Dear Parents and Guardians,
After two weeks of school, we are closer to being back in the rhythm of school. Hopefully, students are getting better at getting up and arriving at school on time. We appreciate your help each and every morning. Thank you for your support in checking your child’s homework each night! It is crucial they stay current with the homework and assignments in 5th grade.
We often make time for a healthy snack before lunch. Students can bring their own snack to eat. We also gladly accept donations of healthy snacks to share with the class.
We have updated our email list to include all the email information you sent us on our forms. If there is a family member that is still not receiving our update, please let us know and we will add the new email.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email either of us: Ms. Wolff at lwolff@laveeneld.org and Mr. Bender at ebender@laveeneld.org.
Just a reminder: NO SCHOOL this Wednesday, August 22nd!
Thanks!
Reading: We have been working on identifying the components of Plot in any story and will continue to do so next week as well! The students will be taking a Vocabulary Quiz on the 7 words from the first story on Tuesday. We have been reviewing daily and they know to study the definitions and parts of speech of each word.
Spelling: At the beginning of each week, we will take a Spelling Pretest. The students are to study the words and complete a Spelling Packet during the week at home. The Spelling Packet is typically due on Friday, the same day that they will take the Spelling Test. Please ensure they are completing the homework and also studying their words to be successful!
Reading Logs: Reading Logs will be introduced next week. They are required to read for 20 minutes a night, for a total of 4 nights. In addition, they will write a 3 sentence summary and get your signature! Be on the lookout for the log.
Science: We will start off by learning about the human body and its systems.
Math: This week in math we will be working on understanding decimal place value and how to order numbers through the thousandths place. Please look for math homework Monday through Thursday of this week on paper, called My Math Homework. Beginning after Galileo (next week), math homework will be online only.
Social Studies: We will be diving into our online curriculum, Discovery Education, to learn more about exploration of North America and its colonization.
Mr.Pitts (Music): Students have begun learning a piece of music while using African drums. The piece had two different sections and we started talking about Form (tracking musical patterns) and how to use it in a musical context. Students identified the form of the piece and we slowly added instruments through notational practice. Students will be asked to add a new section of the piece next week and connect it to the form (identifying the form and labeling the new section).
.
The Panther P.A.C.T.:
Here at Trailside we follow the Panther P.A.C.T. The P.A.C.T. stands for Personal best, Accountable, Critical thinker, and Tolerant. It is a proactive approach to establishing the behavioral supports and social culture needed for all students in a school to achieve social, emotional, and academic success.
Personal Best: Personal best means putting forth 100% effort into work and home responsibilities.
Accountable: Accountable means being responsible and accomplishing tasks. If you say you are going to do it, you do it in the time allocated.
Critical Thinker: Critical Thinker means being a problem solver and making every effort to independently find appropriate solutions to problems that come up.
Tolerance: Tolerance means being patient, accepting, and understanding of others and their situations. Put yourself in other person’s shoes.
How to use the P.A.C.T. at home:
It is beneficial to have common language between home and school to reinforce positive behaviors in all aspects of the student’s life.
Examples and importance of using the P.A.C.T.
Personal Best: “I can see you have done your personal best by helping wash the dishes.”
Accountable: “I can see you were being accountable by completing your homework.”
Critical Thinker: “I am proud of you for being a critical thinker when determining which items were garbage, and which were recyclable.”
Tolerant: “Great job being tolerant of your siblings when they were trying to finish their homework.”
Students can spend panther bucks that they earn throughout the week at the panther store. Items for purchase are pizza with the principals, week of dress down, help a teacher pass, among other examples. The panther store will be open to students on Wednesdays and Fridays.