Month: September 2021

REMINDER: Bring water bottles, spoons/forks, and napkins to school.

What a beautiful day!  I hope that you are able to get out and enjoy the sunshine before it rains tomorrow.  I took my youngest children to the park while my oldest son ran with his XC team, I saw my wonderfully healthy friend and her dog run at the same park, and then I ran to Starbucks to get a soy chai.  I’m not sure that counts as running, but it was delicious.

Thanks again for donating so much food last week.  If you would like your child to do another job this weekend, please have him or her work for a can of food.  If all twenty-six students do one chore each for one box or can of food, that will be twenty-six food items we can donate to Hope House!  It feels good to give! This is a year-long service learning project that helps our brothers and sisters in the community.  God bless you for your generosity.

Thank you to Mrs. Harbick for donating SEVEN books to the fifth grade literature circle collection!  I feel so incredibly appreciative of the families who have donated such great items to the classroom.  Thank you so much!

This week:

MAP testing: We took two tests this week, and we will take the final two next week.  For those who did not finish the tests, we will have a make up day, so don’t worry!!!  Please be sure that laptops are charged and brought to school daily.

Literacy: Students did a great job answering literal and inferential questions!  When we discuss the book we find that there are some of us who can relate to the protagonist on various levels.  No lie- some of us admittedly cried while reading Chapter 24.  I did!  When children place themselves in the character’s shoes, I can see that they really love literature.

Math (Blas): Students reviewed double digit multiplication with regrouping.  Example: 396 x 85.  We did some estimating. Example: 295 rounds to 300 and 53 rounds to 50.  We also looked for patterns while multiplying by powers of ten. Example:

7 x 10° = 7 x 1 = 7.

7 x 10¹ = 7 x 10 = 70.

7 x 10² = 7 x 100 = 700.

7 x 10³ = 7 x 1,000 = 7,000.

Social Studies: We completed the “Encounter, Colonization, and Devastation” article and responses.  We are learning how Sacred Spaces of indigenous peoples were taken by colonists.

No spelling due to MAP testing schedules and little/no homework.  Grammar: Students reviewed subjects and predicates.  Each sentence must have both a subject and a predicate.  If a subject or predicate is missing, it is just a fragment, not a complete sentence.  The subject is who/what the sentence is about and the predicate is what the subject does.  Example: Mrs. Blas screamed when she saw the gigantic spider.  Mrs. Blas is the subject and screamed is the predicate.

Religion: Students read Chapter 2: The Seven Sacraments.  Students read about Fr. Miguel Pro and his dedication to practicing his faith when it was illegal for him to do so.  Students are in groups researching the Seven Sacraments.  They will have an opportunity to teach their classmates what their sacrament means and how it is performed once the projects are finished.

Writing: The students wrote their “Power in Weakness” papers, they peer edited, they rewrote, then I edited their papers.  On Monday, they will rewrite their papers for a final draft and they will be graded.  Phew!  That writing process is long!

STEAM: Students made a universe in a box.  Ask your child why certain constellations can only be seen during certain seasons of the year.  So far, we have done a little bit of learning about the Moon and its phases, how it orbits around the Earth, how small the Earth is in comparison to the Sun, and why we see only certain constellations in the night sky during certain seasons of the year.

I know that it’s hard to encourage kids to study, but I really appreciate those who’ve encouraged their children to study those times tables!  It really shows on their Mad Minutes and their classwork.  In the long run, you are making math much easier for them!

Junior Orchestra: This week, orchestra students are learning play and rest positions on their instruments, the preliminary “bunny” bow hold, and about how to practice effectively at home.

Physical Education:

Some of the students are asking about the book reports and how they are to be done.

 

Monthly Book Reports (excluding food reports for pandemic year 2021-2022)

Month	Theme	Samples
October 25	Scientists/ Mathematicians	Mae C. Jemison, Marie Curie
November 29	Saints/Religious	Pope Francis, Mother Teresa, Kateri Tekakwitha
January 31	Holocaust Fiction
February 28	Civil Rights Leaders	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Angela Davis, Dolores Huerta
March 28	Women	Malala Yousafzai, Rosa Parks, Ellen Ochoa, Amelia Earhart
April 25	Artists or Athletes	Georgia O’Keeffe, Salvador Dali, Misty Copeland, Maya Lin, Jim Thorpe, Michelle Wie, Naomi Osaka, Michael Jordan
May 30	Students’ Choice	Due Dates: Last Monday of the month Use each book report option only once.  Here are some options: PowerPoint (at least 5 slides with at least one paragraph per slide, include images, include bibliography) Remember: 1 paragraph = 5 sentences. Rainbow Report (include at least 8 sections with one paragraph per section, image of subject is centered on paper, include a bibliography) Oral Report (3 minutes, show the book, include bibliography) Diorama (include a paragraph of a scene from the book and a bibliography) Timeline (include at least 15 facts on the timeline with at least 7 images, include bibliography, and how this person has inspired you) Stop-motion movie (3 minutes, include bibliography, use a scene from the book or a summary of the book) Cartoon/Comic Strip (no stick figures, include at least 7 frames with at least 2 facts per frame, include bibliography and title of book) Traditional Book Report (must be typed, 5 paragraphs, double-spaced, font size 14, include bibliography) Other Options: Please see teacher

