UPCOMING DATES:
Sept. 21...................Field trip
Oct. 5-9................... Homecoming week
Oct. 8 .....................5th/6th Grade Bingo Bash
 More info. to come about these events. 

Notes from Mrs. Blowers:
 I hope the first week went well for your child. We have spent a lot of time learning routines, finding where we're going, practicing opening lockers, and meeting new people. Team-building activities have been part of this and we will continue to do these off an on. I look forward to getting to know your children and each of their unique personalities better!

* Next week Mrs. Custer will join my blog and begin writing the Math and Social Studies sections. We will have our own section for writing.

* We will have a 5th grade field trip on September 21st. This is a way for all of our 5th graders to come together and do team-building activities. 2 notes went home today about this.

* A reminder that there is a parent section on the school website where you can find information about a variety of topics.
http://www.hamiltonschools.us/for-parents/  

CONTACTING ME:  
Email: lblowers@hamiltonschools.us
Phone:
269-751-4436

REMIND: 9 of you have signed up for Remind text messages. It's an easy way to get reminders for tests, field trips, and last minute items if you don't look at your email routinely.
Signing up takes seconds to do!
Enter this number: (424) 835-7621
Text this: @1458b  

"Photos" tab: Mrs. Custer and I will add photos from class, field trips etc throughout the year and place them in this tab or directly on the blog page.

HOMEWORK: No homework EXCEPT to read their Book report book. Information about the assignment was further explained to students today and a note was sent home.

MATH   
Students will begin getting into the first math unit, Adding and Subtracting Fractions next week. The "Math" tab above has tutorials I put on from last year and Mrs. Custer may add others as the year goes on.

Language Arts
We began writing a piece titled, "What I Didn't Get to do this Summer" for a little change of pace from the usual. 
In reading we read and discussed a short article about 9/11 and included mini-lessons about thinking about our reading by summarizing information as well as noticing the difference between recognizing vocabulary words and truly understanding them. We will be reading texts associated with our Comprehension Toolkit and reviewing/practicing comprehension strategies beginning next week. The "Reading" tab above has some sites for comprehension and vocabulary. I will add to this.
 
Science
Our first science unit - Forces and Motion-begins Monday. We will be heading outdoors for several investigations.


Spelling:  
The Lesson 1 word list is in the "Spelling" tab above. We no longer have the Word Test in 5th grade. Students will be learning a skill which they will be tested on as well as be tested on proofreading skills. I do recommend, however, that students review the words as they frequently come up in these 2 assessments!