Christy's 4th & 5th Grade Class

 Dear Families,

Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers that you brought last week for Staff Appreciation Day! They brightened our classrooms. We have many important upcoming events that need to be on your calendar. First, please take a moment to sign-up up for a conference on Friday April 6th, or Friday, April 13th. Students are welcome to join, but please notify your teacher first to allow us to prepare. Please sign up early; sheets are outside of the classroom.

The fourth and fifth grade will be performing a drumming and singing concert this Wednesday, March 28th. The show begins at 6:00 PM in the big room. The students have been preparing for months and it is sure to be an exciting show!

 We hope that getting up an hour earlier for Daylight Savings Time wasn’t too painful! We have some exciting upcoming events and curriculum planned, so read carefully.

Writing Celebration: Our celebration of the students’ fiction writing will be this Thursday, from 2:30 PM until the end of the school day. Please come and enjoy the excellent writing the students have been doing. All are invited.

 Internal Open House:

 Dear Families,

Auction Project:
It’s that time of year again! We need your help to complete an auction project for each classroom by March 8th. We need volunteers for the following roles: project coordinator for each classroom, volunteers to help the students during the school day, and volunteers to work on the project in the evening or over the weekend. Also, let us know if you have an idea about a project that will allow for student involvement and a beautiful product without being a ton of work. We look forward to hearing from you this week.

 Dear Families,
Rather than our normal newsletter describing classroom activities, we’ve chosen to highlight a couple of internet resources this week. Read on to find out about some different ways to learn outside of the classroom.

This description of Khan Academy comes from www.math-drills.com, also an excellent resource. Find Khan Academy at http://www.khanacademy.org/. Make sure to check out the “Arithmetic” section.

 We hope that you have had a wonderful holiday season. Welcome back to school! We have an exciting curriculum planned for the winter and spring as well as some fun events.

Upcoming Events:
Martin Luther King, Jr. March: The annual march, celebrating the legacy of Dr. King as well as our commitment to social justice, is on Friday, January 13th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon. The march begins at school, then goes through Judkins Park to the Northwest African American Museum on Massachusetts Street. At the museum, we’ll have a brief rally before coming back to school. Students in the fourth and fifth grade will be thinking about what aspects of social justice are important to them prior to the march.

 Dear Families,

The Holiday Bazaar is this Thursday and Friday! Thanks for all of your hard work in preparing for the event. (Especially you, Sandra!) Remember to sign your child up to work at the Bazaar outside Daniel’s classroom.

We were just alerted to a great resource: you can find all of the math Home Connections on the Bridges in Mathematics website. Navigate to http://www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/materials/parents. Then click “Bridges Grade 4” or “Bridges Grade 5” on the left side of the screen. Scroll down to find the Home Connections, organized by unit.

 Dear Students and Families,

We truly enjoyed meeting with you during our first parent-teacher conference of the year. The opportunity to share information, ideas, and stories is always welcomed.

In fifth grade math we have begun our study of geometry. This unit is designed to help students develop a conceptual understanding of area, perimeter, volume, and shape attributes. Students will engage in guided exploration of different shapes aimed to build knowledge of these ideas as well as practical applications of the concepts.

 Dear Students and Families,

It is already the middle of November, and we have many exciting projects and events to tell you about! Please remember that this week we will have parent-teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday and there will be no school. Normally, these conferences are designed for the teacher and parent only. However, if you feel your child would benefit from attending, please let your teacher know in advance. There is no school and no extended day the following Thursday or Friday (November 24-25) for Thanksgiving Break.