Newsletter Jan.28 - 31

Weekly Newsletter Grade 5

Dates: 27-31 Jan. 2019               

Dear Parents,

Curriculum Information for this Week:

Literacy: This week the students will continue their reading unit on the Fantasy genre. They will also continue working in their fantasy book clubs where they will discuss elements of fantasy, keep track of characters’ development and problems and identify internal and external character conflicts and themes that run through their fantasy books. Questions which you can ask your fifth grader,

• What book are you reading in book club?
• Tell me about who has the power in the book and why?
• How has your character changed throughout the book?
• What theme do you see emerging in this book?

Students will begin writing fantasy stories this week. The focus of this unit is for students to be able to elaborate their thoughts (while keeping a focus!), use transitions to move from one idea to another and writing with precise language. Although, not fantasy check out the 5th grade expectation for fiction writing.

Math: The students will continue Unit 4: Place Value and Decimal Operations. Last week, the students reviewed adding and subtracting decimals and towards the This wekk we will  move into multiplying decimals (whole number X decimal) using the area model and the standard algorithm for multiplication. 

Unit of Study: The students will continue their second science unit: Modeling Matter: The Chemistry of Food from the Amplify Science program. During the unit, the students are involved in a simulation, where they take on the role of food scientists working in a lab for a large food-production company: Good Food Production Inc. The students will continue to work in their classrooms and conduct hands-on experiments in the science labs, investigating the different properties of matter.

Lessons completed so far:

Lesson 1.1 Pre-assessment - classroom

Lesson 1.2: Introducing Food Science - science lab

Lesson 1.3: Made of Matter

1.4 Seperating a Food Color Mixture

For more information and ways to support your child please visit the

Parent Learning Connection page.

Parents, please also check out the SERVICE CHANNEL, which is a forum for the ISKL community to share ideas and information about how we can contribute to our community and planet.

Important Reminders/Information: (also see GLC Updates)

· NO SCHOOL Fri Feb 1 (Federal Territory Day), Mon Feb 4 (ISKL Holiday), Tues Feb 5-6 (CNY)

· Author Visit- Matt Holmes: Friday February 8

Highlight from last week:

On Thurs. January 24 we welcomed author and explorer Matt Dickinson. Fifth graders were enthralled by his storytelling and some of them now may want to climb Everest!

Newsletter Jan. 21-25

Weekly Newsletter Grade 5

Dates: 21-25 Jan. 2019               

Dear Parents,

Curriculum Information for this Week:

Literacy: This week the students will continue their reading unit on the Fantasy genre. They will also continue working in their fantasy book clubs where they will discuss elements of fantasy, keeping track of characters’ development and problems and identify internal and external character conflicts and themes that run through their fantasy books. Our daily fantasy read alouds will also continue. While the focus for the first week of semester 2 was on fantasy reading, the students will begin brainstorming ideas for Fantasy writing.

Math: The students will continue Unit 4: Place Value and Decimal Operations. Last week, the students reviewed adding and subtracting decimals, understanding place value as well as multiplying by exponents. This week students will move into multiplying decimals (whole number times a decimal) using the area model and the standard algorithm for multiplication. This week they will continue to work on multiplying decimals, using the above strategies and including showing their thinking on decimal grids.  

Unit of Study: The students will continue their second science unit: Modeling Matter: The Chemistry of Food from the Amplify Science program. During the unit, the students are involved in a simulation, where they take on the role of food scientists working in a lab for a large food-production company: Good Food Production Inc. The students will continue to work in their classrooms and conduct hands-on experiments in the science labs, investigating the different properties of matter.

Lessons for this week:

Lesson 1.1 Pre-assessment - classroom (What is a food scientist?)

Lesson 1.2: Introducing Food Science - science lab

Lesson 1.3: Made of Matter  

For more information and ways to support your child please visit the

Parent Learning Connection page.

Parents, please also check out the SERVICE CHANNEL, which is a forum for the ISKL community to share ideas and information about how we can contribute to our community and planet.

Important Reminders/Information: (also see GLC Updates)

Mon. 21 Jan: G5 fantasy writing unit begins

Wed. 23 Jan: ‘Welcome Back to Semester 2 Assembly’ for G3-5 in the Melawati Theatre from 2:00-2:30pm. The PJ-G2 Assembly will be conducted from 8:30-9:00am. Some Red Hats will lead both assemblies.

Also, Semester 2 ASA registrations will close in PowerSchool at 10:00am.

Thurs. 24 Jan: Visiting Author Presentation by Matt Dickinson in MPR4 from 1:45-2:30pm.

Fri. 25 Jan: Next Red Hats Free Dress Day - suggested donation - RM5

Also, PTA New Parent Reception in MPR1 from 9:30-11:30am.

Highlight from last week:

On Thurs. 17 Jan. at the ES Open Day, a small group of Red Hats from each G5 class got to show prospective parents around the school and answer their questions. The feedback suggests that the adults were very impressed by our students.

Newsletter Jan. 14-18th

Weekly Newsletter Grade 5

Dates: 14-18 Jan. 2019               

Dear Parents,

Happy New Year and welcome back to semester 2 in G5! We hope you had a relaxing holiday with your family and friends.

Curriculum Information for this Week:

Literacy: This week the students will start new reading and writing units on Fantasy Genre.

The students will begin by doing a tuning-in to the fantasy unit by identifying the

elements of fantasy. In the first part of the reading unit, readers will read alongside the

characters keeping track of problems, identifying internal and external character conflicts

and themes that run through fantasy books and history. Our read aloud will also be a

fantasy book. The students will begin their writing fantasy unit  with a reading and writing pre-assessment.

Math: The students will continue Unit 4: Place Value and Decimal Operations.

They will begin the week reviewing adding and subtracting decimals, before they move

into multiplying decimals. Our emphasis is to build models to represent our thinking using hundreds grids.

Unit of Study: The students will begin their second science unit: Modeling Matter: The Chemistry of Food! In this unit, students take on the role of food scientists working in a lab for a large food-production company. Through some hands-on experiments the students will investigate different properties of matter and how chromatography works.

For more information and ways to support your child please visit the

Parent Learning Connection page.

Parents, please also check out the SERVICE CHANNEL, which is a forum for the ISKL community to share ideas and information about how we can contribute to our community and planet.

Important Reminders/Information: (also see GLC Updates)

Mon. 14 Jan. Day 1: First day of semester 2.  

Highlights in the week prior to the semester break:

The students completed their first science unit titled, ‘Sustainable Energy’ and showcasing their innovation through Design Thinking. A G5 ‘gallery walk’ was also held on Friday. 21 Dec. in the G5 classrooms from 1:45 to 2:20 pm, which was a celebration of learning where

students and teachers experienced the variety of presentations outside their own classroom.