winter recess news

ELA:  We are focusing on specific spelling concepts. There are three groups all focusing on spelling lists/concepts that are unique to the child. They are asked to complete a packet of activities and return them on Friday. They are focusing on writing persuasive essays currently and learning to type them as well. They cannot WAIT to share them with you! Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home daily. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every FRIDAY (this week it is due Thursday) on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder. THEY NEED TO BE TURNED IN ON TIME! This has been a struggle for about half of the class recently.

Science:  Students are finishing their unit on Engineering and the design process. When we return from break students will begin a social studies unit and work on an in class project.

Math:  Students will complete Chapter 3 next week, which covers Decimals. This week we are focusing on rounding to the whole number as well as benchmarks. We will be reviewing material from all of Chapter 3 Friday to prepare for Monday’s Mid-Chapter Test. They should be completing their homework on their own or with minimal support and they can refer to their math notebook. If they come home with problems on the Review Page incorrect they should go into their notebook or work pages and practice problems from the corresponding lesson to prepare for Monday’s Test. They should be practicing their multiplication facts at home daily as they have division and multiplication checkups on Friday.

PARENTS INTERESTED ON COMING INTO THE CLASS: Tuesday morning would be the time you can come in at 9:30 until lunch when we do the sing-along and crafts until lunch at 12:30.

Important Dates:

·      Math Mid-Chapter Test Ch. 3- Monday. Dec. 22

·      Holiday Sing-Along & Winter Crafts- Tuesday, Dec. 23

·      Interims go home Tuesday, Dec. 23 (NOT EVERYONE RECEIVES THEM)

·      Winter Break (No School)- Wednesday, 12/24/14 - Friday, 1/2/15

news 11/17/2014 EDITED

                                                                                                                     

ELA:  This is our final week of suffixes AND prefixes. We are focusing on all eight lists of suffixes, prefixes, and their meanings. They will be having a TEST on all eight sets of suffixes and prefixes on Thursday. No word examples will be provided. They will also we reading and writing during this time. They are focusing on identifying types of sentences. Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home daily. NO RRJ IS DUE THIS WEEK DUE TO TWO TESTS THEY NEED TO STUDY FOR.

Social Studies:  Students are beginning their second unit in Social Studies: Native Americans and their Cultural Regions. They are working on taking notes in class and finding the important information. They are working on a project in class that will be graded for a test grade.

Math:  Students will complete Chapter 2 this week, which covers division using whole numbers. This week we are focusing on problem solving with division problems. We will be reviewing material from all of Chapter 2 Wednesday to prepare for Thursday’s Unit Test. They should be completing their homework on their own or with minimal support and they can refer to their math notebook.  They should be practicing their multiplication facts at home daily. They will have a Chapter 2 Unit Test on THURSDAY!

Important Dates:

·      Suffix & Prefix Test- Thursday, 11/20/14

·      Math Ch. 2 Unit Test- Thursday, 11/20/14

·      Parent Teacher Night Conferences- Thursday, 11/20/14

·      Parent Teacher Conference day (no school)- Friday, 11/21/14

·      Thanksgiving Break (No School)- Wednesday, 11/26- Friday, 11/28

Cheerleading Tryouts

To the girls trying out for cheerleading from the MS/HS here are the two videos I promised for the tryout cheer and dance. You should practice these at home and be prepared to work on them Monday and Wednesday before your tryout on Thursday. Please use this to your best advantage as this is a new strategy I am using this year. See you at the Elementary School on Monday Wednesday and Thursday at 3:30. If you take the bus be sure to get it at 3:15 from the High School! Thank you!

The Hip Hop 2013 NCA Dance:
Dance to counts

Dance to slow music

Dance to regular speed music


The 2014 NCA Camp Cheer:
(say DCS and Eagles instead of NCA and Tigers)

Cheer front and back

Character Analysis

First I would like to say a big thank you to all the parents and students that worked on this project. Everyone came in to class looking just like their character! I know it took a lot of effort to put these beautiful costumes together. Students also worked tirelessly to produce beautiful FAST facts to demonstrate their character's traits while using textual evidence to support their findings. Congratulations on a job well done! 

