Everything Matters in 5th Grade

Since the journey on the Nile and study of the Human Body, students in grade 5 have traveled East to study about Ancient China, explore Matter and its Properties, and Forces in Motion.  These experiences took many forms from experiments in the laboratory, classroom, reading, research, videos, sketches, to songs- their favorite being “the Atom Family” and “Pi-nomite”. Their Science fair projects dealt with how to reduce bacteria, growth of mold, earthquakes, and electromagnetism. March 14th, International Pi Day, was devoted entirely to pi.  They read about the history of pi,  calculated the circumference of cookies, tables, and anything they could find, sang the Pi-nomite song and many other activities.  In celebration of Earth Day,  guest speaker, Mr. Jesse Pavlick, an environmental engineer, spoke to the class about sustainable building, life, and, school in a Mozambique village.  After his slide presentation,  he helped the students build solar ovens in which they cooked pizzas.  The class also raised money to plant a garden and trees  around the school with the Seedling Club.  Another favorite hands-on experience involved working first hand with Newton’s laws of motion, with  Pinewood Physics teacher, Jordan Paschalidis, as he demonstrated his rock-climbing gear, pulleys, and harnesses. 

Monica Varsakopoulos
Grade 5 Teacher