Rocketry -- Launch #1

It was an exciting afternoon at Heathcote School today! The rocketry teams in our class launched their first rocket iterations with some pretty interesting results.

This fantastic project combined design process learning along with research around Newton's Laws of Motion. Students were required to investigate the three laws as they applied to blasting bottle rockets. Based on their learning, they were able to plan, design, and create the rockets they launched today. After collecting data, they were able to discuss and troubleshoot plans for a second iteration for next week.

Though not every group had a successful launch, I was so proud of how our class cheered each other on. Every group recognized the contributions of all, and inspired classmates to try again. Our successes were class successes, and our challenges were class challenges.
We move forward by helping each other!

I look forward to seeing what our second launch brings! Many thanks to the parents who came for their patience and support. And, a big shout out to Ms. Boyer for her help and expertise! We couldn't do it without you!

 

Thanks so much for a fabulous Open House event!

It is a pleasure working with your children every day, and I look forward to a fantastic year of learning and growing together. Below, please find the link to my slideshow from last night.

Open House slideshow

"Around here, we don't look backwards for very long...we keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." 

-Walt Disney

September 2018

Dear Parents,

Welcome to 5th Grade!  Open House this year is on Thursday September 20th and I’ve compiled a list of helpful hints for you that will make the evening more informative and interesting.  So, with that in mind, when you have a few minutes please:

• Create a Twitter account for yourself - I use Twitter daily for homework, class charts and sharing  information about the children and their work. Download the Twitter app on your mobile device.  Follow us @vivianroberthe
• Become familiar with my class blog (mrsvrobert@blogspot.com). It is an excellent tool for keeping track of our curriculum and important class information.
• Sign up for Remind.com. I sent an email invitation at the end of August. This allows you to receive texts or emails  about important class-related information.
• Note the following events on your calendar, some dates TBD :

• Conference Days 11/28, 12/4, 12/6
• County Board of Legislators Trip 10/3
• Philadelphia 11/9
• NY Hall of Science 12/12
• Scarsdale Middle School music and house visits TBD
• Know that your child is required to read every night for 30-45 minutes and complete a daily log for 3, 1 month-long intervals
• Set aside a jar filled with random coins (all US coins represented) for your child to practice fractions. Knowing how coins are fractions of a dollar (parts of a whole) will aide in the comprehension of fractions, decimals & percentages later in the school year. Keep it handy & encourage practice often!
• Come prepared with your mobile device and your calendar.  

Looking forward to a successful year and seeing you Thursday 9/20!

Vivian Robert

 

Welcome to the Fifth Grade!

I am so thrilled to be joining you on a wonderful new adventure! I hope you are as eager as I am to embark on a year of learning, exploring, and discovering together.

I imagine you have spent some time this summer thinking about what your fifth grade year will be like. Like you, I have been envisioning a new year, in a new space, with old friends and new, engaging in an exciting and challenging curriculum. I have been working with friends and teachers to put together great projects, ideas, and units that we will spend the year exploring. It has been an energizing way to spend part of my summer!

I hope you have been thinking about fifth grade with eagerness and excitement as well! There’s nothing better about September than walking into your new classroom, seeing your friends, and unpacking brand new school supplies. You may even be spending some time wondering what your year will be like!  So, to get your minds ready, think about how we can help make Fifth Grade a great year for you. What will your goals be? How can we work together to achieve them? These are some year-long conversations that we will begin as soon as you arrive in September. Don’t worry about not having answers to these questions right away! Our learning experiences and reflections will be our guides to an exciting and enriching year. Every new day or experience will be an opportunity to add something special to our class.

Tuesday, September 4th will be the start of a great new academic and social experience for us all. We are going to have a fantastic year. I can’t wait for our first day together!  While you are waiting for the first day of school to roll around, I hope that you are spending some time reading, writing letters to friends, and enjoying every last minute of summer!

On the first day of school please bring in a few books (2) that you read this summer, and one that you are currently reading..  Also, please bring two current pictures of yourself.

