CAC Grade 5

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Week 15

TWiG5: This Week in Grade 5

Wow! What a fantastic ES Production! The Grade 5 Team has heard nothing but positives about the production. A huge congratulations must be given to all the students who participated, and especially our wonderfully talented grade 5 students.

Look at what's new and important in Grade 5 this week!

Sunday, Nov. 19th - ES Production Cast Party (3:15 pm - 4:00 pm, ES Hall)

Monday, Nov. 20th - General Services Staff Appreciation Lunch
Math Workshop for Parents 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Wednesday, Nov. 22 - KID'S DAY

Thursday, Nov. 23 - HOLIDAY

Sunday, Nov. 26 - Thursday Schedule

Monday, Nov. 27 - HOLIDAY for students due to Parent interviews.

Tuesday, Dec. 5 - 5G assembly. Save the date!

Kid's Day

General Services Staff Appreciation Lunch

Monday, November 20, 2017

Every year the Elementary, Middle School, and High School Student Councils give thanks to the amazing general services staff at our school by hosting a special lunch. This staff includes: security guards, janitors, gardeners, drivers, bus monitors ,car washers, painters, carpenters, and maintenance. The hard work they do every day really makes our school a better place.

We are grateful to all the general services staff and will be having an appreciation lunch for them.

Date: Monday, November 20, 2017

Location: Middle School Field

Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

We can’t do this alone, we need your help! We are requesting that all students and families show their appreciation for our general service staff by donating the following:

PreK & KG : Dessert
1 & 2: Pasta Dish/Rice or Rice Dish/Bread
3 - 5: Meat Dishes
Grade 6: Meat Dishes
Grade 7: Meat Dishes
Grade 8: Vegetables/Side Dish/Salad
Grade 9-12: Goodie Bags (more information will be sent out from your High School Student Council)

Please bring food donations in a disposable container. Students & parents can drop off their dishes the morning of November 20 in the MS/HS Faculty Lounge. Those who would like to volunteer during the day, please fill in this link. We thank you for your continued support and for giving thanks to all of those who help make CAC the place to be! ES/MS/HS Student Leadership Teams

Math Workshop for Parents

Interested in learning more about the math models used at school? November 20, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm is a K-5 Workshop for parents where we will explore number bonds and the area model; math models we use to teach for understanding. We will all meet in the first floor common room, then K-2 parents will move next door.

We hope you can join us!

Curriculum Corner

Reading Workshop & Writing Workshop:
Because of Kids' Day, students will have three days to dig into our integrated Reading and Writing unit based on non-fiction reading for research-based writing! It is important for parents to realise that teachers have now asked their students always to be reading a non-fiction informational book as they do their daily home and school reading, in order to be able to practice the skills and strategies learned within the classroom. In order to maintain previous volume of reading, children may also have a fiction book to continue once they have read their daily non-fiction and made their jot notes. The unit's Guiding Question is: "How can I read and write in a way that allows me to dig deeper in understanding a topic for myself and an audience? As an overview to how this unit will unfold over the next month, we will be looking at the following understandings:

Jotting within Information Reading
Reading for a Wide View of a Topic
How to Navigate an Expository Text

Math Workshop:

Math Workshop
This week we will work on solving multi-step, real-world problems involving the addition and subtraction of fractions using visual models to support our thinking. Teachers are happy to answer any questions and offer help during class and recess times- please encourage your children to seek help and ask questions when they need. After the break, we will continue with Module 3. Please see a detailed description of the next topic below:

Students will use the number line when adding and subtracting fractions greater than or equal to 1. The number line helps students see that fractions are analogous to whole numbers. The number line makes it clear that numbers on the left are smaller than numbers on the right, which leads to an understanding of integers in Grade 6. Using this tool, students recognize and manipulate fractions in relation to larger whole numbers and to each other. For example, “Between which two whole numbers does the sum of

1 \frac{3}{4}

and

5 \frac{3}{5}

lie?”

