November 2016

The class newsletter written and published

by Mr. Phams Fifth Grade Students - Class of 2017
For past newsletters, please go to www.mrpham.org

On this Thanksgiving occasion, we are thankful for:

- OUR PARENTS. WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!
We also would like to express our sincere appreciation to these Wonderful
People for helping our class and our teacher tremendously during the first
Quarter of school:
- Our Principal, Mrs. Hall, and Our Assistant Principal, Mrs. Fields.
- The Office Staff: Ms. Beatrice, Ms. Sharyn, and Ms. Tai.
- Mrs. London, Mrs. Morales, Ms. Attaway, Mrs. Stafford, Mrs. Hughes,
Mrs. Adams, Ms. Andersen, Nurse Lien.
- Mrs. Yolanda and the Cafeteria Staff.
- Mr. John, Mr. Andrew, and the Custodial Staff,
- Mr. Matt, Mr. Steve and the Student Supervisors Staff.
We are deeply thankful for your support. We promise to try our best in
school and not disappoint your expectations for us.
Have a wonderful Holiday Season.

Mr. Pham's Fifth Grade - Room C7


2nd Quarter
Progress Report
went home on Thursday, November
17, 2016. Please look over and either
encourage your child to continue
doing good work or talk about trying
harder from now until the end of the
quarter (January 13th). Ive called
home to talk to those parents that
wanted to discuss further about the
report. At anytime you want to talk to
me, please send a note, email, call, or
stop by the classroom after school.
Parent-Student-Teacher
Conference
PST conferences continues the week
after Thanksgiving. Thank you to those
parents whove responded to the
conference request. It was wonderful
talking to concerned parents. If possible,
please also allow your child to
accompany you and be in the meeting
with us. After all, they are the most
important person and the sole reason
for the conference.
Hope to see and talk to all parents.
Accelerated
Reader Program
AR is a school-wide reading program
that helps students to become better
readers. Its not new to the students and
they know what they must do. However,
a lot of students are not achieving 50%
of their goal at the half point of the
quarter.
Please take a look at the AR update
included with the progress report and
encourage your child to read for at least
30 minutes everyday.
Thank you for your continuing
support at home.
Anti-Bullying
Awareness
Through education and awareness, students will be able to help
themselves to deal effectively and positively with the act of
bullying and its negative consequences.
Bullying is a learned behavior. Most experts agree that there are
three components that make up the "bullying" behavior.
A difference in power between those being hurt and those doing
the hurting.
Repetition of the hurtful behavior.
Intentional hurtful behavior towards the individual.
There are many different kinds of bullying they all hurt! These
include:
Hitting, kicking, pushing, shoving, threatening, name calling,
gossiping
Bullying can make someone feel unsafe or scared
Bullying can be verbal
Bullying can be physical
Bullying can be social (shunning, ignoring or leaving someone
out on purpose)
Bullying can be in the form of cyber-bullying (through the
information and communication technologies of the Internet and
smart phones)
Bullying can be relational
Bullying can be in the form of making someone feel that they are
not important.
People who bully think that it makes them important. But it really
just makes them mean.
Bullying should not be considered a "normal" part of life.
November
Character Counts!
TRUSTWORTHINESS
Be honest; Don't deceive, cheat or steal;
Be reliable-do what you say you'll do;
Have the courage to do the right thing;
Build a good reputation; Be loyal--stand
by your family, friends, and country. Sukhpreet Tony
Sukhpreet and Tony will be recognized in our class for showing
the Character TRUSTWORTHINESS at the end of November.
 P.E. Update: Physical Fitness
All 5th Grade students will have to
Take the Physical Fitness Testing
program at the end of the year. The
PFT consists of running a mile, push
ups, curl ups, sit ups, and shoulder stretches.
We have been practicing our mile running at the
beginning of our P.E. times. We will start the other
exercises to get ready for our trial run in December.
We want to do these fitness events correctly and
building up our bodies for the grueling test in April.
Sports Jersey Day
On Thursday, November 10, Rio
Calaveras had a Jersey Day where
you can where your favorite sports
teams jersey. We each wore a
different jersey of our team. Mr.
Phams favorite football team is the
Dallas Cowboys in which he received a lot of boos from
the students. It was a lot of fun wearing team jerseys.
Music Students 16-17
Strings: Estrella, Alexandra, Ciara, Daniel, Tony, Liyah, Gissele
Turkey Laughs
Why cant you take a turkey to church?
- They use FOWL language.
Who doesnt eat on Thanksgiving?
- A turkey because it is always stuffed!
What kind of music did the Pilgrims make?
- Plymouth Rock
What did baby corn say to mama corn?
- Wheres pop corn?
Events and Happenings in Room C7
Science
Technology
Engineering &
Mathematics
Our class has been incorporating Technology,
Engineering, and Math into our Science program. We
focus on these areas together not only because the
skills and knowledge in each discipline are essential
for student success, but also because these fields are
deeply intertwined in the real world and in how
students learn most effectively.
So far, we have done 2 projects: Levitating Ball and
Sun Dial. In December, we will bring our STEM
knowledge to the primary classes and help young
students learn what weve learned.
Rio Calaveras offers students a wonderful
music program led by Ms. Andersen. In our
class, 20 students signed up since the
beginning of the school year. There are a
variety of instruments to choose from. The
music students go to music class twice a week
for 45 minutes each time.
We are very happy that Rio Calaveras
gives us an opportunity to expand our minds
into the arts. We promise we will practice our
instrument everyday.
Band: Natlia, Luke, Matthew, Mike George, Jaden, Salim, Christopher
Top row: Oscar, Alexander, Tristika, Giselle, Yasriyah, Eric
Thanksgiving Riddles
answers
1. 9 turkeys left of course! All but nine!
2. The word WRONG is spelled the
same in every dictionary.
3. rib, jaw, gum, hip, arm, lip, leg, eye, ear,
and toe.
4. What side of the chicken has more
feathers? The outside!
5. Papa Bull. There is no Mama Bull.
6. 4 sheets. 111, 112 is only one sheet.
7. There are 6 chestnuts on each side, making
the total answer of 12.
WINNER: AVANT
7 correct answers
Room C7
December fun
In the month of December, our class will
celebrate the season with these activities:
1. Secret Santa. We will pick names of our
classmates and everyday we will give clues and
little treats to them secretly and let them guess
who is doing it. On December 15th, we will
reveal Secret Santas and give each other a little
present. Its going to be fun.
2. Christmas Cards. We will be making
Christmas cards to give to our parents.
3. Finally

