December 14-18

***Any unfinished work or tests from the previous week will be completed in class next week.  We would like all missing work completed and turned in by Wednesday, December 16.

*** 3rd Grade is having an ornament/craft sale to raise money for charity.  All items will cost $1 or $2 and will be on sale in the mornings (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) by the front office area. Please support them if you are able to.

Monday -
Tuesday - Reading Logs due
Wednesday -
Thursday - Auction (9-10:30) and Party (10:30-12:00) *Mrs. Ellison's homeroom will be eating lunch in the classroom following the party.
Friday - Hoodwinked video - early dismissal at 1:30 pm

Be sure to check the Parent Portal for grades that are being updated before the holidays.  Tuesday folders will be going home with graded student work to be reviewed.  Thank you for continuing to encourage your child to take ALL assignments seriously and to always do their BEST.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and enjoy time with your family.  Make sure your child is well rested and ready to get back to work when they return in January!

Scholastic Book Fair

Scholastic Book Fair is here!
Family Book Fair night is Thursday Dec. 10 from 4-6 pm
Family Book Fair day is Saturday Dec. 12 from 10-12 noon

Mrs. Ellison's HR goes to the Book Fair during Enhancements on Tuesday Dec. 8
Ms. Curry's HR goes to the Book Fair during Enhancements on Monday Dec. 14.

Students may go to the Book Fair during morning time after they have checked in with their teacher.

December 7-11

What a great day we all had at Old Salem!  Thank you to all of the parents who were able to help chaperone.  The students had lots to share in class about what they learned and could really see the connections to what we have been learning in Social Studies.  Be sure to ask them about Friday's "Special Activity" that we did in class as an introduction to chapter 10.

Monday - wk 10 Math4Today Assessment
Tuesday - Mrs. Ellison's homeroom goes to the Book Fair during Enhancements
Wednesday - B2 Math has a Unit 1 Section 3 Quiz
Thursday - B2 Math has a Unit 1 Test (after reviewing the Quiz from Wednesday)
Friday - SS chapters 9/10 Test (study guide, ch 9 notes, and ch 10 notes), wk 11 Math4Today Assessment, Science Quiz on Energy

next Monday (Dec. 14) - Ms. Curry's homeroom goes to the Book Fair during Enhancements
Thursday (Dec. 17) - Auction from 9-10:30 and Holiday Celebration from 10:30-12:00
Friday (Dec. 18) - Hoodwinked movie (be sure permission slip is signed and returned)

Nov. 23-24

Monday - Artist in the School program (9-10 am), Fables Test (moved from Tuesday)
Tuesday - Thanksgiving Breakfast (9-9:30 am), Reading Log, SS ch. 7 Test (study guide and notes), B2 Math - session 3 Unit Test, ***students should be DONE with their Biography/Memoir Reports - we will be peer editing and adding final touches to it after Thanksgiving Break

Happy Thanksgiving!  Travel safely and enjoy your time with your family!

Remember that our field trip is the Thursday that we return, December 3.  Students will need to be at the school cafeteria at 6:00 am so that we are ready to pull out of the parking lot at 6:30 am.

November 16-20 and 23-24

Monday -
Tuesday - Reading Logs due
Wednesday - B1 Math Unit 1 Session 3 Quiz
Thursday -
Friday - Weather Unit TEST (no notes allowed), Biography & Memoir reports should be almost done

Monday - Nov. 23 - Thanksgiving Breakfast 9-9:30 am
Tuesday - Nov. 24 - SS ch 7 Test, Fables Test

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Wednesday - Dec. 2 - Biography & Memoir final reports due

Nov. 9 - 13

Monday -
Tuesday - Reading Log due, SS ch 6 test (study guide and notes on website), Early Release at 1:30 pm
Wednesday - NO SCHOOL - Happy Veteran's Day
Thursday - B1 Math only - Unit 1 Session 3 Quiz
Friday - Science Quiz (Water Cycle, Clouds, Forecasting), both Math blocks - Math4Today wk 9 Assessment

Things to make a note of...
Students should be working on their Biography Reports or Memoir Assignment.  The final report is due Dec. 2 but they should be just about done with all of the content before Thanksgiving Break.

Science Weather Unit test (NOT open notes) will be coming up next week (around Nov. 20)

SS ch 7 test is scheduled for Nov. 24.

Final payment for the field trip is due Nov. 20.  Parents who didn't pay at the beginning will need to pay at the door (same cost).  Please let me know if you are planning to attend the field trip but did not mark it on the permission slip.  I have to make sure all of my parent volunteers are level 2 cleared before the trip.

