Archive of ‘News from Mrs. Walenta’ category

Tidbits!

  • penguin
  • Please remember to be reading 150 minutes a week at home and turning in your reading logs! To become a better reader..READ!
  • Our class store is VERY low on supplies. If you are out and about it would be great to have some donations for our store! 🙂
  • Our class is always happy to accept book donations. If you have any books in your home library that are not read anymore. We would love them.
  • The weather forecast is saying that snow is on the way this week. Please make sure you have the correct clothing for COLD weather!
Have a great weekend!

Class Update!

 

Miscellaneous: We can hardly believe we are already into the 2013 part of our school year.  With the new year we are thinking about all the activities that the Spring brings.  We would like to remind you that Camp fees are due by February 28.  You are welcome to turn in the balance anytime prior to this date.  If you need a reminder of what your balance is, feel free to contact me.  The sooner, the better.  

The kids are excited, and we are extremely thankful for the newest purchase made due to the graciousness of Georgetown’s Parent’s Club.  Last week we obtained three Ipad mini’s for 5th grade.  We have been actively using these tools in our classrooms, and look forward to using them even more as the year progresses.  Look for upcoming posts that show these wonderful devices in use!  Thank you so much parents!

Math: Last week we reviewed how to make equivalent fractions, how to convert improper fractions to mixed numbers, and how to convert mixed numbers to improper fractions. This week our focus will be adding and subtracting mixed numbers with common denominators and adding and subtracting numbers with unlike denominators.

ELA:  
We have started a unit on informational writing.  First we read and studied mentor texts pertaining to informational writing by looking at how the information is presented along with certain text features (graphs, pictures, charts, etc.).  Then we chose a topic that we know a lot about or could teach other students and began planning out our entries.  This week we will continue planning our subcategories and gathering our evidence for publishing.

Social Studies: We just wrapped up our study of the early English colony of Roanoke and Jamestown.  This upcoming week our focus will be on the the geographical, economical, and climate features of the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies of England. We will learn how these, and other features contributed to the prosperity of the original thirteen colonies.

Science: We have begun our Life Science unit on Body Systems.  We have already finished the Digestive System. This week we will continue with the Circulatory System and then move into the Respiratory System.  We will take a quiz to wrap up each System for a total of 8 systems.  We will continue to update the blogs with any information about homework or quizzes.  Our goal is to identify the general purposes of each system and explain how they work together.

**Watch out for quiz #2 on the Circulatory System this Tuesday.  You should know: it’s purpose, what it carries, how many chambers the heart has, what the upper and lower chambers of the heart are called, and the difference between arteries, veins, and capillaries.

Science

Greetings

We have science homework tonight (Wednesday) that is due tomorrow (Thursday) about the Digestive System.  Please read the two pages and then answer the 6 questions that follow.

Next Monday, Jan. 14, we will be having a quiz covering the Digestive System.  It will include: what is its purpose/function, describe a trip through the system, and what is the purpose of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, gall bladder, and pancreas.

Happy Studying

Field Trip Information

 

 

We will be heading to the Grand Rapids Public Museum and Planetarium this Friday, Jan. 11th. We will leave school at 9:15 and return at 2:00. Please send a totally disposable sack lunch with your child on Friday. In addition, please do not send any spending money with the children. We will not be able to buy food  nor have time to go to the souvenir shop. We are hoping that all of the 5th graders will wear their 5th grade celebration t-shirt on Friday!  It would be fun to see all the children in matching shirts! 🙂 If you have any questions please let me know.

New Year Update! :)

 

Happy New Year to All!

I hope that this break has been relaxing and full of happy memories! I am looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

  • Please remember to bring in your reading logs! The students should have read 150 minutes over the past 3 weeks! Hopefully we will start the new year out on a positive note by all handing this in! 🙂
  • I am asking that you try to get to the Public Library by Wed. Jan 9th and check out 2 Non-fiction informational texts. (Such as books about the rainforest, Solar System, Human Body systems, Mammals etc.) Please choose books that are of interest to you as well as a good fit book which is leveled at about your reading level. We will be using these texts for ELA the next few weeks. Thank you!
  • Monday we will blog an update with final information about our field trip on this Friday!

Here’s to a Happy 2013! 🙂

Reminders!

  • The candy cane sale is continuing this week. The students may order a candy cane for $1.00. Proceeds help support 5th grade camp and celebration!
  • Please remember to bring in your ornament for the holiday party by Friday of this week.
  • We will be having a pizza party to celebrate the students’ hard work during our SAVE program. Today a red paper is coming home for the students to order their pizza for lunch on Wed. If they wish to order pizza it is a $1.00 per slice. The students may bring a sack lunch or go grab their hot lunch and join the classroom if they do not want to order pizza. Everyone is responsible to bring their own beverage. No pop please!
  • I told the students today that the reading log coming home today is due when they come back in January! They have 3 weeks to read 150 minutes! 🙂
  • A reminder that we will be having a social studies test tomorrow and a science test on Thursday. Please study the review sheets!

