5th Grade Newsletter

Greetings!

Here's your new NEWS to KNOW:

🍦 5th Grade End-of-Year Celebration!

We are excited to celebrate the end of 5th grade with a Build-Your-Own Sundae Party on Thursday, May 21st, at 11:30 AM! 🎉

Families are welcome to join us, donate supplies, or both as we make this a fun and memorable celebration for our students.

📦 Donation Reminder:
If you would like to contribute, please send in all items by Tuesday, May 19th.

Thank you for helping us celebrate our students and all of their hard work this year—we can’t wait to make it a sweet send-off! 🍨✨

From our 5th-grade Parent Planning Team:
Field Day is the last day of school, 5/21`: 9:25 AM – 11:00 AM on the front field
Stations: I need a parent volunteer for each station except the basketball truck. Please arrive 9:10 so we can show you to your station.
1) Basketball Truck
2) Kickball Station
3) Relay Race- sponge/bucket, 2 teams race to fill up their buckets. (Timed)
4) Bean Bag Toss
5) Hula Hoop Challenge
6) Tug of War
We still need volunteers to help run stations and to facilitate smooth transitions.

Just a quick reminder to please send in any items for our Ice Cream Sundae Party by Tuesday, May 19th. Items can be sent in with your student and given to their homeroom teacher.
Here is our schedule for Thursday, May 21st:
• Field Day: 9:25 AM – 11:00 AM on the front field
• Lunch: 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
• Ice Cream Sundae Celebration: Immediately following lunch under our blue tarp by the 5th-grade huts
All parents are welcome to join us and help for all or part of the day. We are looking forward to a fun day celebrating our 5th graders!
Please also remember that school will dismiss at 12:40 PM on this day.
Thank you so much for your support!

🚫 Outside Food & Drinks Reminder (Hut Classrooms)

To help keep our learning spaces clean and pest-free:

✔️ Please do not bring outside food or drinks into the huts
✔️ Only water bottles with secure lids are allowed
❌ No Starbucks, Dunkin, fast food drinks, or energy drinks

Spills and sugary residue quickly attract ants, creating sticky messes that are difficult to manage in our outdoor classrooms. Water bottles are the best way to stay hydrated while protecting our learning environment.

Thank you for helping us keep our huts clean, comfortable, and ready for learning! 💙🐜

📌 Transportation Reminders

For any changes to your child’s transportation, please email the designated transportation email address or call the school office directly. Teachers are not always able to check email or the Rooms app during the school day. To ensure your child receives accurate reminders or updates about their transportation, all changes must go through the office. The office staff will notify your child’s teacher directly. (Email: tms@pender.k12.nc.us School Phone #: 910-270-2612)

Dress Code Reminder

As a reminder, Pender County Schools’ Student Dress Code (Policy 4316) asks that students come to school dressed in a way that supports learning and positive interaction with others. Clothing should not be disruptive, provocative, unsafe, or otherwise interfere with the school day. One concern we’ve noticed is when shirts are too short—if a student raises their arms, their stomach should not be showing. Please check that your child’s tops provide appropriate coverage throughout normal movement at school. If a student is out of compliance with the dress code, they will first be allowed to make adjustments before any consequences are assigned. Thank you for helping us maintain a respectful and distraction-free learning environment.

🌤 Spring Weather Reminder

As we move into the spring months, temperatures can vary throughout the day. Please make sure your child comes to school dressed appropriately for outdoor Physical Activity (PA). Layers such as light jackets or sweatshirts can help students stay comfortable during cooler mornings and warmer afternoons. Please also take a moment to label all outerwear with your child’s name. Each year, our Lost and Found fills up with unclaimed jackets and sweatshirts that are eventually donated. Labeled items are much more likely to find their way back to their owners!

