​Highlights from Last Week:

• The big highlight from last week was our Hale Reservation field trip. Students were in groups of 11-13 with students from both Pine Hill and Chickering. Led by an exuberant guide, each group performed team building activities and engaged in a variety of nature-based endeavors. Students enjoyed building fires, catching fish, creating shelters, navigating through the woods with maps and compasses, swinging from the trees on high ropes, eating edible plants, and investigating the life and health of a pond. 
• I created a survey for students to get feedback on their experience at Hale. From their responses, it sounds like they loved the trip, though mixing with Chickering students may not have been everyone's favorite experience. We'll definitely use students' feedback to improve the trip next year.
• In 5K, we had fun working on our word scales. Students chose lame words that mean the opposite, such as big/small or smart/dumb, and went on a digital quest through Thesaurus.com to find and define better words that describe various states of their opposites. We had great discussions about the nuance of word meanings. For example, where does "absent-minded" fall on the "smart/dumb" scale? Is it not as dumb as "dumb?" Or is it a more severe state of dumbness? Students are excited to use their words in normal conversations, and 5K is filled with vocabulary-driven conversation.

What We Didn't Get To:

• We didn't get very far in our viewing of "Liberty" on the American Revolution. We made it up to the start of the Battle of Long Island. We'll have to skip a lot and I'll do some dramatic summarizing in order to get to the end of the war before the end of school.

Great Student Work
As promised, here are students' American Revolution News Reports. We hope you enjoy these entirely student-created videos.


​
This Week's Plan

Upcoming Special Events: ​​​​

• Promotion Ceremony Rehearsal --Monday at 10am.
• Grade 5 Promotion Ceremony --Tuesday, June 20th from 9:00-11:00am. Families are invited to attend. Students should dress to impress.
• Field Day --Tuesday, June 20th from 12:15-2:30pm.
• Last Day of School -Wednesday, June 21st.

Remaining Academic Activities:

• Finish vocabulary "Word Scales."
• Watch clips from PBS' "Liberty! The American Revolution," and learn about the major battles, the outcome of the war, and the development of the US Constitution.
• Some students still need to take a brief reading assessment with me.
• We're working on some articles for our last 5K Newsletter.

Non-Academic Activities:

• Organize student portfolios.
• Reflect on progress and successes this year.
• Engage in closing activities to say "goodbye" to 5K.

Report Cards
Be on the lookout for an email from the Pine Hill Administration with a link to your child's report card. Report cards are now digital only, so you will need to log into Aspen to access them. Need help? Call the front office at: (508) 655-0630.
​

Thanks for Your Support All Year!
I hope your children had a great year in 5th grade. It was a pleasure to be their teacher. I welcome any feedback, so please feel free to email me. Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and support throughout the year!

Have a wonderful summer!  

 ​Highlights from Last Week:

• Our fifth grade Open House was on Wednesday this past week. Students shared their citizenship work with parents, giving little "elevator pitches" about their chosen causes and charitable organizations. Great job, 5th graders! Student musicians then performed three impressive pieces in the concert band led by Mr. Davis. What talent! And finally, the entire fifth grade sang four moving pieces in the chorus led by Mrs. Hodge. Congratulations to all for a great night, and thank you to parents for all of your support! Check out more pictures here.
• Fifth graders visited the middle school for a fun morning exploring the halls, classrooms, and facilities led by former Pine Hillers now in 6th grade. Students got a little preview of their future lives in middle school.
• Students took the End of Year Math Assessment to gauge their memories on all that they learned in math this year. They also took a trial Science MCAS test on the computers to get a taste of what future MCAS tests will look and feel like. We're almost done with all the testing for the year!

What We Didn't Get To:

• Some students still need a little more time to finish their opinion essays.

This Week's Plan

Upcoming Special Events: ​​​​

• Hale Reservation Field Trip --Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, June 13th - 15th. Please see below for more information.
• Grade 5 Promotion Ceremony --Tuesday, June 20th.
• Field Day --Tuesday, June 20th after the Promotion Ceremony.
• Last Day of School -Wednesday, June 21st.

Hale Reservation Trip Info:
80 Carby Street Westwood, MA 02090 phone: 781-326-1770 fax: 781-326-0676 www.HaleReservation.org

Our trip to Hale Reservation is scheduled for this Tuesday, June 13th, Wednesday, June 14th and Thursday, June 15th.  There are some things you should remember when preparing for our visit.  With that in mind, we have created this checklist.  Required items are in bold, while suggested items aren’t.

