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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Kindness Committee and People Helping People

Greetings Families:
During the joy and excitement of the holiday season, we remind ourselves that even in our own community there are families in need. In addition to our Cradles to Crayons fundraiser, the Kindness Committee of the Student Council voted to help a Burlington family in need. Through the nonprofit organization, People Helping People, students have organized a coin drive for the fifth grade. Please talk with your child about this need, and send in loose change or dollar bills. The money will be used for Christmas gift cards.
Thank you so much for your support.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Holiday Shoppe!

Fifth Graders will attend the Holiday Shoppe tomorrow from 8:35-8:55.

Monday, December 7, 2015

News from The Kindness Committee!

Families:
The Kindness Committee of the Fifth Grade Student Council is taking on TWO fundraisers this holiday season. The first -- a school-wide effort -- will kick off on Wednesday and supports the nonprofit organization, Cradles to Crayons. This organization provides much-needed support for poverty stricken Massachusetts children up to age 12. The organization accepts donations of new or nearly new clothing (including coats, boots, etc.); toys, games, and stuffed animals; and, school supplies (including backpacks). You can also send coins or dollar bills to contribute to the coin drive students have set up.
Please talk with your child about this fundraiser. It is a wonderful way to involve kids in giving to those in need.
I will also keep you informed about the Student Council's second fundraiser for People Helping People. This fundraiser is specific to fifth grade.
Thanks for your support.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving.  On Wednesday morning Room 12 students will have a class discussion about a brief project we will be undertaking known as a Cultural Identity Quilt.  Each student will create a 9" x 9" quilt square that represents their heritage.  On the quilt square will be a flag of their ancestors' country of origin, a sketch of the country, as well as a food and holiday that is important in that country.  We will begin this project in school and it will be due on Wednesday, December 2nd.  The homework part of this project involves your child asking you some questions to help them to better understand their heritage and add a few additional details to their quilt square that will help to enrich it.  Once again, I wish everyone the best this holiday.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

People Helping People

The after-school fitness club, Fit Girls, has organized a Thanksgiving food drive for People Helping People. This organization provides much-needed support to Burlington families. They ask that you check your kitchen for extra items such as: stuffing (bagged or boxed), cranberry sauce, mayonnaise, canned corn, cornbread mix, gravy, or chicken broth.
Please support this food drive, and send your child to school with a contribution. The deadline is Friday, November 20. Thank you!

Monday, November 9, 2015

Parent-Teacher Conferences!

Hi Parents,
Just a reminder that Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for the first week of December.  I have sent home a notice to all parents who are not currently signed up for a conference.  As the notice states, please write in your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for a conference and send the form back to school.  Please return the conference form on Thursday or Friday at the latest.  I will send out conference reminders confirming date and time of conferences early next week.  Thank you.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Engineering Design Challenge, Vocabulary Parade and Essential Questions!

Here we are working on the engineering design challenge.  Students are  planning to build animal enclosures.





Here are a few pictures from the Vocabulary Parade.





Here students work with essential questions during their study of the book Morning Girl by Michael Dorris.  To find out more about this work check out Norman's News- October.



Monday, October 26, 2015

Vocabulary Parade on Friday!

Hi Parents,

This is a reminder about the Vocabulary Parade on Friday.  We are asking each student to have their selected word and definition attached to their costumes. We will be sharing these words and costumes at a whole school assembly and afterwards as a whole fifth grade in our pod.  If there are any questions please don't hesitate to contact me either by phone or email.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Topic 2 Math Test Tomorrow!

This is a brief reminder about tomorrow's math test.  The students were assigned Reteach Pages 54-57 in their math books.  They choose the parts of the Reteach that will help them prepare for the test.  Their choices for what problems to review are based on problems they got wrong on the Topic 2 Practice Test taken on Friday in class.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Reminder- Science Test next Tuesday

There will be a science test on Classification next Tuesday for Rooms 11+12.  Room 12 received the study guide today and Room 11 will receive the study guide tomorrow.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Norman's News

Hi Parents,

I am creating this post to introduce you to the first "Norman's News."  Each month I review the academic curriculum we have been working on in an online newsletter.  To access "Norman's News" please click on the tab above.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Camp Reminders!

