Spring Break!

Happy April Vacation!

From our menagerie to your home!

This Week in Ms. Hoskins' Classroom

Our beloved class mascot, Gizmo, arrived to school a little fancier this morning in a vest handcrafted by Magen H.

(He must be getting ready for conferences!)

Conferences will be held this week and we are so excited to share our learning with you! You will receive a confirmation today if your child is present in school.

Please remember that conferences will be student led. This means I would like your child to be the leader of the conversation, and he/she will show off his/her work. We can take this time to set goals for the end of the year, as well as think about how we can help your child prepare to head off to Middle School.

I expect these conferences to take 15-20 minutes.

If you have additional children who will be present, I will have seats in the hallway. Having them sit outside of the room may help your fifth grade child to feel more comfortable sharing. For smaller children, it would be best to find childcare so that you can give your best attention to your fifth grader! However, I recognize this is not always possible and would recommend bringing some small toys or easy to clean up games. I have a great rug area they can camp out on during the conference!

I look forward to seeing you all again!

Celebration!

Today was our Tea & Cookie party and impromptu Author Celebration!

Students shared some of their recent memoir work while they munched on cookies and sipped on tea. Some students used their coil mugs they made last quarter in Art!

Thank you to Deb Pye for a cookie donation for this event!

Heredity

In the beginning of the heredity unit, students learned about dominant vs. recessive traits in pea plants, and the work of Gregor Mendel.* Next, we took a look at traits in humans. They were able to identify whether or not they had the dominant trait (brown eyes, right handed, curly hair, can roll tongue, detached earlobes, freckles, to name a few) or the recessive trait. We later graphed this data as a class!

After, each student created a dog with a unique set of traits. This was a fun, artistic activity. I enjoyed watching the kids work, and there was a lot of laughter about the different outcomes!

More recently, students have been looking again at human traits, and participated in an activity which reinforces the idea that our traits are passed down from generation to generation, grandparents to parents to kids. We discussed how it is possible for siblings to have different traits and have the same parents. It is also possible to have the same traits, but not be twins.

It has been a short, but fun and interesting unit. It may have been my favorite unit I've taught your children this year! If your child would like to continue exploring the topic of inherited traits, there are some family tree activities with heredity in mind. http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/heredity/html/tree.html Please feel free to share any additional learning or celebrations with me! Enjoy!

*During our initial heredity lesson on Gregor Mendel and the pea plants, students had some great questions about his experiments, including wondering how a tall pea plant and a short pea plant could produce a tall pea plant. ("But... How does that even happen?" One child asked.) One afternoon, we spent science taking a look at a diagram of flower anatomy (pistil, stamen), and discussed pollination, and the importance of bees to this process. I additionally shared an article with the students about the decrease in the bee population. We talked about how the bee crisis has had an impact on farming, which ultimately impacts us as consumers. (Another system!) Some students may have continued interest in the topic of bees, and what they can do to help. Here is a website from Green Peace which has information on saving the bees! Perhaps we have some activists in our midst! http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/genetic-engineering/Bees-in-Crisis/

Updates: Cookie Party, Penny Wars, and Happy Easter!

On Monday, we will begin Quarter 4. Report cards will be sent home next week, and spring conferences are fast approaching. Please sign up for conferences as soon as possible. Online sign ups are now open, and a paper copy will be sent home with your child on April 6th. I look forward to meeting with you all soon!

In order to celebrate the class earning 100 tallies, as well as the end of Q3 and SBAC testing, we will be having a class tea and cookie party on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 8th. Some children have volunteered to bring frosting, or decorations (sprinkles or gels). I have plastic knives, napkins, chocolate chip cookies, and will make sugar cookies. We may need hot beverage cups! Children are welcome to bring a favorite tea; however, I do have quite a few varieties available. 

--

As a fundraising effort for our Grade 5 field trip to Boston, the fifth grade wing will be having Penny Wars from April 6th-April 17th.

We will have another fundraising push in May. TBA.

--

Happy Easter, from our classroom to your home.

Continue Your GMRI LabVenture! At Home!

Students are now able to log in on the Gulf of Maine Research Institute's LabVenture! Student Page to revisit their learning from our trip last week! Students who were absent will still receive Program cards with login and password information, and can see their team's data page, watch videos, and get to experience some of the program as well.

• Go to http://labventure.gmri.org
• Click on the "For Students" tab
• Select "Investigate Your Data"
• Use the username and password provided to you on your LabVenture! Program card. (Pictured above... All students were given this card on Tuesday, 3/31.)
• You will be prompted to enter a new password. Your child is welcome to create a password, or retype the one provided on the card.
• This will bring you to your child's student page. (Pictured below.) On this page, you and your child can explore the collected data, including videos, photos, and other observations! Very cool!

I do not have a copy of students' usernames/passwords, so please support your child in finding a safe place for their Program card in order to continue to utilize this fantastic resource!

Enjoy!

Spelling Bee

Dear Families,

It is getting close to the time in which our school will participate in the annual Spelling Bee! In April, we will have a Classroom Bee, in which all students will participate in writing down a list of words. This will be run similarly to a classroom spelling test or pre-test. Qualifying students will participate in a 5th Grade Bee among their peers. At the 5th Grade Bee, students would be taking turns spelling orally, from a list that is different than the practice words list.

This year’s practice list includes the following words:

Students are encouraged to find their own way to practice if they wish. It is not a requirement to practice these words; however, all of these words are good to know how to spell, and it is FUN!

BEST WISHES TO ALL OF OUR FIFTH GRADE SPELLERS!!