Charolette's Web

Ten True Animal Stories

The Great Gilly Hopkins

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

news: November 3

ELA:  This is our fourth week of suffixes. We are focusing on four lists of suffixes and their meanings. They will be having a quiz on all four sets of suffixes Friday. They will be separated and provided examples. They should be practicing their weeks 5-8 suffix flashcards. They will also we reading and writing during this time. They are focusing on reading for comprehension using the café model. The focus strategy for this week is determining “character traits” using FAST acronym. Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home daily. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every FRIDAY on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder. They are receiving written feedback on their RRJs from past weeks and should be looking at those to help improve their writing. THEY MUST USE THE UMBRELLA GRAPHIC ORGANIZER THIS WEEK!

Social Studies:  Students are completing their first unit in Social Studies: Geography. They are working on taking notes in class and finding the important information. TEST FRIDAY on Ch 1!!

Math:  Students will begin Chapter 2 this week, which covers division using whole numbers. This week we are focusing on division using base-ten models. They should be completing their homework on their own or with minimal support and they can refer to their math notebook.  I am finding the students are struggling with their math work due to their struggle with multiplication facts. They should be practicing their multiplication facts at home daily. I have been noticing that they really struggle as a whole with their facts.

Important Dates:

·      Character Dress up -  Wednesday, November 5^th

·      Social Studies Ch. 1 Test- Friday, November 7^th

·      Veterans Day (No school) – Tuesday, November 11^th

Happy Fall!

A HUGE thank you goes out to all the parents that put on the fall party on Friday! It was a huge success!!! I think the kids had fun. I will let you be the judge.

Character Costume Date change!!!!

IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!

Character Costume is

now on WEDNESDAY

Nov. 5^th!!!

news Oct. 28

This week in 5S:

ELA:  This is our third week of suffixes. We are focusing on three lists of suffixes and their meanings. They will be having a quiz on the three sets of suffixes Friday. They will be separated and provided examples. They should be practicing their weeks 5-7 suffix flashcards. They will also we reading and writing during this time. They are focusing on reading for comprehension using the café model. The focus strategy for this week is determining “character traits” using FAST acronym. Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home daily. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every FRIDAY on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder. They are receiving written feedback on their RRJs from past weeks and should be looking at those to help improve their writing. THEY MUST USE THE UMBRELLA GRAPHIC ORGANIZER THIS WEEK!

Social Studies:  Students are completing their first unit in Social Studies: Geography. They are working on taking notes in class and finding the important information.

Math:  Students will begin Chapter 2 this week, which covers division using whole numbers. I am finding the students are struggling with their math work due to their struggle with multiplication facts. They should be practicing their multiplication facts at home daily. I have been noticing that they really struggle as a whole with their facts. They should also be bringing their math notebook home to refer to it to do homework.

Important Dates:

·       Crazy hair day & class fall party- 10/31 @ 1PM-2:05 Parents are welcome during this time

·      Character Dress up Monday, November 3rd

Some handy tools that your child may find helpful when doing homework:
Umbrella Graphic Organizer

I know some students rather make their own graphic organizer, but I figured I would provide one for you as parents to see what we use in class. Also, now you will have one on file in case they need support doing their RRJ for Friday. This is the organizer we have used since day one in fifth grade when we write a paragraph. The umbrella is where the topic sentence goes and under that is the details. The details, also known as raindrops, are notes for sentences to say after the topic sentence. There should also be a closing sentence which may be similar to the topic sentence. We write them on the "ground" of the organizer (the bottom of the paper).

homework check list for independence

As your child is entering their third month of 5th grade they should start becoming more independent when completing their homework. This checklist is a very detailed step by step list of what they should be doing at home. This organizer was created so that the students can self monitor their work and complete their homework with independence.

These will BOTH be going home with students today so that they will have them at home. I will also make extra copies in class and make them available to them on a weekly basis if needed. Thank you for supporting your child's learning today and every day! Have a great weekend!

