Skip to main content

Hard Work Pays Off!

Fifth graders model their new class t-shirts, made by Sophia and family, for the CLASS SLEEPOVER!

If the past week had a theme, it would easily be, "hard work pays off." The class spent all week studying for and taking tests in Reading (we have just finished our latest novel, Number the Stars), Social Studies, Religion, and Spelling. They worked incredibly hard on each exam and clearly took the time to study and prepare.

This week in Writing, we worked on perfecting the components of a strong, information-based paragraph to eventually write multi-paragraph essays. Students practiced referencing skills as they used in-text citations to state details supporting the topic of why recess is an essential part of the school day for students.

On Tuesday, as part of our Social Studies test review, fifth graders were tasked with writing a letter to someone in government asking them to invest tax funds into renewable or nonrenewable energy sources. Charlotte wrote her letter to Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, our representative for Pennsylvania's 5th district. When her classmates heard her letter, they urged her to send it in. Charlotte asked her classmates to sign her letter along with her to mail out today. We hope to hear back from Rep. Scanlon's office in the near future!


Finally, Friday was Zayda's auction day to become gym teacher for the day. Fifth and sixth graders had a great class with her, as she led them in dodgeball, "Beat the Ball," and "Capture the Flag." When Grade 5 returned, she held a quick yoga "cool down" so that they would be ready for their Spelling test.


Of course, the consistent thought on every fifth grader's mind has been the class sleepover. The excitement has been palpable this week; the students even worked together to come up with a detailed schedule of fun activities to keep them busy all night long (!!!!)

Special thanks to the Daly family for giving the class this unique opportunity, and to Mrs. Zwilling and Dr. Kellich for chaperoning the sleepover!


Popular posts from this blog

Las Posadas

On Tuesday, we celebrated a new tradition,  Las Posadas. A holiday custom in parts of Latin America, Las Posadas  represents the journey of Joseph and Mary on their way to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus. Mrs. Kathol, Señora Vintimilla, and our fifth graders worked together to bring this exciting custom to our school. They began with a traditional Spanish carol, "My Burrito Sabanero," (video below) which they performed for their families, followed by churros that they made with Ms. Kathol that morning. As we wrapped up our morning, all students were surprised with piñatas in the gym. Our older students really stepped up to make this a memorable occasion for our younger students, with our fifth graders taking on a special role.  
Read more

Spending Time with Families

This Tuesday, our HCA students met their new family members and spent the morning getting to know each other and creating "About Me" banners to display in our cafeteria. They look forward to a year full of memories together!
Read more

Welcome back!

Happy New Year! I hope all of our families enjoyed a restful, but joyful holiday season. I am so happy to be back at HCA. The fifth grade and I have spent the past few days getting to know each other. On Thursday, the students shared what they are most looking forward to in 2019! They also stated their goals as readers and writers in the new year. We will keep these up for the next few weeks to refer back to as we continue to "dust off" and polish our language arts skills. In Social Studies, we discussed the importance of being aware of current events on a local, national and global level. Fifth grade watched today's student video for  CNN 10  and reviewed the 5W's ("& an 'H!") that make up a strong news story. They will spend the next week choosing an appropriate, newsworthy article -- on a topic of their choice -- to write and present a summary and reflection on for their first Current Events report. I'm proud of both the fifth and six...
Read more