Reminders...

Please come in the morning prepared to board the bus to camp!

• One duffel bag with the majority of what you have packed according to the guidelines, ready to be placed on the luggage bus (please note that the luggage bus and the class bus we are traveling up on are different!).
  
• One small day pack with everything you need for your bus ride to accompany you on the class bus. This might include a small snack that will be completely finished prior to entering the camp (no outside food at the camp!), a book to read on the way or an iPod labeled clearly with your name for your listening pleasure. A reminder that the labeled iPod will be kept with me for the duration of our camping trip, and will be given back to you for the bus ride home on Friday! Please load some Joni Mitchell on there in the event that I would like to enjoy some music during the day. (ha ha)
  

Please return any outstanding Author Talk permission forms and Band/Choir declaration forms in the morning.

Kindie pictures should be rolling on in - please review the e-mail sent out by our class Mom's so that our class will have everything in order!

Thank you.

A short week!

The camp countdown is on!

Tonight's homework:

• Memorize line for Cafe Concert - we really want to shine the afternoon of our performance.

• Review for the Decimal test tomorrow afternoon.
  

• Problem Solving: Prairie Dogs due next Monday but students should truly complete this tonight so it is not forgotten in the shuffle of camp. Students continue to come to class unprepared for Mrs. Longworth, and I want us to have a 100% success rate next Monday!

• Review Government material - focusing on the three branches of the Federal government and a general timeline of events in Canada's history:
• The BNA Act of 1867 and Canada's Confederation - which provinces were around at this time? Who was our Prime Minister?
  
• The Constitution of 1982 and what it symbolized. Who was our Prime Minister?
• Who is our Prime Minister now? Do you know his vision for our country?
• What is your vision for our country?

• Pack for camp!
  

Thank you!

Notices and happy weekend!

Hi all,

We had a great morning at Morven - the kids had a tour of the land and met some of their future teachers. I am confident that their transition into Grade 6 will be a smooth one.

Coming home with your child today are a few important notices.

• Informed Consent for the Kenneth Oppel field trip on May 13th. Please return as soon as possible, but do not cut the form you actually sign.
  
• Music Choices for Grade 6 students - please return on Monday (do not return if your child is not moving on to Morven).
  
• Green Grandparents Day information sheet.
  
• CD presentation from Mr. Myron Sullivan's oil spill conversation last Friday.
  

Homework for the weekend:

• Memorize lines for Cafe Concert - it is going to be great!
• Choose three rights from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Clearly state them, and discuss the responsibilities of all Canadians in relation to that right. Government test on May 8th will quickly sneak up on us, so spending some quality time with the material now will be beneficial.
  
• Decimal test on Tuesday...now is a good time to practice multiplying and dividing decimals.
  

And of course, we leave for camp on Wednesday! PLEASE review the packing sheet we have prepared for you - children will be miserable if they are cold and wet for all three of our days away. There is a link at the top left of this page to a separate camp blog will an online packing list in case you have misplaced yours. All medications must come into school for safe keeping with Ms. Craig prior to departure. We would be grateful if this occurred on Monday or Tuesday, rather than a Wednesday morning rush.

Enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

Decimal test announcement

Hello,

There will be a Decimal test on Tuesday, April 29th.

A formal review will be distributed within the next few days, but for now, please know how to add and subtract decimals to the thousandths. You should know how to multiply and divide numbers by 10, 100 and 1, 000 (this should only take you a few seconds!), as well as how to multiply and divide any old decimal (this will take you a bit longer).

To multiply decimals, think to yourself "How many numbers are there after the decimal point in my question?" There needs to be that many numbers after the decimal point in your answer! Also, use your common sense to ensure that you answer makes sense. Talking yourself through the problem will often help.

For example:

1.034
x 1.2


You know that your final answer will be really close to 1 (1 multiplied by 1 is 1!), so after you have done the work, check that your answer is logical, and that your answer has 4 numbers after the decimal place (because there are four numbers after the decimal point in total in the question!)

You will all perform brilliantly on this test!

5G: A Tale Told in Photographs

Working on Government Presentations


Proud creator


Understanding the structure of Provincial Governments


Spring Murals


Team work


Hand-print flowers


Concentrating on creating


All smiles in 5G


A happy Friday

Oldies but Goodies (Rodeo Day!)

Problem Solving

Homework from this afternoon's Problem Solving class:

• Painted Room
• An Open Book

for next Monday, April 28th.

