September 11th through 15th

Keenoy’s Pups News 9-15-17

Dear Families,

I hope that everyone had a wonderful week. The Keenoy clan is staying as busy as ever! Jessi’s job is keeping her very busy this week which means “Daddy Day Care” most evenings. We’ve managed and I’ve had fun with the kiddos, but dividing and conquering is much preferred! 😊 Thank you for the hurricane donations, great communication, book orders, and for supporting my teaching. Enjoy your weekend!

Paxton T-Shirt Orders

PTA order forms will be sent home today. The due date might be incorrect on the form. The deadline has been extended until Sept. 27th. The PTA will also have order forms at Get the Scoop Night (Tuesday, September 26^th).

Comet Carnival

Again, THANK YOU so much for volunteering your time for this event. I’m feeling rather proud to be the only teacher with all their volunteer slots filled!

Our classroom is also entering a silent auction basket. Our theme is centered around one of my favorite things to do…..BAR-B-Q'ING! Please send in donations so that our basket will appeal to others and will receive many bids. If our class basket earns the most money out of the other 5th grade classrooms, we will win a pizza party!

Math

I have loved teaching our math lessons each day. It has been fun for us to explore (with understanding) area and volume each day. We are nearing the end of this first topic and should be testing next week.

During our upcoming math unit, students will be solving large digit multiplication problems. Therefore, I have really emphasized the importance of knowing their basic facts fluently. I am giving students 30 seconds to solve 12 basic fact problems. If students know these facts without much hesitation, they are usually finished in about 15 seconds. We take one of these checks every 3 ish days so students can study the number that they are on. Students have a chart in their planner that keeps track of their progress.

*Knowing their basic facts fluently is essential for these units. Thank you for taking the time to make sure that your child is studying their facts each evening.

Writing

I am extremely happy with the progress that students are making with writing. Next week, we will continue spending time reviewing the rubric and looking at student exemplar papers. Students will start drafting our Personal Narratives next week.

Reading

I am really enjoying our conversations each day while reading, Jackie’s Wild Seattle, by Will Hobbs. We will continue discussing/modeling:

*how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges

*compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story

*explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals

*compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g. problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts

Students are asked to practice these comprehension skills in their own reading notebook during independent reading and for homework.

Social Studies

The key concepts taught during chapter 1 discussions/readings include:

*The United States having many different landforms, climates, resources (renewable/nonrenewable), and how they affect people living in a particular region.

Science

Students have continued learning more about the Earth Systems (Biosphere, Atmosphere, Geosphere, and Hydrosphere) and how the interact with each other.

Upcoming Important Dates

Sept. 25 No School / Teacher Collaboration

Sept. 26 Paxton “Get the Scoop Night”

Sept. 30 Pumpkin Fun Run (flyer is in the Friday Folder)

Oct. 6 Comet Carnival (5pm-8pm)

Have a fantastic week!

Sincerely,

Dan Keenoy