The Fifth and Sixth Grade Newsletter

THE SOARING EAGLE
We want to thank your students for participating and learning, making this first week a spectacular one. We are going to have a great year! It is such a joy that we started it off with a bang. Now that we have assessed what level your student is on, we will be able to help them soar to new heights in education. We appreciate the support and cooperation that you have given us. Please contact Margaret Brown at mbrown.ouschool.com or Ansley Davis at adavis.ouschool.com if you need anything. Thank you and let’s enjoy our soaring eagles!

Coming Up . . . .
In the latter part of September, we will be going to the Hummingbird Tour. The cost is $5.00 and we will be having lunch Philip’s Grocery. This will be a great time for your student to enjoy nature and the flight of hummingbirds.

Coming Soon . . . .
Field Trip Survey
We are excited about supplementing your student’s curriculum with a few field trips. We would like to take your student to Crow’s Neck October 14 – October 16, where they will learn team building skills, compass skills, and map skills, just to name a few. We also are looking into a big spring field trip. Our options are varied and we would love some parental input. Please look for the upcoming survey!

Reminders . . . .
· Sign your student’s planner every night!
· Turn in the last page of the Parent/Student Handbook.
· September 7, 2009 is Labor Day! NO SCHOOL!
· Watch for the Field Trip Survey.
· Please check the continually changing website.
· Please get a paperback Webster’s Dictionary.

Fifth Grade’s Academic Year
Language Arts/Reading- The classes will begin by learning the steps and practicing the following process of being a successful readers and writers.
1. WORD STRUCTURE: developing components of words, ex: prefixes, suffixes, compound words, etc.
2. DEVELOPING ORAL LANGAGE: composing sentences orally in class, answering questions with a complete sentence.
3. FLUENCY: practice oral reading with inflection and rhythm.
4. READING: comprehension, main idea, author’s purpose, sequence, etc.
5. WRITING: using the 6 steps of a successful writer.
6. WORKSHOP: working collaboratively toward a goal specified by the teacher.

Mathematics-Your student will be reinforcing their skills of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing whole numbers, fractions, and decimals as well as incorporating algebra, geometry, measurement, and statistics.

Science- EACH CLASS WILL BE KEEPING A NOTEBOOK AND NOTECARDS WITH THE TERMS AND DEFINITIONS. THESE WILL BE GRADED.
5TH GRADE SCIENCE AND 6TH GRADE SCIENCE WILL BE STUDYING EARTH, LIFE, AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES.
It is important that the 5th grade learn The Scientific Method and grasp the concept of the three major components of science.
ALL SCIENCE CLASSES WILL DO HANDS- ON ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT THE CURRICULUM.

Social Studies- While learning that location of the states, capitols, and landforms of the United States, your student will be learning the history of our great country from the birth to this current year. Also, character education will be taught, so be looking for your student to ask questions as a survey!

Sixth Grade’s Academic Year
Language Arts/Reading- The classes will begin by learning the steps and practicing the following process of being a successful readers and writers.
1. WORD STRUCTURE: developing components of words, ex: prefixes, suffixes, compound words, etc.
2. DEVELOPING ORAL LANGAGE: composing sentences orally in class, answering questions with a complete sentence.
3. FLUENCY: practice oral reading with inflection and rhythm.
4. READING: comprehension, main idea, author’s purpose, sequence, etc.
5. WRITING: using the 6 steps of a successful writer.
6. WORKSHOP: working collaboratively toward a goal specified by the teacher.

Mathematics- Your student will be reinforcing their skills of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing whole numbers, fractions, and decimals as well as incorporating algebra, geometry, measurement, and statistics but more in depth than in the 5th grade.

Science- EACH CLASS WILL BE KEEPING A NOTEBOOK AND NOTECARDS WITH THE TERMS AND DEFINITIONS. THESE WILL BE GRADED.
5TH GRADE SCIENCE AND 6TH GRADE SCIENCE WILL BE STUDYING EARTH, LIFE, AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES.
The 6th grade will reinforce The Scientific Method and will study the three major components of science in more depth than the 5th graders.
ALL SCIENCE CLASSES WILL DO HANDS- ON ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT THE CURRICULUM.

Social Studies- By the end of the year, your student will be able to locate and describe hemispheres, equator, prime meridian, latitude, longitude, and time zones. Also, they will be able to recognize how the five themes of geography (location, place, region, interaction, and movement) help us understand the world, with a concentration on the Western Hemisphere (Latin America, the United States, and Canada).