5th Grade Newsletter

October 12, 2015

Community Christian Academy, 4706 Park Center Avenue NE, Lacey, WA 98516

T

his week is a short one. Early release is on Wednesday and no school Thursday and Friday. Dismissal is at noon, and students may be picked up or have lunch and wait in Extended Care until pick-up.  We will continue getting our skits ready in Bible to share our faith in action for the lost through Operation Christmas Child. 

Last week, we enjoyed learning about igneous rocks in Science of where they are retrieved and their uses.  History class was fun with quizzing about the basics of the New World (Eastern Hemisphere) and all forms of government found in the world.  We have been plodding along in our Math lessons with finding missing numbers in subtraction, multiplying by one-digit numbers, multiplying three factors, and learning about three ways to show division.  In Health, we learned about the minerals we need that our bodies need to be healthy in specific food items through the nutrition fact labels. English has been full of writing our final chapter of Esperanza Rising, Write Source (nouns, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs), literary devices (idioms, exaggeration, metaphors, similes, and personification) Spelling and Vocabulary.

Coming up next week: Fall Goal Planning Conferences begin Tuesday, October 20^th and end on Thursday. Sign up for a conference in the office.  Scholastic books sales is coming up next week; please donate from the library or online a book for our very own class library!!!  For the Carnival next Friday night, we still need supervisors for our two bounce houses of 30-minute time slots from set up (5:30 pm) to clean up (8:30 pm). The sign-up sheet is posted next to the class door. 

Operation Christmas Child Kick-off has been moved to the following week, October 26.  If you are interested in decorating the glass display in the hallway with two examples of a boy and a girl box, please email me.  These examples will be a great way to encourage others to get in the spirit of sharing the gift of the Goodnews of Jesus to the lost.

Field Trip to Mount Saint Helen’s is on October 30th.  We have all our chaperones.  However, if you would still like to attend, you are welcome but will need to get your background checked and pay the admission fee of $8.  We will go on a 2 ½ mile hike, so bring some comfortable running shoes and water.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO!!!

Have a blessed week, Ms. Chang

Due Dates (On the Weekdays—read 20 minutes and study for Passport):

Monday 12th	Tuesday 13th*	Wednesday 14th*	Thursday 15th*	Friday 16th*
	Cookie/Magazine due	Half Day	NO SCHOOL	NO SCHOOL
Math Test (L6-10)	Math L21 odds	Math L22 evens
		Spelling L5 & Cursive
		Wordly Wise L1ABC

*Important Dates:

Oct. 13: Cookie/Magazine orders & payments due

Oct. 14: 1/2 Day Dismissal at 12p for professional development

Oct. 15-16: ACSI Conferences for teachers—NO SCHOOL

Oct 20: PTF (library)

Oct. 22-24: Fall Goal Planning Conference

Oct. 26: Operation Christmas Child Kick-off

Spelling Challenge Words:

animated, immigration

Hebrews 11:17:

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,

5th Grade Newsletter: October 5, 2015

5th Grade Newsletter:

October 5, 2015

Community Christian Academy, 4706 Park Center Avenue NE, Lacey, WA 98516

B

e sure to check grades while we are still in the early part of the year.  Some students may not be turning in assignments and, as a result, are falling behind on their grades!  In these cases, students will give a reason for not turning it in. Also, beginning this week, students will be asked to send a note home to get signed.  Athletes must maintain a C in each class.

Parent-Teacher conferences begin Tuesday, October 20th. Dismissal is at noon, and students may be picked up or have lunch and wait in Extended Care until pick-up.  Sign up for a conference in the office.  Conferences end on Thursday, October 22nd.

Field Trip to Mount Saint Helen’s is on October 30th.  Three chaperones have signed up, and one more is needed.  Please let me know if you would like to join. 

CCA will kick off Operation Christmas Child October 19^th.  Our class will be coordinating this event with presenting a skit in chapel, recording donations on a graph, decorating the display, and collecting boxes from each class.  If you would like to help with decorations or delivering the boxes at a drop off location, please email me.

REMINDER: The first day of October is when shorts may no longer to be worn in school. Students may wear shorts for P.E. ONLY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO!!!

Have a blessed week, Ms. Chang

Due Dates (Daily—read 20 minutes and study for Passport):

Monday 5th	Tuesday 6th	Wednesday 7th	Thursday 8th*	Friday 9th
Math Quiz (L6-10)	Math L17 odds	Math L18 evens	Math L19 odds	Math L20 evens
	Reading Log	Spelling L4 & Cursive	Spelling L4 Test	Bible Verse Test
		Wordly Wise L2D,E	Wordly Wise L2 Test	Health-Nutrition Label

*Important Dates:

Oct. 8: Spirit Day-Cultural/International

Oct. 13: Cookie orders & payments due

Oct. 14: 1/2 Day Dismissal at 12p for professional development

Oct. 15-16: ACSI Conferences for teachers—NO SCHOOL

Oct. 19: Operation Christmas Child Kick-off

Oct 20: PTF (library)

Oct. 22-24: Fall Goal Planning Conference

Spelling Challenge Words:

contagious, supervision

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (ESV):

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ

September 28th Chang’s Newsletter

Hello Parents/Guardians (Please see the backside, as well:

Brain Pop (an interactive, engaging, and educational resource) has already been enhancing our lessons.  The funds raised from McTeacher's night mostly paid for this membership.  Also, the first few weeks have been a whirlwind of adjustment:  Being organized, ready, and prompt have been key in both work and play.  That is, resting or relaxing can be truly restful, knowing that one has worked hard.  My motto shared in class is “pay now and play later” and not “play now and pay later.”  This work ethic, coupled with essential work habits, lay the foundation for each grade level!  Their hard work is evidently paying off: almost all scored an A or A+ in homework and tests (Passport, Spelling, Bible and Vocabulary)!  WOW!

