Welcome to our Class Page!

JUNE IS HERE!

We are in the last few days of school!!
 I just want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to all the parents and student who welcomed me into Mary Williams this year. It has been a wonderful year filled with growth and learning.
I'm wishing all my students a happy and safe summer !!

Important days to remember:

June 4th- Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast @8:30 am June 6th - Field Day June 7th- Pride Bash June 7 : 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony

              6:00pm -7:00pm @ Potomac High School June 11- Last day of school with early dismissal- Receive report cards and SOL Scores

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WELCOME MAY

The students are READY to show all they know and have learned this year!  Please praise their diligence and persistence. As we continue to learn new things, let's remember to review for our upcoming SOLs.

Upcoming dates to remember:

May 9 (Reading SOL)

May 16 (Math SOL) Retake - Science - May 24 LA- May 29 Math- May 31

June 7 : 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony

              6:00pm -7:00pm @ Potomac High School

Current Learning Topics:

Review for Standards of Learning

Extension into Topics of Interest in all subjects

Language Arts:

Performance Task for Author Study

Social Studies:

Review of all Geography

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Welcome April 
We are now in the final quarter of elementary school.  As we continue to learn new things, let's remember to review for our upcoming SOLs.

Upcoming dates to remember:
April 1 (Teacher Work Day, No School for Students)
April 4 Parks and Recreation Visit School
April 5 Sound and Light Test
April 8 Spring Picture Day
April 9 Report Cards Coming Home
April 9 Career Day
April 9 Math SOL Simulation
April 11 Measurement Unit Test
April 12 (School of Excellence Celebration) 
April 15 - April 19 Spring Break
May 2 (Science SOL) 
May 3 Patterns, Functions, & Algebra Unit Test
May 9 (Reading SOL) 
May 16 (Math SOL) 

June 7 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony
               6:00pm -7:00pm @ Potomac High School

Current Learning Topics:
Math--Measurement
     Metric Conversions
     Approximate Measurements (metric & customary)
     Area, Perimeter, Volume
     Elapsed Time

Science
  Sound
       Compression Waves
       How Sound Travels
       Pitch
       Frequency of Waves
       Amplitude of Waves
       Echolocation & SONAR
  Light
       Transverse Waves
       Transparent/Translucent/Opaque
       Reflection/Rarefaction

Language Arts
     SOL Review
     Reading Stamina
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Welcome March 
 Important dates

March 4 -SOL Night, 6-7pm
March 8- Field Trip to Luray Caverns
 March 6th- Language arts test  (Possible change to the 7th due to snow day)
March 19 - Math Test - Geometry 
March 21 - Middle school visit
March 22- Curriculum showcase @ MWES

Academically, we are finishing our inquiries into matter and moving into the study of light and sound energy.  Study materials are on our TEAMS.

In math we have moved into the geometry unit while reviewing all computational strategies.  Ask to see your student’s iXL and Reflex work.

All students should be responding to nightly reading.  Question stems have been provided.This month promises to be filled with learning opportunities.

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  Happy February!!
Special days to remember:
11 Feb--Reports Cards go home
15 Feb--Second Quarter Awards Ceremony 9:30 am
18 Feb--Holiday
22 Feb--Math Decimal Computation Test


Were you kind today?
Kindness Matters...The smallest act of kindness matters :)
We are spending this month finding ways to be kind
and helpful to others.

This month we will study the computation
of decimal numbers.  Students should 
continue with iXL practice and building 
fluency with math facts through Reflex.
This unit starts on 4 February and ends on
 22 February.

In Language Arts we are beginning the study of 
Figurative Language in both poetry and other genres.
The students are also on the quest for words that
have certain Greek and Latin roots.  Please 
ask them about ways we are expanding
 our vocabulary.

In Science we have started the study of Matter.
In addition to the states of matter,
the students are learning about the 
composition of atoms, molecules, &
compounds.  There are instructional videos to
review in the Science Teams files.

I will be reviewing 4th Grade Science concepts
throughout this month.  Look for projects and deadlines.




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Welcome 2019
Let's make this year the best year ever!!

Math--Probability (Unit test on 9 January) This will be followed by the study of Fraction & Decimal Computation

Reading--Summarizing, Main Idea, Organizational Patterns, & Text Features (Performance Task due 15 January & Unit test on 16 January) TEST CHANGED TO 1/18 Due to Snow day

Science--Oceanography (Unit test on 11 January)

Social Studies--Midwest Region (Research project due Jan 4th- Sections 1-3 found on teams )

Dates to Remember:

2   January:    Welcome Back to school

3   January:    Field Trip to Eagles Center 8 January: Midwest Test - Social Studies

9   January:    Probability Test

15 January:  Ocean Research Performance Task

16 January:  Language Arts Unit Test (changed to 1/18)

22 January:  Midyear Diagnostic Reading Test (CSA)

24 January:  Fraction/Decimal Computation Test 25 January:  Students Half Day  End of second marking period HOMEWORK REMINDER Reading: Read a book or go onto MyON--20 minutes per night

Math: IXL using chart given

Science: Review Oceanography information using Think Central and SOLPass

Please note : Please watch the school webpages for weather alerts.  Also ensure your child brings a jacket each day. We will go outside if the weather permits.   

