August 31 - September 4, 2015

General Announcements:

• Thank you for taking the time to come to Our PTO/Open House meeting last week! We enjoyed seeing all of you! If you didn't get to make it, you will find the PowerPoint on our blog. Please let us know if you have any questions.
• If you have not turned in the Camp McDowell forms, please do this by Tuesday.  Our $35.00 Camp Deposit is due as well.
• Please make sure your child’s Chromebook is charged every day when they come to school!

Important Dates for This Week

Wednesday, 9/2 - Social Studies Test (study guide came home last Thursday)

Friday 9/4:  Reading Test/Vocabulary Test/DOL Test 

Camp McDowell $35.00 deposit was due Friday, 8/28

The cost for camp is $173.00, this includes transportation, meals, snacks, classes, camp instructors and nurse, and overnight accommodations. We will need to collect a $35.00 deposit by August 28th. You can pay this deposit and any additional payments through www.myschoolfees.com. 

Follow these steps to pay on MySchoolFees:

     1. Type in email and password or register if you do not have an account.

     2. From the drop down box on the left, select Brock's Gap.

     3. Choose "student fees" and find field trip listed in the box on the left. On the right find Camp McDowell and choose either WATSON or WILLIAMS as your child's homeroom teacher. After selecting your child's teacher, you will have the option to pay in full or use a payment plan.

     4. When checking out you can pay by electronic check with no fee or by credit card.

Below is the payment plan if you choose not to pay in full

     $35.00 deposit by August 28th

     $69.00 by September 4

     $69.00 by September 11

Upcoming Important Dates

8/27:  Magazine Sales Begin

9/7:  LABOR DAY.  No school for students or teachers.

9/14-9/16: Camp McDowell for Discoverers

Curriculum News:

Math News:

We are starting a new unit on division. We will start this unit by understanding what division means. Then, we will learn ho to use multiplication to help us solve it. In fifth-grade, the goal in division is to master the use of the "partial quotient" method. This will connect to traditional "long division" in sixth-grade. Developmentally, most students are ready for this repeated subtraction method, but cannot make the connection to "long division". I know it is tempting, but please try to refrain from throwing your hands in the air and telling your kids to,"just do it like I was taught!" I promise that this will pay off in the end, because they will have a much deeper understanding of division- as compared to us. We will continue to work with double digit multiplication. 
Homework: Math Computation , IXL contract, and Unit #1 page 52.
Test: Next Friday 9/18 on Division

  Science News:

In science, we are wrapping up our discussion of observations, and how those lead us to an inference, and the general Scientific Method. We will soon begin to look at the many different spheres of the Earth- Litho, Hydro, Atmos, and Bio.  
Test: 

Language Arts News:

This week, we are reading a new story called, “The Peddlers Gift”. We will work on figurative language by looking for examples in the story. We will also create examples of figurative language ourselves. We will have a comprehension test on Friday; students will be able to use the text.

Daily Oral Language:

We will begin DOL this week. The students will complete DOL each morning and we will review as a class. The test will cover what we went over during the week and will be on Friday.

Reading Log:

Please make sure your child completes each portion of the reading log on the day assigned. I will check over these each day and collect on Friday for a grade.

Vocabulary:

Vocabulary words and activities will come home today. We will review our words for the week in class each day and I will collect the activities on Friday for a grade.

Social Studies:

Our Native American quiz will be on Wednesday. The students should also know the Native American regions from the map that is in their binder. We will continue to review today and tomorrow and will conclude our unit with the movie, Brother Bear, on Thursday and Friday.

We hope everyone has a great week!

 Stephanie and Steve

Parents,
Thank you for coming to our Open House last night! We enjoyed seeing all of you. For those of you that didn't get to make it, below is a link to the powerpoint that we shared. Please let us know if you have any questions!
Stephanie & Steve
https://docs.google.com/a/hcs-students.net/presentation/d/1yI2gBNdIBfQwn1DT62XpTEzhB4PMmzgO31hdPAeOqs8/edit?usp=sharing

AUGUST 24-28

• Our PTO/Open House meeting will take place tomorrow, August 25th at 6:00.  Previous to this, we will have a Camp McDowell meeting in the BGIS cafeteria at 5:00.  Representatives from Camp McDowell as well as teachers will be here to answer our questions.
• Camp McDowell information came home today. Please fill out and return the packet that needs specific information. The other packet is for you to keep as a reference.  
• Please make sure your child’s Chromebook is charged every day when they come to school!
• Click on the following link to apply to be a part of our broadcast team. Any interested students should submit this form by Friday 8/21.

http://tinyurl.com/bgisbroadcastapp

Important Dates for This Week

Tuesday, 8/25:  Camp McDowell Meeting  at 5:00

Tuesday, 8/25:  PTO/Open House at 6:00

Friday 8/28:  Reading Test/Vocabulary Test

Friday, 8/28:  Camp McDowell $35.00 deposit due

Upcoming Important Dates

8/27:  Magazine Sales Begin

9/7:  LABOR DAY.  No school for students or teachers.

