AMERICAN ACADEMY: Classrooms

Permission slips for the end of the year pool party at the Castle Rock Rec Center are in today’s Friday Folder. Students will be going down to the rec center on the bus. Pizza and water will be provided to the students at the pool. All students must be picked up at the Castle Rock Pool at 2:00 PM by their parents. We will not be returning to school that day.

MAPS testing begins next week and will run through the following week. The student test times will vary each day, but often times it will be during their Math period, so being to school on time would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Please be sure to turn in your student’s tee-shirt and lunch order form for field day as soon as possible.

MATH:

Mrs. Guerin 7/6 – We will be covering L101-110 through the end of the year. They will have a unit test 20 on Tuesday May 14th.

Mrs. Heins 8/7 – Students will cover lessons 105-113, the next two weeks. Their unit test 20 will be May 7th and unit 21 will be May 13th. Students final exam will be May 16th and 17th.

Mrs. Hernandez 6/5 – We will be covering Lessons 101-108. There will be a quiz over Lessons 101-105 on Tuesday, May 14th. We will be practicing the facts entitled: 30 Percents to Write as Fractions. We will take our quiz on these facts Wednesday, May 15th.

Mrs. Benedik 6/5 – We will be covering Lessons 101-108. There will be a quiz over Lessons 101-105 on Wednesday, May 15th. We will also cover our next investigation that introduces the graphing on all four quadrants of an X and Y graph. We will be practicing the facts entitled: 30 Percents to Write as Fractions. We will take our quiz on these facts Tuesday, May 14th.

SCIENCE:

Mrs. Heins –. The STEM Bioengineering began today and will continue until May 20th. This grade will be recorded in the STEM section of the report card. Mrs. Liddick will be recording the grades and I will be teaching the unit in class. I can address any questions you may have since I will be teaching the unit.

READING:

Mrs. Benedik – Spelling: Students will have a spelling test on Friday, April 10th. There will be spelling assignments given at the start of the new week and students are responsible for recording the words in their planner during the class time given.

All Reading: Students will have a quiz over the Frederick Douglass Vocabulary on Tuesday May 7th as well as a culminating propaganda reflection project due on May 13th. The information for this can be found in my Shared Folder.

Reading Logs: Reading Log due Monday, May 6th. This month’s log will be kept in the form of a book mark. Students are to record their daily reading on their book mark for the month or for every book. When a student finishes a book, they get a new book mark and on every Monday we will set new, individual, reading goals for the following week. Our class novel, Tom Sawyer does count towards the log.

Tom Sawyer It’s the time of the year when we read the mischievous tale, based on Mark Twain’s friends, life, and experiences; Tom Sawyer. Avs and Broncos have chapters 23-finish due May 17th. Nuggets and Rockies have Chapters 1-10 due Friday, May 10th and the end of the book due May 17th. Students will have a final project for this novel the week of May 13th.

Students may read along a recording that is posted on my website. We will have class discussions over vocabulary, reading groups and a culminating project in May. Additionally, students will be keeping a blog related to their connections, questions and curiosities related to the story.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Mrs. Guerin:The students have been working on their Museum Travel Boxes and presenting them in class. We will be having our final in Grammar on Friday May 3rd. We will have one more culminating assignment this year. I will also have them file their hard work in their portfolios for you to enjoy over the summer. They have truly blossomed this year into great writers.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Mrs. Hernandez – Due to the numerous tests the students were having in other subjects, I moved the Civil War test to Monday, May 6th. It will be a comprehensive test covering all of the chapters we have learned throughout the Civil War, up to Chapter 25. Students may prepare for the quiz by playing the Quia activity entitled: Civil War Activity: Unit Review. They may also refer to the power points in the Academic Shared folder which cover each lesson that was taught during the Civil War Unit. In addition, they can review past Quia quizzes and their composition books, which have maps, diagrams, and notes that will help them to review. We will continue learning the states and their capitals. Students will take a very short quiz on the Rocky Mountain States on Monday as well. Our next unit will be Westward Expansion After the Civil War. Their final test will be Thursday, May 16th.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email, nheins@americanacademyk8.org; lhernandez@americanacademyk8.org; dguerin@americanacademyk8.org, or mbenedik@americanacademyk8.org

Newsletter April 5 (posted by Nancy Heins; 04/07/13)

I would like to remind you that there will be a Late-Start Wednesday next week – April 10th. Carpool drop–off begins at 10:35 AM and school begins at 11:05 AM. We look forward to seeing many of you at the 5th Grade Wax Museum on Friday, April 12th, from 2:00-3:00 PM. For students who will be here at school during the Washington DC trip, we will going to the Denver Museum Of Nature and Science on April 24th. If you would like to drive and chaperone a group of students, please send Mrs. Heins an email. The students will leave school at 9:20 and return about 2:20. Permission slips in next week’s Friday folder. Have a nice weekend.

MATH:

Mrs. Guerin 7/6 – We are moving along. We will have a test through L 90 this Friday 4-5-13. We will continue covering through L96 and have a test on Wed 4-17-13

Mrs. Heins 8/7 – Students will cover lessons 90-99, the next two weeks. Their unit test 17 will be April 9th and unit 18 test will be April 16th. Students are currently working on fact test N and O.

