Cocoa and Current Events

A Week in Review

September 30 - October 4

 

 

We had our first "Cocoa and Current Events" session on Thursday! Students were excited to share their articles, drink hot cocoa, and discuss current events. It was a great week, here is what we've been up to:

 

 

Virtue Awards:

John V. has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtues of LEADERSHIP and HELPFULNESS. John saw a student who needed help and without hesitation, stepped up to offer his assistance. Through his actions, he showed his classmates what it meant to be a leader.

 

Hilal M. has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtues of EXCELLENCE and RESPONSIBILITY. Hilal is always focused, always completes quality work, and always, always, always puts forth his best effort. He is a 5th grade leader.

 

Reading:

We are conducting a joint read aloud with Ms. Keenan's class. Four times a week, we combine classes and enjoy a whole class read aloud. Currently, we are reading Five Pages a Day: A Writer's Journey by Peg Kehret. Students practice more than their listening skills, as they deepen their comprehension by discussing the text, making predictions, and answering higher level thinking questions. It is a beautiful book about a local author's journey to become a published writer.
 

 

Writing:

Students wrote descriptive poems this week. We analyzed an image, brainstormed words and phrases the image provoked in our minds and from there created beautiful pieces of poetry. The whole class sample was based on a picture of Arlington Cemetery. We will be sharing this poem with the whole school during the Veterans' Day Assembly.

 

Math:

Unit 2 Perimeter and Area is off and running! We worked this week to learn how to convert measurements within the metric system (meter, decimeter, centimeter, millimeter) to find perimeter and area of rectangles, squares, triangles, and parallelograms. For many problems, students had to convert the measurement into a common unit of measure in order to find the correct answer, while also using the area and perimeter formulas to solve the problem.

 

Science:

Ms. Keenan taught science to our students this week. They worked on creating a topographic map using a 3D model of Mount Shasta. These maps allow you to see the elevation levels and visualize the steepness of each side of the mountain. This will help students with their Skokomish River Challenge, as they look at the different sites for the Evergreen Development Company.

 

 

Social Studies:

Chapter 1 concluded, as students wrapped up their learning on US geography. Students took an assessment on Friday on different geographic terms and physical features  on a map of the United States.

 

Our next "Cocoa and Current Events" session will be Thursday, October 17th! Students need to find an article, fill out the graphic organizer and summarize the main ideas before the 17th!

 

Thank you for a wonderful weekend! It is a pleasure teaching and learning with your children each and every day.

 

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

 



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)

The Final Count Down

A Week in Review

June 10 - 14

 

 

Dear Families in Room 210,

 

It is hard to believe that this was the last full week of school, the year zoomed by! This last week was spectacular as students worked to finish up assignments, learn about their summer reading packet for sixth grade, and of course their amazing performance in our 5th grade play, "U.S. Constitution Reviver: Philadelphia".

 

 

Virtue Awards:

Isabelle E. has earned a Virtues Award this week for demonstrating the virtues of COMMITMENT and SERVICE. She volunteered, without hesitation, to step into a role in our play when someone couldn't make our school performance. Thank you Isabelle!

 

My entire class has earned a Virtues Award for demonstrating the virtues of JOYFULNESS and DILIGENCE. They worked hard ALL year, whether it was learning something new, listening attentively to a guest speaker, or rehearsing endlessly for our play, the were AMAZING. I will miss them.

 

 

Reading:

We finished our class read aloud, Johnny Tremain. We had a thoughtful discussion on the ending and how the author left a lot of room for the reader to infer what they think happened to the main character after the book closed.

 

Writing:

Students worked on their Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs) all week long. Students completed rough drafts, revised, and had teacher conferences to ensure they were on the right track. The final drafts are DUE MONDAY!
 

 

Social Studies:

Our final assessment is right around the corner! Students spent time in class studying for the end-of-trimester test. Our play aligns so nicely with the test, that if they're stuck on an answer, all they'll have to do is sing song lyrics and "blammo" they'll find the answer!


 

 

Science:

We made our final plant observations testing the salt tolerance of our plants. Students discovered, although it was no surprise, that plants grew best in the 0mL salt environment. The 5mL salt environment produced pretty good results and the 10mL salt environment was mediocre. The 20mL salt environment was out of the plants range of tolerance and the plants did not grow.
 

 

Drug Education:

As per our common curriculum in the Bellevue School District, we spent time this week learning about the effects of using tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. Students examined the consequences of these substances in a safe and respectful environment.

 

 

As always, thank you for another great week. I can't believe that the last week of school is already here. Where did the time go? I have enjoyed this year so much and I have YOUR fabulous students to thank for that.