Our class has not had the greatest track record for being prepared in class with Problem Solving homework completely and correctly done, so let's make this week a different story! Please keep your work organized in your yellow Problem Solving duotang, and be sure to label the strategy you are using and to show all of your work in a logical and organized way. You can do it!

An overview for the week

Hello!

I hope you enjoyed your weekend - I ran the Sun Run and am struggling with stairs today (me and 57, 000 other people!). I'm sorry I couldn't come to the Spring Fair, but an appointment kept me away from the fabulous food and great fun - but I will definitely be there next year!

The "Friendly Letter" for Holes is coming along. The rough copy is due on Friday, April 25th. A reminder that the two blue sheets I sent home outlining the requirements and marking scheme for this project really should be followed. This letter is a SETTINGS based letter - so the information students include should reflect their understanding of the setting in Holes and well written sensory details that make the letter interesting to read. It needs to be written from the perspective of a character in the book, so students should know enough about this character to really develop a strong, well-written letter. Letter-head, an interesting and relevant stamp and properly addressed envelope are all part of this assignment - not extra! Students looking to go above and beyond should draw on their creativity.

To celebrate Earth Day, we are having a litterless lunch day on Tuesday, April 22nd. Please help your child to pack a lunch to satisfy this requirement.

On Thursday, April 24th, students can bring in $2 for the opportunity to wear jeans (but regular uniform tops!) as a fund raiser for the hospital. It is not mandatory, but students really must bring in the money to wear jeans.

Also on Thursday, Nurse Kelsall will be speaking to the Grade 5 students (boys and girls seperately) on the topic of Puberty. Please look at the white sheet in your child's agenda to explain this further and come and speak with me if you have any questions.

And a reminder, Friday, April 25th, drop off is at Morven at 8:25 am -- regular pick up from Wentworth after 3 pm.

Mr. Myron Sullivan: Guest Speaker for the Grade 5 students

On Friday, we were lucky enough to have Mr. Myron Sullivan speak to the Grade 5 students about the new technology he has developed to clean up oil spills. It was really fascinating (and sad) to learn about the impact of oil spills on the environment and economy, and exciting to think that we have witnessed first hand the cutting edge technology that will revolutionize this issue. Your child will be coming home with a DVD explaining the information he or she learned on Friday, and this website may also be of interest to you:

http://globalresponsegroup.com/index.php

Trying something new...

Hello! I'd like to try something new to help us all stay organized and on track for success. Maintaining this blog can sometimes be an ideological struggle for me - I want the kids to be independent and responsible for deadlines, assignments and learning in general - so that if they fail to hand something in on time they learn that there are consequences for disorganization. At the same time, I recognize that we are all busy people and the last thing anyone needs is to run around in stress over a forgotten notice. So, in addition to insisting that the children use their agendas daily and complete them accurately, I am trying out this visual overview to support the process of time management and organization in your little one. The calendars are not entirely complete as some test dates are not yet confirmed (still a Decimal test to come!), but I will change as necessary.

Thank you.

Legacy, continued...

Thank you again for all of your help in making Legacy such a success - to our class Moms who co-ordinated the volunteers, to the families who came out to help and to all of you who have faithfully brought in your bottles for the program -- thank you! 5G is the greatest!

Wednesday

Hello all!

Now that Science Fair is coming to a close, we can turn our attention to the other units in our curriculum. We began our study of the Canadian Government today and this will continue for several weeks. Talking with your child about Confederation and the current structure of our government, as well as the division of services amongst the three levels would be a support to the material covered in class.

Our study of Holes is progressing well, and today the children were assigned a "Friendly Letter" (two blue pieces of paper with instructions and a checklist). The rough draft is to be completed by Friday, April 25th, and there will be time given in class to complete this assignment. Early submissions are welcome. I have given ample time because I would like students to take pride in this assignment and give 110% effort - this means doing some editing work of their own before handing it in for my help! We have been talking in class about what it means to Minimally Meet Expectation, Meet Expectations, Fully Meet Expectations and to Exceed Expectations. We all agreed that while students want to receive an "Exceeding Expectations", it is difficult to achieve and requires creativity, thoughtfulness and real effort. It must come from within, but I'd like to stir up that drive by challenging the class to give their full effort in class and achieve much more than their best.

The orange contact information for camp should be coming in as soon as possible, please (Friday at the latest).

