5th

Bye, Bye, Trimester 1!

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

This week, our school was buzzing with excitement as we held a mock election where students got to vote on something everyone cares about—lunch menu items! In a fun twist on democracy, our fourth-grade candidates took the stage to debate their favorite menu options in front of the whole school. Each candidate made their case for why their item should win, bringing out their best arguments and a bit of healthy competition. Our fifth graders joined in the action, taking on the role of reporters by asking thoughtful, town-hall-style questions. They challenged the candidates to explain everything from nutrition benefits to taste appeal, really putting them to the test! This experience gave all the students a taste of how elections work and showed the power of asking good questions. Many of us will be happy to see Taco-In-A-Bag on the menu in January! 

Boy does this class love to read! We have sent home magazines from Scholastic books that your children requested so they could browse any new books that have come out. Please note we will have the in person scholastic book fair the first week of December. If you want any books prior to that week, just let me know and we can very easily open up another Scholastic book order! (There is NOT a store open right now. We simply just sent home the magazines.)

Weekly Recap

Language Arts

  • Groups presented their Andrew Clements book slide show. They learned a lot about public speaking and presentation skills. 
  • We began a new class novel called Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. Ask your child what makes the main character “special.” (If you bought this book this summer with our class supply list, please make sure your child brought it to school. We will be annotating in them, so it helps to have a clean copy.)

Math

  • Continuing the skill of long division
  • Adding decimals in long division process and learned to divide money
  • Ask your child about our math Escape Room! EVERYONE escaped!

Water Science

  • Completed our Water Science Deep Dive for the first trimester by putting the claw strengths of our crawdads to the test! Look at the pictures below to see them try and snap bell peppers, crayons, and leaves! 
  • Students are working to complete presentations they will share with the fourth graders about our Stone Lab field trip, class pets, and Water Science Deep Dive 

D.A.R.E.

  • This week students focused on various forms of nonverbal communication and how to communicate effectively 
  • Students worked through various situations involving peer pressure and talked about the process they take to problem solve them

Goodbye, October! Hello, November!

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

This weekend, 5th grade students were sent home with their HOLIDAY SHOW SCRIPTS! Students should find time to read through the script and begin practicing their lines with someone at home. Practice reading the cues that lead them into their lines so they know when they are to speak. The sooner we are off book, the better! The script must return to school on Monday! 

If using Talking Points, please try to select both Mrs. Kramer and Mrs. Wallace when sending a message. We wish it was easier to communicate with both of us on this app, but while we work to find a solution for that, please be sure to specifically message us both in the mornings, especially if your message involves general information about an absence, appointment, illness, or emotion. 

Halloween in 5th grade was an absolute thrill this year! Our class worked hard to transform the side of the gym into a spooky, yet fun, haunted house for the entire school to enjoy. From designing eerie scenes to dressing up in their costumes, the students took their roles seriously and brought the Halloween spirit to life! They struck a perfect balance between entertaining their peers and staying attuned to the emotions of younger students; whenever someone felt a little spooked, they instantly turned on the lights and offered a reassuring smile. Beyond the haunted house, the day was packed with fall festivities: they led the Halloween parade with pride and even enjoyed a hay ride that all the kids loved. Watching these students step up to create a fun, safe environment for everyone was a true highlight of the season!

Classroom Recap 

Language Arts 

  • Finishing our 2nd memoir
  • Creating a slideshow of our Andrew Clements novel
  • Entering a Kindness Essay contest for the YWCA (ask your child to tell you his/her story)

Math 

  • Reviewing the long division process 
  • Continue to emphasize and enforce multiplication/division fluency facts 

Water Science 

  • Our deep dive began with discovering that 90% of Earth is water-covered, leading us to explore Lake Erie, which holds over 20% of the world’s freshwater. This week, we created a model to visualize Earth’s freshwater distribution.
  • On Halloween, students took candy from a bowl, and, for the first time in years, everyone was mindful of how much they took! We used this to discuss renewable vs. non-renewable resources and the importance of being responsible environmental citizens.

D.A.R.E.

  • Today in DARE we discussed effective communication skills and the difference between being confident, unsure, or demanding. 
  • Find ways to use our voice with our peers is a hard concept, but something we will continue to practice as we develop future leaders 

We will see you Monday! 

