Mrs. Hart has moved to a new website! Please visit the most recent class information here.
Monday, August 14, 2017
Monday, September 26, 2016
Fall Conferences
Hopefully, you've had a chance to sign up for a fall conference and have received a confirmation email. I will also send home a reminder as the day draws near. Sometime before our conference together, please take a moment to complete the following questionnaire. This will help me to address any concerns that you may have during our time. If you have questions, please email me. Thank you and I look forward to talking with you!
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Welcome Westmere Class of 2017!
You've made it to 5th grade! I'm so excited to be your teacher in your final year at Westmere. We're going to have a great year of learning, growing and exploring all the while preparing for your transition to middle school. Be sure to read my summer letter that was also mailed home to you. This letter includes your first assignment for 5th grade! See you on the first day of school!
PARENTS: Please take a moment to complete the parent information form below. This information is only for me and lets me know the best email for you and I to communicate throughout the year. Thank you and I look forward to meeting you at Back to School Night on Thursday, September 15th.
PARENTS: Please take a moment to complete the parent information form below. This information is only for me and lets me know the best email for you and I to communicate throughout the year. Thank you and I look forward to meeting you at Back to School Night on Thursday, September 15th.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Farewell Class of 2016
Farewell, Class of 2016! I will miss you so much. Best of luck at FMS and have a wonderful summer.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Seesaw Rocks!
I'm so excited how many of you have responded to our Seesaw invitations. The kids and I are loving sharing our work with you and being able to comment and "like" our classmates' work. If you haven't yet had the chance to connect with us, please do so now, you're missing all the fun!
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| https://blog.seesaw.me/hartattacks/ |
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Rounding the Corner
This time of year as the sun gets higher in the sky and the breeze has a sweet scent to it, it feels like we're rounding the corner of our 5th grade year. To do lists are getting longer and the calendar is filling up both at school and at home. We aren't quite in the home stretch as we still have a few projects to finish, units to get through and books to read but, each day, we're getting closer to the end.
Here are a few updates that I wanted to share with you:
The NYS ELA test is set for this week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). We are beginning the exam first thing in the morning each day, promptly at 8:00 AM. Please make every effort to make sure your child is at school, with a belly full of breakfast and a well rested brain. The tests are untimed this year so everyone has as much time as they need to do their best.
The NYS Math tests are set for next week (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday). The start times are the same (8:00 AM) each day.
I know these can be stressful days for all but I make every effort for the kids to stay positive, motivated and working hard. Homework will be a bit lighter as we will not have word study for the next couple of weeks and we are not switching for Social Studies and Science. Please expect Math review homework though.
One of the things I struggle with each year is how to show off all the wonderful work your children do in writing workshop each year. You will certainly see many of the projects your child has completed at our end of year showcase but we want you to be in the loop all year. Ms. Richardson and Mrs. Martone taught the staff about SeeSaw, a digital portal where students can share all kinds of school related material with fellow classmates, teachers and parents. It operates like an academic Instagram or Facebook and so far, we LOVE it. An email was sent home last week about how to access your child's journal. Please let me know if you're having any trouble or didn't recieve the email. You can even share your child's journal with other family members! Thanks for your patience as we continue to experiment with this wonderful learning tool. Visit our Seesaw blog to see our public published pieces!
Here are a few updates that I wanted to share with you:
State Tests
The NYS ELA test is set for this week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). We are beginning the exam first thing in the morning each day, promptly at 8:00 AM. Please make every effort to make sure your child is at school, with a belly full of breakfast and a well rested brain. The tests are untimed this year so everyone has as much time as they need to do their best. The NYS Math tests are set for next week (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday). The start times are the same (8:00 AM) each day.
I know these can be stressful days for all but I make every effort for the kids to stay positive, motivated and working hard. Homework will be a bit lighter as we will not have word study for the next couple of weeks and we are not switching for Social Studies and Science. Please expect Math review homework though.
SeeSaw
End of Year Important Dates
If you haven't marked your calendars yet, please add the following very important 5th grade events
- 4/8- End of 3rd Quarter Marking Period
- 4/12- 7:30 AM; Maturity Video Parent Viewing in Mrs. Close's room (letter sent home last week)
- 4/14- 3rd Quarter progress report (comments only) available on SchoolTool
- 4/21-4/22- Maturity program for 5th graders happening during the school day
- 4/21- Bronx Zoo permission slip and money due at school ($20 per person)
- 4/25-4/29- Spring Break!
