Happy Summer!

I truly enjoyed teaching all of you in 5th grade this year! You were a wonderful group of students! Stay smart and stay kind!

Over your summer vacation, continue to work on your math skills using

• IXL
• xtramath
• Moby Max

Remember, 6th grade is not going to begin with a review. Go in prepared! Show what you know!!

Also, keep your notebook! All the notes in it will be a great reference for you to use. 

Important Dates:
March 20 ~ Report Cards go home
March 22 ~ Awards Assembly 10:30 in Gym
March 29 ~ Willy Wonka play @ JCC
March 30 - April 6 ~ Spring Break
April 27 ~ Ocean Studies Field Trip

Math Happenings

• Red and Yellow Groups are reviewing Adding and Subtracting Fractions this week. Assessment will be Friday.

• Blue Group will begin Dividing Decimals. This should be mostly review. We have been working on this all year with our Five A Day problems that we work on everyday at the beginning of class. We'll practice sliding the Divisor Decimal and Raising the Roof with the Dividend Decimal. Then we'll quickly move into Adding and Subtracting Fractions. 

• Your child has an IXL username and password if they paid for their subscription at the beginning of the year. We will be working on IXL once a week in class. Your child may also work on this at home; it needs to be a skill we have practiced in class. If your child did not pay at the beginning of the year, they can send in their $12.00 now and I will set up their subscription.

• Your child also has access to xtramath.org. They have a username and a pin number. When they get to the website, it is going to ask for my email. It is khines@neusecharterschool.org. Please have your child practice this at home!!

• IXL, Moby Max, and xtramath can all be accessed at home. This can be worked on at any time.  Any day -- during the week or weekend!!

• I need your help reminding students that Math Morning Work that is handed out on Tuesday mornings during Homeroom is graded. I still have several students that have not turned theirs in from last week. This counts as a classwork/participation grade. If it is not finished during homeroom, it can be finished during Cougar time.

Important Dates

• Feb 22 ~ National Elementary Honor Society Induction 2:00
• Feb 23 ~ Reverse Raffle
• Mar 2 ~ Hoops for Heart
• Mar 6 ~ Spring Pictures
• Mar 9 ~ End of 3rd Quarter ~ Early Release 11:45
• Mar 12 ~ Teacher Workday
• Mar 13 ~ Teacher Workday
• Mar 20 ~ Report Cards
• Mar 22 ~ 3rd Quarter Awards Assembly 10:30

Math Happenings

• Your child has an IXL username and password if they paid for their subscription at the beginning of the year. We will be working on IXL once a week in class. Your child may also work on this at home; it needs to be a skill we have practiced in class. If your child did not pay at the beginning of the year, they can send in their $12.00 now and I will set up their subscription.

• Your child also has access to xtramath.org. They have a username and a pin number. When they get to the website, it is going to ask for my email. It is khines@neusecharterschool.org. Please have your child practice this at home!!

• IXL, Moby Max, and xtramath can all be accessed at home. This can be worked on at any time.  Any day -- during the week or weekend!!

• I need your help reminding students that Math Morning Work that is handed out on Tuesday mornings during Homeroom is graded. I still have several students that have not turned theirs in from last week. This counts as a classwork/participation grade. If it is not finished during homeroom, it can be finished during Cougar time.

Important Dates to Remember:

Jan 24 ~ Round Table Meeting with Ms. Pullium ~ Intermediate Academy 3:30-5:00

Feb 7 ~ Progress Reports Go Home

Feb 16 ~ Teacher Workday

Feb 19 ~ Teacher Workday

Feb 22 ~ National Elementary Honor Society Induction 2:00

Mar 6 ~ Spring Pictures

Math Happenings

• Your child has an IXL username and password if they paid for their subscription at the beginning of the year. We will be working on IXL once a week in class. Your child may also work on this at home; it needs to be a skill we have practiced in class. If your child did not pay at the beginning of the year, they can send in their $12.00 now and I will set up their subscription.

• Your child also has access to xtramath.org. They have a username and a pin number. When they get to the website, it is going to ask for my email. It is khines@neusecharterschool.org. Please have your child practice this at home!!

• I need your help reminding students that Math Morning Work that is handed out on Tuesday mornings during Homeroom is graded. I still have several students that have not turned theirs in from last week. This counts as a classwork/participation grade. If it is not finished during homeroom, it can be finished during Cougar time.