Katie and Kristina

Exploring Claw Power and Light: Water Science in Action!

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

Important Reminders:

  • We will be building a Haunted House for the entire school on October 31st! If you have any extra Halloween decorations at home you are willing to donate to the cause, please send them in next week! 
  • 5th grade students are to have a tech device and headphones each day. Chromebook, laptop, or tablet with an attached keyboard are acceptable. Please ensure they are charged before coming to school. If you must send a charger, make sure it is labeled with your child’s name. 
  • All 4th/5th-grade students are invited to our 6th grade Face Your Face Exhibition at the Ohio County Public Library on Monday, October 28th, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.!
  • Our next change to the normal schedule is Thanksgiving Break, November 26th at 12:30 – December 2nd at 10:00 am.

Language Arts 

  • Finishing the Andrew Clements novels for our author study
  • Creating power points to share with the class about each novel
  • Working on 2 writing contests (spooky story and the YWCA Kindness essay)
  • Both contests are on Google Classroom. Feel free to discuss and help your child work on these at home.

Math 

  • Completed a project called Snack Math where students found out how much money it costs to eat their favorite snack every day for a week. Needless to say, they were SHOCKED! 
  • Finished our unit on decimal multiplication with a test on Friday 

Water Science 

  • Our budding scientists have set up their experiments and are gathering their own data. Here’s a look at what each group is discovering:
    • Dark vs. Light Experiment: A dark environment with observation windows has been created. This group is observing the crawfish’s behavior in the dark first, then watching for their response when exposed to light.
    • Crawfish Playground: Students added a tunnel, a toy snake, a ball, a tug-of-war rope, and a climbing string. The crawfish have become noticeably more active, especially around the tunnel. One hypothesis from this group is that with the toys, the crawfish will push rocks less and engage more with their “playground.”
    • Crawfish Strength Test: This group is testing the strength of crawfish claws by providing various objects like a stick, a carrot, and more to see if the claws can snap or break them.
  • Encourage your child to share which group they’re in and talk about their hypothesis!

History 

In our fifth-grade history class, we held a lively debate between the Loyalists and Patriots, with students passionately taking sides on the events leading up to the American Revolution. Each student presented arguments from their assigned perspective, with the Loyalists defending their loyalty to the British crown and the Patriots advocating for independence. The debate encouraged critical thinking, as students used historical facts to back their positions. It was an engaging way for them to explore the complexities of the time period and practice respectful discussion and collaboration.

D.A.R.E.

This week in D.A.R.E with Officer John, we learned about stress and how it can affect our minds and bodies. We talked about common things that make us feel stressed, like schoolwork or big changes, and shared ways to manage those feelings in a healthy way. Some great tips we learned were deep breathing, talking to someone we trust, finding your happy place, and making time for fun activities that help us relax. It’s important to remember that everyone feels stressed sometimes, but with the right tools, we can handle it and stay in control!

This full week was packed with excitement for our fifth graders in their various special classes. In Spanish, they dove into learning about Spanish-speaking countries, and it was amazing to see them get curious about the different cultures and traditions. We had a lot of fun exploring maps and discussing what makes each country special. Then came the holiday show auditions with Mr. Alex, and wow, what energy! Cast list was announced on Friday and the students are so excited. We still have some tweaks to make to ensure every child has a role to play and we are almost there! Remember that the show is on December 18th at 6:00pm. They also really stepped up during our evacuation drill, setting a great example for the younger students by staying calm and focused. And to top it all off, we had yoga with Miss Kylie on Tuesday. They were fully engaged in every activity, and it made for an awesome week!

We will see you Monday! 

Katie and Kristina 

October’s Observations

Upcoming Events and Important Information:

October 22nd– Students are encouraged to wear pink to show support for Breast Cancer Awareness this coming Tuesday! Donations will be collected by classroom teachers and sent to local breast care centers.

October 31st – 9:15 AM – Whole School Halloween Parade. Students should come to school dressed in costume and bring a change of casual clothes to change into afterward. Fifth grade is also in charge of the Haunted House for our student body later that day. If you have any extra spooky or festive Halloween decorations you are willing to donate, you may start sending them in with your child. 

November 8 – Trimester 1 Ends

November 9 – Perspective Family Day. Refer a family to WCDS!

