Parent-Teacher Conferences

Conference Time is Almost Here! Please check PT Wizard to confirm your appointment!

A note about conferences....

  It is hard to believe that in a few short days, October will be behind us! That means that before we know it, it will be report card and conference time. When reviewing the report card, please keep in mind that grading is based on fifth grade standards. It may look very different from your child's fourth grade report card. It is not uncommon for students moving up in the grades to find that skills they once seemed to have well in hand, require renewed attention and maintenance. This is important information that lets us know as parents and teachers that students are still growing and emerging as learners, and as the requirements for mastery intensify, so does the need for goal setting. This is the first of three report cards and the hope is that each subsequent report card will reflect improvement.

  When your child's report card comes home, please take some time to review and discuss it positively and with encouragement. It is important for your child to know that he or she is supported and progressing. We are all working together toward improvement!

I look forward to seeing you at our scheduled conference time.

Rocketry Launch #2

We are excited to post that our second launch was as successful as our first!
With parents looking on, our class launched rockets on Thursday that were redesigned with the goal of achieving even greater launch height. By selecting one variable (nosecone, fins, body diameter, etc.) to change, teams were able to modify their rockets based on observations and height totals from their first launch to identify areas of improvement. Students took body design into account but knew that there were also outside factors like weather and data collection accuracy that affected their outcomes.

Here are some highlights from our second launch...

Rocketry -- Launch #1

It was an exciting afternoon at Heathcote School! 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 launching paper rockets. Based on their learning, they were able to plan, design, and build the rockets they launched today. After collecting data, they will discuss and troubleshoot plans for a second iteration for next week.

I was so proud of how our class cheered each other on. Every group recognized the contributions of all and inspired classmates to imagine even more impressive results for our next launch. Our successes were class successes, and any challenges we encountered were met by the entire group.
We move forward by helping each other!

I look forward to seeing what our second launch brings!