Mrs. Hernandez 6/5 – We will be covering Lessons 88-94. There will be a quiz over Lessons 86-90 on Monday, April 15th. We will be practicing our facts entitled: 40 Fractions to Reduce. We will take our quiz on these facts Wednesday, April 17th.

Mrs. Benedik 6/5 – We will be covering Lessons 88-94. There will be a quiz over Lessons 86-90 on Friday, April 11th. We will be practicing our facts entitled: 40 Fractions to Reduce. We will take our quiz on these facts Wednesday, April 17th.

SCIENCE:

Mrs. Heins – Students are working on the FOSS module Weather on Earth. Students will complete Investigations 1 and 2 over the next two-three weeks. They will be keeping a weather diary next week. There will be a test next Friday, April 12th. The test will cover Investigation 1. pgs.3-16 in the online book. Students have logged into the book in class already this past week. Please encourage your child to discuss science and the weather daily.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Mrs. Guerin – We have been so busy working on our biographies and learning about the Wax museum project. The students are gearing up for their Wax Museum next Friday 4-12-13 at 2pm in the cafeteria. Their biographies have been so interesting and they are truly enjoying this project. I am looking forward to hearing their speeches next week. I hope you can join us and share in the celebration of their hard work.

SPELLING:

Spelling: Students will have a spelling test on Monday, April 15th and Monday, April 22nd. There will be spelling assignments given at the start of the new week and students are responsible for recording the words in their planner during the class time given.

READING:

All Reading: We have started reading The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. This will be read in class and discussed in class. Students are to take part in discussion questions and will be keeping a weekly Blog recording their thoughts, reactions and learning from the novel and our discussions. The first blog post will be done in class and will be due on Tuesday, April 9th.

Reading Logs: Avalanche, Broncos and Nuggets have a reading log due Monday, April 8th. This month’s log will be kept in the form of a book mark. Students are to record their daily reading on their book mark for the month or for every book. When a student finishes a book, they get a new book mark and on every Monday we will set new, individual, reading goals for the following week.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Mrs. Hernandez – Students should be learning the Gettysburg Address, posted on my webpage under downloads. We will begin individually reciting the Address the week of April 15th. We have learned the states of the Great Plains. There will be a quiz on these states next Tuesday, April 9th and another quiz on Tuesday, April 16thth over all of the states we have learned thus far. Students will have their next Civil War Quiz over Chapters 8-14 on Thursday, April 11th. They may begin playing the Quia Activity entitled: Civil War Activity: Chapter 8-14. We have finished learning the causes of the war and are now studying the war itself.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email, nheins@americanacademyk8.org; lhernandez@americanacademyk8.org; dguerin@americanacademyk8.org, or mbenedik@americanacademyk8.org

March 15 Newsletter (posted by Nancy Heins; 03/15/13)

TCAPS are done! Thank you for doing such an excellent job these past two weeks of getting your child here on time and well fed. ?

The American Academy Service Club will be volunteering for a third time this Saturday, March 16th at Café 180 in Englewood. Café 180 is a restaurant that serves homemade pizza’s, fresh soups, sandwiches and salads. They encourage patrons to pay what they can afford and allow them to volunteer in the restaurant to pay for their meal if they are otherwise unable to.

The American Academy Service Club has been volunteering here for three years now and would like to invite families to dine with us this Saturday between 11:00-2:00 as we prepare, serve and even help clean-up after you. The restaurant is a non-profit and runs mostly off of volunteers; therefore all money spent on meals here goes directly back to serving those in need. There will be many fifth graders volunteering this Saturday and we look forward to seeing you there,

MATH:

Mrs. Guerin 7/6 - We will be covering through Lesson 90 before spring break. The students will have a test 16A on Friday March 22nd. We have been covering order of operations, and cross multiplying fractions.

Mrs. Heins 8/7 – Students will cover lessons 81-89, the next two weeks. Their unit test 16 will be March 22nd. Students are currently working on fact test L and M. Fact test M and N will be tested the next two weeks

Mrs. Hernandez 6/5 – We will be covering Lessons 81-86. There will be a quiz over Lessons 80-85 on Thursday, April 4th. We will be practicing our facts entitled: 60 Improper Fractions to Simplify. We will take our quiz on these facts Wednesday, March 20th.

Mrs. Benedik 6/5 – We will be covering Lessons 81-86. There will be a quiz over Lessons 80-85 on Thursday, April 4th. We will be practicing our facts entitled: 60 Improper Fractions to Simplify. We will take our quiz on these facts Wednesday, March 20th

Science:

Mrs. Heins – Students are finishing a microscope lab and a plant unit next week. Students will begin the FOSS unit, Weather on Earth, when they return from spring break. Students will begin a STEM unit on May 1st to finish the year.

Language:

Mrs.Guerin:We have been so busy working on our biographies and learning about the Wax museum project. The students have begun their research and they are truly excited. We will continue to follow the plan sent out in the packet you should have received and signed. Remember their final drafts are due on Thurs 3/21/13. I have been reading their rough drafts and editing with them, some of these have been so interesting. They are truly working hard.

