The first frost, paired with Daylight Savings, always kickstarts my urges to move more slowly, choose the cozier evenings, and rest when I could keep going. It’s hard to keep moving full steam ahead – especially during the busy holiday season – when the early darkness and chill in the air calls you home. A frequent saying I use with the kids is “let’s finish what we started” – whether it’s something small like circling the answer to a math problem, or something a bit bigger when we need to have a peace table with a friend. In August, the kiddos set some pretty big goals for themselves as middle schoolers – and will do so again in January. Now is the time to hunker down and make sure we finish strong over the next five weeks, while still leaving room for the cozy nights and self-care we all desperately crave this time of year. With Thanksgiving Break right around the corner, we’ll (hopefully) be able to give ourselves the rest we need to finish what we started before our loooong Winter Break!
-AG
Upcoming Dates:
- November 21 – Harvest Feast (Half Day)
- November 22 – November 30 – Thanksgiving Break
- December 10 – Cluster Lunch
- December 19 – Holiday Extravaganza & PJ Day (Half Day)
- December 20 – January 5 – Winter break
ELA- 5th grade began a new creative writing unit! Writers considered the ways in which one can ideate for creative writing about ourselves. We brainstormed deeply to uncover memories with meaning or old tales from a new perspective. 5th grade also began their unit 4 vocabulary unit, with a test planned for 11/19.
Next week, 5th graders will draft personal narratives with an eye on vivid language and colorful word choice! Begin studying for next week’s vocabulary test now!
Science- This week 5th grade began their unit on living systems. Students discussed suitcases, railroad systems, and a number of other examples to reinforce the idea that systems are made of many parts working together. Students then used that concept to look at ecosystems and the systems that make up Earth. Next week we will start looking at feeding interactions and creating food webs by exploring kelp forests.
Social Studies- We have begun working on our next project in which each student is researching a country in Europe. We have gone over the geography of the continent and are moving into how these countries coexist and work together to thrive. Once we finish that we are looking back at how Europe has changed throughout history.
Math- This week, 5th grade mathematicians applied our division mastery to real-life examples in which we explored knowing which number is the divisor and which is the dividend, and understanding what our quotient means for the scenario. Next week, we’ll wrap up unit 4 with our end of unit test which will assess their mastery of multiplication and division before we get into an exciting project after Thanksgiving Break!