We are still covering Decimals in Math -- some links to the left will take you to some fun games to reinforce the concepts we are studying, if you're interested. Children looking to take their study of Decimals further are encouraged to see me for some extension work -- I'd like to see everyone in my homeroom class achieve success in this unit.

The civvies Day on Friday in celebration of the Candy Drive coincides with a guest speaker for the entire Grade 5 class by Mr. Myron Sullivan who has graciously agreed to speak with us about oil spill clean-up technology. It will be great!

As always, please feel free to speak with me at any time about your child - I really do want this year to be a positive one for all of the members of our 5G community, and communication is the key!

Thank you!

Science Fair clarification

The presentation evening is quickly approaching (in fact, one hour more quickly than I originally thought!)...

On Wednesday, April 16th from 5 until 6 pm, our 5G students will share their hard work for family members and fellow students to enjoy. The students will set up their boards tomorrow morning in the Multi-Purpose Room, so they need only come back to school that evening in their Number One uniforms (no baggage!).

I look forward to seeing you all there!

5G Morning Legacy success

Thank you to the families who graciously offered to help with our Legacy program! We couldn't do it without you!

5G -- a class of winners!

This just in --

We have always known, of course, that 5G is filled with winners, and the good news keeps pouring in --

On Sunday, Olivia participated in the Kiwanis’ Festival and won 1st prize in the Classical category, singing The Lilac Tree. Way to go, Olivia!

On Friday, Safir donned his tuxedo and brought home 2nd place with his fantastic violin skills.

Congratulations! We're very proud of you both!

Number One uniforms on Monday, April 14th

We are having an Assembly on Monday, April 14th to welcome our CESI visitors, and students are expected to wear their Number One uniforms. This uniform includes, for those boys who need a reminder, black polished dress shoes and darkly coloured socks.

Science Fair: Where we are...where we need to get

Science Fair has been a labour of love for 5G over the past few months, and I am so appreciative of all of the hard work from students and families to make this project a success. It is hard to believe it is coming to a close and that we will no longer have to stress about in text references and correct Bibliographies. It will be great to celebrate our hard work and exciting discoveries on the evening of Wednesday, April 16th (from 6 to 7 pm) in the Multi-Purpose Room. Now is the time to put some finishing touches on the product, carefully reviewing my feedback and comparing your own work to the guidelines very clearly laid out in the instructions manual. The board needs to be clear and easy to understand, and should communicate every section of your project (in correct order - so don't start with your Conclusion!). The boards are due in class on Tuesday, April 15th (no exceptions).

Thank you! Enjoy your weekend!

Civvies Day on Friday, April 18th

In preparation for the exciting Spring Fair, Collingwood is asking for your support in stocking the Spring Fair Candy Walk and Candy Shop! At the time of drop-off on the morning of Friday, April 18th, there is a Candy Drive. Two large Candy items per family would be an excellent contribution (think chocolate bars, chewy candies, hard candies, smarties, gum, lollipops - anything sweet!). Costco sells these things in large sizes, so that could be a fun shopping excursion (might as well pick up some extra for the house!). Please leave the candy in its original wrapping.

A $20 cash donation (rather than a candy contribution) would also be gratefully accepted.

Friday, April 18th is also a Civvies Day!

Congratulations, Olivia!

Olivia was the worthy recipient of a bronze medal in her Musical Theatre yesterday. She was up against a daunting 100 other participants, and she wowed the judges with her piece! Congratulations, Olivia!

Buddies in action...

Here are some images of the Buddies period this morning (only half of the class, the other half travels to 2M). 5G helped their Buddies write about endangered species.

Safir wins Bronze in the Kiwanis Music Festival!

Our very own Safir delighted judges with his violin piece "La Cerentola" by Charles Dancla (the piece is also known as 'Cinderella'), and brought home third place! We're proud of you, Safir!

Problem Solving homework for next Monday

Two more problem assigned in Mrs. Longworth's Problem Solving class, due next Monday...

* 4 Girls
* Painting

Ten children were absent for yesterday's lesson, so please be sure to catch up on the work.

Thank you!

Photographs to kick off third term

Working away on Science Fair






Chess club at lunch




Diving into our Holes unit!






An Emily Carr puzzle for kids who get in a little early...






The chess club is run by our own Alexander! Well done him for all of his hard work!



Welcome back, Tina!



Mr. Picasso-Head art lesson



The spelling whiz kids...



Forming opinions on the demonstrations in Tibet.