• Yellow and Red Groups are working on multiplying with decimals. We will most likely have a test of that this week. After that we will begin working on dividing with decimals and then moving on to fractions.

• Blue Group is adding and subtracting decimals. We will most likely finish next week and have our test towards the end of the week. Then we will begin multiplying decimals. 

Important Dates:

Dec 6 - Elementary Honor Society Meeting

Dec 7 - Christmas Tree Lighting in Smithfield

Dec 15 - Masterpiece Concert (Be there at 5:50pm. Dress up with red & green accent colors.)

Dec 19 - Early Release 11:45am

Dec 20 - Jan 7 - Christmas Holiday

Jan 12 - Report Cards

Jan 15 - MLK, Jr. Holiday - No School

Jan 19 - 2nd Quarter Awards Ceremony

Math News:

Your child will be having homework in Moby Max (for math) this week. They have been working on this in Science, so they should know their username and password. If they have forgotten it, please send me an email and I will let you know what it is. ​

Yellow and Red Groups will be reviewing adding and subtracting decimals Monday and Tuesday. Remind your child to line up the decimals and put a place holder (zero) where there are empty spaces. I am planning on giving them their test Wednesday. Then we will begin multiplying and dividing decimals.

Blue group is working on division of whole numbers. After dividing and finding the answer, we are checking the answer with multiplication. Please have your child demonstrate how to do this at home. We will be working on this all week and taking the test next week. Then we will begin adding and subtracting decimals. 

Important Dates:
Dec 19 ~ Early Release
Dec 20 - Jan 5 ~ Winter Break
Jan 12 ~ Report Cards Go Home
Jan 15 ~ Holiday
Jan 19 ~ Awards Ceremony 10:30

Math Happenings:
Yellow and Red Groups will be testing on Adding and Subtracting Decimals this week. Then they will be beginning Multiplying and Dividing Decimals. After completing decimals, we will begin working on fractions. This will include adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.

Blue Group will be testing on Division this week. Then beginning Adding and Subtracting Decimals. This will lead into Multiplying and Dividing Decimals.

When covering each math unit, we work on skills and word problems. Your child has examples of each in their math notebook. There is also a study guide glued into their math notebook that we go over before each assessment.

Please remember that all groups have a quiz each Friday on multiple skills that are covered each week at the beginning of class. Each student has this in their math notebook. We go over each section daily~class discussion and answering the questions. Every student should have the correct answers in their notebook.

Important Dates:
Nov 22-26 ~ Thanksgiving Holiday
Dec 6 ~ Elementary Honor Society Mtg
Dec 7 ~ Christmas Tree Lighting in Smithfield
Dec 15 ~ Masterpiece Concert in Gym. Be there at 5:50pm. Dress up with red & green accent colors.
Dec 19 ~ Early Release
Dec 20-Jan 7 ~ Christmas Holiday
Jan 12 ~ Report Cards
Jan 15 ~ Holiday
Jan 19 ~ Awards Ceremony


Important Announcements:

• Thank you to all adults that attended our field trip Friday! Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Math News:

• Yellow and Red groups will be reviewing comparing decimals, ordering decimals, and place value of decimals. We will also be adding and subtracting decimals. We have been practicing these skills in class and will be working on word problems with them.
• Blue group will continue division with one digit and two digit divisors. We'll be working on division word problems.

I'm starting a symbaloo. Here is the link. I will continue to add more.

https://www.symbaloo.com/shared/AAAAA71WeUsAA41_WM3uwA==
The link didn't work the first time, so I'm trying again :)

Please continue to check your email weekly for the latest updates.

We are working on Decimal Operations now (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, & Division). Then we will be moving on to Fractions.

As always, look in your child's notebooks for class notes.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

I'm starting a symbaloo. Here is the link. I will continue to add more.

https://www.symbaloo.com/shared/AAAAA71WeUsAA41_WM3uwA==

Please continue to check your email weekly for the latest updates.

We are working on Decimal Operations now (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, & Division). Then we will be moving on to Fractions.

As always, look in your child's notebooks for class notes.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Welcome Back to School

I hope everyone had a great summer and is ready to return to school! 

I look forward to having you in my class ~ it's going to be a wonderful year!

