It's Catholic Schools Week! There are a variety of activities planned, most of which were presented in this letter. The details were fleshed out in school last week, On Monday, we'll have an Animal World presentation at 9:45 a.m., paid for with the $2.75 everyone kicked in last week. We also have our annual Picnic Day, where students come to school dressed according to the theme their group has chosen. Groups planned out who would bring what for food, drink, etc. last week. Don't bring anything that needs to be heated up. It's a picnic, not a gourmet dinner.
Tuesday, we'll celebrate Mass with Bishop Rueger and enjoy our intermediate grades choir, which has been practicing every day at lunch recess for a week or so. On Wednesday, we'll be visited by the Catholic Free Press, whose reporters want to interview a few of us as we make prayer cards for persecuted Christians around the world. Thanks to the good offices of Aid to the Church in Need, we have a liaison to deliver our cards to churches in Iraq. Students may come to school out of uniform if they dress in red.
We're also hoping to conduct a Spelling Challenge on Tuesday morning. Students have been split into teams and have been studying a list of challenge words. If we score above a certain amount correct, we can be out of uniform for free on Thursday, too!
On Thursday, the school will hold an Open House from 10:00-12:00. On Friday... hmm. what's happening on Friday? I'll let everyone know as soon as the tale of the tape comes in from Mrs. Albert!
By the way, report cards go out tomorrow, too, for the second quarter.
We have an optional field trip coming up on Saturday, February 11th to a Holy Cross basketball game. Here's the permission slip,
January 22, 2012
Good evening! I've completed all of your second quarter report card grades, but people who are making up tests this week can still have them count toward the second quarter, since they won't be printing the report cards until next Monday. You won't be able to view your grades on the IEI Schools website this week, anyway, to give your teachers time to figure everything out. Also, IEI is changing its name to EDGE. So now it's the EDGE website. Passwords and everything will still be the same, and don't ask me why they did it... but there it is anyway.
This week we'll read The Chi'Lin Purse in our Reading books, then use these questions to help us understand it. We'll have the Social Studies test on Wednesday using this study sheet, then read more about Great Britain's disagreements with its American colonies. We'll also begin a chapter about the French and Indian War, known in Europe as the Seven Years' War.
We'll have a couple of meetings for your picnic groups to help you get ready for the picnic on the 30th, and the spelling teams will meet a couple of times to get to know the words on the list I handed out last week.
Finally, in Math we'll continue our chapter on the multiplication of decimals. Thrilling, but try to stay in your chairs for it.
January 15, 2012
I've been going to a lot of the OLA team basketball games this month, and can't say enough about how proud I am of teams. Win or lose, they follow directions, work as a team, listen to their coaches, and hustle from the beginning of the game to the last whistle. I'm going to see the 5th and 6th grade girls this afternoon to take some yearbook photos. Hope your clocks didn't freeze in the cold overnight weather, kids!
In Math this week, we'll start a chapter on the multiplication of decimals. Some of the kids will need to make up the long division test, too, with an after school help session on Thursday and a retake opportunity on Friday during class. That was one tough topic! We'll do some of the problems on this worksheet as well.
In Reading, we'll do some vocabulary from this sheet for our next story, "The Chi'Lin Purse." We'll also discuss wedding traditions around the world as we work on comparison and contrasting skills. Thrilling, yes, but we can manage it!There will also be a spelling quiz on Wednesday on the words we looked at last week.
In Religion we'll finish Chapter 5 and use this study sheet for a test on Friday. That's this Friday. Yeah.
January 9, 2012
We've been working hard and doing a lot of homework since we returned from Christmas vacation, and that will continue this week as we finish up long division in math, continue our study of colonial America in Social Studies, and take a closer look at "Passage to Freedom" in our Reading books.
First, a big THANK YOU to Mrs. A, Mrs. M, and Mrs. H, who came in and made the colonial baked apples for all the good little colonial boys and girls on Friday. They were just delish!
Now: In Religion, we'll study Jesus' Baptism and the story of Nicodemus and the Kingdom of Heaven. In Math, we'll prepare for a Friday test on long division (though we'll take a break Monday to do this problem solving sheet). In Social Studies, we';ll study dissent in colonial New England, then use this study sheet to prepare for a Thursday quiz about slavery in the southern colonies. In Reading, we'll use this study sheet and these vocabulary words to take a selection test on Wednesday on our current story, "Passage to Freedom."
