5th Grade Newsletter 

Friday, November 15, 2019 

 
Important Dates 
 
Nov. 19 Speaker: Kevin Hines 
 
NEW! 
Winter Gear ​- Snow pants and snow boots are not required for recess. However, if students wish to play in the 
snow, they must have snow pants and snow boots. It might be a good idea to send an old towel for the bottom of 
the locker to absorb melting snow. It also might help to send a spare pair of shoes for your child to keep at school 
if they are likely to forget shoes each day. Often students end up wearing boots all day because they forget to bring 
shoes to change into. 
 
 
If you haven’t done so, please complete the parent information on page 4 of the planner. Thank you! 
 
Schedule 
School begins promptly at 8 AM, students will begin entering the school/classrooms at 7:52 AM. 
 
Computers 
Computers are allowed to go home with students when there is homework that requires it. Computers will not be 
going home over the weekends. Help your child remember: 
1. They must remember to bring their computers back to school each day.   
2. Computers are for school use only; computer histories can be checked at any time.   
3. It is their responsibility to bring it back charged.  
4. They should keep it out of extreme weather elements.  
5. It must be kept away from pets and siblings.  
6. They will need earbuds with the computer at all times. 
7. This device is very expensive and belongs to the school.   
 
A La Carte 
In the Middle School, students have the option to purchase a few different a la carte items when going through the 
lunch line. They can make this purchase with their lunch tickets, but again, it is an extra charge- above and beyond the 
normal lunch that is served. If you have questions or wish to NOT have your child have access to this option, you can 
contact Kristi Roffmann (​kristi.roffman@decorah.k12.ia.us​).  
 
What’s Happening Outside?: F ​ rogs​.​We will post links to short informational videos and web content about the 
phenology of our area. This week? Frogs. Frog songs are a sure sign of spring, but how in the world does such a 
creature survive the winter? Read about some of their incredible strategies. 
 

CLASSROOM NEWS 
 

More on the back! 

From Mrs. Halweg - Mr. Twedt: 
Math 5-​This week we had an assessment on multiplying multi-digit numbers. Your students received them back on 
Thursday and were to have them signed and back by Friday, the 15th. We started lessons 16 and 17 that involved 
mental strategies for multi-digit whole number division and using basic facts to approximate quotients with two-digit 
divisors, respectively. Keep encouraging your young person to work on their digital learning program, ​Zearn​, every 
day as this next week we will be back to 4 digital lessons. 
Hybrid Math- ​This week we worked on units that introduced algebraic expressions and equivalent expressions. We 
completed Units 4 and 5 in Mathia and will be beginning another unit in Mathia next week, with 9 work stations. 
 
From Mr. Amundson: 
Social Studies:​Students continued researching their explorers of the New World. We are planning on practicing and 
presenting our google slide towards the middle of next week. Our next unit will focus on Early English Settlements in 
the New World.   
Reading/Language:​ This week students continued weekly writing routines, along with using a photo to work on 
writing a claim, supported with evidence. We finished up reading the book Holes, along with enjoying the movie. 
Each week students need to be reading +20 minutes a night from their IR book. 
 
From Mrs. Nowack:    
Science​: This week, in addition to visiting the planetarium at Luther, we learned about the moon and its phases. The 
space systems test is planned for November 18-19.   
Language:​This week we have been learning how to write really good paragraphs. We continue our daily and weekly 
routines (word work, daily language review, and daily writing).   
Reading​: Students are enjoying Great Turkey Walk; so far our skill focus has been on sequencing main events. 
Students should be reading their independent reading books daily for 20 minutes or more​. ​This book should travel to 
and from home & school each day.   
Check out some p ​ hotos​ of Mrs. Nowack’s classes in action!   
Next week’s VIP (Dec. 2):​Cameron 
 
From Mr. Peterson:  
Science​. We are exploring moon patterns, noticing how the moon changes shape over a (roughly) 28-day cycle. We are 
also exploring how the constellations change over the course of the year. Interesting blog: I​ n the Sky this Month. 
Good v​ ideo about moon phases​. 
Reading/Writing.​We are finishing up our digital writing project: making a video book trailer. This requires clear, 
coherent summary writing, a clear understanding of the central conflict of a story, and the creative use of other “tools” 
for digital writing (visual and audio). The results are really cool! Our reading has been in support of identifying themes 
and central ideas. This week I introduced the idea that story structures can be graphed. We’ll play with these structures 
in future weeks. 
 
From Mrs. Suhr​: 
Social Studies: W ​ e’ll test on Tuesday over chapter 5 “Routes of Exploration to the New World”. Next week, we’ll 
learn about some of the earliest European settlements in the “New World”.   
Language:​Next week, we’ll start a unit which will result in a personal narrative. Students will brainstorm ideas and 
learn the features of narratives. Our spelling/vocabulary tests are on Fridays. In Daily Writing, the students and I 
communicate back and forth using a google doc while they respond to prompts, learn to write good sentences and 
proofread through our dialogue.