Thursday, August 10th is Meet the Teacher night. There will be two sessions. Come to the one that works best for you. Schedule is as follows:

• 3:00-3:30 Information Session in Gym
• 3:30-4:30 Classroom Visits
• 4:30-5:00 Break for Teachers
• 5:00-5:30 Information Session in Gym
• 5:30-6:30 Classroom Visits

Students may bring their supplies at this time if you prefer or you can wait until the first day of school.

Also, 5th grade has moved! We are now located in the two mobile units by the back parking lot. The middle school/high school electives were located there last year (Spanish, drama, art, before & after school care). 

I look forward to seeing everyone Thursday afternoon/evening! If you are unable to attend, I will see you Monday, August 14th on the First Day of School!

Talent Show Information

Practice this Wednesday night at 6pm till ?

Talent Show this Friday night! 6pm to 8pm. April 28th

We have gymnastics, singers, hula hoopers, 

An really cool drum solo. 

I will still accept new entries! Sign up here

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c44afad2ba6f94-ncstalent

Please support our show. $5.00 per person. Family of 4 or more $15.00

This money goes to Relay for Life. The American Cancer Society runs this charity event. 

We will also have the abilty to purchase luminaries at the event. They are $10.00

EOG

Spring Testing Proctors 

Volunteer to proctor for the End-of-Year testing. 

You must be 18 years of age or older to volunteer. 

A small training session will be required. Please choose one to attend. 

Friday, April 28 at 9:00am

Friday, April 28 at 2:15pm

A short training will be held the morning of testing if you are unable to attend the above trainings. 

Reading EOG is Monday May 8th

Math EOG is Tuesday May 9th

Science EOG is Wednesday May 10th

K-5 Field Day is Friday May 5th

Last Day of School is Friday May 19th. Early Dismissal 11:45

It's good to be back and into our school routine. Everyone has come back well rested and ready to work.
I'm sure you've heard by now that I have gotten married. I am now Mrs. Hines but will still answer to Ms. Creech :)

Math News

All groups will be busy the rest of the year. 

Listed below are the concepts being worked on this semester:

•  decimal operations: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing

•  fraction operations: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing

• measurement: conversion between common units --> customary & metric

• geometry: coordinate planes, attributes of two-dimensional figures

**Every Monday - Thursday, your child begins math class with Warm Up problems. After completing these problems everyday, we go over them. On Friday, a quiz is given with similar problems. I have noticed that some students are beginning to not take these quizzes seriously and their grades are reflecting this. These quizzes have math problems that are correlated to the 5th grade curriculum. They are given to help students have a constant review of all standards all year. Please review these problems daily with your child. Part of their math homework is to take their math notebook home and look over their warm up problems.** 

Yellow Group -- Working on Dividing Decimals. This includes decimals in both the dividend and the divisor. We have worked with decimals in adding, subtracting, and multiplying. Will be finishing up and moving into Fractions.

Blue Group -- Working on Whole Number Division. This includes dividing with one and two digit divisors. When we're finished with division, we're going to Order of Operations and then Decimals.

Red Group -- We just finished adding and subtracting decimals. We're now going to begin multiplying with decimals and then dividing with decimals. Those two will keep us busy until Christmas break. In January, we'll begin working with Fractions.

Important Dates to Remember: December 8th ~ Winter Concert 6:00 in Neuse Charter Gym December 20th ~ Early Release 11:45am December 21st - January 6th ~ Christmas Break January 12th ~ Science Fair January 13th ~ Report Cards go home January 16th ~ Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday January 20th ~ Awards Assembly PTO

Boxtops Thank-you so much for a wonderful first half of the school year! We have collected over $1350.00 worth of box tops so far. During Dec. and Jan. we will be having our second annual Elementary Box Tops Snowball Fight. For every 25 box tops, whether on a collection sheet or in a bag, your class will receive a "paper" snowball to throw at the classroom “directly” across the hall. Because the first graders do not have a room across the hall, the class with the most collected will win. The winner from each pair of classrooms will win a pajama day! Bring your sheet in by Dec. 14th and receive a Howell movie coupon. The elementary class that collects the most overall during the contest will also have hot chocolate and cookies on their pajama day. So start collecting now and remember to ask grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles for all their box tops over the holidays and we'll see you next year.