9/14-9/16:  Camp McDowell for Discoverers

Curriculum News:

Math News:

 **Math: We are wrapping up our work on what an array shows, and it's parts. We focused on factors, multiples, and products. As we continue to talk of this, we will extend this knowledge and  begin to practice multiplication strategies.

• Homework: Math Computation and Unit #1 page 28
• Upcoming Assessments: Friday on Factors, Multiples, Products, Arrays, and two by two multiplication.

 Science News:

**Science: In science, we are discussing the differences between observations and inferences. We will continue this focus, and then quickly begin with the Scientific Method for conducting science investigations.

• Homework: - T-chart on Observations/Inference if they didn't finish in class.
• Upcoming Assessments: Tuesday on Observations and Inferences.

 Language Arts News:

**Reading: This week we are continuing our focus on quoting accurately from a text. Your child received our weekly passage and vocabulary words today. Please remind your child to read the passage at home at least one time during the week.  On Friday, your child will have a reading comprehension test (they can use the passage on the test) and a vocabulary test.

**Reading Log-We are starting these this week.  Students will read and respond each night. There is no certain time requirement as long as they are reading and completing their log. I will check these every day and collect them on Friday. A parent initial is required each day.

 Social Studies:

Topics of Study –   We will continue learning about the different Native Americans groups in the United States this week. Each day we will focus on a particular group and complete activities related to that group. A study guide for this unit will come home at the end of the week and we will have a test on Wednesday of next week. Remind your child to stay organized by using their Table of Contents.  

                   

We hope everyone has a great week!

My School Fees can be found at the following link:www.myschoolfees.com

Directions for My School Fees can be found in the Deposit Letter.

We will have a Camp McDowell meeting on Tuesday, August 25th at 5:00 in the BGIS cafeteria.  We hope you can attend!  This will be before the PTO/Open House meeting.

On the website, you will find a "Planning Your Trip" link. Under this link, there is a Chaperone Letter and a Student Letter for your reference. You will also find Health Forms. http://www.cmec.dioala.org/

We are so thankful to have your students in our classrooms!  They have settled in nicely, and we are impressed with their ability to jump in and work so hard already.  We can’t wait to get to know all of you better!If you have not filled out your child’s Student Information Form on our blog, please do this as soon as possible.  The Student Information link follows: http://bit.ly/1W9AzJj
Other news:

• Click on the following link to apply to be a part of our broadcast team. Any interested students should submit this form by Friday 8/21. http://tinyurl.com/bgisbroadcastapp
• Girls on the Run is a place where girls learn that they can. No limits. No constraints. Only opportunities to be remarkable. Twice a week for 10 weeks, your girl will learn that her worth comes from within, that healthy relationships matter and that she can have an impact on the world around her. At the end of the season, she will be emotionally and physically prepared to complete a 5k event. Registration open August 17th - August 24th. For more information email Ms. Shaffer at: kshaffer@hoover.k12.al.us 
• Click on the following link to register your child:

      http://www.girlsontherunbham.org/get-involved/register-your-girl

Upcoming Important Dates:

8/25:  PTO Meeting and Open House (6-7:30) as well as Camp McDowell meeting (5:00)

8/27:  Magazine Sales Begin

9/7:  LABOR DAY.  No school for students or teachers.

9/14-9/16: Camp McDowell for Discoverers (information will be sent home this week)

Curriculum News:

Math-In math, we will begin with multiplication and it's basic parts. We will work on factors, products, and multiples. We will work on strategies for solving multi-digit multiplication problems, with a focus on problem solving.

  

Science- In science, we will begin our work with the scientific method. By doing this, we will gain a better understanding of how a scientist questions, observes, and experiments in order to find new answers. We will also discuss lab safety.

 

Reading-This week are focusing on two important standards:  Quoting accurately from a text and determining the theme of a story.  This week, the title is Charles. Vocabulary words associated with the passage came home yesterday.  On Friday, your child will have a reading comprehension test over the passage (they can use the passage on the test) and a vocabulary test.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK: Monday-define vocab. words; Tuesday-write sentences with words; Wednesday-draw pictures to represent each word; Thursday-study words for test

Social Studies-We will begin our study of American History by studying Native Americans who were on our continent before we colonized.  The students often find this to be a very interesting unit of study!  No tests or quizzes this week in Social Studies.

  

 

Parents, 

Please go to the following link and complete the google form. This will give us the information we need about your child! 

Thank you,

Mrs. Watson and Mr. Williams

http://bit.ly/1W9AzJj

We can't wait to get to know all of you! This is going to be the best year ever!