Lynchsters Mr. Lynch's 5th Grade Class 

As of September 28, 2018, Avon Public Schools is no longer allowing teachers to use external websites so this will be my last post. Ba-bye.

Unless we’re hit with a freak snowstorm, this is an honest-to-goodness five day week of school. The first one of the school year. As of this weekend, we’ve officially moved into fall so pumpkin everything is now officially appropriate as well.

Our (optional) Bike Ride to school is on Thursday morning. I would love parents to join us so if you’re up for some early morning exercise let me know.

Students will take their first math test of the year (Unit 1: Place Value) on Thursday. I will give them a Review Packet on Monday, we’ll review in class together on Wednesday, and then students will be tested on Thursday.

Upcoming Events

Bike Ride to School – Thursday, September 27

Parent/Teacher Conferences – officially December 6-7 (but I offer other mornings all week)

Last Day of School – Wednesday, June 12 (w/zero snow days)

It was nice seeing so many parents at Open House last week. This is our first week of school having a Monday this year. However, there is no school on Wednesday for Yom Kippur.

Up until this point, if students forgot their homework, I spoke them them individually each day. Starting Tuesday, students will receive homework slips if they don’t turn in their homework in the morning (or without a name, requiring me to spend time going all CSI on the homework). The expectation is that students return the completed homework and signed homework slip the next day. If both aren’t returned, I’ll send you an e-mail to let you know.

Finally, I’ll be out of school all day on Thursday for a meeting, and then I’ll be out all morning on Friday for a teacher training (along with all fifth grade teachers).

Upcoming Events

Winding Trails field trip – Monday, September 17

Bike Ride to School – Thursday, September 27

Parent/Teacher Conferences – officially December 6-7 (but I offer other mornings all week)

Last Day of School – Wednesday, June 12 (w/zero snow days)

I hope that everyone enjoyed the weekend – an extra long one for the kiddos. We have another four-dayer this week.

Open House is on Wednesday at 7 PM. Appetizers and dessert, including tiramisu flown in from the Veneto region of Italy, will be served. Ok, that’s a lie, but we will have chocolate. Ok, that’s a lie, too. You get nothing, but you should still come. All the cool parents will be there. I hope to see many of you there, where my goal every year is to not mention anything about academic subjects whatsoever. So… what will you talk about? (you might be thinking?) I guess you’ll have to come to find out!

Friday is the Egg Drop. Parents are invited to come watch as I plunge eggs to their demise from the rooftop. It will start around 8:35 AM outside the school near the south entrance.

Very little homework trickled home the first week, but students started to receive math homework last week. As I explained to the class, I give very little homework but I do expect the homework that does come home to be completed, with their name on it, and turned in on time. If any of those things are not done, a homework slip would go home with the student that day. It is expected that both the homework slip and the completed homework is returned the following day. I haven’t started homework slips yet (although I check the homework and remind students each day if they didn’t do something), but these will begin in about a week.

Upcoming Events

Grade 5 Open House – Wednesday, September 12

Winding Trails field trip – Thursday, September 20

Bike Ride to School – Thursday, September 27

Parent/Teacher Conferences – officially December 6-7 (but I offer other mornings all week)

Last Day of School – Wednesday, June 12 (w/zero snow days)

The first week of school is down and on we go! I hope that everyone had a nice weekend of laboring and such. Perhaps more such than laboring. You should see the first Monday Memo come home on Tuesday (because there is no school on Monday this week). This should be signed by a parent/guardian and returned to school the following day.

Very little homework trickled home last week, but students will start to receive math homework this week. As I explained to the class, I give very little homework but I do expect the homework that does come home to be completed, with their name on it, and turned in on time. If any of those things are not done, a homework slip would go home with the student that day. It is expected that both the homework slip and the completed homework is returned the following day.

Open House is next Wednesday, September 12. I hope to see many of you there, where my goal every year is to not mention anything about academic subjects whatsoever. So… what will you talk about? (you might be thinking?) I guess you’ll have to come to find out!

Upcoming Events

Grade 5 Open House – Wednesday, September 12

Winding Trails field trip – Thursday, September 20

Bike Ride to School – Thursday, September 27

Parent/Teacher Conferences – officially December 6-7 (but I offer other mornings all week)

Last Day of School – Wednesday, June 12 (w/zero snow days)

Play with sound

Well…well…well… looky what we have here. We got some future fifth grade stalkers trying to find out more information about the fifth grade world. Hmmmm… Ok there future fifth graders – so you got questions. While I am definitely going to make you wait until the school year starts to find out most of the stuff your brain wants, here are a few tidbits:

Snack

It’s important to start off by discussing food because food is delicious. Lunch is at 11:42 AM. Not 11:41. Not 11:43. At exactly 11:42 AM. You can bring in a healthy snack and eat it during the morning or during the afternoon. There is no official snack time, but if you’re hungry then snack away. I really don’t care when you eat as long as it’s not a distraction. If we’re in the middle of a discussion about your favorite color crayon at 1:57 PM and you pull out a taco, good for you. Tacos are yummy. However, if you start crunching loudly and fifth graders in India and Australia become distracted by your eating habits, then your taco is going ba-bye. I might even eat it. Feel free to bring a snack on the first day of school.

Schedule

Ok, so during the course of the day we gotta do a bunch of that learning thing. Edumacation and such. You’re on the Blue Team (Team 5-3) so you’ll have me most of your day, except for when you don’t have me. When you don’t have me, you won’t have me, so those are the times you won’t have me. Duh.

You will have recess outdoors everyday at 11:17-11:42 AM (25 minutes) unless it is raining. Unfortunately, fifth graders are notorious for melting in the rain so we don’t let you get wet. Last year I think I lost three or four students who melted. I miss them. On rainy days, recess will be in the classroom. The recess area at Thompson Brook is really cool and very large so there’s plenty to do.

This schedule will most likely be changed a bit (with some of the academic classes being swapped or some days being a little different than others due to some uncertainty about science), but it will still give you a good idea of what a typical day will look like:

7:55-8:20      Homeroom

8:20-8:40     Morning Meeting

8:41-9:35       Math

9:35-10:25     Language Arts

10:25-11:15    Targeted Instruction (or Orchestra, Chorus, or Band)

11:17-11:42     RECESS

11:42-12:07    LUNCH

12:09-12:59    Language Arts (Chinese on Fridays)

1:01-1:53        Specials (Mon.-Library; Tues.-PE/Spanish; Wed.-Music; Thurs.-Spanish/PE; Fri.-Art)

1:53-1:43        Science/Social Studies

Lunch

Mmmmm….food. If you haven’t heard from older friends, the lunch at TBS has a very good reputation. We eat at 11:42 AM this year, which is SO much better than when my students ate a couple years ago. They had to eat at 10:25 AM. That wasn’t even lunch. It was brunch. Anyway, every year I hear many comments from students about how good the food is here.

Bring it.

Buy it.

That’s your choice.

Lockers

You have been assigned a locker where you will store the dozens of sweatshirts and jackets you will keep forgetting to bring home. The lockers aren’t small, but if you buy a huge backpack meant to go on an excursion up Mt. Everest then it ain’t fitting. There’s no room in the class to store backpacks (except for the first day) so it needs to fit. Every once in a while I will remind you that your locker is ridiculously dirty and make you have a tag sale or just bring everything home.

Desks

Like your locker, your desk isn’t small, but you can’t fit all your worldly possessions inside.

Your quad. Not fitting.

Your field hockey gear. Nope.

That giant instrument you play that fits in a case bigger than you. Uh no.

Your favorite beach ball. Big no.

I will help you choose the right items to store in your desk and give you time each week to do some cleaning maintenance. Those of you who wouldn’t exactly call yourself “neat” or “organized” can take advantage of these times to keep yourself organized this year.

Specials

At Thompson Brook the specials are Music, PE, Library, Art, and Spanish. You have Specials from 1:01-1:53 PM. You’ll have Health the second half the year instead of Library. I took four years of Spanish in high school and I remember how to ask a stranger where the bathroom is. Ummmm…that’s about all I remember so after a day or two of class you’ll be ahead of me.

Chinese

Chinese will be once a week on Fridays right after lunch. I don’t even know how to say hello in Chinese. Actually, that’s a lie. I just googled it. Still, that’s the only word I know so any Chinese you learn is more than the one word I know. If you speak in some type of Spanish Chinese hybrid you’ll completely confuse me.

Homework

Yup.

You gonna get it. You gonna get it good.

Actually, I don’t give loads of homework. You will have a bit more to start the year as we get going in each subject, but in general you shouldn’t find yourself overloaded with homework in my class. Unless, of course, you annoy me by spilling glitter on the floor or spilling chocolate milk on my desk. Then I’ll probably give you nine hours of homework each night.

Your weekends will be homework free. The only time you might choose to do homework on a weekend is if you have a long-term project, but that would be your call. You might also decide to do homework you made up on sleepovers with your friends, but then I would just think you’re kind of weird.

Students

So, you’re probably wondering who is in our class this year. Humans? Aliens? A combination of the two? I’m not sure yet either (I conduct alien screenings during the first week of school), but at least you had the chance to see them on Step-Up Day in Room 119, or if you’re new, then maybe you can spot the real humans when you get here.

Supplies

What supplies should I bring on the first day of school? You could never go wrong by bringing your teacher (that Mr. Lynch guy) an oak-grilled filet mignon steak (cooked medium rare, please) and served over a bed of macaroni and cheese with a red mornay sauce. Tiramisu for dessert.

But… if that’s not possible, here’s the Step up day letter Lynch 2018-2019 you received on Step-Up Day in June. Or is you’re new to Avon or new to my class – well, here ya go! If you still have the letter, good for you. If not, perhaps the backpack monster ate it. He does that sometimes. He’s mean like that.

Cats

No. You can’t keep a pet cat in your desk or locker. No one has ever asked me this before, but you never know so I just want to make it clear. No cats.

We’re down to the last 1.5 days of the school year. I hope that you have those summer plans in place because it’s here whether you’re ready for it or not!

On Monday students will have Step Up Day in the morning (where they’ll learn who their teachers are for next year and go visit the sixth grade), we’ll have our class picnic at 11:15 AM (and all parents are invited), and then in the afternoon there will be a school wide talent show. On Tuesday, students have a half day for the last day of school. On that day we’ll have a Town Meeting in the morning with a slide show of the year, followed by yearbook/t-shirt signing, and then back in the classroom for an end of the year wrap-up.

This will be the last update of the school year. Have an amazing summer!

Upcoming Events

Step Up Day – Monday, June 18

End-of-the-Year Picnic – Monday, June 18 @11:15 AM

Last Day of School – Tuesday, June 19 (w/six snow days)

This is the last full week of school. Field Day is on Wednesday this week. Keep an eye on the weather – students should be dressed weather appropriate, wear sneakers, and bring a water bottle (with their name on it). They will be outside the majority of the day. While they can still purchase lunch that day, I suggest they bring one. We normally have two lunch waves for fifth grade, but every kid buying will be doing it at once so it will most likely be a pain with long lines.

Next week students only have 1.5 days. Monday, June 18 will be Step Up Day for students in the morning, we’ll have our class picnic at lunch, and then in the afternoon there will be a school wide talent show. On Tuesday, students have a half day for the last day of school.

Upcoming Events

Grade 5 Field Day – Wednesday, June 13

Step Up Day – Monday, June 18

End-of-the-Year Picnic – Monday, June 18

Last Day of School – Tuesday, June 19 (w/six snow days)

We have a tad over two weeks left in the school year. We’ll still be going strong on the academics for the next two weeks – ain’t no letting up in my class!

We started Unit 9 in math last week – Algebraic Connections. This is the final math unit of the year. Students also took the Space Systems test in science on Friday.

Upcoming Events

Grade 5 Field Day – Wednesday, June 13

Step Up Day – Monday, June 18

End-of-the-Year Picnic – Monday, June 18

Last Day of School – Tuesday, June 19 (w/six snow days)