G5 Life

G5 T.V. "NatGeoLive"

 

G5 T.V. "February Friendship Party"

 

Important Dates!

Reminder for all middle school dates in the near future:

See below for edited dates (made a mistake on the parent night date):

• Wednesday, February 27th: International lottery viewing at 2pm in the IS commons (if you can't make it results will be posted online on Friday, 3/1 at 3pm)
• Friday, March 1st: Odle "Fine Arts Assembly"
• Tuesday, March 5th: Counselors from Odle & Highland come to visit students at Cherry Crest (8:30am)
• Tuesday, March 5th: Prism Parent Information Night at Odle (6pm)
• Wednesday, March 6th: Gen Ed Parent Information Night at Odle (6pm) 
• Wednesday, March 6th: The GMSP Program information evening for our 4^th and 5^th grade parents will be Wed., March 6, at Cherry Crest from 5-6pm in the Cafeteria. The Gifted office will share information about the upcoming changes and answer questions that evening.

• Friday, March 8th: Middle School Math Placement Test (given during math block)
• Tuesday, March 12th: Counselors return to pick up registration forms from students

Borge Ousland "Polar Explorer"

Today, students had the amazing opportunity to listen to Borge Ousland at the National Geographic Live presentation, Benaroya hall.  Borge Ousland spoke about his numerous adventures to the North Pole and used pictures and video to show the students what it was like to be out in one of the harshest environments in the world.  He is the first person to cross the Arctic alone!  He went from Russia to Canada via the North Pole and it took him a total of 82 days!  He demonstrated perseverance, dedication, and passion to succeed!  

Thank you to the Curriculum Enhancement Team for making this happen!

 

Here are some questions to ask your 5th grader:
 
What areas has Borge has Explored?
 
Answer: Both Poles
 
What are some of his accomplishments?
 
The first person to cross Antarctica solo and unsupported with resupply, Ousland more recently completed the first ever sea crossing of the Northwest and Northeast Passages in a single season. In 2011, he led an expedition to Antarctica to mark the anniversary of Amundsen's conquest of the South Pole.
 
What motivates Borge Ousland to explore the Polar regions?
 
Borge Ousland said "I really feel that I do what I want in life, to explore the unknown and share the spirit of adventure and love for nature with other people through books, lectures, blog, and films. To be in the middle of the strong Arctic or Antarctic nature with just your sled and skies, to be self-supplied for up to three months at the time, is a lifelong and intense experience."

February Friendship!

 

Thanks again to all the parents and students who made our February celebration a wonderful event.  The students spent quality time socializing with each other, passing out friendly notes, and eating sweet treats.  Enjoy some pictures from the day!

G5 T.V. "Our Colonial Boston"

 

 

Colonial Boston Story Path

As part of our Social Studies Story Path, students assume the role of a colonist in Boston 1765.  They pick a family name and introduce themselves to the class.  They talk about their role in the family, family business, daily activities, relatives, and interesting life experiences.  Justyna and Rosa are pictured above after finishing their speeches.  They also dressed the part to add a realistic feel.  Great job G5!

Here's the completed scene of Colonial Boston 1765 created by the class!  Now, students  will learn about the events and tensions that lead to the Revolutionary War.   

From the Desk of Ms. Stover

There were a lot of tears today in both 5th grade classes.  It breaks my heart as their teacher to see them so frustrated and upset with themselves.    Yes, folks, we are hitting the hard stuff.  Just as I told you on Curriculum Night back in September, our curriculum becomes increasingly more difficult as we move throughout the year, and for some reason or another, January is when a lot of kids start to hit the wall.  We talked today about how this is totally normal and it’s okay if students are struggling.  It happens every   year.  The important part is to keep working hard, keep asking questions, pay attention in class…it may take a little longer to grasp concepts, with more practice, but they’ll get it!  This can be frustrating for students who have usually done exceptionally well in math; 3′s and 4′s on all their homework assignments are oftentimes now getting 2′s and sometimes 1′s.  After last Friday’s quiz (with an average well below what it was September-December), I realized that we’ve gotten to that point in the year where kids start to struggle.

With that said, struggling can actually be a good thing.  I made it into a positive today in class, talking about the importance of learning from our mistakes; the key is to keep going…keep persevering!  Today in class, students made themselves a “cheat sheet”, a.k.a. their study guide.  These fraction-decimal equivalencies will need to be memorized by Friday so that we can stay on pace with this unit and our Math Expressions curriculum.  With a positive attitude and strong work ethic, I KNOW it can be done!   See below in case your child lost/missplaced his/her 4×6 index card.  Happy Studying!

Global Reading Challenge

Congrats to all the teams that participated in the Global Reading Challenge! Annie, Sadie, Justyna, and Ronnie represented the G5 from our class. The winning team moves on to the next competition at Sacred Heart. Good luck!

Great Game Lake Hills Extreme!

 

Our very own G5 girls, Kelsey, Abby W, Emma, Cami, and Mckenna played their hearts out today as they battled it out at the semi-finals with team Pacific FC.  The teams tied in regulation play and it ended with penalty kicks.  Cheers to an excellent season Lake Hills Extreme!  The force is strong with you...