Reading:

Spelling: Students will have their final spelling test for the semester on Monday, February 25th.

All Reading: Students will have a Voice Thread Recording of their favorite poem recently covered due Wednesday, March 20th. This recording will be graded both on oral expression and artistic interpretation for their drawing.

All Reading: Starting the week of March 18th we will begin reading The Narrative of Frederick Douglass. This will be read together in class as the material can be graphic and difficult. The version we read is a Core Knowledge version specifically for the 5th grade level but utilizes Douglass’ rich language and writing. We will have many class discussions and occasional assignments related to the reading.

Students will have a spelling test Friday, April 5th.

Students will have a reading log due Monday, April 8th.

Mrs. Hernandez – We have begun our Civil War Unit. This will be a long unit, so there will be quizzes along the way to help the students better retain the information. The first quiz will cover Chapters 1-7 and will be on April 3rd. Students may begin to play their first Quia Activity entitled: Civil War Chapters 1-7 Activity. I am posting the Gettysburg Address under downloads on my website. Students will be required to orally recite the address to the class, so this power point will help them to memorize it.

February 14 Newsletter (posted by Nancy Heins; 02/16/13)

Just a reminder that the end of the second trimester grading period is coming up on March 1st. CSAP testing will take place from March 4th through March 21st. We hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable long weekend. Thank you!

MATH:

Mrs. Guerin 7/6 We will be covering Lessons 76-80 over the next 2 weeks. We will have a Unit Test 15 on Friday February 22nd. We have been busy converting fractions to decimals, graphing, and converting percents to fractions

Mrs. Heins 8/7 – Students will cover lessons 72-80, the next two weeks. Their unit test 14 will be Feb 22nd. Students are currently working on fact test L and M. The next vocabulary unit will cover words from Lessons 55-75. Their test will be February 25th.

Mrs. Hernandez 6/5 – We will be covering Lessons 74-80 over the next two weeks. We will have the Unit 14 test on Thursday, February 21st. We will be practicing a new type of Math facts called 60 Improper Fractions to Simplify. They will have their first quiz on this new type of Math fact on Wednesday, February 20th

Mrs. Benedik 6/5– We will be covering Lessons 75 - 80 over the next two weeks. We will have Unit 14 test on Thursday, February 21st. We will be practicing a new type of Math facts called 60 Improper Fractions to Simplify. They will have their first quiz on this new type of Math fact on Wednesday, February 20th.

SCIENCE:

Mrs. Heins – Students will begin a series of scientific process reviews, growing the plants to be used in our next STEM unit and human body systems. Life science will be the major focus during the month of February. Students recently did a heartbeat lab and completed in class. QUIA quizzes will continue until spring break. Students will begin a STEM unit on March 4th, packaging design.

LANGUAGE:

The students had a great time completing their newspapers. They also wrote an essay about what it would be like to live inside a snow globe. We have been working on our editing skills, and will be moving into our next major project, a research report. Look for more information to come next week.

Weekly assignments include: DOL’s are due everyday – not on line, done in class Partner Journals are due every THURSDAY. **I will be phasing out the Wordle of the Week** (the students will be busy with their new project)

Grammar: Students continue to have daily assignments called DOL that are now being done in class on paper and we are going over them daily.. On Fridays, they are taking a Weekly Review Test that is a recap of all of the concepts they learned that week. They are working on their editing and revising skills. We have been reviewing abbreviations and how to write a correct address. We will be concentrating on Research terminology over the next few weeks.

READING:

Mrs. Benedik – Spelling: Students will have their final spelling test for the semester on Monday, February 25th

Avalanche and Broncos: Students are reading the full version of The Secret Garden. Students are to read to Chapter 10 by Wednesday, February 20th and answer the few comprehension questions in their packet. These questions are geared at helping students monitor their comprehension and think more critically as they read. There are also vocabulary words to help them out! By Friday, March 1st, students are to read to chapter 16. We will be reading some of the story in class, in small groups and independently

Rockies: Students are reading the abridged version of The Secret Garden. Students are to read to chapter five by Wednesday, February 20th and answer a few comprehension questions in their packet. These questions are geared at helping students monitor their comprehension and think more critically as they read. There are also vocabulary words to help them out! By Friday, March 1st, students are to read to chapter 10. We will be reading some of the story in class, in small groups and independently.

Nuggets: Students are still reading mysteries from our “Sherlock Holmes” book. We are practicing monitoring our comprehension as we read and identifying elements of the genre within the text. Students will have questions from their next story due on Wednesday, February 20th.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Mrs. Hernandez: On February 21st, students will take their final test on the Explorer Unit. Students can prepare for this unit by reviewing their composition books, reviewing their Core Knowledge books, reviewing their Inspiration 8 document which was done in class and organizes all of the explorers by country, and by playing the Quia Activity called: The Exploration Activity. It must be played 20 minutes for full credit. The animated power points are due February 20th. The Inspiration 8 document on the explorers needs to be turned in February 21st. This assignment was done in class.

