OCTOBER
Newsletter
5 Graders Jump into Fall!
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Take-Home Reader Logs:
Every fifth grade student has a TakeHome Reader Log. The fifth grade goal
for independent reading is at least 25
books for the year. Students should be
recording books with parent initials as
they finish them. Please ask your child to
see their log and help keep them on the
right track with their independent
reading. Your child’s reading teacher will
be recording their progress in reaching
this goal throughout the year.
Happy reading! 
Parent/Teacher Conferences:
November 11-12 are the scheduled days
for parent-teacher conferences. There
were sign-up sheets on Back to School
Night. If you were unable to sign-up for
a conference, please contact your child’s
homeroom teacher to schedule one. As the
beginning of November approaches, we
will contact you with a reminder of the
scheduled time for your conference. We
will also include a parent
Questionnaire so that we can better meet
your conference needs. Please return
ASAP. This is an important time to
communicate with your child’s teachers
about your child’s needs for continued
success in school.
Halloween Party
Halloween Parade begins at 2:30pm and our
homeroom parties will immediately follow. Please
remember that all parents volunteering at the
parties must be trained. (*Please let your child’s
homeroom teacher know if you would prefer for
your child to not participate in the Halloween
festivities.)
Math:
Throughout September we worked on:
 multiplying single digits by
multiple digits
 multiple digits by multiple digits
 discusses volume as an attribute
of 3-D shapes
 calculated the volume of single
prisms and combined prisms
 identifying and evaluating
numerical expressions
 Using place value to explain
patterns to explain when a decimal
is multiplied or divided by a power
of ten.
Please be sure to check ClassDojo
nightly to be aware of what our daily
homework assignments are. Students
will have homework Monday through
Thursday nights unless we have a
holiday during those days. It is the
expectation that each 5th grader will
MASTER their multiplication tables
(1-12) by the end of the school year.
Please work with your 5th grader and
remind them the importance of
mastering their multiplication facts. 
Language Arts:
Throughout September we worked on
literary elements. We have examined
setting, characters, point of view, and
plot development. We have also been
writing! Students have completed a few
kernel paragraphs which can be used to
develop full essays. Gradually, we have
moved into essay writing and students
have completed an 11 minute paper.
They had to use their background
knowledge of literature, film, and history
to create a paper that reflected a
truism. This month we will work on
developing a strong thesis for their
energy papers in science class.
Social Studies:
For the past few weeks, we have been learning
how to work effectively with others in social
studies. The project is framed around one
driving question: How can one develop skills
necessary to complete a collaborative
project? Students are researching the
answers to that question. Then, they will write
an opinion paper on the three most important
skills needed. They will support each of their
reasons with details and/or quotes from their
research. In addition, we will examine the
situation in America prior to the American
Revolution. We will look the culture of the
British colonies which will ultimately lead us
through the French and Indian War to the
Declaration of Independence.
Google Classroom
In language arts and social studies I am
using Google Classroom to distribute
assignments electronically. Please ask
your child to show you how he/she logs
into these classes each day. Take a few
minutes to examine the materials that are
present. Remember, this is our first time
using Google Classroom and we are
working out the kinks! I am happy to
report most parents have been able to see
the assignments. If you are still having
trouble, please let me know so I can help
you.
Some upcoming events:
Oct. 5- Reptile Show
Oct. 7- PTA Meeting 7-8pm
Oct 12- Open House (Columbus
Day)
Oct. 15- Mt. Vernon Field Trip.
Oct. 30- Halloween Parade &
Parties
Home/School Communication:
*Google Classroom- Assignments &
Announcements for students
*ClassDojo- Classroom/cafeteria/recess
behavior, daily homework assignments,
any additional things that happened
during the course of the day.
*Prodigy- (Math ONLY) Math Game
site where students play a “game” by
having wizard challenges. Each
challenge presents a new math
problem to solve. Math skills are
chosen by the computer and
constantly challenging each student at
his/her own level. The 5th graders
don’t even realize how much math
they’re practicing, they just want to
PLAY!  Ms. Kessler and Mrs.
Hoffman can then go on the site and
pull up the data to show what students
are proficient in and on which skills
they need to focus more. We can
then create an “assignment” and the
“assignment” becomes the math
problems which the 5th grader is
attempting on their next game.
Please ask any of us if you do not
know how to access any of these
additional tools of communication as
we will be using them all quite often.
Teacher’s Emails:
Mrs. Cumberland
[email protected]
Mrs. Hoffman
[email protected]
Ms. Kessler
[email protected]
(There are underscores between each
part of the name.)