awtrey Parents Night will be May 5, at 7:00pm. Palmer Parent's Night will be May 13, at 6:30 for Gifted, and 7:00 for all parents.

Have a wonderful Spring Break!

Important Dates

Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers, the heart-warming cards, and the badly needed supplies during Teacher Appreciation Week. It was overwhelming. Thanks, again, to Cora Sampson for coordinating everything and for always thinking about the kids. Let's support her in preparing for the Spring Carnival on April 18 by sending in items relating to Hotwheels and Matchbox cars so we can assemble our gift basket.

The last 9 weeks of Fifth Grade include both hard work and play. Here are the dates of important events:

March 11                      Picture Day

March 17                      4H

March 20                      Report cards go home

March 26                      Fifth grade visits Awtrey Middle School

April 1                          PTA @ 6:30 Authors Night

April 2                          Fifth grade field trip - Chattanooga

April 7-11                     Spring Break

April 18                        Spring Carnival

April 23-May 2               CRCT

April 24                          Academic Alerts go home

May 12                           4H

May 23                           Last day of school for students

March Happenings

The Fifth Grade Field Trip to Chattanooga will be on April 2...and we can't wait. It is something the students will never forget. Please have your permission slips and money in by Monday, March 3, because we have to pay for the bus and venues in advance.

We just had an amazing writer's workshop given by visiting author, Adrian Fogelin. She taught us how to develop interesting characters using just an old shoe. It was so inspiring and all the kids were writing, writing, writing. They are going to continue to develop this story at home and bring it in to share on Friday. Between this and all our practicing, they will be in great shape for the writing assessment next week on March 5.

This month, the students will work on an independent activity involving architecture. They will creating the floorplan of a house from their imagination, or real life. They will measure the area and perimeter of the various rooms and create a list of supplies from those measurements. We are all excited about this. There are wonderful sites (like www.archkidecture.org) on the Internet. The students will be getting guidelines and materials for this soon.

Don't forget - March 4 is an early release day!

Busy Bees

The students are working with fractions in math: Simplifying, renaming, comparing, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing them. After fractions, we will proceed to geometry and measurement. Measurement is hard for kids these days because we just don't measure as much at home as we used to before the days of premeasured cake mixes, macoroni and cheese in a box, computerized cash registers, digital clocks, thermometers, and odometers. Parents can really help their children get a feel for measurements just by pointing these these out when driving, shopping, and cooking.

In reading, Ms. Ho and I are preparing the students for 6th grade by assigning chapter book reading as homework. Sometimes, kids think this isn't "real" homework because they do not have to turn in a paper. However, it is critical that they read their assignment carefully because the classwork the next day is based upon it. This will be a common experience in middle and high school. Grades can drop quickly if this independent reading isn't done well.

In writing, the students are learning how to craft fine stories. Many are being entered in our Big Shanty Writing Fair, along with the wonderful poems they wrote for our Christmas poetry reading.

In Social Studies, we are learning about American immigration. Did you know that 19th and 20th century immigration to the USA formed the largest migration in human history?

Our 5th Grade Class Trip to Chattannooga, TN will take place on April 2. We will visit mountain caverns and the Tennessee Aquarium. The cost of the trip will be $40.00 and the money is due on March 5. We will be taking charter busses and the company needs to be prepaid. We will board the busses at 7:00am the morning of the trip. Look for the forms relating to the details of this trip in your child's Thursday folder.

Don't forget that Monday and Tuesday, February 18 and 19, are student holidays. On Wednesday and Thursday of next week, students will have their Human Growth and Development class, if they have their parent's permission.

Academic alerts and Progress reports will be sent home today! It's hard to believe we are half way through the 3rd nine-week grading period.

CRCT Practice Tests Now Online!

As I'm sure you know, all fifth graders need to pass the math and reading CRCT tests in order to be promoted to sixth grade. In addition, the results of all the CRCT subtests are used to place a student in their middle school classes. In other words, the CRCT is an important test! Please make a habit of taking the practice tests at www.georgiaoas.org. Remember to fill-in your "raffle ticket" for each tests taken to enter the drawing for prizes.

In writing, we are currently working on the "Personal Narrative" genre. We all love to tell stories and here is our chance. We are trying our hardest to "lift the level of language" by using better vocabulary words, forming more complex sentences, adding descriptive detail, and developing our "voice."

Reading is very exciting; we have started "Into the Wild," which is Book One of the very popular "Warrior" series by Erin Hunter. It is about wild cats and their clans. Go to www.warriorcats.com to learn more, play games, and even find your own warrior cat name and clan!

In math, our work with fractions has begun. We will simplify them, add them, subtract them, convert them, model them, and do everything but cook them and eat them for lunch. We could, however, cut a cake into fractional parts and eat that...hmmm sounds like an interesting lesson.

In Social Studies, we are studying the causes and effects of the Industrial Revolution, as well as the wave of immigration that occured in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Along with this, we are learning about American economic freedom and how that system of free enterprise affects out lives everyday.

We will be going on a field trip to the Atlanta Symphony on February 12!

December Happenings

First of all, I cannot thank all of you enough for the amazing birthday surprise. I was overwhelmed by your generosity and I plan of using all the gift cards this weekend. That will certainly keep me very busy. The kids never even gave a hint that a surprise was coming and when I walked into school and saw the banner on the wall, I knew it would be a memorable birthday. Thank you, again, so much, and a special thank you to Cora Sampson who made it all happen.

Our class Poetry Reading will take place from 10:30 to 12:00 or so, on Friday, December 21, the last day of school before winter break. The students are writing free verse poems about events that are memorable to them and they are eager to share them with their parents and relatives. Please feel free to bring grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters. The students are planning the entire event.

Our holiday party will happen after lunch that day. Cora and I will be in touch regarding what to contribute.I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.

This month, we are reading the adventure book "Hatchet" by Gary Paulson. It is a very realistic story of a boy lost in the Canadian Wilderness and how he finds the strength to survive. We are continuing to do a chapter of "Wordly Wise" each week. The students are completing a project using the mapping program "Google Earth" in computer lab. They have each selected a National Park and will complete a report on them. In Science, we are studying electricity with Mr. Cook.