Monday, November 24, 2014

Good morning parents!!!  Hope everyone was able to enjoy some of the beautiful weather we had yesterday!  This will be a short week so I will keep this simple:

In Math: we are finishing up numerical expressions and will be taking an assessment over it tomorrow.  Please remind your students of PEMDAS (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally or Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction).

In Science: We are beginning alternative energy resources.

In Social Studies: We have finished up the introduction to the creation of the Constitution and are now moving into the Bill of Rights.  The History Alive quiz on Ch. 15 will be Thurs., Dec. 4th after the break.

In reading, we are finishing up our magazines and moving into Author's Purpose.

Have a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving with your families! AND, to my fellow Aggies....see you at the A&M/LSU game Thursday night...Whoop!

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

We had a cold and busy week last week!  The students are plowing on and have seemed to gain some momentum into this last stretch before our holiday breaks! Everyone is working super duper hard.  Here are some of the things we are focusing on this week:

Math: We have finished up multiplying and dividing fractions. This week we are studying prime and composite numbers, divisibility rules, factors, and algebraic expressions using PEMDAS (parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtractions).

Science: We are finishing up fossil fuels this week and will be taking an assessment on Friday.  The homework for last week in StemScopes was reassigned for this week.  It is imperative that your student is logging on to StemScopes and reviewing their homework.  It is due on Friday.  There is a direct link between the students who do well on assessments with those who spend time on StemScopes.

Social Studies: We have been talking about the Constitution and are working in Ch. 14 of our History Alive books.  There will be a quiz on Friday.

ELAR: We are working on our first writing compositions this week to be due on Friday and is an expository piece.  We are focusing on main ideas and text features in reading to help us navigate non-fiction texts.

A few reminders:

Spirit Night is Tuesday, Nov. 19th at Genghis Grill in La Centerra.  Please come out between 4-8 and support Huggins. It can be dine-in or carry-out!

Next week is a short week as we let out for the Thanksgiving holidays on Tuesday afternoon.  Both Monday and Tuesday are regular school days,

With the cold weather, just a reminder---jackets must be in dress code in order to be worn inside the building.  All other jackets will only be allowed outside.

Have a great week!

Monday, November 10, 2014

Good morning to my 5th grade family!  I hope everyone had a FANTASTIC weekend and was able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and our Fall Carnival.  It was a lot of fun and seeing everyone come out to make it a success was awesome!  Here are a few reminders for the week:

Math: Just when y'all were getting the hang of fraction multiplication we are switching gears and are now diving into division with fractions.  Now I know you will see the homework and want to show your students the "old" way or the way we were taught but please, please, please resist.  We are teaching them using models and pictures which is a requirement from the state. I promise though, now that they have all gotten the hang of multiplication, the introduction to division this morning was a breeze!  FYI: THE ENTIRE CLASS rocked the multiplication with fractions test last Friday with most making A's and a few B's!!!  I am so proud of them.  The entire test was nothing but pictures and models so I know they have aced this conceptual method of multiplication!  I hope that the videos are helping you to understand at home. 

Science: In science we are discussing the formation of fossil fuels and how it is important to conserve!  Their homework for the week is in StemScopes and there are 3 different activities assigned.  They are due on Friday.

Social Studies: We are taking a Ch. 8 test on Wed. over the road to the American Revolution.  On Thursday we are switching back to the History Alive book and will be starting Ch. 14, the Constitution.

ELAR: This week we are starting our 1st composition for the 2nd nine weeks and it will be an expository piece.  In reading we are discussing main ideas and the details that support them.

Don't forget:

Tomorrow is our 4th/5th grade Veteran's Day Program at 1:30 and 6.

Thursday morning is "Coffee with the Principal" and the monthly FOH meeting.

Thursday evening is our Open House from 6 - 7:30.

Thank you and have an awesome week!


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Just a few reminders and happenings this week in 5th grade:

Math: We are still studying fractions and this week are multiplying fractions by a whole number.  I have a video ready to post to assist you in helping your student with their homework.  Lots of new methods are being taught and your fifth graders are working hard! Below I have added the anchor chart to show you all of the methods we use to multiply fractions.  Any method is fine, as long as they are using them!

Science: We are finishing up "Changes to Land" and will be testing this week over it.  Your students have notes in their journals on weathering, erosion, and deposition and they also have assignments in Stemscopes to study.  Please make sure they are signing on each week and doing their science homework.  It is assigned on Mondays and due on Fridays.

Social Studies: We have been working on memorizing the Preamble and it is a major grade.  We have taken a more in-depth look at the road to the American Revolution and have been utilizing our big social studies book.

Reading: We have studied text structures and now talking about text features in reading.  In ELA, we are discussing expository writing and different parts of speech.

***Thursday and Friday are Early Dismissal days for parent-teacher conferences.  I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of y'all for having 100% participation.  I look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday.

***Saturday from 1 - 5 p.m. is our annual Fall Carnival.  We will have 2 fifth grade games set up and we are in need of parent volunteers to man our games.  A SignUp Genius email will go out soon with time slots.