November 13 – 14 – 29 Hours of Giving! More details to come.


SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDERS: Some of you have asked if we have a class order for Scholastic books and the answer is yes! Every order you place benefits our classroom, helping us earn FREE books and resources that every child can enjoy for our classroom. Plus place an order of $25 or more and you can pick a FREE $5 book (use code READS at checkout). Orders close on October 25! We also will have the in person Scholastic Book Fair the first week in December

Shop Our Class Page:  https://orders.scholastic.com/32M7K7


Language Arts: 

  • Began literature circle groups with books by author Andrew Clements 
  • Students have a nightly homework calendar for the month of October with their assigned reading pages for their novel
  • Continuing to write our second memoirs 

Math: 

  • Continued our unit on multiplication 
  • Learned how to multiply with decimals 
  • Ask your child to figure out how much it would cost if you needed 10 gallons of gas that cost $3.46 per gallon! 

Water Science:

  • Dr. Zach Loughman from West Liberty University visited last week, leading a stream stomp where we collected crawfish. 
  • Now housed in two 10-gallon classroom tanks, our 5th-grade scientists observed them, developed testable questions, formed hypotheses, and designed experiments. Stay tuned for their exciting discoveries!

History: 

  • It is almost time for our debate! Students were broken into two groups, Loyalists and Patriots and have begun debate prep. They have been researching the historical significance of taxation and whether or not they should leave Great Britain.

We Returned from Stone Lab!

You will find all of the photos of our trip to Gibraltar Island’s Stone Laboratory at the link below!!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-4GXC1OiIJ1JXCAUxRF6dV8kvJhYcVFX?usp=sharing

Upcoming Events:

October 15th – Reimagine Middle School Night 6:00 – 8:00 P.M.

This is just a reminder that we would like to personally invite you and your child to hear, see, and feel our wonderful middle school in action for our Branch Night: Reimagine Middle School!  Join us on Tuesday, October 15, at 6:00 pm at the middle school. Please click the to RSVP for the event – WCDS Reimagine Middle School RSVP.

October 18th – Talent Show Videos due to Mr. Alex!

We are excited to announce that our WCDS Talent Show will be shared as a Viewing Party during our 29 Hours of Giving November 13th – 14th! To ensure we have videos in and compiled in time, please send all submissions by October 18th. Videos should be no longer than 60 seconds and sent to talentshow@wcdsedu.com. Please email Mr. Alex at ahill@wcdsedu.com with any questions!

October 18th – 9:00 am Coffee Conversations on Main Campus

Find the articles here: Article 1   Article 2   Article 3

October 19th – 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, Fall Campus Refresh! Volunteer for a few hours by swinging by 8 Park Road with gardening gloves to help freshen our campus. Lunch and refreshments will be provided!

October 22nd – Students are encouraged to wear pink to show support for Breast Cancer Awareness this Tuesday! Donations will be collected by classroom teachers and sent to local breast care centers.

October 31 – 9:15 AM Halloween Costume Parade! More info TBD.

Sayonara, September. See you soon, Stone Lab!

Upcoming Dates and Important Information 

  • October 7 – No school, Fall long weekend
  • October 8 – 10:00 School starts with regular before care at 7:30 am – before care ends at 9:00. Regular drop off begins at 9:00. Classrooms will open at 9:20. Instruction will begin at 10 am. 
  • October 9 – 10 –  STONE LAB FIELD TRIP! FINAL DETAILS BELOW.
  • October 11th – The video recording of WCDS 5th grade doing the Pledge of Allegiance will be on the 6 am morning news broadcast on WTRF, channel 7.
  • October 15th – Reminagine Middle School Night 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. 
  • October 18th – Talent Show Videos due to Mr. Alex!
  • October 18th – 9:00 am Coffee Conversations on Main Campus
  • October 19th: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, Fall Campus Refresh! Volunteer a couple hours by swinging by with some gardening gloves to help us freshen our campus. Lunch and refreshments provided!