6 correct: Tristika, Tony

5 correct: Yasriyah, Christopher
4 correct: Natalia, Daniel, Sukhpreet
3 correct: Liyah
Use one or two letters of the alphabet to answer
each of the clues. Some has been done for you.
Winter Carnival
Our Class Winter Carnival will
be on December 16, 2016. All
parents are invited. Although our
classroom is small, if you have a
moment, please come visit our
class and have fun with the
students. You can come anytime
between 10:00-12:00.
We are glad to have you.

1. Not difficult EZ
___________
2. Body of water ___________
3. An exclamation ___________
4. An insect ___________
5. Something to drink T
___________
December 8 Giselles Birthday
6. A vegetable ___________
December 9 Ciaras Birthday
7. A question ___________
December 13-14 Class Talent Show
8. A girls name ___________
December 14 Erics Birthday
9. A plant or vine ___________
December 16 Yasriyahs Birthday
10. Native American home ___________
December 16 OUR CLASS
11. Good-bye ___________
WINTER CARNIVAL
12. Body part used for sight ___________
Dec. 19-Jan. 2 Winter Break
13. Radio announcer ___________
14. Cold ___________
December 21 Alexanders Birthday
15. A pronoun ___________
December 22 Tonys Birthday
December 25 Merry Christmas
Mr. Phams Birthday