5th Grade Weekly Update
Here's what's going on at O.C. Taylor!
Week of January 13th-17th
ANNOUNCEMENTS
-Our grade level will continue to reinforce our refreshed expectations. We are proud of our students and know they are amazing examples for all the other OCT Tigers here at school!
- Taylor Tiger Choir
All 4th and 5th graders are invited to attend!
We meet every Thursday from 2:55-4:00 p.m. in the OCT Music room.
Six Flags Read to Succeed Program
Forms were sent home last Thursday, January 9th for the Six Flags Read to Succeed Program. All 5th graders will be required to participate - this will be taken as a reading grade. All they have to do is read 6 hours between now and April 17 and they will receive a free Six Flags ticket that can be used during the summer of 2020. Parents will log their children's reading time into an online reading log this year. There will be no need to turn in a paper log. The form your child received on Thursday will have your child's class code on it. If you have questions or lost your login code, please feel free to contact Mrs. Fiffik.
Baby Pictures Needed for Yearbook!
Each year, the OC Taylor yearbook features pages with fifth graders' baby photos. It's fun to guess who's who (there is a key provided at the end of the section) and see how far the kids have all come!
How to Submit Photos
a) Digital or scanned photos need to be emailed to tiffany.daggercummin@gcisd.net.
(preferred)
b) Hard copies of photos can be sent in an envelope with your child's name on the back.
Photo Guidelines
- For digital photos, high resolution (300 dpi) is best. Most photos taken with a standard digital camera will be fine, but we will contact you if a photo is too small/low resolution to print.
- If you are scanning a photo, please send it as a JPEG and not a PDF.
- The photo should be of your child aged 0-2. The photo should have a clear view of the face; close-ups work well. The photo should ideally not have other people in it, so we can feature only your child in.
- Be sure to include your child's identification, as described above. Photos without identification will not be printed.
Please email your photo to tiffany.daggercummin@gcisd.net by February 7!
TWUA Annual Poster and Essay Contest 2020
Contest Topic: “Water, Nature’s Most Precious Commodity”
We are pleased to invite your 4th, 5th, and 6th-grade students to participate in the Texas Water Utilities Association, Public Education Committee, Poster and Essay Contest for 2020. This program was developed in an effort to educate the public about the water utilities industry.
The possibilities are endless, and we look forward to seeing how this year’s topic encourages further learning in your classroom. Click here for official entry and rules.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
-January 13th - National College Football Championship - wear Tiger gear!
-January 15th - talent show auditions, TTT meets, yearbook meets, NEHS meets
-January 16th - talent show auditions
-January 17th - Party Bus
-January 20th - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL for students/staff
-January 21st - Hopdoddy Spirit Night
-January 22nd - talent show rehearsal
-January 23rd - talent show rehearsal, Play-It-Safe program
-January 24th - wear OCT shirt, K-Buddies, Future Explorations (health sciences)
-January 24th - spelling activities DUE and Spelling Test in Humanities
-January 25th - Snow Days with Dads
-Week of Jan 27th - tentatively scheduled SCIENCE district test covering units 9-11
-January 27th - wear RED in honor of Chinese New Year
-January 29th - Geography Bee - 8:30-10 for 4th/5th graders
-January 30th - choir and talent show dress rehearsal
-January 31st - OCT Talent Show
HUMANITIES (Reading, Writing, & Social Studies)
This book talk is to be told from the minor character's point of view. The due date for this is Feb. 20.
Spelling: New spelling words will go home on Monday. Please make a note that our spelling activities have changed. Students will NO longer be using the spelling activities manila folder. Students will have 2 activities to complete every two weeks.
The first activity will be to put all of their spelling words in ABC order. The second activity will only use 10 of their spelling words. Students can choose which 10 words they would like to use. They must define these words using ONLY a dictionary--NOT an online source. This is so students can practice the skill of looking up words that will help them on STAAR. Then, they must use each word in a good 5th-grade sentence, 1 word per sentence.
These activities and the test will be on Jan. 24.
Writing: Students will be doing writing work during their reading centers based on the book they have chosen to read in class.
Social Studies: We will be covering chapter 14 in class this week. We will be discussing the 3 branches of government throughout the week.
MATH
On Monday 1/13, we will be taking our Unit 6 pre-assessment.
This week in math, we will begin Unit 6. The rest of the week is reviewing how to add and subtract decimals and mixed numbers. We will end the week with converting decimals to fractions and vice versa.
