5th Grade Newsletter

Welcome Back, 5th Grade Families!

We hope you had a wonderful summer filled with fun, relaxation, and quality time with your loved ones. As we kick off another exciting school year, we are thrilled to welcome your children to 5th grade!

This year promises to be an adventure full of learning, growth, and memorable experiences. Our dedicated team of teachers is eager to support your child in every step of their journey. We will explore new subjects, develop critical thinking skills, and prepare for the exciting challenges ahead.

Communication between home and school is key to a successful year, so please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. We value your partnership and look forward to working together to make this year a fantastic one for our 5th graders. Thank you for your continued support. Let’s make this a great year!

Here are a few things to note for this upcoming first week-

• 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.
• Students are bringing home their newly purchased Chromebooks daily. Please remind your child to bring their Chromebook to school every day, as they are used regularly in our 5th grade classrooms and some Encore classes. Additionally, ensure the Chromebook is charged each night. Since daily assignments and assessments are completed on them, it's essential that your child also brings their charger to school, as teachers do not have extra chargers available.
  
• 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!
• Absences shall be recorded as unexcused until a note is presented. The note should be presented within three days of the student's return to school.
• 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 7:00 AM to 2:30 PM. Wireless earbuds are also not allowed.
• You can see the 5th-grade Encore Schedule HERE
• Fifth grade Lunch is at 10:20-10:45 and Recess is from 10:45-11:10
• Please have your child bring a book from home to read during ELA. Our first library day will not be until September 9th.

ELA

• Wit & Wisdom® is our English curriculum. It builds knowledge of key topics in history, science, and literature through the study of excellent texts. By reading and responding to stories and nonfiction texts, the students will build knowledge of the following topic in Module 1: Cultures in Conflict. Wit and Wisdom Tips for Family can be found here.

Math

• In math, we will begin our first Eureka Math Squared module. In this module, students describe place value relationships, express powers of 10 with exponents, convert metric measurements, and multiply and divide by multi-digit numbers. They will also develop fluency with the standard algorithm for multiplication.

Science

• Smithsonian Science for the Classroom™ is a hands-on science program that brings highly engaging 3D learning and 3D assessment to K–5 classrooms. In the first module, students learn about the transfer of matter and energy within complex living systems. In Lessons 1 through 5, students explain the phenomenon of radish plants grown without soil. In Lessons 6 and 7, students explain the phenomenon of a giant panda cub that grows, moves, and stays warm. In Lessons 8 through 11, students explain what causes a fish kill in a pond. In Lessons 12 and 13, students explain what happened to salad greens that were placed in a worm compost bin. In the science challenge, Lessons 14 and 15, students develop and use models to predict which of two marine locations are most at risk of a sea squirt invasion and evaluate a proposed solution to the problem.

Social Studies

• We will begin with Social Studies Unit 1, Early North America & European Exploration. Throughout this unit, students will explore topics from American History (North America’s First Peoples to the French and Indian War) and demonstrate an understanding of these topics through a variety of activities. Students will use different sources of information that researchers use to learn about historical events, people, and time periods.

Upcoming Events:

• September 2nd - Labor Day ( No School)

• September 24th - Progress Reports

• 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