Sunday, May 20, 2018

Week 36

TWiG5: This Week in Grade 5...

Week of May 20 to May 24


Welcome to week 36 of learning, exploring and having fun!


Ramadan Kareem to all of those who are celebrating!

An exciting week ahead as we take time together to celebrate our students' progress this year at our student led conferences on Monday, May 21st. 

A big congratulations to all Fifth Grade students for their beautiful music concert performance last week. They had been very busy practicing in music class, and we all feel pride in what they have learned and accomplished. We have some talented students!

We would also like to congratulate all of the students who took the time and effort to prepare and deliver speeches for the Moving On Ceremony that is coming up. It was an enormous treat to listen to the students reflect on their ES experience as they look toward what is coming next. The speeches were heart-warming, funny, entertaining and very well prepared. We are proud to have Ali Azab and Caitlin Duggan representing the grade 5 class at the ceremony.  

While there are still a couple of weeks left in school, many students are feeling the excitement and their energy is coming through in the classes. Please have conversations with your child about the importance of still doing their best and keeping their CORE Values in mind in the up coming weeks. Thanks for your continued support.


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Reminders
  • Student Led Conferences: On Monday, May 21st, there will be no regular school.  Instead, students and parents are encouraged to come and participate in student led conferences. This is an excellent experience for both parents and students as your children get to discuss their learning, growth, challenges, strengths, goals and next steps. Students are empowered as they take responsibility for their learning and gain confidence as they take you on their learning journey in Grade 5. Parents have signed up online for one hour appointments in the classroom to explore the core academic subjects, and then students will lead parents around to other locations for viewing of specialist materials. Please note that you can come early and visit the specialist classes BEFORE your classroom time, OR afterwards!! These conferences are a special time for our graduating Grade 5 students, and we hope that you allow them the experience of guiding you through their learning. Let them be in the "driver's seat", yet feel free to sprinkle in questions to probe or clarify. Please find attached the letter that was sent to you via skyward with the instructions on how to sign up for a time.               STUDENT LED CONFERENCE PARENT LETTER
  • TIPS FOR PARENTS
  • 5th Grade Moving on Ceremony is on Sunday, June 3rd from 7:55-9:30am in the ES Hall. 
  • Fasting Students: Parents, please inform your classroom teacher if your child will be fasting so we can make any necessary arrangements to make sure they are comfortable. It is helpful to know if they fast for the whole or part of the day at school, and if it includes both food and water.
  • ES Yearbook 2017-2018 Pre-Sales: To our cashier, Mr. Reda in the Welcome Center.
    May 13th till May 31st for L.E. 580 ($33)
    After May 31st, price increases to L.E. 650 ($37)
    Please note that for this week only (May 13 - May 17), the cashier will only be available before 10:00 am and after 2:00 pm.
  • Library Announcements: End of year dates for the ES library
    May 22 Last day for classes; All books are due
    May 23 Overdrive and ebooks training - 8:15 am and 2 pm
    May 29 Summer check out starts
  • MAP Test Results - Spring 2018
    Dear Parents,
    MAP testing is completed for the Spring 2018.  Students in Grades 3 - 9 completed assessments in the areas of Reading, Mathematics, and Language Usage.
    Individual student reports will sent home with students this Wednesday, May 23.  
    Thank you,
    David Chadwell
    Director of Teaching and Learning

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Curriculum Corner

Reading & Writing
Our young journalists are working on their news stories and putting them into their newspapers. They are learning to write concise, focused reports that tell the who, what, where, and when of an important event. Some of our journalists are getting ready to conduct interviews and collect observation notes and questions. We will look at the different styles of questions we can ask in order to better serve our purpose and conduct an efficient interview that can be quoted in a news story. The Visual Tab on the library catalogue is full of resources that your child should be exploring and reading from! In Reading Workshop, Grade 5 reporters will continue to read, summarize, analyze and collect evidence from news stories, both locally and from around the world in order to see more and more inspiring examples of how they should be writing in the their own journalistic news articles.

Math
This week we will work on completing the last lessons in our current Math unit. Students will continue to use tools (set squares, rulers & protractors) to draw and explore the attributes of rectangles, rhombuses, kites and squares. As students explore the attributes of the various shapes, they will categorize them based on definitions in a hierarchy. Next week, students will do some work with the coordinate plane and graphing. 

Social Studies
Special events prep last week have eaten into our Social Studies time. However, this week, students will continue to explore how science and technology are changing the world, past, present and future. The LibGuide found on the library catalogue is a great source of information, now that a personal interest research topic has been chosen. Students have formulated a thesis statement for their topic, along with supporting research questions that will guide their inquiry.  Some of the topics students are working on include: Using 3D printing to make organs for human transplants, the future of self-driving cars, the newest innovations with train travel, the advancements of prosthetics, how the use of apps and personal devices is changing how people spend their time, issues around cloning, how food is being grown on space stations, and many more! 
Reflective thinking throughout the process will include such questions as, "How has your thinking changed? What do you find most interesting? How is science and technology changing the world? I used to think... but now I think...Are there parts of your science and technology focus that should be encouraged and/or resisted/monitored? Why?"  They will continue to research around their topic to present a final infographic at the end of the unit. 

Circle Solutions

Students will have an opportunity to practice leadership skills as they work to plan and run their own circle for our circle solution classes in the coming weeks. In pairs, students will use a template to plan out a circle around a theme and lead the class in the activities. 

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Guidance Update - Flipping Your Lid!  - A Tool for Managing Stress

The end of the school year is a busy and exciting time! It’s also a time that invites strong emotions and stress. End of year celebrations, final project deadlines, saying goodbye to those moving on, transitions to new school divisions  or even to new schools, are only some of the events during this time that can lend themselves to complete meltdowns. It’s important to be mindful of this and prepared so we can use these times as opportunities to teach our children how to cope effectively during times of stress.  

During Gudiance we are teaching the students about their brains and how the brain functions when we are experiencing stress. The students were introduced to the following lesson, “Brain in the Palm of Your Hand - Flipping Your Lid and Finding it Again- ”. The concept of “Flipping Your Lid,” is very visual. We use the “flipped lid” signal to help the children acknowledge their feelings and the need to calm down when they are starting to feel stressed or angry.

We are providing you with the lesson (see link above) so you can use  the same signal and the same language at home with your family! The following video is also very helpful for understanding the concept of a “flipped lid”.
Why Do We Lose Control of Our Emotions?


Message from Drama

Drama Class Performance
Grades 3 - 5 have been hard at work, writing their own scripts. They have asked me to invite you to their final class performances. Please note, Drama class performances are not a typical performance, as it is a part of their classwork. They are very proud of their work, as am I.
Please find the schedule below:

5K - 8:15 - 9 on May 27th
3W - 9:15 - 10 on May 27th
5O - 8:15 - 9 on May 28th
3D - 9:15 -10 on May 28th
4F - 2:15 - 3 on May 28th
3H - 8:15 - 9 on May 30th
5J - 10 - 10:40 on May 30th
4M - 2:15 - 3 on May 30th
5G - 10 - 10:40 on May 31st
4D - 11:15 - 12 on May 31st
3C - 1 - 1:45 on May 31st


Thank you for your continued support,
Ms. Dolly


Your partners in education,
LeeAnn Kasal   lkasal@cacegypt.org
Bonnie Greene barmstronggreene@cacegypt.org
Jonathan O'Sullivan josullivan@cacegypt.org
Caitlin Johnson cjohnson@cacegypt.org

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