Sunday, December 16th, 2018

Happy Bears Victory Sunday!

Winter break is quickly approaching and students have been hard at work. As the calendar year comes to a close, I can't help but look back on all the wonderful things students have done so far this year! With winter MAP testing finished up, students have been doing some reflection on the work that they have done so far this year and the progress they have made towards meeting their goals. This reflection and goal setting is important for student growth and will continue as we move forward into the New Year. 

I hope that everyone has a wonderful winter break and that you are able to take time to rest and be surrounded by peace, love and joy!

Here are the targets we are focusing on as we continue to work through the second grading period:

Literacy
*Through our ReadyGen lessons students read a historical fiction piece titled "Operation Clean Sweep". This story was told from the point of view of a young boy living in Umatilla, Oregon in 1916. The story tells how the women in the town had recently earned the right to vote and had decided to run in the election for local political offices and surprised everyone when they won! After reading and analyzing this story, students spent time comparing and contrasting this story with our previous story "Road to Freedom" and looking at how the two stories approach similar themes of "people fighting for equality". We are now reading and analyzing a biography with a similar theme about Cesar Chavez, and we will proceed to compare that story to the previous two. Through all lessons we have been working on summarizing, comparing and contrasting, and point of view.

Writing
*We have finished our opinion papers based on our reading of The Road to Freedom, and are currently writing opinion papers on the effects of video games on kids. Students conducted research on the pros and cons of video games and are now writing opinion pieces using the evidence they discovered.

Math
*We have started our next unit on multiplying multi-digit whole numbers. In this unit students will learn a variety of strategies for multiplying multi-digit whole numbers, but ultimately will be responsible for knowing how to solve problems using the standard algorithm. As we work through this unit, students are also being exposed to and practicing multiplication involving decimals and division strategies.

Social Studies
*We are starting to dive into our new unit on government/civics in the upcoming weeks, and our students will begin to start digging deeper into the concepts of patriotism.

Science
*We are reaching the end of our unit on Earth Systems. The unit discussed the four main systems of Earth: the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. In addition to learning about their attributes and characteristics, we also identified interactions that occur between the systems. We also looked at how humans impact the Earth's system, particularly the affects of farming and industry. Students conducted an investigation to model the effects of the mining industry on the geosphere by "mining" chocolate chips from chocolate chip (safe snack list approved-"Enjoy Life" brand) cookies!

Upcoming Events

December 21 (Friday): Winter Parties @ 1:45 PM 

December 22 - January 6: WINTER BREAK

January 8 - Feb 15: 5th Grade Parents don't forget to provide the office with your proof of residency. See Mr. Hanrahan's blog for more details: https://www.kcsd96.org/ih-principal/blog/1617015/december-7-2018 

February 19 - Ivy Hall Celebrates Diversity 

Friendly Reminders

**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain better than something healthy!

**Please continue to have your child practice his or her multiplication facts up to 12.

**If students want to play in the snow outside, they must have the appropriate snow gear in order to do so. Students must be equipped with snow pants, snow boots, jacket, gloves, and hat. 

Sunday, December 1st, 2018

Happy Sunday Families!

It was great seeing everyone to discuss your students' academic progress during conferences last week. I loved that I was able to learn more about each student through the conversations we shared! Now that we're already into trimester 2, I am excited to see how much more the students will grow throughout the year. There is so much to teach and so much to learn, but so little time! 

I hope that everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving break and enjoyed spending time with love ones. As our snow day this week reminded us, winter has fully arrived, and we are quickly heading into the last month of 2018. With that being said, let the countdown to winter break commence! 

Here are the targets we will focus on as we work through the beginning of the second grading period:

Literacy
*Our students are wrapping up our shared text, The Road to Freedom. The story was narrated from the point of view of a young girl, Emma, who is traveling on the Underground Railroad with her mother in hopes of making it North to freedom. Our students were highly engaged throughout text and had many great discussions related to topics raised within the story. Our previous social studies unit covered slavery, and the students were able to make cross-curricular connections to help deepen their understanding of slavery and the Civil War era. Using this shared text, we worked on literacy skills such as summarizing and identifying narrator's point of view.

