We have been busy so far in 2022! The class has been doing AMAZING in “Middle School Mode” and has shown so much growth. I am very proud of our class and all of our accomplishments. Please be sure to read the blogs posts created by our classmates and even leave a comment on them. We are very excited about writing to an audience!

Here are a few important things to take note of:

1. Tundra Tails and our Read-A-Thon programs kicked off this week. Please encourage your child to participate in BOTH programs. Tundra Tails grant program runs from January 24 – to March 27 and the Read-A-Thon fundraiser runs from January 24th – February 4th. (Tip: they can “double dip” their times. Ex: If they read for thirty minutes, you can count that time for BOTH programs.) A reading log was sent home in the parent folder for Tundra Tales, let me know if you need another copy. Parents will need to register their child for the Read-A-Thon online in order for them to log their times and raise funds. I have been adding reading minutes from our class reading time to those that have registered for the Read-A-Thon… we want to be the school’s top readers by minutes and donations! We just need your help registering, logging reading minutes at home, and sharing about our fundraiser to family and friends. This is an amazing fundraiser for our school and I hope that you can encourage your child to read as much as they can. The class learned about how “Reading is Thinking” and we are all excited readers! Another flyer about the Read-A-Thon was sent home this week with the link and class code.
   Here it is just incase you can’t find it:
   Website: http://www.read-a-thon.com/readers
   Class Code: 246664
   
2. The 100th Day of School is on Thursday! This year has been going by so quickly. It is a bittersweet celebration as we are more than half way through Fifth Grade. I’ve been so blessed to be with your kids for the end of 4th grade and now for 5th (If only I could continue to move with them every year!) We quickly did the math and discovered that as Fifth Graders, we have been in school for 1,000 days on Thursday! (Kindergarten through fourth grade = 5 years. Each school year is 180 days. 180 x 5 = 900. 900 + 100 days of 5th grade = 1,000!) I’d like for each student to bring in 100 items for us to glue onto a class mural.
   
3. Next week is Catholic Schools Week and we are all so excited! I always looked forward to this celebration every year when I was in school. Mrs. Peterson sent an email home with all the fun details planned for the week- we are so lucky! She is still looking for volunteers to help with the fun. Please consider volunteering for this fun filled week. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a084cadaf2da6ff2-catholic Each day has a unique theme and celebrates a different part of what makes our Catholic School so wonderful. We are blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive community. Thursday is a class choice theme dress down day. We have decided to be a “Zoo Keeper and her wild animals“… a theme they picked! Please do not feel the need to go out and spend a ton of money on your 5th graders outfit for this day or the other CSW dress down days. Homemade is always best and I encourage your child to get creative! Some of our classmates also shared that they have extra costumes to loan to a friend if needed. Please reach out to me if you have any questions regarding CSW.
   
4. Here are pictures of what we have been up to in the last few weeks! More pictures are in our Google Drive. Be sure to scroll through the entire drive as some pictures are being loaded out of order. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19YuGBRA22ayMHXLOAlq07yjOENxZ4Tar?usp=sharing
   
   
   

This year we have been reading stories about kids from all over the world and their interaction with our own country. We have read Esperanza Rising, A Long Walk to Water, and we will begin to learn about Jude’s story in Other Words for Home. Our Social Studies focus this year is about the world- a subject that I am incredibly passionate about! (Fun Fact: I have a minor in Global Studies.) Our class has been immersing ourselves in the lives of people around the world to help broaden our world view. From listening to music, eating popular dishes, making artwork, or studying important landmarks and people from their country, we are becoming aware of the world we didn’t know about in such an exciting way. Learning about different cultures, religions, languages, and the history of all of the countries in God’s world is so important for us to be able to continue to love and understand each other. To celebrate and appreciate our differences and to not judge those different from us guide us in following in Jesus’ footsteps… “He would love first.”

Other Words for Home will also introduce us to a new style of writing… Poetry! We will begin learning about the various styles of poetry and will be able to identify which style is used in writing Other Words for Home. Our classroom is filled with amazing writers who have been working hard to improve this skill. Poetry is another “tool” to help us expand our abilities as writers and I am so excited to see the work our class will do!

A letter was sent home explaining the story and some topics mentioned. I am asking for your signature acknowledging that your child will be reading Jude’s story in class. I have made an effort to select books that can reach across multiple subjects while allowing us to expand our knowledge of and love for the world around us. It’s incredibly impactful for the class to be able hear stories through the eyes of someone their age. We are learning that we can identify with some of the challenges or feelings of the characters in the stories we read despite our differences. If you have time, take a look at the video below with the author discussing the book and how it can be used in classrooms.

~ Mrs. A

“It is time to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” -Maya Angelou