• Backpack – students will be responsible for their own items each day.
• Sturdy, closed-toe shoes – there will be walking, climbing, etc.  
• Refillable, plastic water bottle
• Lunch and snack – no glass please!  
• Sunscreen and bug spray
• Hat
• Layers – it may be cool in the morning but hot in the afternoon.  Wear clothing that can adjust with the temperature.
• Rain gear – if the possibility of rain is in the forecast, bring it.

And most importantly…..

• A positive attitude
• Your best behavior!

This is going to be a great trip filled with adventure, learning, and fun.  It will be a great culmination to a year of hard-work.  Let’s do everything we can to enjoy it together.
Remember to be mindful of the weather report for each day. We are outside all day – rain or shine!!!

PICK UP IS PROMPTLY AT 4:15 EACH DAY at Pine Hill School!


Remaining Academic Activities:

• Finish opinion essays.
• Work on vocabulary through "Word Scale" project.
• Watch PBS' "Liberty! The American Revolution," and learn about the major battles, the outcome of the war, and the development of the US Constitution.
• Learn some math tips and tricks for Middle School.
• Take a brief reading assessment.
• Read great books.

Non-Academic Activities:

• Organize student portfolios.
• Reflect on progress and successes this year.
• Engage in closing activities to say "goodbye" to 5K.

Homework:
Woo hoo! No more homework!

• But please look around the house and return any borrowed classroom library books. Thank you!

​

Thanks for Reading!
That's the plan for the week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or feedback.​​​​​

​Highlights from Last Week:

• Students created these awesome news reports about the causes of the American Revolution. In small groups, they planned and filmed news reports about the French and Indian War, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, and the Intolerable Acts. I will try to post their reports online for your viewing pleasure.
• We wrapped up our last unit in math.
• Students learned how to incorporate counterarguments and rebuttals into an opinion essay.
• Nurse Fedor and Mr. Carnes wrapped up the last lesson of puberty.

What We Didn't Get To:

• We didn't make as much progress as I had planned in writing. We still need to craft introductions and conclusions.

This Week's Plan

Special Activities:

• Global Citizenship Project Shares --Students turn in their projects and give presentations to the class about their organization, its cause, and the work students have done to promote it.
  
• Science Testing Trial --Many schools in the state are running a trial of the future Science MCAS. Ours will be Tuesday, June 6th. It's only a 45 minute session and it does not count toward students' grades.

Upcoming Special Events: ​​​​​

• Early Release --Wednesday, June 7th.
• Grade 5 Open House --Wednesday, June 7th at 6:00pm.
• Visit to Middle School --Thursday, June 8th.
• Hale Reservation Field Trip --Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, June 13th - 15th.
• Grade 5 Promotion Ceremony --Tuesday, June 20th.
• Last Day of School -Wednesday, June 21st.

Math:
Correct Assessments. End of Year Review

• We'll correct our Unit 9 Math Assessments as a class.
• We'll briefly review major concepts we covered this year in math in preparation for our End of Year Math Assessment.

Reading:
Character Changes and Theme

• Students write their last open response essay describing how the main character in their story changed over time and how that relates to the theme.
  

Writing:
Finish Opinion Writing. Word Scales.

• We finish our essays about homework. This week we will work on building counter arguments, constructing strong introductions and conclusions, using appropriate transition words, and commas.
• Students are creating "word scales" to help learn new vocabulary. They'll be searching through the online dictionary and thesaurus to find words along a scale of two opposites, such as "hot/cold," and "love/hate."

Social Studies:
American Revolution. Vocabulary building.

• Through readings, videos, and storytelling, we'll learn about the important battles of the American Revolutionary War.
• As we study the American Revolution, students confront many challenging vocabulary words, such as oppositional, controversy, and discontent. We will record new words and use them through discussion and activities.

Science:
Science Testing Trial. See above.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details.

1. Students turn in their Global Citizenship projects on Monday.
2. There is no new blog this week.
3. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
4. There may be some math review homework.

​

Thanks for Reading!
That's the plan for the week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or feedback.​​​​​

​Highlights from Last Week:
Congrats to Kate, Katie, and Caroline from 5K, as well as their teammates from The Blue Mustaches, and all of the Pine Hill participants at the Global Destination Imagination Competition!

Back in the classroom, we had a fun-filled week of special activities.