November 2-6

Monday - Report Cards go home
Tuesday - Reading Logs due, 2nd payment for field trip due (if you haven't already paid in full) - parents that haven't already paid will need to pay on site the day of the trip
Wednesday -
Thursday -
Friday -

Tuesday - November 10 - SS ch 6 test (study guide and notes) and Early Release
Wednesday - November 11 - No School - Veteran's Day

Oct. 26-30

Monday - ALL PLEDGE MONEY IS DUE
Tuesday - Reading Log, B2 Math - Unit 1 Math Quiz
Wednesday -
Thursday -
Friday - SS ch 5 Test (study guide and notes on website), Science Quiz (allowed to use journal notes)

Next week is Red Ribbon Week, when we participate in Drug Awareness activities.
Monday - Sock it to Drugs - wear your crazy socks
Tuesday - Be a Team Player - wear your favorite team jersey
Wednesday - Drugs turn you inside out - wear your clothes inside out (or dress all in one color like in the movie Inside Out)
Thursday - Wear RED to celebrate Red Ribbon Week
Friday - Flip your lid to be Drug Free - wear a hat to support a Drug Free campus!

Oct. 19-23

Monday -
Tuesday - Reading Logs due, SS ch 4 test (study guide on website and attached here)
Wednesday -
Thursday - Team Novel Study due (this is being done IN CLASS), B2 Math - Quiz
Friday - No School - Teacher Workday (we'll be finalizing report cards so ALL missing work needs to be turned in before today)

Monday - Oct. 26 - All Boosterthon Pledge Money is due

Oct. 12-16

Boosterthon is under way!  Be sure to ask your child about their team name and what character trait they learned about each day.  Friday was Living with Curiosity and we met a kid from Australia who scuba dives.  This tied in perfectly with today's Social Studies lesson in which we became deep sea divers exploring a sunken ship to find artifacts.

Monday -
Tuesday - Reading Log, Typed Story due (we'll work on typing it in class on Monday and Tuesday)
Wednesday -
Thursday -
Friday - FUN RUN, Science Quiz, Novel Study DUE

I met with most students on Friday to see where they were on their Novel Study.  Most students are right on track to be done by Friday.  Some students need to spend some time reading this weekend to get as far in the book as they can.  We will not be doing Spelling Sorts next week and other items will be kept light to allow for plenty of class time to work on the Novel Study.  Some students are not using their time wisely and are being a little too "social" instead of on task and it shows in their work.  The rubric that will be used to score this project is attached in their Reading Google Classroom.

October 5-9

Thank you to everyone who joined the PTA.  Mrs. Ellison's homeroom did reach our goal of 90% of our parents joining the PTA so we will get the $50 gift card for classroom supplies!

Remember that Monday, Oct. 5 is Curriculum Night for grades 3-5 form 5:15-6:30.  Mrs. Ellison and Mrs. Mallory will be presenting about iReady (and giving out student reports) and Google Classroom.  Ms. Curry and Mrs. Bean will be discussing Investigations Math and our 5th grade Science Units.  This is meant to be an informational night for parents.  We hope to see you here!

Monday - Parent Curriculum Night
Tuesday - Reading Log, SS ch 3 Test (see study guide on Mrs. Ellison's website)
Wednesday - Boosterthon Kick Off (we're raising money for additional playground equipment and more student chromebooks for in the classrooms)
Thursday -
Friday - Math (block 1 only) - Unit 1 Investigations 2 Quiz

Have a great weekend and try to STAY DRY!

Boosterthon

THE POWHATAN FUN RUN

We’re raising funds for Playground Equipment & Student Chrome Books!!

This year’s MAIN FUNDRAISER is the Powhatan Fun Run! Hosting a Fun Run means there is no
selling or delivering products. Family and friends anywhere in the world can support our school by
giving pledges toward the number of laps your student will run on the day of the Fun Run on Friday,

Our Fun Run program will last from October 7th – October 16th. Students will experience an exciting  Pep Rally, families will have time to get pledges, and on the last day, students will run in the Fun Run!

Every student, no matter financial participation, is invited to run in the Fun Run.

Also, our Fun Run comes with a world-class character theme. This year’s theme is BIG WORLD RECESS, a global fitness theme all about building character through sports. During the Fun Run program, students will travel our big world learning how to play with character from REAL kid-athletes in other cultures.

How Can You Support Powhatan Elementary School??
#1. Register your child on funrun.com.
#2. Reach out to sponsors—friends and family who could donate to help our school.
#3 Ask your child about the BIG WORLD RECESS Character Play of the day.
#4 Come cheer on your student at the Fun Run on October 16th. Parents invited!