PS. Now that I got all the students' photo release forms I will be posting pictures of past projects soon! Keep an eye out :)

Oct. 20 News

10/20/2014

This week in 5S:

ELA:  This is our second week of suffixes. We are focusing on two lists of suffixes and their meanings. They will be having a quiz on the two sets of suffixes Friday. They will be separated and provided examples. They should be practicing their weeks 5-6 suffix flashcards. They will also we reading and writing during this time. They are focusing on reading for comprehension using the café model. The focus strategy for this week is “Retelling using sequence of events”. This means they retell the story or chapter from beginning to end. They are completing this in reading groups and are reading either: Ten True Animal Rescues, Charlotte’s Web, The Great Gilly Hopkins, or Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry.  Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every FRIDAY on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder. They are receiving written feedback on their RRJs from past weeks and should be looking at those to help improve their writing.

Social Studies:  Students are completing their first unit in Social Studies: Geography. They were provided with a power point presentation introducing the types of maps, parts of maps, parts of globes, communities, the world they live in etc. They will be presenting their class project with a partner regarding communities this week and a QUIZ will be on TUESDAY.

Math:  Students will complete Chapter 1 this week, which covers finding inverse operations, using multiplication to solve a division problem, problem solving using multiplication and division, writing numerical expressions, evaluating numerical expressions, and finally grouping symbols. THERE WILL BE A MATH TEST FRIDAY THIS WEEK! They should be reviewing past lessons and homework to prepare. There will be math review days on Wednesday and Thursday. They should also be practicing their multiplication facts at home. I have been noticing that they really struggle as a whole with their facts. They should also be bringing their math notebook home to refer to it to do homework.

Important Dates:

·         Social Studies Quiz Tuesday 10/21

·         MATH TEST FRIDAY 10/24

·         Character Dress up Monday, November 3rd

EDITED!!! News Oct. 14

Mrs. Stryjek’s Golden Newsletter

10/7/2014

This week in 5S:

ELA:  This is FIRST week of suffixes. We are focusing on 5 suffixes and their meanings. They will be having a quiz Friday. They were provided with flash cards that they should make and use to study. They will also we reading and writing during this time. They are focusing on reading for comprehension using the café model. They are starting their reading groups and are reading either: Ten True Animal Rescues, Charlotte’s Web, The Great Gilly Hopkins, or Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry.  We are focusing on summarizing this week. Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every FRIDAY on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder. We went over this in great detail on last Friday and they should be very confident in their responses now.

I also have a class mascot, Ellie the Elephant, and she will be going home with JAHNNA this weekend. This student will complete a journal entry with all the activities s/he and Ellie did over the weekend INSTEAD of a RRJ. (They can provide pictures if they want as well).

Social Studies:  Students are working on exploring their first unit in Social Studies: Geography. They were provided with a power point presentation introducing the types of maps, parts of maps, parts of globes, communities, the world they live in etc. They will be finishing their class project with a partner regarding communities this week.

Math:  Students will continue to work on Chapter 1 this week, which covers finding inverse operations, using multiplication to solve a division problem, problem solving using multiplication and division, writing numerical expressions, evaluating numerical expressions, and finally grouping symbols. THERE WILL BE A MATH TEST NEXT WEEK! They should be reviewing past lessons and homework to prepare. They should also be practicing their multiplication facts at home. I have been noticing that they really struggle as a whole with their facts. They should also be bringing their math notebook home to refer to it to do homework.

Important Dates:

·         Fall fitness challenge: Friday 10/17/14 & Saturday 10/18/14

·         MATH TEST NEXT WEEK

10/7/2014

Mrs. Stryjek’s Golden Newsletter

                                                                                                                    This week in 5S:

ELA:  This is our review week of prefixes. We are focusing on all the prefixes and their meanings. They will be having a TEST on ALL the prefixes Friday. They will be all mixed in together, so they should try and practice with their weeks 1-4 prefix flashcards mixed together. They will also we reading and writing during this time. They are focusing on reading for comprehension using the café model. They are starting their reading groups and are reading either: Ten True Animal Rescues, Charlotte’s Web, The Great Gilly Hopkins, or Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry.  We are focusing on genre, checking for understanding, and prediction. Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every FRIDAY on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder. We went over this in great detail on Friday and they should be very confident in their responses now.