- 5/12- 5th Graders to visit FMS during the school day (details to follow)
- 5/20- 5th Grade Luau (drop off with permission- details to follow)
- 5/27- No School
- 5/30- No School
- 6/3- Bronx Zoo Field Trip
- 6/21- 5th Grade Picnic (volunteers needed!!)
- 6/22 Moving Up Ceremony & 5th Grade Open House in classroom (details to follow) 8:30 AM-10:00 AM; 11:30 Dismissal
- 6/23- Last Day of School! 11:30 Dismissal
Saturday, December 5, 2015
News Flash...November?!
When I realized how many Fridays have actually passed since my last News Flash Friday, I couldn't actually believe it. Since then, heritage projects and celebration have come and gone, fall turned to winter and our thoughts turn to the holiday season. We've been BUSY everyday in 5th grade. Here's what we've been up to.
Math- We are finishing up Module 2 and our end of module test is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8th. This module's focus was in multi-digit multiplication, as well as introducing students to long division with two digit divisors. The students practiced expressing the answer in a division problem as a quotient and a remainder or adding zeros to the dividend to express the remainder as a decimal. Please encourage your child to practice, practice, practice using one of the many tools available to them through Guilderland. Next up, module 3 which is all about adding and subtracting fractions.
Reading- Our first unit of determining themes in fiction was long and detailed and the students produced some amazing thoughts while reading many chapter books. This unit culminated in a book clubs and some members are still reading books that they choose together. The skills we learned in this first unit were the foundation of skills that we will use for the remainder of the year. We are currently in the middle of a non-fiction unit. The major emphasis is helping your child get themselves to work to raise their level of fluency, understanding and reading of more challenging nonfiction texts. We're reading books, news articles, info-graphics, speeches and more all while studying how text features and structures effect a readers understanding and ability to get information from nonfiction. The culmination of this unit will be a self selected research feature article (plus on other type of nonfiction visual presentation) on a topic of choice.
Writing- Much of the month of November was spent finishing heritage. We've recently dived in to the world of book reviews. The students spent some reading book blogs and reviews to determine what reviews are made of and what they typically include. Then, they wrote two of reviews of their own of a book they finished this year. From there, we jumped onto Blogger and the students created their very own book review blogs. Ask your child what the web address is to their blog! We then designed mini posters to hang in the hallway with QR codes so that friends in the building can visit the blogs for book recommendations. The kids had a blast being creative and authors of their very own blogs! Next up, nonfiction feature article writing and presentation.
Word Study- We began word study this past week. This year, the program will continue to focus on learning patterns of spelling but all children will be exposed to grade level words including new vocabulary words that fit the pattern that we are working on that week. There are various classroom and homework activities throughout the week. Assessments will be given on Fridays and students will also be responsible for looking for words that in their own writing that fit the patterns we are studying. Our goal is to expose your child to more difficult words as well as teaching them skills to figure out these words both in meaning and in spelling.
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| Look for multiplication and division strands |
Reading- Our first unit of determining themes in fiction was long and detailed and the students produced some amazing thoughts while reading many chapter books. This unit culminated in a book clubs and some members are still reading books that they choose together. The skills we learned in this first unit were the foundation of skills that we will use for the remainder of the year. We are currently in the middle of a non-fiction unit. The major emphasis is helping your child get themselves to work to raise their level of fluency, understanding and reading of more challenging nonfiction texts. We're reading books, news articles, info-graphics, speeches and more all while studying how text features and structures effect a readers understanding and ability to get information from nonfiction. The culmination of this unit will be a self selected research feature article (plus on other type of nonfiction visual presentation) on a topic of choice.
Writing- Much of the month of November was spent finishing heritage. We've recently dived in to the world of book reviews. The students spent some reading book blogs and reviews to determine what reviews are made of and what they typically include. Then, they wrote two of reviews of their own of a book they finished this year. From there, we jumped onto Blogger and the students created their very own book review blogs. Ask your child what the web address is to their blog! We then designed mini posters to hang in the hallway with QR codes so that friends in the building can visit the blogs for book recommendations. The kids had a blast being creative and authors of their very own blogs! Next up, nonfiction feature article writing and presentation.Word Study- We began word study this past week. This year, the program will continue to focus on learning patterns of spelling but all children will be exposed to grade level words including new vocabulary words that fit the pattern that we are working on that week. There are various classroom and homework activities throughout the week. Assessments will be given on Fridays and students will also be responsible for looking for words that in their own writing that fit the patterns we are studying. Our goal is to expose your child to more difficult words as well as teaching them skills to figure out these words both in meaning and in spelling.
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