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

Saturday, March 3rd, 2018

Happy March Families!

March has certainly come in like a lion! With any luck, it will leave like a lamb! We are off to a fresh start with our final trimester. There is still much learning to be done in these final months of school!

We are looking forward to meeting with you next week for parent/teacher conferences to discuss your child’s progress!

Please be sure to refer to the important upcoming dates at the end of this blog. It includes the date of an upcoming field trip (details are forthcoming soon!) and the 5th grade music performance.

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

Literacy:

In support of our new theme, Exploring New Worlds,  we are finishing up our first nonfiction shared reading text, Explorers: Triumphs and Troubles. We’ve had some lively discussions about various explorers in our history, such as Marco Polo. We also gained insight about the motivations behind various explorations, as well as the positive and negative effects they had on  society. 

Writing:

Based on the reading we’ve been doing about explorers, students are currently planning and writing an opinion paper about what they feel primarily influenced explorers. Was it fame, wealth, the desire to find new routes—or was it to find new land to conquer? Be sure to ask your student about the topic of his/her opinion paper!

Math

In math, our first learning target for the new grading period has involved locating points on a coordinate grid. We’ve done some engaging activities with cubes and tiles in order to predict patterns. plot ordered pairs on a plane, and even write equations to solve such patterns. The strategy discussions that have been taking place around such problems have been impressive! There has definitely been some higher-level thinking going on!

Social Studies

We have started our unit on supply & demand and trade. As we progress through the unit we will learn about the  history of the Columbian Exchange and the positive and negative effects which resulted from such trade. 

Science

In science we’ve been learning about the states of matter. The online reading through our TCI science program has included some engaging interactive graphics for the I-Pads. With these technology enhancements, students have been able to see what happens to molecules as they change states between solids, liquids and gasses!

Important Dates and Friendly Reminders:

Friday, March 2—Student Progress reports available after 3 pm

Monday, March 6—Casimir Pulaski Day/ No School

Thursday, March 8—Early Release @2:00, Parent/Teacher Conferences

Friday, March 9—No School, Parent/Teacher Conferences

Tuesday, March 13—PTO Special Lunch (Culver’s)

Wednesday, March 14—5th Grade Field Trip 

Thursday, March 15—5th Grade Music Performance  6:30 pm

Tuesday, March 20—No School, Teacher Institute Day/Election Day

Please email me if you have any questions.  Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, February 16th, 2018

Happy Friday Families!

I hope everyone had a fantastic week!  It is hard to believe that our Valentine's Day party was our last 5th Grade classroom party.  Thank you again to our parent volunteers for making the party one to remember!

Our students are working hard to finish up all of the assessments as we start to wrap up Trimester 2!    Here are the targets we will be beginning in the next few weeks:

Literacy:
We are completing our final unit the grading period, which focused on the theme of Finding Courage.  Our students are currently working hard on completing their end-of-unit assessments.  As we start our next unit, our focus will shift to the theme of Exploring New Worlds!  Our first text in the unit, Explorers: Triumphs and Troubles, focuses on various explorers and their positive (and some negative) impact on the world.

Writing

Students will turn their focus to opinion writing.  Students' strong opinions typically lead to many interesting discussions and debates within our classroom!

Math

We are wrapping up Unit 5, which focused on multiplication and division of fractions. Please make sure your child studies for next week's Unit 5 Post Test over the long weekend.

In the coming weeks, our focus will shift to Unit 6, which covers the following targets:

** 5.G.4: Classifying two dimensional figures.

** 5.G.1: Locating points on a coordinate grid.   

** 5.MD.5b: Apply the formulas V = l x w x h and V = B x h when solving for the volume of rectangular prisms.

** 5.OA.3: Use the relationship between x and y coordinates to generate a multiple operation expression that represents the rule for the coordinate pairs

Social Studies

We are ending our patriotism unit and we will begin the third trimester studying Supply & Demand and Trade. We will be looking at the difference between goods and services and the importance in our lives. 

Science

We will start to study matter and work on investigations to help us determine what causes substances to change. 

​Important Dates and 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.

** Monday, February 19th: NO SCHOOL (President's Day)

** Friday, February 23rd - End of the Grading Period

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you and have a fantastic extended weekend!

Friday, February 2nd, 2018

Dear Families,

Happy February! With the chilly temperatures coming up, it seems as if spring couldn't come soon enough. Trimester 2 is wrapping up, and Trimester 3 is quickly on its way.  

Here is what we’ve been working on in each of our content areas:

Literacy

*We are continuing to read through Angel Island, which discusses the journey and challenges of Chinese immigrants as they entered the United States. To dig deeper into the topic of Angel Island, students also began reading about Li Keng Wong's personal story as a Chinese immigrant. By exposing students to first and second hand resources, we are continuing to explore more about perspective and point of view. As students are reading about Angel Island, many of them made connections to Ellis Island, which they learned about in 4th grade. 

Writing

*Recently, students read Real-Life Superheroes, which they learned about honorable names such as Rosa Parks, Richard Martin, Raoul Wallenberg, and Thomas Barnardo. From these four "superheroes", students chose a person to conduct research and create a Google slides presentation to highlight his/her biography and accomplishments. Be sure to ask your student about his/her chosen superhero! 

