Important Dates
Sept. 14- Band and Orchestra Parent Meeting 7PM
Sept. 15- Norman Borlaug Inspire Day Field Trip
Sept. 19- MAP Reading in morning
Sept. 22- Homecoming
Sept. 26- School Picture Day
News
Inspire Day Field Trip
On Friday, Sept. 15, we’ll be attending a field trip to the childhood home of Norman Borlaug. Students will be gone all day for this event to learn about his accomplishments.
We will be outdoors all day, so students should dress in layers appropriate for the weather. Old (close toed) shoes would be recommended as well. Students should bring a water bottle and a sack lunch for themselves for the day. Some students signed up for a school lunch; if unsure- check with their Prime Time teacher.
Band & Orchestra Instrument Try Outs
All of the students have gone through the first round of instrument tryouts. Your 5th grader has a letter from the music department to share with you (which explains this process). You will need to indicate (on the music department website) if your child is interested in participating in band/orchestra. Reach out to Mrs. Larson or Mrs. Hahn with questions.
Charging Computers
Student computers need to come to school charged each day. A charging cord has been provided to each student to carry with them. We would greatly appreciate your help at home in reminding students to charge their devices daily.
Additionally, students need a set of earbuds that are kept in the pocket of the computer bag, as they are used often at school. Your help is greatly appreciated with this as well! Thank you!
5th-grade Newsletter Blog
As you probably noticed, we push our newsletter out to you every week through email. It links to this page. You can choose to opt out by following the directions in the email. If you're reading this and did not get an email, you can get on the list by emailing Steve Peterson ([email protected]).
You will also find an assignment sheet on the blog, too. If your student misses school, this is a great place to start filling in the gap.
CLASSROOM NEWS
Math with Mrs. Halweg
Hybrid Math- In Hybrid Math this week we started wrapping up our first unit on comparing, rounding, addinding, and subtracting with decimals. We spent time reviewing these skills in class today. Your student will be assessed over these skills on Monday.
Math 5- This week in math we continued to practice working with decimal values and powers of ten. We also learned about the different ways numbers can be written (word form, unit form, expanded form, etc). We’ll continue to learn about and practice these skills next week as well.
Language with Mr. Amundson
This week in language class we started our first writing activity called The Best Part of Me. The students have been busy reading mentor examples, sharing ideas, along with starting to write their own. We also spent time working on weekly writing routines and we will continue our work in these areas next week.
Reading with Mrs. Nowack
It was another great week with 5th graders in reading class! We started our first unit of learning: Module 1 (Inventors at Work). This week’s skills were identifying central idea and summarizing.
Students are expected to read from a “good fit book” daily. This good fit book, also called an IR (independent reading) book should travel from home to school each day as there are opportunities to read at school throughout the day as well. Generally speaking, by this grade level, students should not be trying to read one book at home and a different one at school. It would be beneficial to help your child get into the routine of reading approximately 20 minutes each day- a quiet distraction free space is ideal (setting a timer is also helpful for some students).
Science with Mr. Peterson
We’ve been down to the creek to make observations and ask questions to explore about the creek ecosystem. Next steps are to collect these questions and begin gathering information about aquatic ecosystems.
What’s happening outside right now? I’ll post some videos that Larry Reis from Winneshiek County Conservation made over the last several years. Each video highlights some organisms that you might be able to see outside at this particular time of the year. This episode features a veery, greater fringed gentian, and white turtlehead.
5-P read aloud: Odder, Katherine Applegate
Social Studies with Mr. Fromm
What we did: This week, students had the chance to meet Mr. Fromm and hear his story. Then, students were asked to share a bit about themselves with him. We also played a little catch-up and reviewed some geography information covered previously with Mrs. Suhr.
Where we are going: Going to honor 9/11 and then jump back into the Geography of the United States.
Questions/Prompts for your student: How would you define history? How is the crust of planet Earth like the peel of an orange?
Additional Information
Below is a Spanish copy of this newsletter as rendered by Google Translate.