Yearbook Update (posted by Nancy Heins; 02/13/13)

Buy Yearbooks Online Before They are Gone! This year, like last, you can buy student yearbooks online ONLY, and you can buy them NOW! The deadline for purchase is April 1st. Visit the LifeTouch Yearbook website (https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/Order/SelectJob ) use the AA school code (8028613) and fill out your payment information. Once the deadline passes, there is no way for your child to get a yearbook.

Pictures: We are in need of yearbook photos and would REALLY appreciate it if parents could help us by uploading your own pictures this year. It’s very easy to do, you go to the website and put in the code to register. You will get an email back and then can upload 5 pictures at a time to your grade level folder on the website. Submit candid school photos for consideration in the yearbook. To submit photos to the yearbook staff, go to community.lifetouch.com and register with the following access code: CQTENZ We really want to get every kid in the yearbook several times, so we prefer group pictures. I think the new IPhone pictures will upload, but most other pictures taken on a phone aren’t high enough quality for the yearbook.

February 2 Newsletter (posted by Nancy Heins; 02/02/13)

Valentine’s Day will be coming up soon. We will not be having a traditional “party” in 5th Grade, but we will be stopping instruction on February 14th at 2:15 to allow the students to watch a Sherlock Holmes movie and eat some popcorn and cookies. Students will be allowed to exchange valentines on that day. Please be aware that the room parent for each class might be contacting you for donations toward this event. As always, thank you for your support.

Please notice the dates below for the end of the second trimester, the beginning of TCAP, and the next Late Start Wednesday.

•February 6th – Late start Wednesday •February 15th – NO SCHOOL – Professional Development Day •February 22nd – Dress of Choice •March 1st – End of 2nd Trimester Grading Period •March 4th – TCAP begins

MATH:

Mrs. Guerin 7/6 We are continuing to learn about polygons, angles and multiplication and division of fractions. We will have a vocabulary test on Monday Feb 4th and a unit test 14A on Friday 2/8/14.

Mrs. Heins 8/7 – Students will cover lessons 68-77, the next two weeks. Their unit tests 13 and 14 will be Feb 8th and Feb 22nd. Students are currently working on fact test J and K. The next vocabulary unit will cover words from Lessons 55-75. Their test will be February 20th.

Mrs. Hernandez 6/5 – We will be covering Lessons 69-75 over the next two weeks. We will have the Unit 13 test on Thursday, February 7th. We will be practicing our 48 Uneven Division Facts, with a quiz on Friday, February 8th, and our 100 Multiplication Facts with the quiz being on Thursday, February 14th.

Mrs. Benedik 6/5– We will be covering Lessons 69-75 over the next two weeks. We will have Unit 13 test on Friday, February 8th. We will also be practicing our reducing fractions.

SCIENCE:

Mrs. Heins – Students will begin a series of scientific process reviews, growing the plants to be used in our next STEM unit and human body systems. Life science will be the major focus during the month of February. They began an evaporation lab Thursday in class. QUIA quizzes will continue until spring break. Students will begin a STEM unit on March 4th, packaging design

LANGUAGE:

Students have been working on their expository writing piece. They are creating their very own newspapers. They are to come up with a title, a focus and articles that are researched based. They have been having a blast. They are typing them up on Microsoft Publisher and the final drafts are due on Feb 4th.

Weekly assignments include: DOL’s are due everyday – not on line, done in class Partner Journals are due every THURSDAY. Wordles are due every WEDNESDAY.

Grammar: Students continue to have daily assignments called DOL that are now being done in class on paper and we are going over them daily.. On Fridays, they are taking a Weekly Review Test that is a recap of all of the concepts they learned that week. They are learning about predicate adjectives, double negatives and continue to work on vocabulary development. We will have a test on Ch 12-14 on Thursday Feb 7th.

READING:

Spelling: Students will have their third spelling test on Wednesday February 6th and their fourth on Wednesday, February 13th. Students will have weekly homework due on the Monday before their spelling test. This will allow one full day to complete any corrections.

In January, students will be reading Sherlock Holmes and employing the comprehension skills of; monitoring their comprehension, making connections and predictions on unfamiliar words and mentally summarizing the text as they read independently and in small groups. Their second mystery story is to be read by Wednesday, February 6th. The summary and class discussions for this story will be due Friday, February 8th. Meanwhile, we will also practice identifying key features of informative text such as topic and thesis sentence.

For the rest of February, students will be starting our next novel and have a vocabulary on Friday, February 22nd.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Mrs. Hernandez We have begun our unit on the Explorers. During the next two weeks we will cover Magellan, and the English and French explorers. Our final test over the explorers will be February 19th. On February 14th, students will be tested on the southern states and their capitals. Students have been assigned an animated power point for this unit’s technology assignment. It will be due February 20th. They are supposed to choose a chapter from the Explorer’s Unit from which to present an animated power point. We will have several in class periods to work on this project. The rubric will be under downloads on the Hernandez page

If you have any questions or concerns, please email, nheins@americanacademyk8.org; lhernandez@americanacademyk8.org; dguerin@americanacademyk8.org, or mbenedik@americanacademyk8.org

November 30 Newsletter (posted by Nancy Heins; 11/29/12)

Dear Parents,

Please look in today’s Friday Folder for a permission slip for our field trip to the Denver Zoo on December 21st. We will need twenty chaperones for this trip, so if you are interested in both driving and chaperoning that day (your admission to the zoo will be free) please fill out the bottom portion of the permission slip. We will take the first twenty permission slips turned in. Please do not convey your desire to chaperone by responding to this newsletter as we can only count those parents who send in the permission slip.

