5th Grade Weekly Update
Here's what's going on at O.C. Taylor!
Week of April 5th - 9th!!!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SLIDES WITH WEBEX LINKS AND INSTRUCTIONAL SCHEDULES - ALSO IN SEESAW
Click HERE to view our WEEK-AT-A-GLANCE assignment listing for this week!
Sports balls and similar items may now be brought from home for use during recess.
Please explore Mrs. Whisman's middle school link below for the most up-to-date information concerning the transition to middle school!
As a team, we are stressing continued diligence with proper fit and wearing of masks, social distancing, and proper handwashing. If anyone in your household is experiencing typical COVID symptoms (fever, headache, fatigue, sore throat, etc), please err on the side of caution and keep your child home. They can easily hop on our Remote Learning schedule and stay on top of work in a way that limits risks to others. We need all involved to help take care of all involved. One positive exposure can potentially impact multiple students and staff.
Please make sure student devices are being charged NIGHTLY!
HEADS UP!
Please support your student as they work on their novel study. They should be completing multiple chapters and info slides by the end of each week.
April 9 - FINAL Book Talk #4 is DUE!
April 9 - Talent Show Submissions DUE - see info below!
April 9 - Rough drafts DUE to Mrs. Vaughan
April 14 - FINAL District Science TEKS Check covering circuits, forms of energy, light, and forces.
April 20 - Game On 6 - 8 pm
April 30 - Bad Weather Make-Up Day (No School)
April 30 - Virtual Talent Show (Link Goes Live at 7 pm) - see info below!
May 11 - STAAR Testing for In-Person - Grades 3 - 5 (Math)
May 12 - STAAR Testing for In-Person - Grades 3-5 (Reading), School Nurse Day
May 13 - STAAR Testing for In-Person - Grade 5 (Science)
May 17 - STAAR Testing for Remote - Grades 3 - 5 (Math)
May 18 - STAAR Testing for Remote - Grades 3-5 (Reading)
May 19 - STAAR Testing for Remote - Grade 5 (Science)
May 27 - 5th-grade Continuation Ceremony will be held outdoors on the OCT Black Top
May 27 - Last Day of School, Early Dismissal 11:45
Daily Rotation Schedule for IN-PERSON students!
When/if your in-person student needs to learn from home....
We would really appreciate you reminding them to join our remote learner WebEx (posted below). Please remember that the REMOTE times are different from when they attend that class here in the building and are listed in the table below. We appreciate your support with this and are thankful to have the capability to continually reach our learners should their situations change.
REMOTE LEARNERS
ATTENTION PARENTS! INFORMATION CONCERNING 6TH GRADE!!!
This message has a lot of information from the different middle schools that will help you to understand how course selection is done in order to get all of our students scheduled for next year. Please take some time to go to the links that are specific to the school your child is zoned for. If you are unsure which school that is, here is a link that takes you to the district website to get that information. If you are considering asking for a transfer to a school your child is NOT zoned for, the district will be adding this year’s dates to this page soon. You will still need to choose courses at your child’s zoned campus as transfers are not usually decided upon until the summer.
Pertinent information for each Middle School
- What school is my child zoned for? This is the LINK to the Attendance Zone map… you can type in your address and find out what middle school your child is zoned for.
- Interested in requesting a transfer to another school? Transfer Information LINK.
- TIMELINE of all things MIDDLE SCHOOL
- WEBEX SESSION FOR ALL PARENTS OF 5TH GRADE STUDENTS was held on Thursday, February 25th @ 10:00 AM. If you were unable to attend, this is the LINK for the recording.
- AVID:
- What is AVID?
- AVID Application
- Pertinent information for each Middle School
- Middle School Course Selection GOOGLE FORM - PLEASE SUBMIT BY MARCH 5
DISMISSAL INFORMATION
**IN THE INTEREST OF STUDENT SAFETY**
Please make sure to have your OCT-issued yellow dashboard sign to pick up your student in the car line. If you do not have yours, you will be asked to pull over into the waiting area to verify ID to help us ensure student safety. We appreciate your understanding and support with this.
Parents, if you are making any changes to how your child is getting home (even last-minute), please email the teachers AND call/inform the office at (817)-305-4870. We understand that sometimes pickup plans change last-minute or in response to the weather. We MUST ensure the safety of our students and cannot rely on hearsay or a direct text to the child, etc. PLEASE, moving forward, contact the office AND your child's teacher(s) with ANY ride change information. We very much appreciate your understanding with this.
Humanities
Reading & Patterns of Power
This week we are continuing to work on our hyperdocs as we are reviewing reading skills. We are continuing to read our novels in class as well. Students will need to complete 9 new slides this week. These slides will be graded on Thursday. Students will be sharing their final book talk Friday in class!!!
Patterns of Power
This week we will be discussing conjunctions and using conjunctions in complex sentences.
Writing & Social Studies
This week, we will conclude our unit entitled, A Nation Divided. We will take a closer look at the Gettysburg Address, Reconstruction, and the Reconstruction amendments. We will wrap up the week with an introduction to our next unit: Trying Times for the United States (1900-1945).
In Writing, we will finish brainstorming the following topics: Was the Civil War worth fighting? Why or why not? What are some things you believe are worth fighting for? The students will complete rough drafts that will be DUE Friday, April 9th.
Math
This week in math we will begin our last unit covering Geometry and Measurement. The most important aspect of this unit is the vocabulary and knowing how to classify shapes by their sides and angles. Please click here to access a list of vocabulary terms, definitions, and pictures that we will discuss and learn as we navigate this unit. We will start with reviewing concepts from 4th grade and begin classifying types of triangles this week. We classify shapes by their sides and angles so the big vocabulary terms this week are:
- acute angle, obtuse angle, and right angle
- equilateral triangle, isosceles triangle, and scalene triangle
- congruent, regular polygons, irregular polygons
We will begin gearing up for the Math STAAR test in about 4 weeks. If you'd like to see a list of the strategies we use for the STAAR test, please click here to access a document with different strategies we will use throughout STAAR prep. We will go over this document in class when we do STAAR boot camp in 4 weeks! Please reach out if you have any questions!
