Hello Everyone,

As we all know, this is a two day, school week. We will not have a new spelling list for those two days or spelling homework.

In math this week the students will learning what squared numbers are and how to use factors to “unsquare” a number. They will be coming home with a study link. We will also be continuing Math Workshop and students will be working on everything they have learned so far in math.

During Daily 5 we have started Listening to Reading and our individual conferences. Each student is working on their comprehension and reading groups will be starting when we get back next week.

For science we are working the key vocabulary of Force and Motion and building connections with the students’ prior knowledge.

Please send in any Nowlin T-Shirt orders, band permission slips or P.T.O. volunteer sheets. We are still collecting these. Also, please make sure that your child is reading a minimum of 30 minutes each night. They have library books and classroom books to read, as well as myon.com to log into for listening/reading.

Have a great week!

Hello Everyone,

I want to thank everyone who was able to come out last night for a wonderful Open House. If you were unable to make it, I hope you can stop by after school soon. Our first spelling test is coming home today. You will notice that there are two sections of the test. The first section is the 10 words the students have worked with all week. The second section is made up of 5 words that fit the spelling patterns they have learned. For our spelling work, the homework will consist of the following activities weekly:

Monday- Define each work neatly on a piece of paper and write down the page number of the dictionary used. If an online source is used such as dictionary.com, please write down the website you used for your work.

Tuesday-Write a descriptive sentence for each spelling word. Please write neatly and underline each word.

Wednesday- Write a short story and include a minimum of 8 spelling words. Write neatly and underline each word.

Thursday- Study your list and the spelling pattern to prepare for the test.

Friday-No spelling homework.

The Last two things I want to note are P.T.O. and Band/Strings related. If you are interested in your student being in band, please fill out the blue forms that went home last week and return them with any associated costs/payments towards the payment plan. Students often want to start playing an instrument after they see the other students playing and once they have progressed in the class, students are unable to join. Please talk with your child if you are interested in having them play. Secondly, the Nowlin P.T.O. is sending home t-shirt order forms for Nowlin t-shirts. If you are ordering, please send these back on Monday. Please also consider joining the P.T.O. if you haven’t already. Every dollar raised from the $5.00 cost of joining goes directly back to something for the students.

Everyone have a great weekend!

I wanted to send a quick reminder that tomorrow night is Open House at Nowlin from 6:00-7:30. Make sure to come by! We will be signing people up for the blog and Classroom Dojo, if you have not already signed up. The students can also show you around the room and give you an idea of how our classroom runs. I hope to meet everyone tomorrow! Also, the Nowlin P.T.O., and specials teachers will be here so make sure to stop by there as well. P.T.O. is $5.00 to join and 100% of the proceeds go back to the students. Make sure you join and get some information on how you can help with their mission. Have a great evening!

This week:

Spelling: The students received 10 words today. On Monday, they will always receive 5 spelling pattern words and 5 content words. They will also have spelling work each night. On Friday, they will receive a spelling test on these 10 words and 5 additional spelling pattern words that they have not been given.

This week the pattern is short and long vowel sounds. Ask your student to explain the pattern to you! The 10 words they have are:

Pattern:

advance, abstract, transplant, grateful, safety

Content:

narrative, setting, character, problem, solution

Math: We are working on factors, factor trees, prime and composite numbers, and getting ready to launch Math Workshop.

Language Arts and Reading- Students are working on learning about narratives and are each reading a historical narrative. They will be writing historical narratives for this unit and publishing them.

Science- Science will begin this week and will focus on Forces and Motion. Students will refresh themselves on the Scientific Process and will start learning about forces.

Social Studies- The 5th grade classes will begin switching for science and social studies this week. This will help them prepare for middle school, when they begin switching for all of their classes.

Other notes: This week on Thursday is Open House! I look forward to meeting everyone.  We also still have the band permission slips out so please complete these and send them back to me as soon as possible, if you wish for your child to learn to play an instrument.

Lastly, every night your child is expected to be reading for a minimum of 30 minutes. As the year progresses, we will be increasing their stamina for reading and writing and their time can increase at home as well! Please make sure they are reading each night.

Thank you,

Mr. Hawkins

Hello Everyone!