Our charitable collection for Jeremiah's Inn this month is called "Wraps 'n' Wipes." We're asking for used blankets of all types for the homeless men, and boxes of diapers for the women who come in from the Main South neighborhood for help with their children. Diapers are expensive, so it's also good if you send whatever you can in the way of a monetary donation in an envelope labeled "Wraps and Wipes." I'll then go buy whatever diapers can be purchased with the collection.
January 2, 2012
Time for a new year, and time to come back to the classroom, everyone! Thanks to all who contributed to the wiki over the Christmas break. I hope everyone had a fabulous vacation. Here's what's happening during the first week of January.
In Reading, we pick right up where we left off, writing second drafts of the summaries you passed in before Christmas, then reading a new story in our text, "Passage to Freedom," about a Japanese diplomat who bravely assists refugees from Nazi Germany. We'll use this vocabulary sheet and these questions to discuss it.
In Math, we forge ahead with more Long Division, Division, Division, Division (not that bird again! Nooooo!). We'll take a break from it sometime during the week to do some problem solving on this worksheet, too. In Social Studies, we use this assignment to conclude our discussion of slavery in the southern English colonies in America, then move to a discussion of life in Puritan New England, using this assignment.
In Religion, we review the details of the Christmas story in the Gospel of Luke, then read about the Baptism of Our Lord as we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany on Friday.
Students whose parents volunteered to send in treats, drinks, or paper goods for our class Christmas party on Thursday morning can bring them directly into the building that day. Thanks so much for all the help, everyone! Kids who have a part in our Advent prayer service for the school on Monday can also come in early.
We'll have a quiz that day, too, on the Advent notes we took in class last week. Here's a study sheet to help you get organized. We'll also color place mats for the Sisters of Notre dame du Lac this week.
In Social Studies we'll study the development of the Middle Colonies of Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and New Jersey, using these questions as homework. We'll then begin reading about slavery in the Southern Colonies. In Math we'll tackle long division with two-digit divisors, and in Reading class we'll have a Spelling quiz on the words from "Inside Out" on Tuesday.
Finally, it's an early dismissal on Thursday, as the kids get out of school at 11:00 for the Christmas vacation. Have a wonderful holiday, everyone!
December 14, 2011
The Social Studies test is postponed until Friday.
Great job by our class on both the St. Lucy celebration and at the Christmas Pageant! Special kudos to MR and MJ on the solos!
December 11, 2011
It's the Third Week of Advent, and a very busy one for our class. The Christmas Pageant is on Tuesday evening at 6:00, and on Tuesday morning our class will present a short skit to each class in the school about St. Lucy in honor of her feast day. We have several tests planned as well.
Hi, King Henry VIII. What are you doing here?
For Tuesday, students whose parents volunteered to bring donut holes or juice should bring it directly into the building before school. Thanks so much, everyone, for your help! For Tuesday night, kids should report to their classrooms by 5:45, and parents should go to Church to join us in prayer as we process in at 6.
We're planning Social Studies, Reading and Math tests for Thursday. I don't think it'll be a problem, since the Reading selection tests are open book, and the math test involves practicing decimal skills in the same way one would for a homework assignment. The Social Studies, however, involves a lot of studying, and students should have begun doing so over the weekend with this study sheet. If St. Lucy and Pageant practices involve delaying the test(s), I'll post something to the wiki to that effect in addition to telling the class in school.
Thanks, too, to those who prayed for my father this weekend. He's doing a little better, but it'll be a long road back to normal for him.
Yes, you too, John Rolfe.
December 4, 2011
Second Week of Advent already-- the time until the celebration of Christmas goes swiftly by. Here's the letter I sent home last week about Advent activities in 5th grade. There's another one, too-- I call it "Hot Stuff and Warm Socks for the Homeless." Students are invited to donate winter quality socks and canned soup of the chunky variety to help the men at Jeremiah's Inn stay warm this winter. Thank you in advance for anything you can spare!
In Math this week we'll finish the shortest chapter of the year, on the addition and subtraction of decimals. We'll then begin preparing for a test some time next week. In Social Studies we'll finish our study of Jamestown colony, look at the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation (with this worksheet for homework), and use this study sheet to get ready for a test, also some time next week.
Ah, the simple Pilgrim Potato Heads and their simple Tater values!