More information will come home with your child prior to the event.

This is the major fund raising event for the year!

Thanks in advance for supporting

The Powhatan PTA.

Sept. 28 - Oct. 2

Mrs. Ellison's homeroom is at 75% for parents having joined the PTA.  Please take the time to join if at all possible.  If we reach 90% by the end of next week (Oct. 2) then we get a $50 gift card for classroom supplies.  Here is the PTA membership form in case you need another form.  The cost is $6.

Mon - Pictures (orders need to be paid for in advance)
Tues - Reading Logs due
Wed -
Thurs -
Fri - Figurative Language Quiz (see notes below), Science Quiz (study guide in the Science section on Ms. Curry's website), recite the Divisibility poem

The week of Oct. 5-9:
tentatively scheduled:
SS ch. 3 test on Oct. 6 - study guide
Unit 1 Investigations 2 Quiz - early in the week
Boosterthon Kickoff on Oct. 7

Students should be working on their novel activities.  At this point, they should have the first 2-3 summarizers done (1 for every 5 chapters).  They should also be making a list of 10 vocabulary words as they find unusual words in the text and making a note of what page it was found on.  They can do their Vocabulary Stars once they have all 10 words or work on them as they go.  Then tentative due date for all activities is Oct. 16.  Students are given time in class to read and work on this but some are not using their time wisely and are way behind the other students in their groups.

Figurative Language Notes for the Quiz:
Students will need to be able to identify the type of figurative language to match it to the definition.
Students will need to be able to identify the type of figurative language to match examples given.
Students will need to be able to choose the correct meaning for examples of figurative language.
(The quiz will be online.  All questions will be multiple choice.)

Alliteration - repeating the same beginning sound in 2 or more words
     ex:  Alligators always eat apples.

Hyperbole - extreme exaggeration
     ex:  I have a mountain of papers to grade.

Idiom -  the actual meaning of the expression is not able to be predicted from the usual meaning of the words
     ex:  You are in hot water.

Metaphor -  comparing unrelated items by saying one IS the other
     ex:  My brother is a monster.

Onomatopoeia - putting sounds into words
     ex:  The ghost went Whooooo! Boo!

Personification - giving human characteristics to non-human items or animals
    ex:  The tree reached out and tried to grab my shirt.

Simile - comparing 2 unrelated things using "like" or "as"
    ex:  The pumpkin is as round as a bowling ball.

September 21-25

Monday -
Tuesday - Reading Log due, SS ch. 2 test (notes and study guide)
Wednesday -
Thursday -
Friday - Early Release

Monday Sept. 28 - Picture Day

Tuesday - Sept. 15

Tuesday folders are coming home today.  Please review you child's work and sign the folder saying you saw their grades.  ALL STUDENT WORK MUST BE RETURNED IN THE FOLDER.

Picture order info is in the Tuesday Folders.  Picture day is Monday, Sept. 28.

Remember that tonight (Tuesday Sept. 15) is Powhatan's first Spirit Night for this year.  It is at Firehouse Subs from 5-8 pm.  You must show the flyer (in your child's Tuesday Folder) for Powhatan to get credit for your order.

PTA memberships still needed

Mrs. Ellison's homeroom is at 63% of parents joining the PTA.  We need to reach 90% (about 7 more parents to join) in order for us to earn a $50 gift card for classroom supplies.  If you haven't joined yet, please send in your $6 with your membership form.  Thanks for the great start to the year!

September 14 - 17

Monday -
Tuesday - Reading Log due, Math Quiz (rescheduled from Friday of this week)
Wednesday - Earthquake Terror test (reading books were supposed to be brought home, questions and answers are here and on my website in the Reading section, we will re-read and review questions in class next week again)
Thursday -
Friday -

Tuesday (Sept. 22) - tentative SS ch. 2 test - study guide and notes are linked here and on my website in the SS section

iReady testing is complete for fifth grade (one or two students are still working since they were absent).  Your child should be able to access this at home and begin working on lessons.  We will be spending some time working on this in class just about every day.  These lessons will help fill in any missing gaps your child may have with certain skills as well as enrich or move to the next level students who are working above grade level.  I will be using these reports and teacher observations to help guide my small group instruction in Reading.