Here are a few things to note-

• Please check your child's agenda each night, as it's an important tool for communication between home and school. You can use it to stay informed about daily assignments, upcoming events, and to send notes directly to the teacher. Please sign it to verify that you've read it.
• To ensure the safety of all our students, please remember that we are a peanut-free school. This means that no peanut products should be brought to school for snacks or lunches. We kindly ask that you double-check any food items to ensure they do not contain peanuts. Thank you for helping us keep our school a safe environment for everyone!
• Submit absence notes within 3 days to avoid unexcused absences. TMS allows 5 parent notes; after that, a doctor’s note is required. Email notes and transportation changes to tms@pender.k12.nc.us.
• Fifth grade will have a snack time daily. Please make sure to provide your child with a healthy snack each day to help keep them energized and focused throughout the school day.
• Students are welcome to bring a water bottle to class. Please ensure that the bottle has a secure, closable lid to prevent spills on desks, materials, or the classroom floor.
• According to board policy, cell phones and smartwatches must be completely turned off and kept in your child's backpack from 8:10 AM to 3:35 PM. Wireless earbuds are also not allowed.
• Fifth-grade students have ENCORE every day from 9:15-10:00. You can see the 5th-grade Encore Schedule HERE
• Fifth-grade Lunch is at 12:31-12:56 and Recess is from 12:58-1:23.

As we approach end-of-year testing and activities, we would also like to remind families of Pender County Schools’ wireless communication device policy. Personal devices, including cell phones and smartwatches, should remain off and out of sight during instructional time unless specifically authorized by a teacher or required through an approved accommodation or medical need.

To help maintain a focused and secure testing environment, we ask that parents be aware that students should not be using personal devices during the school day to communicate regarding early checkouts or other non-emergency matters without school approval. During testing days, especially, instructional time continues beyond the assessment itself, and teachers remain engaged in reviewing expectations, providing support, and completing other academic activities.

We greatly appreciate your partnership in helping us minimize distractions and maintain the integrity of the instructional environment during these important final weeks of school.

Student Use of Wireless Communication Policy

• Students may bring personal devices to school, but are not permitted to use, display, or have them turned on during instructional time unless authorized.

• Disciplinary consequences for misuse remain the same:

  • 1st offense: Warning

  • 2nd offense: Device held in the office; student retrieves at end of day

  • 3rd+ offense: Device held in the office; parent must retrieve

  • Students who misuse devices for academic dishonesty, bullying, or inappropriate content may face more serious disciplinary consequences.

ELA

📖 Library Reminder

All library books are due back to the media center. Please note: If books are not returned, a fine will be assessed. This fine will remain on your child’s school account until it is paid. To help avoid any fines for missing books, please check with your child using the Destiny Discover school app to see if they have any books currently checked out. Thank you for your help in making sure all library materials are returned on time!

Math

• Math EOG Retest is Monday, May 18th
• This week in mathematics , we will complete Module 6 Topic D, in which students create and analyze graphs to understand real-world situations. To make sense of data, they determine the real-world meanings of x- and y-coordinates. Students graph points and discover that a trend emerges. They make sense of patterns and use the patterns to solve problems.

• Science EOG Retest is Tuesday, May 19th

Upcoming Events:

• May 20th-5th Grade Awards 1:30 in auxiliary gym

• May 21st-End of Year 5th Grade Celebration (9:20-11:00 am Front Field)

• May 21st-Last Day of School; Half-Day; Release @ 12:40 pm

• Amy Bowles amy_bowles@pender.k12.nc.us
• Stephanie Brinkley stephanie_brinkley@pender.k12.nc.us
• Libbie Fabbie libbie_fabbie@pender.k12.nc.us
• Hannah Fluke hannah_fluke@pender.k12.nc.us
• Chloe McVetta chloe_mcvetta@pender.k12.nc.us
• Shelly Vickers shelly_vickers@pender.k12.nc.us

Website: https://www.pender.k12.nc.us/o/tms/
Location: Topsail Middle School, Highway 17, Hampstead, NC, USA
Phone: 910-270-2612