Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

Happy Catholic Schools Week!

Tonight is our Cultural Heritage Dinner, please come and celebrate the various cultures represented at PCRS! Don't forget to bring a delicious cultural dish to share. No Homework Tonight!!!

Tomorrow is Student Appreciation Day and the students will be provided breakfast from their teachers. Lunch will also be provided by the PTO, if you feel like your child will need additional items for lunch please send them in an additional snack. The students will also dress in their future career outfits. The PCRS Talent Show is tomorrow too. The students may bring an outfit to change into for their performance. No Homework Tonight!!!

Wednesday is Teacher and Staff Appreciation Day.

Thursday is Family Appreciation Day, we will dismiss at 11:00 AM and have mass at 11:30 AM at St. Therese Catholic Church. Please do not forget to have your child wear his/her mass uniform. No Homework Tonight! The students will have their Math and Social Studies Test today!!

Friday is PCRS Spirit Day! It is a Tag Day with school colors (Blue and White) or Dress like a pirate (our school mascot). We will also have our Faculty and Staff vs. the 8th Grade Basketball Game. Come out and join us!

Please do not forget that the students are required to read 10 minutes a night and do IXL for 30 minutes for the week and record it on their Logs. It counts as a quiz grade. Please assist me in helping your child become a lifelong reader. These logs are do every Monday for a quiz grade.

Here are a few highlights of what is happening this week in Fifth Grade...

Religion- The students will be able to review the chapter 16 ideas that are key to growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We will have the Chapter 16 Test next week.

Math- The students will deduce how to solve word problems using simpler numbers and various strategies. The students will be reviewing the information covered in Chapter 6 for their Test on Thursday!

IXL Math-The students can work for mastery on Level G sections O.1 through O.12 on IXL. This will help your child to practice dividing fractions by fractions, by whole numbers and by mixed numbers. Please remind your child to record their information on their Math Logs because their IXL time counts as a quiz grade. The students will only be required 30 minutes on IXL.

Science- This week the students will be identifying characteristics of solids, liquids, gases and plasmas.

Science Lab- The students investigated the Kinetic Theory of Motion by demonstrating how Solid, Liquid and Gas particles move. The students did this using their bodies and then using a kit.

Social Studies- The students will be able to review for their Chapter 6 Test on Thursday.

Reading- The students will recall the story “William Joyce Scrapbook” a Autobiography by William Joyce, in order to identify the vocabulary from the lesson. The students will be utilizing several skills to help decode the text. The students will be evaluated by completing the End of Selection Test on Friday. Please have the students review their vocabulary words for this story. The students will be making predictions in the book “The Westing Game” our class read aloud book. Please remind them to document their minutes for their home D.E.A.R. Time as it counts as a quiz.

Language Arts- Word Study- The students in the yellow group are sorting their words by the sounded and silent consonants. The students in the blue group are sorting their words by the prefixes un-, dis-, mis-, and in-.

In Vocabulary, the students will not have Vocabulary this week. If you have not accessed the Grammar or Vocabulary websites, please do so by using the access code located on the second page in their book to create a user log-in so that your child will be able to take advantage of the fun learning games available.

In Grammar, the students will be reviewing subject and verb agreement in paragraphs as well as identifying good topic sentences. They will also be learning about using proper grammar when completing sentences and writing their own sentences. They will be identifying the correct form of either (good or well) or (real or very) and using negatives in sentences.

Physical Education/Health- Students will participate in games involving fleeing, dodging and stopping. We will also work on tumbling and balance activities and cooperative team building games.

Music- Students will prepare their class song and whole group song for the Grandparent’s Day Celebration.

Spanish- This week students will continue to understand and explore Spanish colors. They will describe their clothes as well as their classmates clothes.

Technology- The students will be writing kind statements on Story Lines through their Edmodo Accounts and typing their essays and poems for the Catholic Daughters of America Essay and Poem Contest.

Art-Fifth graders will use their personal artists journals as a warm up activity to brainstorm illustrations for our Catholic Daughters of the America Art Contest. We will then discuss and use these designs as inspiration for final sketches.

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a fantastic long weekend!

