November 10, 2017


Hello Families! 🍁🍂

The November temperatures are creeping in! Before we know it, Thanksgiving will be upon us! It’s hard to believe that we are wrapping up our first trimester!

Yesterday, we had our first classroom store, and the students had a blast! 

Literacy
Our students have spent the past week taking an End of the Unit Assessment which covered the main literacy targets of the past trimester’s instruction. Next week we will return to our regular literacy routine and begin reading a realistic fiction book entitled The Road to Freedom. The reading of this story will coincide nicely with the learning we are doing in social studies related to slavery. It will also help us delve deeper into an upcoming target that relates to analyzing the author’s point of view.

Writing
Students have been finishing up their expository brochures on an endangered animal. They are excited to share them with their peers! During our upcoming unit we will be starting opinion writing. This is a genre the students really enjoy!

Math
The focus of our learning has been on decimals for the past few weeks. We have been practicing the skills of comparing, rounding, adding and subtracting decimals, as well as expressing decimals in expanded notation. This week we started working with measurement as it relates to the metric system and converting between units.

Social Studies
Our learning in social studies has focused on the shift that occurred in the colonies from indentured servitude to slavery. We have been learning about how slavery influenced the early economy of the colonies—both the positive and negative impact it had. 

Science
We have been learning about the four Earth systems: the Biosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, and Geosphere. Students have been learning about the characteristics of each Earth system and how they interact with each other. 

Reminders
**Ivy Hall is currently hosting a fundraiser to benefit cancer research. Please consider purchasing a great winter hat to support a cause that affected a former Ivy Hall student. Here is the link for information! Thank you! Love Your Melon Beanie

**Parent teacher conferences are taking place next Monday and Tuesday, the 20th and 21st. You should be getting a reminder email from Sign-Up Genius. Please remember that Monday, November 20th is an early release day @ 2:00.

**Please, remember to check your students' current events topic before allowing them to research and read about it. I've advised the students to avoid anything controversial and heavy, but they may sometimes need a reminder about appropriate topics. 

Upcoming Events
Nov. 14 (Tuesday): Ivy Hall Special Lunch (Papa John’s Pizza)
Nov. 16 (Thursday): Ivy Hall Family Reading Night
Nov. 17 (Friday): School Spirit Day -- Wear Blue for Fifth Grade
Nov. 20 (Monday): Early Release @ 2:00PM

 - Ms. Nguyen