Math

*Within Unit 5, we are continuing to work on multiplying fractions. This week, we've practiced multiplying fractions by fractions. The students are working on creating diagrams using the area model and geoboards to represent dimensions and the area of rectangles. As we head into the next week, students will be practicing their skills with fraction multiplication story problems. 

Social Studies

*We are beginning to learn about patriotism. Previously, we've learn about liberty and the Pledge of Allegiance. Connecting those two topics, students will explore the meaning and importance of patriotism. They will also discuss how people in the United States can show patriotism to their nation. 

Science

*We have started our unit about the Earth, the Moon, and the Stars. This week, we learned about the sun and other stars. Students read about how the brightness of star depends on their proximity to the Earth. We even learned that one star (Rigel) is 773 light years away from the Earth. This means that the light left that star 773 years ago! 

Change Donation Boxes
*Within each classroom, there will be a donation box for students to bring in any loose change. All proceeds are collected to provide underprivileged students with reading books. All and any donations are appreciated. This is a school-wide event, and all the classrooms will be participating. Let's see which class can collect the most change to make a change in the world!

Upcoming Events

Feb. 6th-8th (Tuesday-Thursday) - Book Fair
Feb. 8th (Thursday) - Ivy Hall Celebrates @ 7PM
Feb. 13th (Tuesday) - Early Dismissal @ 2PM
Feb. 13th (Tuesday) - Band Concert
Feb. 14th (Wednesday) - Valentine's Day Parties @ 2PM
Feb. 19th (Monday) - No School: President's Day
Feb. 23rd (Friday) - Half Day Dismissal @ 11:45AM

**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 feel free to contact me.  Thank you and enjoy your weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Thursday, December 21st, 2017

Dear Families,

As we embark on our winter break and prepare for a few weeks off, we hope all of you have the opportunity to spend some wonderful family time together! Enjoy this time to “recharge” and cherish time with your students! We look forward to seeing students back in 2018 with a renewed energy to learn and grow!

Here is what we’ve been working on in each of our content areas:

Reading: 

This week we finished our first module of books under the theme of “finding courage”. Recently, we read two shorter stories during shared reading. The first, called Operation Clean Sweep, was a historical fiction short story that took place during women’s suffrage. The other, a nonfiction short story, detailed the life of Cesar Chavez and his life-long fight for the rights of workers. Both stories prompted some great discussions focused on the issues of injustice and inequality.

Writing: 

Students recently produced a written opinion response based on the following prompt: Should NFL and other sport teams use the names/images of Native American tribes? After reading several articles which presented support for both sides, students had to support their own opinion with text support in a well-written, cohesive response.

Math:
Our work in unit 4 and its focus on multi-digit multiplication continued. Students should now feel confident in utilizing a variety of strategies to multiply. They are getting quite proficient in being able to decide which strategy is most efficient based on the content of the particular problem.

Social Studies:

We continued to learn about the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as how patriotism is shown in our country. After winter break, we will learn about the particular liberties we are fortunate to enjoy in the United States, and contrast these liberties with countries whose citizens suffer without such rights. 

Science:

Our recent learning in science focused on what people can do to protect the Earth’s systems. We studied the different ways individuals, engineers, communities, and governments can protect Earth's systems. In fact, last week we had a fun science investigation where we “mined” for chocolate chips in cookies! The chips represented coal and the cookies represented land in the geosphere that was being damaged by mining. Be sure to ask your student about this fun activity!

Important upcoming dates to remember:

**Thursday, Dec. 21: Last day of school before winter break, winter parties @ 2:00

**Monday, Jan. 8: School resumes

**Monday, Jan.15: No School, Martin Luther King Day


Band Classroom Performance:
Please click on the link below to see our classroom's band students perform!  What a great way to send us off into Winter Break!
Classroom Band Performance

Thank you and have a wonderful Winter Break!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, December 1st, 2017

Happy Friday Families!

I hope you and your family enjoyed the Thanksgiving break and the time off together!  Nothing recharges those batteries like spending quality time with family and friends!  

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

Literacy

* Our students recently wrapped up reading our classroom read-aloud text, The Road to Freedom. The story was 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. Our students were highly engaged throughout text and had many great discussions related to topics raised within the story.

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.

Spelling

* Our students are currently working through their Words Their Way spelling program. Most weeks, your child will bring home a new set of words to sort and use for homework tasks.  Each boggle choice sheet is due on Friday with three completed activities.

Math

* We are currently working on multiplying two-digit numbers by three-digit numbers using various strategies.  We will have a check-in next week to assess what we've learned.  Our students will start division at the end of next week and emphasize the partial quotients and long division algorithms to solve these problems.

Social Studies

* Last week we wrapped up our learning about slavery and how it affected the growth of Colonial America.  We will be diving into Government/Civics in the coming weeks and our students will start to discuss the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Science

* Our students covered 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 one another.  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. 

Reminders/Upcoming Events:

** MAP Testing Next Week:

   - Monday, December 4th (Reading)
   - Wednesday, December 6th (Math)
**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 do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you and have a fantastic weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan