5 Cantone
2013 - 2014 CLASS OF 2021
Welcome to 5th Grade! Hello Explorers, Scientists, Historians, Authors, Artists & Innovators! I hope you are as excited to receive
this letter as I am to send it. As you know by now, we will be spending your 5th grade year together. 5th grade is full of amazing learning opportunities and topics. I can’t wait to get started! A good theme for this year is “Discovery & Exploration”. We will bring the world to our classroom with virtual field trips, expert visits to the classroom, and plenty of hands on
Important Dates Mark your calendars, but you can also find these one our classroom calendar located on the class website.
activities in our own backyard. We’ll uncover what it was like to navigate the world during the “Age of Exploration” , and what it took to turn America into the country we know today. We’ll take trips outside the classroom for adventures relating to colonial and revolutionary America, ecology and, of course, at Sargent Camp (just to name a few!). I’m eager to learn more about you. When you have a free moment, please log onto our classroom website (you can get there through the 5th grade site listed under my name on the Swasey website) and take the “Student Survey”. Try to do this before school starts.
8/22 (2pm) Meet & Greet 8/22 (2:30pm) Popsicle Social 8/26 First Day of School 9/2 No School (Labor Day)
It’s going to be a great year! I’m so glad you’re joining us.
Happy Learning! Mrs. Cantone
Scan this QR code to visit our class site!
9/4(6pm) Back to School Night *(K, 4, 5 only) 9/6 Camp Lincoln • (Grade 5 only) 9/17 School Pictures
10 Random Facts About Room 2 We don’t have desks...even the teacher! Our classroom jobs are unlike any others you’ve done before...the chores, on the other hand, are definitely things you’ve done before.
What’s new in 5th Grade? Fifth grade is a year focused on preparing you for your journey to the middle school and your lifelong learning beyond Swasey. With this in mind, several things will be “bumped up” from 4th grade - especially the expectation of responsibility. You will need to be responsible for yourself, your choices, your work, and your learning this year. We will have several long term projects over the course of the year. You will need to help manage, plan, and complete each along with regular, daily homework assignments. Fifth graders also have to adjust to different teachers for Science and Math units throughout the year. For many reasons, it will be important to be organized. We’ll spend much of September setting ourselves up for success through good organizational strategies. There will be lots of opportunity to stretch your wings as a learner this year as well. You’ll discover new things about yourself as a community member, a friend, a school leader, and as a person. We will be sure to have lots of fun along the way too! Throughout the year, you will have choices to make in what you explore and discover and how you share your learning with others. Be prepared to connect what interests you outside of school - sports, dance, nature, music,
whatever(!) - to your work in the classroom. We are fortunate to have many technology resources available to us this year. We’ll learn using digital cameras, green screens (learn more about this on our website!), laptops, netbooks, ipods & ipads, blogs, wikis, website creation, and much more. Speaking of adventures - hold onto your hatS (with a capital S!). You’ll wear many of them this year as you try jobs such as tutorial designer, official scribe, researcher, collaboration coordinator, news broadcaster, and curriculum reviewer.
I’M HUNGRY! With all of the learning and hard work we’ll do this year, we need to keep our brains fueled! Our classroom DOES allow (all day) grazing on healthy snacks (only). Be sure to pack additional snacks to keep your brain running all day! Water packed in a re-useable, plastic bottle (marked with your name) is also welcome in our room. Additionally, to keep our hardworking brain focused, please feel free to bring in sugar free gum to chew throughout the day.
We Skype with other classrooms, authors, & places often throughout the year. Hard work always pays off here. We often work together (as a class and as a whole 5th grade) in many different ways. Our class mascot is our Eyelash Crested Gecko, Apple Noal. We do LOTS of academic simulations. You’ll get to be an EXPLORER, COLONIST, and REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER. You can eat & drink all day as long as it’s healthy and not near electronics.
You’ll get to choose a lot of what you study, read, and do!
5th Grade at a glance...
SCIENCE Circulatory & Respiratory Systems
MATH
Multi-digit Multiplication
WORLD STUDIES
Geography & Mapping
and Division
LITERACY
Active Reading Strategies
with Mr. Fowler
Chemistry & Matter
US Government
with Mrs. Woods
Fractions, Decimals & Percents
Scientific Method
Angles & Geometry
European Exploration
Gathering, Organizing & Analyzing Data
Colonial & Revolutionary America
with Mrs. Babine
Ecology with Mrs. Cantone
This year, we’ll explore the world - past & present using the tools of the future.... We will connect to the world virtually (through blogs, book clubs, websites, wiki’s, and more), and in person (through field trips - like the one to Camp Lincoln at the START of the year!). We’ll also learn how the world, as we know it today, was discovered, mapped, and governed throughout history. We’ll uncover how (and why) America was formed. We’ll also think about how For more on 5th grade curriculum, the environmental choices please visit our classroom website ! we make today will affect sites.google.com/a/sau16.org/cantoneclassroom the world we leave for future generations.
