At the beginning of each month, the fifth grade team will send out a communication email detailing news and events for the upcoming weeks. These messages will contain important information intended to keep you informed on 5th grade happenings. Past messages will also be posted here at the start of each month for your reference. Should you have any questions, please contact your child's homeroom teacher.

August 16, 2024

Dear 5th grade Parents/Guardians:

We are thrilled to welcome you to the 5th grade. The 5th grade team strives to provide you with general information regarding your student’s learning. This year we will send home monthly emails and/or post on the 5th grade website what we are focusing on, in general context, for English/Language Arts, Social Studies and Science for each trimester. Please read the entirety of the email! We know they are long but we try to pack them with everything you will need to know. 

First and foremost I am looking for a Class Coordinator for our homeroom! I will simply go off the first email I receive back in reply to this one. I look forward to working with you all this year. 

In 5th grade we are all about sparking curiosity in each subject and goal setting.  The students will learn to be their own leaders in their education and have a growth mindset.   These goals are rooted in our academics (all areas), character education, and behavior during the course of the year. M.A.P. (Measure of Academic Progress) testing has started and will continue into next week. It allows us to collect student data and baseline information for the school year. 

All math will have homework Monday-Thursday nights, not to exceed one hour per night (honors math may also have homework on Friday nights). Students will also have ELA homework (spelling, vocabulary, CKLA, IXL, etc.), which is not to exceed 30-45 minutes. We are excited to say that this year also includes a reading incentive program in each classroom! Students should read their free reading books 20 minutes or more per night. Additionally, online NewsELA and Common Lit assignments will be given for science and social studies on a rotational basis with a posting of the assignment on Monday and due by Friday 8am. Larger, on-going projects, writing assignments, choice reading book reports, etc. will span multiple weeks. Our team believes that our students should have time with family, outdoors, and with friends as much as possible outside of meaningful practice at home. 

ELA will kick off with our novel study They Call Me Guero unit and CKLA unit Early American Civilization. Your student’s homeroom teacher will be their ELA (reading and writing) teacher all year.  Science will begin this year with the study of the scientific method. The goal is for students to become critical thinking scientists.  We will have labs in the classroom and labs in the PCK science lab. This year science and social studies will be taught in a 4 week rotation. In Social Studies, students will focus on early cultures, systems, economics, U.S. geography, and government. They will learn how these early civilizations impacted the human race and the United States, early and current. Students had their first day of math as well today. 

Other things to note: We have more nut allergies this year so please do not send any nuts in student snacks. Please remember, your child’s snack should be a healthy option that they can open themselves. Great options include fruit/veggies, crackers, granola bars, etc. Please avoid sending candy, chips, desserts, soda/juice. In 5th grade we allow students to bring in treats for their birthday celebration. If your child has a specific dietary need and you would like to send in an alternative treat opinion that teachers can keep on hand, it would be much appreciated.

Please refer to the PCK 5th grade homework website, linked here for detailed information regarding specific homework, syllabi, and assignments. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your student’s teacher.

Respectfully,

Mrs. DeHaan, Mrs. Beckstrom, and Mrs. Connelly