Hi Parents!

What we did this week:

Reading: Story - The Power of W.O.W.
             Focus Skill: Author's Purpose & Perspective
Spelling: Lesson 23 - Silent Letters
English: Complete Unit on Capitialization & Punctuation, began brainstorming "Personal Narrative"
Math: Fraction subtraction and subtraction with borrowing
Religion: Vocations
Science: Earth Science - Conservation, Chapter Review, Test
SS: Ch 3 Less 1-2 Practice independent note-taking strategies in preparation for our next assessment.

Next week:

Monday:
Tuesday: SS Ch 3 Less 1-2 Quiz
Wednesday: COGAT Testing
Thursday: COGAT Testing
               Math Ch 5 Test ( Frac. + and - )
Friday: COGAT Testing
          Spelling Lesson 24

* FYI - Please take note that although the last CE assignment was 1/19 - 2 weeks ago, there is no CE due this coming week because of testing. The students have an additional week to complete the next one which will be due 4/9. The remaining due dates are: 4/23, 5/7, and 5/21.

With testing beginning next week, please help out at home to ensure that your child is getting adequate rest, a good breakfast, and a nutritious snack. My fingers are crossed that we can get to warmer weather on a regular basis so the class can get out and run to release some energy through these next 2 weeks.

Be on the lookout for a bright yellow flier coming home today with GREAT NEWS!

Have a wonderful weekend! (Despite the early arriving "April showers"...)

God Bless,

Mrs. Maurer

To end our week studying the 4 vocations as our call to holiness, we had a surprise visitor! The students wrote questions for either Sr. Sue or the priests asking about their lives as special servants of Christ. Our class was thrilled about the visit and were enraptured by her stories.

Stay tuned to see if I can convince our priest who is here for mass next week to come and answer the next round of Q&A!

Hi Parents!

What we did this week:

Reading: Story - Interrupted Journey
Spelling: Lesson 22
English: Interjections, quotations, abbreviations
Math: Adding fractions, renaming sums, and lots of simplest form (SF)
Religion: Vocations brainstorming, we all have a "call" to be holy, religious life & single life
Science: Earth Science - resources, soil, conservation, the 3 R's
SS: Mesopotamia, irrigation, Sumerian city-states government and religion

Please return signed report card envelopes on Monday if not already returned. Band report cards as well.

We are neck-deep in the wonderful world of fractions now, about to kick off fraction subtraction next week and some of our class is continuing to have difficulty due to not having memorized math facts. We've been working on these all year, but especially now have limited time for these review sessions. If your student cannot accurately answer 8-10 rapid recall facts within 30 seconds - 1 minute, they should be continuing to work on nightly review - if only 5 minutes a day. Middle School math class does not schedule time for multiplication facts review. Please let me know if you would like to borrow a set of flash cards as I have some we practice with in the classroom that I could lend out.

Today we had Stations of the Cross as a school. We had several students who generously agreed to help with reading the stations and sharing the images of Jesus with the cross with the students. It was a solemn reminder of why we take extra time to sacrifice and reflect through this time of Lent.

We had a GREAT time this week celebrating St. Patrick, St. Joseph, Bishop Gainer, and the first day of Spring! So much packed into this little week. And big prayers of thanks for all the bright sunshine that we've needed for so long!

Girls should be returning the RSVP cards to me so I can return them to Sr. Sue soon. I have only received 2 back.

On Wednesday, permission slips for the Race for Education also came home. Please return these to school next week.

Next week:

Monday:
Tuesday: Reading WLT #21 - Interrupted Journey
Wednesday: English - Unit 5 Test Capitalization & Punctuation
Thursday: Religion Ch 17 Test - Vocations
Friday: Spelling Lesson 23
           Science Ch 8 Test

***Reminder - Book Reports & Rdg Calendars due Monday, March 31st***
Students have individually told me what they are doing and everyone has supplies/paper/directions/poster-board that I can provide. I told the class that if they are finished reading their chosen book, getting a head-start would be a great idea this weekend.

Have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy the glorious sunshine!

God Bless,

Mrs. Maurer

Big, busy day tomorrow:

* Installation of Bishop Gainer
* Gym HW due & test
* CE Due
* Math adding fractions quiz (Find the LCD, equivalent frac., add, simplify.)
I encouraged them to take home their math folders and use problems from p51-53 for studying
* Report cards
* St. Joseph Day
* Dress down in green/white -- wearing sneakers for gym class!
* SPRING-eve!

Today we reviewed again the options for this month's book report. Several students suggested other options - most of which were ok'd. However, if you are not sure if you child's idea is an ok one, feel free to shoot me an email. Regardless of which book report your child has selected, it should include a minimum of the following: title, author, setting, characters, conflict, plot events/summary, resolution, and favorite part. Due date for this last book report is Monday, March 31st. Students were reminded that all book reports count as a grade for Reading/ILA. Last month, several were not completed and this impacts grades - especially as this was due 10 days before the end of the trimester.

