Week 15 - December 12 - 16

Snow days are great! I hope starting the week off this way has not thrown you off for the rest of the week. We may continue to have some indoor recess days due to the very cold weather. If it warms up enough I have sleds that I like to take out on our fabulous sledding hill. Please be sure that your child has snow pants if you approve of your child sledding. It is no fun sitting in class with soaking wet pants! An extra pair of dry socks in the backpack can also go a long way towards comfort!


Math - We are finishing up Unit 3 and should be taking our final test on Tuesday of next week. Your child can work on Khan Academy practicing adding and subtracting mixed numbers with like denominators. This will help with the work that we have been doing.


Winter Survival is coming! Our Winter Survival trip is Thursday, January 12. That seems like a ways off but it is actually the Thursday that we get back from vacation. If your child will not be able to attend this trip for any reason, please let me know as soon as possible. I will be making groups and they will be deciding on what food and items to bring on the trip. If a group member plans on bringing food and then does not show up, the rest of the group will be missing out. Here is a brief description of the trip. I will be sending home a full letter next week.

The trip is designed to give students experience in working together in small groups while using nature's resources to build a fire adequate for cooking lunch. Planning, cooperation, patience, and perseverance are rewarded with good food and pride in a task (often difficult) successfully done. After lunch, if time allows, games are played which give insight into survival behaviors used by animals.


Reading - We have been working on text structure in reading classes. All students are learning about description, sequence, cause and effect, problem and solution, and compare and contrast. Your child should still be reading nightly for 30 minutes. Please be sure that your child has books to read before leaving school for the break. We have plenty to choose from!







Science Fair - Science fair forms are due Friday, December 16th. I have been going over the ideas with the students to be sure that they have an experiment that is testable, measurable, and open ended. I will continue to support the students who need this in the classroom. Students should be sure to choose an experiment that they will be able to complete in time.

Week 14 - December 5 - 9

Winter weather clothing - Now that we've had our first snow, please remember that we do continue to go outside for recess, even when the temperature is colder. There are not places for your child to stay inside during these times. Please be sure that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather. Once there is enough snow (we can't see the grass at all!) we will have opportunities to sled on our great hill. Your child should have snow pants in order to sled.

Book Fair - The book fair begins this week. Our class had an opportunity to check it out on Friday of last week. Family night is this Thursday, and our class will have a chance to shop on Friday.

Technology Night - This Thursday is also Technology Night. Come in to school and see what types of technology are being used in the building. Pizza will be available for purchase from 5:30 - 6:30. Technology visits begin at 6pm.

Class goal - Our class has been working on having a more efficient end of the day. We are currently working on earning a class party. The students have about 10 minutes at the end of the day to write in their planners, clean up their table and floor area, and pack up. This is a sufficient amount of time to do this but the class continues to struggle with this. Every day that the students are able to reach their goal, we are adding a ring to a paper chain in the room. When it reaches the floor, we will have a celebration! In addition, students made estimations on how many links we would need to reach the floor. We will see who has the closest guess!

Math - This unit we are working on fractions. Please have your child work on this using Khan Academy. It can be a difficult unit for many students to understand. Students should be able to order fractions, compare them, and convert from mixed numbers to improper fractions and back.

Week 10 - November 7 - 11

CAMP IS HERE!
- Be sure to label all of the items belonging to your child. Label your child's suitcase as well as the garbage bag holding the sleeping bag and/or sheets and blanket.

- Students must bring a sack lunch for Wednesday. They should be able to throw away their lunch bag so that they don't have to keep track of it during the trip. It is a good idea for them to have a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated.

- Students will be getting camp T-shirts on Monday. They should be sure to wear the t-shirt on Wednesday.

- When checking the weather, use the zip code 48843 to check Howell weather.

No School on Tuesday, November 8 - Election Day!!

Week 10 - November 7 - 11

CAMP IS HERE!
- Be sure to label all of the items belonging to your child. Label your child's suitcase as well as the garbage bag holding the sleeping bag and/or sheets and blanket.

- Students must bring a sack lunch for Wednesday. They should be able to throw away their lunch bag so that they don't have to keep track of it during the trip. It is a good idea for them to have a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated.

- When checking the weather, use the zip code 48843 to check Howell weather.

No School on Tuesday, November 8 - Election Day!!

Week 8 - October 24 - 28

Parent - Teacher Conferences - These are beginning this week. I will email a reminder home for your date and time. If you are unable to attend please let me know ahead of time so that we can reschedule. If your child is able to attend the conference, that would be great.

Khan Academy - Students have been taught how to sign in to Khan Academy and work in the area that is most critical for them to reach their goals. These areas were determined by their RIT scores on the NWEA testing that was done this fall. Please encourage your child to continue to do this at home when possible.

Camp - Continue to check the weather as we get closer to camp dates. If you need a copy of the packing list, please let me know. Coming prepared to camp will help everyone have a better time.

Early Release Day - Remember that Wednesday, October 26 is an early release day. The students will be dismissed at 11:53am.

Classroom needs - We are in need of disinfecting wipes, tissues, and non-perishable snacks for students who do not have a snack and are hungry before lunch.

