Week of September 23

We are off to a busy start of another week.  We have a few exciting things going on in the classroom this week.  In Reading, we are starting to read the book Tuck Everlasting.  This is a great book that should prompt some deep discussions in the classroom.  This book is very well-written; it will probably help your child as a writer as well!  We will use it to study figurative language. Your child will have a literature journal to fill out in the classroom each day, as well as ten vocabulary words each week.  Starting next Monday, we will have a quiz each Monday on the previous week’s words.  The students made a study guide, so they can study this week to prepare.

In writing, we are writing personal narratives, true stories from our lives.  We are revising, editing and completing our final drafts of our first narrative this week.  In projects, we have been learning about severe weather. This is the final week for your student to track the weather for his or her chosen city.  We will begin building the students' designs in the second half of the week.  The students are working in teams to build something to lessen the impact of a weather hazard in their chosen city.  We are learning some really interesting facts about weather.  

Life is good here in Oasis Academy’s fifth grade!  Thank you for all you do to support your child’s education.

Coming up this week

Welcome back after what sounds like a very busy weekend for our fifth grade families!  In our Community Circle this morning, most of the students said how tired they were after the events of their weekends.  Busy families! This week we will be starting our small group instruction in reading, writing personal narratives in writing, and tracking the weather in cities from around the world.  I appreciate how so many of you are helping your child find the books he or she is interested in.  With no school library, it takes a little more effort, and I appreciate your trips to the public library or making book purchases for your child.  Most of the students have books they are really excited to tell the class about.  That makes me so happy!  In writing, we are trying to live like writers by noticing the small moment stories of our lives.  We will be working with techniques to make these stories come alive with detail and importance.  In projects, we have been learning weather and climate vocabulary, and today we got in pairs and chose two cities to track and graph the weather.

This weather tracking will be done for 14 days, so this will have to be done at home on the weekends.  We have used Weather.com and we are graphing the high temperature each day, plus recording a few words about the weather, like sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc.  We will be learning about extreme weather conditions this week and designing a product to reduce the impact of severe weather.  Your child may come home Thursday with a few needed supplies for next week.  Also, we will have a test on the vocabulary words next week, so ask your child about these words at home.

We are halfway through the first quarter and the routines of the classroom and school day are getting established.  I sure appreciate the nice manners I see from the students in the classroom.  They are really a kind and considerate class.  I am really enjoying them.

Last thing:  Count Day is Thursday Sept. 19.  Attendance is really important on this day.  It is a street clothes day and students will be rewarded with a movie and popcorn in the afternoon.  Please make every effort to have your child at school this day.

Thank you for all you do to support our classroom learning!

Moving right along...

Looking ahead to this week, we have a walking field trip on Wednesday at 9:30 am.  We will go to hear the governor speak at the city’s 9-11 memorial.  This meets a Social Studies standard about why cities have memorials and monuments.  We have plenty of chaperones going with us.  Thank you for volunteering.  Please make sure your child has comfortable walking shoes that day, along with sunscreen and a hat.  We will be back in plenty of time for lunch.   

Parent journals are going well, thank you for responding.  I realize that this is kind of like homework for you on the weekends, but I wish you could see how delighted your student is to read your letter in the classroom.  Thank you.  We are really encouraging the use of writing as real-life communication.  We started learning about prepositional phrases today in writing, and we will wrap up our study of parts of speech this week.  Then we will go into a narrative writing unit.  

In projects, we are learning some vocabulary so we can begin a new project on weather and climate.  Your child will need to watch the weather in a few cities for several days.  

Things are moving right along in fifth grade this year.  Have a great week!

Thank You and Another Walking Field Trip

Last Wednesday, we had a great walking field trip to Maine Street.  We learned a lot of interesting facts about the history of our community and we got to practice making a simple community map while we walked.  I hope your student has shared something he or she learned with you.  

That trip could not have been as successful without many people.  Thank you to Cari Norcutt and Monyca Jensen for providing water and Dilly bars.  It was a hot day and we were sure glad to have both of those!   Thank you also to our chaperones, Racquel Feest, Dusty Casey, Cherilee Sorensen, David and Colleen Colburn, and Katie Dahl.  Having the kids in small groups made it possible to cover more ground in the short time we had on Maine Street.  Just another reason why I love Oasis Academy - great parents who are so willing to help!  

We will have another walking field trip on September 11.  One of our Social Studies standards is to recognize ways communities use memorials, so this is the perfect opportunity to go hear the Mayor of our town and the guest speaker, Governor Sandoval, speak at this ceremony.  If you are interested in walking with us and attending the ceremony, please email me.  We will leave at 9:30.  The ceremony starts at 10 am on Wed. Sept. 11.

I hope your all enjoyed your Labor Day weekend!

Walking Field Trip

Our community project would not be complete without taking the walking tour of Maine Street in Fallon.  The 4th and 5th grade classes will be taking this walking tour on Wednesday, August 28 from 1:15 to 2:45.  We plan to learn more about the cultural influences that shaped our community.  Some of our students might even find the name of a relative on one of the plaques.  The students will also make a simple map while on our tour.  Please remind your student to wear walking shoes that day.  Students may bring a water bottle on the walk.  Also, please make sure your child has sunscreen and/or a hat.  There is not much shade on this walk.

Social Studies Project

August 19, 2013

Dear Parents,

In our first Social Studies project, we are studying culture.  Culture is defined as learned behavior of people, which includes their belief systems and languages, their social relationships and customs, their institutions and organizations, and their material. The standard we are working on is G6.3.3 - Identify ways people express culture.  

Please help your student select no more than two items to represent the cultures in their ancestry. They can choose two items from one culture, or one item from two different cultures.  We are hoping each student will have a country or two (not including the Unites States) that represents where their ancestors came from.  Then find an item to represent one part of the culture of that country.  Some ideas are native clothing, an item from a cultural tradition or holiday celebration, a religious or spiritual object, something showing native language, a food item that is eaten in this culture, (enough to share with the class if you choose this one), money, a craft, such as baskets, paintings or other handiwork, an item representing a sport or game, or any other item that shows a part of the culture of your child’s ancestry.   

Please have your child bring this into the classroom for a graded assignment on Thursday, August 22.  On Thursday, your student will write about where this item is from, how this item would be used, and how it expresses one aspect of the culture.  Your child should also be able to locate the country or region on a world map or globe.  

We will go over this in detail in the classroom, along with examples to help your child have a clear understanding of what is expected.  We hope this will be a great way for the students to build community and learn about ways people express culture.  

Back to School Night

Hello Parents,
Don't forget about Back to School night for third, fourth and fifth grade parents.  It's Wednesday, August 14, 2013 from 6:00 - 7:00.  The first part will be in the lunch room and the last half will be in the classroom.  You will receive information about your child's CRT testing from last year and you can pick up their binder for the new year.  Bring your supplies as well so your child doesn't have to carry everything in the backpack on the first day of school.

Please email me if you have any questions.  jstockard@oasisacademyfallon.us.  Looking forward to seeing you all!