Welcome to
th
5 Grade!
Back-to-School Night
Introductions

Mrs. Croddy

Mrs. Dooley

Mrs. Jesiolowski
Mrs. Croddy

Raised in Orange, CA

Received my BA from Cal State University Fullerton

Worked at Disneyland for 8 years

6th year teaching, 3rd year teaching 5th grade

Just recently bought a house!
Mrs. Dooley

Born and raised in Ojai, CA

Went to UCLA for bachelor’s in Political Science and
History

Then went to USC for master’s in Teaching

5th year teaching 5th grade at RSS

A year ago my husband and I bought a house in Del Aire

A few months ago we adopted a dog named Pepper!
Mrs. Jesiolowski

I received my B.S. from the Pennsylvania State
University in 2011

I taught 1st grade before I moved to California in mid2012

I started at Richmond Street School as an instructional
assistant in early 2013, and then I long-term
substituted in the Upper Grades Learning Center

This is my second year teaching 5th Grade at RSS

My husband Jeff and I celebrated our first
wedding anniversary this past summer. We
have 1 cat named Dorito.
Resources

www.cde.ca.gov

http://www.elsegundousd.net/

http://www.richmondstreet.org/

scroddy@esusd.k12.ca.us

wdooley@esusd.k12.ca.us

jjesiolowski@esusd.k12.ca.us

We are available for contact regarding your concerns. If
you wish to ask any questions of a specific teacher
regarding their subject area, please contact them
directly.
Our Year-At-A-Glance

Please look at page 2 and 3 of your packet for an
overview of the 5th grade year
Arrival at Richmond Street

Arrive at school no earlier than 8:05. School begins at
8:20.

Students must stand on the line at their butterflies until
the bell rings

Drop-Off System

Each class is responsible for drop-off volunteers 2 weeks
out of the year

Mrs. Croddy’s Class: September 7th-11th

Mrs. Jesiolowski’s Class: September 14th-18th

Mrs. Dooley’s Class: September 21st-25th

All 5th Grade: March 14th-25th

We need at least 1 person per day

Look for an e-mail from Dr. Lee, which will include a signup genius link
Dismissal at Richmond Street

When students are dismissed they are to WALK off
campus and STAY with family

Walk bikes, skateboards, etc.

Playgrounds are part of the school campus and not open
for play after school

Treat nature with respect
Weekly Folder Update

Work comes home in this folder on FRIDAY

Please sign and return by THURSDAY of the following
week
Report for week of September 14-18
Return by Thursday, September 24
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Parent Signature/Comments: ________________________________________
Homework

Monday through Thursday

Occasional take-home projects that may require extra
time to complete

Homework should be a review or practice of class work
and should take no longer than 60 minutes

Homework is posted online, but every student should
write their homework in their agenda for each night
5th Grade Rules

Have fun!

Be Respectful

Be Responsible

Be Safe

Have a positive attitude! 
Classroom Economy

All fifth graders are responsible for their duties as a
student. They will get paid with butterfly
bucks for performing this job. Their duties
include: participating in class, putting in their
best effort, and completing their homework.

Students will be fined if they are not following
the classroom rules or if they do not turn in
their homework.

Students will be able to use their butterfly
bucks at the student store every month.
Pillars of Character

Trustworthiness

Responsibility

Respect

Fairness

Caring

Citizenship

Students can earn blue slips individually and as a class
for demonstrating these character traits.

100 Blue Slips = a class party
Language Arts

Reading

Writing

Written and Oral Language
Reading
Components of Reading Instruction:

Anthology

Core Novels (shared reading experience)

Literature Circle Novels

Read Aloud

Silent Sustained Reading (independent reading)

Visits to the library every 3 weeks on Monday.