This is just a quick reminder that students going to Bournedale do not take the school bus to school tomorrow.  They need to be driven to school.

If your son or daughter is staying at Fox Hill for Camp Eagle-Fox they will come to school as usual and report to Mr. Norman's homeroom, Room 12.  Also, a signed permission slip is required for Camp Eagle-Fox participants to take a bus over to Memorial School on Friday of this week. Permission slips were put in student mailboxes yesterday, September 22nd.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Curious!

Fox Hill 5th graders in Rooms 11 and 12 are testing their powers of observation! The pictures below are samples of work that involved creating sketches, labeling diagrams, and making predictions about what is inside a Mystery Tube.












Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Welcome Back!

Hello Parents and 5th Grade Students,

Welcome back to another exciting year at Fox Hill School.  I'm looking forward to meeting you in the near future.  Until that time I hope you will take a few minutes to look over this blog.  Check out old posts as well as some of the great links to learning resources on the internet.  You can get a good idea of how the 5th Grade operates by becoming familiar with this blog and following the links to the blogs of my colleagues- Mrs. Lee, Mr. Lisano and Mrs. Jaffe.  The links to Norman's News will give you an introduction to the curriculum that is covered in 5th grade.

My homework is posted daily and the posts are archived until the end of the month.  So, if you are absent you can always check to see what you missed.  Mr. Lisano and I are a team in terms of teaching science and social studies.  If you are in my homeroom I am your science teacher and Mr. Lisano is your social studies teacher.  We do regroup students for reading and writing instruction. However, as with 4th grade your homeroom teacher is your math teacher.  I will post Mr. Lisano's social studies homework on my blog but since ELA homework is often more involved than science and social studies homework you will want to check your ELA teacher's blog for his or her assignments on a daily basis.

I hope this brief introduction to my classroom blog was helpful.

See you soon!

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Thank You for a Wonderful Year!

Thank you parents!  It was wonderful working with your children.  Below I've posted classrooms with teams in case there is any confusion.  Have a great summer!

TEAM A

A 17
A 18
A 19
D 101

TEAM B

A 2
A 3
A 4
D 102

TEAM C

A 13
A 14
A 15
D 103

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

5th Grade Reception!

Hi Everyone!

Tomorrow is our Fifth Grade Reception.  Students should bring a bag lunch for our picnic.  Parents should bring a picnic lunch/blanket/lawn chair).  The schedule is as follows:

9:05-9:30 a.m.      Doors Open-Parents Arrive
9:30-10:30 a.m.    Grade 5 Reception
10:30-11:00 a.m.  Meet at shade structure for pictures and refreshments
11:00-11:30 a.m.  Picnic and Cake with Parents & Staff

Sunday, June 14, 2015

2015 Spirit Week!

Hi Everyone,

It's Spirit Week at Fox Hill.  Just in case you didn't get the notice the following is a list of how we will be celebrating this week,

Monday- Pajama Day
Tuesday- Sports Day
Wednesday- Mismatched Clothes and Crazy Hair Day
Thursday- Hawaiian Day ( This is also the day of our 5th grade reception.)
Friday-Community Helpers Day- Be ready to hear from our panel of community helpers!

Monday, May 18, 2015

Blizzard Bag Support This Week!

5th grade teachers will be available for Blizzard Bag Support this week in the Fox Hill Library.  The support time is from 3-4 pm.  Students must go home first and then return to Fox Hill School in order to participate. Students must be picked up from the library at 4 pm.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Friday is Survival Day!

Students should bring 2 snacks, a lunch, and a couple of water bottles.  They can have one snack right after specials, and the other right before we go out to the woods.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Poetry Presentations!

Here are two student created projects.  These projects are the students' interpretations of poems we have read and studied in class.










Thursday, April 16, 2015

Field Trip Permission Slips!

I need all signed permission slips for the Concord Museum Field Trip as soon as possible.  The trip is on Monday, May 4th.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Blizzard Bags!

Blizzard Bags have arrived!  Today students received a blue notice from Patrick Larkin outlining the process for completing these projects.  You can access the Blizzard Bag assignment by clicking here.  You can also access the Blizzard Bags through the link titled "Blizzard Bags" on this blog.  I have an EPIC! Books for Kids educator account which will allow students to read online versions of the books that are part of this project.  I will share my account username and password with the kids tomorrow.