IMPORTANT SCHOOL PHOTO INFORMATION

Thank you for sharing your children and their wonderful smiles and personalities with me for Picture Day this year. We had rain, sun, humidity, cool air- and a ton of smiles.  To view the photos and make a selection for printing please click the link below:

https://jessicamaxwell.shootproof.com/gallery/22485383

Once in the gallery, you will be able to navigate to your child’s grade and individual folder. Once inside their folder, please select ONE favorite image by hovering over the image and selecting the heart. This will mark this image as your favorite. Please refrain from selecting multiple favorite images as only one will be printed with your package. You have until Monday, October 7th at 12:00 pm to select your favorite image.  If you choose not to select an image, I will select the most natural pose for you.

Please note that these photos are only rough edited. Dirty faces and shirts will be fixed (within reason) once you select an image. If you have an immediate question, please contact me via call or text @ 740-296-9700. If your child was absent for picture day, the make-up day will be Thursday, October 10th. Thank you for trusting me with your wonderful kids! 

– Jessica Maxwell

IMPORTANT STONE LAB INFORMATION

Permission forms must be completed and turned in by Monday if you have not already done so. On Wednesday, October 9 we will depart for Stone Lab. PLEASE MEET AT THE MAIN CAMPUS SHELTER AT 7:00 AM. The bus will leave at 7:15 am. Students should eat breakfast prior to getting on the bus. They should have a bagged lunch for later that morning. Please also pack another bagged lunch for Thursday’s bus ride home. We will get off the bus and go straight to class so they should dress for the day that morning. Students only need pajamas, an outfit for the next day, outer layers, spare shoes, toiletries, and snacks. All sleeping items should be in a waterproof bag and clearly labeled. Students MUST be able to carry all of their personal items by themselves. Be on the lookout for Talking Points updates throughout our trip. We anticipate being back on campus around 4:30 pm on Thursday, October 10, but again, stay tuned for updates regarding a more accurate ETA. *if your child has an allergy please check your email for important information regarding allergy procedures and meals*

If sending medication with your child, remember that you agreed to send the prescribed medication in a container properly labeled by a pharmacist. Nonprescription medicine will be sent in the original container with the child’s name written on the container. You may hand these items to a chaperone at departure on Wednesday morning. 

This week in fifth grade was full of excitement and hands-on learning! A special highlight was when Miles brought in his family’s service dog, Tyson, who belongs to his brother, Max. Tyson’s visit was a fun and educational experience for the whole class. In Culture, students showcased their creativity by building ancient Roman architecture out of salt dough that they made at home—thank you for helping them with this! We thoroughly enjoyed our viewing of the Wild Robot on Friday at the movie theater with the fourth grade.

Language Arts:

  • Library books and novels are complete and turned in for a grade
  • Many students are beginning their 2nd memoir. 

Math:

  • We continued with our “Order of Operations” lessons
  • Introduction to “exponents”
  • “Pop Quiz” to check for understanding 

Water Science:

  • We had a mini geography lesson on the 5 Great Lakes and their importance. 
  • Students enjoyed seeing pictures of last year’s 5th-grade class at Stone Lab as we reviewed what to expect on the trip and answered questions. 
  • Next week we will welcome West Liberty University back for a “stream stomp” before leaving for Stone Lab! 

A huge thank you to all the families who made Special Person’s Day so memorable! We loved having your special guests join us for the day. Our students had a blast showing off their math skills during the scavenger hunt, writing silly Mad Libs, and sharing the memoirs they’ve worked hard to revise. The childhood interviews were a big hit, and we were so impressed with everyone’s creativity as they designed unique leaves for our communal 5th-grade tree. We truly appreciate the time and support you’ve given to help make this day so special for our students!

Have a fantastic Long Weekend and we will see you on Tuesday at 10:00 am. 

-Katie and Kristina 

BBQ Bonanza!

Upcoming Dates and Important Information 

  • October 3rd: Special Persons Day! 1:00 – 2:45 pm. Details Below!
  • October 4 – Field Trip to movies. Please send $10. Details Below. No aftercare. 
  • October 7 – No school, Fall long weekend
  • October 8 – 10:00 School starts with regular before care at 7:30 am – before care ends at 9:00. Regular drop off begins at 9:00. Classrooms will open at 9:20. Instruction will begin at 10 am. 
  • October 9 – 10 –  STONE LAB FIELD TRIP! Permission forms and more details to come. 

