FIFTH GRADE BEGINNINGS 09

WE ARE OFF and running as the routines become more familiar. Keith Pruitt is our teacher assistant from Grand Valley State University. He will be working in our class during the mornings until December. It is always a pleasure to host many teacher assistants and student teachers on our campus.

OUR RECENT FIELD TRIP to the Holland Rock and Mineral Show provided an enjoyable shopping experience for many students. Special thanks to Shelley Cannon, Michael Woodwyk, Annel Olthof, and Cris Anderson for accompanying us on this trip.


THE SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR opens at Lake Hills on Monday, September 28. Students will have a chance to purchase books through October 2. We will visit the fair from 2:30 to 3:00 on Tuesday afternoon.

KNOWING MULTIPLICATION FACTS is expected of all fifth grade students. Your child began learning his/her facts in third grade and should be very fluent with multiplication facts through 11. We have taken several "quick quiz" checks on these skills and will continue to expect students to know them. Students may need to practice with flash cards at home if necessary.

MATH EXPRESSIONS is our new math series at Lake Hills. It incorporates the best practices of both traditional and reform mathematics curricula. It offers opportunities for students to interact in pairs, small groups, whole-class activities, and special scenarios. Many of the fifth grade concepts will hinge on an introduction to algebraic expression and problem-solving strategies. In our first unit of study, we are focusing on multiplication and division situations along with developing equations and problem-solving.

NEW LAPTOP COMPUTERS provide an exciting opportunity for our class to connect to the Lake Hills online classroom at EDU 2.0. As we begin to build our online resources, students will reference more lessons, assignments, and assessments via the Internet. This is just the beginning! You are welcome to check out our new virtual school at lakehills.edu20.org to learn more about our educational portal.

THE FALL FUNDRAISER ends on Monday, September 28. This is the last weekend students may contact their Favorite Four to help support the fund raising efforts of our PTA. Be sure to keep the PINK copy of the order form. You have until October 23 to collect the money, which is due when you pick up your orders on October 23.

THE 2009 AUTUMN FEST is next Thursday, October 1, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This free family event at the school is something you don't want to miss...lot's of fun events...family night at the book fair...and more.

OUR CLASS CALENDAR can always be located at the bottom of our blog. If you use Google calendars, you can subscribe to the public calendar and keep updated on all our events.