Parents

I am so thankful we’re starting this year together and in person, eh?  (The eh is the Minnesota in me.)  First and foremost, welcome to 5th grade!! This is your student’s 5th grade year, their last year in elementary school, and my goal is to make it as memorable as possible.   

Our math and science classroom experience may seem a little different this year for your students.  Students will engage with one another through a thinking classroom approach.  More information on this approach is available here:   Thinking Classrooms

This course will foster problem-solving and critical thinking, communication, connections, mental mathematics and estimation, technology use, visualization, and reasoning. In addition to the mathematical concepts that are being taught, students will be expected to think, to understand, to make connections, and to build a solid base on which the rest of their mathematical courses will rest.

Assessment is a regular part of teaching and learning. Some assessments will happen while students are  in the middle of learning (formative assessment) and students will receive feedback. It is expected that students use this feedback to grow and learn more. I will use this information to make decisions about future instruction. Some assessments will happen later in the learning in order to find out how successful students were in reaching the learning outcomes (summative assessment). All assessments will contribute to an overall evaluation of student learning.
The purpose of grading is to assess, document, and communicate students’ understanding of the knowledge and skills pertaining to the subject.

If you are unsure of anything or have a question about curriculum, schedule, content, or anything else as we start this school year, communicating with me and your student are the best ways to gain a better understanding.  The same is true for determining where your student is academically. Infinite Campus will updated consistently, but know that learning is a journey and students may in the middle of that journey for a large portion of the year.   If you are unsure of anything after speaking with your student, please send me a Dojo or email, and I will answer your question as soon as possible.  

Preparing for this year and reviewing a variety of resources, including messages, words of inspiration, and blogs and resources from other educators, the concept that stuck with me most is a universal encouragement to be positive. It will be so easy to slip into a fixed mindset when technology, social media, or our nerves get the best of us. But, if we stay positive, our students and children will as well. I’ve been known to say that each time we learn something new our brain explodes with growth. We will experience a lot of that growth this year, and we can make this a positive experience.

At the end of the day, or when your family normally convenes for lunch/dinner or snack, I encourage you to ask your student what they learned and what they liked most or least about the day. If your student knows that you’re invested in their successes and frustrations, they better understand that this is a community process and that we’re in this together.  

Know that I am ALL IN on this year’s 5th grade learning journey no matter where we may be.  Together is a wonderful place to be. 

Please complete this survey so I can better know your expectations and needs for this school year. Parent survey