Fifth Grade Highlights

Fifth grade is known as the “Transitional Year”.  It is the year that takes the student from the grammar school years into the middle school years.  Typically, it is a year of significant strides in social and personal development.  The fifth grade teachers work together closely to ensure the maximum amount of progress and growth possible for each and every child.  Instruction in organizational, decision-making, and research skills enables students to assume responsibility for more independent learning.  Life-skill development is enhanced by teaching the Discipline With Purpose Program that works with such skills as communication, initiating solutions, and resolving problems.  Our educational program places emphasis on academic excellence as well as use of all modalities in education.  The following is a brief listing of the core academic areas:

   Religion          

Ø                   Learning about the sacraments is central to the religion curriculum.    

Ø                   Heavy emphasis on self-reflection, spiritual goal-setting, and personal prayer

Ø                   Weekly Mass and weekly Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Ø                   Opportunity to be trained as altar servers

Ø                   Planning and participation in class Masses

Math     

Ø                 Our math program, Saxon Mathematics, is an extremely structured and successful program

Ø                 Participation in Continental Math League and Mathfax competitions

              Social Studies

Ø                 Focus is American History through the Civil War

Ø                 Participation in National Geographic Geography Bee

Ø                 Research contracts

Science

Ø                             Emphasis on hands-on approach to science with activities such as making  edible cells, creating mazes, and even making        ordinary household items into interesting chemical compounds.

Ø                             Competing in Science Olympiad and Science and Computer Fairs.

         Language Arts         

Ø                 Goal of the reading program is to promote a life-long love of reading.

Ø                 McGraw-Hill Integrated Reading and Language Arts program

Ø                 Class studies of quality children’s literature supplement the basal reader.

Ø                 Project Success Enrichment writing, literary analysis, and visual art strategies

Ø                 Sustained Silent Reading

Ø                 Accelerated Reader Program is in place to improve comprehension.

Ø                 Bookademics competition fosters comprehension and cooperative learning.

Ø                 Participation in WordMasters Analogy Contests and Language Arts Olympiad

Ø                 Promotion of extracurricular writing opportunities such as the Young Authors’ Conference

Ø                   Extensive classroom library in addition to the school library

Ø                   Participation in Modern Woodmen of America Oratorical Contest

 Additional Points of Interest

Ø                 During weekly computer lab classes taught by classroom teachers, students produce projects related to classroom learning using various multimedia programs.

Ø                 Weekly music and art classes

Ø                 Weekly Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and weekly Friday Mass

Ø                 School counselor available to students and parents

Ø                 Availability of a learning resources program that provides both tutorial and remedial help

Ø                 Fifth grade language arts teacher is a national certified trainer for Project Success Enrichment.