Dear Parents,

        Welcome to the fearless, fabulous and fun-tastic Fifth Grade!  I am delighted to be spending the year with your child.  September is an exciting month for both teachers and students.  It is a month of new experiences, new friends and new challenges, and most importantly,  NEW BEGINNINGS!

        In order to make this year as productive as possible, I need your input.  Please feel free to send a note or email containing any information that would assist me in getting to know your child.  You may include likes, dislikes, fears, or  sensitivities.  All of this information will be kept strictly confidential.  If there is anything else I should know that affects classroom participation, (health concerns/food allergies, cultural practices, or religious restrictions), please let me know immediately.

Here’s some general information you may find helpful. By the end of fourth grade, your child should have learned to:

• Begin to make more decisions and engage in group decision-making
• Want to be part of a group
• Think independently and critically
• Have empathy
• Show a strong sense of responsibility
• Have a greater awareness of fairness
• Be able to memorize and recite facts, although s/he may not have a deep understanding of them
• Increase the amount of detail in drawings
• Work on research projects
• Write a structured paragraph with an introductory topic sentence, three supporting details, and a closing sentence that wraps up the main idea of the paragraph
• Use quotations effectively in writing
• Use a range of strategies when drawing meaning from text, such as prediction, connections, and inference
• Correct frequently misused words (e.g. too, to, two; there, they’re, their)
• Understand more complex cause-and-effect relationships
• Add and subtract decimals, and compare decimals and fractions
• Multiply multi-digit numbers by two-digit numbers, understanding the concept of place value
• Divide larger multi-digit numbers by one-digit numbers, understanding the concept of place value
• Identify points, lines, rays, and angles in two-dimensional figures

        Together I know that we can maintain, strengthen and enhance these skills to create life-long scholars. Another thing you can do to help your child become a successful reader and meet the NYS standards, is to have your child spend at least 20 minutes each night reading.  Remember, your support is encouraged and expected.  I look forward to working with each and every one of you.  We are going to have a great year.

Regards,

Ms. D. Peronneau, 5^th Grade Teacher