Quarter 1 Week 4

This week in 5th grade:

History

This week in history, we will be continuing our new unit on World Lakes. Students will learn about the lakes of Africa and South America. Students will also be taking several short quizzes and creating postcards about a lake of their choosing. We will end the week with lakes of North America.

Science
Students will be learning about the engineering process. We will be discovering independent and dependent variables through the engineering of a “mint mobile”. There will be a short quiz on Tuesday covering the vocabulary words hypothesis, control variable, and experimental variable.

Math
Thank you so much to the parents who volunteered their time to get our math groups up and running.  They were a success thanks to you!  We will begin our next unit covering order of operations, mental math and the distributive property on Monday.

Language Arts
In writing and grammar this week we will be learning to diagram, identify, and label prepositions and prepositional phrases.  We will also be having a test over all of the parts of speech we have studied this year on Friday.  In Literature we are enjoying reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader and discussing how characters can change over time.  We will be completing the majority of our Spalding notebook set-up and will continue to receive new words on Mondays and Tuesdays, and will take a test over those words on Thursday.  Make sure to keep reviewing our newest roots for the quiz on Wednesday and to work on memorizing our poem “Some Opposites (Due next Monday).”

Quarter 1 Week 3

This Week in 5th Grade:

Science

Students will be applying their knowledge of scientific investigation, once again, in an interactive science experiment. Through this week’s lab they will learn how to share their scientific findings with others. The following week, we will be doing an engineering lab to explore dependent and independent variables. I am requesting donations of a few materials. Please follow the sign-up genius link if you are willing to donate. I need the materials by August 26th. Thanks! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4da4ae2fa0fe3-science

History

This week, students will be preparing for their first unit test on Spacial Sense. The unit test is on Wednesday in their homerooms. We will be studying U.S. geography throughout the year. Originally, this is all supposed to be one unit in May, but we have split it up into different regions. Students will start with an introduction lesson this week, with more lessons between units. We will have periodic quizzes and a final exam toward the end of the year. We will also start their new unit, World Lakes, on Friday. We will be looking into the major lakes of Africa.

ELA

In writing and grammar this week we will be taking a break from grammar and focusing on writing summaries.  We will be reading both narrative and expository texts and will develop a well written summary of six to seven sentences.

Math

We will be working on multiplying and dividing large numbers. There will be a unit test on Friday covering everything we have learned so far in 5th grade.

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You are cordially invited to our Curriculum Night events, taking place on Wednesday, August 24th (grades 3-5). The event starts at 6:00 p.m. in the Arete gymnasium, with opening remarks from Mr. Gillingham, Ms. Pantalena, and Mrs. Mason. 

The purpose of this event is to acquaint you with the school's curriculum and individual classroom procedures across all grade levels. Teachers will give parents an opportunity to ask questions. (Please note, this is a parent only event.) We look forward to seeing you there!

Schedule

3-5 Curriculum Night: Wednesday, August 24th

Curriculum Night Schedule

6:00-6:25	Welcome and opening remarks in gym (Mr. Gillingham, Ms. Pantalena, and Mrs. Mason)
	A-L	M-Z
6:30-7:10	Homeroom	Specials in MPR
7:15-7:55	Specials in MPR	Homeroom

Quarter 1 Week 2

Hello Wonderful 5B Parents!

It has been a wonderful start to the year in fifth grade. We have a wonderful class and I am truly excited about the adventures to come. I have just a few announcements and reminders:

1. Math tutoring will be held every Wednesday from 2:05-2:45. Please let me know if I should expect your child to stay for tutoring. Additionally, please be in the car line no later than 2:45 because I must attend the staff meeting which begins promptly at 2:50. Thank you in advance for your courtesy.

2. Curriculum night is coming up next week on Wednesday the 24th. Please mark your calendars and plan on attending that evening. Students should not be in attendance that night so please make arrangements as needed.

