The Week of September 28, 2009

Dear Parents and Students,
~Magazine Turn in = Tuesday, September 29th
~Picture Day = Thursday, October 1st
~"Lunch in the Library" forms due Thursday, October 1st
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HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR CLASSROOM:

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SPELLING: Lesson 5 and word of the week

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ENGLISH: Unit 1 Test = Monday

Next, we skip to Unit 5 "Capitalization & Punctuation". This week we will learn more about proper nouns and adjectives and commas in a series.

We will also be doing another MIND MOVER writing activity.

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READING: We are working on the reading strategy of summarizing while reading the book "White Giraffe" which happens to be a Rebecca Caudill award nominee this year.

We will also begin some reading skill work with context clues, roots, and affixes.

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SCOOPer Reading: Your child should have at least one book/activity done by the end of this week. I have about half the class who have completed at least one book/activity. Please ask your child where they are with their book/activity.

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SOCIAL STUDIES: Your child will receive their graded Chapter 4 test. Remember, it's a 5th grade policy that we do NOT send home tests. I will have the children write down their test score in their assignment notebooks.

Chapter 5 - Lesson 1 "Hard Times in Virginia" which includes the lost colony of Roanoke, The Battle of the Spanish Armada, and Jamestown.

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SCIENCE: We will be finishing the introductory unit this week.TEST = MONDAY, OCTOBER 5

The students will receive a "Getting Ready for Science Study Tips" on Wednesday.

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Miss Trefonas's MATH Class:

We are completing Chapter 2 this week.

Quiz over lessons 4 - 6 and a homework sheet = Tuesday.

Chapter Review in class = Wednesday.

Chapter 2 Test = Thursday.

****Multiplication timed tests due date has been extended to Monday, Oct. 5th since I will be absent on Thursday and not able to give the timed tests.

The Week of September 21, 2009

Dear Students and Parents:
~Tuesday, September 22nd = Early Dismissal - Prairieview 11:00
~Your student brought home a sheet today about a new activity , IMC LUNCH BUNCH! Take a look at the handout. It sounds like it could be a fun activity to try.
~Magazine Turn in = Tuesday & Friday!

HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MISS TREFONAS'S CLASSROOM:

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SPELLING : Lesson 4 and word of the week.

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ENGLISH: We will be finishing Unit 1 "Sentences" this week. The test will be on Monday, September 28th. We will be doing a review in class prior to the test, however, your child should still be responsible and study at home. There are a lot of review pages at the end of each Unit in the textbook.

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READING: We are working on the reading strategy of summarizing. We are learning how to write cummulative summaries in 20 words or less.

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SCOOPer Reading: I am impressed with the book activities I have met with so far. Your child should have at least one book read and activity completed/turned in by the end of the month.

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SOCIAL STUDIES: We will be completing Chapter 4 this week. Your child will be getting a "How to Study" sheet and filling it out on Weds. Along with this sheet, I will have the students attach the notes, worksheets etc. that are being stored in their social studies pocket to the "How To Study" sheet . We even highlight important study information from these notes and sheets.

Hopefully, your child has been putting and keeping all the sheets in the social studies pocket. They have been reminded many times as each sheet has been done, graded and returned.

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SCIENCE: The Scientific Method is what we are focusing on this week.

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MATH for Miss Trefonas's class..... You should know from the newsletter I sent home that we are doing timed multiplication fact tests.

We will be estimating, multiplying by 1 digit numbers, and multiplying by 2 and 3 digit numbers.

I emphasize that your child needs to have their facts memorized.

Quiz over chapter 2, lessons 1 -3 will be given on Wednesday.

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The Week of September 14, 2009

Dear parents and students,
This past Thursday we had an assembly and the Lakeview Band put on a great concert for us.
We also have officially started the Magazine fund raiser. Your child has a packet with all the information.
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Tuesday, September 22nd = Early Dismissal (Prairieview 11:00)
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HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR CLASSROOM:

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Spelling: Lesson 3 and word of the week. The workbook is due Thursday & test Friday.

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English: Unit 1 L4 - L7 which includes simple subjects and predicates, subjects in imperative sentences and conjunctions.

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Writing: Color Poems, some journal writing, and Pyramid Poems!

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Reading: We have a couple of predicting activities to do. Next, we will be incorporating both predicting and summarizing while reading a literature book.

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SCOOPer Reading: Six students have completed their first book and activity and have put a scoop on the bulletin board! By the end of September, I expect to have an activity from all students.

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Social Studies: Chapter 4 Lesson 2 "Different Worlds Collide" This will be about the Aztec people and the Spanish.

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Science: We are continuing to learn about inquiry skills.

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MISS TREFONAS'S MATH CLASS:

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Math: Chapter 1 test = Wednesday 9/16. We will be doing a class review on Tuesday. Your student should not just rely on the class review but also study at home. There are review pages at the end of each chapter.

CHAPTER 2 MULTIPLICATION! 5th graders should have their multiplication facts memorized!

The Week of September 7, 2009

Dear Parents,
First, it was great to see that many of you were able to attend 5th grade Curriculum Night. For those of you who were unable to attend Curriculum Night, I sent home handouts etc. with your child. I would appreciate you filling out the STUDENT INFORMATION SHEET and returning it to school on Tuesday or as soon as possible. I know that the information about your child's strengths and weaknesses might be something you intend to share just with me and not your child. Please send the sheet back in an envelope.
There is also a blue sheet "5th grade policies" in my handout. Please review the sheet, especially the late work policy, with your child. This needs a student and parent signature and needs to be returned Tuesday or as soon as possible. Thanks!
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NO SCHOOL MONDAY = LABOR DAY
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HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MISS TREFONAS'S CLASSROOM:

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SPELLING: Lesson 2 Pretest Tuesday and the students will be learning about "word of the week"! The workbook assignment will be due Thursday and the final test is on Friday.

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ENGLISH: Unit 1 Sentences

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READING: We are practicing the reading stragegy of using predicting skills while reading text.

This includes what clues the author is providing, as well as, using our own experiences/knowledge to make valid predictions. We will be doing a lot of various predicting activities.

We have also started using our ISAT COACH workbook to practice and refine comprehension skills.

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SCOOPer Reading: This is our independent reading incentive program for the class. Hopefully your child explained how this program works when they had you sign their contract????

If you are needing further explanation, there is a sheet in the Curriculum Night packet or please contact me.

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SOCIAL STUDIES: We are finishing Chapter 4 - Lesson 1. Your child should be able to share some interesting facts about Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Exchange.

This week we will be doing a creative writing project that coincides with the information learned.

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SCIENCE: Using science tools and inquiry skills......there will be an "open note" quiz this week.

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MATH: (for students in Miss Trefonas's math class)

The students filled out their first homework sheet and took their first quiz this past Friday.

Next, we will be rounding whole numbers, estimating sums and differences and reviewing adding and subtracting of large numbers.

Homework sheet will be given on Friday.