Faubion SchoolMary Harbolt ( Fourth/Fifth Blend)
4th/5th Curriculum Presentation
Happy New Year
and
Welcome to our class webpage!
Here you will find class procedures, updates, announcements, and copies of classroom newsletters. If there is anything you wish to see added to this webpage, please feel free to email me at mharbolt@pps.net .
Homework Schedule
Mondays:
Reading Assignment - due Friday * See letter below regarding reading assignments.
Spelling Study Sheet - due on Friday
Tuesdays:
Math Review - due Wednesday
Spelling Study Sheet - due Friday
Wednesdays:
Science Review - due Thursday
Spelling Study Sheet - due Friday
Thursdays:
Writing Review - due Friday
Spelling Study Sheet - due Friday
Friday:
Spelling test today!
*Dear 4/5th Families,
Reading well is a key to success in school, on state and national tests, and in life in general. I would like to invite you to help me to help your child become a better reader. It’s simple. All you have to do is help your child with one short homework assignment each week.
Each Monday, your child will have a short reading homework assignment that asks you to listen to your child read out loud and assist in answering a few comprehension questions. Included in the brief instructions will be a hint, or tip, that you can use to help your child with the assignment. When you finish the assignment, just sign at the bottom indicating that you did, indeed, listen to your child read out loud and helped with the questions.
That’s all there is to it!
Please contact me if you have any questions concerning these weekly homework assignments. The first lesson is attached and is due back by Friday. Thanks for all your assistance in helping your child achieve their reading goal!
Sincerely,
Miss Harbolt (503) 916-5686
COPIES OF CLASSROOM COMMUNICATIONS!
September 9, 2011
Dear Fourth and Fifth Grade Families,
Welcome to a new school year. It has been a pleasure getting to know your child this week.
Here are a few helpful announcements:
Homework – Many families are wondering when homework will begin. My plan is for homework to officially begin the week of September 19th. Students will have various assignments with different due dates to get them use to the rigors of middle school deadlines. More detailed information will follow, but as for now – while one or two math pieces may come home this week, the “real” homework will begin arriving September 19th.
Specials’ Schedule – Monday we have Counseling where the students learn about life skills and recognizing and reporting bully behavior. Tuesday and Thursday is PE and Wednesday and Friday is Integrated Performing Arts. Please help your child dress appropriately for their Specials like tennis or running shoes for PE.
Contacting me – While I love seeing families after school, I often have meetings right at 3:00. For example, every Monday is a mandatory meeting at 3:15. Sometimes the meetings are at different schools and I need travel time. If you need to have a conference whether long or short, you can pop in and if my schedule allows it, we can have a chat or you can email me at mharbolt@pps.net. Please put your child’s name in the subject line so I can protect it from PPS’s SPAM blocker. Don’t forget, you can also call the school (503-916-5686) and leave a message. I enjoy and appreciate all family involvement, so don’t hesitate to contact me in anyway. (Thank you to the families who have already stopped in or written me a note.)
Curriculum Night – On October 5th there will be an evening Curriculum Night to answer questions about curriculum, school and classroom management/policies, school and state assessments/standards, and any other curiosities you may have regarding Faubion or our classroom.
Thank you for all your support this year. I’m looking forward to a fun and educational school year!
Sincerely,
Mary Harbolt
Bulldog Barker Articles
Differentiation is the word in the fourth and fifth grade blend!
-Mary Harbolt 10/11
Not all students are alike; especially in a blend. In order to meet the needs of every learner, we will be using assessment and data to drive the instruction in our blend. Students will be provided various learning settings from independent and partner work to small or large flexible groups. We’ll be setting academic goals with reading, writing, and math. Instruction will give the students the tools they need to meet their individual goals. So what are we doing with our differentiation this fall? We are studying animal and plant life cycles, food chains, food webs, and adaptations needed to survive in various ecosystems. We’ll be learning about fact and opinion, cause and effect, sequencing and summarizing, genres and author’s purpose in our reading groups. In writing we’ll be learning how to write Character Analysis essays. Of course we’ll be focusing on conventions and using multi-syllable descriptive words like miserable instead of sad. The students are also going to get better acquainted with the thesaurus. Math is a new curriculum called Bridges and we’ll be learning together how to use this curriculum to meet our math goals. Stay tuned for future Bridges updates!
Fearless Fourth/Fifth Graders!
- Miss Harbolt 11/11
If you visit the fourth/fifth grade blend during writing time, you’ll see our fearless fourth and fifth graders working together to become fabulous writers. Students take turns sharing their work up on the document camera so we can practice our editing and revision skills. It takes a brave soul to let others see your writing and allow them to offer ideas and support. However, in the fourth/fifth blend, we know that becoming a better writer means using the life skills of Effort, Perseverance, Pride, Organization, Patience, Resourcefulness, Problem Solving, Sense of Humor, and COURAGE! Writing starts every day at 10:15 and you are welcome to participate in our editing and revision lessons.
Fantastic Fourth/Fifth Grade Faubion Families!
- by Miss Harbolt 12/11
“Thank you!” to all my families who attended conferences or rescheduled and will be attending a conference. It was great getting to see how everyone cares about working with the school to give each child the best education possible.
