5th Grade

About
Expectations
Syllabus
Rules
Schedule
Newsletter

Our focus on academic, religious education and spiritual development balanced with extracurricular activities, support our mission to develop well-rounded students.

Increased focus on organization and student responsibility allows for more collaborative group work while differentiating the learning.  Switching classes for two subjects promotes these skills to  encourage personal growth among our students.

5th graders are inventors!  With our winter invention fair, students use their STEM skills to create inventions with a cross curricular process.  The planning starts with research and writing before the buying and inventing begins!

Extracurricular activities, for the first time at school, provide our students with the ability to participate in sports while still managing an academic work load.

Welcome to Fifth Grade 

2023-2024

Welcome back to school! I am excited and looking forward to working with you and your child this year. You are receiving quite a bit of information about fifth grade, but it is all important. 

~ Please read through the expectations thoroughly with your child, sign the back page, and send the page back to your homeroom teacher by Thursday, August 31st. 

~ Feel free to contact me at any time with questions, concerns, etc.

~My email is switkowski@stcletusparish.com during my office hours. I welcome communication and want this year to be successful for your child! 

~ Office hours: Before/after school from 7:30 – 4:00 pm, M-F. Correspondence after 4pm will be addressed the next school day. 

Below you will find the guidelines and expectations for an amazing year. 

Chromebooks 

Each student will have their own Chromebook. 

  1. Students are responsible for bringing their Chromebooks to school daily 
  2. Chromebooks should be charged every day. 
  3. If there is an issue with the Chromebook, please notify me immediately, so I can let tech support know and we can fix the issue. 
  4. We expect students to handle these devices with respect at all times. 
  5. Food and drinks are never to be consumed while using the Chromebooks. 

Dress Code

The dress code will be enforced daily. 

  1. The dress code policy is included in the student handbook, and can also be found on the school website. 
  2. It is recommended to periodically review the dress code with your child
  3. Two unexcused out-of-uniform citations will result in a lunch detention.

Behavior and Discipline

In our classroom, I emphasize respect, honesty, responsibility, and citizenship. Using our Religion and Growing with God curriculums as well as the 5th grade D.A.R.E program, students will continue to learn how to identify and manage their emotions and behavior. Consistent routines, clear expectations, and positive feedback are key pillars of 5th grade behavior management. 

In the event of unacceptable behavior, students will be given a warning to correct it before receiving a logical consequence. Logical consequences are ones that are relevant, respectful, realistic, and give the student a chance to learn from their mistakes. 

Oops Slips and Citations:

  1. Students whose Chromebooks that are not charged for class will be given an “Oops Slip” that will be needed to be signed by a parent/guardian. After 2 Oops slips, a lunch detention will be given for the 3rd offense. The detention will be served the following day. 
  2. When a student is out-of-uniform, they will be given an Uniform Citation slip. After 2 out-of-uniform citations, a lunch detention will be given for the 3rd offense. The detention will be served the following day. 

Homework

Math homework will be sent home each night. There will be additional assignments in Spelling, Reading, Language Arts, Writing, Religion, Social Studies, and Science throughout the school year. 

  1. It’s expected that homework is completed and turned in on the due date. If the homework is not turned in by the given due date, a 25% penalty will be given once the assignment is turned in.  
  2. Each trimester, students will be assigned a book report. Additional projects will be assigned throughout the year. 
  3. Large projects and book reports will require a parent signature on expectations of the individual project
  4. If a student is absent we are able to send that day’s homework home with a sibling or friend, upon request.

Tests

Material taught will be assessed regularly. 

  1. Students will be informed of upcoming tests several days in advance. 
  2. We will review in class, but students should be studying material learned on their own as well. 
  3. Students who do not earn a passing grade will be asked to complete test corrections. 
  4. The highest grade that can be earned after corrections are made is a C. 
  5. Test corrections are not offered for open note tests, or quizzes. 

Snacks & Water Bottle

We have a working snack in 5th grade. Please make sure you send a healthy snack for your child (i.e. fruit or veggies). 

We strongly encourage your child to have their own water bottle in class each day. 

