Back to School Night 2014-2015 Welcome to 5th Grade! Mr. Linfante and Miss Pachucki T.E.A.M. Together Everyone Achieves More

Contact Information E-mail: jlinfante@obps.org cpachucki@obps.org Telephone: (732) 290-3881 We Are a Super Class!

Language Arts Literacy *Throughout the year your children will be actively involved in reading and writing. This helps them to gain prior knowledge about what they are writing, as well as helps them use what they’ve read as an inspiration for their own work. The lessons we generate will incorporate other subject areas for a cross-curricular experience, which gives your child a stepping stone to learn to think critically and creatively. They will connect their everyday experiences to the material they are learning, and in addition, they will also connect with others – through discussion, peer conferencing and sharing – they will learn to become better speakers and listeners. The students will have a writing component everyday as a DO NOW/ Startup activity, whether it be writing a journal entry and expressing their ideas, or completing a Daily Language Review sample in which the students are challenged with incorrect sentences and asked to correct them independently. These activities not only improve your children’s’ language skills, but also enhance their general literacy. During the course of the year, we will also touch base on many different genres of writing and the writing process will become a familiar guide for the students to follow. The different genres we will for example: Descriptive Persuasive Narrative Expository Poetry Research

Math *Math In-Focus is the program that we are continuing to use throughout the district. Students will always be given a week’s notice before a test is announced, in addition to 1-2 days review in class. During class, students will always be presented with a DO NOW or opener activity, in addition to reviewing prior knowledge skills using Calendar Math. This program is also aligned with the state test. Students will also participate in center work, cooperative learning, and project based activities to enhance their understanding of the material. Please expect that in addition to textbook work, students also have a workbook or worksheets that will reinforce the content they learn in class. These materials can be accessed from THINKCENTRAL, a site in which the students will also have the information in their planner. ThinkCentral https://www-k6.thinkcentral.com/ePC/start.do  Username: 5 Password: obps5

Social Studies, Science, and Health *Social Studies is taught by Miss Pachucki *Science is taught by Mrs. Sullivan Health instruction is provided by students’ homeroom teacher. Students will always be given a week’s notice before a test is announced, in addition to 1-2 days review in class. Students will also participate in lab inquiry in Science, in which they make predictions, research, collect data, and present their findings. They are expected to work collaboratively in groups, and will also participate in several projects throughout the year for all subjects.

Homework *Please review your child’s homework every night to see that it has been done to the best of their ability. We cannot help problems we cannot see. Each evening, you can expect your child to arrive at home with his or her homework written in the assignment notebook. Each day, all assignments are written on the board, and multiple times during the day students are asked to copy this information into their assignment notebooks. Please review this information daily with your child, as we may staple notes home occasionally in this space. Also, please feel free to use the assignment notebook to write notes for us, as well. Together, we can help your child succeed positively at school. Agendas will be initialed during the first few months to assure things were copied correctly from the board. Please sign the homework agenda every night as recognition of the homework assigned. Homework Website ¨ Visit http://www.oldbridgeadmin.org/ ¨ Click on Schools®Elementary®Cooper ¨ Under Quick Links on the left hand side, click on Teacher Sites®Cooper 5th Grade Site

Calendar Additional communication tool between school and home, along with agenda, take-home folder, and parent portal. Used to identify if students are missing assignments, misbehaving in class, etc. Parents are asked to review nightly, and sign weekly to indicate they have seen students progress. A calendar with six circles will result in the student missing out on the monthly reward. Students who miss homework can earn back their circle by making up the assignment, however agendas not signed daily, being unprepared for, and demonstrating bad character will not be excused.

Take-Home Folder * The folder will contain all papers that are graded from the previous week. Please go over the papers with your child and make sure to sign and date the form upon your review. Your child’s work can remain home, but please make sure your child brings the folder back to school for future work to be sent home. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s work, please send it back with a note and we will respond to you promptly. In addition to the Take-Home folder, parents can also check their child’s progress on the Parent Portal.