Welcome back! I hope you all had an enjoyable Spring Break. Mine was great and I had a nice time in the mountains at my parents' home.
Field Trip Forms & $18 – Two new field trip forms were sent home with your children the week before break. They are both for an exciting new field trip related to our study of ecology, Earth’s resources, and watersheds. Both forms need to be completed and returned as soon as possible this week but no later than Wednesday, please. The trip costs $18 per student, and we will be traveling by school bus. Thank you to those of you who have already sent in completed forms and money. If you have already sent in the money, do not worry, I will begin receipting that tomorrow, April 10. We had to wait to get the proper information set up in the receipting program we use. On this trip we will only be able to take 2 chaperones per class, who will also be required to pay the $18. If you’d like to be a chaperone, please indicate your preference on the permission form, but do not pay yet. I will contact the selected chaperones.
Spring NWEA MAPS Testing will begin this Tuesday. We strongly hope that every student shows growth. If you’d like to guide your child towards practicing skills at home that would help. My best advice – in addition to having them read independently for pleasure every day – is to have them go to http:///www.clever.com (When students log in with their school username and password, it will take them to the same options they see on Clever at school.)
From there, students may log in to Study Island and click on the My NWEA Growth Path which will direct them to skills based on their Fall MAPS scores. Alternatively, students may go to Schoology and in the Reading Course they may click on the Exact Path link to take them to lessons and practice activities that are again based on their own tested skill levels.
Today your child brought home some important papers from the office. Please send any purple slips about changes in transportation for next Monday's half day in as soon as possible. Also, if you would like for your child to get a Grab 'N Go lunch from the cafeteria on this half day, please fill out that form and bring it back as soon as possible.
Math-
This week we are studying perimeter, area, and volume. We started with perimeter today and tomorrow. We will work with area on Wednesday and Thursday. We will finish out the week and work with volume on Friday. The test is scheduled for the half day on Monday.
Also, many students are reaching the end of their math notebooks and then are not taking notes/keeping up with materials in math class. In order to hopefully combat this, I am going to begin taking a notebook grade in class. Every week, your child will submit their notebook and I will very quickly look through it to make sure that they have written down the notes that were expected and glued in all the notes for the week. Please check with your child to make sure that they have a notebook that will finish out the year with them.
Dates to Note:
Tuesday, April 10 – 5th Grade Reading MAPS
Tuesday, April 10 – Chipotle Spirit Night
Friday, April 13 – End of 3rd Quarter Marking Period
Friday, April 13 – Volunteer Luncheon
Monday, April 16 - Student half day
Tuesday, April 17 – 5th Grade Math MAPS
Tuesday, April 17 – PTA Meeting
Thursday, April 19 – James River Association Ecology Field Trip to Bermuda Hundred Landing in Presquile National Wildlife Refuge