• A helicopter landed in our playground! The pilots taught 5th graders a little about the science behind helicopter flight.
• Students enjoyed a hefty amount of reading on Reading Day. We had a special celebration at the end of the day to recognize that we finished over 200 books as a class this year.
• Rocky the (big) therapy dog visited 5K. Students enjoyed the calming sensation of petting his soft long fur.
• In social studies, students are working in teams to create news reports of an event that lead to the American Revolution. They've written scripts, created props, and are finishing up their filming. I can't wait to see the final products!

What We Didn't Get To:

• We made mostly good progress through the plan from last week.

This Week's Plan

Upcoming Special Events: ​​​​​

• Puberty Round 2: Tuesday, May 30th. Students learn more about body changes during puberty from Mr. Carnes and Ms. Fedor.

Math:
 Review Volume, Measurement Conversions, Line Graphs & Plots, and Polygons.

• This week we review for a unit assessment. Student will get a practice packet as a study guide. The assessment will likely be on Thursday.

Reading:
Finish Book Groups.

• We'll have our last discussion in book groups. We'll share about the theme of our stories by analyzing the challenges a character faces, the climax of the story, and the resolution to see how a character changes and what lesson he/she learned.

Writing:
Opinion Writing.

• We continue our essays about homework. This week we will work on building counter arguments, constructing strong introductions and conclusions, using appropriate transition words, and commas.

Social Studies:
American Revolution. Vocabulary building.

• Through readings, videos, and storytelling, we'll learn about the important battles of the American Revolutionary War.
• As we study the American Revolution, students confront many challenging vocabulary words, such as oppositional, controversy, and discontent. We will record new words and use them through discussion and activities, such as creating "Word Scales."

Science:
We switch to focus on Social Studies.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details.

1. Students should be finishing up their Global Citizenship Final Project. 
2. There is no new blog this week.
3. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
4. There will be a math page for homework each night.

​

FYI End of Year Events:

• Grade 5 Open House --Wednesday, June 7th at 6:00pm.
• Visit to Middle School --Thursday, June 8th.
• Hale Reservation Field Trip --Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, June 13th - 15th.
• Grade 5 Promotion Ceremony --Tuesday, June 20th.
• Last Day of School -Wednesday, June 21st.

Thanks for Reading!
That's the plan for the week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or feedback.​​​​​

Highlights from Last Week:

• MCAS finished for the year! 5th graders finished the Science MCAS this week, which concludes the standardized testing for the year.
• 8th graders from DS visited the 5th grade in each classroom to give them an overview of classes, a sneak peak at the schedule structure, and some practice opening a combination lock.
• In Writing, we've been reading some essays from experts and planning our opinion pieces on whether or not kids should get homework. Students are formulating some very convincing arguments for both sides of the issue.
• The whole school enjoyed an invigorating morning of exercise for Get Up and Move Day on Friday. We lucked out with the nice weather.

What We Didn't Get To:

• We (STILL!) didn't get to completely finish book groups yet.
• We didn't get to line plots with fractions.

This Week's Plan

Upcoming Special Events: ​​​​​

• Introduction to Puberty --Tuesday, May 23rd. Students will learn about personal hygiene and mood changes from Ms. Fedor and Mr. Carnes. There will be another session on body changes the following Tuesday.
• Helicopter Presentation --Wednesday, May 24th. Pine Hill gets a special visit from an actual helicopter (or so I'm told) and the 5th grade gets a look at how helicopters work.
• Pine Hill Reading Day --Friday, May 26th. Students, get a great book or two. We'll be spending the day engaged in literacy activities, including lots of reading.
• Memorial Day --Monday, May 29th.

Upcoming Special Activities: ​​​​​

• Citizenship Grade-Wide Groups Meet --Students will share their progress thus for on their Global Citizenship projects.
• Rocky the Therapy Dog --5K gets a visit from Rocky the therapy dog on Tuesday.

Math:
Line Plots with Fractions. Review Volume, Measurement, and Line Graphs.

• We will also graph fractional data on a line plot and find the average amount by using our addition and division skills.
• We have one more unit assessment before our end-of-year assessment. This one covers a variety of topics that we've covered: Volume, Measurement Conversions, Line Graphs, and Line Plots.

Reading:
Finish Book Groups.

• We'll learn how to identify the theme of a story by analyzing the challenges a character faces, the climax of the story, and the resolution to see how a character changes and what lesson he/she learned.

Writing:
Opinion Writing.

• We will work on forming a strong argument, developing logical reasons to defend our argument, and supporting our reasons with evidence and logic.

Social Studies:
American Revolution. Vocabulary building.