Our goal for the year is for each student to read 35
novels from various genres!
(The 35 Book Challenge! )
D.E.A.R.
Drop Everything and Read

Independent Reading Homework

Each month, students are to read 440 minutes, which breaks
down to about 20 minutes every school night

See page 7 of your packet for an example D.E.A.R. Log

D.E.A.R. Projects

3 D.E.A.R. Projects will be assigned throughout the year.
Students will demonstrate understanding of their
independent texts.
Project Options

Interview/Letter

Character Collage or Mobile

Write an Alternative Ending

Diorama

Board Game

Picture Book

Your Choice!
Writer’s Workshop

Broken into units based on writing genres

As a class, we go through the process of writing as an
expert writer would

Student Centered


Students spend more time writing independently. Teacher
provides modeling and individual coaching throughout the
workshop period.
Students write what is meaningful to them and have
opportunities to reflect and better their own writing
Written and Oral Language

Words are taken directly from the current text we are
studying in class. We will be practicing application of
these words for two weeks. In the first week, students
will complete a packet that involves understanding the
meaning of each word. In the second week, students
will directly apply these words in their own writing.

Grammar is incorporated into Writer’s Workshop. At the
end of the workshop period, we teach a grammar
concept and then have students directly apply it to
their writing.

In addition, we will have a Daily Language Review (DLR)
with weekly quizzes on Friday.
Math

We will be building a math community by following
these positive norms:

Refer to pages 5 and 6 in your packet for more
information about CGI Math
Science
Students are assessed based on the following:

Tests, Quizzes, Projects, Labs, and the Interactive
Notebook


The interactive notebooks will be collected every 1-2
chapters. Students are expected to be organized and
responsible for their materials. Students must maintain
their own table of contents.
We will have 2 big at home projects this year – More
details to come later!
Griffith Observatory

We will take a field trip to the Griffith Observatory on
Friday, May 27th!

We must arrive at the observatory by 9:00, so students
will need to arrive at school earlier than 8:20
Social Studies

Interactive Notebooks:

Left side of the page will focus on understanding of the
text using a reading skill.


Ex: creating a bubble chart of the main ideas and
details
Right side will be a creative activity that the students
complete to demonstrate their knowledge of Social
Studies concepts.

Ex: Write a letter from the perspective of a certain
historical figure.

Chapter assessments will be project-based.

Starting after winter break, students will be required
to learn U.S. state locations and capitals. Tests start
in January!
Colonial Day on April 22nd

Mark your calendars! We will need a lot of volunteers to
make this day successful. 
Technology
Computer Skills

Scholastic Reading Inventory

Touch Typing Practice

Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)

Movie, Web, and Podcast production

Internet research and reporting skills

We will also be using our iPad cart in the classroom!
Project Lead The Way (PLTW)

Teacher: Ms. Uzoff

Where: Science Lab

When: Thursdays
Music

Mornings on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with Mr.
Coss

Winter Concert on Friday, December 11th

Spring Sing on Friday, June 3rd
P.E.

Afternoons on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with
Mr. Mazzotta

Physical Fitness Testing by May
Art

Every other Thursday with Mrs. Von Flue

Volunteer sign-up is coming soon! 
Academic Scoring

We have moved completely to standards based grading. You will no
longer see letter grades or percentages come home on students’
assignments or on their semester report cards. Instead, detailed
rubrics will be attached to assignments marked with a score of 4-1.

Please note that PowerSchool may still not be completely
aligned to our system of standards based grading. Disregard any
letter grades or percentages that may appear on the site.

On report cards, students receive Effort Scores for Music, P.E., and
Art. Students do not receive scores for PLTW.
2015-2016
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CGI
PTA Support

Our 5th Grade Parent PTA Representative is Stacee Long.

She has a few updates on events and fundraisers for the
year!
Meet Us Upstairs! 

Come see the 5th grade classrooms

Sign-up for November Conferences

Volunteer for classroom supplies and other specific
classroom needs

Mrs. Dooley – 301

Mrs. Jesiolowski – 303

Mrs. Croddy – 308