5/30/23

Fantasy book group reading and informational writing are going to be our focus these next two weeks. We want all fifth graders in A303 to be done with their novels and final drafts by next Friday. Today, the kids continued to work hard on these two important items. 

Tomorrow, the fifth grades will take part in the parkour enrichment activity.

5/26/23

The fifth graders have a well deserved long weekend in front of them. Between their work on the recent science and math MCAS tests and their continued perseverance on their informational writing pieces, they had a heavy workload these past two weeks. My compliments to their continued dedication.

Next weekend, the fifth graders will take part in the parkour enrichment program.

I hope everyone has a nice Memorial Day weekend.

5/25/23

Fifth graders continued to be hard at work on various parts of their informational writing. Conferences are also being held and the papers are turning out well.

Next Wednesday, the 31st, the fifth graders are going to take part in a Parkour enrichment program. Instructors will be teaching the kids skills and games that they can play on the playground equipment.

5/24/23

Fantasy book groups responded to another prompt while reading their books during ELA today. A few groups are approaching the conclusion of their novels. Other groups are going to use DEAR time to continue to make progress with their books.

We are also nearing the finish of unit seven in math class. We are going to continue to work multiplying decimals over the next few lessons.

5/23/23

MCAS is officially complete for the fifth graders. They worked through the second session of their science test this morning. Well done fifth graders.

Tomorrow and for the remaining school days, we will be back to a normal routine.

5/22/23

Today and tomorrow will see the kids take their third and final MCAS assessment, the science portion of the test. The fifth graders should once again be commended for their effort level these past few weeks. It will be nice to be done with these testing days.

We also managed to fit in some work in our fantasy book groups later in the school day.

5/19/23

The fifth graders spent time working on their informational writing pieces. Many of the students have finished a draft and conferences are ongoing. A few other students have moved on to a project that will see them creating Revolutionary War trading cards. This important work will continue next week.

Fifth graders are also taking their science MCAS test next Monday and Tuesday. Please have all kids arrive at school on time those two days so that we may begin on time.

Have a nice weekend.

5/18/23

The fifth graders finished their math MCAS this morning. Only one subject left, as next week the kids will take their science test on Monday and Tuesday.

Fifth graders also met with their book buddies and played charades with them. This was a nice way to celebrate being done with the math test.

Tomorrow, we are going to look to get more work done with our informational writing pieces.

5/17/23

It was nice for the fifth graders to return to a normal schedule this Wednesday. Many of the kids are getting to the later stages of their fantasy novels. We are focusing on challenges that the main character is facing and predicting how they may overcome said challenges as part of our next writing prompt. 

Tomorrow is the second and final session of math MCAS. Please have kids arrive at school on time so that the test may begin promptly. Thanks for your help with this.

5/16/23

The fifth graders worked their way through session one of their math MCAS this morning. Compliments to the kids for arriving on time and ready to work. Session two will be on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, the fifth grades are going to meet with their book buddies in the afternoon.

5/15/23

The fifth graders were fortunate to take part in the Wingmasters program this morning. Jim Parks brought a number of rescued birds of prey to school and spoke with the kids about the animals and the challenges that they are facing. The kids had a great time. 

Here is more information about the program:

http://www.wingmasters.net/aboutus.htm

The fifth grade classes are going to take the math MCAS on Tuesday and Thursday. We ask that all students arrive at school on time those days so that we can begin promptly.

5/12/23

We ended the week by having a unique social studies lesson. The fifth graders explored the contents of a Traveling Trunk, which contained artifacts and information about various Revolutionary War events. Working in small groups, the fifth graders traveled from station to station around the classroom to explore. This is both informative and fun. I also want to thank the kids for helping to pack up the items at the conclusion of the session.

Next week, the fifth grade classes are going to take the math MCAS on Tuesday and Thursday. We ask that all students arrive at school on time those days so that we can begin promptly.

Have a nice weekend.

5/11/23

The fifth graders worked on an online practice math MCAS exam this morning. We spent time, as a group, looking at a few problems from the test to clear up an misconceptions. It seems like the fifth graders are ready for next week's two session, which will be on Tuesday and Thursday.

5/10/23

We spent time in math class looking at yesterday's practice assessment. I was impressed with the kids' performance as well as their willingness to share their thoughts and questions.

5/9/23

We looked at a few MCAS practice problems to prepare ourselves for next week's two math sessions. The first session will be on Tuesday July 16th and the second will be on Thursday July 18th.

We also put in more time on our informational writing pieces.

5/8/23

We are going to look to have the kids read deeper into their fantasy books this week and next. The fifth graders had a productive session today and they also finished their latest prompt concerning their novels.

Later this week, we are going to look at a practice MCAS math test in preparation for next week's assessment on Tuesday and Thursday.

5/5/23

The fifth graders had the opportunity to meet with some of the sixth grade teachers from the Gibbs this morning. After hearing the teachers speak about the school, the members of A303 were able to spend some time asking questions. I think this was a positive experience for the future sixth graders.

We also returned to our informational writing during the school day. Each of the kids has an intro paragraph and many are putting the finishing touches on their background paragraph. This work will continue next week.

On Monday of next week, we will be taking part in an author visit. The book fair also begins on Wednesday. 

I also wanted to thank all of the parents who contributed and organized the thoughtful gift that I received today, it is greatly appreciated and means a lot.

Have a nice weekend. 

5/4/23

The fantasy book groups are doing a nice job of progressing through their novels. Many of the groups were able to read a few chapters as well as responding to a new writing prompt. 

Teachers from the Gibbs will be stopping by the Thompson tomorrow to speak with the kids about sixth grade. There will also be time for the fifth graders to ask questions about next year.

5/3/23

The kids were hard at work on their introductory paragraphs during out writing session this morning. Using a graphic organizer the kids looked to imbue their opening paragraph with striking details to capture their reader's attention. Productive class. We are going to dive back into the writing process on Friday.

5/2/23

We had our last lesson in the first part of unit seven during math class this morning. This lesson saw the kids dividing fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by fractions in the context of word problems. This is leading up to an important assessment tomorrow. The kids should be feeling confident going into this test as they continue to work extremely hard on their math material.

Our ELA time saw the kids reading their fantasy books with their groups. The focus of our writing prompt concerning the book will see the kids talking about problems or challenges their main character is facing.

On Friday, the Gibbs teachers will be paying the Thompson School a visit to answer any questions that they may have about next year.

5/1/23

The kids began the month by taking part in an art enrichment program with a local artist outside at the spray park. We were grateful that local artist Aimee Ledwell took the time to work with the fifth graders.

We are also approaching the closing stages of unit seven in out math class. We are going to spend this week getting ready for our next assessment.

This Friday some teachers from the Gibbs School will be coming to the Thompson to speak with the fifth graders about next year.

There is no homework this week.