___<

1 \frac{3}{4}

5 \frac{3}{5}

<___

This leads to an understanding of and skill with solving more complex problems often embedded within multi-step word problems:

Cristina and Matt’s goal is to collect a total of

3 \frac{1}{2}

gallons of sap from the maple trees. Cristina collected

1 \frac{3}{4}

gallons. Matt collected

5 \frac{3}{5}

gallons. By how much did they beat their goal?

1 \frac{3}{4} + 5 \frac{3}{5} - 3 \frac{1}{2} = 3 + (\frac{3 \times 5}{4 \times 5}) + (\frac{3 \times 4}{5 \times 4}) - (\frac{1 \times 10}{2 \times 10})

= 3 + \frac{15}{20} + \frac{12}{20} - \frac{10}{20}

= 3 \frac{17}{20}

Cristina and Matt beat their goal by

3 \frac{17}{20}

gallons.

Eureka Support: please click on the link below to read through this Parent Tip Sheet for the new unit.

Science:

Great news everyone! We have moved into our new science unit all about... Adaptations!

Living things have bodies that are adapted for the places they live and the things they do. Fish have gills so that they can remove oxygen that is dissolved in water. Most plants have green leaves which contain chlorophyll so that they can make food. Jellyfish have stinging cells to capture prey. Birds have hollow spongy bones so that they will be light enough to fly. Arctic animals have layers of fat and thick coats of fur to keep warm in the frigid Arctic climate. There are hundreds of examples of ways that organisms are adapted for a successful lifestyle. Humans, too, are adapted for the things they do. One of our adaptations is our hand. Humans, as well as monkeys, gorillas, and other primates, have a hand that can grasp objects. We are able to grasp objects because of our opposable thumb.

Have a great week everyone!

LeeAnn Kasal lkasal@cacegypt.org

Bonnie Greene barmstronggreene@cacegypt.org

Jonathan O'Sullivan josullivan@cacegypt.org

Caitlin Johnson cjohnson@cacegypt.org

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Week 14

Welcome to Trimester Two!

Today we officially begin our second trimester.

We hope everyone enjoyed trimester one

and made some long lasting memories.

We have many great things to look forward to in Trimester Two!

Please find the attached link to 5K Assembly here! Enjoy it if you missed it.

Reminders:

Sunday, Nov. 12-18 ES After School Activities signup Session 2 and will begin Nov.26

Thursday, Nov. 16th - ES Production Performance (5:30 pm - 7:00 pm)

Friday, Nov. 17th - ES Production Performance (1:00-2:30 pm; 3:30 - 5:00pm)

Sunday, Nov. 19th - ES Production Cast Party (3:15 pm - 4:00 pm, ES Hall)

Monday, Nov. 20th - General Services Staff Appreciation Lunch
Math Workshop for Parents 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Wednesday, Nov. 22 - KID'S DAY

Thursday, Nov. 23 - HOLIDAY

Monday, Nov. 27 - HOLIDAY for students due to Parent interviews.

Tuesday, Dec. 5 - 5G assembly. Save the date!

Kid's Day

This year's Kids' Day will be held on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017 from 8:00am to 11:30am. Students will then be dismissed at 11:30am for a long Thanksgiving weekend. This is a half day for CAC and Pre K-5 will be participating at the same time. For new parents to the school Kids’ Day is a fun-filled day in which they can show off their house spirit, participate in a wide variety of physical activities, and enjoy each other! The Elementary PE Department needs parent volunteers to help with the games and activities. You will be partnered up with an Elementary Teacher and teacher aide to help run an activity. If you could volunteer on that day, please fill in the (google form) by Thursday November 16th at the latest. Mr. Greene will contact you via e-mail with your assignment by Monday November 20th. Please mark your calendars with the date and time NOW! Thank you, Phil Greene pgreene@cacegypt.org & Mark Mayfield mmayfield@cacegypt.org

General Services Staff Appreciation Lunch

Monday, November 20, 2017

We are grateful to all the general services staff and will be having an appreciation lunch for them.

