Mrs. Belanger’s 5th Grade Class Welcome Students!

Welcome to 5th Grade! This is an important year for you! Please take a moment to watch the PowerPoint Presentation. Once you are finished, please take a moment to go through the checklist that is on your desk. Finally, make sure that you find your mailbox and bring home your mail.

All About Me My Background I was born in Stevens Point, WI and moved to Muskegon when I was in 5th grade. I attended St. John’s Catholic School, 1st- 5th grade. I then attended Mona Shores Schools 5th- High School. I graduated from WMU with my teaching degree in December of 1993. I graduated with my Master’s Degree in Technology from GVSU in April of 2006. My Experience I’ve been teaching for 18 years. I have only taught 5th grade and I love it!

Philosophy of Learning Mrs. Belanger’s Philosophy of Learning The learning environment must be comfortable, set up for success and reinforced positively in order for students to increase self-esteem and self-motivation. All students can be successful in understanding basic concepts when exposed to a variety of learning modes. Hands-on activities, cooperative learning groups and meaningful content pertaining to real-life experiences assist in helping students achieve goals both in school, as well as in society. These varied experiences aid in the development of critical thinkers both independently and within a group.

Goals To give you the academic tools you need to progress to 6th grade. To provide a supportive learning environment. To have fun while we learn. To make new friends and discover new interests.

My Family My Husband My Children Connor (12yrs. old) Scott My Children Connor (12yrs. old) Bryson (8yrs. old) Our Pet Dog, Barkley

BRYSON

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Geography We will be using maps and atlases to answer weekly Atlas questions.

Math We will be focusing on: multiplication and division of 2 and 3 digit numbers measurement conversions addition, subtraction and multiplication of fractions with like and unlike denominators how to solve multi-step story problems.

Reading We will be reading a variety of genres including: mysteries, poetry, folktales, realistic fiction, biographies, and non-fiction. We will be reading in a variety of ways: independently, small group literature circles, whole group instruction, paired-shared reading, choral reading and plays. We will be incorporating the Daily 5 into our LA time.

Social Studies Mrs. Sylvester will be your Social Studies teacher. You will have Social Studies on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Some of the topics that you will cover are: Explorers, 13 Original Colonies and Branches of Government.

Science Mrs. Ellis will be your Science teacher. You will be going to Science on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Some of the topics you will cover are: Solar Systems, Body Systems, Heredity and Motion/Energy.

Conjunctions Adverbs Grammar/Writing Some of the areas we will be focusing on in grammar are: complete sentences and correct use of all parts of speech. You will be writing personal narratives, research reports, book reviews, poetry, friendly letters and journal entries. Adjectives Verbs Nouns Prepositions Pronouns

Library Mrs. Duff is our Librarian. She will be available to answer any questions you may have when checking out books. You will go to Library on Tuesday. We will be checking out Accelerated Reader books and/or book report books every week. Please make sure you bring back all of the books you checked out on time.

Art Mrs. Snoeyer is your Art teacher. You have Art on Thursday at 1:55 PM

Gym Mrs. Goodwin will be your Gym Teacher. You have Gym on Friday at 1:55 PM. Please make sure you have an appropriate pair of shoes to wear in the gym. You may keep a pair of gym shoes in your locker.

Technology Mrs. Hackney will be your Technology teacher. You have Technology Class on Monday at 9:55 a.m. Some of the topics you will cover are: how to use Microsoft Word, Internet resources and PowerPoint when creating presentations.

Music ? will be your Music teacher. You have Music Class on Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. You will be learning Patriotic songs throughout the year.

MRS. BELANGER’S CLASSROOM RULES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Be Respectful To Yourself and Others. (Practice Life-skills and DO NOT give Putdowns.) 2. Use Active Listening. (Listen with your eyes, ears and heart.) 3. Be Prepared and Ready To Learn. (Follow procedures and study, study, study.)

Homework Homework Policy- Your child will have homework Monday through Thursday. It should not take your child more than 45 minutes to complete. Sometimes “projects” will take extra time, but we always give the students work time to begin working on their projects and assignments. Our purpose for nightly homework is to teach responsibility by EXPECTING it to be completed and RETURNED THE NEXT DAY. Homework that is not returned and completed will be marked down ten percentage points each day that it is late.

Tardiness Bell rings at 8:20 a.m. Students who are not in the classroom by 8:30 a.m. will be asked to go to the office to receive a tardy slip.

Field Trips We will be going on the following fieldtrips throughout the school year: Maple Ridge One-Room School House: October 3, 2012 Seminole Shores Nursing Home: December (specific date to be determined) Chicago: April 26, 2013 Whitecaps Game: May/June (specific date to be determined)

Let’s Have a Great Year!