Science
SPECIALS: 10:15 -11:05am
IN-PERSON
Students will attend the same Art and Music class for two weeks and have PE every week. See attached calendar
Specials teachers will be sanitizing supplies and classrooms in between classes
Students will ALWAYS need Chromebooks in Music/Art.
Students will ALWAYS need to bring a pencil, art supplies, and their plexiglass divider to Art.
REMOTE
Remote learners may connect with Specials teachers one day a week through LIVE Webex meetings for the first 15-20 minutes of their Specials time. These Webex meetings are not mandatory.
Tuesdays - Mrs. Yatko (Art) https://gcisd.webex.com/meet/cristie.morgan. Ms. Yatko will lead weekly WebEx meetings as usual so nothing will change with the art schedule while Mrs. Morgan is out.
Wednesdays-Coach Mester(PE) https://gcisd.webex.com/meet/jason.mester
Thursdays-Mrs. Vencill(Music) https://gcisd.webex.com/meet/bethany.vencill
CONTACT INFO
- Mrs. Yatko - Art - deborah.yatko@gcisd.net
- Mrs. Vencill - Music - bethany.vencill@gcisd.net
- Coach Mester - PE - jason.mester@gcisd.net
OCT VIRTUAL TALENT SHOW
5th Grade Continuation!
On the evening of Thursday, May 27th from 7-11 p.m., we will hold an outdoor event for 5th-grade students only at the Hall Pumpkin Farm. This is a non-GCISD, non-OCT, non-PTA sponsored event and will rely solely on parent donations to fund this event. Thank you in advance to the Huffman family for generously donating this space for us to host such a fun event! We have plans for a glow-in-the-dark nerf gun war, outdoor movie, ice cream truck, and more!
NORMS
*Families - please understand that due to the number of students returning, we are only able to space our desks roughly 2-3ft apart to accommodate our students. This is why so many other students are quarantined when someone is exposed.*
In-person students are now split into 4 smaller homerooms and each have one blended format block to bring in and support our remote students. This is new for all of us and we hope to iron kinks quickly and smoothly. We appreciate your patience and support.
Due to the increased number of students returning in-person, we have split our Specials rotations into 4 groups to support our Specials teachers' guidelines.
Suggestion: The line to receive school lunch is VERY long. Students would have significantly more social/downtime during their lunch if they brought items from home. We just wanted to pass along our observations.
Please contact Mrs. Whisman (stacy.whisman@gcisd.net) with any questions/concerns about your student's instructional format/delivery.
MATH TELESCOPING INFORMATION
Please send any questions to Kathy Griffin at kathy.griffin@gcisd.net. Remember that Telescoping is open to anyone!
MATH TELESCOPING DATES &. MATH TELESCOPING WEBSITE
JUNE Testing: Online June 7-17 & Paper June 7-10.
Registration Opens: March 22
Registration Closes; April 1st
JULY Testing: Online July 19-29 & Paper July 19-22
Registration Opens: June 14
Registration Closes: June 22
PTA Food Drive
The grade that collects the most donations each month will win an extra recess! Donation basket is in the lobby.
April - Stock the Pantry (Canned tuna, meat, fruit, etc.)
May - Mac & Cheese(Packages of everyone's favorite!)
5th Grade Grading Policy & Late Work Acceptance
*LATE-WORK* - Students will have ONE WEEK from when an assignment is assigned to complete/submit their work. After that point, a ZERO will be entered into the grade book and will NOT be changed.
Here are some tips for students that will help to develop these habits:
- Check grades and missing assignments daily in Skyward.
- Check email for reminders from your teacher(s)
- Be sure to send your teachers an email if you have any questions about your grades or assignments.
- Check on your Seesaw progress, StemScopes, Readworks, IXL accounts, weekly learning checklist, and update your student planner.
If classwork requires extra time, it will come home as unfinished classwork. Assignments scored under 70 can be corrected and returned to be a 70. Tests under 70 will be revisited in small-group with an opportunity at a later date for an improved score. Assignments turned in late will be 10 points off every day until the assignment is turned in.
Please click HERE to see how each teacher will submit grading feedback by their content area.
Fifth Grade Feedback
Our Focus
Our 5th-grade teachers are so excited to work with you this year and we look forward to teaming with our wonderful 5th-grade families in order to provide the best educational experience possible for our amazing students. There will be times of joy, excitement, and growth as well as moments of frustration. It is during these rougher times that we ask for all to proceed with patience and understanding as we all learn to navigate an entirely new approach to instructional delivery. We are all learning and doing our absolute best and we are confident that all involved will grow through this experience and be ready for the challenges of middle school and beyond. We value our community and welcome all feedback to help us shape this experience into an intentional and successful model of instruction for our students and encourage open communication throughout our time together.
Teacher Contact Info
sharon.fiffik@gcisd.net - 5th grade Humanities (Reading) and Team Leader
@OCTFiffik
morgan.epperson@gcisd.net - 5th grade Math
@OCTEpperson
amber.fields@gcisd.net - 5th grade Science
@OCTFields
angela.vaughan@gcisd.net - 5th grade Humanities (Writing & Social Studies)
@OCTVaughan
Website: https://oct.gcisd.net/
Location: 5300 Pool Rd. Colleyville, TX, USA
Phone: 817-305-4870
Connect With Us!
Follow our campus on Twitter @OCTaylorTigers and follow #OCT4U!