This week in fifth grade:

Language Arts:
This week in ELA we will be reviewing nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives in grammar, and will practice diagramming basic sentences.  In Spalding we will continue to set up our notebook and will have our first test on Thursday.  This year students will have 15 words to practice on Monday and Tuesday and we will test over the list on Thursdays.  We are already enjoying reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and will continue to read and annotate in class this week.  Wednesdays we will take a short quiz to review the last four roots we have studied in class.  Students will be responsible for knowing the meaning of the root as well as an example of a derivative.  

Science:
In science we are exploring the scientific method through experimental observations. You may have heard about our penny lab last week. This week we have another interactive project planned that will give the students insight into the importance of variables. 

History:

In History, students will be continuing their study of World Geography. Students will: 

-Plot coordinates using longitude and latitude lines 

-Discuss the time zones in relation to the International Date Line

-Create globes out of balloons, labeling the important imaginary lines of the world

-Prepare for a vocabulary quiz

We will have many short, low-stakes quizzes in history (usually two per week, lasting no more than 5 minutes) to solidify learning. Students will take their first unit test on Monday, August 22^nd.

Math:

In Mathematics we are working on place value, approximation, estimation, factors, multiples, and learning a new skill- prime factorization. Please check over your students math homework every night, if you are able, to ensure that they are taking the time to practice these skills correctly at home. 

Welcome!

Greetings 5B Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to Fifth Grade! I am so excited you are joining my class this school year. As a Great Hearts teacher my classroom culture is joyful and dedicated to virtue, and academic rigor. We will spend time reading imaginative and awe-inspiring literature, discussing deep questions, and persevering through challenges. I look forward to watching your students grow into virtuous leaders and lovers of learning who enthusiastically embrace the good, true, and beautiful. 

This will be my third year teaching at Arete. In addition to my time working with fourth graders, I received a Bachelors Degree with High Distinction from the University of Virginia. At the University, I double majored in Religious Studies, focusing on Christianity and Islam, and in Italian Studies. It was through the Religious Studies Department that I participated in the Distinguished Majors Program, in which I wrote a research thesis on pneumatology in early Syriac baptismal liturgy. At the University, I also worked closely under Dr. Vigen Guroian, a Children’s Literature consultant for Great Hearts Academies, who personally recommended me for my position at Archway. Moving to Arizona to teach at Archway Arete was the best decision of my life. It was here that I met my husband and found a wonderful community of friends and family. When I am not teaching, my husband and I love going Diamondbacks and Suns games and we are especially excited to be attending the NCAA finals next year here in Phoenix. We also love hiking when the weather is cool, visiting the Gilbert Farmer’s Market, and catching the latest blockbuster. We have a dog named Coco who loves to go on adventures with us all over town. I can’t wait to begin this school year, and to get to know all of you!

Throughout the year, I hope that we will stay in close contact in order to best care for your child. You can reach me easily through email at lprestipino@archwayarete.org. Additionally, I will maintain a classroom blog (stapleton5b.blogspot.com) where you can find information about upcoming tests and classroom events. I recommend you use the “follow my blog” widget on the right side bar so that you receive an email when the blog is updated. I look forward to getting to know you and your child at Meet the Teacher night this Thursday.

Respectfully yours,

Mrs. Stapleton

Greetings,

           

My name is Jared Holmberg and I am Mrs. Stapleton’s 5^th Grade Teaching Assistant. I am so excited to meet you this evening, as I am here to help Mrs. Stapleton give your child the best education they can receive. I am truly honored to have the privilege of investing my resources into your child’s education. I anticipate that we’ll have a marvelous year together!

           

I hope to meet you tonight, but before then, I want to provide you with a short description of who I am. For the last five years, I have been a student athlete at Cornerstone University (Grand Rapids, MI). During my time at Cornerstone, I studied history and literature and competed on nationally ranked Cross Country and Track and Field teams. The last 5 years have been a period of excellent growth in my life where I have acquired a deep passion for those disciplines and athletics. During that time, I have also gained a love for recreational activities such as hiking, biking, swimming, and travelling.

           

My previous experience in teaching involves teacher-assisting College World History courses along with Children and College ministries. I can’t wait to bring my experience and passions in to the classroom to inspire your child with a sense of wonder and depth of inquiry.

My best to you,

Jared Holmberg