Sept. 25- 29th.

Another week has flown by and students have been busy!  We wrapped up the week with students being able to "cash in" their Class Dojo points earned during September for different rewards.  The top few were Yum Gum! where they get to chew gum in class.  The next top one was Seat Swap where they get to swap seats with another student for one day and Lunch Bunch, where students are able to pick a friend and have lunch in the classroom. Many students also chose to save a lot of their point to work toward an even great reward/privilege for next month.  Congratulations to all students for earning at least 25 points.  They will be able to enjoy an extra 15 minute recess for their efforts!

Personal narratives are taking shape and we'll soon be ready to share our final products!  This week we worked on strong verbs, word choice and good leads/beginnings.  We introduced the novel "Wonder"  this week and will be reading it whole group and small groups on Mondays and Wednesdays.  Students loved the humor in the beginning and were instantly connected with the main character, Auggie, who is a 5th grader who has Treacher Collins Syndrome and is attending school for the first time. We are continuing to work on Daily 3 Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We were fortunate to have another community member come and share their knowledge with the students to support our Native American unit.  Mr. Kiele entertained the students with his knowledge of all the plants from the area that were eaten by the Paiute tribe.  He also demonstrated how to weave a spoon and students had an opportunity to weave small ropes with raffia.  They made lovely thank you cards to express their appreciation.  We are aiming to have presentations of Native American projects for the week of Oct. 16th, most likely on Wednesday Oct. 18th, but I will let you know when it is definite. I hope you all can make it! Students are wrapping up researching so they can begin making their artifacts and preparing for their presentations.  I emailed a list of supplies that students need/want for their projects.  Please send in any items you might have on Monday.  I am hoping that we will have plenty of items so students can work hard to complete their projects!  We will be doing a weave project on Wednesday and would love for a couple of volunteers to come in and help from 1:15- 2:30.
Have a fabulous weekend!

Sept. 18- Sept. 21

Our Week

Important Information:

• Monday Folders, signed Reading Logs, Parent Journals and the letter for video taping is all due back to school Monday.  Please take a few moments to respond in the journal. 
• If your child is going to be absent from school please notify the front office by 9 am at 423-5437.  Also remember that whoever comes to check your child out, they need to be on the emergency card.  You can update the list by going to Infinite Campus Parent Portal. 
• Thank you for those who completed book orders!  We would like to get the order finished by Monday so if you haven't yet please send in your order or go online! 
• Students should be completing math and reading each night.  Reading can be made up over the weekend. If they don't finish homework, they will be required to attend Study Hall from 3:30-4:00 to complete their work.  
• You can reach me by email nhyde@oasisacademyfallon.us. I try to check it periodically. 

This week was busy with a variety of learning!  Students continued working on their personal narratives in writing, focusing on adding sensory details.  This week we will be trying out different introductions- action, dialogue, and sensory as well as looking at word choice, voice, transitions, and endings.

In reading, students are making progress and adapting to the Daily 3 process- working on reading with various reading strategies, working on writing using journal prompts or our new list of genres and "things" we all came up with together.  The kids were excited about the many areas to choose from. This week we are excited to begin a book study with the whole class featuring "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio.  We will be alternating between "Wonder" and Daily 3 throughout the week.

Students have had the opportunity to learn more about social studies, science, and current events through the use of Scholastic News.  This week we learned about hurricanes, grizzly bears, and how text features in non-fiction publications can help us understand more about what we are reading. They also are enjoying P.E. and music as well as participating in tribes activities.

Project time is moving forward with students focusing on a specific Native American tribe in a specific region to research and study.  Students are researching their tribes and will soon begin working on creating their artifacts and presentations.  I will be sending a list of supplies needed  for students presentations and artifacts.  If you are able to donate something you have at home or are able to purchase items, it will be greatly appreciated!  Stay tuned for dates when this will take place!

