Happy weekend!
I'm so glad we are studying weather in our science unit! The past few days have given us many
wonderful examples of the different types of clouds! Be sure to take your student outside and ask them
what type of clouds are in the sky and what their weather forecast is. As I look out my window at Seth
Paine, we certainly have a fabulous example of stratus clouds today!
We have begun a more in-depth study of fiction in reading and are learning the elements of
folktales/fairy tales. Please feel free to ask your child about this - they should know that these types of
fiction stories should have "literary language, cultural language, things in 3's, sometimes a "trick" to
solve the problem, "happily ever after" - in addition to characters, setting, problem, events, solution.
We are still learning how to write personal narratives about something true that happened to us. I am
encouraging the students to use descriptive details. Perhaps they can tell you about something we've
done at school, using descriptive words.
In math, we are studying clocks and how to tell time. While most people have digital clocks, students
are still expected to be able to tell time with both analog and digital clocks. This can be quite a
challenge - since "the long hand at the 1" seems to mean that one minute has gone by, when it is really
5 minutes. So far we are working on words like "half past" and "quarter past" - please talk with your
child over the weekend about this concept, since I don't want them to forget what we have just
learned. Also, I have noticed that some students are having trouble counting by 10's. They can all do
10, 20 , 30, etc. But there are some who can't star with a different number - maybe 18 - and then say
28, 38, 48, 58. This indicates that they don't really have a strong sense of what "adding 10" means. I
would love for you to spend some time doing this with your child. It's a fun thing to do in the car!
Your child brought home new information about the spelling homework - it should be in the red home
folder.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
Monday, Nov. 9 - HOMEWORK IS DUE - math packet, calendar, story report
Wednesday, Nov. 11 - no school - Veteran's Day
Thursday, Nov. 12 - spelling test
Friday, Nov. 13 - SCIENCE TEST (your child will bring home study materials on
Tuesday - please look for them.
Friday, Nov. 13 - Seth Paine Movie Night - 6:00 - 8:00 featuring "Inside Out." $4 in advance
or $6 at the door. All proceeds support the 5th graders' trip to Taft.
Enjoy your three day weekend!
Robin Kern
P.S. Could you please reply just with a "I got the newsletter". I've been having some trouble with my
email. THANKS