Sunday Update

Hello Families,

Thank you to those who have already come for their parent-teacher conferences. I find it reinvigorating to have those conversations about your student's accomplishments, as well as topics that need more focus for the rest of the year. I look forward to meeting with the rest of you this Tuesday night.

Math: We are getting close to the end of Unit 6, and will be likely taking the test at the end of the upcoming week. Please assist your student in any way possible at home, and remind them to come in with questions if there are concepts they have not mastered yet. The end of the unit centers on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.

Writing: Your son or daughter should have written in their planner this Friday that they need to have their Third Draft of their descriptive essay completed. I know that some students have some work they need to finish on this. Through this intensive writing process they will learn the benefit of revising and editing to show significant changes and growth from their rough draft to the final copy.

Student Leaving: We had an unfortunate loss to our class as one of our student's family moved back to their home country after a parent finished a doctoral program at a local university. I was very proud and impressed with the compassion and understanding that the class displayed on this student's last day. Please ask your student to explain more.

Door Contest: As a part of I Love to Read Month, Brimhall is having a "Decorate Your Door Contest." The class elected to use the book "Holes" as our theme. A group of students was drawn to complete the task, but as time constraints became pressing, the whole class was able to pitch in to get it done on time. The next time you are in the school, please take a look at our "Holes" display as well as the other finely decorated doors throughout the school.

Enough for now, as always let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks,
Mr. Norman

Monday Update

Sorry parents, I was out of town this weekend, and didn't get a chance to write a post yesterday.

Hopefully, you saw my email about Parent-Teacher conferences. Please let me know if you cannot meet at the time you selected or the one I selected for you. I look forward to sharing your son or daughter's hard work from this past trimester, his or her growth since the beginning of the year and some goals for the end of 5th grade.

Writing: We have been working hard on the writing process. I have been impressed with the class' skill and care, when editing and revising their work. I have tried to push the idea that writing is not perfected after the first draft. Taking the time to carefully analyze and alter their writing is a craft that will serve them will as they progress on in school. We will continue the writing process this week and hopefully type the final drafts soon.

Math: Unit 6 has provided opportunities to collect, organize and analyze data. Students collected information about their classmates, and then calculated the results. Their work will be showcased in the hallway above our jacket hooks. Please take a look and ask your student about their survey.

Social Studies: I am hoping that in the coming short week, we will get started with the Explorers Unit. This has typically been a popular unit among students, and I am looking forward to see the work students will complete as they learn about the origins of how our world was first explored by the western world. We will discuss these explorers accomplishments, as well as some of the negative effects they had on the people and places they explored.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Thanks,
Mr. Norman

Sunday Update

Hello Families,

I hope all of you are having an enjoyable weekend....Here are a few updates.

Math: Students received their Unit 5 Test back in class on Friday. They should have brought them home to make corrections and have a parent sign the cover sheet. If your student is still having trouble understanding how to fix their mistakes, have them come to me with questions, and I can find a time to go over it with them.

Writing: Your students should be working on writing the body paragraphs of their descriptive essay. They are writing it about either a person, place or thing that is important to them. This week will write the conclusion paragraph, and transition into the editing/revising stage of the writing process. Please ask your 5th grader what they chose to write about, and lend them any ideas you might have for their writing.

Health: We started a new health unit about the Respiratory System, where students will learn how to keep their lungs in top working condition.

**Just a reminder that students will have February 20th and 21st off of school. Also, Winter Conferences start that week and are on Feb. 21st, 23rd and then the next week on the 28th. I will send home a conference reminder slip this week.

As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks,
Mr. Norman

Hey, it's a Saturday Update!

Hello Everyone,

Because of previous plans for tomorrow's Super Bowl, I am posting an update a day earlier.

A big thank you to all of the chaperones who came to the Minneapolis Institute of Art yesterday! Your participation allowed students to be in much smaller groups and therefore, see much more of the museum than they would have otherwise. It made the trip much more enjoyable and educational for the class!

Writing: Your student has a homework assignment over the weekend to complete the beginning paragraph of their descriptive essay. They are writing about either a person, place or thing that is important to them. For the beginning paragraph, we practiced making a connection with the reader to introduce your topic. Please lend your student any assistance here coming up with ideas.

Math: We took the Unit 5 Math Test on Thursday. I am in the process of grading them now, and students should receive them back to make corrections and get a parent's signature before the end of next week. You can expect to see your student bring home a new Unit 6 parent letter and answer key, and we will soon start working on Unit 6, which centers around Data Analysis and Adding/Subtracting Fractions. If your student is having trouble with homework, I would encourage them to bring home their Student Math Journal, which we use for classroom learning. But, it may remind them of the process/skill we learned during class that they can apply to their homework. If they bring it home, it would then be very important to remember to bring it back to class the next day.

Social Studies: All but two groups have given their Native American Power Point presentations. I have been impressed with the level of information they collected and with the quality of their power point work. Please ask your student about what slides he or she presented as a part of their team.

Spelling: There will be a spelling test given on Monday. Students will get a new list on Friday.

**Teacher Apology**   After reading last week's post, I realized I made a few typos resulting in grammatical errors. I apparently was not being a good role model, as I have stressed to your students, the importance of proofreading assignments that they are turning in, to make sure their sentences make sense. I guess I need to take my own advice. Thanks for understanding (haha).

Thanks,
Mr. Norman