Reflections On Our First Semester

It is hard to believe our first semester is coming to a close!  As I reflect back on our first part of the school year, I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to work with each of your children and your families each day.  I so enjoy the spirit of this group and their strong commitment to learning!  I can't wait to see what the remainder of the school year will bring!  Thank you to each of your families for your continued support, and please continue to let me know how I can support your children as we go forward.  

We have been so hard at work in our different subject areas!  In writing, we have worked on our research reports on a topic relating to the Thirteen Colonies.  We have enjoyed the research process and also formatting reports to not only include the information we share but also various nonfiction text features.  In our next unit after winter break, we will write a research-based argument essay on a topic of great importance to us.  In reading, we have completed our unit on nonfiction.  We have discussed strategies to help us better comprehend nonfiction and tackle complexity.  Our next unit in reading will focus on historical fiction.  We wanted to offer all families an opportunity to join us in our historical fiction unit.  Therefore, we are going to start an adult book club.  This is a great way for us to share a historical fiction novel together and have conversations that might be similar to what your child could experience in his/her book club.  Joining this book club is optional and just for fun!  Here are the details:

Meeting Dates: Tuesdays: January 12, 2016, January 19, 2016, and January 26, 2016
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Location: Fifth Grade Suite
Book: Revolutionary by Alex Myers 

If you are interested in joining our book club, secure yourself a copy of the book and let our team know!  We will send out a (loose) reading schedule so we can keep a similar pace to help us have good conversations.

I was so impressed with our American Revolution projects this week!  It was so exciting to see the students' creativity and originality in each of the projects.  We will put all of our projects in our fifth grade museum at the end of the school year.  More information will come to you in the coming months about when this will occur so all families can come and take a look at all of the different exhibits we will have in our museum!  After break, we will also start our final social studies unit which will focus on the United States forming a new nation after the American Revolution and the formation of the Constitution.  It has been wonderful to connect our reading, writing, and social studies work together, and we look forward to continuing this after winter break!

Tomorrow we will enjoy our pajama read-in at school.  Students are invited to wear their pajamas to school, and we will enjoy reading throughout the day as well as hot chocolate in the morning.

I look forward to what our second semester together will bring!  Lots of great learning is ahead in addition to our fifth grade ski trip on Thursday, January 14, 2016!  I wish each of your families a wonderful winter break!!

Updates On Our Learning, Curriculum Night Links, and Conferences! :)

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!  It seems hard to believe we are already in the midst of September.  I am so excited about the positive energy of our class and the work we have done thus far!  Over the past few weeks, we have enjoyed practicing our regular, every day routine and diving deeper into our units in different subject areas.

In writing, we are continuing to work in our "Narrative Craft" unit.  In this unit, the students are raising the level of their narrative writing.  They are choosing a small moment from their life to write about.  We are also working on telling the inside story, what we were thinking and feeling in the story, and also the events that unfolded.

In social studies, we are working in our "Cultures Meet" unit.  Currently we are learning about different European explorers who journeyed to the New World.  We are analyzing their motivations for exploration, the results of their explorations, and the routes they took.

Thinking analytically in social studies has helped us in our first reading unit, "Interpretation Book Clubs."  In this unit, the students are learning how to analyze their reading on a deeper level.  We are learning to share our thoughts not only in book clubs but also in our writing.  Throughout the week, you may see your child's reading scrapbook come home as we will ask students to write entries about their reading.  We have talked about how these entries should include powerful thinking about our reading.  We will make a claim, or a thought we had about our reading, support the claim with evidence, and then explain our reasoning.  This is a skill we will continue to work on throughout the school year.

In math, all classes have continued work in Unit 2: "Whole Number Multiplication and Division."  Tests from our first unit were sent home on Friday.  After each test is sent home, please sign the test to indicate you have seen it.  Then, students will correct the problems that were marked incorrect.  The students will work out the problem again to find the correct answer on the correction sheets we have provided for them.  They know they are to not write corrections on the test but only on the corrections sheets.  Once corrections have been done, the students will bring the signed test and corrections back to turn in.  This past week, the students also received their XtraMath accounts.  XtraMath, xtramath.org, is a website students can use to practice their basic facts in all operations.  The students are expected to spend about 10 minutes each night on this program.  It is similar to the FASTT Math program we had used for many years.  We will monitor the students progress through the program and offer any help and assistance that we can.  The students received all information necessary to run the program at home on Friday.  They have their student pin numbers to access the program, and they brought home a parent letter to help your family access the program at home.  Please let me know if there are any questions regarding XtraMath!

In this blog, I have also included links to a few different items.  You will find a link below to our Curriculum Night presentation and our Fifth Grade Handbook.  Please let me know if there are any questions regarding any of these attachments.  Our Fifth Grade Handbook has various curriculum links as well as a reminder of how to access our math curriculum online with the proper username and password.  You will find these links throughout the year on our classroom website.

