Camp Terry!

A Week in Review

September 23 - 27

 

We ended the week in the best way with our LEADERSHIP field trip to Camp Terry! The students spent the day in mixed classroom teams, getting to know each other and reflecting on their own understanding of what it means to be a leader. It was another busy week and our field trip was the perfect way to sum it up!

 

 

Virtue Awards:

Trevor K. has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtue of ENTHUSIASM. Trevor always has a positive attitude! His smile lights up our classroom!

Elysia Q. has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtues of HELPFULNESS and RESPONSIBILITY. She was an active participant during our 5th grade leadership camp field trip. She was focused during each activity and worked hard to help her teammates!

 

 

Reading:

Understanding what you read is the most important thing good readers need to do in order to grow in their reading. We focused our class discussions this week on the "fix-up" strategies that we use when meaning breakdowns for us in our reading.

 

 

Writing:

Our first "current event" assignment is due October 3rd! I modeled for students how to use the middle school graphic organizer to write a quality summary for their bi-monthly assignment. We are looking forward to hot cocoa and current events next week!

 

 

Math:

We have come to the end of Unit 1: Multiplication and Division Word Problems. We studied the Properties of Multiplication, took a practice test for Unit 1, used that practice test to study, and then ended the week by taking the end-of-unit assessment! On to Unit 2: Perimeter and Area we go!

 

Social Studies:

Our Science Landforms unit crossed over into our Social Studies lesson this week as we learned more geographic terms. Students used guiding questions to label specific landforms on a map. We then looked at Lake Washington and Mercer Island as local examples of landforms.

 

Science:

Ms. Keenan taught science to our students this week and they were busy! Students observed a stream table that simulated flooding. There assignment over the weekend is to look for real life examples of erosion and deltas around the neighborhood and/or school. Some students spotted examples during our field trip!


What a fantastic week! The students worked hard and deserve a very restful weekend!

Go Seahawks!

~Mrs. Hatlestad

Upcoming Events:

9 Oct - Walkathon

11 Oct - No School (Teacher Professional Development Day)

25 Oct - 5th Grade Parents Cocktail/Wine Tasting Party (7:30pm-9:30pm)

5 Nov - PTA General Assembly Meeting, 8:15

11 Nov - No School, Veterans' Day

18-23 Nov - Missoula Children's Theater

28-29 Nov - No School, Thanksgiving Break

Leading with Lollipops

A Week in Review

September 16 - 20

 

 

Another great week has zoomed by! We were busy learning, working together, and having FUN! We started the week by watching a short clip from a Ted Talk in Toronto, "Leading with Lollipops" by Drew Dudley. The point of the message was for students to begin thinking about leadership in a different light, it doesn't have to be a giant moment, but leadership can come in little moments, too. He called them "lollipop moments" and if someone has made our life better, by something they've said or done - we need to tell people the positive impact they've had on our life. I gave students lollipops as a reminder. You can view the clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVCBrkrFrBE

We also had the opportunity to be one of the first groups of students to watch a brand new show from "The Noise Guy", Charlie Williams. He is trying out a new show and offered a free sneak peek to Medina students. Students enjoyed his reenactment of the Star Wars trilogy (complete with his collectible action figures!!!) and self-made sound effects. He taught students how to do some of the sound effects and invited Mrs. Kaminoff up to perform a reader's theater with him! It was a great way to start our Friday morning! 

 

Virtue Awards:

Nate B. has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtues of enthusiasm and excellence. Nate is an enthusiastic learner in our classroom and always strives to do his best! Thank you for being a fantastic 5th grade leader!

 

Anjali K. has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtues of responsibility and diligence. Anjali has 100% of her homework and class work turned in! She completes assignments with quality work and is a hardworking student! Thank you for always modeling excellence!

 

 

Reading:

Our focus this week during Reading Workshop was on genres. We discussed Fiction and Nonfiction and how they are the umbrellas for many genres that fall under these two categories. We found time to "get lost in good books" as well. Students also began recording the books they are reading on their "Independent Reading Log".

 

 

 

 

 

Writing:

Students started a baseline writing assessment this week. Our Writer's Notebooks are set up, our ideas now have a place to be store, so students chose one memory from their brainstorm lists and began drafting a personal narrative. I will use these writing pieces to set goals with students and guide my teaching to best meet their needs.

 

 

 

Math:

It was a busy week of word problems, multiplication, and division. Students were reminded of the Order of Operations in math in order to solve more complex problems (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally or PEMDAS or Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction). Using their knowledge of PEMDAS, students worked with word problems with misleading language - challenging themselves to slow down and think carefully about what the problem was asking them to do. Students also had time to begin working on the computers with the math program, Dreambox! Login cards with usernames and passwords were sent home today. The website to access this program at home is: https://play.dreambox.com/login/x5s9/medinae

 

 

Social Studies:

Latitude and Longitude rap? Yes, that's right - in order for students to become proficient in these geographic terms, Mr. Thiel found a short video of the Longitude and Latitude rap to help students solidify their learning! Latitude are like the rungs of a ladder and I taught students a hand motion to remember longitude is like "long hair", it runs up and down. Here is the link to the rap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0c1idtn3e8

 

Science:

Ms. Keenan taught our class Science this week (while I taught her class Social Studies). Students watched an erosion video to learn about why people care about erosion and deposition.Students began answering these questions:

 

• What are erosion and deposition?
• Why do people in the Skokomish River area and other areas around the world watch and study erosion and deposition?
• How can we model erosion and deposition in the stream table?

