With the weather getting colder and the prospect of snow this weekend, it reminds me of being in middle school. Growing up in New England, whenever the weather was looking like snow we would all think the same thing… SNOW DAY! Being able to play outside, building forts or sledding, the snow was an excuse to play outside with friends. These days, I’ll admit I look forward to staying inside during the cold! Still, as I look back on my time playing in the snow, I hope that this will be a good time for families and friends to possibly enjoy feeling young out in the snow and enjoy time together after, warming up with hot chocolate!
-Kevin
Upcoming Dates:
- February 13 – Valentine’s Day Bake Sale and Bingo (1:30pm)
- February 16-17 – February Break (No School)
- Please fill out this form for James Island County Parks. We will be doing PE there starting in February!
- February 27 – Middle School Dance
ELA: 5th grade began an exciting new argumentative writing unit this week. We looked at various texts, videos, and a student’s essay around the question of chocolate milk (healthy treat or yet another sugary snack?). With this model of argument and research in mind, writers were then tasked with selecting their “G.O.A.T” or greatest of all time in a field of their choice. They began broad research to find 2-3 worthy candidates in their field. From female scientists, to hockey players, to visual artists, and video games, 5th graders are on the hunt for the greats across so many topics!
Next week, 5th grade will narrow their research to two prime candidates for GOAT in their chosen topic. Despite personal opinions, we will practice the art of gathering all information about each person before forming a claim for our paper. Rather than the usual switch to vocab, students will continue grammar studies to account for a larger unit that we have split into two parts.
Science: This week in Science, our 5th graders revisited plant vascular systems by investigating how the presence of leaves affects water movement through a plant. Students placed celery with and without leaves into vials of water and measured the remaining water the following day. Through careful observation and discussion, they discovered that water escapes through the leaves, leading to an introduction to stomata.
Students also revised their circulatory and respiratory system postcards, deepening their understanding through reflection and revision.
Next week, students will take a quiz on transport systems on Wednesday, February 4th, and begin investigating sensory systems by testing reflexes, continuing their exploration of how the body responds to the world around it.
Social Studies: Fifth had a great week this week working on our class project, becoming the European Union! Using the country they did their project on, we have had mock debates on issues the EU have been discussing and they have gotten to see how these meetings work! NExt Thursday is their test on Europe. They have the study guide and all notes are found on google classroom
Math: This week in math, the 5th graders dove into unit 6 which combines fraction and decimal operations into multistep problems – relating them to metric conversions, powers of ten, exponential functions, etc. Specifically this week, we applied patterns of multiplying and dividing by ten to help us convert between metric units, and comparing products and dividends to help us convert between customary units. Next week, we’re going to head back into fractions with addition and subtraction. So far, we’ve mastered multiplying and dividing them, and we’ll use this mastery to help us find equivalent fractions to obtain a common denominator.