Today, we had a K through fifth grade demonstration of the Mad Science Program that will be starting after school. The students were very interested in the experiments that Radical Rick showed them.

We have mass on Wednesday, January 21st at 10:00 AM. Please do not forget to have your child wear his/her mass uniform.

Please assist your children in completing their I Can Change the World with My Own Two Hands Project it is due on Thursday, January 22nd.

Next week is Catholic Schools Week, and I have heard that PTO is still looking for volunteers. If you are available and can help, please contact the office for the specifics.

The Annual School Auction is quickly approaching and we are trying to determine a theme for our class auction items. If anyone has any connections or even just an idea for the basket please contact me by email. Thanks in advance! :)

Please do not forget that the students are required to read 10 minutes a night and do IXL for 30 minutes for the week and record it on their Logs. It counts as a quiz grade. Please assist me in helping your child become a lifelong reader. These logs are do every Monday for a quiz grade.

Here are a few highlights of what is happening this week in Fifth Grade...

Religion- The students will be able to explain the two ways the Sacrament of penance and Reconciliation can be celebrated. The students will identify ways that the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation can strengthen us and how we need to trust in God's mercy. The students will describe the ways that we can turn our hearts and minds to God by answering God's call. The students will be able to review the chapter 15 ideas that are key to growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Math- The students will decide how to divide a mixed number by a fraction. The students will demonstrate how to divide a mixed or whole number by a mixed or whole number. The students will use rounding to estimate products and quotients with mixed numbers. The students will also use compatible numbers to estimate products and quotients with mixed numbers. The students will deduce how to solve word problems using simpler numbers and various strategies.

IXL Math-The students can work for mastery on Level G sections O.1 through O.12 on IXL. This will help your child to practice dividing fractions by fractions, by whole numbers and by mixed numbers. Please remind your child to record their information on their Math Logs because their IXL time counts as a quiz grade. The students will only be required 30 minutes on IXL.

Science- This week the students will be classifying mixtures as solutions, colloids, or suspensions. Then they will be separating mixtures by filtration and evaporation. The students will be identifying characteristics of solids, liquids, gases and plasmas.

Science Lab- No Science Lab due to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Social Studies- The students will be able to predict and explain when, where and why groups of different people settled in the Southern Colonies. The students will compare and contrast the colonies founded in Maryland, the Carolinas and Georgia. The students will analyze the relationships between the Southern Colonies and their neighbors.

Reading- The students will recall the story “William Joyce Scrapbook” a Autobiography by William Joyce, in order to identify the vocabulary from the lesson. The students will be utilizing several skills to help decode the text. The students will be evaluated by completing the End of Selection Test on Thursday. Please have the students review their vocabulary words for this story. The students will be making predictions in the book “The Westing Game” our class read aloud book. Please remind them to document their minutes for their home D.E.A.R. Time as it counts as a quiz.

Language Arts- Word Study- The students in fifth grade took their Word Study Inventory Test to determine what developmental groups they will be working in for the second semester. They will not have a word study test until January 30th.

In Vocabulary, the students will be identifying the wordnot have Vocabulary this week. If you have not accessed the Grammar or Vocabulary websites, please do so by using the access code located on the second page in their book to create a user log-in so that your child will be able to take advantage of the fun learning games available.

In Grammar, the students will be learning about using proper grammar when completing sentences and writing their own sentences while utilizing adverbs and Comparing with Adverbs.

Physical Education/Health- Games which involve cooperation, problem solving and teamwork will challenge our learner s this week. Students will investigate decision making as it affects their life choices in relation to drugs, alcohol, smoking and peer pressure.

Music- Students will prepare their performance of "Eye of the Tiger" for the talent show.

Spanish- This week students will understand and explore Spanish colors. They will also identify them in different forms.

Technology- The students will be writing kind statements on Story Lines through their Edmodo Accounts.

Art-No Art Class this week due to holiday weekend.

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

This week, Fifth Grade will be working on their Scantron Testing, please make sure your child has breakfast before they come to school to help keep them focused during testing.

We have mass on Wednesday, January 14th. Please do not forget to have your child wear his/her mass uniform.

