Newsletter - February 18-22

Weekly Newsletter Grade 5

Dates: February 18-22              

Dear Parents,

Curriculum Information for this Week:

Literacy: Grade 5 students continue to work on their fantasy stories. This week we focus on making our stories believable by adding details to our settings, internal and external character traits and making sure to show not tell throughout our stories.  Fantasy book clubs continue as students analyze their books through the focus on metaphors, symbolism and thinking about how fantasy helps us understand the real world.

Math: The students will conclude Unit 4: Place Value and Decimal Operations. Students have explored multiplying and dividing decimals using a variety of manipulatives to show their thinking. The assessment will be giving this week.

(See last week’s news letter for helpful video links.)

Unit of Study:  

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. This week we will be finishing up understanding how to model molecules and their properties.  Next up, Chapter 2 which focuses on why some mixtures have sediments and others do not.

These lessons include:

2.1 Investigating Flavor Ingredients

2.2 Investigating Dissolving

2.3 Reading about Dissolving

2.4 Models of Solubility

2.5 Making Sense of Solubility

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)

• WIDA testing for G5 EAL students (letters have gone home)
• Monday, February 18-Richard Sobol, traveling photographer and photojournalist will talk about informational writing
• Wednesday,  February 20- Faculty Appreciation Lunch
• Thursday, February 21-Grand Opening Ceremony-many activities are planned throughout the day (including photobooths, popsicles at lunch, and music and dance performance at Zurich field)
• Friday, February 22:  ES CNY Cultural Day and ES CNY Dress Up Day as well as the Lion Dance in the ES Gym

Highlight from last week:

On Thursday, February, 14th at the Red Hats Valentine’s Free Dress Day, we raised over RM2000. This will be presented to Siti Kasim, one of our Social Change Makers. She and her team of lawyers advocate for the rights of Malaysia’s indigenous people - the Orang Asli.