Hello Parents!

Today the students started their morning off with gym. Following that, they got their new seating plan once they got to class. We then began Unit 7 (Transformational Geometry) in math, starting with Lesson 1 (Coordinate Systems). As a class, we discussed the main points on the white board (look at the picture below), and then they were instructed to complete their math textbook work. Once that was finished, we moved onto our Speeches, and I met with many students to read over their work. Tomorrow, paragraph 1 is due.

After lunch, we watched Bill Nye, as in introduction to our new UOI unit: Biodiversity. The students completed a KWL chart, and then I handed out their new novel study book. We will be reading the Hatchet as our novel study book, and we will be making connections as much as possible. In class, we began reading Chapter 1, and students must complete the rest of the chapter for home. Also, they must answer the corresponding questions for Chapter 1. These questions can be found in their “Comprehension Questions” booklet. We will be discussing these answers tomorrow, so students should come prepared! NOTE: please do not encourage the students to read more than what is assigned, as there might be class activities/ lessons around the following chapters. As a result, these students will spend class time uninvolved, since they already did the reading.

After second break, the students had French, and then they filled out their agendas when they got back to class. I handed out the “Comprehension Questions” for their novel study, and then asked if there were any volunteers who would like to share their bullying letter with the class. Thank you to Jarniko, Kian, Tomas, and Taran for volunteering! I collected these letters, and then I showed the students their UOI summative marks for our Matter unit. (The rubric will be sent home with the whole UOI package at the end of the week, but it needs to be signed and returned for Monday. I need to keep the rubric (and package) for report card and teacher-parent meetings). After that, the students packed up and got ready for home time.

Just a few important notes before I go:

1.       Math homework: p# 94-95 in their workbook.

2.       Novel Study: read Chapter 1, and answer the 5 corresponding questions.

3.       To my disappointment, some students did not complete the one thing they had for homework yesterday. Those students must still write a letter, as if they’re writing to someone who is being bullied. They should include things that they would say to them, advice they may have, and just any words to comfort them. They should try to think of the situation from another perspective, and can even include personal stories of something that they have experienced and overcome. The goal of this task if to encourage empathy, respect, integrity, and confidence. Parents, please sign off on these letters once your child is done and you have read over it with them. Tomorrow will be the last day to hand these letters in.

4.       I have sent home a Parent- Teacher Communication form. Please look over it, fill it out, and return to me by TOMORROW. I will make arrangements based on a “First come, first serve,” basis. If I do not receive a form, I will be using the phone number I have on file to call parents this weekend.

5.       Speeches: Bring all of your work to school, everyday. “Forgetting it at home” is not a good excuse. If students need to do more research, they must finish that tonight, as there will be no more class time allotted for that. At this point, students should be working on creating a rough plan of their 3 reasons, and then should begin forming their paragraphs. The rough draft for paragraph 1 is due on tomorrow. Students will be peer editing each others during class time tomorrow.

6.       Spelling Test (Lesson #19) is on Friday! (Words are on the blog!)

7.       Mme. Stella has sent home permission forms for a French trip. Please sign and return these forms and hand in the money as soon as possible, as spaces are limited. These forms are due by Friday, February 10^th. Also, there is a French spelling test on FRIDAY, and Mme. Stella has asked the students to finish their sentence (they can refer to her blog).

8.       Re-registration packages were sent home last month. If you are interested in registering your child at St. Jude’s Academy again next year (and I hope you are!), please be sure to fill out and send back the packages AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. The deadline for these packages will be February 9th, and then after that date, spaces open up to the public. So, please don’t wait until last minute to make these important decisions!

9.       There will be no soccer practice for the boys soccer team until sometime in March. I have yet to get the final details, but I was told it will be postponed until the field condition is suitable and safe enough for practice.

10.   SJA’s Annual Poems and Speeches Competition is quickly approaching! The grade 5 class will be reciting their speeches in front of the grade 6 class, and the winners from that will go on to the schoolwide competition on Friday, February 24^th. The winners from that will go on to face the winners from The Maples on March 1^st. I have sent home the outline, rubric and package, so please take a look at it with your child. Students must come to school prepared (with their research and device), and should always bring all of their notes/ work.

11.   DRAs (Developmental Reading Assessment) will be sent home on Thursday,  February 9^th, so look out for that!

12.   Thursday, February 16^th, we will be celebrating “100 Days of School.”  If you would like to bring in anything that fits the theme of “100,” please let me know!

13.   Lastly, please see below for the After School Dismissal Procedure.

That’s pretty much it for today. I hope everyone has a wonderful night!

Ms. Ramnarine

Grade 5

St. Jude’s Academy

After School Dismal Procedure

As we work to ensure the safest and most efficient system for student drop off, we would like to send out a few reminders to SJA parents.

• Kiss and Ride runs every day from 3:30 - 3:40pm.  Parents choosing to not participate in the Kiss and Ride program are asked to wait until 3:40 to enter into the school building.
• Parents wishing to sign their child(ren) out early may do so up until 3:20pm.  Parents may enter through the front door to sign out their child(ren).  Any parents entering through the front door before will be asked to wait at the front until their child can be called down via the PA system.  This will help to keep the hallways cleared for dismissal and for Kiss and Ride.
• Parents entering through the front after 3:20 will have to wait until 3:40pm to enter the building.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping to keep our afternoon dismissal as safe and efficient as possible.