Happy December !!

Upcoming dates to remember:

4 Dec Field trip to National Museum        

5 Dec Awards ceremony  9:30-10:30

7 Dec Reading Test

11 Dec Math Test a.m.(Decimal & Fraction Number Sense)

11 Dec Music concert for students p.m.

19 Dec Interims sent home

19 Dec  Approx. date of Math test ( unit 5)

21 Dec -1 Jan Winter Break / no school ** Parents if you are planning to take students out early for the break, please let me know. ***

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HAPPY NOVEMBER !!

2 Nov-- School-wide Narrative Writing Prompt

• Happy Fall 

PLEASE discuss school events and timelines with your student.  A major goal in 5th grade is for students to develop the ability to communicate!  While this site provides information, it is desired that the students give you this information first.  

​Please note our Specials Schedule has changed to a five day rotation noted on the right side of this page.  This change allows each homeroom to experience physical education in a smaller group--there are no mixed classes.


Our fall field day has been postponed until Monday 22 October due to soggy fields and forecasted rain. 

Another change is due to our upcoming adjusted grading regulation.  Our goal is to provide every opportunity for success to our students .  This will involve providing retake testing opportunities for students who do not experience mastery on unit assessments.  All the kinks have not been worked out yet, but stay tuned for details.  Again, patience will be required and appreciated. 

The first two opportunities will be in Math and Science.  Students who scored less than 70% on the original assessments will be retested after a reteaching/remediation session is provided with a concentration on study skills and goal setting.   

It is important to note that this re-study and retest will happen concurrently with ongoing curriculum study.  There is no leeway in the pace.  This will require extra study beyond normal class time.  Home support will be instrumental in the process. Thank you in advance for your support.    

15 - 19 Oct--Book Fair (see flyer for e-wallet option)
16 Oct--Unit 2 Math Test Retake (Multiplication/Division)
16 Oct--Reading Buddies with Mrs. Riley's Kindergarten
22 Oct--Field Day
22 Oct--Science Test Retake (Cells & Living Systems)
22 - 25 Oct--Red Ribbon Spirit Week (see flyer)
25 Oct--Science Test (Rocks and Fossils)
26 Oct--Unit 3 Math Test (Measures of Center)
31 Oct--Book Character Parade (must have book and costume to participate)
31 Oct--Unit 2 Language Arts Test (Character Traits)
2 Nov-- School-wide Narrative Writing Prompt
2 Nov--End of 1st Quarter
5 Nov--No School for Students, Teacher Work Day 
6 Nov--Student Led Conferences
7 Nov--2nd Quarter begins

With all this information, you may wonder what we're concentrating on currently.  Remember the pacing guides are in "Useful Files."

In short, Math goes on with the exploration of data focusing on line plots & Stem and Leaf plots.  Students will explore and determine various measures of center (mean, median, mode) as well as range as a measure of spread.

In LA, we are examining fiction through character study.  Finding character traits using various genres is our focus.

In Science, we have started learning about the classification of rocks and fossils.

In Social Studies, we are moving on to the geographic significance of the American Southeast

There is a slight change in our schedule as we will now start the day with our MATH block (9:15am - 10:45am) and study LANGUAGE ARTS from 1:45pm - 3:00pm.  Our SCIENCE and SOCIAL STUDIES times remain the same. Upcoming Dates

5 Oct--Science Living Systems Test

8 Oct--Columbus Day, no school for students

11 Oct--Interims come home

11 Oct--Math Unit 2 Test

2 Nov--Schoolwide Narrative Writing Prompt

6 Nov--STUDENT LED conferences  
  MATH-  Current Unit- -Multiplication and Division of Whole Numbers including Distributive Property, Prime and Composite Numbers, and Order of Operations
Language Arts  ​Current Unit-- Language Arts Exploring Fiction Through Character Study Students are expected to focus and complete one Article A Day from Readworks (including a Book of Knowledge entry), one writing assignment (usually inference picture writing), one vocabulary workshop task, and group participation when reading group is called to the table.  Our time is tight and we are learning to work independently while staying on task.
Social studies - Finishing our in class project on the LINO Science students are expected to take notes and participate in all science investigations and discussions.
 Current Unit--SOL 5.5 Living Systems
        Includes Vertebrates vs. Invertebrates; Vascular vs. Nonvascular plants,          Plant vs. Animal Cell organelles and functions.

Upcoming Dates 
​
September 24 (Back to School Night 6:30 - 7:30 for grades 3 - 5) 
October 8 (No School for Students, Columbus Day) 
October 11 (Interims come home) 

Testing Dates
Math - September 7 (Unit 1)
Language Arts - September 21 (Beginning of Year Reading Assessment) 
Language Arts - September 28 (Unit 1 Assessment) 
Science - October 5 (Living Systems) 
Math - October 11 (Unit 2)


What are we Learning?

Language Arts  (Test: September 28)
Plot Elements 

Social Studies - 
The Northeast Region ( test Sept 26)

Math (Test: October 11)
Multiplying and Dividing Whole Numbers 

Science (Test: October 5)
Living Systems 
- Cells 
- Vertebrates and Invertebrates 
- Vascular and Non Vascular Plants 

 Homeroom Schedule