How to Sign up for Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences

October 23, 2015

Dear 5th Grade Team Families,

We are preparing for the fall parent-teacher-student conferences, to be held on Thursday, November 5th and Friday, November 6th.   Your parent-teacher-student conference is an opportunity for your child to share his/her goals and progress.  At your conference, you will meet with your child’s two core teachers.  Please bring your questions, concerns, and, most importantly, your child.  

   

We are offering electronic conference scheduling, but you may call your child’s teacher to schedule a conference as well. Please plan to arrive 10 minutes early to review your child’s PLP with your child and fill out a brief questionnaire. Computers will be available in Parker’s classroom (conference in McGuiggan’s room) and Appel’s classroom (conference in Kelley’s room).  Conference times are scheduled on a first come, first served basis.  If you cannot schedule a meeting during the available times please contact your child’s teacher.  

Please schedule your conference before the end of Tuesday, November 3rd at the following website:

http://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Main_Street_Middle_School

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you!

Sincerely,

5th Grade Team

Melissa Parker (225-8618)

Wendy McGuiggan (225-8601)

Scott Appel (225-8624)

Windy Kelley (225-8601)

News and Announcements about Readers’ Workshop

We have just started our second unit in Readers’ Workshop in which students will participate in literature circles reading realistic fiction.  Students will also review reading strategies in daily mini-lessons during this unit.

Literature circles are book groups that choose, read, and discuss books together.  I placed students in groups of 3-5 and collected an assortment of books at appropriate reading levels.  Each group has chosen their books, which we will start reading next week.  As they read their books, they will record inferential questions to spark discussion, unfamiliar vocabulary to discuss using contextual clues, “golden” lines that stand apart as especially important, and also inferences about geographic themes to discuss with their groups.

In Social Studies, students have recently concluded a study of the five themes of geography, and they will deepen their understanding through reading and analyzing their realistic fiction books with their groups.  Students will make inferences about geographic themes based on textual evidence.

Throughout this unit we will also review essential fiction reading strategies.  As you’ve seen on the homework reading logs, these include summarizing, predicting, evaluating, questioning, making connections, and visualizing.  We will focus a great deal on making inferences, which is using textual clues and background knowledge to “read between the lines” and form ideas about things that aren’t explicitly stated.  In order to do this well, students need to be able to form inferences, then back up those inferences with evidence from the text that demonstrates why the thinking is reasonable.  This is a complex reading skill that requires time and practice.  You can help your child do this at home when he/she is completing his/her reading log.  When your child makes a prediction or inference, ask him/her what in the text led to the thinking.  You’ll find that this is easier for most kids to do orally, and that they may need prompting or support to reflect and record effectively in writing

Finally, regarding the recent progress reports, please keep in mind that the standards your child is working toward achieving are what he/she should meet by the end of this trimester, which is November 24th.  Because it’s still early in the trimester, your child is most likely still working toward meeting those reading standards, which is primarily measured through written response to reading.  Students are making progress toward summarizing effectively and succinctly, expanding clearly on their thinking, and explaining their thinking using textual evidence.  If you do have concerns about your child’s progress, please bring the progress report to parent-teacher conferences, which will take place on the afternoon of November 5th and all day November 6th.  Sign-up information will be available soon.

Thank you for taking the time to read about what’s going on in Readers’ Workshop, and please continue to support your child’s reading at home!

News and Announcements about Readers’ Workshop

We begin our 5th grade year in Readers’ Workshop with a Launching Unit, so all students learn the structure, routines, and skills needed to work successfully during Readers’ Workshop.  By deliberately building a strong foundation for successful independent work, I am able to work with small groups and individuals all year long, while the rest of the class remains productive.  For returning students, this unit contains some review.