September 7-11

Monday - No School - enjoy your Labor Day 

Tuesday - Reading Logs and agendas should be signed and ready to be checked
     (Reading Logs are in the front of the agenda and students should be recording at least 80 minutes of independent reading each week - I expect to see what they are reading and how long - parents only need to sign it once for the week)

Wednesday -

Thursday - SS ch 1 Geography Test (study guide and notes are on my website) - students can access videos of me explaining the text and concepts in their Google Classroom accounts - I will also be showing them how we can share the one student online textbook account we have and practice with the online tutorial

Friday - Science Quiz (see their journals) AND Unit 1 Investigations Math Quiz (study SAB pgs 1-24)

Students will continue to complete weekly in class activities (LA4Today, Spelling Sort/Definitions, Reading Group assignments,  Math4Today, etc).  These are graded activities that we review in class.  You can also go over them with your child at home (except for the LA4Today since it is in a class journal).  Most students are doing well with the activities in my subjects as we establish our procedures and expectations.  A few need to work on time management and quality of work rather than rushing to be finished.  This is a skill we will continue to work on over the next several weeks (and the remainder of the school year).

We will soon be taking our Beginning of the Year iReady Assessment.  iReady is replacing the MAP testing we've done in previous years.  We are learning about this new program and will keep you informed of your child's results and how they can use iReady resources at home and at school to help them improve throughout the school year.  Stay tuned for more about this topic!

PTA updates

First Spirit Night for 2015-2016 is coming up.  Mark your calendars to eat at FIrehouse Subs on Tuesday Sept. 15 from 5-8 pm.  You must show a flyer for Powhatan to receive credit for your purchase.  Flyers will be coming home soon in your child's Tuesday folder so be on the look out for it.  We hope to see you there!

Spirit Wear is available at http://www.nesspressnc.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html  Be sure your child has something to help show their Powhatan PRIDE!

If you haven't already done so, be sure to join the PTA for just $6.  Your child's homeroom teacher will receive a $50 gift card to use for classroom supplies if they have enough parents join.  Membership forms are available on the PTA's website.

The PTA is trying to keep parents informed with quick reminders/updates using Remind101.  Go to: https://www.remind.com/join/pespt to sign up to receive updates via text or email.  Sign up before Sept. 25 and you'll be entered for a chance to win a Target gift card.

August 31 - September 4

WOW!  It's been a busy but very productive first week of fifth grade.  Thank you to everyone who has sent in all of your completed paperwork.  If you haven't sent in your $6 to join to PTA yet, please consider doing so soon.  If homeroom classes have enough parents join, we get $50 to spend on supplies for our classroom.  That's $50 worth of supplies I don't have to ask you to help send in for the students.  One item we can always use more of is glue sticks.

Be sure you are following  my Take A Look Ahead blog  AND Ms. Curry's blog.  Although information may be the same for weekly updates, one of us may post additional informational specific to her subjects.  Better to be over informed than under informed.  I will be setting up my parent emails over the weekend and will send our some reminders that way too but the blog (which will also show up on my website) will be my main method of updating you.

Students need to have a pair of headphones or earbuds that remain at school.  Next week we will begin doing things on the chromebooks and in computer class that require sound.  If you want your child's teacher to remain sane then we can't have 24 chromebooks all having videos with sound playing at the same time!

Your child should have written down 3 upcoming things for next week.  Most of these will actually be done in class but I wanted them to practice filling out the Friday agendas.  They should have a spot marked for this week's coupons earned/lost.  BE SURE TO SIGN by the coupons AND for the READING LOG (front monthly calendar) over the weekend.

Monday- Reading Log due (it will actually be checked on Tuesday)
Tuesday -
Wednesday -
Thursday - Spelling Definition Quiz (done in class - we're going over this today so ask your child about this - more information can be found in the Spelling section on my website)
Friday - final draft of Narrative Writing due in Google Classroom

**We are starting Social Studies on Monday and there will be a test on Thursday September 10 for Chapter 1.  A study guide and notes are linked to the Social Studies section of my website.

If you have questions about anything, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.

About Mrs. Ellison: This is my 20th year teaching, all in Johnston County.  I have taught all subjects in 1st, 2nd, and 5th grades.  I received my BA in Elementary Education from UNCW and my Masters in Elementary Education from ECU.  Although I haven't attended NCSU, I cheer for State!  I am married with 2 teenage boys.  My oldest son is a sophomore at Clayton High School and my younger son is in 8th grade at Riverwood Middle.  I love teaching and enjoy the fact that no 2 days are ever the same.  

Welcome to 5th grade with Mrs. Ellison.  Be sure to subscribe to this page so that you get my weekly updates about what is happening in your child's classroom.  I'm looking forward to a great year!  Here's a cute video to start off the school year. Click here to get started subscribing:  http://pes5thgradehappenings.blogspot.com/