Getting Over Your Fear and Anxiety of Mathematics Parent Night

Math does not have to be intimidating or boring. Guest speaker, Dr. Maria Droujkova of naturalmath.com will be joining us on Tuesday, December 13th for a K-12 interactive and engaging session on how parents can make mathematics more joyful for both themselves and their children. She will speak about steps to take to address your worries and how to make the learning experience fun for everyone. This session is intended for parents and will include a hands on activity followed by Q&A. Books will be available for sale at the event. Students will be entertained via board games and non-electronic activities. Pre-registration for this event is requested as capacity is limited. You can sign up at: Unplugged - Get Over It! PTO meeting will proceed the presentation.

Thank you to all parents that were able to attend our Cardboard Challenge Arcade on Friday, October 14th!! Students in Grades K-4 attended and seemed to enjoy playing the games created by our 5th graders. Everyone put in hard work creating their games and it showed!! Here are a few pictures

                    


We are in school on Halloween. Students are allowed to wear a costume, however, it must relate to academics. The costume must be appropriate. It must not have any gore and can not be gross. No masks and no clown costumes will be allowed.

Unplugged! Get Over it!   Getting over your fear of Math
Tuesday, October 11, 2016  5:30 - 7:00. Cost is free. Sponsored by NCS PTO
**All attendees will be eligible for a door prize drawing with a  value of $50**
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unplugged-get-over-it-tickets-27603221980?aff=es2

All classes have finished place value, rounding decimals, and powers of ten. We are now working on the multiplication algorithm and the division algorithm. Students love calling this "the old fashioned way!"

We will soon be moving on to Order of Operations. Remember PEMDAS (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally)? Then Operations with Decimals ~ adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. And then Fractions. We will add and subtract fractions with both like and unlike denominators. We will also multiply and divide fractions.

Thank you to everyone that went with us on the field trip to the Heritage Center and to Bentonville Battleground!

October 3 - 7 Stomp Out Bullying Week

Monday ~ Wear your Blue Shirt

Tuesday ~ Wear your Boots

Wednesday ~ Wear Silly Socks

Thursday ~ Wear Team Shirts

Friday ~ Wear Shirts with Positive Messages

• October 14th ~ Early Release
• October 17th ~ Teacher Workday
• October 18th ~ Teacher Workday
• October 20th ~ Report Cards go home
• November 4th ~ Elementary Awards Assembly
• November 11th ~ Veterans Day Holiday
• November 15th ~ Symphony and Art Museum Field Trip
• November 23rd - 25th ~ Thanksgiving Holiday

I do not use my blog to keep parents or students updated on homework assignments. My blog is used to keep you updated on the math topics that each group is working on the present time in class. Students write down homework assignments in their agendas on a daily basis. My blog is also need used to let you know dates concerning upcoming quizzes or tests. This information is also written down in student agendas.

Every Monday - Thursday your child has four warm-up math questions that are correlated to the 5th grade curriculum. After the completion of these questions everyday, we discuss these questions and go over how to answer them. The correct answers are given for each question everyday. On Friday, they are given a quiz that relates to the warm up questions for that week. 

Yellow Group --> The yellow group has completed place value, rounding decimals, and powers of ten. We are beginning to work on the multiplication algorithm and the division algorithm. This simply means the "old fashioned way" of multiplying and dividing. After working on those two concepts, we will move on to working with decimals: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.

Blue Group --> The blue group has completed rounding decimals and is beginning powers of ten. Parents, this is the first time most students have seen powers of ten and worked with powers of ten, so please be patient with them at home. They will understand this and it will begin to make sense to them. Once we finish powers of ten, we will review everything we've worked on this year and take a place value test. Then begin multiplication and division with two and three digits. And then we're off to decimals: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.

Red Group --> The red group has completed powers of ten and is getting ready for their first test containing everything they've worked on since the beginning of the year. Once we've taken that test, we will begin multiplying and dividing two and three digit numbers. Then we'll work with decimals: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing with them.

Important Dates

• September 15 ~ Progress Reports go home
• September 23 ~ Teacher Workday
• September 30 ~ Field Trip to Heritage Center in Smithfield and Bentonville Battleground

October 3 - 7 Stomp Out Bullying Week

• October 3 ~ Blue Shirt Day ~ Unite Against Bullying!
• October 4 ~ Wear Your Boots ~ Give Bullying the BOOT!
• October 5 ~ Silly Socks ~ SOCK it to Bullying!
• October 6 ~ Team Shirts ~ TEAM up against Bullying!
• October 7 ~ Wear Shirt with a Positive Message ~ WORDS have the power to stop Bullying!