These are the school supplies you will need if you haven’t ordered a PTA supply box:

Per Student

4 - Mead b/w composition wide ruled notebooks

2 - 70 ct wide ruled spiral nb Mead assorted colors not perforated

6 - plastic folders (purple, green, red, blue, orange, yellow)

100 - Ticonderoga pencils

1 - large glue stick

1 - pack of 3x3 post-it notes - BRIGHT assorted colors

2 - pack of 4x4 lined post-its - BRIGHT assorted colors

1 - fine black Sharpies

1 - extra-fine black Sharpie markers

2 - chisel tip yellow highlighters

1 - eight count thick Crayola markers

1 - 24-count colored pencils

1 - box Kleenex tissues

1-  box baby wipes

Love,  

Mrs. Robert

April is Poetry Month...

I love poetry. The freedom of interpretation and expression found in poetry is one of the purest delights any reader and writer can have. As we delve into poetry together this month, we will be exploring, reading, and writing poetry. Take some time to read different poets and explore your own tastes. Write on your own. Be creative - investigate craft and messaging.

Below are some links to poems you might find interesting.

Poems Kids Like
Ralph Fletcher Poems
Poems for Children
School Poems

We are so excited for our new mystery reading unit! 4Robert detectives will focus on the elements of this thrilling genre to solve the mysteries in their books...

When you post, please remember to include your name, hashtag, and page #.


The Detective Baseball Fashion Bombers
On The Run: Chasing the Falconers
Shredderman: Attack of the Tagger

The Secret Stuff Agency (SSA)
Attack of the Tagger
Showoff

The Chicken Detectives
Framed
Viking it and Liking it

The Crime Solvers
The Yellow House Mystery
The Case of the Weird Blue Chicken

The Pointless Detectives
The Secret Identity
The Lemonade Crime

The Amazing Detective Agency
The Bell Bandit
Shredderman: Secret Identity

Snow Day and Conference Day Activities: 3/21 & 3/22

Here are some activities for you to enjoy during our snow and conference days!

*Lines of Symmetry Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEro2-qcFqU

*Brainpop Video:
Poetry

*Make a hexaflexagon!
http://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/how-to-make-a-hexaflexagon-the-definitive-guide

*Make a popsicle boat!
http://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/how-to-make-a-popsicle-stick-and-rubber-band-paddle-boat

Think about some of these activities...
*Can you make a symmetrical shape with 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 lines of symmetry?
*Can you write a snow day poem?
*Can you make something out of folded paper?
*Can you make another object out of pop sticks?

USE YOUR IMAGINATION!!!
Bring one of your creations in to school on Friday for a gold coin!!!

Colonial Non-Fiction Writing

Our students are so excited to be working on their colonial information books. Their investment in this process is evident from the research and note taking they have done, to the planning and writing they are currently doing. They have been engaged in every task from the beginning, and it has been so motivating to see their growth as they learn to revise and grow ideas through the process.

These photos reflect the different stages of the writing process our authors utilized. 

 

These students are researching independently selected topics. They have ownership over their research and are motivated by interest.

 

Students collected and organized their research by topic and text structure.

Checking in on our progress. Where are we thriving? Where are we striving?

 




Students planning how their writing will go. This is an important part of thinking through and visualizing their work. It's also an opportunity to make changes and see where more research is needed.

Our work continues....

New Year Grab Bag Party!

To celebrate the arrival of 2018, the Heathcote fourth grade will be having a grab bag party for the recess cabinet on Friday, January 12th. Students are asked to bring gently used games and puzzles that have all their pieces to be donated to the fourth grade wing for indoor recess during the winter months. These games should be wrapped, so that everyone who participates by bringing in a game will get to open a game “present”. Then, the children will end the afternoon by testing out their new recess games.

It should be a lot of fun and will help keep the wing a fun and happy place during indoor lunch recess!

Best Wishes for the New Year!

Welcome to 2018! Happy New Year!

As we look to get into the swing of a new year and new week of school, our class will spend some time reviewing reading goals and strategies. We will be having individual reading conferences to reassess reading strengths and to identify areas where students might benefit from further instruction.

As always, our goal continues to be an improvement in every facet of student learning, and there is no better way than to address critical English language arts skills in the curriculum. As I did in September, I will meet with every student to inform my instruction and identify appropriate levels of text using Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessments.

Based on these assessments, each child will be receiving suggestions for just-right books at independent reading levels. Selecting and reading some books from those suggestions will allow students to practice skills introduced during the reading workshop effectively, and at the appropriate level. Over the next several weeks, please encourage your child to select independent reading books from those suggested or assigned. These choices include a wide variety of topics and genres. There is truly something for everybody, and of course, a varied reading diet allows for growth and development.