 

 

Upcoming:

October 5th– Feast of St. Francis, Blessing of the Animals starting at 8:15 am

October 15th– NO SCHOOL, Staff Retreat

October 19th to 22nd– Holy Hoops 4-on-4 Tournament for Grades 5-8 this week

October 20th– Early Release @ 11:45 am

October 26th– Picture retakes

I want to thank the students and teachers who donated food, diapers, and wipes to Hope House! There’s so much food that our bin is overflowing!

I also want to thank the Dennis family for donating an entire box of gift cards for the fifth graders to write their Thankful Thursday cards each week!

We have…count ’em…4 bean bags for alternative seating! They’re so comfortable that I melt into them and get too cozy.  I can’t use them for just that reason.  Thank you to the Dennis (5th gr.), Sidhu (5th gr.), and Thomas (6th gr.) families for the comfort!

Thanks for making Curriculum Night so great!  If you weren’t able to Zoom in on Curriculum Night, please read the curriculum overview on my school webpage to see what was discussed.

BE EARLY!  For the next two weeks the school will be in MAP testing mode.  Please be sure that kids are getting plenty of sleep and that they get to school promptly by 8:00.  We will begin testing at 8:15 and they need time to log on.  Fifth graders will be responsible for charging their laptops each night.  There are four tests, so we’ll do two tests the first week and two the next.

Friendly reminder: Don’t forget those water bottles, spoons, and forks.  I don’t have any cups and we can’t drink directly from water fountains. If kids pack their lunches, they may want to make a check off sheet to be sure that they’ve included water bottles, forks/spoons, napkins, etc.

This week:

Math (Blas): Lessons 1.1-1.4 powers of ten, properties multiplication & division, and standard, word, and expanded forms of numbers.  Please see Mrs. Evan’s webpage to see what her 5th grade math class covered.

   

Literacy: Because of Winn-Dixie, main ideas and supporting details, hyperboles, similes, inferential and literal questions

Writing: editing and writing final drafts of “Power in Weakness” paper, handwriting: cursive A-H

Spelling/Grammar/ELA: Spelling Unit 1: Long a and Long e, 4 Types of Sentences: declarative (I ate pizza.), interrogative (Did you eat pizza?), imperative (Give me your pizza.), and exclamatory (I love pizza!).

STEAM: Finish studies of the Moon.  How far is the Sun from the Earth?  Students stood 65′ away from each other and held up proportionate images of the Sun and Earth to get a feel for their relative sizes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Religion: “Blest Are We” Chapter 1: God’s Wonderful Creation, being good stewards of the Earth, understanding that Jesus is the Incarnation as the Word of God who became Man, understanding that the Blessed Trinity is the mystery of one God in Three Divine persons, understanding St. Damien of Molokai and the love and hope that he gave lepers.

Social Studies: OSPI’s Since Time Immemorial lesson about colonization, how so many first peoples died from smallpox and other diseases, resistance to colonization, and how land was claimed by settlers.

Junior Orchestra (5th/6th Grade): This week, Orchestra students are learning the 12 commandments of instrument care, the parts of their instruments, rest position, and preliminary “bunny” bow hold.

P.E.:

Upcoming calendar items:

September 18th– Italian Night To-Go!

September 20th– MAP testing begins (2nd-8th)

September 23rd– Individual Picture Day, Preschool & K-8

September 24th– Individual Picture Day, PreK

October 15th– NO SCHOOL, Staff Retreat

Lunch…before the rain:

   

 

May all of the souls who were taken on 9/11 rest in the radiant light of Christ. God bless America.  

This week we learned…

Math: Lesson 1.1 & 1.2: Place value: periods; standard, expanded, and word forms; 10 times as much as means 10 x (insert a zero), 1/10 of means 1/10 x (remove a zero)

Literacy: Reading Because of Winn-Dixie: Students were answering inferential and literal reading comprehension questions.  The focus is on setting, inferred character traits, and predictions.  Students should be taking notes when reading: what is the main idea, what happened, why it happened, etc.

Writing: How to write a proper thank you card: The focus is on handwriting, format, giving thanks, telling the recipient what the gift was and why it’s appreciated, writing a closing sentence about something to look forward to, and showing and expressing gratitude (not via text/email).

IF you happen to have extra card stock, thank you cards, or stationery at home that is not being used, please donate it to the 5th grade class as we will be writing thank you cards every Thursday.  Thankful Thursdays!

Social Studies: Since Time Immemorial lesson by OSPI: Students discussed what they feel are Sacred Spaces to them. We will continue this lesson next week.  Interestingly, Maggie’s Sacred Space is the same place where I went camping this summer.  Nik shared his Sacred Space with me.  I took it with unpopular results.

Religion: We prepared for the first 5th grade-led mass.  Luz had a prayer of the faithful for those lives lost during the September 11th attacks, but the visiting priest began speaking before she had a chance to do the prayers. Miscommunication.  Please talk to your children about 9/11 in any way that you feel is appropriate for them at their level.  We did not cover it in class, but I will be talking about it with my own children today.  Students wrote study cards for the ACRE test that they will take in the spring.  The ACRE test is a nation-wide test given to all Catholic school students.  Next week students will use their religion texts. 

STEAM: Students studied the phases of the Moon.  They used their heads as the Earth, a Styrofoam ball as the Moon, and a flashlight as the Sun in order to understand the phases.

Notes: Please have your children pack an extra mask in their backpacks just in case.  Masks should fit comfortably from the nose to chin and not gap on the cheeks.

Please bring instruments every Wednesday and Friday for orchestra class.

If you’d like to donate to Hope House, please have your child do a chore and be paid in one of the following: canned fruit, canned veg (not beans), cases of water, fruit cups, packages of peanut butter crackers, baby wipes, size 5 diapers, new socks for all ages, or new underwear for all ages.  This is part of our 5th grade service learning project that continues throughout the year.  Generosity, work ethic, service!

Upcoming calendar items:

September 11th– Protecting God’s Children class for volunteers, 9 am, Assumption gym

September 15th– Early Release at 11:45 (Casual Uniforms); Curriculum Night via ZOOM at 6 pm

September 18th– Italian Night To-Go!

September 20th– MAP testing begins (2nd-8th)

September 23rd– Individual Picture Day, Preschool & K-8

September 24th– Individual Picture Day, PreK

October 15th– NO SCHOOL, Staff Retreat

 

First Newsletter of the 2021-2022 School Year

Hello parents and students!

I hope that you had a great summer!

My name is Lisa Blas and I am the fifth grade teacher at Assumption Catholic School.  I have a husband, three sons, one daughter, and a dog.  I was born in Tacoma, raised in Seattle, and I’ve been living in B’ham since 2003.  I have a B.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in teaching from Seattle University.  I am a member of the Educators for Change through the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle. That’s all there is to know about me.  What about you?  I can’t wait to meet you all or see you again!

I will be teaching 5th grade along with Karen Evans (math teacher extraordinaire) and Jane Town (literacy & writing teacher extraordinaire).  I am so excited to work with these teachers because we’ll be teaching small groups of students.  Small groups = more individualized attention = win for everyone!  Although Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Town will be doing their own grading, we will be using the same text books and lessons.

Along with literacy, writing, religion, social studies, STEAM, spelling, ELA, and math, students will be in music class (either choir or orchestra), art, Spanish, and P.E.  They’ll have library once a week.  Specialist classes will begin next week.

Our service learning project is for Hope House.  Hope House is located right behind the gym.  Cheri Woolsey leads a team of volunteers who provide support for people in the community.  For fifth grade, our service project lasts throughout the year.  What I typically ask students to do is to ask their parents for a job. Then they earn a can of food or a pair of socks that they can donate to our 5th grade Hope House bin.  When the bin is full our class will take the donated items to Hope House.  Right now, Hope House needs are:

• Canned fruit
• Canned vegetables (NOT BEANS)
• Cases of water for the homeless bags
• Fruit cups
• Packages of peanut butter crackers
• Baby wipes
• Size 5 diapers
• New socks for all ages
• New underwear for all ages

Please do NOT feel pressured to buy these items.  This is optional if you would like your child to participate in our service learning project.  Otherwise, he or she can write a prayer for Hope House.

There are so many questions that parents have.  You will receive a ton of information at the beginning of the year.  It will all be sorted out and we’ll hopefully be in a routine soon enough.  Let’s thank God that we’re all in person this year!