As this week went by, there were many moments that made us thrilled by the students’ initiative. There was a spark of an idea for a newspaper that would be made by the students and for the students. A group of 7th graders made it come to life, they put in the work and even interviewed students for certain segments. The 5th graders have had so much determination to do well on their midterm assessments, that they have had many group study sessions whenever they can find the time. Their actions are inspiring!

Here’s a look at what is happening in each of the classes:


What’s happening in Science?
Fifth graders explored the world of plants deeply this week! We had a blast at James Island County Park…learning about the plants, animals, and abiotic factors that make it so productive! In the lab at school, they learned about germination and how plants are able to feed themselves without photosynthesis when the embryo breaks out of its dormancy. They dissected flowers to see how plants sexually reproduce to make new seeds. Fifth graders also continued to work on researching their chosen plant that changed history. They will present their findings to the class through cartoons, slides, and posters.

What’s up in ELA?

This week, your fifth graders delved into writing literary essays. They were able to identify the thesis claim of a literary essay and identify reasons and supporting evidence. Students also worked on Grammar Week 11, learning four new vocabulary words and identifying prepositions and prepositional phrases. They also started back on their reading logs. I will be checking reading logs daily, so please make sure they are completing a reading log activity. Reading log activities are used to assess comprehension, grammar skills, and citations. They will be collected on Fridays and returned on Mondays along with rubrics. Please don’t forget to sign their rubrics.


What’s going on in Math?

This week, 5th graders have explored more decimals. We have rounded to whole numbers, tenths, and hundredths. Students are able to use a number line to determine how to round numbers with a visual representation. We compared decimals in the context of races and winners’ times. Students took a Section A Checkpoint on Thursday and we started operations with decimals today. Students are practicing lining up the decimal in order to add.

What’s happening in Social Studies?
What an exciting week for the 5th grade! Fifth grade studied hard and accomplished so much this week! I am proud of the hard work shown by these students as they prepared to take their midterm assessment. On Thursday the students were assessed over all of the units we have covered thus far.

Next week, the students will be going across the Atlantic and start looking into European History. Students will be diving into early European cultures and then start to research a Greek God or Goddess to present to the class.


Important Dates:

January 16th: MLK Day-no school
February 20-21 – February Break (No School)