 

Enjoy your weekend,

~Mrs. Hatlestad


Upcoming Events:
June 17^th: Medina Family Lunch BBQ: 5th grade at 12:10-1:10

June 18^th: End of Year All-School Assembly 8:30-9:30am
June 18^th: Field Day 12:15-2:15pm
June 19^th: 5th Grade GRADUATION (8:15) and Last Day of School (school ends at 10:10)

Looking Ahead:
03-September - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL as 6th GRADERS!
23 Dec-03 Jan, 2014 - Winter Break
17-21, 2014 Feb - Mid-Winter Break
7-11, 2014 April - Spring Break

 



A Week in Review

June 3^rd- June 7^th

 

The students are beginning to count down the days, hours and yes…minutes they have remaining in 5^th grade!  As you know, the end of the year always lends itself to chaos and craziness; with finishing the multitude of assessments, to writing that final persuasive essay and don’t forget our Class Play!  There is only one more Friday of school after today, we in Room 210 are MAKING EVERY DAY COUNT! 

 

Virtue Awards:

Jack Dev. has earned a virtues award for showing responsibility and assertiveness during our fire drill. He made sure our class was lined up, all present, and held up our "okay" sign without having to be asked! Thank you for your leadership!!

Linnea L. has earned a virtues award for demonstrating reliability and responsibility, as she works hard to complete ALL of her assignments, ON TIME, and with quality work!


 

Reading:
This last week really took off with the storyline.  Johnny has been working on recon work to try and determine which regiments are being deployed.  Students are making instant connections with this text as we compare our studies of the Revolutionary War to Johnny’s story.  These connections deepen their understanding of the character's viewpoints and also what we're learning in social studies.





Writing:
This week students have worked tirelessly to organize their persuasive essays– Classroom Based Assessment for Social Studies and Writing.  Students independently took a position (patriot or loyalist), they decided on their three reasons, and worked to develop sound reasons and examples to elaborate and convince the opposition of their position. Students also partnered up to check their reasoning and ADD MORE research, ideas, and reasons to support their position. We will start our rough drafts, revise, edit, and publish NEXT WEEK! This CBA is due Monday, June 17^th! 

Science:
The UW was back to film our "Salt of the Earth" investigations. Students designed a controlled experiment in which they test plants' tolerance for varying amounts of salt water. Students planted four containers, each containing the exact same amount of soil and plants - the changed variable was the amount of salt in the water they used for their plants. Next week, UW will be back to videotape our final lesson as we analyze our results.






Math:
We took our last and FINAL Math Assessment this week!!  Students worked to find the mean of several different fractions.  This was a challenging task as it required multiple steps, many different operations and simplifying fractions.  WOW!  We are officially done with Math for the year!! 

 

Social Studies:

Chapter 14 is all about the CONSTITUTION!  The lesson began with the analogy of a "three-legged stool" and that our government is balanced by the three branches: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. The picture here shows how students started the lesson by trying to balance their textbook (aka government) on one pencil - it was very difficult and no one in class was successful. When they were able to use three pencils, it balanced! We took diligent notes about the many different branches of the government. This chapter aligned perfectly with our 5th grade play and helped students to make important connections and increase their understanding of our national government.

 

5th Grade Play:
Speaking of the 5th grade play....just a reminder that our evening performance will be:   Wednesday, June 12 at 6pm and our school performance will be Friday, June 14 at 1:20. We hope to see you at one of these shows!  Please remember to send your child 15 minutes early (5:45) on Wednesday night. 

 

Thank you for another great week. There are only 8 more days of school left!! Oh Mylanta!  Now is the time for focus, hard work and “get-R-done”! 

 

Have a great weekend, I will be joining the Medina Auction winners at the SOUNDERS game!! 

 

~Mrs. Hatlestad

 

Upcoming Events:
June 7^th:          Medina Elementary Family Night at Safeco Field
June 12^th:       5th Grade Play 6:00pm
June 14^th:       5th Grade Play 1:20pm
June 17^th:        Medina Family Lunch BBQ: 5th grade at 12:10-1:10
June 18^th:         End of Year All-School Assembly 8:30-9:30am
June 18^th:        Field Day 12:15-2:15pm
June 19^th:        5th Grade GRADUATION and Last Day of School (school ends at 10:10)

Looking Ahead:
03-September - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL as 6th GRADERS!
23 Dec-03 Jan, 2014 - Winter Break
17-21, 2014 Feb - Mid-Winter Break
7-11, 2014 April - Spring Break