Livesay's Owl Post

10/8 - Halloween Parade/Classroom Party (see info below)

11/13 - Mother/Son Dodgeball Night

11/17-11/21 - Scholastic Book Fair

11/24 - 11/28 - Thanksgiving Break (no school)

Halloween Costume Reminders

• NO FAKE BLOOD OR WEAPONS OF ANY KIND. Students may wear masks during the parade and party. Students will be asked to change back into regular school clothing after the parade so please make sure students have clothing underneath for an easy transition.
• Parents MUST enter the building through the front door for class parties and sign in.
• Parents may choose to wear costumes to the party, however, please keep in mind that scary costumes are not appropriate for our school environment.
• Adults should not wear any type of mask as we need to be able to identify everyone in the building.

We had a terrific time TPing our classroom today! Thank you to ALL you families who donated to our school's Fund Run!

Our 5th graders have been diving into poetry this month! Students explored how poets use figurative language, rhythm, and sensory details to create mood and meaning. We practiced identifying metaphors, similes, personification, repetition, and imagery in several poems — including “Stage Fright” and “Catching Quiet” from our Wonders anthology.

Students also worked on analyzing theme and tone, discussing what message each poet wanted to share and how word choice and structure helped express it. To wrap up, they completed a Poetry Analysis page that guided them through explaining what each poem means and how specific lines support their interpretation.

Next week, we’ll transition into writing our own original poems inspired by what we’ve learned about sound, rhythm, and emotion!

Our mathematicians have been working hard on multiplying decimals—a tricky but exciting new skill! We started by using models and place value reasoning to understand why multiplying by decimals sometimes makes a smaller product, while multiplying by whole numbers makes it larger. Students then practiced lining up digits carefully and placing the decimal point correctly in their products. We’ve also been connecting our work to real-life examples, like finding the cost of several items, measuring ingredients for recipes, and calculating distances.

Next week, we’ll continue practicing with word problems and multi-step situations to strengthen understanding before moving into dividing decimals. Keep encouraging your child to explain their math thinking out loud—it really helps them solidify their understanding!

Our young writers have been hard at work crafting their opinion essays on the age-old question: Which pet is better—cats or dogs? Students are learning how to take a clear stance, organize their ideas into strong paragraphs, and use text evidence to back up their reasoning.

We’ve focused on using our TIDE strategy (Topic, Important evidence, Detailed examination, Ending) to help structure each body paragraph. Students are also practicing how to write smooth transitions and conclusions that restate their opinion in a powerful way—without using “I think” or “I believe.”

Next week, we’ll move into the revision phase, polishing word choice, elaboration, and transitions before publishing our final pieces. It’s been so fun hearing each student’s creative and convincing arguments—these essays are shaping up to be purr-fectly persuasive! 🐾

We’re kicking off our fist science unit—Web of Life! Students will explore how plants, animals, and decomposers are all connected through food chains and ecosystems. We’ll learn how energy moves from the sun to producers (like plants) and then to consumers and decomposers, keeping the entire ecosystem in balance.

Throughout this unit, we’ll be investigating what happens when parts of a system change—like if one species disappears or if a new organism is introduced. These hands-on lessons tie directly to our 5th grade Colorado Life Science standards, which focus on understanding how energy flows through ecosystems and how living things depend on one another to survive.

Students will be building models, making observations, and working together to explain how every living thing—big or small—plays an important role in our web of life!