October News

Notice and Note

Hello Parents:

Odds and Ends:
Click on the Notice and Note button above to learn more about the signposts your children are learning in class.

Starting October 18th, the fifth grade will be attending a second mass every month on the third Wednesday.  Dress uniform will be required for that day. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Thank you to all of the parents for getting the field trip permission slips in on time =) It is truly appreciated.

I have wonderful news! Mrs. Peterson and Mrs. Proudfoot have graciously volunteered to be our class parents this year. They will work with Mrs. Bloom's class parents to bring wonderful events to our children this year. Thank you so much for your help!

I am available for extra help during recess (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday) and after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays (as long as I don't have a meeting or an appointment). If students are having trouble with a concept, please encourage them to seek help. This is not a tutoring session. It is a time for clarification and understanding of concepts being taught.

Language Arts Confessions:
Every full week, the children take a vocabulary quiz that also functions as a spelling test. All children are demonstrating success with this. Studying is happening, and it is making me one happy teacher! =) We will not be having Vocabulary units the first two weeks of October due to shortened weeks.

Children have learned all six of the signposts for reading. Please check out the slideshow and talk to your child about them. The more practice they have, the stronger readers they will become. They are catching on quick, and it is allowing them to really interact and closely read the book. I am so proud of them! We have begun our first novel: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We are doing most of the reading and logging of signposts in class together. As your child becomes comfortable locating the signposts and interacting with them, they can move to independent reading. 

Book reports will begin this month.  There will be a total of four. Books will be the student's choice with teacher approval. They will have a month to complete the book report, and it will center around the notice and note signpost instruction. More to come later.

In Grammar we will continue to work with nouns for the next couple of weeks. Next will be pronouns.

Children have been turning in paragraphs every week. We will begin to learn techniques to make their writing stronger, and their first essay will be introduced this month. Their first essay will be a personal narrative.  

Social Studies Confessions:
Students know how to locate a place using absolute location (latitude and longitude) and a grid map. They can use the scale to measure distance from one place to another. They understand how to use a map key/legend. They know there are different kinds of maps. Throughout the year, they will be exposed to different kinds of maps and practice reading information from them.

Next we will be focussing on Geography of the United States. Students will learn about the different regions, climate, and resources. 

All notes are posted in Google Classroom.

Dates to Remember:
October 5th: First Thursday (Dress Uniform)
October 6th: No School
October 9th: No School
October 12th: Field Trip
October 13th: Picture Day
October 18th: 5th Grade Church Day - Dress Uniform
​October 31st: Halloween

Yours in Christ,
Jennifer Staples