DUNES FIELD TRIP POSTPONED

The decision has been made to postpone our field trip until Tuesday,  June 3.  Students will need to bring a sack lunch to school today.  Please call, text, or email friends who also need to know this important information!  Thanks!

Track and Field Day

Track and Field day has been cancelled for Friday, May 9. 

April 30, 2014

Tuesday, May 6, will be our Poetry Brunch.   This event will be held in our classroom.  We hope you can make it at 9:00 a.m. for the presentation!

Track and Field Day is scheduled for next week Friday, May 9.  Information regarding this event were sent home last Friday.  Please read over the details carefully with your child.  

Revolutionary War

http://revolution.mrdonn.org/games.html

March 14

I'm so sorry.... I mistakenly posted this to my personal blog earlier this week!  Here is the information you need for upcoming events.

Thank you all for coming to conferences last week.  It was great talking to all of the parents and having some of the students there as well.  I am looking forward to continuing to work with your children and finishing the year strong.  We will be having a few special days this month, so please take note of the following:

Destination Education Fridays - Students and staff are encouraged to wear shirts with college logos on Fridays in March as we will be exploring opportunities for education beyond the high school years. 

Early Colonies Day -   Wednesday, March 19.  Students are being asked to dress up for school as if they were children in the 1700's.  Much of the day will be spent learning more about how the early colonists lived.

Yellow Day - Fifth graders are celebrating (hopefully!) spring by wearing yellow on March 27.  Join the fun!!

Field Trip

OUR FIELD TRIP FOR FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28 HAS BEEN CANCELED.

February 23, 2014

Snow, snow, and more snow!  Due to the number of snow days we have had, I’ve had to make some adjustments in my plans.  Please take note of the following updates and as always, feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Field Trip:  We will be going on a field trip on Friday, February 28.  We were scheduled to attend the Grand Rapids Symphony and then head over to Calvin College.  Calvin informed us that they also had to make up some events that were cancelled due to weather and would no longer be able to host us.  We have been busy exploring possibilities of how we could use our time in the afternoon.  At this point, we are planning to visit Aquinas College for the p.m. portion of our field trip.  We also became aware of a grant opportunity that we may be able to utilize that would cover the cost of both bussing and lunch.  Hopefully we will have a response to our request on Monday.  As soon as we know if there will be a cost for your child, we will let you know.  Please have students dress nicely on Friday as they will be representing Hamilton Elementary at both the Symphony and Aquinas. 

Conferences:  Thank you to those of you who have responded to your scheduled conference time.  While I would really like the students to lead their own conference, we have not had enough time in the classroom to put together student led conferences.  Your child is invited and encouraged to join us at your scheduled time. 

Week of February 10, 2014

Math:  We will be wrapping up the fractions unit this week.  Due to all of the snow days, the unit has taken considerably longer than I would have liked, but these concepts are all critical learning in fifth grade.  I expect the review to take place on Tuesday and the test will be given on Thursday. 

Reading:   Our lessons will be focused on the skill of making inferences.  While learning this skill, we will also be learning about the Titanic. 

Writing:  We will begin the week learning more about how to write effective leads.  As the week progresses, students will begin writing a piece about a Terrible Day!

Social Studies:  We will continue learning about the early colonies. 

Field Trip Reminder:  We will be taking a field trip this week Wednesday to Grand Rapids.  All students should send in $5.00, dress appropriately for the weather, and have a cold lunch.  

Valentines Day:  We will NOT be having a party on Friday, Feb. 14

January 12, 2014

It was great to see the students again after a very long Christmas break.  We will be working hard over the next couple of weeks learning new concepts and  completing required mid year assessments. 

In math we are reviewing the following concepts:  single digit by 4 digit multiplication and double digit by double digit multiplication, long division with a single digit divisor, comparing fractions, adding and subtracting fractions with common denominators, and multiplying a whole number times a fraction.  These are all concepts that should be mastered at this point in time.  The biggest area of concern that I have is accuracy.  Students need be sure of the facts and also need to be reminded to work carefully.

In reading we will be studying some short articles and focusing on skills such as compare and contrast, summarizing, and using text to support answers to questions.  We are also enjoying the book Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.  This is a fantastic story about a fifth grade girl with Cerebral Palsy. 

In writing we are learning about commas and when to use them. 

Our Social Studies lessons will continue to focus on the colonies. 

Some upcoming dates to keep in mind:
January 14:  Mrs. Maxson has a meeting and will be out of the classroom in the morning
January 15:  Mrs. Maxson has a meeting all day and will be out of the building
January 16:  Students will be given the Dibels test
January 20:  Black and White day - everyone wear black and white!!
January 21:  Brainstormers will be visiting our school in the morning.  Try to avoid scheduling appointments because this is a really cool assembly!
January 22:  Students will take the Inquizit math screener
January 23:  Mrs. Maxson will be doing reading assessments with each individual student.  I will be out of the room all day.
January 24:  No School - teacher inservice day

February 12:  Field trip to Grand Rapids.  Please avoid scheduling appointments and look for more information to be sent home soon.

Spelling Bee

The fifth grade spelling bee was held on Thursday, January 9.  Congratulations to the winner, Zach Fitzwilliams and runner up, Jenna Fynwever!  Way to go!!

Snow Day!

Well, friends, happy snow day!  I just wanted to give you a heads up regarding eloquence day.  We are in the process of rescheduling it again, and hopefully we will be able to have our special day on Friday, January 10.

Stay warm and safe.  See you soon, I hope!!