DMS 5th Grade Newsletter
Important Dates:
February 13- conferences (see more information below)
February 14- conferences (see more information below)
February 17- no classes
February 20- no classes
It was another wild week! We’re glad to be back at school! For your information, as of right now, the last day of school for students will be Wednesday, May 31st. Should we miss any more days of school, that date will be pushed back.
Iowa Assessments for grades 5-8 will be continue through February 10. Next week students will participate in math and social studies tests. Here is a slideshow of test-taking tips and strategies to help prepare for the tests.
Student Led Conferences
In the spring, DMS holds student-led conferences (as opposed to the traditional parent-teacher conferences). This format is a wonderful opportunity for students to reflect on and take responsibility for their own learning. We will send a letter home that confirms your scheduled conference time next week. If you have questions, contact your child’s homeroom teacher.
Geography Bee
Congratulations to Simon Kutz who is the 2017 DMS Geography Bee Winner! All students at DMS between grades 6-8 participated. It was optional for fifth-grade students. For more information about the Geography Bee you may go to http://www.nationalgeographic.org/bee.
Parent’s Still Make the Difference
Click here for the January issue.
Study Buddies:
All DMS students are invited to Room 220 (Mrs. Suhr’s room) after school Monday - Thursday until 4:00 to have a quiet place to do work. Staying for Study Buddies is voluntary; students come when they have homework to do and only stay until their work is done! Be sure to communicate with your child about where to go or meet you when they are done each day.
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mrs. Halweg:
Math- This week in math we continued to practice adding and subtracting mixed numbers. We also worked with story problems in which students needed to determine if they should add or subtract to determine the answer, make an estimate, and find the exact answer. Your student will be assessed over these skills on Monday, January 30.
From Mr. Kelley:
Reading and Language: Students are beginning an opinion writing unit. In reading, students are working on comparison within fiction.
Social Studies: Students worked in groups to research and create a slideshow highlighting a colonial trade.
From Mrs. Nowack:
Science: We’re learning about matter and its interactions. This week’s lessons involved chemical reactions.
Reading: This week students took the Iowa Assessments. We also continue to learn about making inferences. Students should continue to read at least 20 minutes at home daily!
Language: Students are working on informational reports. This week, using their notes, students decided what will go in each paragraph and then started writing those notes into sentences.
Next week’s VIP: Chloe
From Mr. Peterson:
Science: We will have a quiz on heat transfer and the atmosphere on Tuesday of next week.
Reading and Writing: We are researching and writing an informational piece based on the superb website called Wonderopolis. In the process, we are practicing research skills, reading a lot of great informational text, and using what we learned while we studied text structures in reading class.
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - This week we finished taking a tour of colonial Williamsburg, VA (circa 1770). We learned about colonial life by “visiting” the College of William and Mary, a dame school, a shoemaker shop, a church, a tavern, a slave’s quarters, and the Governor’s palace. We will test on this chapter on Thursday, Feb. 2.
Language - Students have received books to read and took notes from for their reports on a state. We are currently arranging notes in paragraph topics for writing. Spelling lists are always handed out on Friday for the next week. Spelling tests are always on the last day of the week. We are practicing grammar and writing skills through DLR and Daily Writing.
Star of the Week next week (Jan. 30)- Lexy Walker
Important Dates:
February 13- conferences (see more information below)
February 14- conferences (see more information below)
February 17- no classes
February 20- no classes
It was another wild week! We’re glad to be back at school! For your information, as of right now, the last day of school for students will be Wednesday, May 31st. Should we miss any more days of school, that date will be pushed back.
Iowa Assessments for grades 5-8 will be continue through February 10. Next week students will participate in math and social studies tests. Here is a slideshow of test-taking tips and strategies to help prepare for the tests.
Student Led Conferences
In the spring, DMS holds student-led conferences (as opposed to the traditional parent-teacher conferences). This format is a wonderful opportunity for students to reflect on and take responsibility for their own learning. We will send a letter home that confirms your scheduled conference time next week. If you have questions, contact your child’s homeroom teacher.
Geography Bee
Congratulations to Simon Kutz who is the 2017 DMS Geography Bee Winner! All students at DMS between grades 6-8 participated. It was optional for fifth-grade students. For more information about the Geography Bee you may go to http://www.nationalgeographic.org/bee.
Parent’s Still Make the Difference
Click here for the January issue.
Study Buddies:
All DMS students are invited to Room 220 (Mrs. Suhr’s room) after school Monday - Thursday until 4:00 to have a quiet place to do work. Staying for Study Buddies is voluntary; students come when they have homework to do and only stay until their work is done! Be sure to communicate with your child about where to go or meet you when they are done each day.
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mrs. Halweg:
Math- This week in math we continued to practice adding and subtracting mixed numbers. We also worked with story problems in which students needed to determine if they should add or subtract to determine the answer, make an estimate, and find the exact answer. Your student will be assessed over these skills on Monday, January 30.
From Mr. Kelley:
Reading and Language: Students are beginning an opinion writing unit. In reading, students are working on comparison within fiction.
Social Studies: Students worked in groups to research and create a slideshow highlighting a colonial trade.
From Mrs. Nowack:
Science: We’re learning about matter and its interactions. This week’s lessons involved chemical reactions.
Reading: This week students took the Iowa Assessments. We also continue to learn about making inferences. Students should continue to read at least 20 minutes at home daily!
Language: Students are working on informational reports. This week, using their notes, students decided what will go in each paragraph and then started writing those notes into sentences.
Next week’s VIP: Chloe
From Mr. Peterson:
Science: We will have a quiz on heat transfer and the atmosphere on Tuesday of next week.
Reading and Writing: We are researching and writing an informational piece based on the superb website called Wonderopolis. In the process, we are practicing research skills, reading a lot of great informational text, and using what we learned while we studied text structures in reading class.
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - This week we finished taking a tour of colonial Williamsburg, VA (circa 1770). We learned about colonial life by “visiting” the College of William and Mary, a dame school, a shoemaker shop, a church, a tavern, a slave’s quarters, and the Governor’s palace. We will test on this chapter on Thursday, Feb. 2.
Language - Students have received books to read and took notes from for their reports on a state. We are currently arranging notes in paragraph topics for writing. Spelling lists are always handed out on Friday for the next week. Spelling tests are always on the last day of the week. We are practicing grammar and writing skills through DLR and Daily Writing.
Star of the Week next week (Jan. 30)- Lexy Walker