Date: Monday, November 20, 2017

Location: Middle School Field

Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

We can’t do this alone, we need your help! We are requesting that all students and families show their appreciation for our general service staff by donating the following:

PreK & KG : Dessert
1 & 2: Pasta Dish/Rice or Rice Dish/Bread
3 - 5: Meat Dishes
Grade 6: Meat Dishes
Grade 7: Meat Dishes
Grade 8: Vegetables/Side Dish/Salad
Grade 9-12: Goodie Bags (more information will be sent out from your High School Student Council)

Core Value for November: (repeat)

This months core value is compassion. We will be reading the book "Four Feet, Two Sandals" by Karen Lynn Williams and Khandra Mohammed and talking about compassion in the classrooms and around school. Please check out THIS video of our book this month. Enjoy watching it with your child and discussing the message and theme of the book.

Guidance Update: Keep Your Power! Say Okay & Walk Away

‘Don’t focus on the negative words you may hear from others; focus on the fact that you have the power to choose how to react!’ – Project Cornerstone

By focusing on their own actions, children can begin to recognize the power they have - their own personal power. Personal power is not about power over someone else or the situation, but power over our own response, feelings and thoughts. When students are able to control their reactions they demonstrate self-confidence and compassion for themselves.

Students will engage in powerful role-plays where they will have the opportunity to practice “keeping their power”. They will practice using an assertive posture and voice tone as they try various methods, such as: agreeing with the person (refusing to engage in an argument), saying “Okay”, using distractions, and walking away.

Curriculum Corner

Reader's & Writer's Workshop

Students at CAC were fortunate to have another wonderful author visit our school. This was especially great for grade five since we have just concluded our poetry unit and have read a great deal of Ken Nesbitt's work. We laughed a lot, wrote a poem and had a well deserved fun session with Ms. Nesbitt.

This week we will launch our new integrated unit based on informational reading! Students will be busy exploring a wide variety of interests, and beginning to use research to increase their knowledge and understanding. This week is all about launching into the world of Non-Fiction reading by exploring a range of interests... topics we know well and want to dig deeper into to further our knowledge AND topics we have always wanted to know more about.

We are comparing and contrasting Fiction vs. Non-fiction reading through various activities such as a Venn diagram discussion about features of Fiction vs. Non-Fiction. This will lead to a review discussion about the different purposes of non-fiction text features and how they can help us as readers to get the information we need for our research writing. We will be continuing to develop note taking skills as we begin reading for information. Jotting will be different but remains an expectation as students read.

Math

In Module 3 students build on earlier work of Grade 4 with equivalent fractions to now add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. One of the goals in Eureka: A Story of Units" is to first give students concrete experiences with mathematical concepts, and then to build slowly toward more abstract representations of those concepts.

In 5th Grade, we move beyond using the area model for multiplication of whole numbers and begin to use this powerful model to illustrate mathematical operations on fractions. The area model is a tool that helps students to make that important leap, and will support students’ learning through algebra and beyond. (see Parent Tip Sheet below). They will move from concrete examples (paper strips and number lines) to abstract skills (writing their own math sentences). By the end of the module, students will fluently work through multi-step word problems that contextualize their learning. The vocabulary needed for this unit will be: denominator, numerator, benchmark fraction (when making comparisons between fractions), like and unlike denominators, equivalent fractions and fractions greater than or equal to one (such as 5/2, 3 2/3 etc.)

Eureka Support: please click on the link below to read through this Parent Tip Sheet for the new unit:

Social Studies

Students are busy working on their final projects for our unit on World Development. Students are now using their researched facts to write speeches, create slide presentations and draft scripts for role plays. We are all very excited to see the final results!! Will Cortez be able to convince the Aztecs to trade with him? Will the conquistadors convince the Spanish Monarch to give them all they need to explore the New World? Will Montezuma convince Cortez and his people to leave the New World and not return? Only time will tell... It's very important that our young Social Scientists use a persuasive voice as they develop their projects this week- seeing things from the perspective they chose and directing their arguments at their target audience.