Learn it. Live it. EVERY DAY! Mrs. Gossett’s Fifth Grade South Shades Crest Elementary www.bgossett.wiki.hoover.k12.al.us
Save the Date
CLASS HAPPENINGS
October 14, 2010
Dear Parents,
Curriculum News
First nine weeks report cards were sent home yesterday. I hope you took the opportunity to review the report card with your child and discuss your child’s self assessment for the first nine weeks. I am excited about what we accomplished this nine weeks and look forward to more challenging experiences during the second nine weeks!
Reading We have kicked off one of my favorite genre studies of the year...Mysteries! Together, we are working to discover what is a mystery and what are the characteristics of a mystery. This is a wonderful unit that encourages students to make inferences about characters, their actions, and their motivations. It also refines the ability to identify important details in a text. We are reading mysteries together in class. In addition, students are being asked to read chapter book mysteries during their independent reading time.
Information about the December Dauphin Island field trip went home today! We will be leaving early on Wednesday morning, December 1st. We will return later in the afternoon/early evening on Thursday, December 2nd. The cost for this trip is $103.00 per student. A payment plan has been set-up for your convenience. The payment plan states that students will pay $50.00 on Thursday, October 28th and $53.00 on November 18th. Final payment is due no later than November 18th. Chaperones will be required for this trip. At this time, ALL fifth grade teachers are asking for interested parent chaperones to submit a form expressing interest by Friday, October 22nd. This form will be sent home via hard copy, but you can also find a copy of the form on our class wiki. We are awaiting final confirmation of how many chaperones can accompany each class on the trip. Once this is known, each class will draw names to choose chaperones for the trip. Please return your field trip form as soon as possible so we know your child will be attending. We are looking forward to an AMAZING trip! In closing, I’d like to give a quick shout out to our wonderful parent chaperones for the Montgomery Field Trip. A BIG thank you to Gigi Pate and Christy and Ryan Rafferty for joining us on our trip! Look for photos on the wiki soon! Thanks! Mrs. Gossett bgossett@hoover.k12.al.us 205-439-3000
Math We have entered Unit 2 of Investigations Math, Prisms and Pyramids. This is a super fun unit about geometry. Students are involved in hands-on learning while learning about the volume of a rectangular prism. For more information about this unit, read the Unit 2 Family Letter, including the Related Activities to Try at Home. These are also available on the wiki home page. Science/Social Studies Our class just wrapped up the first rotation in Science studying cells and the human body. The students will return to me for the next 4 1/2 weeks to begin the next Social Studies rotation. We will begin a new unit on Westward Expansion and the Industrial Revolution. Writing/Language Arts Grammar Bootcamp is moving right along! Now that we understand and can identify nouns and verbs, the students can apply that knowledge to understanding what a subject is and what a predicate is. We are currently studying adjectives and will continue with Bootcamp throughout the second nine weeks. We will add in some writing components this nine weeks as well. Spelling/Vocabulary We will continue a bi-weekly rotation of Spelling and Vocabulary Units.
“Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.” - General George S. Patton -
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October 26, 2010 6:00 p.m. Parent Information Meeting for Camp McDowell Field Trip (February 23 - 25, 2011) December 1 - 2, 2010 Dauphin Island Field Trip Student Cost $103.00 Chaperone Cost $56.50
Reminders Boo Grams Boo Grams are on sale! Send a friendly Halloween treat and support our 5th Grade Fundraiser! Boo Grams are 25 cents each and may be purchased until October 25th. Because the Boo Grams are part of a 5th Grade Fundraiser, we are asking for your help with donations of bags of individually wrapped pieces of candy. Thanks!
PTO Gift Wrap PTO Gift Wrap Orders are here! Pick up times are 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Music News Students will begin using recorders next week, so please help your child to remember to bring his/her recorder to school next Wednesday, October 20th.