Sept. 14- Band and Orchestra Parent Meeting 7PM
Sept. 15- Norman Borlaug Inspire Day Field Trip
Sept. 19- MAP Reading in morning
Sept. 22- Homecoming
Sept. 26- School Picture Day
News
Inspire Day Field Trip
On Friday, Sept. 15, we’ll be attending a field trip to the childhood home of Norman Borlaug. Students will be gone all day for this event to learn about his accomplishments.
We will be outdoors all day, so students should dress in layers appropriate for the weather. Old (close toed) shoes would be recommended as well. Students should bring a water bottle and a sack lunch for themselves for the day. Some students signed up for a school lunch; if unsure- check with their Prime Time teacher.
Band & Orchestra Instrument Try Outs
All of the students have gone through the first round of instrument tryouts. Your 5th grader has a letter from the music department to share with you (which explains this process). You will need to indicate (on the music department website) if your child is interested in participating in band/orchestra. Reach out to Mrs. Larson or Mrs. Hahn with questions.
Charging Computers
Student computers need to come to school charged each day. A charging cord has been provided to each student to carry with them. We would greatly appreciate your help at home in reminding students to charge their devices daily.
Additionally, students need a set of earbuds that are kept in the pocket of the computer bag, as they are used often at school. Your help is greatly appreciated with this as well! Thank you!
5th-grade Newsletter Blog
As you probably noticed, we push our newsletter out to you every week through email. It links to this page. You can choose to opt out by following the directions in the email. If you're reading this and did not get an email, you can get on the list by emailing Steve Peterson ([email protected]).
You will also find an assignment sheet on the blog, too. If your student misses school, this is a great place to start filling in the gap.
CLASSROOM NEWS
Math with Mrs. Halweg
Hybrid Math- In Hybrid Math this week we started wrapping up our first unit on comparing, rounding, addinding, and subtracting with decimals. We spent time reviewing these skills in class today. Your student will be assessed over these skills on Monday.
Math 5- This week in math we continued to practice working with decimal values and powers of ten. We also learned about the different ways numbers can be written (word form, unit form, expanded form, etc). We’ll continue to learn about and practice these skills next week as well.
Language with Mr. Amundson
This week in language class we started our first writing activity called The Best Part of Me. The students have been busy reading mentor examples, sharing ideas, along with starting to write their own. We also spent time working on weekly writing routines and we will continue our work in these areas next week.
Reading with Mrs. Nowack
It was another great week with 5th graders in reading class! We started our first unit of learning: Module 1 (Inventors at Work). This week’s skills were identifying central idea and summarizing.
Students are expected to read from a “good fit book” daily. This good fit book, also called an IR (independent reading) book should travel from home to school each day as there are opportunities to read at school throughout the day as well. Generally speaking, by this grade level, students should not be trying to read one book at home and a different one at school. It would be beneficial to help your child get into the routine of reading approximately 20 minutes each day- a quiet distraction free space is ideal (setting a timer is also helpful for some students).
Science with Mr. Peterson
We’ve been down to the creek to make observations and ask questions to explore about the creek ecosystem. Next steps are to collect these questions and begin gathering information about aquatic ecosystems.
What’s happening outside right now? I’ll post some videos that Larry Reis from Winneshiek County Conservation made over the last several years. Each video highlights some organisms that you might be able to see outside at this particular time of the year. This episode features a veery, greater fringed gentian, and white turtlehead.
5-P read aloud: Odder, Katherine Applegate
Social Studies with Mr. Fromm
What we did: This week, students had the chance to meet Mr. Fromm and hear his story. Then, students were asked to share a bit about themselves with him. We also played a little catch-up and reviewed some geography information covered previously with Mrs. Suhr.
Where we are going: Going to honor 9/11 and then jump back into the Geography of the United States.
Questions/Prompts for your student: How would you define history? How is the crust of planet Earth like the peel of an orange?
Additional Information
Below is a Spanish copy of this newsletter as rendered by Google Translate.