In Reading we'll work on cause and effect relationships and practice our summarization skills. Then we'll read "A New Home," about some of the traditions brought to this country by its Mexican immigrant population. Then we'll work on this vocabulary sheet in preparation for the next story in our Reading book, "Inside Out."
In Religion we'll work on our Pageant song and on our presentation of a skit for the Feast of St. Lucy (see Advent letter).
Love that busy busy Christmas/Advent season!
Crotoan! Crotoan! Wherefore art thou, Croatoan!
November 27, 2011
It's the First Sunday of Advent! That means it's time for a number of Christmas-related activities, both in our class and for the school as a whole. Santa's Secret Shop will be open for business next week, we'll be practicing a song for the Christmas Pageant on the 13th of December, and our class will prepare a special presentation for the school on the Feast of St. Lucy next Tuesday. Look for details in your child's plan book, on this wiki, and in a letter to go home this week.
Skits.. we like skits. Here's one from College Bowl Day!
The chapter we've been working on in the Religion book was a very short one, so we have a test on it coming up this week, using this study sheet. We'll also read "Shutting Out the Sky" in Reading class, about a Romanian immigrant boy who made good. After reading and discussing the story, we'll use these questions to take a selection test on Thursday or Friday.
There are a number of students in math who need to retake the division test from last week, so we'll split the class in two for a few days. Half the class will do enrichment work on Roman Numerals and problem solving, and the other half will shore up their division skills and retake the test. Since so many did poorly, there will be no penalty for taking the test a second time, and anyone who wants to retake it can improve their score.
In Social Studies, we'll use these questions to continue our discussion of Spanish and French colonization of the New World, and to have a quiz on Thursday. Then we'll use this reading to discuss the Lost Colony at Roanoke, and this worksheet to review pages 156-163 in our textbook (Jamestown Colony).
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving-- don't forget to check out our videocast on the Podcasts page.
I am Don Juan de Onate-- and I am now a statue!
November 23., 2011
Happy Day Before Thanksgiving, everyone! While watching the Bruins game tonight, tune in to our video cast link on the Podcasts page!
November 20, 2011
It's a two-day week because of Thanksgiving break! Yes, I have corrected the Social Studies tests, and yes, I will post them on IEI Schools tonight. Yes, we have a math test on Tuesday (Division), and yes, some of you need a little help before you'll be ready to take it. Division, division, division, division!!
Snack an hour...mmmmm
Be quiet, bird. And thanks to DC, CC, and BP for coming to Jeremiah's with me to deliver our collection of canned goods. Doing good makes us feel good!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! And yes, you can still bring in sacramentals on Monday if you didn't get to do so last week.
On to Jeremiah's!
November 14, 2011
Tomorrow is our out of uniform day for winning the Box Tops Challenge for first quarter! We get a "snack an hour," too. It's just grand to be a fifth grader!
Thanks to JH and MJ for the latest Daily Blurbs.. go check them out! And go to the Photos page for new photos of our Salem trip!
Report cards will be issued to students tomorrow. Parent conferences are from 12:00-3:00 and from 6:00-7:30, according to the times I sent home last week.
The Salem trip was a spectacular success. I can't say enough about how great the children were, and how helpful were the chaperones! Everyone really impressed me with how much they wanted to learn about Salem, how good they could be walking the streets together, and how much fun they could have together. It's a good sign for future trips to come. Thank you, everyone!
This week we'll study for an Explorers test in Social Studies on Friday, using this study sheet. We'll also have the selection test on Satchel Paige on Tuesday, using these study questions. We'll also have a Spelling test on... you guessed it... Friday. Fortunately, we're not going to be completely done with the math unit on division by the end of the week. Otherwise, we might have had three tests on one day. We will, however, take time out to do some more word problems from the Mrs. Jobol worksheet and from this "Bugs and Monsters" worksheet, too.
Thanks for all the donations to Jeremiah's Inn last week. We have enough to take a trip down there with the canned goods we've collected. Details will be coming this week.
November 10, 2011
Students going on the Salem trip should arrive at school by 8:00 a.m. We will be back at about 4:00 p.m.
Bring $5.00 if you'd like to chip in for pizza. We'll eat at about 12:15.
Remember to bring your parents' cell phone numbers if they aren't going on the trip with you.
See you tomorrow!