Special note: 

  • Please make sure your child has a healthy snack for 10am. They should also have breakfast prior to arriving at school each day. A request for food at 9:00 am prior to snack time is disruptive to our learning.
  • Good choices: protein bar, cheese, yogurt, fruit, vegetable, hummus (heavy on the protein, light on the sugar)

Special Person’s Day is coming up on Thursday, October 3, from 1:00-2:45 PM. During this special event, students will have the opportunity to hear from the head of school, create craft projects, and rotate through various stations related to our 5th-grade year thus far. It promises to be a memorable afternoon for our students and their special guests. Please complete the form below to RSVP for any attendees that will accompany your child. 

https://forms.gle/oPP1PcrWGvnZXzDe7

We plan to take the 4th and 5th grade students to see The Wild Robot movie on the morning of October 4th. Please have your child arrive at school by 8:15 on Friday. That day is an early dismissal and we plan to return by 11:30 or slightly after. We are asking for each child to pay $10, which includes the movie, popcorn, and a drink. Please send in either cash or check for the $10 by October 3rd. 

Language Arts:

  • Continuing free choice library book, working on writing the setting, characters and main problem (ask your child to tell you these details about their story)
  • Writing Workshop- writing a conclusion from the head or heart (ask your child which he/she chose)

Math:

  • Completed and corrected our Decimal Place Value test. Look for your child’s test in their yellow folder to view their work and corrections.
  • Beginning our unit on multiplication! Students should be practicing their multiplication fluency facts daily until they are mastered. They have access to a program called Xtra Math online that is to be used once a day and tracks their progress.
  • Practiced multiplication rounding and estimation with mental math. Ask your child to help you estimate the cost of gas based on how many gallons! 

Water Science:

  • Dr. Karen Kettler and zoo sci student, Katie, from West Liberty University joined us for an afternoon of learning! Students rotated through 5 stations to improve observation skills. 
  • Each station focused on one sense (sight, touch, sound, smell) with the final station using all our senses to observe another special guest – Clementine, a corn snake! 
  • Thursday we dove deeper into observations to learn two types – objective and subjective. 

This week was full of excitement and celebrations! Our class enjoyed a well-deserved BBQ and hat day after winning the Boots for Buses raffle, thanks to the amazing support from our families. A big thank you to the parents who attended the BBQ and generously contributed tickets to our prize pot—it truly made this event possible! In addition to the BBQ fun, we wrapped up the week with a special concert on Friday afternoon, performed by talented students from West Liberty University. This was our first opportunity at leadership skills as it was the first whole school assembly of the year. Fifth graders were paired up with 1st graders to be their buddy for the show. It was a fantastic experience, and we are grateful for the opportunity to enjoy such wonderful music! 

We hope you have a wonderful weekend. 

Katie and Kristina 

Boot, Scoot, and Boogie!

Upcoming Dates and Important Information 

  • September 23rd – WCDS 1st-5th Grade Student Fall Pictures! Students may wear what they’d like. 
  • September 26th: Join us on main campus for Coffee Conversations @ 2:00 pm! (This is a time to chat with the Head of School, faculty, other families, and discuss parenting, education, and current trends. A short article will be shared beforehand via Talking Points, if interested.)
  • September 27th: Freedom Friday for SK – 5th grade (Casual dress and pizza for lunch!)
  • October 3rd, Save the Date for Special Persons Day!
  • October 4 – Field Trip! More information below.

Boots for Buses! We hope to see you on Saturday night at our fundraiser! The fifth grade class took turns drawing colorful sketches on our boots, each representing a symbol or memory they hold near and dear to their hearts of WCDS and the winter holidays. Our boots are adorned with a tree covered in handmaid ornaments by the fifth grade class. If you look close enough at the base of the tree, you will find four FRONT ROW tickets to this years upcoming holiday show! Bid on our boots this Saturday night to lock in your front row view for what is sure to be a phenomenal evening this December at our annual 5th grade Holiday Show! Date and Time still TBD.

We plan to take the 4th and 5th grade students to see The Wild Robot movie on the morning of October 4th. We know that the current 5th graders enjoyed the series last year, and the 4th graders are working hard to finish the book in time to see the movie. We are asking that all children come to school early that day. Please have your child arrive at school by 8:15 on Friday, October 4th. That day is an early dismissal and we plan to return by 11:30 or slightly after. We are asking for each child to pay $10, which includes the movie, popcorn, and a drink. Please send in either cash or check for the $10 by October 3rd. 

