Welcome to 5th Grade

*Please keep this letter all year as a reference to our important policies*

We are so excited to begin a new school year! It is a ground breaking year for our upper school….first graduating class…. new campus….expanding programs for our students and building on the foundation that was set last year for our Logic School. The Logic School is composed of 5th – 8th grades. The 5th/6th grade students will have the benefits of team teachers which will give them the opportunity to mature as a student while being exposed to the intellectual culture and climate of the upper school. The 5th/6th grade wing will be full of excitement, learning and activity and we are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our students. We have two highly qualified and experienced teams of teachers. Anchoring the History/English for 5th grade is Mrs. Tracie Golden. Anchoring the Math/Science for 5th grade is Mrs. Jennifer Turner. Please look for a welcome letter from your student’s homeroom teacher with a short biography and specific information about his/her class. The following is information followed by all classes in 5th grade. We look forward to working alongside you and your student for a successful year!

SNAPSHOT OF 5TH GRADE CURRICULUM

HISTORY

  • Ancient Greece/Rome

Key Ideas: geography of classical antiquity; monarchy, city-state, republic, and empire; rule of law; elements of the historical essay

ENGLISH

  • Novels: Jason and the Golden Fleece; The Trojan War; Julius Caesar; Tom Sawyer; The Secret Garden

Key Ideas: English words from the Greek/Latin roots; five paragraph essay; grammar of simple sentences; poetic rhyme scheme; recitations

MATH

  • Singapore Math

Key Ideas: calculations with fractions/mixed numbers; properties of triangles and four-sided figures; ratio and probability; area and volume; development of number sense; computation skills

SCIENCE

  • Scott Foresman Science

Key Ideas: classifying organisms; interactions and change in ecosystems; atmosphere and weather; energy, technology and outer space

COMMUNICATION

Communication is a key element to a successful year. We have set up many opportunities for communication. The responsibility of communication falls on the teacher, student and parent. Each of us have specific duties in that responsibility. Notice that many of the opportunities below require daily/weekly participation.

EMAIL – The most efficient way to communicate with us is by email. We will respond to your email within 24 hours. Often times during the day, we can reply to some concerns with a quick email response.

WEBPAGE – You can access our teacher webpages via the ACA main webpage. Go to “About” and the click on the faculty/staff link. Our webpages will have lots of important information, study guides and links to supportive material. Students and parents should check webpages weekly.

REMIND.COM – Remind.com is primarily a text message system that allows us to send quick text reminders to you and the students. You can access a link from our webpages to join. Remind.com is a quick and effective way to communicate that we use frequently.

MONTHLY CALENDAR – Your student will bring home a calendar each month with important dates for tests, projects and quizzes, as well as other important 5th grade happenings.

CONFERENCE – Our conference time is M/W/F from 10:00 – 11:00. We are also available for phone or after school conferences as needed.

COMMUNICATION FOLDERS – What are we communicating….behavior, responsibility and grades. The folder will include our “Core Values” based behavior expectations and “Love and Logic” goals for students and will be used to determine conduct grades. These folders will also include some graded papers. Parents are asked to check it daily and sign it weekly. Teachers will check folders on Thursdays. The communication folder will be BLUE.

PLANNERS – All students are required to have an ACA planner. Planners should be written in and checked daily.

PARENT PORTAL – Grades are updated weekly to the parent portal. The front office will assist you in obtaining your parent portal password. We encourage students and parents to check the portal frequently.

SCHEDULES/HOMEWORK

SCHEDULES – Students will receive their schedules at “Meet the Teacher.” They will start and end their day with their homeroom teacher. Backpacks will not travel during the day with students but will be housed within the homeroom. We will ask students to think of their backpacks as lockers they can access at the beginning of a particular class or at the teacher’s discretion. This will provide students practice with the responsibilities of a locker.

HOMEWORK – Students will have several built in opportunities during the day to complete classwork. Students are encouraged to have a homework folder. Classwork not completed will be considered homework. Test preparation does not count as homework. Assigned homework will not exceed one hour/night for the average student who uses his/her time wisely. Teachers will assign homework on the following nights: Monday/Wednesday – Math/Science; Tuesday/Thursday – English/History.

LATE HOMEWORK – Homework that is turned in 1 day late will receive a 30 point deduction. Homework that is 2 days late will receive a zero.

GRADE WEIGHTS – The following is the grade weighting for all core subjects except Science in 5th grade.

Test/Project – 45%

Quiz – 35%

Daily (Classwork/Homework)/Participation – 20%

GRADE WEIGHTS – See below explanation of grade weights in Science.

Cumulative Weekly Quizzes – 50%

Major Assessments – 35%

Daily (Classwork/Homework) – 15%

This year the Science Department aims to end the Cram-Pass-Forget cycle associated with traditional instruction. All Middle School science students will achieve mastery through weekly cumulative quizzes instead of traditional chapter tests. With teacher guidance, students will develop the strong study skills necessary to be successful in a mastery oriented class. Students will be empowered and find satisfaction in acquiring enduring knowledge. Mastery learning equips and prepares students for lifelong learning.

HANDOUTS – Handouts are an unavoidable necessity in school. In an effort to train in organizational skills and responsibility, teachers will provide students with only one copy of a handout. If a student loses that handout, he/she will need to consider ways to solve that problem. Teachers are happy to discuss with students other solutions; however additional copies will not be made. Review sheets and project/writing rubrics will be posted on the teacher webpage

We are looking forward to a great year with your student! Thank you for the honor and privilege of sharing your most prized possession with us. We take the responsibility of teaching and shepherding them very seriously. We welcome your help this year! Parent volunteers play an important part in executing the vision of our school. If you are interested in volunteering, contact the ACA PTO or your student’s homeroom teacher and we will gladly find a place for you to serve!

Sincerely,

5th Grade Team