Lynchsters Mr. Lynch's 5th Grade Class 

The Unit 2: Division test in math will be on Friday. There will also be an extra, optional review session before school on Friday morning at 7:30 AM for any student who chooses to attend. Students will receive a Review Packet on Monday and we will go over it on Wednesday (with an extra day for review built in on Thursday).

Last week we had some fun Halloweenish activities put on by our hard working room parents. Students worked in teams and completed estimation and Minute to Win It challenegs. A big thank you to Sanna Reynolds, Leslie Cifaldi, and Jen Zbell for organizing the festivities.

On Friday we went to the More Than Money conference at Aetna. Students participated in lessons on businesses and money (with great math tie-ins) with other fifth graders from around the state. 240 fifth graders were in attendance.

After a five year hiatus, I reestablished a Book Buddy program with one of the first grade classes over at Pine Grove. Our classes will be partnered up, and each student will have a little buddy he/she is matched up with. Our first visit to see our Book Buddies will take place on Friday, November 20 when we walk over to Pine Grove.

Finally, Parent/Teacher Conference sign-up instructions went out about a week ago via SignUp Genius. If you have not signed up or need me to resend the instructions please let me know. The Conferences are officially on Thursday, December 3 and Friday, December 4, but I also opened up slots every morning that week as well.

Upcoming Events

Book Buddies – Friday, November 20 @ Pine Grove

Parent/Teacher Conferences – Thursday, December 3 – Friday, December 4

Last Day of School – Tuesday, June 7

On Thursday we’ll have some educational and cooperative Halloweenish activities put on by our hard working room parents. This will begin at 1:30 PM, and I know that the room parents were searching for some volunteers to help out. If you are available, please reach out to them, or let me know and I will pass on your name to them.

On Friday we go to the More Than Money conference at Aetna. This will be an opportunity for students to participate in lessons on businesses and money (with great math tie-ins) with other fifth graders from around the state. Students who ordered deli lunches will have those provided to them at Aetna. (Those were free.) However, if your child opted not to order a lunch he/she needs to bring one that day.

We are now two weeks into the Junior Achievement lessons with Mr. Reynolds, and the students are really enjoying them. The fifth grade program is called Our Nation. The lessons are taught by Mr. Reynolds, and these will continue after the More Than Money conference as well.

Upcoming Events

More Than Money Conference – Friday, October 30

Parent/Teacher Conferences – Thursday, December 3 – Friday, December 4

This week we will continue our dive into the world of division. Just a word of warning to all you mathophiles out there, I will be teaching them both the traditional method and the partial quotients method of division. At the end of the day (test included), students could solve the problems whichever way they want to. It’s like a new vegetable – I make them try it, but if it tastes nasty they could spit it out. Exposing them to more than one method will give them a better number sense of how the whole thing works. Most kids just believe it’s some sort of magical witchcraft and the right answer just needs the right spell. The real question I try to get them to understand is this: how does the spell (in this case, division) work?

Last week, we had our first Junior Achievement lesson of the year and it went very well. The fifth grade program is called Our Nation. The lessons are taught by Mr. Reynolds, and he’ll be joining us for several weeks of these both before and after the More Than Money conference.

Upcoming Events

More Than Money Conference – Friday, October 30

Parent/Teacher Conferences – Thursday, December 3 – Friday, December 4

I hope that everyone enjoyed the long weekend with the kiddos. Our trip to Sturbridge Village went very well on Friday. It was a perfect fall weather day, and the rain held out until our bus ride home.

Students took the Unit 1 Math Test last week, and they will start Unit 2:Divide Whole Numbers on Tuesday. This is a lot shorter than the first math unit so it won’t be six weeks until the next test, like it was for Unit 1.

On Thursday, we will have our first Junior Achievement lesson of the year. The fifth grade program is called Our Nation. The lessons will be taught by Mr. Reynolds, and he’ll be joining us for several weeks of these both before and after the More Than Money conference.

Upcoming Events

More Than Money Conference – Friday, October 30

Parent/Teacher Conferences – Thursday, December 3 – Friday, December 4

The entire fifth grade goes to Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts on Friday. Students need to bring a lunch, and there is a good chance they will carry it around for a while so I recommend a tiny backpack (like the drawstring ones). For this trip, I also suggest that everything is disposable so students have less to carry after lunch. Sturbridge is a large property and there is a lot of walking. Sneakers are a must. Electronics are allowed on the bus, but once we arrive at the village, the electronics must disappear. Finally, there will not be any gift shop visits so money is not needed.

We finished the first math unit on Friday. Students will work on a Review Packet in school on Monday, finish it up for homework, review in class on Tuesday, and take the test on Wednesday. I also offer an optional, extra math review on Wednesday morning at 7:30 AM for anyone who wishes to attend. The first session is usually filled with hoards of angry children forced to attend. Based on past experience, once they realize it’s actually very helpful, the majority will actually want to come back for future review sessions. There are a few math videos on the math section of this website pertaining to the unit, but I also shared with students (in their Google Classroom account) a large collection of fun math games related to the unit. Just by playing them, they will be doing a form of studying.

Upcoming Events

Sturbridge Village – Friday, October 9

More Than Money Conference – Friday, October 30

Parent/Teacher Conferences – Thursday, December 3 – Friday, December 4