Thanks for another great week of learning! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Go Seahawks!

~Mrs. Hatlestad

Upcoming Events:

9 Oct - Walkathon

11 Oct - No School (Teacher Professional Development Day)

25 Oct - 5th Grade Parents Cocktail/Wine Tasting Party (7:30pm-9:30pm)

5 Nov - PTA General Assembly Meeting, 8:15

11 Nov - No School, Veterans' Day

18-23 Nov - Missoula Children's Theater

28-29 Nov - No School, Thanksgiving Break

 



Week 2 - Curriculum Night, Picture Day, and Lots of Learning!

A Week in Review

September 9 - 13

 

We are moving and learning like a well-oiled machine in Room 210! We have our systems and routines down and that allows us to focus 100% on LEARNING! What a great week - here's what we were up to:

 

 

Virtue Awards:

Roman T. has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtues of courage and excellence. Roman, without hesitation, volunteered to be the first student to read his writing during our class Author's Chair!

Merin R., Madison L., and Sahar A. have earned Virtue Awards for demonstrating the virtues of cleanliness, helpfulness, and commitment. Thank you for taking your recess time to care for our class beta fish, "Russell Wilson" and clean his aquarium. He appreciates it!

 

 

 

Reading:

We continued discussing what good readers do and think about while reading. We analyzed the differences between "Easy", "Just Right", and "Challenging" books. We also discussed, WHY it's important for students to be reading a "Just Right" book when they're reading independently (to practice the strategies they're learning in class with ease).

 

 

Writing:

Our Writing Workshop has been launched! Students began using their "Writer's Notebooks" to brainstorm and draft ideas that are swirling around in their minds. We learned from published authors on how they use their notebooks to keep their ideas. We also discussed WHERE writers get their ideas and how we can use their tips in our own brainstorming sessions.

 

 

Math:

The Basic Fluency Plan introductory unit is DONE! We took a pre-test for Unit 1 and started right away on our first unit: Multiplication and Division Word Problems. Using the pre-test data, students are receiving differentiated instruction in our classroom, as some students are working independently or in small groups with Ms. Aileen or me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science:

Landforms is our first Science unit. We combined classes with Ms. Keenan's to introduce the first 'challenge'. Students learned that builders want to build apartments at three different sites near the Skokomish River, the most frequently flooded river in Washington State. In science groups, students began researching the problem. Their challenge is to determine which site, if any, is the best location for the new apartment buildings.. At the end of this challenge, students will make a group presentation to the Mason County City Council (aka the class) with their recommendations.


This week flew by and it was because of all the learning happening in our classroom! I am so proud of the students for taking their learning seriously, for showing flexibility, and supporting me with my crazy love for the Seahawks!

Go Seahawks!

Enjoy your weekend,

~Mrs. Hatlestad

Upcoming Events:

20 Sept - Walk-a-Thon (11:20am)
27 Sept - Camp Terry Leadership Field Trip for 5th Grade

11 Oct - No School (Teacher Professional Development Day)

 

 



Welcome Back!

A Week in Review

September 3 - 6

 

 

Welcome back! We've had a fantastic first week back! I'm so impressed with our students, their positive attitudes and flexibility! Each week, I will send out our "A Week in Review" newsletter to let you know what we've been learning. So, here is our first one of the year!

 

Virtue Awards:

Sahar A. has earned a virtues award for demonstrating the virtue of helpfulness. Thank you Sahar for helping to organize the classroom community supplies!

 

Jacob L. has earned a virtues award for demonstrating the virtue of responsibility. Thank you Jacob for always making sure our class beta fish has been fed!

 

 

Weekly Reports:
Every Friday I will send home a Weekly Report. This report grades students in three categories: Behavior, Study Habits, and Work Completion. These reports are to be signed by parents and returned to school the following week. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
 

Reading:

Students have checked out books, had time to read independently, and learned our "Guidelines for Reading Workshop" to ensure that all of us can do their best learning. We discussed how "Reading is Thinking" and we took not one, but TWO reading assessments already, so that I can learn more about my fabulous students.

 

Writing:

We started Writing Workshop this week with a Virtues Poem. We are hoping to have our poems revised and edited by curriculum night, so that they can be on display! Students chose a virtue that represents them or one they think is important and wrote a poem from the virtue's perspective.

 

 

 

 

 

Math:

The Basic Fluency Plan is our first mini-math unit in 5th grade. Students are reviewing key terms they learned in 4th grade and dusting off their math brains as they work through word problems. While the numbers in the word problems are small, the focus has been on understanding the operation needed to solve the problem.

 

Science:

Have you ever wondered if gummy bears dissolve faster in water or vinegar? Well, you're in luck because we conducted our first experiment in class to answer that very question! Students reviewed the Scientific Process and together we wrote a procedure, collected data, and wrote a conclusion to find out if our hypothesis was right!

 

 

 

 

Thank you for a great first week of school! I look forward to continuing to get to know these amazing students! Thank you so much for entrusting me with their learning!

 

Go Seahawks!

 

~Mrs. Hatlestad

 

Upcoming Events:

 6 Sept - Ice Cream Social (6:00-7:00pm)

10 Sept - Curriculum Night (5:30pm)

11 Sept - Hearing Screening

13 Sept - Picture Day (our class time is TBD)

11 Oct - No School (Teacher Professional Development Day)