​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.


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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.
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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!

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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.

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