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