Week 4 Newsletter

What a busy week! Students took their first math test, we started our reader's and writer's workshop, we are learning about Native Americans in social studies and cells in science!

Today in students' Friday Folders they have their Mid Module 1 math test. After every paper and pencil math test we take, students can complete an Error Analysis to try and earn some points back. The Error Analysis paper can be found on Google Classroom or HERE. Students have one week to redo any problems they missed that they want to earn points for. However, their original test should never be altered in any way. No erasing or correcting on the actual test.

The Mid Module 1 Error Analysis is due Friday, September 15th.



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The other important item in your students' Friday Folder is the Outdoor Ed packet. I know it is large, and some of the information asked for is redundant, but please work on filling out those forms. We are looking forward to a wonderful trip!


Who: the entire Mohr 5th grade
When: October 10 - October 13, 2017
Where: Camp Campbell (Santa Cruz Mountains)
Cost: $375 check made payable to PUSD. Due by Monday, October 2nd. If you are in need of financial help to cover the cost of the field trip please contact Mrs. Walsh in our office.
Informational Meeting: Wed, Sept 20th from 7pm-8pm in the MPR.

The forms are due by Friday, September 22nd. 

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Friday is around the corner, and so is the 3rd annual Mohr Dandiya event, scheduled for Fri, 09/15, from 6-10pm in the MPR. We have received a few questions about the event, so we’ll try to answer them briefly here:

1. WHAT IS DANDIYA?
The word Dandiya literally means colorfully decorated sticks. In the context of this event, however, Dandiya represents a "stick dance" that is usually performed in a group. It is hard to explain, so take a look at these two videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NUfGMTMUew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEcFFtDnyXc

Clearly, some of the attendees in the second video can’t dance, which leads us to the next question …

2. CAN I ATTEND IF I CAN’T DANCE OR DON'T KNOW THE CULTURE OR CUSTOMS?
Of course!!! This event is designed to bring the ENTIRE Mohr community together. It will be a fun night to enjoy music, spend time with friends, and eat fresh Indian food. Your PTA will be THRILLED if you could attend. And please go ahead and invite your family and friends too!

3. WHAT DO I WEAR?
See the videos above. Most of the attendees will wear traditional Indian outfits, but wear whatever you feel comfortable in, preferably something colorful. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask us at SoarAtMohr@gmail.com.

4. I’M INTERESTED! WHERE I CAN BUY THE TICKETS?
You can buy them online at:

http://MohrDandiya.weebly.com

The price is $15 for adults and $7 for children from the ages of 5-11. This is the EARLY BIRD price. In order to plan the logistics for this event -- which is only 8 DAYS away -- and place orders with the vendors, we will be INCREASING THE PRICES over the weekend to $17 and $9, respectively. So, please purchase your tickets before the prices go up, or the tickets sell out.

5. WHAT DO I GET FOR THE PRICE OF THE TICKET?
First and foremost, you are contributing to your PTA; 100% of all funds will go to enriching the lives of our children and our school. And second, the ticket price includes the Dandiya experience bollywood style (i.e live music, dancing), introductory classes for adults and kids who want to learn to dance, music performances, and a 9 course Indian buffet. There will also be prizes for best-dressed boys and girls! And if you are a PTA member, you will get a free pair of colorful Dandiya sticks, while supplies last.

What are you waiting for? Click on the link above, and see you at the event!

Mohr PTA
soaratmohr@gmail.com

Weekly News: Week 30

Have a wonderful week off from school! I know we are all looking forward to a little rest and relaxation.

In your child's backpack today you should see a packet of work and a letter regarding all the important events for the last 8 weeks of school. 5th grade has a lot going on over the last few months so please keep that blue calendar handy. You can access the letter HERE or check them out below:

Upcoming Events:

• Spring Break
• Mon, April 3- Fri, April 7
• Module 5 Test
• Wed, April 12

Mid Module 5 Test- Rescheduled

We were able to get through the first set of Module 5 lessons fairly quickly so I've moved up the Mid Module 5 Test to this Thursday, March 16th. This test features 11 questions and is focused on Volume. Students received the study guide today and felt very confident.

Weekly News- Week 5

We had a very busy week this past week: students had their first Social Studies quiz, Mr. Duncanson came to visit and helped teach us about improv and social skills, we're beginning to learn about Native Americans, we're finishing up Module 1 in math, and most importantly we had an assembly about next week's Kids Against Hunger event...

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Kids Against Hunger is coming to Mohr Elementary School! Fill a bag of food, fill hearts with kindness!

Kids Against Hunger (with the support of Friends Helping Friends and  the Mohr PTA) would like to invite the students of Mohr Elementary to participate in a kindness project that will be taking place on

Thursday, September 22nd!

TK, K and 1st will decorate bags and 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th will package

This is a wonderful way to help feed hungry children around the world!

Kids Against Hunger is a non profit organization that enables kids to pack meals of specially designed nourishing food for children in malnourished nations around the world. Each meal costs 25 cents so 100 meals costs $25.

In order for our school to participate in this kindness project, we are asking the students of Mohr Elementary to raise $5 each to pay for the cost of the food that we are bagging.  Greater donations are also encouraged!  Please bring your donations in cash or check (made payable to Kids Against Hunger) in an envelope or baggie,  by Friday, September 23rd.  Students will turn their donations into their teachers :)  

We would like for the kids to see if they can come up with a way to earn that money on their own and then donate it.  Some ideas include: doing chores around the house or collecting spare change.  Earning and donating the money will be a much more valuable experience than just being given the money.  Also, please have your child bring in their $5 as soon as possible and share how they earned it :)  They will be encouraging others and demonstrating how helping others can be fun!

Thank you in advance for your support!

For more information about Kids Against Hunger please visit www.kidsagainsthungerpleasanton.org

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Friday Folders
This week's Friday Folders contain your student's latest Grade Progress Report along with the Weekly Progress Report. The Grade Progress Report is to keep you updated on their latest scores. These are for you to keep. I only need the Weekly Progress Report returned with your signature. 

Thank you for all your help in getting this school year off on the right track!

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Next week's events & upcoming tests:

• Monday, 9/19- Flag Salute to kick off Kindness Week
• Wednesday, 9/21- Module 1 Math Test
• Wednesday, 9/21- Pinwheels for Peace
• Thursday, 9/22- Kids Against Hunger
• Friday, 9/23- Spirit Day-- Peace, Love, Happiness (Hippie Day)

Weekly News: Week 4 & Friday Folders

Another week of school done! Week 4! We had a busy week with picture day, our first math test, as well as learning about the U.S. government.  Students are reading and writing a lot, producing lots of true stories from their lives, while reading books they enjoy.

Today, your student should have their red Friday Folder with them. This folder will start going home every Friday with a few things inside: their Weekly Progress Report, as well as their latest tests and assignments. In today's folder you should see their Mid Module 1 math test, as well as a few assignments from the beginning of the year.

It is important that you review their Progress Report, where I highlight their current strengths and concerns. This report is to help keep you apprised of everything that is happening at school. Please sign and have your child return the progress report and their red folder on Monday, Sept 12th. All of the school work papers are yours to keep. If you have questions regarding the Progress Report you can email me, or simply write a comment at the bottom of the page.

About once a month, you will also get a Grade Progress Report which will have your student's current grades in each subject. This takes a few weeks to get going, as we do not have very many assignments yet.

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Upcoming Events:

• Band & Strings meeting on Monday, Sept 12th. Students should have their instruments.
• Library Books due Monday.
• Scholastic Book Orders due on Wednesday, Sept 14th. Order online at scholastic.com and use our code GVYZL to join our classroom
• Social Studies Government quiz on Wednesday, Sept 14th

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Donations

• We are in need of Kleenex boxes. If you are willing to donate a box or two we would greatly appreciate it!

Upcoming Testing Dates

As many of you are aware, the month of May is a busy time for testing. 5th grades takes the CST Science Test, on top of the CAASPP in both Language Arts and Math. Below are the testing dates. Please make sure your student is at school on these days, are well rested and have eaten breakfast before coming to school. Make-up testing will be at the end of May.

Week of May 2nd- CST Science Testing (actual dates TBD)
Tuesday, May 10th- CAASPP Language Arts Computer Adaptive Test
Thursday, May 12th- CAASPP Language Arts Performance Task
Monday, May 23rd- CAASPP Math Computer Adaptive Test
Tuesday, May 24th- CAASPP Math Performance Task


Also occurring in May is the 6th grade math placement test. Please read through the attached letter from Ken Rocha, Director of Secondary Education regarding the specifics of the 6th grade math placement test.

LINK TO LETTER

There are a few important dates regarding information nights. The actual test dates have not yet been scheduled. Your student will be notified when the test is scheduled.

Mid Module 1 Test

This upcoming Monday, September 21st is our first math test. The students will be taking the Mid Module 1 test.

Today they received a study guide to help them become familiar with what is on the test, as well as an Interactive Study Guide that they will do for homework. This features questions similar to the test and will help the students test their knowledge.

Here's the study guide we wrote in our math spirals.

 

New Math Resource

I just came across a really comprehensive new math resource for EngageNY (soon to be referred to as Eureka Math)...