We are currently working on the skills necessary to reflect on and write about our reading in thoughtful ways that push our thinking to a deeper,  more sophisticated level of analysis and understanding.  Each day as students read, they quickly jot down their thinking (predictions, character analyses, connections, etc).  Then, at the end of Readers’ Workshop each day, students spend ten full minutes reflecting on their thinking and writing several paragraphs to expand on their ideas.  At times they will write in an open-ended way, and at other times I will assign a specific reading strategy to use in the writing as a form of assessment.  The daily practice will help all students become stronger, more reflective readers and writers.  These entries will be kept in a journal, enabling them (and you) to see the growth from the beginning of the year.  We will work more on developing our reflection and thinking skills as a major focus for next week.

Other routines that we will begin are spelling and grammar work.  Students will have spelling tests and lessons on Fridays, and are able to work on their spelling work packets throughout the week in class and at home.  Packets will be due each Friday.  We use a developmental spelling approach, which is supported by research that shows kids go through spelling stages in a predictable way, and benefit from working on spelling skills and patterns to generalize to other words that contain similar patterns.  Grammar work will begin in a few weeks, and will be assigned on Mondays and due on Fridays.  Students will practice punctuation, parts of speech, mechanics, editing, vocabulary, synonyms and antonyms, homophones, figures of speech, and more.  

Our next unit which will begin in October will be focused on Literature Circles Exploring the 5 Themes of Geography, and we will focus on reading strategies.  As we begin that unit I will send more information.

Please let me know if you have any questions!  You can reach me at wendym@mpsvt.org or call the office at 225-8621.

-Wendy McGuggan

Homework

To the families in Wendy McGuiggan's Homeroom, 

We have had a great transition back to school, and are starting the routine of having nightly homework.  Each night, your child should read for at least 20 minutes and write a reflection of his/her reading.  This will be part of his/her reading grade.  A reading log went home with your child today that explains the expectations.  The reading can be independent or with a parent.  A completed reading log will be due every Friday.

If you haven't already been checking it, please support your child by checking his/her planner every night.  Every school day should have something written down (even if it's "NO HOMEWORK!").  If your child is leaving the planner blank, then he/she needs some support to increase responsibility in that area.  Also, you can check the weekly homework by going to the mpsvt.org/msms and clicking on "Core Teams" then "5th Grade" and "Homework."  Here's a direct link:  https://sites.google.com/a/mpsvt.org/5th-grade/

Your child already knows how to access this page.  Also on the page you'll notice some geography links.  Ask your child about his/her country project and find out whether he/she needs support at home to finish the project on time.  We will work on it in class through Friday, and projects are due Monday morning, allowing any unfinished projects to be completed at home.

Please feel free to reach out to me at wendym@mpsvt.org.  

Take care, 

Wendy McGuiggan

Listening

We will focus on LISTENING for the next few weeks, an important theme that will re-emerge throughout the year.  Today, we listened to unfamiliar sounds and interpreted them visually through drawing.  We noticed that though there are some similarities, we all listen in very different ways.  Here are the sounds that we listened to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHEVo-LkDrQ
http://www.andreasbick.de/en/downloads/?article=69
http://www.naturesoundmap.com/listing/drake-eiders-displaying/
http://www.naturesoundmap.com/listing/antarctica-iceberg/

Ask your child about the experience!

Planners and Home-School Folders

Hello families!  We have had two fun, busy, and productive days together.  You should know that your child now has a green home-school folder and a student planner.  EVERY DAY your child should bring these home, and they should come back to school the following day.  If there's homework, it will be in the planner.  If there's no homework, then the day will also indicate that.  Please email me if you have any questions or concerns at wendym@mpsvt.org.

Start Time on The First Day: 8am

School will normally begin at 8:15 on Wednesdays, but on the first day, we will start at 8.  This is the only Wednesday that will have an 8am start time.  Between 7:30 and 8 your child can go to the library or cafeteria.  Also, though the playground is closed due to lack of supervision, students may spend time outside the front of the building before the school day begins.

Reminder: Open Classroom Visit 5:30-6:30 on 8/19

Our room is slowly transforming from a pile of furniture and boxes into a real classroom.  A small group of students came in on a nice summer day to help unpack our class library, which was a huge help!  I hope that you can make it this Wednesday evening to see the almost finished room.

