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Educating and Nurturing Since 1953

Admission of students without regard to race, religion, or color

518 283 0333

42 Dana Ave

Wynantskill, NY 12198

7:30am - 5:30pm

Monday - Friday

St Jude School

123 456 789

[email protected]

Goldsmith Hall

New York, NY 90210

07:30 - 19:00

Monday to Friday

5th Grade

Jeffers Journal

Week of March 18th – March 22nd    

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Did you find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Never forget how GREAT you can be or how AMAZING you already are! Are you ready to board the learning train? Please come to school each day with an open mind, positive “I can” attitude, a friendly smile, and eager to be a member of our team! 

Important Dates to Remember:

March 17th: Happy St. Patrick’s Day

March 18th: Mass with Father Pat

March 22nd: Stations of the Cross at 2PM

March 25th: Mass with Father Pat

March 28th: Holy Thursday (No School)

March 29th: Good Friday (No School)

March 31st: Easter Sunday

April 1st – April 5th: Spring Break (No School or CASE)

Here’s a breakdown of our learning:

  1. Math: Its important children learn math facts for addition/subtraction and multiplication/division with the goal of automatic recall. This week we are going to continue to explore multiplying and dividing fractions.  To begin the week, we are going to learn how to divide whole numbers by unit fractions.  Then we are going to review what we have learned about dividing fractions to prepare for the test on Wednesday, March 20th.  The theme of Topic 11 is Line Plots. What is a line plot?  How do you analyze a line plot?   Have you ever made a line plot?  Since the line plot topic is short, the test will be on Wednesday, March 27th.  We will continue to practice long division and multiplication problems each day.  As a way to review the concepts and skills previously learned, students will spend time working on independent lessons in I-Ready Math.
  2. English Language Arts:
    1. Grammar: Students will learn how to proofread their writing for subject-verb agreement, capital letters, and punctuation using the proofreading symbols. To start the week, we will review the three different types of conjunctions and see if we can identify them in sentences. Next we will learn about prepositions, which are words that relate a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence.  We will also identify prepositional phrases in sentences.
    2. Vocabulary: Each week students have 12 new vocabulary words and complete different activities each day (sentence completion, synonym/antonym, matching, word meaning, and context clues).
    3. Reading: An important skill we will be practicing is reading articles or passages and answering comprehension questions. We have been learning that reading is not just about reading the words on the page it involves so many other pieces like asking questions, making connections, using context clues to help determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. We are also going to learn how to make inferences when we were are reading.
    4. Summary: A summary is a short retelling of a text. It only includes the most important details.  A useful strategy to help you when writing a summary is: “Somebody Wanted But So Then (SWBST).”  Who is the main character? (Somebody) What did the main character want? (Wanted) What is the problem (But) How does the character try to solve the problem? (So) How does the story end? (Then) We will practice writing summaries in class this week and students will be asked to write a summary each night and turn it in the next day.
    5. Morphology: Word structure and construction are the building blocks of learning how to spell words. It is also important to learn the different prefixes and suffixes that change the meaning of words. Students will be completing word ladders and other activities to help build their spelling skills.
  3. Writing: We are going to continue to use a strategy to help them answer short answer questions, which is known as RACES. The first letter of the acronym, “R,” means restate the prompt. The “A” means answer the question in your own words. The “C” means cite text evidence or examples. The “E” means explain and give details. The final letter of the acronym, “S” means summarize what you wrote. Students will practice using this strategy as they answer questions in all subject areas.  Our writing train is departing the station into Opinion Writing.  The first lesson of the unit explores the elements of opinion writing. Next, we will visit the brainstorm station which will allow us to brainstorm ideas that address a prompt and be mindful of our  audience.  Then we will choose a side to focus our claim and work on writing and sharing our claims for feedback. The last station we will be visiting is quoting the works of others. It is important to give appropriate credit when you are quoting someone.
  1. Science: We are continuing to explore Chemical Reactions and Properties of Matter. Could you transform something worthless into gold? Do you know of any foods that contain acid? How could you tell if they did or not?  What do fireworks, rubber, and silly putty have in common?  Why do some things explode? The unit test will be on Friday, March 22nd. They will also complete a NYS Science Investigation called Cloud in a Bottle. This investigation explores the weather variables that affect cloud formation. The other NYS Science Investigation we are going to complete is Light It Up.  This investigation explores open and closed circuits.
  2. Religion: God Saves Us is the theme of Chapter 13. Why do you think God the Father sent Jesus to be our savior?  What qualities do you admire in people?  Are there any qualities that you don’t like the least? What is original sin?
  3. Eighteenth Mass of the School Year: On Monday, March 18th, we will be attending Mass with Father Pat at 8:55. All students need to be wearing their dress uniform. Everyone is invited to attend Mass.
  4. Stations of the Cross: On Friday, March 22nd, we will be attending Stations of the Cross. Everyone is invited to attend.