Welcome Back! (Almost)

Welcome Letter 2018

Summer Reading reminder

There are a couple weeks to finish up your summer reading! Here's a reminder of the books with the letter we sent out at the end of the year. Happy Reading! 

Framed: a TOAST Mystery by James Ponti
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
It Ain't Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Summer reading letter

Pictures Needed

The Fifth Grade Committee will be working to put together a memory book for each fifth grader. 

Please email one baby photo and one kindergarten photo to memorial5thgradecommittee@gmail.com by February 16th.

If you are unable to e-mail the photos, bring hard copies to school with your child's name on the back.

The committee is also looking for group photos of the students throughout the years and from events this year.

Thank you! 

Open House Presentation

Take a look at the presentation if you were unable to make it last night! 

End of Year Dates

Wednesday, June 7th:             Family Picnic 6pm-8pm

Tuesday, June 13th:                Cedardale 

Thursday, June 15th:              Field Day
                                               Fifth Grade Celebration (6:30pm)

Friday, June 23rd:                   Last Day of School (half day)

Important Upcoming Dates

Spring is here, which means life starts to get even busier.  Here are some important dates that are coming up! 

MCAS: ELA April 4th, 5th, 6th

Field Trip to Lexington/Concord May 2nd

Spring Concert May 3rd 

MCAS: Math May 9th and 10th

Volleyball Game May 15th

Art Show/Pancake Breakfast May 13th

MCAS: Science May 16th and 17th

P.E. Bone test May 22nd

Field Day June 8th

Cedardale June 13th

Fifth Grade Celebration  June 15th

Help Wanted!

There are two great PTO fundraisers happening now...

1. Toast to Memorial Class Basket

The Toast to Memorial will take place on Saturday, March 11th at the Burlington Marriott. Our class and Mr. Rabazzi's class will be collecting items for a Coffee/Tea Time basket. The baskets will be raffled off at the event. If you are able to contribute, please send in items for the basket by March 3rd. A notice went home today with suggested items. Get your tickets to the Toast here!

2. Box Tops for Education

We are having a Classroom vs. Classroom competition to see who can collect the most box tops. Please send box tops in bags of 20. This is an ongoing fundraiser that will end May 5th. 

Follow along as we learn!

 

Follow our learning!  

I created a class Instagram account so that parents can follow along with our learning. This is a quick and easy way to show you what we are doing throughout the day. Here’s how you can access the photos:

• Already have an account? Follow us @memorialroom235 (I won’t follow back, as I am only following Burlington Public Schools related accounts).
• Download the app, create an account, and follow @memorialroom235
• Bookmark www.instagram.com/memorialroom235 and look at our pictures. You do not need an account for this option, so this is the best way for your children to look if they want to. (Instagram’s terms of use state that you must be 13 to create an account).

Ice Skating information

We are very fortunate that Ms. Bannon and Mr. Peterson take the fifth graders to the Burlington Ice Palace to ice skate as a part of the Physical Education program. The first session is this Thurday, January 5th. 

Here are some important reminders:

• If you are bringing your own skates, they must be in a bag. Please make sure it is a canvas bag that will not break.
• Bring a small towel to dry skates. 
• Dress warmly! (gloves, hats, etc.)
• You MUST have a helmet (bike helmets are fine) 
• Arrive on time for school, as the bus will depart promptly at 8:30.

Winter Concert Information

The music department at Memorial presents

Winter Rock 

on Wednesday, December 14th at 7pm

Attire:

Morning: Regular school clothes, but please no t-shirts with logos or words

Evening: Students should dress as though they were from the 1950's/early 60s. Some ideas for girls: full skirts, cardigans, sweaters, jeans, capri pants, leather jackets, high ponytails Some ideas for boys: jeans, white t-shirts, button-down shirts, leather jackets, varsity jackets, sunglasses, black boots, greased hair, etc.

Call time: 

Please arrive to school no later than 6:40pm. Band students report to the music room, string students to the lesson room, and chorsue who do not play an instrument to the art room at 6:50

Please note:

All 4th and 5th graders must attend the Winter Concert! 

Thanksgiving Speeches

Your children have started  to work on thankfulness speeches in celebration of Thanksgiving. We have been discussing that Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the things in life that we are lucky enough to have.  We’d like to invite you to hear their speeches and celebrate this holiday with us. The event will take place on Monday, November 21st at 9:30am in your child’s homeroom. It should last about an hour.  Any family member is invited. If you have another child at Memorial who would like to attend, please get permission from his/her teacher.

We are looking forward to this special event!

Gratefully,

Fifth Grade Team

PTO Info

Be sure to check out the PTO website to pay your dues and to sign up for the Halloween Spooktacular and I-Scream Social taking place on October 28th. This event is online registration only! 

