September 24, 2010

Dear Fifth Grade Parents,

            The students and I have had a lot of fun learning about matter, but alas, the end is near. The students have received a sheet describing our end-of-unit project. (A copy is attached to this e-mail.) Some students chose to complete the project by themselves and some have chosen to do the work with a partner.

I told the students that this project is due Tuesday, October 12^th. It will take all three of our classes that week for everyone to present and since students may be bringing in many materials, I will tell the students on Thursday, October 7^th what day they will present.

Please read the attachment and let me know if you have any questions.

Gary Green

August 23, 2010

Dear Fifth Grade Parents,

I am excited to work with your children this year. I have taught fifth grade science for 12 years and it isvery enjoyable!

Introduction

We are going to learn a lot and have fun this year. In order to accomplish this we will use five big science skills: Ask questions, observe, record data, solve problems, and apply what we have learned to other situations. These skills correspond to the skills listed at the beginning of the fifth grade science curriculum which is located on this website and the St. Vincent School website (stvincents-school.org). We will do experiments, have class & partner discussions, read, write, draw, tell stories, watch shows, and other tasks to help the students learn. As our school philosophy states, we believe that parents are the primary educators of their children, so at times, I will have the students discuss with you what we did in class as part of the their homework.

As we learn the science curriculum, I will reinforce our Schoolwide Learning Expectations (Active Christian, Effective Communicator, and Self-Evaluator).  We will cover the curriculum objectives, but the learning expectations that follow the students from grade to grade are the most important.

Assessment

Students will be assessed based on their homework, classwork, projects, and participation. As is indicated in the handbook, I will put homework grades into Powerschool within one week of the due date and project grades within two weeks.

I allow students to do extra work to make up for late penalties. For example, let's suppose a student does not turn in an assignment worth 10 points. Since the late penalty is 20% per day late, the student's score will be a "0" after it is five school days late. The student would need to do the original assignment before s/he could do extra credit.

Once the original work is turned in and it is well-done, I would speak to the student about extra credit. The amount of work necessary to make up for the 10 point penalty is the same amount of work needed on the original assignment. If the assignment was 6-8 sentences, that is how long the extra credit would be. The better the effort, the more points that are gained. If the student scored an "8" when s/he completed the original assignment, that is the most s/he could score with the extra credit.

I also allow students to redo work that is not their best as long as they put in a good effort the first time. A student will not be allowed to redo work that is turned in only partially done. Students have two weeks from the original deadline to redo their work, or less time if the quarter ends before the two weeks.

Right Now

To begin the year, we are learning standard 1 of our curriculum: "Students will understand that chemical and physical changes occur in matter." If you have any questions, please call me at 527-2069 or e-mail me at ggreen@stvincents-school.org. I look forward to working with you and your fifth graders!     

Gary Green