Curriculum Night Resources:
http://www.claytonschools.net/Page/9099

In addition, I have included a link for Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences in this blog as well.  Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held starting Monday, October 12, 2015 through Thursday, October 15, 2015.  Conferences will be held before school and after school Monday, October 12, 2015 through Wednesday, October 14, 2015.  On October 15, 2015, there will be no school for students, and teachers will hold conferences throughout the day.  There will be no school on Friday, October 16, 2015 as well, but neither students or teachers will be in attendance this day.  Fall conferences are scheduled for a thirty-minute time period.  Students will also be asked to attend.  For a part of the conference, students will reflect on their growth so far this year.  Please use the link I have included to select a time from the times I have offered for your conference.  However, please let me know if another time would be best, and I would be happy to set a time that would work better with your schedule.  I look forward to meeting with all of you in October!

Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences Sign Up:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0848a9ab22a6ff2-mscrowleys

Thank you all so much, and I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!!  This Friday, September 18, students will be released at 1:15 p.m. for our first Early Release Day.  Please continue to let me know if I can answer any questions or be of any support!!

A Recipe for Growth

For the past few years, my classes and I have had a shared passion for food and cooking.  My class last year had a regular habit of sharing their favorite meals from the week or the evening before with me as we came up to start our day from the playground.  This year's class has continued the tradition!  We talk about our favorite foods, family traditions, and our favorite, "just right" recipes.  I just love hearing all about their loves, interests, dislikes, and passions in every area!  In the first few weeks of school, we have talked a lot about the "just right" recipe for growth in fifth grade.  We have discussed this both as a class and as a grade level.  Specifically, we have discussed how each of us has different strengths and goals.  Therefore, we need many different recipes for growth with each recipe individualized to meet each student's needs.  I am so excited about the positive energy of this class, the reflective nature of the group, and their desire to learn and grow.  I look forward to working with your families this year to support the growth of your children in all areas.  I will do anything I can to inspire each of your children in their learning this school year.

I also wanted to share a few updates on events this week:
We hope to see you this evening for our Curriculum Night!  Captain's Curriculum Night will begin with a Specialists' Reception at 6:30 p.m.  Following the reception, Dr. Martin's will make opening remarks in the cafeteria beginning at 7:00 p.m.  Then, you will have the opportunity to come upstairs to the fifth grade suite for a brief presentation about our work together this year in fifth grade.  I look forward to seeing you all tonight!!

In addition, this week our class will take the NWEA Math Assessment.  This is a computer-based, adaptive test that provides us with information about students' individual strengths and growth in mathematics, as well as areas in mathematics that we can strengthen for our classes as a whole.  Students will take this test three times this year to monitor their progress.  All results will be shared with you.

Finally, this Friday, August 28, 2015, students will not have school.  Teachers will have a professional development day focused on literacy.

I hope you all have a wonderful remainder of the week, and please let me know if I can be of any support or answer any questions!!

An Amazing First Week and First Formal Friday!

Wow!  What an amazing first week we had in fifth grade!!  I so enjoyed getting to know all of your children and your families!  Our first ever fifth grade leadership retreat was truly inspiring!  I hope your children had positive experiences and wonderful memories from the retreat!  We had tremendous discussions on what it means to be a fifth grade leader, what it means to be original, what our school norms are and what norms we need in fifth grade, how every student in fifth grade has different learning needs, and how we can be brave this school year and in life.  We began building our community as an entire fifth grade and as a class.  We developed the following norms for our grade level.  These norms will be true in each of our three classes.  I was quite impressed with the final product:

1. We will always respect others and be honest even when it is difficult.
2. We will be brave even we are scared.
3. We will be great leaders for everyone by always being kind and inclusive.
4. We will never be selfish; always be selfless.
5. We will get organized and stay organized to help us work better and stay focused.

These norms will be the foundation of our learning throughout the year, and we signed them to start our week this week.  We did this to show our commitment to living them day in and day out.

This was a wonderful foundation to start from as we began to move into our regular daily schedule.  Here is an overview of our daily schedule and what we are working on:

• 8:30 a.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Morning Routine - I will meet students on the playground each morning at 8:30 a.m., and we will then go up to our classroom.  At 8:40 a.m., we will have morning announcements from Dr. Martin, and we then begin class at 8:50 a.m.
• 8:50 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. - Writing - In writing this week, we began our work with a pre-assessment, and we are then moving into a short unit on journalism.  This will lead to the students contributing to our classroom blog!  After this unit, we will move into our first narrative unit.
• 9:50 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. - Social Studies - This week we will begin our very first unit, Cultures Meet.  In this unit, we will examine how cultural differences and competition for land lead to conflicts among different groups of people in the Americas.  We will begin this unit by examining world geography.  We are also excited that we can have the chance to partner with Mrs. Ketzer's class throughout this unit!  Art is also during this time period on D days.
• 10:50 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. - Specials - (PE, Music, Spanish)
• 11:50 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Lunch and Recess
• 12:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. - Reading - We will begin our reading routines, and we will also begin our first unit, Interpretation Book Clubs: Analyzing Themes.  This unit will help us begin to develop our writing about reading, and it will also help us to use book clubs to analyze the theme of a variety of texts.
• 1:50 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. - Math - Our first unit is focused on whole numbers, specifically place value to ten million, rounding, and estimation.  
• 3:20 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Planner and Pack Up - We review our assignments for the day during this time, and we gather materials we will need for these assignments from our lockers.  As you begin to see both our planner and 8-pocket folder come home this week, please sign your child's planner each night.

