Grade 5, Room 15 - Miss Kathleen Whoriskey

Email:  [email protected]

I attended Saints Simon and Jude School from 2nd grade through 8th grade. I graduated  Summa Cum Laude from Cabrini College in 2004 with a degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education. I taught for 16 years at Sacred Heart School in Oxford. During my first year of teaching in 2004, I taught Kindergarten. That was followed by 14 years teaching 2nd grade. I then felt the need for a change, so I moved up to 5th and 6th grade where I taught Religion, ELA, and Social Studies for a year before joining Saints Simon and Jude in 2020. I taught 6th grade Science and Religion as well as 7th and 8th grade Social Studies for the 2020-2021 school year at SSJ.

I love reading, writing, and history, so I'm really looking forward to teaching 5th grade ELA and Social Studies again!

WELCOME TO GRADE 5

WELCOME TO GRADE 5

Goals
Fifth grade is a very exciting, transitional year at Saints Simon and Jude School. Students embark on a new journey as they begin to switch classes for the first time and see various teachers each day. Throughout the year, fifth grade students further develop their relationship with God, their study skills and organizational strategies, their ability to work independently on tasks in and out of the classroom, their social skills, and their ability to advocate for themselves. They develop an overall confidence as students.  The independence that students develop in fifth grade will prepare them for their journey into middle school.
 
Expectations

1. Homework is given on a nightly basis.  It may be written, studying, or both. All homework should be completed on the night it was given.  It is the responsibility of the student to write down their homework from the whiteboard everyday and to check Google Classroom each night.  All materials and homework must be brought to class on the day it is due.  The final step of the homework process is bringing the assignment back to school the next day!
2. Gradebook: You may view current grades using your assigned user name and password on Option C.  Both students and parents are encouraged to check the gradebook often.
3. Please sign your child’s test papers that are below a 90%. A test score of 90% or above is  rewarded by not needing a signature.  All other test scores require signatures.
4. Conduct Calendar:  Behavior should be conducive to learning at all times. Please look at your child's conduct calendar.  A signature is required when a mark appears on the calendar.  Accumulated marks may result in detention.  Please refer to the school handbook for details on this and other school policies.

Curriculum

Math

• Here is a sampling of the topics we will be studying this year:
• Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of whole numbers to the billions place
• Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of fractions and decimals
• Geometry topics (including how to read and use a protractor)
• Measurement topics using the customary system and the metric system
• Volume
• Coordinate grid
• Reading graphs

Religion

Fifth grade’s main focus is to study, learn and realize that God gives us His life and grace through the seven sacraments. Here is a sampling of other topics that are also discussed:

• Lives of the saints and steps to a saint’s canonization
• Prayers and devotions such as the Holy Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet
• Discussion and study of the Ten Commandments
• Locating Scripture verses, writing them and learning verses by memory
• Participating and leading the school Masses and the school’s Stations of the Cross services

Science

The Science curriculum includes discussions, classwork, reading, and labs on the following topics:

• How scientists work to find answers and what tools they use to do this
• The engineering process
• Cells to body systems
• Ecosystems
• Rocks and fossils
• Earth’s oceans
• The solar system and universe
• Matter and energy
• Light and sound
• Forces and motion

English Language Arts (ELA)

Social Studies