Crossing the Finish Line

How is it possible that we are almost at the end of another school year? As hard as it is to believe, I knew that we were coming to the finish line when I watched the middle schoolers celebrate with their very first middle school dance last Friday. Wow! The energy and fun in the room was epic!

The middle school dance was the first reminder for me of how quickly this year flew by. It seems like just a few short weeks ago, I was meeting new students and their families. I remember one kid introducing himself to me by saying, “I am not a good writer.” My response to him was, “We will work together to help you become a good writer.” It makes my heart smile to see this student and many of the other students write with confidence. As we prepare for ERB testing, class trips, and the end of the 2021-2022 school year, I would like to leave the following quote for you to ponder. “The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race (Unknown).”

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

What’s happening in Social Studies:

Fifth Graders presented their research project about influential artists, explorers, scientists, and philosophers of the Renaissance period this week. We were graced by Michealango, Ferdinand Magellan, Gutenberg, Martin Luther, and many more! They finished up the unit by contemplating the impact the Enlightenment had on what our country as Enlightenment thinkers brought their ideas with them from Europe. They also learned about how the Renaissance ended, paving the way for more modern inventions, philosophies, and ideals. Next week, we will have a chemistry lab before we head out to GRP. 

What’s up in Math? 

Y’all know my aunt Sally? She’s so dear…you’ll have to excuse her. She loves order of operations and that’s ALL she talks about! Students used the acronym PEMDAS (please excuse my dear aunt sally) in order to remember the order in which to evaluate expressions. We learned PEMDAS through a set of guided notes that we worked on together. Since then, students have been working independently and in small groups in order to receive enough practice to grasp how to follow the correct order of operations. We will continue to practice these skills, and that will be the beautiful bow that is tied to their Fifth Grade math career. It’s been a really great year, I have so enjoyed getting to know each of them as people and math students. I look forward to working with them next year, but in another capacity. I will always be here for math questions and beyond! 

What’s happening in ELA:

This week in ELA, your students have been reading a fiction book of their choice. They have also learned how to do a “box-and-bullet outline” in order to organize their literary essay writing. Please ask your kids to share their writings with you. It would also be great if you could ask your students to tell you about the protagonist in their fiction book that they are reading. They need to be able to describe the protagonist’s character in order to write their literary essay.

Important Dates:

May 17th: 5th Grade GRP Trip

May 17th: 6th/7th Grade ERB Testing Begins

May 23rd: 6th/7th Grade Disney Trip

May 24th: 5th Grade ERB Testing Begins

May 30th: Memorial Day- No School

June 3rd: Last Day of School/ Field Day