Writing
*We are currently using The Road to Freedom as a springboard for various writing samples. We have practiced writing short-constructed responses, and we are currently planning and writing an opinion paper based on topics/issues related to slavery from the book.

Math
*We are continuing our unit with decimals, which include writing, comparing, rounding, adding, and subtracting decimals. Recently, we started working on converting within powers of ten using the metric system and real life examples such as technology storage (gigabytes, megabytes, kilobytes). As the students explore powers of ten, they are also solidifying their conceptual understanding of shifting place values when multiplying and dividing by tens.

Social Studies
*Last trimester, we closed off our unit about slavery and how it affected the growth of Colonial America. We will be diving into government/civics in the upcoming weeks, and our students will start to dig deeper into the concepts of patriotism.

Science
*We recently started learning about earth systems in science. The unit discusses the four main systems of Earth: the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. In addition to learning about their attributes and characteristics, we are also identifying interactions that occur between the systems. Our most recent investigation involved creating a clay model of the Earth, showing each Earth's system. 

Upcoming Events
December 4 (Tuesday): Math MAP

December 5 (Wednesday): Reading MAP

December 11  (Tuesday): Early Release @ 2:00 PM 

December 11  (Tuesday): Special Lunch

December 12 (Wednesday): Lewis and Clark Assembly

December 13 (Thursday): Student Council Field Trip to Belmont Village

December 21 (Friday): Winter Parties @ 1:45 PM 

December 22 - January 6: WINTER BREAK

Friendly Reminders

**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain better than something healthy!

**Please continue to have your child practice his or her multiplication facts up to 12.

**If students want to play in the snow outside, they must have the appropriate snow gear in order to do so. Students must be equipped with snow pants, snow boots, jacket, gloves, and hat. 

Enjoy your Sunday!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, November 16th, 2018

Good Afternoon Families!

It looks as if winter weather already here!  Please be sure your child is wearing a coat and appropriate articles of clothing (gloves, hats, etc.) to school.  We want all students to stay warm during outdoor recess. 

I am excited to meet with you during Parent-Teacher Conferences. There is so much to cover, and so little time (15 minutes), so in order to stay on schedule, we want to make sure that everyone is on time.  You can log onto Sign-Up Genius to check your conference time.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. 

School Progress Reports

***Your child’s progress report will be available online after 3:00 pm this afternoon.  

Parents, please note:
Your child’s progress report indicates his or her current progress toward an expectation. When a standard repeats in more than one trimester–as is typical in literacy instruction, for example–we do not expect students will master the knowledge and skills indicated until the completion of the last trimester in which the standard is reported on. In fact, it’s likely that many students will earn a score of Developing.

For example, we assess students using text we expect they will be able to master by the end of the school year. For a literacy course standard that repeats, we report each trimester based on your child’s progress toward those end-of-year expectations. This practice gives you consistent information regarding where your child is performing currently, compared to where he or she should be later in the school year or at the year’s end. 

What might you expect to see for a standard that repeats in more than one trimester? You might expect to see a steady progression, such as Not Mastering (1) or Developing (2) in Trimester 1; Developing (2) in Trimester 2; and Mastering (3) in Trimester 3.

Here's What's Happening in Class:

Literacy

This week we, we started our new story, The Road to Freedom.  It is narrated from the point of view of a young girl who is traveling on the Underground Railroad with her mother in hopes of making it North to freedom. We look forward to having many valuable discussions related to topics raised within the story.

Writing

Our students are currently wrapping up their research on an endangered animal, and creating a brochure or Google Slideshow discussing why the animal is endangered, and what the world can do to save them from becoming extinct.  Have your child tell you some fun facts about his or her endangered animal!

Math

Our students are continuing their work with decimals.  They are currently refining their skills in the area of using expanded  decimal notation, comparing decimals, adding and subtracting decimals, and rounding decimals. 

Social Studies

Last week we wrapped up our learning about slavery and how it affected the growth of Colonial America.  We will dive into Government/Civics in the coming weeks. Students will be able to describe how a citizen can show patriotism, explain why liberty is an important thing, and also explain the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Science

We have been studying the four main systems of Earth: the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. We’ve been learning about the attributes and characteristics of each, as well as how they interact with each other. We are now focusing on determining which of Earth’s systems interact to produce weather and climate. Students will be creating a diagram and giving a weather report about one of their examples.  Stay tuned for weather news you can use.

