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

October 27th, 2017

Hello Families!

Fall is in the air and Halloween is just around the corner!  Our students continue to work extremely hard to learn our target concepts and are picking up and practicing strong study skills they have learned in the classroom!  Thank you for your continued support at home.

Here are the targets / concepts we are tirelessly working to master:

Literacy

Our students are currently working on finding the theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in our classroom texts, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic.  In the coming weeks, we will start 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 conducting research on an endangered animal, and creating a brochure or Google Slide show discussing why they are endangered, and what the world can do to save them from becoming extinct. Have your child tell you some fun facts about their endangered animal!

Math

Our students are currently working through recognizing, that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents ten times as much as it represents in the place to its right and one-tenth of what it represents in the place to its left using whole numbers AND decimals.

Social Studies

Our discussions continue to revolve around how indentured servitude affected the growth of the early American colonies.  

Science

We are continuing to learn more about various ecosystems. We are exploring what makes an ecosystem healthy or unhealthy, how ecosystems change, and how humans change ecosystems.

Reminders

**Completed October reading logs are due Monday.

**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.

HALLOWEEN PARADE AND CLASSROOM PARTY INFORMATION

Please be sure to read the Principal's Message for school guidelines around appropriate costume attire for our Halloween festivities.  If you are unsure about whether or not something in your child's costume is appropriate, please contact me.  Also included in Mr Hanrahan's blog are the guidelines around students going home for lunch on Halloween.  If you plan on bringing your child home for a costume change, please be sure to review the procedures.

Parade

Our Parade Route begins at 1:20pm outside of our southeast doors (near our gymnasium and the buffalo). The students will continue north on the sidewalk and then head west past the district office around the building, past the playground and end back at the southeast, Buffalo door. Please keep your fingers crossed that we have great weather! In case of inclement weather, we will have an indoor parade for teachers and students only.

Parties

• Parties will begin at approximately 2:00pm and end at 2:45pm
• Only PTO approved parent party volunteers may attend classroom parties. No siblings are able to attend.
• If you are a volunteer, it is recommended that you have your driver's license scanned into our security system prior to party day so that your badge can be ready for you upon arrival.  
• All party treats must come from the Approved Snack List (see page 3) and brought in to be checked by the nurse. These need to be at school by 9:00am on October 31st. They can be brought in prior to that and will be kept safely in the office.

Halloween Costumes

As October is here, please help us with the following costume procedures and guidelines....

• Students will change into their costumes after the lunch period.
• Costumes must be appropriate for school.
• Please no masks, blood, super scary stuff, general ickiness, or weapons
• Please no cigars or cigarette items
• Please no bare tummies
• Please keep hair coloring and make-up simple

Can students go home for lunch to get into costumes?

• Students are able to be picked up to go home during their own grade level lunch period. See below for specific times and details.
• Students will meet their parent/grandparent/family member in the foyer of the school.
• Please write a note stating that students will be going home for lunch. Students will give their “going home for lunch” note to the staff members who are supervising pick-up.
• Students need to return to school by the end of their lunch/recess period.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Have a fantastic weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Monday, October 15th, 2017

Happy Monday Families!

I apologize for the late post!  We are already halfway through October, and the year feels as if it's flying by! Please continue to read below to learn all about the exciting happenings in 5th grade! 

Literacy

*We are reading our second shared reading book of the year - Washed Up by Paval Kapadia. Also, we are continuing to work on our reading learning targets - finding theme, summarizing, and comparing/contrasting characters and settings (LIT.5.1-3)

Writing

*Students are in the process of planning and drafting their informative/expository essays. Connecting to ecosystems, students picked an environment to focus on. After utilizing graphic organizers to plan and researching information, they are writing and editing their rough drafts. Be sure to ask your student what he/she learned about while researching their chosen environment!

Math

*We are continuing to focus on fractions during our second unit in math. The students have been learning how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators by finding common denominators and equivalent fractions (5.NF.1). Also, they've been applying and stretching their knowledge to solve fractions story problems (5.NF.2). 

Social Studies

*We have started Social Studies this week, and our first unit includes indentured servitude and slavery. Students will be learning about the differences between the two and how indentured servitude eventually lead up to slavery during the colonial era. 

Science

*We are continuing our focus on understanding the characteristics of  various ecosystems around the world. 

Upcoming Events

Oct. 24: EARLY RELEASE DAY (Dismissal @ 2PM)

Oct. 31: Halloween Parties

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.

** The weather is starting to get cooler. Please send your child to school with layers, jackets, sweaters, etc. to stay warm. 

Have a great week!

Enzie Pangilinan