Please let me know if there are any questions regarding our schedule, units, routines, and procedures!

And speaking of new routines...  Last week, your children may have said that they needed a necktie or bow tie for school on Fridays.  I wanted to explain why you had this request and give you the very interesting back story behind the tradition of what we have come to know as "Formal Friday."  Ever since October 2008, Fridays have been a special day for my classes.  One Friday in October of 2008, I was greeting my students as they entered our classroom, and I noticed one of my students was wearing a suit and tie.  I asked him why he was so dressed up and he explained to me that his dad had "Casual Fridays" because he had worn formal attire all week.  The student then said to me that he should therefore have "Formal Fridays" because he wore casual attire all week.  I was struck by the originality of the idea, the confidence he demonstrated, and also, the amazing ripple effect.  At first, this student stood alone.  Friday after Friday, he took a risk and sought to be original.  He was brave.  Soon, each of my students began asking if they could also participate and put his or her own spin on our new classroom tradition.  We, of course, set up our norms and procedures for the day so as to not disturb our learning and the learning of others.  I was so excited that our class had created a new tradition, one that anyone in the school could be a part of if they chose, and that it brought our class together as well.  Ever since that day, "Formal Fridays" or "Tie Day Fridays" (the name it was given at Captain), have been a part of our classroom community.  Students are welcome to wear ties on Fridays.  I have a class set as well in case any students may forget or want to borrow one from me.  At the same time, wearing a tie is completely optional.  Many students may choose to not wear a tie, and it is completely each student's choice.  We celebrate everyone's choice to participate or not participate each Friday.  As I had stated above, we also have our norms and procedures for the day, as the tie is reminder to us to be professional and focused in our learning without any distraction.  The tie is also a reminder to always be original and let innovative and creative thinking shine through each day.  Our class and the entire fifth grade have chosen to carry on the tradition, and I look forward to seeing our fifth grade make the tradition their own.  We really enjoyed our first Formal Friday last Friday, and I look forward to posting a whole class picture soon of our "Formal Fridays" together! 

Please mark your calendars for our Curriculum Night on Tuesday, August 25, 2015.  It will begin at 7:00 p.m. in our school cafeteria.  We look forward to seeing you all that evening!

Please continue to let me know what questions you may have or how I can be of any support!

Welcome!

Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year!  It is my privilege to welcome you all to fifth grade!  This will be my eighth year teaching fifth grade, and I can't wait to begin this exciting journey with you all!  Fifth grade is an incredible year!  It is one that will bring about dreams of the possibilities ahead, opportunities for leadership and growth, and chances to see the world from different perspectives.  I can't wait to meet each of you and begin to build our community together!

I look forward to hearing about all of your summer adventures!  I hope your summer was filled with much joy, excitement, and also time to relax and unwind.  My summer brought about new adventures and wonderful time spent with family.  This summer was very special for my fiancé and I and our families as we began to plan our wedding that will be held later on this school year in the spring.  I also was able to learn more about the great sport of golf and play my first full round.  I am so excited about continuing to learn to play even though the sport can present its challenges and frustrations.  I definitely tried to have a growth mindset on the golf course!  The remainder of the summer brought our annual family vacation to Destin, Florida, time spent in my garden, and the great opportunity to attend the Singapore Math Conference.  This conference was a tremendous opportunity to learn even more about great math strategies that I can share with the students this school year!

Our journey together will begin this Tuesday, August 11 at our Captain Kick-Off!  We will welcome new families in the cafeteria at 8:15 a.m. for New Family Orientation.  Then, all families can visit their new classrooms for Meet the Teacher from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.  Students are welcome to bring their school supplies too!  I will have signs out in the classroom for supplies I will collect, and the remaining supplies can be stored in students' lockers for the time being.  Students and families are also free to explore our classroom and get to know our classmates and their families as well.  We completely understand if families may not be able to attend the Captain Kick-Off.  We will then look forward to seeing you on our very first day, Wednesday, August 12.  Students are dropped off at 8:20 a.m., and the teachers will meet classes on the playground to walk up to classrooms at 8:30 a.m.  Announcements for the day will begin promptly at 8:40 a.m., and  then we will go into our learning for the day.  During the first week of school, the entire fifth grade class will participate in a leadership retreat to prepare to be the leaders of our community.  Themes of our retreat will include: learning and owning our school norm of " do the right thing even when no one is watching," building positive relationships, working together as a team supporting one another, and having a growth mindset.  Dismissal for fifth grade happens at the bottom of stairwell E, which is located on the west side of school nearest the playground right by the ramp at 3:30 p.m.

It is my hope that this year will be an inspiring one for all of my students and their families!  I look forward to my partnership with each of your families and our work together!  I also hope to use this blog to update you on our progress throughout the school year, share important dates, and share information on upcoming events.  Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns, or how I can be of any support to you!