• Through readings, videos, and storytelling, we'll learn about the important battles of the American Revolutionary War.
• As we study the American Revolution, students confront many challenging vocabulary words, such as oppositional, controversy, and discontent. We will record new words and use them through discussion and activities, such as creating "Word Scales."

Science:
We switch to focus on Social Studies.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details.

1. Students are working on their final homework project of the year, the Global Citizenship Final Project. 
2. Students will be assigned a partner and must respond to their partner's blog #11 post by Friday.
3. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
4. There will be a math page for homework each night.

​

FYI End of Year Events:

• Grade 5 Open House --Wednesday, June 7th at 6:00pm.
• Visit to Middle School --Thursday, June 8th.
• Hale Reservation Field Trip --Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, June 13th - 15th.
• Grade 5 Promotion Ceremony --Tuesday, June 20th.
• Last Day of School -Wednesday, June 21st.

Thanks for Reading!
That's the plan for the week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or feedback.​​​​

Highlights from Last Week:
Poor Ms. Kimball's been battling a cold, and had to take a couple of sick days this past week.

• Students were great, doing best to accommodate my sore throat by reading verbal cues and my typing to get directions and instructions.
• Students enjoyed the field trip to the Minuteman National Park on Friday.
• We tackled math MCAS on Tuesday and Wednesday. 
• We started opinion writing, learning how to structure an essay and hammer home a point using repetition.

What We Didn't Get To:

• We didn't get to completely finish book groups yet.

This Week's Plan

Upcoming Special Events: ​​​​​

• Twin Triplet Day -Tuesday, May 16th
• Early Release Wednesday -May 17th
• Science MCAS --Wednesday and Thursday, May 17th and 18th.
• Visit from Middles Schoolers -Thursday, May 18th at 1pm
• Get Up and Move Day --Friday, May 19th

Math:
Line Graphs. Line Plots with Fractions.

• We will be extending our knowledge of coordinate grids and using line graphs to analyze real world situations.
• We will also graph fractional data on a line plot and find the average amount by using our addition and division skills.

Reading:
Finish Book Groups.

• We'll learn how to identify the theme of a story by analyzing the challenges a character faces, the climax of the story, and the resolution to see how a character changes and what lesson he/she learned.

Writing:
Opinion Writing.

• We will work on forming a strong argument, developing logical reasons to defend our argument, and supporting our reasons with evidence and logic.

Social Studies:
American Revolution. Vocabulary building.

• Through readings, videos, and storytelling, we'll learn about the important battles of the American Revolutionary War.
• As we study the American Revolution, students confront many challenging vocabulary words, such as oppositional, controversy, and discontent. We will record new words and use them through discussion and activities, such as creating "Word Scales."

Science:
MCAS Review.

• We'll practice previous Science MCAS tests and review concepts.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details.

1. Students are working on their final homework project of the year, the Global Citizenship Final Project. Our progress check in is this Friday.
2. There is a new Blog #11 for students to reply to by Friday.
3. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
4. There will be a math page for homework each night.

​
Thanks for Reading!
That's the plan for the week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or feedback.​​​

Highlights from Last Week:
Students showed their Science Smarts on our Nature Walk run by Ms. Moore from Broadmoor. Ms. Moore reviewed types of rocks, types of plants, types of soil, and more in preparation for the Science MCAS.

As part of the Global Citizenship project, students wrote formal letters to their organization explaining the project and requesting materials to help them raise awareness and funds. Caroline, Nadya, and Emma were the first to get their letters in the mail.
​
In Math, students showed talent for finding the volume of rectangular prisms. They learned it more quickly than I anticipated, so we were able to get ahead in math and start learning about coordinate grids.

At Friday's All School Meeting, Pine Hill welcomed an Afro-Brazilian martial arts group that performed exciting music and dance. The trio also taught the school some Portuguese. It was a very electrifying performance. I hope they come back in the future!

What We Didn't Get To:

• Due to rain, one of our Nature Walks had to be rescheduled to this week.
• We didn't fully dive into Social Studies yet. Students wanted more time to work on their Ecosystem projects.

This Week's Plan

Upcoming Special Events: ​​​​​

• Broadmoor Nature Walks --Monday, May 1st.
• 'Paul Revere House' in School Visit --Monday, May 1st.
• Early Release --Wednesday, May 3rd. 
• Postural Screenings --Thursday, May 4th. Mrs. Fedor will inspect students' spines for any abnormalities. Please dress appropriately.
• Sherborn Arts and Crafts Fair -Saturday, May 13th.
  
