3/9/17

The fifth grade was able to return to a more normal schedule this Thursday. The students are gearing up for their end of unit fraction exam next week. The students spent today's lesson doing some minor review and then continuing to work with some word problems pertaining to the division of whole numbers by fractions.

Later in the day, the members of M102 were able to complete their explorer projects. These turned our great. The students can't wait to begin to start investigating the 13 British colonies.

As a reminder, I received this information from Matthew Coleman, the math director for Arlington:

"On Tuesday, March 14th, the Director of Mathematics will present about the transition to Ottoson Middle School, specific to the mathematics department. The primary audience for the event is families that have children entering 6th grade during the 2017-2018 school year.  All are welcome though.

Topics will include:

1. Bypassing Math 6 for extreme high achievers.  The structure and timeline for this opportunity will be outlined.
2. The Math Support Intervention Program for grades 6-8.
3. Digital Media and Literacy, a computer programming based class for 6th graders.
4. Pathways and courses for grades 6-12.  Basically, planning ahead and learning about 6-12 mathematics in the Arlington Public Schools.

The majority of the event will cover the first two topics as this event will have a transitional focus.  Please note that the event will be held at Ottoson Middle School from 7-8:30.  "

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Character Trait Project - Students received directions for a project that will be due on Friday March 10th.

3/8/17

It feels like I keep repeating myself, but I once again commend the students for their dedication during our ELA block. The students are making a final push to complete their literary essays. Today was spent editing pieces and conferencing with students. The final products are going to be great to see based on the work that the students have put into them.

As a reminder, I received this information from Matthew Coleman, the math director for Arlington:

"On Tuesday, March 14th, the Director of Mathematics will present about the transition to Ottoson Middle School, specific to the mathematics department. The primary audience for the event is families that have children entering 6th grade during the 2017-2018 school year.  All are welcome though.

Topics will include:

1. Bypassing Math 6 for extreme high achievers.  The structure and timeline for this opportunity will be outlined.
2. The Math Support Intervention Program for grades 6-8.
3. Digital Media and Literacy, a computer programming based class for 6th graders.
4. Pathways and courses for grades 6-12.  Basically, planning ahead and learning about 6-12 mathematics in the Arlington Public Schools.

The majority of the event will cover the first two topics as this event will have a transitional focus.  Please note that the event will be held at Ottoson Middle School from 7-8:30.  "

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Character Trait Project - Students received directions for a project that will be due on Friday March 10th.

3/7/17

Another productive day in M102. The students did some writing about the text, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. As we approach the conclusion of this reading unit, I wanted to compliment the fifth graders who have shown a passion and deep understanding of an important issue facing all countries of the world. The students have worked well collaboratively and that has been shown in the group work that has been done these last few weeks.

The students continue to talk with one another about the character trait projects that are due on Friday. They are counting down the days until they can share with one another.


As a reminder, I received this information from Matthew Coleman, the math director for Arlington:

"On Tuesday, March 14th, the Director of Mathematics will present about the transition to Ottoson Middle School, specific to the mathematics department. The primary audience for the event is families that have children entering 6th grade during the 2017-2018 school year.  All are welcome though.

Topics will include:

1. Bypassing Math 6 for extreme high achievers.  The structure and timeline for this opportunity will be outlined.
2. The Math Support Intervention Program for grades 6-8.
3. Digital Media and Literacy, a computer programming based class for 6th graders.
4. Pathways and courses for grades 6-12.  Basically, planning ahead and learning about 6-12 mathematics in the Arlington Public Schools.

The majority of the event will cover the first two topics as this event will have a transitional focus.  Please note that the event will be held at Ottoson Middle School from 7-8:30.  "

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Character Trait Project - Students received directions for a project that will be due on Friday March 10th.

3/6/17

The students are approaching the finish line in regards to their literary essays. Today was an important day as the students focused on tightening up their concluding paragraphs. The fifth graders are eager to publish these pieces.

On Friday, the fifth graders will turn in their character trait projects. I can't wait to see the students present their work. The students have been talking about their characters the last two weeks and are eager to share with their peers.

As a reminder, I received this information from Matthew Coleman, the math director for Arlington:

"On Tuesday, March 14th, the Director of Mathematics will present about the transition to Ottoson Middle School, specific to the mathematics department. The primary audience for the event is families that have children entering 6th grade during the 2017-2018 school year.  All are welcome though.

