Welcome to Open House

Welcome to Your Child’s Fifth-Grade Classroom!

Tina Harris 2016-2017 Dear Parents,

Welcome! I hope this packet and presentation will help answer any questions you may have and give you a sense of what your child’s fifth grade will be like. Please let me know if you have any concerns or celebrations throughout the year, so that we can work together to make this a productive and enjoyable year for your child.

Sincerely, Tina Harris

How to Contact Me

1) Paper Notes from Home: These remain a great way to reach me, especially for dismissal information. I read them first thing in the morning.

2) Voicemail/Email: I check these at least once a day. These are great ways to reach me regarding topics that are not urgent. (256-4175, voice mail #:69617) [email protected]

Dismissal Plans

I will follow the dismissal plans you provided us at the beginning of the school year unless you notify me about changes.

****Please make sure you send in a note whenever your child’s dismissal plan changes for the day. Please do not rely on email, as I may not check my email in time. Also, make sure you include my name, your child’s first and last name, and both the bus number and the address of your child’s destination if they are not going home.

****If you forgot to write a note OR plans change later in the day, you must call the office directly and tell them. They will then tell me. If you only email me or leave a message on my voicemail I probably will NOT get the message in time.

My Regular Communication to You

1) Please read my emails as soon as you can. 2) I will send home a newsletter every month or two that gives you a general overview of what we have been doing and a glimpse of what lies ahead. 3) I may, on occasion, post a message on the Special Announcements page on the class website. Class Website

You can get to it by going to the district page (www.newpaltz.k12.ny.us). When there, select Lenape school and then click on the teachers tab. Click on Harris. On the left side of the website you will see different headings. Visit the photo page from time to time to see pictures -- and sometimes video -- of the students at work in the classroom!

Attendance

Please make every effort to schedule family vacations, doctor appointments, etc. for times outside school time. Every minute counts in a day and lessons missed – rich conversations, peer work, etc. – cannot be completely duplicated. Arriving on time and remaining in class for those last few minutes of class time really does make a difference. Obviously, if your child is sick she or he should stay home and get well. If you know your child will be absent for 2 or more days, I ask that you call the office so that I can gather together some work for your child to do at home. I can leave it in the office for you to pick up at the end of the day.

Homework

Your child will be bringing home a planner each day and their homework folder. Please sign the planner nightly to indicate that your child has completed their homework. You can write comments to me in the planner regarding homework for now. However, as the year progresses I will only check the planner on Fridays. Generally, your child will have a reading and math assignment each night. On occasion she or he may have a word study assignment. There are also unit tests for which she or he may have to prepare. I generally will not send home weekend homework. The exception to that rule is when students have a project to work on or may have to prepare for a test. Math and reading homework is expected to be completed on the night it is given. Students who have finished all their homework for the week and are caught up on their schoolwork may participate in Academic Choice time on Fridays. During this 20-30 minute block of time, students get to work on an activity of their choice, such as mindful games like Chess, reading or writing with a buddy, working on a personal goal for third grade such as improving a skill, individually chosen research projects, Mad Libs, math games on the computer, drawing, etc.) Please make sure to check your child’s folder for any important papers, including work that needs to be corrected and returned to school. (Look for the “While You Were Out Folder” which your child may have brought home and which may have work in it if your child was absent or in band/chorus.) Your child will may need your support each night to set aside time to complete the homework and to organize materials – including making sure their homework is placed back into their homework folders, papers that should stay home are removed from their folders and their homework folders and planners are placed back into their backpacks. As the year progresses students should be gaining independence with these organizational tasks so they are ready for sixth grade! Thank you in advance for all your support you give your child at home. If anyone is having difficulty understanding or getting the work done, please let me know. Daily Schedule

