DMS 5th Grade Newsletter
Friday, December 11, 2015
Important Dates
December 15- Winter Vocal Concert- 7pm DHS
December 23-January 1- Winter Recess- No classes
Celebrate History Writing Contest
The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is sponsoring the annual Celebrate History Essay Writing Contest. One winning essay from this area will advance to the state level. Local winner will receive a certificate and a medal.
This year’s topic: “March 22, 2015 marked the 250th anniversary of the Stamp Act. Passed by the British Parliament in 1765, this new tax required all colonists to pay a tax on every printed piece of paper they used. The Stamp Act was viewed by the colonists as “taxation without representation.” Describe a colonial family’s discussion about the new Stamp Act and what role it played in organizing the colonists against the British King and Parliament.”
Requirements: Grade 5: 300-600 words/Grades 6-8: 600-1,000 words. Essays must be typed and include a bibliography of sources used. Deadline for the essay to be submitted to Mrs. Nowack is January 7, 2016.
The Old Creamery Theater 2016 Writing Contest
Each year students are encouraged to participate in the Old Creamery Theatre writing contest. Students are invited to write a creative, original story about a character or characters that learn a lesson involving one or more of the Six Pillars (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship). The selected winners will receive gift cards up to $100 and become the basis for Character Chronicles, a show that will be seen by tens of thousands of students all over Iowa (including Decorah Community Schools). Please visit the following website for requirements, story writing tips, and information about how to enter the contest. All entries must be postmarked or emailed no later than January 15, 2016.
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mr. Peterson: In science we are exploring mystery substances. Our goal is to engage in scientific argumentation. In reading, we have been looking at strategies to learn new vocabulary, and we’ve been creating Google Slide shows to help us learn some new words. In writing we published our Wonderopolis piece today to Kidblog. Ask you child to log on and show you what we’ve done!
From Mrs. Nowack: Our trip to the planetarium today was ‘out of this world’!!! Students took the vocabulary part of the Unit D test Thursday and will take the remainder of the science test on Tuesday. Students were given the material (including the essay questions) to study a week ahead of time. In reading class, students continue to read and discuss historical fiction novels. You should see your child reading about 20-30 min/night (they will be required to write a summary on a good-fit book before the end of the quarter). This week in language class, we have continued learning about historical fiction writing. Next week’s word work words are: clinician, desertion, digestion, election, disruption, magician, suggestion. Next week’s VIP is William.
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - Today we tested on Chapter 6 in our text on early European settlements in North America. Next week we’ll take a look at studying the colonies prior to the revolution.
Language - We have started looking at examples of historical fiction as a way of introducing Historical Fiction Writing unit. We have been listening to a short piece about Lewis and Clark and finding features of historical fiction.
From Mrs. Halweg: This week in math we’ve focused on converting fractions to decimals. We’ve done this several ways including using charts & diagrams, thinking of fractions as division problems, and by using a calculator. We are still on track to have our next math assessment on on Thursday, December 17.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Important Dates
December 15- Winter Vocal Concert- 7pm DHS
December 23-January 1- Winter Recess- No classes
Celebrate History Writing Contest
The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is sponsoring the annual Celebrate History Essay Writing Contest. One winning essay from this area will advance to the state level. Local winner will receive a certificate and a medal.
This year’s topic: “March 22, 2015 marked the 250th anniversary of the Stamp Act. Passed by the British Parliament in 1765, this new tax required all colonists to pay a tax on every printed piece of paper they used. The Stamp Act was viewed by the colonists as “taxation without representation.” Describe a colonial family’s discussion about the new Stamp Act and what role it played in organizing the colonists against the British King and Parliament.”
Requirements: Grade 5: 300-600 words/Grades 6-8: 600-1,000 words. Essays must be typed and include a bibliography of sources used. Deadline for the essay to be submitted to Mrs. Nowack is January 7, 2016.
The Old Creamery Theater 2016 Writing Contest
Each year students are encouraged to participate in the Old Creamery Theatre writing contest. Students are invited to write a creative, original story about a character or characters that learn a lesson involving one or more of the Six Pillars (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship). The selected winners will receive gift cards up to $100 and become the basis for Character Chronicles, a show that will be seen by tens of thousands of students all over Iowa (including Decorah Community Schools). Please visit the following website for requirements, story writing tips, and information about how to enter the contest. All entries must be postmarked or emailed no later than January 15, 2016.
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mr. Peterson: In science we are exploring mystery substances. Our goal is to engage in scientific argumentation. In reading, we have been looking at strategies to learn new vocabulary, and we’ve been creating Google Slide shows to help us learn some new words. In writing we published our Wonderopolis piece today to Kidblog. Ask you child to log on and show you what we’ve done!
From Mrs. Nowack: Our trip to the planetarium today was ‘out of this world’!!! Students took the vocabulary part of the Unit D test Thursday and will take the remainder of the science test on Tuesday. Students were given the material (including the essay questions) to study a week ahead of time. In reading class, students continue to read and discuss historical fiction novels. You should see your child reading about 20-30 min/night (they will be required to write a summary on a good-fit book before the end of the quarter). This week in language class, we have continued learning about historical fiction writing. Next week’s word work words are: clinician, desertion, digestion, election, disruption, magician, suggestion. Next week’s VIP is William.
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - Today we tested on Chapter 6 in our text on early European settlements in North America. Next week we’ll take a look at studying the colonies prior to the revolution.
Language - We have started looking at examples of historical fiction as a way of introducing Historical Fiction Writing unit. We have been listening to a short piece about Lewis and Clark and finding features of historical fiction.
From Mrs. Halweg: This week in math we’ve focused on converting fractions to decimals. We’ve done this several ways including using charts & diagrams, thinking of fractions as division problems, and by using a calculator. We are still on track to have our next math assessment on on Thursday, December 17.