5th Grade Weekly Update
Here's what's going on at O.C. Taylor!
Week of November 18th - 22nd / Thanksgiving Break
The Importance of Attendance
ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!
- Camp Thurman is officially rescheduled! Please see below for more information!
-Nursing Staff will be giving the 5th-grade puberty program on Friday, November 22nd. Forms have been sent home if you wish your student to opt-out of this instruction.
- All 5th graders have received an O.C.Taylor planner. We are doing a quick daily briefing with the planners in our classes in addition to the larger Monday Meeting where we lay out the week(s). We would encourage you to please check your student's planner daily to help reinforce these helpful management strategies!
- 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.
FROM PTA *** 5th GRADE PARTIES***
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!
Please send funds by WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20th - THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!
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.
National Elementary Honor Society
The OCT National Elementary Honor Society students are collecting supplies to send to current U.S. troops. This is a great way to show honor and support to our current military servicemen and women. We would like to collect through the first week in December so that items can be sent. Thank you for your donations, Tigers!
Supplies needed : bars of soap, toothpaste/toothbrush, shampoo, sunscreen, lip balm, lotion, foot powder, Q-tips, first aid kit, card games, frisbees, balls, books, stationery/pens, AAA batteries, nuts, sunflower seeds, candy (not chocolate), and VISA giftcards in any amount you would like to give.
TURKEY DRIVE!
TTT and Dad's Club members will be outside to collect turkeys from the morning drop-off lines. Let's give back to our community and help as many families as possible enjoy a yummy turkey this Thanksgiving!
We donated 130 turkeys in 2017 and shattered that record last year with 192 turkeys in 2018! Help us break the 200 turkey mark this year!!!
FALL SEMESTER - IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
Nov 19th - makeup picture day AND Club Pictures (choir, TTN, TTT, Yearbook, NEHS, etc)
Nov 20th - Yearbook, TTT, NEHS, and the Turkey Drive
Nov 22nd - makeup inflatables time from FUN DAY!
Nov 22nd - "Growing Up Girls/Boys" puberty program
Nov 23 - Dec 1st- THANKSGIVING BREAK! NO SCHOOL! ENJOY YOUR FAMILIES!
Month of December - please see below for the daily dress-up themes and activities
Dec 4th - Hour of Code
Dec 5th - Grapevine Parade of Lights
Dec 6th - December K-Buddies, December Future Explorations, Colleyville Tree Lighting
Dec 9th - CAMP THURMAN!
Dec 9th - 13th - Campus Scholastic Book Fair
Dec 12th - OCT Choir Concert
Dec 13th - Grand Slam Grandparent Breakfast
Dec 16th - Santa Visit and Oncor presentation
Dec 17th - CHHS Choir visits campus
Dec 19th - Polar Express Day
Dec 20th - Holiday parties & early dismissal
Dec 21st - Jan 6th - CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!!
December Dress-Up Days & Activities
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 Gifted and Talented Testing
The presentation from the original parent meeting will also be shared on the Advanced Academics page of the district website following the meeting.
GT testing will begin after we return from winter break in January. Parents interested in referring their child for testing need to complete this form: Parent Inventory & Permission to Test .
Camp Thurman has been rescheduled for MONDAY DECEMBER 9th!
*** Camp Thurman waivers have been sent home! Please sign and return ASAP!***
These are DUE BACK TO TEACHERS BY NOVEMBER 19TH!
We are so excited to share that our fifth-grade students will be able to return to Camp Thurman for the Challenge Adventure Program Field Trip. We will update you soon with the extended times and info regarding the additional hot dog cookout that CT is providing for our students at no additional fee. We will pass this information along to you in the next few weeks. We will be communicating more information soon! Below is the release form -
We have made copies and will be providing every student one so please only print off if needed.
*** If for whatever reason your child was not originally able to attend Camp Thurman, we will ensure they get all the necessary paper work for you to sign, and we will collect their camp fee as well, thanks! It's really cool that several students who were unable to attend now get to go!***
HUMANITIES (Reading, Writing, & Social Studies)
**Reminder that Book Talk #2 is due this Thursday, Nov 21st**
Spelling: No new Spelling words or activities until after the break!
Writing: Students will be working on writing their Turkey Stories in class.
Students will share these stories in class on Nov. 22.
*Reminder that students should be disguising their turkeys at home and they need to be brought to school on the 22nd**
Social Studies: We are finishing up our Chapter 10 notes, and will be collecting them on Monday, 11/18. We will start our Chapter 10 review for the Chapter 10 test on Wednesday, 11/20.
There is a copy of Chapter 10 from History Alive in Google Classroom, and students also have notes in their Social Studies notebooks to help them prepare for the test. We have a fun activity in store for them on Thursday to help them understand taxation without representation! Be sure to ask them about it!
MATH
This week in math, we will continue our learning with fractions with uncommon denominators. We will begin learning about adding and subtracting mixed numbers. Students should be able to find equivalent fractions, simplify fractions, and change improper fractions to mixed numbers. Please look on your child's Google Classroom to see some of the activities they are working on in class! There are also pictures of their notes posted in Google Classroom for them to use when they are practicing adding and subtracting fractions.
Students have examples of strategies in their notebooks. They all have multiple methods to complete their multiplication and division problems.
All students also have an account on PRODIGY. They can access this through Classlink and log in using their Google credentials. This is an excellent way for them to practice their math skills in a fun way!
*******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 are beginning to review for our next unit test. We will be revisiting structures & functions, inherited traits/learned behaviors, eco-system interdependecy, food chains/webs, and environmental changes.
This continues a study of a total of 6 units before our next district assessment. A review will be provided to help prepare for the assessment. All of these units build on each other and the students really enjoy the content. We will also be adding in certain ongoing investigations such as observing a habitat of a rotting log over several weeks.
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