Blog Entries

Tonight we have some guest blog authors:

Hopes and Dreams by Sydney and Millinda

Our class has been working on our hopes and dreams for fifth grade for the past few days.  Our hopes and dreams include:
"To get better at writing." - Grace
"To learn how to divide decimals." - Will
"To get better at reading." - Eme
"To get better at writing and math." - Maggie
"Being confident through a math test." - Jake
"Getting better at reading one book at a time." - Alessandro
"Reading a variety of different books." - Sydney

Our class's goal is to achieve our hopes and dreams by the end of fifth grade.  Some of our ways to achieve our goals are...
"Being quiet after a test." - Millinda
"Listening to the teacher." - Jayden

Setting a goal is important because after you achieve your goal you feel really proud.

Welcome!

Welcome new parents of 5MC!!!
First of all, thank you so very much for filling out that massive pile of paperwork that came home last night!  We've never had such an outstanding return rate on the first day of school!  Mrs. Pamboukes personally came down and thanked us for the various health forms that were returned.  It really makes our jobs easier not having to nag children about them.
Secondly, we are just having a ball with your kids so far.  It's been really hot in the classroom, but they are still working hard at whatever task we ask them to accomplish.  The beginning of the year is filled with learning and practicing routines, and working on cooperation so that the rest of the year goes smoothly.  It's fun getting to know each of these children and watching how they work together.
Feel free to ask your child about the silent challenges, summer learning, and timelines they've been working on.

Our special schedule this year is as follows:
Monday - Art
Tuesday - Art *rotating special day
Wednesday - Music
Thursday - Gym
Friday - Library

Thanks also for all the school supplies you sent in with your children, along with the boxes of tissues and Clorox wipes!  We appreciate it!

Gratefully,
Mrs. McGuigan and Mrs. Carr

Persuasive Writing

We have begun a new writing unit of study on Research-Based Persuasive writing.  To kick it off, we have talked about the controversy surrounding chocolate milk being served in the cafeteria.  Students read an email from Mr. Shea about whether we should ban chocolate milk or not.  We then learned to not form an opinion on the matter until we researched the facts.  Naturally, the next step was to research the nutritional value of the chocolate milk and compare it to white milk and to other beverage choices.
At this point, students were able to form an opinion on whether they thought chocolate milk should be banned.  They formed a thesis and supported their thesis with two or three reasons based on data.  Students then wrote letters to Mr. Shea to let him know what they thought about serving chocolate milk.  We are finishing up our letters and then we'll begin doing a little research on a different topic that they are passionate about.

Important Dates to Remember:
5/15 Gundalow field trip (permission slip sent home today)
5/29 Boston field trip
6/9-6/13 Environmental School at Seacoast Science Center

Circus News

Hello parents of the 5MC classroom!  I'm sure your kids have come home very excited and telling you about the circus!  Gary the Clown dedicates his time for two weeks a year helping kids learn circus skills.  As a fifth grader, your child is able to be in this year's circus if they have good behavior, do their homework, and read 30 minutes each night.  This year's circus will take place in the gym on Friday, April 25th at 9:15.  - by Rory L.

Circus News

You may walk by the gym and you might hear screams of joy.  That's because we are enjoying revealing our talents.  We all love doing the trapeze, spinning plates, or doing stilts (except for Aidan).  Everybody enjoys spending time with Gary and having free time.  We all enjoy learning new stuff to then perfect.  Everybody loves Gary and they all respect him.  So overall, we all think he is awesome!
-by Marcello S.

Writing/Boston

Our little writers have been extremely busy working on their informational books on the American Revolution!  When they are done, most will have completed five different "chapters" in their books on their particular topic.  Each student became the resident expert on a subject and their goal is to teach the rest of us all about it.  I've been very impressed with their ability to sustain their energy throughout the tasks of reading and researching, note-taking, and then writing a chapter at a time.  This is the first major research that they've done on a historical topic.  We will be preparing to share them in some fashion, around the time of our trip to Boston on May 29th!  Stay tuned for more information about that field trip.

5MC Update

Our maple syrup project is going great, thanks to all of you and to Mr. Whisler, of course!  This week we've been checking on our maple trees in the New Franklin yard.  The kids have been making observations about the weather and how much sap has been collected each day.  Mr. Whisler already has many bottles of syrup; we're just waiting for the labels to be ready from the printer and then we'll start selling.  It's very exciting to have the kids involved in this maple business.