The Putney Post
West Homer Elementary--5th Grade
Dates to Remember
January 20- NO SCHOOL, Martin Luther King Day
January 22- Quarter 2 Awards Assembly 1:00-1:30
January 22- Early Release, School Ends at 1:40
January 23- Ed Perfermance Math Testing
January 31- Student Council Spirit Day---"Dress Like a Nerd"
February 6 and 7- Parent Teacher Conferences
Happy New Year!
Classroom Happenings
What a wonderful week we had in room 317 as we started off the second half of our year together! In reading we practiced implementing the skill of inference within the context of Wonder by: R.J. Palacio. We used background knowledge, clues from the text, illustrations and captions to infer meaning; realizing that authors don't tell readers everything they need to know about a text. We made a big jump in math this week by taking our final decimal test. We can now add, subtract, multiply and divide decimals! Students reviewed decimal concepts early in the week and took their test Wednesday. In writing we worked on a piece titled, "The Best Part of Me". After reading a mentor text, students selected the body part they appreciate the most about themselves and wrote three big idea paragraphs to support their thinking. The creativity and humor of this group of fifth graders simply amazes me.
What's Next?
Next week we will be focusing on fluency within our reading work.We will use the voice memo feature on our ipods to evaluate our use of punctuation to enhance our phrasing as readers. In math we will practice the skill of writing numerical expressions. Students will use numbers and operation symbols to write verbal phrases as numerical expressions and then use their understanding of the order of operations to solve the expressions. In writing we will bring closure to our "Best Parts of Me" writing and begin our exploration of persuasive writing. We will also continue our study of explorers from the 15th and 16th centuries in social studies.
Report Cards
Quarter 2 report cards will be sent home with your child on Monday, January 13. If you do not receive the report card, or need extra copies, please let me know.
Winter Break Reading Goal
Your child started Winter Break with a 50,000 reading word goal. Over 75% of our class accomplished their reading goal of 50,000 words in a two week period! Thank you for supporting the reading habits of your fifth grader over Winter Break. I am so impressed by the hard work and dedication of your children.
My reading over Winter Break included a book that may interest some of you. It was a great read focusing on the soft-skills kids need to be successful in and outside of school. Although reading, writing and math are the primary skills we focus on in school character skills are also included in our work as teachers. The data and stories shared by the author were fascinating. If you are looking for an interesting read I would highly recommend "How Children Succeed" By: Paul Tough.
Schedule Change
Our P.E., Music, and Library schedule has changed for second semester.
Monday- Library
Tuesday- P.E.
Wednesday- Music
Thursday- P.E.
Friday- Music
Support Outdoor Education- Purchase a Cookbook today for $15.00
Wear School Colors on Fridays
Our student council has organized spirit days. Every Friday for the rest of the school year students are encouraged to wear blue and gold to represent the West Homer Orcas. There is a "special" spirit day once a month. January 22 students are encouraged to dress like a nerd.
Check Out Our Updated School Website!
Does this basket look familiar?
This basket was left behind at the bake sale in December. If it is yours, please let me know and I will send it home with your child.
Thank you!
IXL- Math Practice Site
To get your child started on your home computer, please follow these steps:
1. Go to www.IXL.com/signin/westhomer
2. Enter your child’s username and password and click Sign in.
Username: firstinital,lastname@westhomer (EX: eputney@westhomer)
Password:firstinital,lastname (EX: eputney)
3. Choose 5th grade.
4. Find a skill to practice that relates to what we have been covering in class.
IXL Skills to Practice This Week: Algebra (Any Q Skill)