We had a great first week in room 26! Next week the students will be getting their first spelling words. Daily 5 is launching in the room and the students have began working on building their reading and writing stamina! We also have started our first math unit and will begin using math workshop very soon.

A blue note went home today with each 5th grader. It is a permission slip for your students’ option to play an instrument this year. They would be meeting with the teacher on Fridays. The note details the choice of instruments and the $70 rental cost to use an instrument owned by the district. The students can also provide their own instrument if you have one available. The band teacher said payment by check needs to be cash or a check made out to Nowlin Elementary. He is flexible with payment options and you can pay in installments for the rental fee. The band teacher asks that if you want to pay in installments, that you note on the permission slip your plan for payment. It will be 2-3 weeks before band begins but he asks for the permission slips and any payments to be submitted as soon as possible. I will be collecting these and turning them into him.

I look forward to next week and to meeting you all at Open House! Please check back soon for updates on what we will doing next week. Have a great weekend!

Mr. Hawkins

Hi Everyone,

We had a great day getting to know each other and starting to work on classroom procedure today! I hope everyone had a chance to go through the parent communication folder that came home with your student today. Inside it was a few papers that you can keep at home and a few that you need to review, sign and send back. The school needs you to review, sign and return the Emergency Forms ASAP. I am looking forward to our first full day tomorrow!

School specials will begin tomorrow in the afternoon and we have gym on Wednesday afternoons. Make sure your students bring the shoes they need for gym. We will also begin using Class Dojo tomorrow which will allow for feedback on student work and classroom behavior throughout the day. Our class will be switching with the other 5th grade classroom starting next week, for social studies. Mrs. A will also be using Classroom Dojo to keep track of our class during their time with her. We would love you to connect with our room and your student to receive all of our classroom feedback. The application and website are free online or on your smart phone. The app is easy, free and quick to download so grab it and I will be sending out a link to connect with the room. We will also be helping parents connect with the class at open house!

Start checking the planner that will be coming home with your student each day for their homework. Each student will be recording their homework and any important reminders daily. On Thursday there is a safety meeting for all of the class safeties and any students that wish to join the safety program. This meeting will be with Mrs. Doyle.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Where did Summer Vacation Go?

I can’t help but sit here with a certain buzz of excitement. I am very excited about not only becoming a new member of the Nowlin Educational Community, but also because with a new school year, the possibilities are endless. I can’t wait to get to know each and every student, along with their families and to help them succeed. I am posting the supply list tonight and another copy will be going home tomorrow in a folder with lots of important papers. Make sure you review each and every paper inside the folders. The emergency cards need to be reviewed and checked for accuracy, before you sign the bottom and return it to us.

Next to cover is the supply list:

The supplies that we will need for the year are:
-A single, one inch black binder with 5 dividers
-Four pocket folders with dual tang tabs in the center. (One red, one yellow, one orange and one blue if possible)
-Two packages of dry erase markers and an old dark colored sock to use as a dry erase board eraser.
A box of #2 pencils, a box of colored pencils and two highlighters
Three wide rule notebooks. (One red, one yellow and one blue if possible)
-Two boxes of tissues.
-A gallon size Ziplock bag to hold all extra supplies until they are needed.
-A refillable water bottle
Four packs of sticky notes

Optional Extra Supplies for the classroom:
-Clorox disinfecting wipes
-Gallon size Ziplock Bags
-Extra #2 pencils

Some sort of pencil case or pencil bag would also be a big help.

As far as scheduling this week:

Math: Begin reviewing and continuing to learn about the base 10 system and place value through guided instruction and a math workshop approach.

Writing: Students will read narrative texts and pull out the key elements that make a piece of writing a narrative. They will then be completing their own historical narrative. This will begin early next week.

Daily 5- Students will be refreshed on the methods and rules of Daily 5. We will begin by setting up our rules to having a rotation run successfully. We will also be reviewing and practicing the three ways to read a book, reading to self and working on writing. Students will begin working on these and documenting.

Spelling: Our first set of spelling words will be introduced next week.

We also have some fun team building activities that will make sure our classroom is ready to exceed at learning and to work together as educational community.

Please introduce yourself if you see me and plan on attending the open house! I look forward to meeting everyone then!

With excitement,

Enjoy your last few hours and then it’s the FIRST DAY OF 5TH GRADE!

Mr, Hawkins

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