Upcoming Events

**Monday, November 19: Early Release - 2:00 PM

**Monday, November 19 & Tuesday, November 20: Parent - Parent / Teacher Conferences

**Tuesday, November 20-Friday, November 23: No School - Thanksgiving Break

Friendly Reminders

**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain better than something healthy!
**Please continue to have your child practice his or her multiplication facts up to 12.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.  Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!

Enzie Pangilinan

Sunday, September 30th, 2018

First full month of school: Check! Time sure flies by when we're having fun

learning! It is about that time of the year when the leaves are turning shades of red and yellow and all the comfy sweaters come out. Autumn is just around the corner, and there is still so much going on within our classroom! Continue reading to know all about what's been happening in fifth grade. 

Literacy

*We have been preparing for our Unit 1A assessments next week. We are working on quoting accurately and comparing/contrasting characters and events within literary texts. We have been practicing these skills by using shared reading texts such as Night of the Spadefoot Toad and "Shells". The students have been analyzing the main characters in each text to compare and contrast them. This helps them dig deeper into the development of the main characters. 

Writing

*Students are continuing to work on narrative writing. After utilizing graphic organizers to plan, students developed their stories through the use of a detailed sequence of events and effective character development. Encouraging students to infuse dialogue into their writing was also an emphasis. We are working on elevating their writing by adding higher level transitional words and figurative language. Ask your student to share with you their narratives!

Math

*We just finished our first unit in math, which included order of operations and volume. Now, we have begun our second unit in math. Unit 2 targets includes addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators and solving fraction story problems. 

Science

*We are continuing our focus on understanding the characteristics of various ecosystems around the world. We just completed our owl pellet investigation, which was so much fun and exciting. Using the owl pellet investigation, the students were able to learn more about producers, consumers, and the flow of energy within the ecosystem. Ask your child about what they discovered in the pellets and please click on the pictures below to see our students in action!

 

 

 

 

Social Studies

*We plan on starting indentured servitude and its effect on the colonial economy in the coming days.  

Word Their Way

*We are starting our spelling program, Words Their Way, soon. District 96 utilizes this curriculum to implement spelling/word study. More information will be sent home on Monday. 

Upcoming Events

October 1-3 (Monday-Wednesday): Book Fair

October 8 (Monday): NO SCHOOL (Columbus Day)
October 15 (Monday): Picture Retakes

October 23 (Tuesday): EARLY RELEASE DAY (Dismissal @ 2PM)

Friendly Reminders

**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

**Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

**As the months get chilly, it may be a good idea to have your child bring a sweater/light jacket to keep within the room.

Sunday, September 16th, 2018

Happy Sunday!

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been back in school for several weeks! Please read below to find out about all of the wonderful learning that is going on in 5th grade at Ivy Hall!

Literacy

*We are finishing up our first shared reading book of the year—Night of the Spadefoot Toad by Bill Harley. We’ve used this text as a springboard for many reading and writing learning targets thus far.  This book has also connected nicely to our study of ecosystems in science. Be sure to ask your student about what he/she has learned about vernal pools and spade foot toads!

Writing

*Students are in the process of finishing their first narrative stories of the year! After utilizing graphic organizers to plan, students developed their stories through the use of a detailed sequence of events and effective character development. Encouraging students to infuse dialogue into their writing was also an emphasis.  We will be writing yet another narrative in order to apply what we’ve learned and produce an even higher quality sample.

Math

*Our students are continuing their work with writing and evaluating numerical expressions with parentheses as well as demonstrating their understanding of how find the volume of rectangular prisms. We also began our “Number Corner” routine which takes place each day for about 20 minutes outside of our regular math block. Here, students practice skills in such areas as computational fluency and problem solving (in addition to several others) on a daily basis. 

Social Studies

*We plan on starting indentured servitude and its effect on the colonial economy in the coming days.

Science

*We are continuing our focus on understanding the characteristics of  various ecosystems around the world. Our first science investigation involved “traveling” to virtual ecosystems and studying the interactions between living and nonliving organisms.