The schedule of our day varies, but may include the following …

Morning Procedures and Work (math problem, independent reading, independent writing, small group work) Morning Meeting Math Literacy Block (Writer’s Workshop, Reader’s Workshop, Read Aloud/Think Alouds, Word Study) Social Studies or Science (to be integrated within ELA and Math as well) Spanish (with Jenny Delfini) on A, C and E days Library/Coding on D Days with Joann Martin and Sue Bowers Specials: PE with Suzanne Sliwa on days C,E and F Days (Please make sure your child wears sneakers on these days.) Music with Jessica Rodriquez on D Days Art with Joy Gallagher on A and B Days Lunch/Recess 1:09 -1:49 Snack Chorus with Laura Faure on D Days at 2:35-3:15 Fifth Grade Band with David Finch on A, C and E Days at 2:35 – 3:15 (Small group lesson times vary.)

Library Open Browsing

Beginning September 30, students will have time to browse and sign out books once every 6 day cycle.

Morning Meeting

Morning meeting includes group activities that encourage students to collaborate, practice embedded academic skills and prepare them for the day ahead. It is an inclusive and positive way to start our day together, merging both the academic and social curriculums and helping to build a caring, respectful classroom community.

Snack At this time we have a social snack time in the morning. Eventually this may turn into a working snack time. Please try to send in a small snack that can be eaten neatly and cleaned up easily (i.e. crackers, cut vegetables, a cheese stick, an apple). Also, students are encouraged to bring water to school to drink in class (preferably in a container with a pull-up top, as opposed to a cap, to avoid major spills). Other kinds of beverages will be saved for lunch.

Lunch/Recess

Please send your child to school dressed for the weather. Check the Lost and Found in the cafeteria from time to time for lost items. Math

Students will develop conceptual understanding of math topics and skills, while also attending to problem solving, fluency and precision. A large focus is on developing strong number sense and on problem solving. We will work on developing critical problem solving behaviors such as perseverance, reasoning and flexibility, monitoring of thought, use of tools and multiple strategies, and the communication of reasoning both orally and in writing.

Major Content:

 Our Number System: Identifying place value to the millions and thousandths and associated skills/concepts  All four operations: o multiplication and division with 4 digit numbers o all four operations with decimals to the hundredths o all four operations with fractions  Measurement, including volume  Graphing, including plotting points on a coordinate plane  Algebra

What Can You Do at Home?

1) Review your child’s work. Help as needed. (Please check your child’s folder every night to see if work needs to be corrected and returned.) 2) Allow your child to solve problems in ways that make sense to them. Feel free to share your thinking too. 3) Provide manipulatives – such as beans to count with, money – to help them work through problems as needed. 4) Encourage them to draw a picture, diagram or chart to help them solve a problem. 5) Encourage perseverance, flexibility, self-monitoring, organization, precision and neatness in their work. 6) Model enthusiasm for math and problem solving! (Working with them on the Brainteasers is one way to do this.) 7) Help your child apply the math they are learning in real life. 8) Help your child become fluent with their facts – multiplication and division are the focus! (xtramath.org; Check out the app store for fun math games!) 9) Help them find a place to work that is quiet and away from distractions. Plan a time for them to do their homework. Help them become independent in doing this and planning their time. 10) Let me know of any concerns you see at home with the homework.

Reader’s Workshop We will focus on reading and understanding both literary text (such as myths, legends, stories, dramas and poetry) and informational (nonfiction) text with an emphasis on integration within the content subjects. Students will be guided to closely analyze text as they explore the structure, content and craft of each. Students will build their stamina, and continue to develop their decoding and comprehension strategies, including visualization, using and extending what they know, inference, determining importance, monitoring comprehension, asking questions, summarizing and synthesizing. Students will be required to read closely (“like a detective”) and to defend their thinking both orally and in writing with clear evidence from the text. They will also read to understand and gather information for both short and longer research projects. I will provide both whole class and small-group instruction to address needs.

What Can You Do at Home?

