November Already?!?

Greetings Parents-

We are just finishing up a great week here in 5S! Most of our MAP testing is over, save for a few kids who will finish up next week. Thanks for sending them in well rested and fed, they certainly put in their best effort.

We are in the thick of our Native American claymation projects, and your child is welcome to get together with their partner to work on the project outside of school if need be. Know that they are working hard in class, as well as in Technology and Art to put together some amazingly creative projects which we look forward to sharing with you later this month. Filming will begin in the next week and narration and special effects will be close behind.

Our class iPads are in hand and in use, we've worked out most of the bugs and we are now able to use them to share our learning in ways that we couldn't before. Students are able to do their work on the iPad and show their work to the rest of the class without leaving their seats—definitely a nice addition to our classroom. 

Fractions are the topic of the month for math class, if your son or daughter would like a little extra practice they can complete tasks L1-L5 and M1-M5 in IXL, as well as reviewing any of the basic fraction lessons at Khan Academy. All students have accounts at IXL and Khan and can use them to practice what they know and strengthen their knowledge in the things that they find more difficult. We just logged into Khan today, so if they aren't sure what to do there know that more information will come to them next week.

If you have any questions about what we are doing in class, please don't hesitate to get ahold of me. We are having a wonderful time together in 5S, and I am amazed that it's already mid-November...time really does fly, and we are absolutely having fun!

Best to you all-

Mr. Swinehart

Conferences, Costumes, and More!

Greetings 5S families!

We've been having a great time this month, routines are being established and students are getting into the swing of things at ACS. We've just completed our first unit in math, and we will be going over results with families at fall conferences this week. Student accounts should be live at IXL.com, in addition to the nightly reading homework, students are welcome to check out IXL for additional math practice.

5th graders at work exploring the relationship between area and multiplication

Just about everyone has finished up with their personal narratives on the colonization of North America, and we are working with Ms. Dajani on the research for the next project. Your child will be research one of the regions of America and learning more about the tribes in that area. If they are interested in doing additional research at home, we will have a few great sites to find information on their region posted to guide their searching. There is quite a bit of material out there, so if they are searching at home feel free to lend a little guidance. If they are already interested in searching, here's a site to get you started!


Please be aware that October 22-26 is a long weekend, Wednesday and Thursday students are off for conferences, and the following Sunday is an ACS professional development day. Please bring your child to the conference with you, I look forward to checking in with you and getting to know more about you and your child.

Also coming up next weekend is the ACS Spooktacular Halloween celebration, we absolutely hope to see everyone there! Details below, tickets are on sale now for admission, games, and trick or treat lane. Be aware that all guests must be ACS students or family members, and your badge will be required for entry.

Spooktacular Info:

Friday, October 31 5:30pm – 9 pm

5:30 pm – 6 pm Costume Contest Parade

6 pm – 7:30 pm Trick or Treat Lane

6 pm – 9 pm Games, Haunted House, Food, and more!

Please be aware that all parents of ACS students will be REQUIRED to show an ACS Badge upon entering school grounds. Please be respectful and supportive of this effort as we try to provide a safe and fun environment for everyone. Remember due to space and safety - Spooktacular is an ACS Families Only Event!

The Pumpkin Carving Contest is back again this year! All ACS students (PK1 - Grade 12) and families are invited to participate! Prizes will be awarded for the following categories: Spookiest, Most ACS School Spirit, Funniest, Most Original, and Best in Show

Pumpkins need to be carved at home (with parent supervision for the youngest of carvers) and submitted to school for judging on Thursday, October 30th by 9 am. Entries must be received no later then 9 am to be eligible for prizes. Winners will be notified via email. All pumpkin entries will be on display and used as decorations throughout the school during Spooktacular!

Spooktacular Tickets ON SALE

October 20, 21 - 2 pm - 3:30 pm

October 27, 28, 29, 30 - 7:45 am - 8:15 am & 2 pm - 3:30 pm

5JD/Ticket (3 years & older)

3JD/Trick-or-Treat Lane Ticket

(you only need a Trick-or-Treat Lane Ticket if you want treats. If you are only accompanying a child you DO NOT need a Trick-or Treat Lane Ticket)

(5JD/ Trick-or-Treat Lane Ticket at the door)

Buy Game Tickets Early!

20 tickets for 15JD

(20 tickets/20JD at the door)

If you send money to school with your child, please be sure to clearly notate how many of each ticket they need to purchase.

Spooktacular Tickets and Trick-or-Treat Lane tickets will be EXTREMELY LIMITED on the day of Spooktacular. Please purchase your tickets during the above times so you don’t miss out!

Good times with great kids!

Things are up and running in 5S! Routines are becoming familiar, friendships are being formed, and learning is occurring. Our first few weeks have been a great experience, not only in the classroom but out and about as well.

Math groups are underway, your child is receiving targeted instruction from one of the the three excellent teachers on the fifth grade team. We should have access to the online IXL math program soon, and some students may be asked to work with that as homework. Once it is up and running, information will be sent out to all families.

Classroom reading groups will be formed soon, we are finishing up with DRA2 testing to determine appropriate grouping. All students should have a chapter book and be reading at home for at least 30 minutes a day. We will try to be light on other homework, as daily reading is one of the most effective ways to boost student achievement across the board.

Mrs. Kraai is coming in for a bi-weekly counseling time, last week she talked about the importance of  building relationships and the students brainstormed ways to make and keep friends.

Mrs. Kraai gets them thinking!

Classroom jobs are getting going, our classroom reporter practiced delivering the news with a great report on mythical creatures around the world.

A water bottle microphone and Scotch Tape mustache adds credibility to any news report, even one on the Yeti.

Mornings on the track aren't bad, so long as the kids have fast hands and good friends!

Making friends with some good old-fashioned hand clap games

The trip to the Dead Sea was a blast. The kids definitely took the opportunity to have fun and make new friends, and we all enjoyed a day of learning outside the walls of ACS!

Muddy buddies at 400m below sea level!

And so it begins...

Greetings families, and welcome to the digital home of 5S @ ACS. 

Here you will find our online class newsletters, images and information from the classroom, and links to other places of interest for your and your 5th grader.









We've had a great first day, we are off and running (well, walking,actually...except on the field, the gym, the rooftop, and the basketball court) with a hero theme. Your child created a superhero today, and in the coming weeks we will be talking about what makes a hero and how ordinary people can be heroes, too. Feel free to email in a picture of your child doing something that makes you proud. It doesn't need to involve fighting crime or putting out fires—it might be reading to a younger sibling, keeping the neighborhood clean, or being a good friend to someone new in town.

Letters were sent home today, if you found this page I will assume the letter made it safely into your hands. Today's homework was to email me from your preferred email address so I have that on file. I'll be putting together a class email group shortly, and will use that to let you know when the blog is updated or if there is something important on the horizon. If there is anything you'd like me to know about your child, or if you have an area of expertise you'd like to share this year, feel free to let me know in the email.

Thank you for sharing your children with me. I'm fortunate to have such a great group of students in my classroom, and we've got a great year ahead of us.

Cheers!
Mr. Swinehart