What we have been learning in class:

Bible lesson 2 reveals the sovereign, loving God establishing a covenant through Abram the patriarch.

Math lessons 1-5 will be tested today. Word problems, number lines, repeated addition, and adding/subtracting dollars and cents will be our focus. To avoid falling behind and becoming confused, maintaining an understanding of each daily lesson is essential as new lessons build on the previous ones.

History We continue our learning of Asia’s Fertile Crescent, which is where the beginning of humanity with Adam and Eve began.

Science The layers, surface, and minerals and rocks of the earth will be further examined. 

Health We dug deeper in seeing the value each component of blood plays and will, now, turn our attention toward the heart.

Reading Our progress has been steady and strong, only a third of the class novel remains. Keep independently reading age-appropriate novels; the reading logs are due next Tuesday.

Spelling and Vocabulary Our new spelling and vocabulary (Worldly Wise) lists, given last Wednesday, are due this Wednesday.  Spelling will be tested on Thursday.

Homework Assignment and Assessment Due Dates:

Monday 28th	Tuesday 29th	Wednesday 30th	Thursday 1st	Friday 2nd
20 Minutes (Read)	20 Minutes (Read)	20 Minutes (Read)	20 Minutes (Read)	20 Minutes (Read)
Passport (Study)	Passport (Study)	Passport (Study)	Passport (Study)	Passport (Study)
Math Test (L1~L5)	Math L13 odds	Math L14 evens	Math L15 odds	Math L16 evens
	Write Source pp.9-12	Spelling L3 & Cursive Wordly Wise L2ABC	Spelling L3 Test	Bible Verse Test—Romans 15:4

Important Dates:

Sept. 28-Oct. 13: Cookie Dough & Magazine Sale

Oct. 1: School Picture Day

Oct. 8: Spirit Day-Cultural/International

Oct. 13: Cookie orders & payments due

Oct. 14: 1/2 Day Dismissal at 12p

Oct. 15 & 16: ACSI Convention—NO SCHOOL, child care is available

Romans 15:4 (ESV): For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Spelling Challenge Words:

arrangement, yearning

This information has been refined and most are a repeat; adjustments have been made (shaded) and may continue to be made for facilitating the students’ needs.

                 

Assignment/Assessing Break Down by days: (Quizzes/Tests are underlined.)

Weekdays:

·         Independent Reading 20 minutes of an age-appropriate novel; log due each following month (Tue.)

·         History Study for monthly Passport test; geography component

Mondays: Math quiz or test over five lessons, beginning after lesson 10

Tuesdays: Language Arts (Mechanics, Usage, Grammar—M.U.G) Write Source Workbook Pages (6 pages)

Wednesdays

·         Spelling lesson sheet and list words written out three times in cursive (for a cursive grade, also).

·         Vocabulary Wordly Wise lesson sections A,B, and C due one week and D and E the following week

Thursdays:

·         Spelling Test weekly of twenty-five list words; challenge words given weekly from class novels

·         Vocabulary (Wordly Wise) Test bi-weekly, upon completion of sections D-E; Section E test (quarterly)

·         Science or History Test quarterly, one to two tests per each subject

·         History/Geography Passport Test monthly, levels 1-5, typically, the final Thursday

Fridays:

·         Bible Memory Verse in cursive (for a cursive grade, also)

·         Health Quiz or Handout

Quarterly Projects: (i.e. Paper Bag Book Project, My Country Project, My Poetry Book Project, and Science Fair Project).  These projects are primarily to be completed in class (with the exception of the experiment for the Science Fair Project) to encourage their creativity and ownership of the project.

Working/Storage Space

Binder: “Homework Completed” pocket (inside, front cover of binder), newsletters, school policies, syllabus, planner, make-shift whiteboard, pocket-divider tabs for each subject (Bible, Science, History, Math, English), extra lined paper, Monday Folders (houses graded work or news/forms from the office or teacher).

Desks: Textbooks (including Bible), class reading novel, binder, writing/correcting utensils, ruler, expo marker, old sock

Cubby: Workbooks, extra empty binder, lined paper, art/craft supplies (markers, pencil crayons, glue, scissors)

Lockers: Backpack, gym shoes, lunch box, extra school supplies (if any)

Home: Accordion folder (“house” or file away graded work sent home in “Monday Folders” for safekeeping in the labeled—by subject—accordion folder) and “Family Link” (website of students’ grades) 

Evaluation/Assessment Set-Up

Every assignment is valued at 100 points.

Homework is due at 8:00 a.m. or upon arrival (if after 8 a.m.).  Most (with the exception of one Wordly Wise section from A-D) homework is graded as completion to allow practice without fear of point deduction. Once familiar with the lessons, understanding will be assessed through quizzes, tests, and/or projects.

For each homework assignment, students receive 10 points of participation. For each day an assignment is late, twenty-five percent will be deducted.  An extended absence or extenuating circumstance may thwart them from completing their homework on time, so send me a note or email and I will take it into consideration.

Understanding of M.U.G. (mechanics, usage and grammar) learned from our weekly Language Arts homework packet is looked for in their personal writing (excluding journal writing).  For example, when answering questions from Wordly Wise (section E), Bible History, Science/Health, Reading, etc., the answers need to be in complete sentences (using a subject and predicate).  By doing so, they are applying what they have learned from this week’s homework.