Finally, since we are in the 3rd trimester and really gearing towards making the transition to middle school, I will not be having the students put each text/workbook in their backpacks as we go through the day. We are going back to 1) write down the HW, 2) put that book on your desk, 3) get it into your backpack to go home. Also, please help me encourage their own individual responsibility for remembering the needed supplies on their own and not bringing your child back to school to retrieve missing items. Too many times over the years this leads to bad habits when the kids think mom/dad can just pick up the book to "bail them out" of the impending consequence. Students who are here after school for CARES or lessons are also not to return to the classroom after 2:30. Thank you for your help with this matter.

Along with the new SS textbook, I posted the corresponding site from the publisher. It isn't the best, but it is better than nothing. This can be found under "Links" on the right side, under "Social Studies: Ancient Civilizations."

In other news, HALLELUIAH for the sunshine today!

Have a nice evening,

Mrs. Maurer

The kids enjoyed this performance as it included fun inventions like a dog collar that reminds the animal to eat or go outside, a toothbrush that you can record music onto, or a reversible jersey that can be used for two different teams.

Hi Parents!

What we did this week:

Reading: Story - Thomas Edison
             Reader's Theatre - Invention Convention
Spelling: Lesson 21
English: Comma Usage and sentence revision
Math: Fraction Addition
Religion: Anointing of the Sick & Unit 3 Wrap-Up
Science: Earth Science - Types of Resources & Uses of Soil
SS: Civilizations in Mesopotamia: Rivers and Irrigation

We had a busy week here up in our corner office of 5th grade. Lots of goodies are in our test packets. Included is a religion worksheet that was a CW grade. These are the first round of grades towards the 3rd trimester.

We talked about the last book report for the month. Students will be getting a handout on Monday that explains how this last assignment is a choice on their part. I have 20 "alternatives" they can select from OR they can choose a previously completed project. (Example: If your child really LOVED the cereal box, they may use that template again for March.) Giving the choices also spurred on imagination and several students inquired about creating a poster with the necessary info. Someone else suggested a power-point. Yet another suggested a collage. Wow. I told them we could assess if these could work and we will fine-tune them as needed next week. Projects should all contain setting, characters, conflict, plot events/summary, resolution, and favorite part.

In Social Studies, we have made a switch in texts. Having completed our geography component, we are moving into the history. The kids were surprised, but seemed to enjoy our preview of the material and our first lesson on Mesopotamia. They also noted that this text is smaller and fits more easily into their desks. I've already heard lots of comments of their attention being drawn to other parts of the book that draw their interest. Looking good so far!

Next week:

Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday: + Fraction Quiz
                   Current Event Due
                   Gym HW Due
                   Gym Basketball Test
                ****Report Cards coming home today****
Thursday: Science Ch 8 Less 1-2 Quiz
Friday: Spelling Lesson 22

Have a wonderful weekend! I sure hope Monday's forecast turns to be a school-friendly one! I'll be doing a Spring dance to help keep the icky white stuff away!

God Bless,

Mrs. Maurer

Hi Parents!

What we did this week:

Reading: Story - Inventing the Future: Thomas Edison
Spelling: Lesson 19 Homophones
English: New Unit: Capitalization & Punctuation: Proper N. & A., Commas
Math: Fractions: LCM/LCD, Equivalent fractions, problem solving
Religion: Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick
Science: Earth Science - Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Review, Test
SS: Climate regions & environmental issues for N. Africa, SW Asia, & central Asia

I appreciate your kind words and thoughts the past few days as many of you may have heard, I had to put my dog to sleep. Neither my husband or I had a dog growing up, so we've never had to go through this experience. The students were kind with their prayers and cards. I know he is at rest and in a better place now. Lots of toys and treats I'm sure!

The girls have been invited to a day at the convent with Sr. Sue. Look for a flier with more information coming shortly. The date will be April 12.

While our updated calendar says the trimester ends Monday, the papers in today's test packet are the last ones for grade reports. Today and all of next week will be grades that go into the 3rd trimester. It would be too much to finish grading today's and Monday's before my deadline. A few students still have not turned in good copies of "Nothing Ever Happens in 5th Grade" and February's book report. These were due last week, 2/28. These students have received HW slips and their names on the board as reminders all week so unfortunately, these are grades marked as "incomplete" and could possibly bring down the final mark in "ILA."

Standarized testing dates are rapidly approaching. Please be very careful to not schedule any appointments for these weeks. Rescheduling is often difficult and may causes students to miss out on further instructional time.

Next week:

Monday: SS Ch 16 Less 2 Open book quiz
Tuesday: Reading: WLT - Thomas Edison
              Math Ch 4 Test
Wednesday: Religion Angelus Test
Thursday: Religion Ch 15 AOTS Test
Friday: Spelling Lesson 21

Have a wonderful weekend!

God Bless,

Mrs. Maurer

Lesson 21

21. insensitive

22. outcry

23. upkeep

24. downstage

25. insecure


Lesson 22

21. presentation

22. fixation

23. modernization

24. decision

25. diversion

Our class was very excited for our Faschnauts today from Ms. Pam at lunch. It was difficult to have them smile and pose without taking a bite of the tempting treat first!

Later, we talked about some Mardi Gras traditions, what the colors represent, and made masks. Each student had to earn their beads by answering a question about something we've learned this year.