This weekly update from Grade 5A at CDNIS summarizes the students' activities from the past week, which included two days of rehearsals for a performance, a field trip to a landfill, and viewing a documentary. It also provides information about upcoming units on sharing the planet in social studies and decimals in math. Parents are asked to review and sign assessment forms being sent home and to check the classroom blog for photos from the performance and important reminders.

1. JANUARY 14, 2011
W E E K LY U P D A T E
GRADE 5A @ CDNIS
“Let’s Make it Happen” and Happy New Year
Dear Parents,
Wow, what a week!
• Two full days of rehearsals in the LLAC on Monday and Tuesday
• An absolutely stunning performance put together and delivered by the Grade 5 students
• A field trip to the SENT Landfill in Tseung Kwan O
• A viewing of “Sparrow Village”
• Applications being sent home for the annual Grade 5 Zigen trip to Guizhou Province
Your children really have experienced a wide range of learning engagements over the past
week. In addition to that, we have started our new unit, “Sharing the Planet.” You can find
below the Unit Update. It’s also been posted on the blog along with the two summative
assessments; the hard copies of these assessments have been sent home with your child
today. Please read them carefully, discuss them with your child and return them on Monday
with your signature.
In Math we are working to conclude our investigations into fractions. Students are
creating their own summative assessments to demonstrate their understandings. We’ve
brainstormed a list of possible tasks, such as poetry collections, posters, interviewing
fractions, short stories, reference books, “How To” manuals board games, and more! We’ll
start our investigations into decimals very shortly.
In Literacy, we’ll begin looking at the language features and organizational structures of
recounts next week. For some more information, check out the Literacy link on our blog.
Photographs from Tuesday’s performance have been posted. Thanks those who have
provided some pics for the slideshow. If you have any that you’d like to contribute, by all
means send them to me and I’ll include them in the blog.
Please note the reminders on this blog. There are many important dates and notifications
about which you should be aware.
Kind Regards,
DJ MacPherson
donaldmacpherson@cdnis.edu.hk & http://sites.cdnis.edu.hk/teachers/donaldmacpherson//