Language Arts:

  • Worked on “Explode the Moment” technique (ask your child what that means)
  • Began reading our library book and filing out the book report form. Please make sure your child reads 10 pages per night
  • First spelling test
  • Introduction to Nouns (ask your child to name 5 nouns around your house).

Math:

  • Began subtracting decimals
  • (Practice simple subtraction facts in the car! 16-7, 12-5 etc)
  • TEST on DECIMALS  on Tuesday, Sept. 24
    • Place value, rounding, comparing, ordering, adding and subtracting
    • Students have a study guide that is due on Tuesday morning before the test

Water Science:

  • The other half of the class had their turn at kick nets to collect macroinvertebrates. Over the past two weeks, we have collected 16 different species. 
  • Unfortunately our collections and observations have shown a drastic decline in our creek’s health in a week. Increased algae has decreased dissolved oxygen levels which led us to find many of the sensitive macroinvertebrates, like stoneflies, damselflies, and mayflies dead. (along with several fish) 
  • While we can’t control the weather, we can help assist with the creek’s flow. Thursday we collected nearly 20 gallons of garbage from the creek and removed limbs, leaves, and rocks to allow the water in the creek to flow freely. 

5th Grade goes North!

Upcoming Dates and Important Information:

  • Sunday, September 15 – support a WCDS family:
  • September 20 – Early Dismissal at 11:30 am – Aftercare available until 3:00 pm. 
  • September 21 – Boots for Buses   6-9pm @ WCDS Main Campus Courtyard

WCDS families get to know one another and our WCDS faculty!

Purchase your event tickets here: https://www.betterunite.com/

Purchase a Meat Raffle ticket here: https://www.betterunite.com/

(Jacob & Son’s gift card: 1st prize $500, 2nd prize $250, 3rd prize $100)

https://www.betterunite.com/WheelingCountryDaySchool-countryroadsbootsforbuses

  • September 23rd – 1st -5th Grade School Pictures! Students may wear what they’d like. 
  • September 26th – Join us on main campus for Coffee Conversations @ 2:00 pm! (This is a time to chat with the Head of School, faculty, other families, and discuss parenting, education, and current trends. A short article will be shared beforehand via Talking Points, if interested.)
  • September 27th – Freedom Friday for SK – 5th grade (Casual dress and pizza for lunch!)
  • October 3rd – Save the Date for Grandparents’ Day!

Parent Partnership Meetings: If you did not sign up for a Parent Partnership meeting yet, please do so using this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18kHTQfavbTOim8vzDI_tC9T7aTvqaFf6841azha7eDc/edit?usp=sharing

CAR DUTY: Fifth graders are our WCDS ambassadors that help young children get in and out of the car in the morning. Students were asked if they want this duty and those that did were assigned a Car Duty day. This does not mean they have to get to school any earlier, but when they do arrive, they can go straight to the gym door to help open doors. They will report to class at 8:45. Their schedule is as follows.

Monday: Bo, Greyson, and Kaya

Tuesday: Braelynn and Jackson

Wednesday: Carter, Helena, and Levi

Thursday: Chad, Isabelle, and Preston

Friday: Gavin, Justine, and Sero


Language Arts:

  • Completed Aimsweb testing on Tuesday and Wednesday
  • We finished our No Talking class novel this week.
  • During our wonderful library trip, the students each picked a free choice novel to begin on Monday. We will be reading each day for the next couple weeks with a book report to follow.
  • We hope you enjoyed the I am From poetry. We will continue working on our memoirs next week.

Math:

  • Amidst Aimsweb testing, we reviewed our understanding of decimals and their place value 
  • We continue to practice rounding whole numbers and decimals as this seems to be a skill worthy of a more in depth review for the class 
  • You may see students on a website called Boddle. It was introduced following Aimsweb testing and is a math gaming program students can play on their own time to practice and hone their skills.

Water Science:

  • The class divided in half to review macroinvertebrates and to begin collecting samples from our creek. 
  • The kick net crew used nets to gather samples and identified several macroinvertebrates. (Those that did not use kick nets this week will use them next week)
  • During their visit to Northern, we discussed watersheds and how the water from our tributary flows into Big Wheeling Creek, then the Ohio River. We made models to help us “see” watersheds. 