I also have a class mascot, Ellie the Elephant, and she will be going home with CELESTE this weekend. This student will complete a journal entry with all the activities s/he and Ellie did over the weekend INSTEAD of a RRJ. (They can provide pictures if they want as well).

Social Studies:  Students are working on exploring their first unit in Social Studies: Geography. They were provided with a power point presentation introducing the types of maps, parts of maps, parts of globes, communities, the world they live in etc. They will be completing an in class project with a partner regarding communities.

Math:  Students will continue to work on Chapter 1 this week, which covers finding inverse operations, using multiplication to solve a division problem, and problem solving using multiplication and division. There WILL be math homework coming home (evens first then odds the following day). They should also be practicing their multiplication facts at home. I have been noticing that they really struggle as a whole with their facts. They should also be bringing their math notebook home to refer to it to do homework.

Important Date:

·      Interims go home & Emergency Dismissal: 10/10/14 

10/2/2014 news

10/2/2014

I apologize for the tardiness of this letter, but since I was out on Monday I got a little behind. SO this week we will call it the “What Did We Do This Week” letter instead J

This week in 5S:

ELA:  This is our final week of prefixes. We are focusing on new prefixes and their meanings. They will be having a quiz on six prefixes on Friday as well as the past THREE weeks’ prefixes. They have been provided with a list as well as flash cards. They will also we reading and writing during this time. They are focusing on writing a paragraph starting with a topic sentence, followed by three to four sentences with details to support the topic, and finally a concluding sentence. We are also talking about how to use the “SCORE” to help us check our writing is well done. Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every MONDAY on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder. We will be going over this in great detail on Friday as some of the students are completing summaries, which is incorrect and/or they are not doing one AT ALL.

I also have a class mascot, Ellie the Elephant, and she will be going home with BROOKE this weekend. This student will complete a journal entry with all the activities s/he and Ellie did over the weekend INSTEAD of a RRJ. (They can provide pictures if they want as well).

Science:  Students finishing their first science unit: How Scientists Work. They were provided with the quizzes as study guides during class Thursday and they were given the answer key to correct themselves. I asked that they bring it home and use it as a study guide. They should also be coming home with their notebook and textbook to use as references to study from. We discussed at great lengths how to study this week.

Math:  Students will continue to work on Chapter 1 this week, which covers multiplying by two digit numbers vertically. There WILL be math homework coming home (evens first then odds the following day). They should also be practicing their multiplication facts at home. I have been noticing that they really struggle as a whole with their facts. They should also be bringing their math notebook home to refer to it to do homework.

Important Date:

·      Interims go home & Emergency Dismissal: 10/10/14

****I will be posting the pictures of the students work as soon as I get three more responses from parents. Thank you for your patience****

newsletter 9/22/2014

This week in 5S:

ELA:  Diving deeper into prefixes. We are focusing on prefixes and their meanings. They will be having a quiz on five prefixes on Friday as well as the past two weeks’ prefixes. They have been provided with a list as well as flash cards. They will also we reading and writing during this time. They are focusing on writing a paragraph starting with a topic sentence, followed by three to four sentences with details to support the topic, and finally a concluding sentence. We are also talking about how to use the “SCORE” to help us check our writing is well done. Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every MONDAY on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder.

I also have a class mascot, Ellie the Elephant, and she will be going home with Emma this weekend. This student will complete a journal entry with all the activities s/he and Ellie did over the weekend INSTEAD of a RRJ. (They can provide pictures if they want as well).

Science:  Students are answering the questions “What are some types of investigations?” and “How do you perform a controlled experiment?” We will be completing another experiment Wednesday and Thursday where they will be more independent in caring it out.

