Pier 20 Press Mrs. Jenkins’ Fifth Grade Newsletter

Volume 5 Issue 13 November 30, 2015

From the teacher’s desk…. With the upcoming changing of months, we are anxiously anticipating an array of exciting December activities to celebrate the season. Next week those students involved in Band and Orchestra will have an opportunity to perform for both the school (Dec. 7) and for parents on December 10. Students have been practicing hard both at school and at home (I hope!!). The holiday concert is always a favorite. As many of your might be aware, we had our first REACH Award ceremony on Thursday, November 19. Congratulations to Katherine, Maya, Evan, Sloane, and Stella! Earning the REACH Award is no easy task; the bar is set remarkably high. Students must earn a perfect score on their REACH Rubric, showing exemplary character traits in Respect, Enthusiasm, Achievement, Citizenship, and Hard Work. Many students were extremely close to earning the award – perhaps simply demonstrating neater handwriting or keeping a tidy desk was the difference.

Language Arts Our day at JA City is fast-approaching! December 9 is the day when students will have to opportunity to be grown-ups for the day as they work downtown as CEOs, CFOs, Managers, and such. Just as students will practice math, time management, and interpersonal skills at JA City, they will need their writing skills as well in this real-world setting as they create their own TV and radio commercials for their business. The ads need to be persuasive, engaging, well-written (no spelling or grammatical errors!) and creative. The polished commercial will be shown on the JA City version of KSL-TV and KSL Radio.

Math We’ll continue our work on multiplying decimals this week, hopefully culminating with our chapter test on Friday. Students seem to have transferred what they know about multiplying whole numbers to multiplying decimals. This week we’ll work on multiplying and money and multiplying two decimals. As we often do, students will use a model to as a concrete way to demonstrate multiplying two decimals. You’ll see work come home that resembles this:

Look ing Forward . . .

Stocking Stuffers Ideas Dry Erase Markers

Post-It Notes Protractor

This Week’s Spelling Words Greek & Latin Roots:

min – small, less mega – great, large

minute megaphone mince megahit minister megadose minimum minus megawatt minor megabyte minority miniature megalomaniac minuet

Important Contact Information Email : mjenkins@canyonrimacademy.org Website: http://jenkins5th.wordpress.com Cel l : 203.640.3375

This Week’s Vocabulary Words Word of the Week: passage matter weight liquid gas solid mass

Upcoming Events Dec. 7 Band & Orchestra Program/Students/2:30 Dec. 9 JA City Dec. 10 Band & Orchestra Program/Parents/2:30 Dec. 11 Shakespeare Play Auditions Dec. 16 Orff Holiday Program/Students/10:15 Dec. 17 Orff Holiday Program/Parents/10:15

Science and Social Studies We’ll continue our study of matter this week as we delve into physical properties and physical changes. Examples of physical properties are appearance, color, smell, freezing point, and density. Physical changes are a change in which no new substances are formed such as water turning to ice. This science unit is one of my favorites as it includes a BUNCH of great experiments. Students will get a chance to tinker with some of those experiments this week. As we continue or study of the Age of Exploration, students will learn the “3 Gs” as they pertain to causes of the Age of Exploration: Gold, Glory, and God. Europeans had a desire for wealth and power and they hoped spread their religious beliefs – Christianity – throughout the world.

Remember….easy ways to enhance the budget at Canyon Rim Academy! Smith’s: Please go online and register as a Smith’s customer. On your account page you will have an opportunity to choose CRA as your community rewards school. Amazon: Shopping through Amazon? Sign in to Amazon through smile.amazon and choose CRA as your selected charity. Boxtops: We will continue to collect box tops. The winner at the end of the year will earn a fabulous reward!