If access to technology is an issue paper copies of the Blizzard Bag can be provided.  Please let me know.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Newsletter Page!

Please note the new tab on this blog entitled "Newsletter."  If you already read the newsletter please check it out again.  I've added something in the ELA portion of the letter.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Light!

Students in Rooms 11 and 14 have been investigating light!  They are making observations, asking questions about what they observe and carrying out research to find the answers to those observations!


Light through prisms

Recording observations on shared google doc

reflections from a spoon

view in a spectroscope

Friday, March 6, 2015

Early March Update!

The snow banks are shrinking and the weather pattern is supposed to become gentler in the next week. Spring will come!

As far as Room 12 is concerned we are finishing our unit on addition and subtraction of fractions.  On Monday we will begin practicing for the Topic 9 test.  The test will be on Wednesday or Thursday of next week.

In ELA we are reflecting on the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. The students are using evidence from the text to support their analysis of character traits.  We are also finishing up animal research projects.  The students are publishing their work in e-book format complete with pictures, table or contents and bibliography.  This has been a highly detailed and structured project that has taught the children many important lessons about revising, editing and publishing a non-fiction piece of writing.

In science we broke into small groups and created "I Wonder" documents.  We conducted several experiments on sound.  Observations were recorded on the "I Wonder" documents.

Last Friday the 5th graders did a fantastic job creating and sharing a video about how they took a learning risk in school.  The video was shared at the grade 3-5 Spirit of Adventure Assembly led by Mrs. Johnson.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Mid February Update!

In math we've completed our unit on decimals.  We began fractions today with a cooperative activity where we found equivalent fractions using fraction strips. A letter introducing the new unit (Topic 9) was sent home today.

In ELA we are reading the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. We are learning to write highly detailed summaries and to quote the text in our guided reading groups.  I am impressed with the discussions students are having about their reading as they fill in graphic organizers and use their notes to create written responses to literature.  

In science we are continuing to write research papers on animal adaptations.  The children have written fact strips, cut them out, arranged them on graphic organizers, developed topic sentences and clinchers, and will soon begin to draft their research.

I hope everyone has a terrific February Vacation!

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Vocabulary Workshop

Hi Everyone,

The correct password for Vocabulary Workshop is:

VWLAAS9FBQT4

There was a typo in the back to school information given out in September.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Late January Update!

In math we are currently working on division of decimals.  We will continue dividing decimals next week.  I am tentatively scheduling a math test for Thursday based on the amount of reviewing we are able to do early in the week. In science we are doing research on animals and how their body structure helps them adapt to their environment.  We continue to practice strategies for good note taking.  In ELA we have been preparing for the PARCC Test which will be given in mid March.  Students have been learning strategies for answering open response questions in an online environment.  They have also been learning how to gather evidence from a text and use that evidence to support their own answers.  We have also been practicing narrative writing in preparation for PARCC testing.  Today we read a story about a conflict between Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed and then rewrote it from a different point of view.  

We recently received classroom pets from the science center.  Natalie, Alex and Dylan are three gerbils that are fortunate to have the students of Room 12 caring for them!  Everyone has done a terrific job being responsible caretakers.  Have a nice weekend everyone.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Early January Update!

Hi Everyone,

Our first week back has been a busy one.  In math we are finishing up multiplication of decimals.  We will have the Topic 6 Test on Tuesday.  If you are interested in having your child do additional practice to prepare for the test, check out the Topic 6 re-teach section found in their enVision math books.  This reteach section can also be accessed online. In ELA we have completed informational power writes on free choice science topics.  The children have chosen to write on a diverse range of subjects from animal behavior to severe weather systems.  Using the Alpha Box Strategy for collecting key words in a piece of non-fiction has helped to make student writing more exact and informative. We are currently learning how to write good answers to open-response test questions. In science we are learning how to research a topic and write an informational essay based on our research.  I hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

Monday, January 5, 2015

Happy New Year!

Welcome back everyone!  This message is primarily for my ELA class.  If possible I would like parents to set up Grammar Workshop accounts for their children.  The procedure for doing this is in the Online Instructional Resources For Fifth Graders packet that was given out at Back to School Night.  If you need another packet please let me know.