• Minuteman National Park Field Trip --Friday, May 12th.
  

MCAS

• Math MCAS --Tuesday and Wednesday, May 9th and 10th.
• Science MCAS --Wednesday and Thursday, May 17th and 18th.

Math:
Coordinate Grids. Measurement Conversions. MCAS Practice.

• Practice plotting and naming points on a coordinate grid.
• Learn how to convert between units of measure in the U.S. Customary System. 
• Memorize prefixes for measurement in the Metric System and convert using powers of 10.
• Review important concepts in preparation for Math MCAS next week. Gain familiarity with the MCAS test format.

Reading:
Finish Book Groups.

• Theme --We'll learn how to identify the theme of a story by analyzing the challenges a character faces, the climax of the story, and the resolution to see how a character changes and what lesson he/she learned.

Writing:
Finish Business Letter Writing.

• Letter to Charitable Organization --Students practice using formal language and a polite, persuasive tone to request materials and/or correspondence from their chosen charitable organization.

Social Studies:
American Revolution. Vocabulary building.

• Setting the Stage for Discontent --Through readings, videos, and storytelling, we'll learn how Colonial America grew dissatisfied with English rule.
• Vocabulary --As we study the American Revolution, students confront many challenging vocabulary words, such as oppositional, controversy, and discontent. We will record new words and use them through discussion and activities, such as creating "Word Scales."

Science:
Finish Ecosystems.

• Ecosystem Project –Students work in cooperative groups to become experts on an ecosystem of their choice. They conduct research, create an informative presentation, and write a one-page informational text about their ecosystem.
• Science MCAS Review --We'll practice previous Science MCAS tests and review concepts in preparation for the text in two weeks.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details.

1. Students are working on their final homework project of the year, the Global Citizenship Final Project.
2. Students must reply to me on Blog #10 by Friday.
3. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
4. There will be a math page for homework each night.

​
Thanks for Reading!
That's the plan for the week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or feedback.​​​

Highlights from Last Week:
I hope everyone had a great April break!

Before the break, we wrapped up our informational writing projects, conducted research about ecosystems using a variety of sources, and learned how to sort polygons based on their properties.

Many students in the class were part of the Talent Show. It was a wonderful event filled with so much student talent. Great job everyone!
​

What We Didn't Get To:

• We didn't get to start Volume in Math.
• We didn't get to wrap up book groups yet.

This Week's Plan

Upcoming Special Events: ​​​​​

• Broadmoor Nature Walks --Wednesday and Thursday, April 26th and 27th.
• 'Paul Revere House' in School Visit --Monday, May 1st.
• Early Release --Wednesday, May 3rd. 

Special Activities:

• Citizenship Project -Students will brainstorm ideas for their Citizenship final projects.

Math:
Volume.

• Exploring Volume --Students will get some hands-on experience in investigating volume by filling small boxes with unit cubes.
• Finding Volume --We'll learn what volume is and how it relates to area. Then we'll learn the formula for finding volume (length x width x height).
• Volume of Composite Figures --We'll learn how to find the volume of combined prisms.

Reading:
Book Groups.

• Book Groups & Literary Analysis --We attempt to wrap up some of our book groups this week. We'll learn how to analyze the story structure and character development in order to help us determine the themes of our books.
• Theme --We'll learn how to identify the theme of a story by looking studying the climax for an important change in a character.

Writing:
Business Letter Writing.

• Letter to Charitable Organization --Students will learn how to use formal language and a polite, persuasive tone to request materials and/or correspondence from their chosen charitable organization.

Social Studies:
American Revolution. Vocabulary building.

• Setting the Stage for Discontent --Through readings, videos, and storytelling, we'll learn how Colonial America grew dissatisfied with English rule.
• Vocabulary --As we study the American Revolution, students confront many challenging vocabulary words, such as oppositional, controversy, and discontent. We will record new words and use them through discussion and activities, such as creating "Word Scales."

Science:
Ecosystems.

• Ecosystem Project –Students work in cooperative groups to become experts on an ecosystem of their choice. They conduct research, create an informative presentation, and write a one-page informational text about their ecosystem.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details.

1. There will be a new homework project, but I am not assigning it until Wednesday. I will post it then.
2. There is a new Blog (#10) to reply to by Friday about theme.
3. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
4. There will be a math page for homework each night.

​
Thanks for Reading!
That's the plan for the week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or feedback.​​​