The Fifth Grade is participating in a special fundraiser for homeless children during the month of December called, The Denver Local Sock-it-to-‘em Campaign. Approximately 1.6 million children experience homelessness over the course of a year. We are inviting the 5th grade students to become sock ambassadors and bring in as many pairs of new socks to donate to this cause as possible. They can be any kind of socks; colorful socks, warm and fuzzy socks, sports socks, or just plain fun socks. Your child can bring the socks into their homeroom classroom. The collection will end on Friday, December 21st. Thank you in advance for your support of this wonderful cause.

MATH:

Mrs. Guerin 7/6 – We will be covering lessons 42-50 over the next 2 weeks. We will have a test on Tuesday 12/11 covering these chapters. We are working on percentages, and fractions.

Mrs. Heins 8/7 – Students will cover lessons 45-55, the next two weeks. Their unit tests 8 and 9 will be November 30th and December 11th. Students are currently working on fact test H and I. The next vocabulary test will be December 14th. The vocabulary test covers Lessons 31-50.

Mrs. Hernandez 6/5– We will be covering Lessons 47-55. There will be a test on December 10th over Lessons 46-50. We will be practicing our 90 division facts, and there will be a quiz on these facts on December 7th.

Mrs. Benedik 6/5– We will be covering Lessons 46-55. There will be a test on December 3rd over Lessons 40-46 and a test on December 10th over Lessons 46-50. We will be practicing our 90 division facts, and there will be a quiz on December 11th. Feel free to have students use Quia to practice and rehearse these facts.

SCIENCE:

Mrs. Heins – Students have started a short chemistry unit. The students will be using www.chem4kids.com as a primary resource, as well as classroom notes and worksheets. They will have a quiz Dec. 4 covering their notes from Lesson 1, Atomic structure. They will have another quiz December 7th on the basic fifteen elements. Both of these quizzes have a QUIA activity for review. They will have a chemistry test December 11th. The week of December 12-20, students will return to the FOSS series, Mixtures and Solutions. The final FOSS test will be December 20th. QUIA Physical Science quizzes will continue as homework/review. They will be due every Thursday.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Mrs. Guerin – Students should be bringing home their First Trimester Portfolio’s this week. These contain a sample of work your student has done that demonstrate how they are progressing in Reading and Language Arts and how they are meeting the Colorado State Standards for Fifth Grade. These portfolios will be added to throughout the year, so they should remain intact and be returned by Wednesday, December 5th to either myself, or Mrs. Benedik.

Weekly assignments include: DOL’s are due everyday Partner Journals are due every THURSDAY. Wordles are due every WEDNESDAY.

We have been working hard on our persuasive essay skills. The students wrote a persuasive essay from Nemo’s point of view (yes the Disney movie character), and they also wrote a letter to a special guest of their choice to invite them over for Thanksgiving dinner. Our next big project that we are working on is to create their very own amusement park. They will be writing a letter to the town to convince them to put their amusement park in their town. They will also be building a 3d model of their park. The students are really enjoying being “imaginers”, and are very creative.

Grammar: Students continue to have daily assignments called DOL that are on my website for homework related to grammar practice. They typically are given time in class to complete this and it provides added practice of the important grammar skills. We are working on direct objects, regular and irregular verbs, and past and present tense of verbs. They will have a test on Ch 7 and 8 on Monday December 10th.

READING:

Mrs. Benedik- Students should be bringing home their First Trimester Portfolio’s this week. These contain a sample of work your student has done that demonstrate how they are progressing in Reading and Language Arts and how they are meeting the Colorado State Standards for Fifth Grade.

These portfolios will be added to throughout the year, so they should remain intact and be returned by Wednesday, December 5th to either myself, or Mrs. Guerin.

During these next few weeks, your students will be reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. We will first read a Shakespeare for Kids version that is illustrated by kids their age. I will then introduce and we will discuss various poetic elements present in Shakespearean work as well as other well-known poetic pieces that we have been reading.

Then, we will read an abridged version of Shakespeare’s masterpiece. We will read the play as a class; however students will then be responsible for identifying various poetic elements and acting out a scene or act. Look for tips on how you can best support your student during this “dramatic” unit in upcoming Friday Folders.

Lastly, spelling tests will resume starting Monday, December 10th. Students will also continue using Voice Thread to demonstrate their fluency in Core Knowledge poems. Don’t be afraid to ask your student to show you their Voice Thread Poetry Portfolio. ?