Please remember that we do not have school on January 19th, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Catholic Schools Week is coming up at the end of the month! Please assist your children in completing their I Can Change the World with My Own Two Hands Project.

Please do not forget that the students are required to read 10 minutes a night and do IXL for 30 minutes for the week and record it on their Logs. It counts as a quiz grade. Please assist me in helping your child become a lifelong reader. These logs are do every Monday for a quiz grade.

Here are a few highlights of what is happening this week in Fifth Grade...

Religion- The students will be able to review the chapter 15 ideas that are key to growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ. The students will also be preparing for their test on Chapter 15 on Wednesday. The students will examine their conscience as a way to grow in love of God and others. The students will be able to explain the two ways the Sacrament of penance and Reconciliation can be celebrated.

Math- The students will be able to recall how to multiply mixed numbers using the GCF. The students will explore the division of whole numbers and fractions by fractions by creating models. The students will demonstrate how to find the reciprocal of a number. The students will decide how to divide a whole number by a fraction, a fraction by a fraction and a fraction by a whole number.

IXL Math-The students can work for mastery on Level G sections N.1 through N.10 on IXL. Later on this week, the students will be able to complete the skills from O.1 through O.5 as well. This will help your children to practice multiplying fractions by fractions, by whole numbers and by mixed numbers. Please remind your child to record their information on their Math Logs because their IXL time counts as a quiz grade. The students will only be required 30 minutes on IXL.

Science- This week the students will be reviewing Unit A Chapter 2 on Animal Growth and Reproduction to prepare for their test on Tuesday. Then the students will begin Nancy Larson again. The students will be investigating physical and chemical properties of matter. The students will be classifying matter as a pure substance or a mixture as well as identifying mixtures as homogeneous or heterogeneous. They will be classifying mixtures as solutions, colloids, or suspensions. Then they will be separating mixtures by filtration and evaporation.

Science Lab- Today, the students explored and experimented with electricity. The students focused on circuits. They were able to identify and demonstrate both series and parallel circuits as well as open and closed circuits. Ask your students about the activity with the UFO ball!

Social Studies- The students will be able to predict and explain when, where and why the Dutch and English colonized and settled in the Middle Colonies. The students will be able to describe the accomplishments of colonial leaders such as William Penn. They will analyze why cooperation was an advantage in the economic development of the early European colonies. The students will also review the reading skill of identifying the main idea. The students will be able to predict and explain when, where and why groups of different people settled in the Southern Colonies. The students will compare and contrast the colonies founded in Maryland, the Carolinas and Georgia.

Reading- The students will recall the story “William Shakespeare and the Globe” a Biography by Aliki, in order to identify the vocabulary from the lesson. The students will be utilizing several skills to help decode the text. The students will be evaluated by completing the End of Selection Test on Thursday. Please have the students review their vocabulary words for this story. The students will be making predictions in the book “The Westing Game” our class read aloud book. Please remind them to document their minutes for their home D.E.A.R. Time as it counts as a quiz.

Language Arts- Word Study- The students in fifth grade took their Word Study Inventory Test to determine what developmental groups they will be working in for the second semester. They will not have a word study test until January 23rd.

In Vocabulary, the students will be identifying the words that match the synonyms or antonyms using the concentration game on the SMARTBoard for Unit 14! They will also be making connections in order to identify the proper words that should be used to complete sentences and match the meaning. If you have not accessed the Grammar or Vocabulary websites, please do so by using the access code located on the second page in their book to create a user log-in so that your child will be able to take advantage of the fun learning games available.

In Grammar, the students will be learning about using proper grammar when completing sentences and writing their own sentences while utilizing comparing adjectives, comparing with good and bad and adverbs.

Physical Education/Health- Students will participate in: Beach Ball Volleyball Skill Drills and Beach Ball Volleyball game.

Music- Students will prepare "Eye of the Tiger" for the talent show.

Spanish- This week students will understand and explore Spanish colors. They will also identify them in different forms.

Technology- The students will be researching information about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and answering questions using various internet resources.