Topics will include:

1. Bypassing Math 6 for extreme high achievers.  The structure and timeline for this opportunity will be outlined.
2. The Math Support Intervention Program for grades 6-8.
3. Digital Media and Literacy, a computer programming based class for 6th graders.
4. Pathways and courses for grades 6-12.  Basically, planning ahead and learning about 6-12 mathematics in the Arlington Public Schools.

The majority of the event will cover the first two topics as this event will have a transitional focus.  Please note that the event will be held at Ottoson Middle School from 7-8:30.  "

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Character Trait Project - Students received directions for a project that will be due on Friday March 10th.

3/3/17

I was proud of the level of work that the fifth graders accomplished this week. The week after vacation can sometimes be spent working the rust off and that was not the case this week. The students made great strides with their writing, math and their social studies projects. I couldn't have been happier with the dedication that the students showed all week.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.



As a reminder, I received this information from Matthew Coleman, the math director for Arlington:

"On Tuesday, March 14th, the Director of Mathematics will present about the transition to Ottoson Middle School, specific to the mathematics department. The primary audience for the event is families that have children entering 6th grade during the 2017-2018 school year.  All are welcome though.

Topics will include:

1. Bypassing Math 6 for extreme high achievers.  The structure and timeline for this opportunity will be outlined.
2. The Math Support Intervention Program for grades 6-8.
3. Digital Media and Literacy, a computer programming based class for 6th graders.
4. Pathways and courses for grades 6-12.  Basically, planning ahead and learning about 6-12 mathematics in the Arlington Public Schools.

The majority of the event will cover the first two topics as this event will have a transitional focus.  Please note that the event will be held at Ottoson Middle School from 7-8:30.  "

Homework

Character Trait Project - Students received directions for a project that will be due on Friday March 10th.

3/2/17

The fifth graders continue to make steady progress on a number of different fronts. Both the explorer project and the literary essays are coming along nicely. The students also spent some time today looking at an MCAS practice test.

As a reminder, I received this information from Matthew Coleman, the math director for Arlington:

"On Tuesday, March 14th, the Director of Mathematics will present about the transition to Ottoson Middle School, specific to the mathematics department. The primary audience for the event is families that have children entering 6th grade during the 2017-2018 school year.  All are welcome though.

Topics will include:

1. Bypassing Math 6 for extreme high achievers.  The structure and timeline for this opportunity will be outlined.
2. The Math Support Intervention Program for grades 6-8.
3. Digital Media and Literacy, a computer programming based class for 6th graders.
4. Pathways and courses for grades 6-12.  Basically, planning ahead and learning about 6-12 mathematics in the Arlington Public Schools.

The majority of the event will cover the first two topics as this event will have a transitional focus.  Please note that the event will be held at Ottoson Middle School from 7-8:30.  "

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of independent reading.

Character Trait Project - Students received directions for a project that will be due on Friday March 10th.

3/1/17

The students were able to spend a considerable amount of time working on their European explorer project during social studies today. The students are heavily invested in this work and the results are showing that.

We also continued our work in math in dividing whole numbers by fractions. We only have a few more lessons in our fractions unit before we make our way into decimals. The students continue to build a solid foundation to apply to their upcoming decimal work.



As a reminder, I received this information from Matthew Coleman, the math director for Arlington:

"On Tuesday, March 14th, the Director of Mathematics will present about the transition to Ottoson Middle School, specific to the mathematics department. The primary audience for the event is families that have children entering 6th grade during the 2017-2018 school year.  All are welcome though.

Topics will include:

1. Bypassing Math 6 for extreme high achievers.  The structure and timeline for this opportunity will be outlined.
2. The Math Support Intervention Program for grades 6-8.
3. Digital Media and Literacy, a computer programming based class for 6th graders.
4. Pathways and courses for grades 6-12.  Basically, planning ahead and learning about 6-12 mathematics in the Arlington Public Schools.

The majority of the event will cover the first two topics as this event will have a transitional focus.  Please note that the event will be held at Ottoson Middle School from 7-8:30.  "

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of independent reading.

Character Trait Project - Students received directions for a project that will be due on Friday March 10th.