READING AND MATH:

Mrs. Grupe – Math: For the week of 12/3, Math students will have a cumulative test on chapters 41-45 on Monday, 12/3/12. After reviewing the test on Tuesday, we will plan on covering lessons 46-49. For the following week, of 12/10, we plan to cover lesson 50 on Monday, followed by a cumulative test on Tuesday. Wednesday through Friday should see us through chapters 51 – 53. I will put assignments in IC for you, and as long as students seem to grasp the concepts we will continue with even numbered problems on even numbered lessons, and odd numbered problems on odd numbered lessons. Also, students will have a test review as part of homework to prepare them for the tests, which we will grade the day of the test. Lastly, we will have some Math vocabulary tests, and those will be announced the day before the test. Students should try to spend several minutes each week going over their math vocabulary words.

5th grade Reading/Spelling: For the weeks of 12/3 and 12/10, we will continue with weekly Spelling homework and that will always be due on Friday before the weekly Spelling test. We are still studying Sherlock Holmes, with a focus on practicing important comprehension and reading strategies. The bulk of the reading work will be done in class, and homework will be rare, except for the weekly Spelling homework.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Mrs. Hernandez – We have completed the Early, High, and Northern Renaissance. We will devote one more computer hour to writing about the Northern Renaissance historical figure. Students can use the remainder of the Study Halls to complete their Fireworks Technology assignment. The project is due December 12th, and should be dropped in the Academic Drop Folder. All information regarding the assignment can be found in the Academic Shared folder, as well as the Hernandez website under downloads. The final test for the Renaissance will be on Tuesday, December 11th. Students can review for the test by taking the quiz/homework entitled, Review of the Renaissance Unit. They can take the review four times. The Secret Word is: rat. It will be due on the day of the final test, December 11th.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email, nheins@americanacademyk8.org; lhernandez@americanacademyk8.org; dguerin@americanacademyk8.org, or mbenedik@americanacademyk8.org

Thank you,

Lynda Hernandez, Donna Guerin, Megan Benedik, and Nancy Heins

November 2 Newsletter (posted by Nancy Heins; 11/02/12)

Thank you for having your child so well prepared for Estes Park. In spite of the snow and freezing temperatures, they did a great job. We were very proud of them.

The end of the first trimester is fast approaching on November 16th. It is a good time to take stock of your child’s supplies and determine if there is anything they need. Many children are borrowing pencils from the teacher or have lost items like their red pens or scissors. Thank you for your help in this

MATH:

Mrs. Guerin 7/6 – The students haven been working hard and learning many new concepts. The one that seems to be causing some difficulty is elapsed time. We are moving right along and will have a test on Thursday 11/8 covering through Lesson 35. We will also have a vocabulary test on Monday 11/5.

Mrs. Heins 8/7 – Students will cover lessons 36-44 the next two weeks. Their unit test 7 will be November 14th. Students will have a vocabulary quiz November 16th. Students are currently working on fact test F and G.

Mrs. Hernandez 6/5– We will be covering Lessons 36-40. There will be a test on November 8th over Lessons 31-35. The test over Lessons 36-40 will be on November 15th. We will also be practicing our 64 Multiplication Facts with the quiz on November 16th. Investigation 4 will be covered on November 16th

Mrs. Benedik 6/5– Students will have a vocabulary quiz over chapters 1-30 on Thursday, November 8th because we did not get to it due to Estes Park. Students will be practicing their 64 Multiplication Facts and will have a quiz on November 16th along with Investigation 4. Students will take their next unit tests on November 5th and 15th.

SCIENCE:

Mrs. Heins – Students have begun Investigation 3 from the FOSS Mixtures and Solutions book. They will continue with parts 2 and 3 over the next two weeks. These parts deal with super saturation and identifying a mystery substance using its physical properties. Talking to your child about the experiments in class will also be an excellent way to reinforce what was learned in class that day. They will have a test over Investigation 3, November 16th. Students will begin their CSAP Review quizzes using QUIA next week. Look for the blue and black Sciencesaurus book to come home next week.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Mrs. Guerin – The students continue to amaze me with their creative writing skills. The last creative paragraph we did was using a visual thinking skill, I see, I think, and I wonder. The students are shown a series of pictures and need to create a narrative in response to their favorite one. This week we are creating our own monsters and working on characterization. Next week we will begin working on persuasive essays. Weekly assignments: Partner Journals are due every THURSDAY. Wordles are due every WEDNESDAY.

Grammar: Students will have daily assignments called DOL that are on my website for homework related to grammar practice. The students will have a test on Chapter 4 this Friday November 1st. We will review on Thursday in class.

READING:

Mrs. Benedik- Reading ?We will continue to read Don Quixote in class. As we read selections from his crazy and humorous adventures, our reading goals will focus on recognizing characteristics of the Renaissance genre of romance and employing strategies to write a clear, precise summary.

Students will have a partner summary due Friday, November 9th and their book of summaries will be due Thursday, November 15th.

Poetry ? Students will have a picture for the poem Jabberwocky Friday, November 2nd and their Voice Thread recording is due November 5th. Their pictures for The Eagle and The Road Not Taken are due Monday, November 12th while their recording will be due Wednesday, November 14th.

Spelling ? Additionally, students will have a spelling test on November 9th and 16th.

READING AND MATH:

Mrs. Grupe - For the week of Nov. 5th, Mrs. Grupe’s Math class will have a review session on Monday, test 6 on Wednesday, and finish the rest of the week reviewing the test, doing Investigation 4, and learning Lesson 36.