Engineers at work

This week in science, the students were presented with a challenge to create a convenient AND environmentally friendly carrier for soda cans. They are working in design teams to come up with a plan and then create the "harmless holder" using the materials provided. I can't wait to see the progress they make!

Planning first

Gathering materials 

Where do we come from? Part 2

I apologize for the delay on Part 2! 

Paul told us about pierogies, a popular Polish food. 

Hailey is pointing out her map of Italy. 

What makes an Italian wolf an Italian wolf?!

We learned a lot about Jonathan's culture and family traditions from India. 

Emerson had a great story about her last name, which comes from Lithuania.

Where do we come from?

I often share with my students that the coolest thing about this world is that we are all different. The first assignment in fifth grade is a way to learn about and celebrate each others' backgrounds and differences. I can't take credit for this idea, as I "borrowed" it from the wonderful fifth grade teachers at Fox Hill and brought it to Memorial. Each fifth grader is responsible for creating a Cultural Identity Quilt piece that showcases the country or countries from which his/her family came. These quilt pieces are then "woven" together to represent who we are, where we came from, and that together we make one unique (and pretty fabulous) classroom community. Today was our first day sharing. I can't wait to learn more tomorrow!  

Pari shared an amazing story of obstacles her father had to overcome while in Iran. 

Ava included some words in Italian AND French. 

Evan included a picture of a typical house in Madeira. 

Jack shared a picture of an Irish castle and some popular Italian food. Mangia! Mangia! 

Brody did a great job drawing the Swedish, German, and Italian flags. 

Maddie shared with us an important landmark in Canada. (And a picture of her new baby sister!)

Nolan explained the symbolism of cracking red eggs on Greek Easter. 

More to come...

Open House

It was so nice to meet you at Open House last week. Here is my presentation if you were unable to attend.


Also, I'm working on getting the iMovies to you! 

Bournedale Packing List

Here's what you need to know about Camp Bournedale in order for it to be a successful trip! 

• Luggage should be confined to one piece
• LABEL ANY BAGS WITH NAME AND SCHOOL 
• All medications should have been noted on the school health form and signed by doctor
• Medications will be given to the nurse the morning of departure

Must Bring: 

• Comfortable clothes
• PJs
• Towel (if you plan to shower)
• Sneakers
• Sleeping bag (or sheets & a blanket)
• Pillow
• Extra empty trash bag
• Soap/shampoo (if you plan to shower)
• Toothbrush & toothpaste

Can Bring:

• Sports items for recreation time (tennis, baseball, lacrosse, etc.)
• Disposable camera

Leave at home:

• Money
• Candy/gum
• Food
• Roller blades/skateboards
• Electronics
• CELL PHONES!!

Open House info

I look forward to meeting you at

Open House tomorrow night (9/14)

6:30-7:00 grade level presentations (room 235)

7:00-7:30 all school welcome in cafeteria

7:30-8:00 repeat grade level presentations 

This night is useful for ...

• Seeing our classroom and your child's work.
• Learning about 5th grade expectations, curriculum, and events.
• Signing up for conferences.
• Signing up to volunteer for 5th grade committee.

Kindly remember that individual discussions about your child will take place 

at conferences on December 1st. 

Day One

We had a fabulous first day together. Please fill out and return the forms at your earliest convenience. Here are some highlights from day one!

What do you know about Ms. Conceison?

We love Kahoot!

Room 235 scavenger hunt. Where do you put completed classwork?

Where are the band-aids?

Our year is going to be so bright, you're going to need sweet shades!

We ended our day with a kick off party.

Here's to a great year! 

This year is going to ROCK!

I hope you are having a restful and fun summer! The beginning of the year is right around the corner. Teaching is my absolute favorite thing to do. Don’t get me wrong- I love summer: the beach, time with friends, barbecues, and good books. Reading is one of my favorite summer activities. I hope that you’ve enjoyed some good books this summer! Remember that you need to read one MCBA book and fill out the note-taking paper that you got at the end of the year. Do you need another copy of the note-taking paper? Click here!

There are some “supplies” that you’ll need to bring with you to Room 235. Please bring a positive attitude, determination, curiosity, and respect. Do you remember the sign that’s hanging in the front of our classroom? It says “It Takes All Kinds of Kinds.” This is a daily reminder that it’s important to accept and embrace everyone’s differences. We are all different, which makes this world a fantastic place!

I’d love to hear from you before school starts. Feel free to email me at mconceison@bpsk12.org. You can share some things you’ve done over the summer, what you’re looking forward to, what you might be nervous about or even some suggestions for this year. Also, bookmark our classroom blog on your computer at home if you have one.

Enjoy the rest of your summer! Soak up the sunshine. Read a good book. Laugh with friends and family. Get ready for an awesome year!

I spent a lot of time on the beach this summer. 

My favorite part was spending time

with my niece, Olivia, in Maine and on Cape Cod.