Newsletter, September 28

A Peek At What We are Doing in Fifth Grade

Monday is the big day, ECO WEEK!  I hope everyone is at least half as excited as I am.  

Please plan to arrive about 9:00 on Monday.  With everyone else inside the school, we’ll have plenty of room to get everyone in the right place.

Your child should have a backpack/ daypack with gloves, jacket, hat, lunch, snack, 2 water bottles, and lip balm.  Everything else should be in his or her luggage.

When you arrive, please remember to have your child carry his or her luggage from the car.  Your first stop will be to put a tag on your luggage (Boys - Green & Girls - Yellow) and put the luggage in line for the luggage bus.  After we get the luggage bus loaded, we’ll have the kids get on the other buses.  The kids ride on the bus with their Eco Week group - bears, wolves, and moose are each on their own bus.  The pika group is split onto one of the three buses.  The kids should know which bus that they are on.  If your child is unsure which bus is his or hers, please ask a staff member.  Buses usually head out about 9:30.  Keep in mind that a quick kiss and a hug goodbye is sometimes best, but you are welcome to hang around and wave goodbye as we leave.   

If something comes up over the weekend or you have any questions, please email me.  Have a wonderful 3-day weekend.

Our Classroom blog is https://khalesclass.blogspot.com and our class twitter @HalesHomeroom.    

Dates to Remember:

Eco Week - Monday, October 2nd - Wednesday, October 4th

All-Fifth Grade Halloween Party Planning Meeting - Wednesday, October 11th at 3:45 in Mr. Kenna’s room

Parent/Teacher Conference Days - Thursday, October 19th and Friday, October 20th - No School

Newsletter, September 22

A Peek At What We are Doing in Fifth Grade

Eco Week is in less than a week away.  If you haven’t returned your forms, please do so on Monday.  If you haven’t started, begin encouraging your child to drink extra water each day and start wearing his or her hiking boots.  Just in case you need it, I’ve posted the packing list on my homeroom blog.

Next Thursday, September 28th, we will have a mock ECO day.  Your student will be with his or her ECO group and spend the day learning about Colorado Biomes, hiking, and asking/answering last minute questions. Please help us by making sure your student is prepared by bring only his or her backpack with hat, gloves, light jacket, rain poncho, lip balm, lunch, snack, and filled water bottles.  Please wear hiking boots.  

I hope everyone was able to find a good date and time for student-led conference.  If you haven’t signed up, you can visit this link to do it - http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4da9ad2da4fc1-studentled.  If you are unable to get a spot that works for you, please send me an email and I’ll we find a day and time that does.

We celebrated another birthday today.  You can find Owen’s “Who Knew” on our homeroom blog.

Our Classroom blog is https://khalesclass.blogspot.com and our class twitter @HalesHomeroom.    

Dates to Remember:

Collaboration Day - No School - Friday, September 29th  

Eco Week - Monday, October 2nd - Wednesday, October 4th

All-Fifth Grade Halloween Party Planning Meeting - Wednesday, October 11th at 3:45 in Mr. Kenna’s room

Parent/Teacher Conference Days - Thursday, October 19th and Friday, October 20th - No School

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday, Owen!

The 5th Grade

First week of school fun!

Eco Week Packing List

Student Packing List

Eco-Week is conducted primarily outdoors.  Your child should be prepared for winter temperatures as well as possible rain or snow showers.  S/he needs loose fitting, layers of clothing suitable for hiking, sitting on the ground, and most importantly getting dirty.  It is best if your child’s personal items are labeled with his/her name.

Essential Items:

Packed in 1 piece of Soft Luggage

• Sleeping Bag and Pillow
• Warm jacket (Suitable for Fall/Winter conditions)
• Hiking boots or sturdy shoes (Suitable for hiking)
• Tennis shoes (an additional pair of shoes if hiking boots crash)
• 2 pair of warm long pants
• Underwear
• 3 pairs of hiking socks – thick wool, not cotton (put 1 pair in day pack)
• Warm PJ’s & slippers
• Long underwear
• Personal items (toothbrush, washcloth, soap, comb, towel, shampoo, etc.)
• Healthy Snacks
• Flashlight
• Reading book

To be packed in Student Day pack

• Sack lunch AND Afternoon Snack
• Water bottle = Filled with Water!  (Leak proof, non-breakable, 32 oz or more)
• Rain Jacket or Poncho (NO umbrellas)
• Warm sweater or sweatshirt
• Warm gloves or mittens AND warm hat
• Sunscreen, Lip balm
• Sunglasses or visor or hat

Optional

• Camera (digital or disposable)
• Binoculars

Do Not Bring

·         Money

·         Electronics (phones, radios, MP3, Nintendo's, hair dryers, alarm clocks, etc)

·         Knives

·         Matches or lighters

·         Gum

Newsletter, September 15th

A Peek At What We are Doing in Fifth Grade

Thank you for taking the time out of your evening to attend the Eco Week meeting with your child.  I hope you found it informative and that your child is getting excited.  If you are sending your first child to Eco Week you may have a few questions that we didn’t answer.  If you do, please email or call me.  We apologize for the short turn around, but we need all forms including medication administration forms returned by Friday, September 22nd.  You can pay for Eco Week in School Pay or send a check made out to Zach Elementary for $100.  

Just three other quick reminders about Eco Week.  Plan to arrive to school at 9:00 on Monday, October, 2nd. If your child is going to be wearing hiking boots, it’s a good idea to start wearing them now.  Encourage your child to start drinking extra water.

