Welcome to Mrs. Waters's Classroom!
WELCOME TO MRS. WATERS'S CLASSROOM!
Contact Me: (717)944-9462 pwaters@ldsd.org Class Dojo app
Fifth grade is an exciting year! We are going to work hard, have fun, and expand our horizons. New challenges this year include everything from dividing fractions to collecting and identifying macroinvertibrates. We will interpret poetry, write a research paper, and learn when to use "me" and when to use "I." By June, you'll be able to convert measurements, describe mixtures and solutions, identify states and capitals, and perform all kinds of mental math. We will use songs, dances, hands-on investigations and real-world questions and problems to guide our learning. Art, coding, engineering, public speaking, mysery-solving, puzzle-breaking, and humor will all be featured throughout the year. Yes, you'll do homework (almost every night, but only a few minutes' worth most nights), but it will never be "busy work"!
Special Opportunities
While we will try to have fun and learn all year, there will be a few special experiences that are sure to be highlights:
Washington, DC field trip
We travel to our nation's capital in October to explore various monuments, memorials, and museums. There is nothing like an up-close view of the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, carved from a mountain of stone. Students get a chance to see a preserved 30-foot squid, the enormous and mysterious Hope Diamond, and the Wright Brothers' original plane. They can sit on an old-fashioned bicycle, tour authentic space craft, and stroll through a sculpture garden filled with optical illusions.
Winter concert
All students perform songs in our December concert as part of the 5th grade chorus (and a combined chorus with second grade students) Students may also choose to participate in Select Choir, and those who take music lessons will play a few selections with the band or orchestra.
Outdoor Education Week
Every May, fifth graders spend a few days/nights at Camp Hebron in Halifax, PA. We sleep in cabins, eat food cooked over a fire, hike a mountain, learn about topics ranging from wilderness survival to stream studies, and enjoy recrational activities like archery and horseback riding. The week is an opportunity for students to learn and challenge themselves in a completely different way from the academic focus of the classroom.
Fifth grade is our last year of elementary school before moving on to the middle school.
Let's get everything out of it we can!