Snowvember 6, 2011
The first quarter is history, but we snuck in a math makeup test and a Religion test on Friday before time was up. I’ll be updating IEI Schools by the end of this evening, but after that Mrs. Albert will shut down student access to give teachers time to calculate final grades and insert comments. Remember to sign up for a parent conference using this slip before all of the times are taken. You don’t have to sign up for a time if you don’t need to confer with me.
This week we’ll start a new chapter in Religion about sacramentals, sacred objects with religious meaning. We’ll read a story from the book of Revelation to introduce us to the topic, and talk a little bit about our Christian role models, too.
In Social Studies we’ll use these questions to study the English, French, and Dutch attempts to settle North America, and have a quiz on Wednesday on the answers to these questions from last week.
In Math we’ll continue our chapter on division. Do NOT wake up the red bird on the bulletin board every time we have class! Do, however, remind me to take down the skeleton that’s still hanging around the ceiling of the room from Halloween.
The Salem trip is Friday. Chaperones, make sure you’ve passed in all of the required paperwork to drive other children in your car, and thanks SO much in advance for all your help. Without parents to drive and supervise, I could never take 30 kids to Salem to learn about the Witch Trials. Pray for good weather, too!
Snowvember 5, 2011
Here's a copy of the parent conference signup slip, in case your fifth grader didn't bring the hard copy home. There are still some times left over, so indicate on the form which time frame works best for you.
It was quite a week in Grade 5. Everyone who passes the Social Studies projects in the hallway has told me how spectacular they are, but we sort of knew that anyhow, didn't we? I covered the tables with plastic bags for over the weekend, but they'll be on display until I get them all corrected-- probably by Wednesday. Remember to bring your final draft of the report in one week after you got the first draft back from me. You're all doing a fabulous job!
We also attended the school Halloween party on Friday. Thanks to our OLAPO, especially Mrs. N. and Mr and Mrs. H., for all the hard work they put in for us.
This week we'll have a test on Chapter 3 (The Beatitudes) using this study sheet, We'll also read a new selection in our reading book, an excerpt from a biography of Satchel Paige, the famous Negro League and major league pitcher. We'll use this list of vocabulary words and these study questions.
In Social Studies we'll have a quiz on this Vikings worksheet, probably on Thursday, and continue our study of the European exploration of the New World. We'll use this reading later in the week to talk about French, Dutch, and English attempts to settle North America. The Spanish can't have all the glory, now, can they?
August, 2011-- for the new 5th grade
Welcometo the official OLA 5th grade wiki ! A wiki is a collection of web pages designed to allow a community of users (that's us) to talk, share work, and see what others are saying and doing in the group.
We use this wiki in a variety of ways. Every Monday morning during the school year, parents and students can check this page for news and updates about the upcoming school week. There will also be updates by fifth graders on the Daily Blurb page that will answer the eternal parental question, "What did you do in school today?"
The Problem Solving page will have math problems of interest for extra credit, and the Photos page will have slide shows of different events in our class. The Social Studies and Math pages are for special presentations in those subjects, and the Students page is for fifth graders to ask questions about class or tell stories about what they do outside school.
I've also been experimenting with a few new things-- there's no real information on them yet, but you can listen to a couple of samples below.
E-mail me at jmistretta@worcesterdiocesek12.org if you had any trouble with either of the above. You can also e-mail me now if you have questions about anything you read here.
Soon you will receive a newsletter in the mail with a little information on what to expect in 5th grade this year. There's a lot more to know, though, and a longer letter will go home during the first week of school.
Huh? School? When?
When I send the letter home, you'll also be able to access it on the Handouts page of this wiki. Give it a try and see if it works for you. During the school year, you'll find many class notices, handouts, and study sheets there.
To write on the wiki, you'll need a username and password. To give these to you, I need a signed permission slip, which I'll pass out (and put on the Handouts page) in September. Until then, check back here once in a while... you never know what might pop up on a 5th grade wiki!
OK, let's hope that guy doesn't pop up. He looks kind of like me on a Monday morning, actually (the wizard hat keeps my bald head warm on those chilly fall mornings). But never mind. Check back once in a while anyway.
June 22, 2011 Update for All!
To all of the parents and kids who contributed toward the most generous gift I received on the last day of school this year, thank you very, very much. It was a really good year for me working with all of you... people like you make me want to come to work every day. I will put both the Staples card and Dunkin Donuts gift card to excellent use, and will think of and pray for all of you this summer. Have a wonderful, restful, fun-filled vacation, kids!
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