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 1:30 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 Red Team (Team 5-2) 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 11:17-11:41 AM (24 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 (Chinese will be in this slot on Wednesdays)
9:35-10:25 Language Arts (math one day a week)
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 Science (possibly three days a week)/Math Lab (one day a week)/Language Arts
1:00-1:51 Language Arts
1:53-1:43 Specials (Mon.-Spanish/PE; Tues.-Art; Wed.-PE/Spanish; Thurs.-Library; Fri.-Music)
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 last year. 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 1:53-2:43 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
We’ve never had Chinese at TBS before. I know you’ve taken it before, but you are the very first fifth grade class to have Chinese. Chinese will be once a week on Wednesdays right after Morning Meeting. 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.
Monday – Thursday you’ll have homework and as a general rule, your weekends are 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 111. That’s our room – 111. It should be easy to remember. If not, you probably hate the number one. I hope that you someday get over your hatred.
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 2017-2018 you received on Step-Up Day in June. 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.