Welcome To MSMS!

August 10, 2015

Hello 5th graders and families!

I hope you are enjoying your last few weeks of summer.  I can't wait to hear about all the exciting things you did over the break!  I spent a great deal of my summer hiking, camping, running with my dog, and planning for a challenging and engaging new year with you.  Also, I am very pleased to tell you that my husband and I are expecting our first child at the end of December!  I will keep you up to date with information regarding maternity leave as my due date approaches.

I am currently unpacking our new classroom, and I am thrilled with the quality of the new construction.  The 5th grade will host an informal tour of the new spaces on Wednesday, August 19th from 5:30-6:30pm.  I hope that you will attend to get a feel for our new learning spaces, to connect with classmates old and new, and to help ease the transition back to school.

I am very excited for 5th grade at Main Street Middle School, in which we will study geography, molecules and organisms, states of matter, ecosystems, decimals, multi-digit division, non-fiction, and historical fiction among many other things.  Just like last year, math will be with Mrs. Parker, and all other subjects will be taught by me.  We will delve deeply in Revolutionary War studies, integrating visual art, music, movement, and theater into our learning to produce an original musical theater production with the support of teaching artists.  At the end of the year, we will go on a field trip to Boston, Massachusetts, a long-standing 5th grade tradition.  I will give you more information about this as we begin the year.  

As you savor these last weeks of summer, you may also be thinking about how to get ready for another school year.  In our classroom some materials are shared to promote community.  Please consider purchasing pencils, erasers, wide-ruled lined paper, dry erase markers, and tissues for the classroom.  Additionally, each student will need 3 wide-ruled composition books and a 3 ring binder.

In addition to school supplies for learning indoors, we will continue to spend a day every other week outdoors for ECO (Educating Children Outdoors) integrating the natural world into science and literacy curriculum, and each 5th grader will need gear to stay comfortable and safe throughout the seasons.  You will need:  rain pants, a rain jacket with hood, and mud boots (or winter boots) for the fall.  By November 1st you will need:  long underwear bottoms, long underwear top, wool or fleece tops, snow pants, snow jacket, wool or fleece socks (not cotton), boots (insulated and warm), hat (wool or fleece), 2 pairs gloves or mittens (not cotton), neck warmer or scarf (not cotton).  Please let me know if you need help obtaining any of these items.

I maintain a class blog found at:  http://wendyswonderfulclass.blogspot.com/.  I will update the blog weekly during the year and keep families up to date with our learning in the classroom.  You will find important dates and events listed on the blog.  I can also print out updates and send them home if you would prefer, just let me know.

Please feel free to contact me by email at wendym@mpsvt.org.  I will let you know the new classroom phone number during the classroom tour next week, as the phone is not yet hooked up.  I look forward to working with all of you this year.  See you soon!

Your teacher,

Wendy McGuiggan

MSMS Transition Night

This Thursday, May 7th, Main Street Middle School is hosting a transition night for fourth graders and their families from 6-7pm.  You will have the opportunity to tour the school, see your child's new classroom (in various stages of ongoing construction), meet faculty, hear about life at MSMS, and ask questions.

I hope to see every family there!

Flynn Center and Shelburne Museum

The fourth grade has two exciting upcoming field trips this month!  

THE FLYNN CENTER:

On Monday, May 11th we will leave school by 9am, have a picnic at Oakledge Park in Burlington, then attend the performance of Cirque Mechanics: Pedal Punk! starting at noon.  The agile acrobats of Cirque Mechanics are veterans of renowned companies like Cirque du Soleil, and mesmerize audiences with a hybrid of circus arts and industrial-themed engineering. Jaw-dropping acrobatics meet mechanical wizardry with pedal-powered “Gantry Bike,” an enormous and ingenious machine in and around which unicycles fly, wheel acrobats hover, pole climbers soar, and trapeze artists float. This pulse-racing circus draws inspiration from the culture of steampunk, wherein a post-apocalyptic world of machines is powered by steam; only this time, the power comes not from steam, but from pedals, rotational force, and heart-stopping mid-air acrobatics!  This exciting performance connects to art, science, and physical education.