Book Clubs
Research
Writing, Writing & More Writing
10 Random Facts about Mrs. Cantone 10. Her family is made up of all boys (and her), including her husband; her crazy but adorable son, Rocco; two dogs: a severely overweight Golden Retriever named “Bear”, and a cat-andchild-herding border collie named “Max”; and a kitty named Fenway. 9. Her favorite color is lime green. 8. She still has the name plaque her 5th grade teacher gave to her on the first day of 5th grade. 7. Her biggest pet peeve is when people chew with their mouth open. Especially gum. Yuck! 6. She likes to paint in her free time. 5. Her favorite author is Roald Dahl. 4. She loves to paint, draw, and create. 3. She has a HUGE collection of Crayola stuff - both vintage and new. It’s an obsession. 2. Halloween is her favorite holiday...but she hates scary movies. 1. She is training to run a 5K this fall.
Besides the items listed on the SCS Grade 5 Website... 2” plain binder (similar to the one students saw on Fly Up Day) • Binders with clear front sleeves work well • Please don’t spend a lot on binders, you will likely need more than one this year.
1 package of wide ruled paper
• You may want more than one if you like to write • Hole punched paper is best
2 packs of insertable, write on dividers (5 subject packs) • PLEASE PURCHASE 3 (you’ll need an extra for our writing binders)
2-3 pens
• Bold colors work best (no black, yellow, or orange)
1 package of pencils
• You will need a LOT of pencils this year, I recommend buying several and saving some at home for later.
1 package of small post it notes
• I recommend a few packages (we use these a lot for reading activities)
2-3 whiteboard markers
• Please get THIN markers (no yellow, pink, or orange please)
Here are a few other items you might like to have for the year:
2 lined paper notebooks
• With 3 hole punch (to put into a binder)
GRAPH/GRID PAPER notebook (Staples has these) • 1cm squares or larger work best • ** Please get the type that are bound on the side, NOT on the top** (these tend to fall out)
Clipboard • Please clearly mark it with your name and feel free to decorate it!
Pack of colored pencils Erasers
• Pencil tops are great, but it’s also nice to have a large one.
Large, sturdy zipper bag (to hold pencils, coloring materials, etc.) Highlighters • More than one color is helpful
Bike water bottle holder
Special Schedule (Subject to Change)
Monday
PE & Tech
Tuesday
Art
Wednesday
Music
Thursday
Library & Tech
Friday
PE
• This helps prevent spills.
Meet our Classroom Pet
Scientific Name:
& Mascot....
Rhacodactylus ciliatus
APPLE NOEL
Natural Environment: Islands of New Caledonia (Southwest Pacific near Australia) Average Size: 8" to 9" Average Life Span:
• Thought to be extinct until they were rediscovered in 1994 • They are nocturnal • Crested Geckos cannot grow their tail back once it has dropped. • Some Crested Geckos are very vocal and may make barking or squeaking noises. • You’ll learn much more about Apple this year!
10 to 15 years (captivity)
Mrs. Cantone’s Top 5 Ways to Feel Ready for 5th Grade Read Read everything and anything you can get your hands on: magazines, newspapers, books, instructions, recipes. Just read!
Practice Basic Facts Spending just 10 minutes a day practicing basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and/or division facts will help 5th grade math feel easier. You’ll be ready for bigger challenges!
This is my son, Rocco, holding Apple. She loves to climb up to say “hi”!
Must Read 5th Grade Books (Recommendations From Last Year’s Class)
Wonder - Abbie & Lizzie The Children of the Lamp series - Anna
School of Fear - Robin
Love? Maybe - Kaelyn The One and Only Ivan - Kyle Ships Cat Doris - Kendyl Unwanteds - Kevin
The False Prince - Brooke Savvy - Ada The Percy Jackson series - Tyler Beyonders - Derek
Being organized is so important in 5th grade and beyond. Take some time now to organize things around you...maybe even clean your room! That way, organizing your school stuff will seem like second nature.
Establish a Routine Everyone has a busy schedule, especially after school starts. Plan now when you’ll do homework and where.
The Runaway King - Mariah
Ranger’s Apprentice series - Gage
Get Organized
Scan this code to see more recommendations!
Enjoy Summer Relaxing is important too!
CONNECT! Please take a moment to join our class Edmodo group
@CantoneClass
www.edmodo.com Class Code: auulke
Student Assignments 180 minutes of Skills Tutor fact practice
Don’t forget about your summer homework assignments!
Read four books (at your reading level) Complete 4 mini book report projects (listed on the 5th grade website) * Projects are due 8/31 Join our Edmodo class page
imagine
Complete the student survey (on the home page of our classroom website)
MRS. CANTONE C/O SWASEY CENTRAL SCHOOL BRENTWOOD, NH 03833
www.diigo.com/user/ cantoneclass
Parent Assignment (Yes, you have work too!) Please take a moment before school begins to complete the parent survey located on the homepage of our classroom website.