D.A.R.E:

  • Students discussed age appropriate drug information and responsible decision making 
  • Children learned the negative effects of alcohol and tobacco 

This week, Levi, Gavin, and Sero made an announcement to the school community at our Monday Morning meeting. They discussed ways in which the students can help keep our campus clean while practicing their public speaking skills. Nice job, boys! We also had a Show & Tell visitor this week, Gavin’s cat, Boo! It was also an eventful week in Spanish, as Mrs. MacAteer brought in paw paws for us to try.

Our day at the Downtown branch campus was incredibly special. The Ohio County Public Library put on a “book tasting” for our fifth graders, giving them the opportunity to explore various books from different genres. Mrs. Kramer took one for the team and rented each student a book on her library card! We will keep them in the classroom for our Independent Reading work the next few weeks. However, the students couldn’t be stopped! We allowed for a few moments of quiet reading time so they could get a jump start on their library books. We took a class walk to the playground and spent our lunch time with the middle schoolers on the quad of West Virginia Northern. We had gym class in the college gym and finished our day with Science with Mrs. Farris. How incredible is it that we get to still have a school day while immersing ourselves in all the Downtown Wheeling has to offer?

We hope you have a wonderful week – see you Monday!

Katie and Kristina

“No Talking” in Fifth Grade

  • September 10 & 11th – Aimsweb Testing on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings
    • Help ensure a fully charged computer. 
    • Students should have a good breakfast and quality sleep prior to testing.
  • September 12 – 5th Grade to WV Northern Branch Campus. Details Below! 
  • September 20 – Early Dismissal at 11:30 am
  • September 21 – Boots for Buses Fundraiser – More details below! 
  • September 24 – 5th Grade School Picture Day
  • October 3 – Grandparent’s Day

*Please be sure to sign off on your child’s FRIDAY FOLDER.*  This lets us know that you saw its contents and ensures that it has been emptied for the week ahead.

The Ohio County Public Library has invited all of the students at WCDS for a field trip and program to kick off the school year. The fifth grade will take the first trip to our West Virginia Northern branch campus on Thursday, September 12, so we can attend the program at the library while still having a full academic day in our WCDS downtown classroom. Students are to be dropped off at the branch campus beginning at 8:15 am. Pick up will begin at 2:45 until 3:30 pm.

Boots for Buses – September 21st from 6-9pm @ WCDS Main Campus Courtyard: WCDS families enjoy BBQ, beverages, s’mores, games and most importantly – meeting other WCDS families! Check your child’s yellow folder for raffle tickets, but they can also be purchased online. 

Buy your ticket here: https://www.betterunite.com/WheelingCountryDaySchool-countryroadsbootsforbuses


Language Arts:

  • Continuing our class novel, No Talking
  • Writing “I Am From” poetry
  • Ask your child about “Free Write Friday!” 

Math:

  • Continuing to enhance our understanding of decimals and their value
  • Began learning how to add decimals 
  • Practiced rounding decimals to various place values 

Water Science:

  • Students became raindrops to mimic how turbidity increased with rainfall and discovered the importance of plants. 
  • We built on the student’s creek survey to learn the next step – the collection of aquatic macroinvertebrates. 
  • Carter was a good sport and transformed into our class macroinvertebrate. First, he was an insect. Then we added special adaptations that macroinvertebrates have to survive. 

History:

  • We discussed the British influence on the foundation of the United States 
  • Students learned how taxes and lack of representation matter in historical situations 

D.A.R.E:

Our 10 week DARE class with Officer John began on Friday. We will cover a variety of topics within this class, starting off with decision making and how our actions and choices have consequences. D.A.R.E stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education and is a program in which 5th grade students across the country participate. We will continue to meet every Friday to discuss a variety of in depth topics, all with Officer John. Tentatively plan for an in person DARE Graduation in ~10 weeks from now!

Thank you to Parker Wolle and his dad who brought in their pet snake, Pretzel, for Parker’s Show & Tell. The class loved learning about this amazing creature and got them even more excited for our Stone Lab field trip. Throughout this week, students also had Music, Art, Spanish, PE, and Drama. In Drama the children had class time to prepare a one minute silent play to an old school lullaby of their choosing. It was a great time had by all and you can see that the pictures say a thousand words!

We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Katie and Kristina