For the week of Nov. 12th, Mrs. Grupe’s Math class is expecting to cover Lessons 37 – 40, and have test 7 on Friday. For the weeks of Nov. 5th and Nov. 12th,

For the weeks of Nov. 5th and Nov. 12th, Mrs. Grupe’s Reading class expects to wrap up Don Quixote and begin to study Sherlock Holmes. This will be in addition to the weekly spelling in Spalding. Both weeks will have Spelling homework and a Spelling test on Friday. Spelling homework will be due before the test on Friday.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Mrs. Hernandez – Students have been assigned their technology project for the Renaissance. The due date, which is December 7th, is posted on IC along with an explanation of the project. We will be having our next quiz on Thursday, November 8th over the Papal States and Venice. There will be a Quia Activity posted for students to play for twenty minutes. We will also be covering Machiavelli, the Borgia family, Castiglione, and Isabella d’Este.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email, nheins@americanacademyk8.org; lhernandez@americanacademyk8.org; dguerin@americanacademyk8.org, or mbenedik@americanacademyk8.org

Thank you,

Lynda Hernandez, Donna Guerin, Megan Benedik, and Nancy Heins

October 9th Newsletter (posted by Lynda Hernandez; 10/09/12)

Dear Parents,

When we return from Fall Break, we will be leaving for Estes Park On October 24th-26th. Please review the packing list over the break to ensure that you have all of the necessary items packed for your child. Our bus returns from Estes Park at 2:30 p.m. so you may pick up your child any time after that. Also, the pool up at Estes Park is closed, so students will not need their swimsuits. They will be doing other activities in the evening.

Ameritowne will take place on October 31st. We are still in need of parents to drive down to Ameritowne. If you are able to drive, please email me (Lynda Hernandez). It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Be sure to pack a sack lunch that day for your child, as lunch will not be provided.

This will be our final week of conferences. Conferences will take place in the 5th grade classrooms and will be arena style. The following is the schedule:

• October 11th 4:30-6:30 Guerin, Benedik, and Hernandez • October 12th 8:30-12:00 Guerin and Benedik

October Core Virtue – Responsibility

Upcoming Events:

•October 11th – Parent Teacher Conferences – 5th Grade Classroom – 4:30 – 6:30; •October 12th – NO SCHOOL – Parent Teacher Conferences – 5th Grade Classrooms; •October 15th – 19th – Fall Break – NO SCHOOL; •October 24th-26th – Estes Park; •October 31st – Ameritowne – 9:20 – 2:40

The Week of October 22nd:

MATH:

Mrs.Gould - This month we will be completing Lessons 26- 40, including Investigation 3 about Fractions and Investigation 4 about Angles. I love this part of math when we have lots of visual examples and more lessons that students can see apply to their everyday Math world. This section of teaching includes reading temperature, reading clocks, geometric concepts, and continued practice in division and multiplication algorithms. For many students the pieces of drawing triangles, measuring angles and charting temperatures add variety to the process of mathematics and truly motivate new learning. Thursday Oct. 11: Unit Test on Chapt. 25-30 Oct. 23: Facts Quiz (multiplication) Oct.30: Vocabulary Quiz (Next Unit test: Chapters 31-36 will be first full week of November. The exact date is TBD as we progress. )

Mrs. Guerin 7/6 – We will be having a test this week before Fall break covering Lessons through 25. The students are learning how to get a fraction of a whole number and also how to put things in equal groups.

Mrs. Heins 8/7 – Students will cover lessons 30-38 the next two weeks. Their unit tests 5 and 6 will be October 23rd and November 1st. Students are currently working on fact test F. The next vocabulary test will be November 2nd.

Mrs. Hernandez 6/5– We will take the Unit 6 test over Lessons 26-30 on Tuesday, October 23rd. We will continue practicing our 90 Division Facts and have a quiz on them November 2nd.

Mrs. Benedik 6/5– Students will have a vocabulary quiz over chapters 1-30 on Monday, October 29th. We will continue practicing our 90 Division Facts and have a quiz on them November, 2nd. Students can expect to take their Unit 7 test over lessons 1-35 the week of October 29th.

SCIENCE:

As you know we had a technical difficulty these past two days and the students did not get a chance to finiosh their Alice Animation project. Therefore STEM will continue on October 22 and 23rd. They will resume FOSS science when we return from outdoor Ed at Estes Park.

Mrs. Heins – Students will begin Investigation 3 from the FOSS Mixtures and Solutions book when they return from Estes Park, October 29. Vocabulary for Investigation 3 will be posted October 29nd. Students will need to review it for a quiz November 2. Talking to your child about the experiments in class will also be an excellent way to reinforce what was learned in class that day. Please ask your child to show their Investigation 2 test on QUIA. Reviewing this test will be beneficial for your child.

LANGUAGE:

Mrs. Guerin – The students are becoming quite the budding writers. Our focus over the last 2 weeks has been personal narratives. We discussed the writing trait of organization and how integral that is to a successful essay. The students are learning to use the program Write to Learn. This week they are focusing on their opening paragraph and engaging the reader. Weekly assignments include: Partner Journals are due every THURSDAY. Wordles are due every WEDNESDAY.