Starting this week, we will begin preparing for STAAR with a 10 question STAAR like quiz every Friday to work on problem-solving strategies and review concepts from the beginning of the year. We will be sending out an email with more information soon.
Students have examples of strategies in their notebooks. They all have multiple methods to complete their multiplication and division problems.
We are pushing our students to work on math through IXL and XTRA Math. Prodigy is more of a game to them rather than a strong instructional tool.
*******Pleeeeeeeease encourage your child to practice their multiplication math facts nightly. This will tremendously benefit them in 5th-grade math! Flashcards, apps, anything will help!*******
SCIENCE
We will be rolling out Unit 10 - this unit covers the formation of fossil fuels. We have structured this unit to be very student-led in that the unit is laid out as a massive choice board that the students can maneuver through on their own as we move through the material. Much of it builds upon knowledge from before the break so we will be sure to review key concepts as we go to make sure foundations are in place.
Our January plan is to review unit 9 this week. Cover Unit 10 next week (Jan13) and Unit 11 the following week (Jan20). The week of Jan 27th, the plan is to review units 9-11 and take our next district assessment. We will adjust this as needed.
FROM PTA *** 5th GRADE PARTIES*** Please send ASAP
PTA is asking NOW so they can budget accordingly and so that all can enjoy the rest of the school year and all of the fun things during this final year in elementary school!
Venmo: @channing-borecki
Please make checks out to Channing Borecki
For all questions, please reach out to Channing Borecki, 5th grade GLC at 817-437-4247 or at channingborecki@gmail.com.
The Importance of Attendance
Our daily core instruction begins promptly at 7:40 am and runs to 11:10 am.
While we understand that appointments are needed throughout the year, if at all possible, please try to schedule these during the afternoon hours or after school to help us maximize your student's learning. We just want their sweet, smiling faces in class! Thank you for your support!
Planner Expectations
We are asking that you please sign your student's planner at least once a week as a way to show that you are in the communication loop! They get prizes for this too!
Tiger Time Expectations
Here are our expectations for the hour of Tiger Time. We use this time to check-in with students to see that they have completed and submitted all incomplete/missing work for both Humanities and Math/Science in an effort to limit or avoid them having to work on anything at home. This time will still be used by teachers for small-group instruction and remediation or extension as needed. When students are pulled from core instruction for special services, we also utilize Tiger Time to catch them up from instruction they missed earlier in the day.
- Extension activities - We want Tiger Time to be inclusive of all our learners. In addition to having time for completing their regular classwork, the students also have menu choice boards for both Humanities and Math that are meant to supplement our instruction, extend lessons in fun ways, and are great ways to review content past what is covered in class.
- For GT students, we understand that they don't have Tiger Time Mon-Wed. They will have Tiger Time on Thursdays and Fridays to help them reclaim some time to make up or complete anything from class that they might be missing to help them with their workload.
- Telescopers - Mrs. Griffin pulls this group on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays from 10:40-11:10. On Tuesdays/Thursdays, they will have this same time window to work on any unfinished or missing assignments they have from Humanities, Math, or Science to help them with their workload.
- *Students should only be on Prodigy and other online sites after all work has been completed and their teachers have confirmed they are not missing anything. This should also be limited to about 10 minutes as they have the menu choice boards they can be working from as well*
5th grade Grading Policy - Please Read!
We know that many of you are new to your student receiving numeric grades. We want to make you all aware of our grading policy in 5th grade this year. This policy is also posted in our 5th grade Curriculum Night Slideshow presentation.
We are a no-homework campus. If classwork requires extra time, it will come home as unfinished classwork to be completed at home and returned the next day. Assignments scoring below a 70 can be corrected accurately and returned as soon as possible for up to a 70. Tests under 70 will be revisited in small group with a test 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.
We encourage both parents and students to check Skyward often to monitor student progress. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Progress Reports and Report Card Dates
Teacher Contact Info
sharon.fiffik@gcisd.net - 5th grade Humanities/Team Leader (Reading/Writing/Social Studies)
@OCTFIFFIK
morgan.epperson@gcisd.net - 5th grade Math/Science
@MsEppersonOCT
amber.fields@gcisd.net - 5th grade Math/Science
@OCTFields
michelle.watkins@gcisd.net - 5th grade Resource - all content
@OCTWatkins
tiffany.daggercummin@gcisd.net - 5th grade Humanities (Reading/Writing/Social Studies)
@OCTDagger
Location: 5300 Pool Road, Colleyville, TX, USA
Phone: 817-305-4870