All groups are working on rounding decimals. We have learned a poem to help us.

Find your place

Look next door.

Five or greater

Add one more.

Four or less

Let it rest.

We have always used a number line to help with rounding numbers. 

We'll have a quiz this week. Then begin working on Powers of Ten. After completing Powers of Ten, it will be time for our first unit test. This unit test will consist of everything we've covered so far place value, rounding decimals, and powers of ten. 

We will then move along to decimal operations: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing with decimals. 

Sept 5th is Labor Day Holiday/No School

Sept 12th is Fall Picture Day

Wish List

copy paper (white)

copy paper (colored)

pencils

glue sticks

Scotch tape

new or gently used books for class library

new or gently used board games

index cards

post its

Welcome to 5th Grade

The fifth grade team is looking forward to a great year!

Open house is Thursday, August 11th 3:00 - 6:00

First Day of School is Monday, August 15th

Win Prizes with IXL’s Study in the Sun Usage Contest!

The contest runs from June 1 to August 31.

Our annual Study in the Sun contest is back; let’s see who can answer the most questions on IXL this summer! The three students in each grade band (PreK–4th, 5th–8th, and 9th–12th) who answer the most questions between June 1 and August 31 will win an iPad Mini 4.
To keep kids motivated, we’ll post leaderboard updates with the top rankings on June 30, July 29, and August 19. Winners will be announced on September 7.

Since this is an individual contest, students on site or classroom licenses should be registered individually by their parents. Please instruct parents to visit the link below to register their student for our summer contest!

https://www.ixl.com/summer-contest

**Remember the first day of school for students is August 15, 2016!**

EOG Proctors are needed!!

Sign up

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b44eaba82da64-proctors

xtramath.org ~ Students need to be working on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Right now only 21 students have mastered their addition facts, 10 students have mastered their subtraction facts, 2 students have mastered their multiplication facts, and 1 student has mastered their division facts. Two students have mastered multiplication twice ~ the first time in under three seconds and the second time in under two seconds. They are now working on division for the second time!

mobymax.com ~ Students should also be working on this. At the beginning of the school year students took a placement test. They have been working and moving up all year! Let's keep growing!

ixl.com ~ Parents you paid a subscription for this at the beginning of the year. When on this website, your child can tell you what we are working on in class and then work examples. Their goal is a score of 100. We have earned a Certificate for answering 35,000 questions. Our goal is now to answer 40,000 questions. Several students have earned certificates and they are on the wall in my classroom. Every Monday morning a Top 5 is posted. This lists the top 5 students in 5th grade at NCS that have answered the most questions correctly.

Ask your child about Math SuperStars. This is given to them on Monday and is turned in to me on Friday. It is great word problem practice.

Also, ask them how many stars they have earned. Most 5th graders have their pictures on the "Brightness Counts" bulletin board. Once 25 stars are earned, their picture is placed on the board.

All math groups are working on measurement ~ both customary and metric systems. Geometry is next.

We will then be reviewing for End of Grade. This review will consist of all 5th grade math standards and a practice EOG.

Some Measurement Activities to try at Home:

1). Unpopped vs. Popped

  How do popped and unpopped popcorn "measure up" when compared? Ask an adult to help you pop one-third cup of popcorn. Allow the popcorn to cool before measuring it again.

One-third cup of unpopped popcorn ________ cups of popped

        popcorn

2). Uncooked vs. Cooked

  Does pasta get heavier when it is cooked? You can compare the weight of uncooked and cooked pasta. Use a scale to measure two ounces of elbow (or any other type) macaroni. Cook and drain the macaroni. Cool completely and weigh the macaroni on the scale again.

Two ounces of uncooked macaroni equals _______ ounces of cooked macaroni.

**Both of these activities were taken from the book A Taste of Math. Written by Sue Mogard & Ginny McDonnell

 Important Upcoming Dates

• Thursday, May 5 --> Progress Reports
• Friday, May 20 --> Science EOG. This will be online.
• Monday, May 23 --> Reading EOG
• Tuesday, May 24 --> Math EOG
• Monday, May 30 --> Holiday
• Friday, June 3 --> Last Day of School ~ Early Dismissal