Go to Homeworkhelp5.com and you will find every module, every lesson... with videos, explanations, and even more. If you struggle with any of the new concepts, or need to see things again... head that way. http://homeworkhelp5.com/main/

Bookmark that site and use it to help you before tests, with your homework at night... however you need it.

6th Grade Math Placement Test

The 6th grade math placement test will be given the week of May 11th. We will be taking the test as follows:

• Monday, May 11th- Part A
• Tuesday, May 12th- Part B
• Friday, May 15th- Part C

If you are interested in the details of the test and learn information about what the middle school math plan is, please click on the link HERE.

Also, please keep in mind that we will still be taking the SBAC Math Computer Adaptive Test that week on Wednesday, May 13th.

If you have any questions, please email me.

Guest Blogger- Curtis

Fractions

By Curtis

After Module 2, we have started a new module in math. This module is all about fractions. We will learn about equivalent fractions, making like units pictorially, making like units numerically, and other ways to use fractions. This is a very short module, but is important. Have a happy new module!

Module 3

As we begin Module 3 and start diving into adding and subtracting fractions, I wanted to make sure you remember where to locate the resources available to you.

Ms. Wilcox's Videos

Videos will be posted when needed

Mr. Habecker's Videos

These help you with each lesson's homework

Module 2 YouTube Videos

If you haven't subscribed to our YouTube channel... you should! Helpful math videos are added all the time, and you can also locate them by clicking above on the VIDEOS tab. There you'll find the whole playlist, as videos are added. Great resources if you are stuck on homework or a new concept!

Guest Blogger- Ethan

This week Ethan decided he wanted to share his thoughts on how math is going in our classroom. He gathered a few of his classmates for a little chat. It was Ethan's great idea to share a video. See what's going on in our classroom!

DropBox & Study Guide

I'll be using DropBox this year to link up important files you can access any time. Today, I uploaded our Mid Module 1 Assessment Study Guide so students will have access, if they forgot their spiral at school. You do not need to sign up for DropBox in order to access the files.

Mid Module 1 Study Guide

The study guide can be found at the link above, but will also be permanently under the RESOURCES tab on our site.

Study for Math

Thursday is our first Math test and you'll be receiving a study guide to help them focus on what they need to do.

In the meantime, you might want to brush up on past lessons by viewing the videos. Here's our class playlist:

First Math Test (Assessment)

Within each module of the EngageNY math program there are 2 assessments. One is the "Mid-Module Assessment" and the second is the "End of Module Assessment". There will be two tests, or assessments, for each module we complete.

The students will be taking the Mid-Module Assessment for Module 1 on Thursday, September 18th. Since it is our first assessment, we will be doing a lot of review in class, and students will receive a study guide to help them prepare.

The assessment has been added to our Calendar, and students are aware of the test date.

Error Analysis

A new feature I've added to our class math tests is the ability for students to earn back some points for the mistakes they've made by analyzing their mistakes, after they get their tests back. Students can earn 1/2 point for every question they originally got wrong if they do these 3 things.

1. Redo the original problem they got wrong
2. Tell me what they did wrong the first time, i.e. "I multiplied when I should have divided."
3. Write and solve a sample problem that is similar to the original problem.

Any student who originally receives a "1" or a "2" on their math test will be asked to complete this Error Analysis sheet. Students who originally scored a "3" have the option, but it is not required. The Error Analysis can also be completed on any Mathematical Reasoning questions as well. 

Error Analysis sheet

The link above should take you to a copy of the Error Analysis sheet, if you should need to print a copy, though students also have this document in their Google Drive.

Student Created Videos

For the past few days, students have been creating videos on my iPad using Educreations to explain a word problem to the rest of the class. They had to understand what was being asked in the problem, come up with a solution, write an explanation, and make sure it was all done in a way that someone else could easily solve the same word problem.

The students absolutely loved making their videos. I hope you'll check them out and see what they were able to create. It's amazing what they are able to do!

TABLE 1- Victoria, Zachary, Noelle, Esha, Dante, and Vedant

TABLE 2- Akanksha, Simona, Shivani, Anvita, Sri, and Meron

TABLE 3- Connor, Kina, Nikita, and Div

TABLE 4- Emily, Kendall, Julian, and Adelric

TABLE 5- Joey, Dalynn, Alicia, Sarada, Xiuyuan, and Sathya

TABLE 6- Maille, Aashritha, Vaishali, Andrew, Paolo, and Cody

The Holiday Season is Upon Us!

December always brings along some of my favorite projects with the students. Take a look at the cute Santa Stamps the kids created, as well as the logic problem they had to solve involving the song "The 12 Days of Christmas." Students had to figure out how many gifts were given at the end of the 12 days. The results were much larger than any of them anticipated.