Art-Today, students will utilize their personal artist journals to complete their clay castle designs. They will then create an abstract piece of art using only numbers and colors to create emotion. We will model after the art of Charles Demuth’s “I Saw the Figure No.5 in Gold.”

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome Back, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas Break! I cannot believe that it is 2015, this year sure is flying by!

Please do not forget that the students are required to read 10 minutes a night and do IXL for 30 minutes for the week and record it on their Logs. It counts as a quiz grade. Please assist me in helping your child become a lifelong reader. These logs are do every Monday for a quiz grade.

Here are a few highlights of what is happening this week in Fifth Grade...

Religion- The students will be able to explain the meaning of conversion and understand what it means to turn to God and grow in God's love. The students will recall that Jesus forgives us our sins and reminds us to seek God's forgiveness from the heart. The students will create a song or a poem to show that Jesus continues to forgive through the Church.

Math- The students will explore how to multiply s fraction by a fraction using models. The students will analyze and solve problems by multiplying fractions by fractions, fractions by whole numbers and fractions by mixed numbers. The students will also show how to multiply fractions using the greatest common factor (GCF).

IXL Math-The students can work for mastery on Level G sections N.1 through N.10 on IXL. This will help your children to practice multiplying fractions by fractions, by whole numbers and by mixed numbers. Please remind your child to record their information on their Math Logs because their IXL time counts as a quiz grade. The students will only be required 30 minutes on IXL.

Science- This week the students will be making predictions as to what they think life cycles are and how animals change as they grow. They will be comparing and contrasting complete and incomplete metamorphosis. The students will be summarizing how characteristics are inherited and what genes are. The students will classify if a characteristic is an inherited trait or a learned behavior.

Science Lab- The students will be conducting on observation experiment where they will watch and observe what happens during water electrolysis. The students will observe that the molecules of water will be ripped apart sending the hydrogen into one test tube and the oxygen into the other.

Social Studies- The students will be able to predict and explain why the Pilgrims wanted to start a colony in North America. They will identify the important events of the Pilgrims' first year in New England. The students will compare the development of Plymouth with the development of Jamestown. The students will analyze historical events in sequence.

Reading- The students will recall the story “Hattie's Birthday Box” a short story by Pam Conrad, in order to identify the vocabulary from the lesson. The students will be utilizing several skills to help decode the text. The students will be evaluated by completing the End of Selection Test on Thursday. Please have the students review their vocabulary words for this story. The students will be making predictions in the book “The Westing Game” our class read aloud book. Please remind them to document their minutes for their home D.E.A.R. Time as it counts as a quiz.

Language Arts- Word Study- The students in the Yellow Group will be sorting their words based off of the Ambiguous vowels in accented syllables oy/oi and ou/ow. They will be listening to the words and determining if the accented syllable is in the 1st or 2nd syllable and there are no oddballs. The students in the Pink Group will be sorting their words with the Schwa + R sand R-influenced E in accented syllables (er, ear, ere) there are no oddballs. The students in the Blue Group will be sorting their words based on Greek and Latin elements:size (micro-, mega-, super-, and hyper-. Word Study Test on Friday.

In Vocabulary, the students will be identifying the words that match the synonyms or antonyms using the concentration game on the SMARTBoard for Unit 13! They will also be making connections in order to identify the proper words that should be used to complete sentences and match the meaning. If you have not accessed the Grammar or Vocabulary websites, please do so by using the access code located on the second page in their book to create a user log-in so that your child will be able to take advantage of the fun learning games available.

In Grammar, the students will be learning about adjectives and proper adjectives.

Physical Education/Health- Students will participate in: Skill Tumbling and Balance Activities. Students will be actively engaged in T-Ball Skill Drills.

Music- Students will discuss and prepare their class performance for the talent show during Catholic Schools Week. Students will also identify their own musical talents.

Spanish- This week students will understand and explore Spanish colors. They will also identify them in different forms.

Technology- The students will be researching information about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and answering questions using various internet resources.

Art-Fifth Graders will assemble personal artist journals that will serve as a warm-up activity each week along with reinforcing the important connection between literacy and the creative process. Students will draw their clay castles in their journals and then evaluate, revise and plan for the glazing process.