Grammar: Students will have daily assignments called DOL that are on my website for homework related to grammar practice. They typically are given time in class to complete this and it provides added practice of the important grammar skills. Students had a grammar test on Thursday Oct 4th and they will have their test on Chapter 4 after we return from Fall Break.

READING:

Mrs. Benedik- We will continue to read Don Quixote in class. As we read selections from his crazy and humorous adventures, our reading goals will focus on recognizing characteristics of the Renaissance genre of romance and employing strategies to write a clear, precise summary. Students will have a picture for their next two poems due on Monday, October 29th and their Voice Thread recordings will be due on Friday, November 2nd. Additionally, students will have their first spelling test on Monday, October 29th.

Math and Reading

Mrs. Grupe - We plan to cover lessons 27-30 from Oct. 8-11. After the week break, we will review on Oct. 22, test on Oct. 23, and review the test on Oct. 24. Then the students are gone on Thursday and Friday. When they return the week of Oct. 29, we plan to cover lessons 31-35. Hope everyone has an enjoyable break filled with lots of fun learning.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Mrs. Hernandez – The two days following our Fall Break, we will be preparing for Ameritowne. We will be hearing the speeches for Mayor and Judge, as well learning the final aspects about how to responsibly run a business and manage their own bank account at Ameritowne. Students will receive their business assignments on October 23rd. On October 29th, students will assemble with their businesses and do the final preparations for running their business. On November 1st we will resume our study of the Renaissance. Students will be assigned their Renaissance technology project on November 1st.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email, nheins@americanacademyk8.org; lhernandez@americanacademyk8.org; dguerin@americanacademyk8.org, or mbenedik@americanacademyk8.org

September 7 Newsletter (posted by Nancy Heins; 09/07/12)

I know that there have been many forms to fill out lately. Thank you for getting them all back to us. Just a reminder that all field trip permission slips to the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition are due today, September 7th. We will be contacting parents about chaperoning.

You should also see a purple piece of paper in today’s Friday Folder about Ameritowne. Our trip will take place on October 31st. We will need drivers to get the students to Ameritowne, but they will be coming home on a bus. If you are interested in volunteering for this trip, please let me know on the permission slips which will be going home next week. We will need 16 parents to fill the shops, as well as parent drivers.

Thank you very much.

MATH:

Mrs. Guerin 7/6 – We had our test on Lesson 1 and 2, and we then covered Lessons 3-4-5 and 6. There will be a test on Monday to cover those concepts.

Mrs. Heins 8/7 – Students will cover lessons 11-15 next week and their unit test 2 will be after September 18th. Students are currently working on fact test C and D.

Mrs. Hernandez 6/5– Next week we will cover Lessons 17- 20. We will begin practicing 100 multiplication facts.

Mrs. Benedik 6/5– Next week we will cover lessons 12-18. Students will have their vocabulary quiz over Lessons 1-10 on Monday. We will begin practicing our 100 multiplication facts in class and on Quia.

SCIENCE:

Students have begun the FOSS notebook series, Mixtures and Solutions. The first Lesson 1 Test will be September 13th. We are also currently studying Leonardo Da Vinci’s machines in preparation for our field trip on Friday the 14th. If you are curious please review your child’s science notebook it is filled with information.

Language

This week we began our discussions by talking about what it means to be a good reader or writer. We also began discussing the 6+ traits of writing. This week we focused on Organization, Voice and Word Choice. We made our own wordless about something that we enjoy or like and put them up as teasers to see if anyone could guess what it is using our “descriptive” words. We will begin doing a Wordle of the week. They should look to the website on Sunday evenings when I will post it. They have to try and figure out what the Wordle is supposed to represent. We also discussed our Summer Reading Project that is due on 9/5/12.

READING

Mrs. Benedik/Mrs Guerin – This week we will be starting our new reading unit on Myths, Legends, and Folk Tales. Students will explore the genre based on its original purpose, dating back to the oral tradition days. Students will have small assignments and a final project for this unit. Continue checking my website for more information.

Students will also start their first reading log this week. Students are to be reading 100 minutes in their independent chapter book. In fifth grade, I assign a reading log to ensure each student is able to read a book they are interested in and that they are able to practice our reading strategies adequately within a book that is just right for them. We will be setting up their reading logs in class and their first reading log is due Friday, September 14th.

Students will start working in their Spelling Notebooks more regularly this week and we will have grammar homework assigned. Their first grammar test is Thursday, September 13th.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Mrs. Hernandez – On Wednesday of next week, we will have our quiz on the Aztec. Students should play the next Quia game entitled, The Aztec Review Activity. They need to play the activity for twenty minutes to receive full credit. We will also begin our study of the Inca next week.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email, nheins@americanacademyk8.org; lhernandez@americanacademyk8.org; dguerin@americanacademyk8.org, or mbenedik@americanacademyk8.org

Welcome to Fifth Grade (posted by Lynda Hernandez; 08/19/12)

Welcome to Fifth Grade!

We are looking forward to a terrific new year!

Event Calendar