Week 7 - October 17 - 21

School Spirit! This Friday is school spirit day for the fifth graders at Pattengill. Every year we have a competition to see which class can celebrate school spirit with the greatest enthusiasm. Your child can wear gear, face painting, stick on tattoos, hair spray, etc. of any school that he or she would like to support. Judging will take place at lunch time and there is a trophy at stake!

Thursday - Picture retake day.

Family Movie Night - This Friday is Family Movie Night at Bryant. It will begin at 5:30 pm. Parents must stay with their children during the movie. The votes have been cast and the movie showing will be Zootopia.

Math - We are continuing to work on multi-digit multiplication. In the past students have learned how to work these types of problems using partial product. They are now learning how to complete these types of problems using traditional multiplication. This is most likely the way you learned to multiply! Please support your child in working on this method correctly. Here is a link to an explanation that you and your child could watch: 2 digit multiplication

Reading - Your child should be reading for 30 minutes every day. We are focusing on conflicts in stories as well as the structure of stories and plots. Please talk with your child about his or her book.

Week 6 - October 10 - 14

Math - Students will be getting their Unit 1 tests back this week. Unit 2 focuses on multi-digit multiplication, place value, and powers of 10. Students should continue to work with Xtramath to learn their facts quickly.

Reading - Students will be learning about the 4 types of conflict in literature. By the end of the week they should be able to talk to you about person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. society, and person vs. nature. 

Camp - All camp forms should be in by now. We will be moving forward with making plans for camp. Please be sure to check over the packing list ahead of time. Let me or the office know if there is anything your child needs for camp but you are unable to supply.

Core Democratic Values - We are continuing to work on the CDVs. There is a link on the right of this page that lists the values. Students are also learning about the Preamble to the Constitution. We are working on understanding the meaning of this and attempting to memorize it. Many asked if they could sing it to me (Schoolhouse Rock style) and I said "Of course!"

Preamble:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Week 5 - October 3 - 7

Count Day is Wednesday, October 5. Please be sure your child is in school that day!

Math Assessment - Monday, October 3 will be the first math assessment for Unit 1. Students should be able to explain and find the volume of a given figure.
We will be starting Unit 2 on Tuesday.

Camp - Packets and information for Howell Nature Center were due on Friday. If you have not turned in any parts of the packet, please do so as soon as possible.

Reading - All students should be reading daily for 30 minutes. The students should be reading "just right" books. This will help them to become better readers.

Math - Please be sure your child is working on Xtramath every day if they did not do it in school. A few students have already tested out of the multiplication!

Special Schedule - The special schedule changed a bit. Please check the blog link for new times. Students will be getting instruments soon. It will help if you can remind them to bring these on Mondays and Wednesdays. Library books are due on Fridays.

Week 3 - September 19 - 23

Curriculum Night - Please join us on Tuesday from 6:30 - 8. You will have an opportunity to sign up for Parent-Teacher conferences and hear about what we will do this year.


Parent Camp Meeting - Thursday, September 22 at 6pm. Come to the cafeteria, hear about camp, ask questions!

Math - The students completed the Beginning of the Year assessment and we are underway with Unit 1 in Everyday Math. The students should be working on homework nightly as well as completing Xtramath if they did not have an opportunity to do so in class. On the right side of this blog is a link to Xtramath. Here are the outcomes for Unit 1:

Book Orders - Book orders are due by Tuesday, September 20th. You can order on line directly or send in an order with payment if you are interested.

Practice drills - We have had a fire drill and a severe weather drill so far. The class has done a great job with both of these. We will continue to have a couple of these before the cold weather sets in. We will also, at some point this year, have a coupld of lockdown drills. This will be the same or similar to ones in the past.

Week 2 - September 12 - 16

We all survived the first week! Thank you for sending your children ready to learn and get used to fifth grade. The heat made it difficult but it seems as though we might have it a bit easier this week. Please be sure to check and sign your child's planner nightly.

Curriculum Night is coming!
Please join us for Curriculum Night on Tuesday, September 20 from 6:30 - 8pm. There will be information on what we will work on this year as well as camp information. The PTO will present and you will have opportunities to volunteer in the building.

NWEA 
The testing window will begin soon. When I know the dates of our math and reading testing I will post it on the "Important Dates" link on the blog.

PLTW 
We will be starting Project Lead The Way this week. Your child will have this class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8:55 - 9:55 all of first semester.

Homework
Students will have homework most nights. It should take about an hour to complete this. There will be a math page that will follow what was done in class that day or the previous day. With the remaining time students should read for half an hour and do some other type of academic work. Other options are things like Xtramath or Khan Academy.

Week 1 - September 6 - 9

Welcome to Mrs. Embry's Fifth grade class!

I'm very excited to start a new school year at Pattengill. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of the students.  Please be sure to visit this page for updates, information on the classroom and the school, and resources that could be helpful. 

Planners - Please be sure to check and sign your child's planner daily. The homework will be listed daily.

Curriculum Night - This year Curriculum Night will be on Tuesday, September 20th from 6:30 - 8pm. Meet first in the cafeteria then go to the classrooms.

ELMAC Intern - My class will be joined this year by Chrisara Moore. She is an intern with the University of Michigan. Read more about Ms. Moore in the opening day letter.