Week of 9/11-9/14

Our Week at a glance:

We began our week with a guest speaker, Donna Cossette, from the Paiute-Shoshone tribe. The kids were engaged and asked a lot of questions.  We all loved it!  She shared her knowledge of the history, traditions and culture of the tribes as an introduction to our social studies unit in projects.  Our driving question is How can we as experts of Native Americans teach others about tribal life before European contact?  Students learned about the 8 different regions by coloring a map and then learning about each region. They were broke into tribes within the class, chose their name, designed and presented their posters.  Next week will begin by having their tribe group choose which region they will research and study a tribe within that region.

In Reading we started the week with a "book tasting" where students were able to choose from an array of books by "tasting" three different books then choose one to find a "just right fit" for them.  We worked on several different comprehension strategies and are trying to get into a routine of our Daily 3 which is read to self, word work, work on writing. We have been building stamina this week and will continue next week. We have continued to discuss Crash, along with working on their activities and ended the week with an assessment of Crash then presentations of their chosen assignment of Crash.  I was so proud of everyone!  They were creative and worked hard. 

In writing we are exploring what it means to write a personal narrative about an experience that taught us something.  Students brainstormed events and experiences in their lives that they could possible write about.  Next week they will begin their own personal narrative on a topic of their choice. 

We have been working hard on being attentive listeners and showing mutual respect when someone is talking.  They are improving everyday.  Students are earning points on Class Dojo and I'm getting better at remembering also. :) I am enjoying your kids so much! 

REMINDERS:

• Family journal went home yesterday.  Please take a moment to read your child's entry and respond kindly. 
• Monday folders are due back on Monday with reading log and family journal. I told the students that if you have after school activities and need to catch up on reading over the weekend, that is totally acceptable.  That is why it is due back on Monday.  Just try to get at least 80 min of reading a week. Thanks!
• Book order are due next week.  Please look over them and order some books for your children's library at home and it will benefit them at school also! These can be turned into the classroom or online. 
• Absent Reminder: If your child is going to be absent, please notify the school (423-KIDS, 423-5437) no later than 9:00am. Please remember if anyone comes to check your children out of school that is not on your emergency card, they will not be released to them.  You can update that list by going to the Infinite Campus Portal. 

Any questions please email me nhyde@oasisacademyfallon.us  Have a wonderful weekend! 

First Week was a Success!

We made it through our first week of 5th grade with great success!  The students are enthusiastic and work very well together.   We've been busy getting to know each other and practicing how to work together as teams and a classroom community.  Ask your child about the following:

• Balloon Volleyball and Helium Stick Challenge
• "Crash" Activity Choices
• STEM Challenge/ Morse Code
• "All Hands In" project
• What kind of smart are you?
• "Bully"books
• "All About Me" Poem
• "TEAM" puzzle
• "If My Summer was a Movie" Script Writing
• Artifact Bags Activity

Just a few important reminders:

• Some of the students forgot their Artifact Bags and we did not get through all of them so please help your child to remember to bring them on Monday so we can finish. The kids loved sharing and guessing.  
• Picture Order Envelopes will come home tonight- Thursday- and are due back on Monday for Picture Day (9/11/17). Pictures will be in the morning. 
• All school documents should be returned no later than Monday.
• Book orders will come home in your child's Monday folder.  Please note the due date on the information letter that will be included.  Books are a great way 

Additional Information:

• "Family Journals" will start coming home next Thursday and are due back on the following Monday - watch for more information in Monday's folder.
• Students have started earning Class Dojo points - be sure to join so you can watch your child's progress.
• Our work this week has been focused on getting acquainted and adjusting to routines.  Work in student folders on Monday will not be graded, but is available for you to get an idea of some of the things they participated in.

 Below are a few photos from our week - enjoy!

Back In School!

We had a great first day of 5th grade!  This week will be a lot of routines and making sure students know what to expect.  Your child should have brought an "Artifact Bag" with directions of what to put in it.  Please help your child find some artifacts that describe  him/her and send to school on Thursday September 7th.

Enjoy your week!  I sure am loving getting to know your children better.