Wednesday Envelopes

Please look out for our school’s White Envelope which will be sent home most Wednesdays to the oldest or only child in the family.  In it, you will find important reminders or FSA papers about what’s currently going on here at St. Cletus! 

Please return the white Wednesday envelopes the following school day.

Newsletters

Bi-monthly newsletters will be posted on the school website under 5th Grade detailing material being studied, school activities, etc.

Thank you for your cooperation and support with these expectations for a smooth year ahead!

~Mrs. Witkowski

5th Grade Syllabus 2023/2024

RELIGION 

Archdiocese Of Chicago, e-School 3.0 curriculum 

We Believe – Sadlier

Based on 5th grade Religion standards

SOCIAL STUDIES – Mrs. Varchetta                        

Archdiocese Of Chicago, e-School 3.0 curriculum 

Based on 5th grade standards 

LANGUAGE ARTS (Grammar/Spelling)

Shurley English – used for grammar and writing

Spelling Connections – used for spelling and vocabulary

READING 

Various age appropriate novels

Based on 5th grade Reading standards

A book report will be due every trimester 

MATH 

Houghton Mifflin-Go Math

Simple Solutions – 2 Lessons completed per week

Based on 5th grade Math standards

Chapter based books include multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and geometry

SCIENCE 

Houghton Mifflin-Science Fusion  

Based on 5th grade standards

The Invention Convention project will be introduced in November, and will be due in January.

D.A.R.E.

The D.A.R.E. program begins in fifth grade. The D.A.R.E officer from the LaGrange Police Dept. will come for 10 weeks during class to help us learn the D.A.R.E. program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education).

 

At St. Cletus, we know to…

  1. Be Respectful
  2. Be Responsible
  3. Be Compassionate

Fifth Grade News

It has been a great couple of weeks in 5th grade! October is going to be a lot of fun. We need help with our Halloween party on the 31st. Please email me if you are interested. Science: We finished up our unit on the engineering process and started learning about the states of matter....
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The Latest from 5th Grade

We’ve had such a great time in 5th grade so far! In the past couple of weeks, we met our buddies, created working cars out of cardboard, had a blast at Fall Fest, wrote amazing stories, planned a trip to Seattle, and started our science unit project. Here’s a deeper dive into what we’ve been...
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Fabulous First Week in 5th Grade

We had a wonderful first week of 5th grade! It was so fun getting to know everyone a bit more in depth, and I can’t wait to see how much this class grows! We also started our book report presentations, which have been so much fun. Rules and Procedures We learned about rules and procedures...
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News from 5th 1/29

Happy Catholic Schools Week! We are celebrating our school this week, and having lots of FUN! Thursday we will get together with our Pre-School Buddies for a special activity. Friday we will participate in the Red and White Games! Continue to read to see what we are doing in class: Language Arts: We continue to...
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News from Fifth 12/4

How can it be December already?! It feels like it was just Halloween, and now Christmas is just two weeks away! 5th grade has been a whirlwind of activities and learning. Language Arts: We are reviewing complete subject/predicate vs. simple subject/verb. We continue to learn different suffixes, prefixes, and roots and their meanings. We also...
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News from Fifth 10/30

Thank you to all Parents who made this years 1st Classroom Party a success! Everyone had SO much Fun! Here are some photos to prove it!                 Have a Wonderful Weekend! – Mrs. Witkowski
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News from Fifth 10/2

Fall has come and we are ready for sweater weather! 5th grade has been busy! Language Arts: We have been discussing possessive nouns and pronouns, and knowing when to use subject and object nouns. We have been doing some free writing on various topics, including how they would survive if zombies took over! Science: The...
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News from Fifth 9/18

Hello 5th Grade Families! We have finished our iReady Diagnostic testing for Fall, and will be working every week on our iReady Lessons. Each student will need to complete 45 minutes and have 2 lessons passed in both Reading and Math. This is required through the Archdiocese of Chicago, and students will be given points...
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News from Fifth 9/4

Hello 5th Grade Parents! Your student has settled in to our classroom schedule. We are full force into our learning and understanding of new concepts/skills. We will also be having our first quizzes and tests in various subjects in the next few weeks. Language Arts/Writing: We are reviewing the parts of speech. Each student is...
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Language