1) Please make sure your child is reading. 2) Please make sure your child is reading a “just right” book that is not too easy or too hard (98-99 percent accuracy). 3) Read harder books to or with them. 4) Help your child become more independent with tracking their assignments and remembering to bring their planners and homework folders to school each day. 5) Encourage them to stick with a book until it is finished most of the time. 6) Encourage a variety of genres, fiction and nonfiction. 7) Ask them about what they are reading to gauge their comprehension. For example, “How would you describe the main character?” Have them defend and explain their opinion with specific examples. “What in the text proves that?” “Can you explain how that part of the text proves your point?” 8) Please let me know of any concerns you have with the homework.

Writer’s Workshop

People write to entertain, inform or persuade. We will write across the subject areas and for different purposes. Generally lessons will begin with a mini lesson and the students will work on their craft independently, with a partner or in small groups. We will focus on literary essays, expository essays, persuasive essays, research reports involving multimedia and memoir. There is emphasis on researching a topic for facts that strengthen one’s argument and explanation. As with reading, we will integrate writing within the content subjects, reading and math.

Word Study

We will be exploring how words work to help your child improve their decoding skills, spelling and vocabulary. Dedicated word study lessons will include explicit teaching and activities that will help students explore or extend the lessons. Once we have focused on a particular pattern, your child may bring home work to do with a set of words and may have an individualized list of words they will be expected to be able to spell correctly on a future assessment and in their writing. It also will include words culled from a list of frequently misspelled words your child does not yet spell correctly. Science

The emphasis in science is on both content and on scientific thinking and inquiry. We will be focusing on the following units of study:

1) Weather and Climate Change 2) Earth Science: Forces Shaping the Earth’s Surface (Inner Core, Erosion, Weathering, Rocks and Minerals) 3) Motion, Forces, Work and Simple Machines

Social Studies

The fifth grade curriculum focuses on maps/geography and why people settle where they do with an emphasis on the Western Hemisphere. We will learn about the United States, Canada, Mexico and a country in the Caribbean and South America with a focus on government, economics, history and culture. As we learn about history, we will investigate European explorers of the Western Hemisphere, native populations, and slavery. There will be many opportunities for individual/group inquiry-based projects and technological integration.

Birthdays

We will recognize your child’s special day in a variety of ways. We will sing Happy Birthday to your child during morning meeting time. Also, during that time your child will get first dibs on sharing something about their lives. We have a special gift and card for your child, as does the principal. If parents would like to bring/send in treats, please let us know ahead of time so we can schedule for it. Please send in a treat that can be easily distributed and eaten, as well as any necessary utensils and napkins. There are no nut allergies!

Volunteers

There are different ways you can volunteer in the classroom. If you have a hobby, skill or talent you would like to share with the class, we would love to learn from you! If you have been to a country in the Western Hemisphere we would love it if you came in and shared that with us. Photographs, souvenirs and stories are an extra bonus! I am sure the students would love to have a parent come in and read to them. It would be even more exciting if it were a surprise! Just let me know if there is a day and time that would work for you and I will fit you in our schedule. You can bring a book of your choice or I can provide one. I also may need help on occasion for a project, party or field trip.

Field Trips

10/19 Clearwater (teachers and students only, not an extended day) 10/24 Mohonk (chaperones needed) 10/25 Howes Cavern – extended day (limited chaperones) Bardavon (just teachers and students) Storm King (chaperones needed) FDR (chaperones needed) Norman Rockwell Museum – extended day (chaperones needed)

If you would like to chaperone one of the field trips, you will be able to indicate that interest on the permission slip sent home. We will need you! 

Parent/Teacher Conferences

We will have two conferences this year, in November and again in the spring. (Please sign up for fall conferences at Open House.)

State Tests

The state tests are given in April. Your child will be tested in Math and English/Language Arts. If you do not wish your child to take the tests, you need to write us a letter stating so before the tests begin.

Bottles (Fundraiser)

Questions?

Thank you for coming tonight!