SHELBURNE MUSEUM:

On Friday, May 29th, we will visit the Shelburne Museum to tour the exhibits and participate in “Passport to Learning” workshops.  We will leave school by 8:45 and return at the end of the school day.  Passport to Learning is an exciting series of ten interactive workshops for students in grades K-8 that meet educational standards from Vermont’s Framework of Standards and Grade Expectations/Common Core State Standards and introduces students to concepts and themes in art, language arts, math, science, and social studies through a facilitated exploration of Shelburne Museum.  Visiting the Shelburne Museum supports our learning about Vermont’s history.  

The total cost of these trips for families will be $8.50, which covers the cost of admission for the Shelburne Museum, and a small portion of the bus fare to The Flynn.  This amount should be paid in cash and returned with the permission slip portionFlynn Center and Shelburne Museum

The fourth grade has two exciting upcoming field trips this month!  

THE FLYNN CENTER:

On Monday, May 11th we will leave school by 9am, have a picnic at Oakledge Park in Burlington, then attend the performance of Cirque Mechanics: Pedal Punk! starting at noon.  The agile acrobats of Cirque Mechanics are veterans of renowned companies like Cirque du Soleil, and mesmerize audiences with a hybrid of circus arts and industrial-themed engineering. Jaw-dropping acrobatics meet mechanical wizardry with pedal-powered “Gantry Bike,” an enormous and ingenious machine in and around which unicycles fly, wheel acrobats hover, pole climbers soar, and trapeze artists float. This pulse-racing circus draws inspiration from the culture of steampunk, wherein a post-apocalyptic world of machines is powered by steam; only this time, the power comes not from steam, but from pedals, rotational force, and heart-stopping mid-air acrobatics!  This exciting performance connects to art, science, and physical education.

SHELBURNE MUSEUM:

On Friday, May 29th, we will visit the Shelburne Museum to tour the exhibits and participate in “Passport to Learning” workshops.  We will leave school by 8:45 and return at the end of the school day.  Passport to Learning is an exciting series of ten interactive workshops for students in grades K-8 that meet educational standards from Vermont’s Framework of Standards and Grade Expectations/Common Core State Standards and introduces students to concepts and themes in art, language arts, math, science, and social studies through a facilitated exploration of Shelburne Museum.  Visiting the Shelburne Museum supports our learning about Vermont’s history.  

The total cost of these trips for families will be $8.50, which covers the cost of admission for the Shelburne Museum, and a small portion of the bus fare to The Flynn.  This amount should be paid in cash and returned with the permission slip portion

ECO DATES

Sorry about the confusion with ECO dates.  We did not have ECO today.

We will have ECO on May 4th, June 1st, and our final ECO will be June 8th.

Storykeepers Celebration

The celebration for Storykeepers will be next Wednesday night from 5:30-6:30.  I hope to see every family there!

Family Interviews: Storykeepers

As part of the Storykeepers project, students should interview a family member about the person who they're researching.  It may be the person, or a person who has knowledge of the person that he/ she is learning about.  Here is the link to a video we watched about HOW to interview a family member: http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/tips-howtos/video/helping-teen-plan-conduct-30113.html.  Students will bring home a list of possible interview questions that they may ask in addition to those that are specific to the family.  Please help your child record interview information.

Reminder: Field Trip Tomorrow

Tomorrow morning (3/19), we will walk to the Vermont History Museum.  Please make sure that your child is on time and prepared to walk as we will leave at 9:00am.

Almost Pi Day

Tomorrow the kids will learn about Pi in math class while enjoying some Pie.  Mrs. Parker is looking for a few more pies for the occassion.  It's VERY short notice, but if able, please bring in a pie to share tomorrow, Friday March 13th.