Upcoming Events

Sept. 19 -No School/District Holiday

Friendly Reminders

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thank you for your continued partnership and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, August 31st

Good Afternoon Families!

Our school year is off and running! It was an absolute pleasure meeting many of you last week at curriculum night. I hope you found it to be an informative and useful evening.  Your involvement and support are greatly appreciated!  If you were unable to attend, feel free to contact me with any questions!

The link you clicked on is our classroom Blogger page, which will have bi-monthly classroom updates.  Included in the updates will be our current target concepts in all academic areas, classroom events, and important upcoming dates.  An email with a link to our classroom Blogger page will be pushed out every two weeks when our Blogger page is updated.

Here are the targets we are currently / planning on working to master over the next couple of weeks:

Literacy

* Our students are currently working on comparing and contrasting characters, events, and settings of stories, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges. We are also working on “quoting accurately” within a text which involves students supplying text support for their answers. We are greatly enjoying our shared reading book, Night of The Spadefoot Toads. Because some of the chapters are quite lengthy, students are being required to read portions at home. They are welcome to use their print copy, or read the story on their I-Pads. Students are welcome to use this reading towards their daily required reading of 20-30 minutes. Home reading logs have been introduced and students are becoming comfortable with the routine of recording their minutes.

Writing

* Our students are off to a great start writing narrative pieces.  We are currently working on planning an original story, including a effectively written introduction, well-developed body paragraphs, and an effective conclusion. 

Math

* Our students are currently working on writing and evaluating numerical expressions with parentheses as well as demonstrating their understanding of how to find the volume of rectangular prisms. The first few weeks have also involved getting used to our math routines. In fact, with the new month approaching, we will also be starting our daily Number Corner routine. 

Science

* Instruction utilizing our TCI science curriculum is well underway!  Our current focus is on understanding the makings of a various ecosystems around the world. This unit ties nicely into the reading we are doing with The Night of the Spadefoot Toad book we are reading during our literacy block.

Upcoming Events

** Monday September 3rd - No School (Labor Day)

** Wednesday, September 5th - Picture Day
** Monday, September 10th—District Holiday—No school

** Wednesday, September 19th—District Holiday—No school

** Tuesday, September 25th—Early Release @ 2:00

Friendly Reminders

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thank you and have a great holiday weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Sunday, Mayt 29th, 2018

Happy Sunday Families!

Now that the weather is finally cooperating, it actually feels like Spring! It’s hard to believe that we are headed into our final month of school!

The kids have made it through the bulk of their testing. They’ve demonstrated great perseverance and the end is in sight! We will be taking the MAP reading test on Monday and the MAP math test on Wednesday. As always, please be sure that your child gets a good night’s rest and has eaten a substantial breakfast.  

Please be sure to refer to the important upcoming dates at the end of this blog. We have so many exciting activities in the weeks ahead—including attending the production of “Annie” at Twin Groves next week!

Here’s what we’ve been working in this week:

Literacy:

We are about half way through our exciting novel, George’s Secret Key to the Universe. The kids are enjoying the plot twists and the wonderful character development! In recent chapters, the evil Dr. Reeper has been introduced into the story and has become a character that we love to hate! 

Writing:

We have started to focus on narrative writing once again, focusing on the genre of science fiction. Students have planned stories which include elements of science fiction such as time travel, advanced technology, or advanced life forms! Thus far, their stories sound amazing! They are really enjoying the creative aspects of narrative writing!

Math

We have started our final unit in math, one which focuses on division and decimals. We have recently been working with powers of ten and will be moving into the multiplication and division of decimals. The end of our unit will focus on the division of fractions and whole numbers.

Social Studies

We are currently learning about the Columbian Trade Route and the many animals, foods, riches and diseases that were traded between the Old and New Worlds during the time of Christopher Columbus. Last week your student brought home a letter explaining the details of our much anticipated Trade Fair, which takes place on Monday, May 7. Please periodically check in with your student to be sure that he/she is working at home on preparing the items needed for the Trade Fair.

Science

Currently, as a part of our unit on Matter, we are learning about what causes substance to change. Students are learning how to use fair tests to plan an investigation. We will be planning  and carrying out an investigation where we will mix together a variety of different substances. Students will develop a plan to identify which substances react together to form new substances.