What’s Happening the Week of December 17th

 

We will have a very busy week! I am sure the students will be full of extra energy the closer the holiday approaches! 🙂

Tidbits for you to be aware of:

  • We will go bowling on Tuesday, Dec. 18th for winning the PE cares food drive. We will eat an early lunch and be gone from school from 12:00-2:00!
  • Please remember to have the students bring in a wrapped ornament $5 or less to exchange at the holiday party. Our party will be on Friday Dec. 21st from 2-3 o’clock. Thank you in advance to the parents who have been working hard to make this a fun event for our class!
  • If you have not sent in your $3.00 for the planetarium it is due on Monday Dec. 17th. Thank you!
  • The students will have a social studies test on Tuesday, Dec 18th and a science test over the night sky on Thursday Dec. 20th. Look for a study guide to come home today or Monday to study for these tests!
  • Have the students go through their closets and bring in any old/unused items for our auction on Friday, Dec. 21st. Another persons junk is another’s treasure. Thank you! 🙂

What’s Coming Up-Week of December 3


Miscellaneous:

Mrs. Walenta’s class received a book order yesterday. Please turn these in by Wed. Dec. 5th. I hope to have these back before break. 

The holidays are quickly approaching and with that comes our annual 5th grade Candy Cane sale. Next week posters advertising the sale will be going up around Georgetown.  Beginning December 10, staff, students and parents can purchase a Candy cane for $1.00. This sale helps fund 5th grade camp and 5th grade Celebration.  We are hoping to have another successful sale!

Also, just around the corner is Georgetown’s Santa Shop!  This will give the students an opportunity to shop for their family in a safe controlled environment.  This year our sale begins the week of December 11th.  Check your teacher’s blog for specific dates and times.

Math: This week in math we are finishing up our unit on decimals. We will be having our final test on Tuesday, December 4. This test will include writing numbers from words, comparing decimals, add/subtracting whole numbers and decimals, along with reading line graphs. We will begin our next unit toward the end of the week, Thursday or Friday. This unit will include the geometrical features: circles, polygons, and angles. We will finish this unit before holiday break.

ELA:
Our book clubs are wrapping up and we are continuing our study of interpretive essays.  This week we are working on our rough drafts.

Social Studies:
Our week begins with a quick quiz checking our understanding on Ancient African Empires.  Then we will move directly into our study of early exploration.  The kids will be learning about who some of the early explorers were, the countries they represented, their motives for exploration, and the effects that their exploration had on the peoples of the newly found land.

Science: We are continuing our study of Objects in the Sky. We are in preparation for the final test coming in the near future. There will be a blog post that will tell you when the final test will be and what to study. Be sure to keep your eyes open for this date. We have also booked our trip to the Planetarium. It will be in January 11th, more details to come before break.

Tidbits

1. Our class will be going bowling on Tuesday, December 18th in the afternoon because we won PE cares. We will leave here at 12:00 and return at 2:00. We are looking forward to a fun classroom event! 🙂

 

2.Mrs. Reagan wanted to get this information out to you right away so you can watch the program on TV.

Georgetown’s Holiday Program will be aired TONIGHT on WCET at 6:00.  It will also be on Saturday at 4:00.  The cable stations are as follows:
Comcast:  Channel 25
Charter:  Channel 97
ATT Uverse:  Channel 99 to get to menu and select Hudsonville

Have a good evening  : )

Tidbits!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving and got a chance to relax.

  • Now that we are 1/3 of the way into the school year I am changing how the reading logs will be working each week. I am hoping to make reading a habit to help bridge the kids for reading homework each night in 6th grade.  Beginning this week (Nov.26) students will be required to turn in their reading log by Tuesday the following week.  Students will earn one Smile Buck for turning the reading log in on time with 100-149 minutes and earn another Smile Buck for reading 150 minutes or more.  If students do not turn in their reading log by the following Tuesday they will be required to pay 5 Smile Bucks to me.  Research proves that the more students read the more they will make progress in this skill. I know and understand that kids have extracurricular activities in which they participate, however; they should still be able to plan out the week and set aside time to do their reading homework.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this reading requirement.  Thanks for all your help in this matter.

  • Don’t forget that our Holiday Program is tomorrow at Fair Haven Ministries. Program begins at 7:45, be at the church at 7:30. The 5th grade will be meeting in the Family Life Center. It is the big room on the far east side of the building.

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