Thanks!

Important Upcoming Events

After a long hiatus, we will have ECO once again this coming Monday (3/16). Though temperatures are warming up, your child will still need to come prepared with all of his/her winter gear including: boots, snowpants, jacket, gloves or mittens, and a hat. We will take the Montpelier Circulator bus after 10:30am to North Branch Nature Center to learn about traditional maple syrup production methods in Vermont. We will eat lunch at the Nature Center, so please make sure that your child packs a lunch, water, and snacks unless he/she is getting school lunch. Please make sure that your child has everything needed on Monday.

Also, next week we will take a walking field trip to the Vermont History Museum on State Street. On Thursday, March 19^th at 9:00am we will head over to the museum to learn about Abenaki daily life before European contact. Chaperones are encouraged to attend. Please email me (wendym@mpsvt.org) or call (225-8238) if you are interested in attending and helping.

Finally, due to parent-teacher-student conferences on Friday, March 20^th there is no school. Please remember to bring your child to the conference, as they are student-led to showcase your child's learning.

Thank you for taking the time to read about these important upcoming events.

-Wendy McGuiggan

Abenaki Project

Our class is learning about early Vermonters, the Abenaki.  Students are learning about and demonstrating an understanding of Abenaki daily life in Vermont before European contact.  Ask your child how he/she is creating a representation of daily life that includes examples of interdependence, how the environment and natural resources affected life, and artifacts of history.  This project is due on April 7th.

ECO Cancelled

Due to extremely cold weather ECO is cancelled today, February 16th, 2015.

Nonfiction Unit of Study

In Readers' Workshop we have been studying the nonfiction genre.  Students have learned about the features and structures of nonfiction.  Now, we are immersed in learning strategies for getting the most information out of nonfiction.

Students are learning about how to read nonfiction while reading information about Abenaki life before European contact.  The content that they learn in Readers' Workshop will be the basis of research for a project about Abenaki daily life.

Skinny Pancake Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 10th at 10:20am our class will visit Skinny Pancake to learn about our mission:  improve the kids' menu while honoring Skinny Pancake's business philosophy to provide healthy, local, and affordable food.

Parents are encouraged to come and help out!  If available, please come to our classroom around 10am.

Thank you!

Skinny Pancake Project

Our class has been given a great opportunity!  We will help improve the kids' menu at Skinny Pancake.  At some point soon we will visit the restaurant at 1:20 to sample crepes and get more information from the company.  We were planning on going this week, but weather has prevented the Skinny Pancake marketing director from getting into town.  I will let you know when the new time will be.  Parents are encouraged to join us if able.

Students will learn about locavore food choices, VT agriculture, and persuasive writing in this mini-unit as they work to improve kids' choices at Skinny Pancake.  Only a few ideas from our class will be chosen to be placed on the Skinny Pancake menu permanently.

Publishing Party Success

Thank you to all the families that came to support our class' Publishing Party.  Kids worked so hard on their stories, and you helped celebrate their success.

Progress Report Narratives will go home today

A formal standards-based report card will go home in March and June.  At this time, the new common-core aligned report card for UES is not yet ready.  Because of this, teachers have written narrative progress reports which will go home on Friday, January 30th.  Please sign and return the envelope by February 4th.

You Are Invtited To Our Class Publishing Party

Who: Family and Friends of students in Wendy McGuiggan's Class

What: Publishing Party

Where: In our classroom (Room 208)

When: Friday, February 6^th from 1:10-2:00

Why: To celebrate the completion of our realistic fiction stories

Please join us if able to hear your child share his/her story. We will have light snacks available. Snack donations are welcome. Please contact me with any questions at wendym@mpsvt.org or 225-8238. Hope to see you there!

Wrapping up our fiction stories

We have worked on writing realistic fiction since November, and are now working on revising and editing our work.  In the next few days, I will send home an invitation to our publishing party to celebrate the group's hard work!