PTO News: The Zach Enrichment Fund (ZEF) campaign is in full swing right now until Sept. 30.  We are only halfway to our school wide ZEF goal and still need to raise about $23,000 more. If you have not donated to ZEF yet, please consider doing so.  ZEF provides each teacher with money to use in their classroom and directly on students. A suggested donation of $100 per child is recommended and you can pay via School Pay, cash, or check to Zach Elementary. Thank you!

I’d like to try to have all student conferences, on either Thursday, October 19th or after school the following week. In the fifth grade, we do student led conferences which mean your child is an important part of this meeting.  I’ll be sending out a link to sign up genius on Monday morning.  If you are unable to get a spot that works for you, please send me an email and I’ll we find a day and time that does.

Our Classroom blog is https://khalesclass.blogspot.com and our class twitter @HalesHomeroom.  

Dates to Remember:

Collaboration Day - No School - Friday, September 29th  

Eco Week - Monday, October 2nd - Wednesday, October 4th

All-Fifth Grade Halloween Party Planning Meeting - Wednesday, October 11th at 3:45 in Mr. Kenna’s room

Parent/Teacher Conference Days - Thursday, October 19th and Friday, October 20th - No School

Newsletter, September 8th

A Peek At What We are Doing in Fifth Grade

We are three week into the year and it feels like time is flying by.  I just have a few pieces of information for you this week and one request.

Thank you to all the parents who said they were available to volunteer this year.  If you’d like to volunteer but haven’t signed up, please visit our online form at https://tinyurl.com/zach5vol.  It looks like I need two more parents to wash the Eco Week shirts after we’ve dyed them on Wednesday, September 20th.  If you can volunteer, please include it in the volunteer form or just send me an email.

Just a reminder the Eco Week meeting is Thursday, September 14th from 6:00 – 7:00 in the cafeteria.  This is a very important meeting, so please plan to attend with your fifth grader.  (If your student can’t make it, that’s ok. We thought we’d try having them attend this year in the hopes that it would help them to feel more comfortable and better prepared.)

Information about the clubs available to students this year may be found on the Zach Website.  Below you’ll find a note from Mrs. Johnson regarding Gold Choir.

It’s not too late to register for Gold Choir! Rehearsals begin on Thursday, September 14th.  If your student would like to join our group, please visit the Zach Website.  On the main page, scroll down to the “Zach Club Listings” tab.  Click on the tab and sign up for Gold Choir.  There are no auditions to be in Choir, all are welcome!  Cost is $20/student.  Please contact Alyssa Johnson for further information (ajohnson@psdschools.org).

I’d like to try to have all student conferences, on either Thursday, October 19th or after school the following week. In the fifth grade, we do student led conferences which mean your child is an important part of this meeting.  I’ll be sending out a link to sign up genius next week with conferences times.  

Our Classroom blog is https://khalesclass.blogspot.com and our class twitter @HalesHomeroom.  

Dates to Remember

Eco Week Meeting - Thursday, September 14th from 6 to 7 (We’d love for students to attend too.)

Collaboration Day - No School - Friday, September 29th  

Eco Week - Monday, October 2nd - Wednesday, October 4th

Parent/Teacher Conference Days - Thursday, October 19th and Friday, October 20th - No School

Native American Region Study

Newsletter, September 1

A Peek At What We are Doing in Fifth Grad

Wow!  It’s been another great week.  The students took their beginning of the year Maps tests this week and did an outstanding job.  This group of students is amazing.  I am impressed by their work effort and their willingness to learn from their mistakes.  

Thank you to those parents that were able to make it to the Back to School night.  If you weren’t able to make it, I included a copy of the Fifth Grade Survival Packet in your child’s Friday folder.  There is also a copy of the information I covered on our class blog.

Just a reminder the Eco Week meeting is Thursday, September 14th from 6:00 – 7:00 in the cafeteria.  This is a very important meeting, so please plan to attend with your fifth grader.

    In last week’s Friday folder, your child received the “Eco Week Hikes” page.  Please be sure it is being filled out as your child completes an activity.  The students are doing a great job of keeping track of the sticks they are earning here at school.

Information about the clubs available to students this year may be found on the Zach Website.  Below you’ll find a note from Mrs. Sickels regarding art enrichment.

5th GRADE ART ENRICHMENT!

The Art Enrichment program at Zach is an additional learning opportunity for students interested in the visual arts.  Projects may include individual as well as group work, and include a variety of mediums and techniques.  This is a great opportunity for your child to further explore the artistic process!

Dates for 5th Grade Art Enrichment: (7:45-8:40a.m. Tuesday mornings)

October 24, 31, November 7, 14, 28 (No session on the 21st due to Fall Break)

Art Enrichment sign up will be handled online this year through our new School Pay process.  Please refer to the School Club Information on page 9 of the August/September Newsletter and sign up for Art Enrichment using the link through School Pay.  If you do not currently have a School Pay account, sign up information can be found on page 10 of the Newsletter.  Please note that the registration deadline is September 6th.

For additional information or questions, please contact Angie Sickels asickels@psdschools.org

Thank you to all the parents who said they were available to volunteer this year.  If you’d like to volunteer but haven’t signed up, please visit our online form at https://tinyurl.com/zach5vol.  I will contact those who volunteered for Friday Folders, clerical work, and Eco week shirts by Friday next week.  

Please make note that Wednesday is picture day.  Enjoy your labor day weekend.

Our Classroom blog is https://khalesclass.blogspot.com and our class twitter @HalesHomeroom.  

Dates to Remember

Labor Day - No School - Monday, September 4th

Picture Day - Wednesday, September 6th

Eco Week Meeting - Thursday, September 14th from 6 to 7 (We’d love for students to attend too.)

Collaboration Day - No School - Friday, September 29th  

Eco Week - Monday, October 2nd - Wednesday, October 4th