Math:  Students will continue to work on Chapter 1 this week, which covers place value of whole numbers,, properties, exponents, and building multiplication patterns. There WILL be math homework coming home(evens on Monday and Wednesday)(odds on Tuesday and Thursday). They should also be practicing their multiplication facts at home. They should also be bringing their math notebook home to refer to it to do homework.

***ALSO I AM MISSING PHOTO RELEASE FORMS FROM SOME PARENTS PLEASE TURN THEM IN ASAP SO I CAN POST (OR NOT POST) PICTURES OF YOUR CHILD ON THE BLOG. THANK YOU***

Important Dates:

·      Picture Day- Wednesday, October 1^st

9-16-14 newsletter

                                                                                                                       

This week in 5S:

ELA:  Introduction to prefixes and suffixes. We are focusing on prefixes and their meanings. They will be having a quiz on five prefixes on THURSDAY. They have been provided with a list as well as flash cards that we made in class together. They will also we reading and writing during this time. They will be getting to know their reading groups as well as how a reading group works in our fifth grade class. We are focusing plot and how to determine beginning, middle and end of fiction texts to help increase our comprehension. Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home. They are asked to finish a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) every MONDAY on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder

I also have a class mascot, Ellie the Elephant, and she will be going home with one lucky student on the weekend. This student will complete a journal entry with all the activities s/he and Ellie did over the weekend INSTEAD of a RRJ. (They can provide pictures if they want as well).

Science:  Students are answering the question “What is Science?” Students are learning about the different parts of the scientific method.  They will be completing an experiment this week to determine what happens to a gummy bear once it is submerged in different solutions. By the end of the week they will analyze their data and have an answer to their question.

Math:  Students will continue to work on Chapter 1 this week, which covers place value of whole numbers, and properties. There WILL be math homework coming home and they should also be practicing their multiplication facts at home.

Important Dates:

·     Open House- Thursday, September 18^th

·     PBIS Kick Off- Friday, September 19^th

September 8th News

Dear Parents/Guardians,

            Great news!!! My email is up and running. My new email is cstryjek@duanesburg.org. This week in 5S:

ELA:  Introduction to prefixes and suffixes. We are focusing on prefixes and their meanings. They will be having a quiz on five prefixes on Friday. They have been provided with a list as well as flash cards that we made in class together. They will also we reading and writing during this time. They will be getting to know their reading groups as well as how a reading group works in our fifth grade class. We are focusing on comprehension and how to use parts of the nonfiction text to help increase our comprehension. Students should be reading an independent reading book at least 15 minutes at home. They are asked to (if they haven’t already) complete and turn in the summer reading project as it was mandatory and will be a large part of their first quarter ELA grade.

**Every MONDAY they are asked to turn in a RRJ (Reading Response Journal entry) on a separate piece of paper. The requirements for the RRJ are posted on the salmon colored paper in their gold folder**

I also have a class mascot, Ellie the Elephant, and she will be going home with one lucky student on the weekend. This student will complete a journal entry with all the activities s/he and Ellie did over the weekend INSTEAD of a RRJ. (They can provide pictures if they want as well).

Science:  Students are answering the question “What is Science?” Students are getting familiar with the text as well as the interactive lessons this week.

Math:  Students will be starting Chapter 1 this week which covers place values and patterns, place value of whole numbers, and properties. There are review sheets provided for you to review with your child once they complete the lesson in class. They do not have to be turned in, but are a great way to touch base with your child on their learning.

      Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Stryjek

Mrs. Stryjek!!

I welcome you to the NEW blog of Mrs. Stryjek :) I got married over the summer! I know you all are going to want to see the pictures so here they are! Nick and I were married at the Appel Inn in Altamont. Some of you might recognize the truck from around town.

I cannot wait to see all the kiddos Thursday. Our classroom is ready for learning minds!! I have big dreams for this blog this year. My goal is to post more about the children, their work, and show pictures of the kids completing this work (if they have a photo release of course). See you all very soon.

My nieces & nephew. Arden, Marshall & Cierra. Cierra has a mind of her own!

Arden is our little actress. Marshall is our cool dude. 

My parents Cindy & Kent Tygert with the grandkids.

Nick and my best friends.