Important Dates and Friendly Reminders:

April 30—Reading MAP test

May 2—Math MAP test

May 2—Variety Show Auditions

May 3—Trip to Twin Groves to see “Annie” (in the a.m.)

May 15—Early Release

May 17—Transition Day at Twin Groves (details forthcoming)

May 17—Variety Show

May !8—Spring Fling (details forthcoming)

May 23—Field Day

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you and enjoy the rest of today's beautiful weather!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, April 13th, 2018

Happy Friday, Families!

First week of PARCC testing -- check! One more week of testing ahead! This week, the students worked really hard and demonstrated a great amount of perseverance as they endured PARCC testing. They completed the English/LA portion and will be finishing the math portion next week.

As we head into the second week of PARCC and literacy assessments, please remind your student to get a good night's rest, eat a hearty breakfast, and bring a healthy snack. Also... don't forget to charge those iPads!! Continue to read more about what's happening in our classroom!

Upcoming Assessment Dates
April 9-17, 2018: PARCC Window
April 18, 2018: 6th Grade Placement Opinion Essay

April 19-20, 2018: End of Unit Literacy Assessment
April 30-May 4, 2018: MAP Window

Literacy
**We will start our new unit this upcoming Monday, which encompasses the theme of "Understanding the Universe". Our grade level text is George's Secret Key to the Universe by Stephen Hawking and his daughter, Lucy. The novel tells the story of a boy named George who is discovering the mysteries of the universe while learning about various aspects such as stars, planets, and moons. We started reading the first couple chapters this week, and the students are very excited to see how the story will unfold. Using the novel, we will also continue to work on our literacy targets and skills.

Writing
**Connecting to the theme of the universe, the students will be starting to write their own science fiction narratives. Before they start writing, they will brainstorm characters, events, and others ideas to include within their stories. Let the creative juices flow!
Remember to ask your student all about the sci-fi narrative he/she is crafting up. Math
**We are finishing off Unit 6 this upcoming week. Unit 6 includes graphing coordinates on a plane, classifying polygons, finding volume of rectangular prisms, and identifying numerical patterns. Our Unit 6 Post Assessment will be on Thursday, April 19. Please remind your student to study the unit review guide in preparation. Students may also go onto Khan Academy or Dream Box to work on any assigned tasks for the unit. Unit 7 will include identifying patterns within powers of ten and multiplication/division of decimals to the hundredths.

Social Studies

**We are continuing to learn about the economy within social studies. The students discussed and identified the relationship between supply and demand. They also were able apply the concepts of supply and demand to real world contexts. We will begin discussing trade and cultural exchange, starting with the Columbian Exchange. Students will learn more about how trade affects the global market and America's economy.

Science
**We are continuing to explore the states of matter. The students learned about identifying the changes in matter and substances. Within our recent investigation, students looked at pictures of real world examples of changes in matter, identified different changes in substances, and described the properties of those substances. We will continue to discuss matter by learning about the reasons and causes for substances to change.

Variety Show
**Ivy Hall Elementary's Variety Show will be held on May 17, 2018. Sign ups for auditions is from April 6-27. The actual auditions will be held on Wednesday, May 2. If your student wants to showcase an unique talent, please encourage him/her to sign up for this awesome opportunity to participate in Variety Show!! Here is the FLYER for more information. Sign ups are open on the PTO Membership Toolkit.

Important Dates

April 9-17, 2018: PARCC Window

April 18, 2018: 6th Grade Placement Opinion Essay
April 19-20, 2018: End of Unit Literacy Assessment
April 19, 2018: 4th Grade Music Performance @ 6:30pm
April 20, 2018: Breakfast with your buddy @ 7:30am
April 24, 2018: Papa John’s Special Lunch
April 30, 2018: Parent Review Committee
April 30-May 4, 2018: MAP Window
May 2, 2018: Variety Show Auditions May 17, 2018: Variety Show

**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack. Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!

**Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

**Please remember to have conversations with your child about his/her independent reading book to hold accountability over his/her daily reading.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Have a fantastic weekend-

Enzie Pangilinan