Fifth Grade - Randolph

Kathryn Frazier

Brianna Carey

Ms. Mary Perez
Email: marylydia.perez@apsva.us

I have been teaching in Arlington for 23 years! I have taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade as well as English to second language learners. I am returning to Randolph after 9 years at Abingdon Elementary. I have a BA in English from VA Tech (Go Hokies!) and an MEd from Marymount University. I am married to Mr Perez and I have 2 children as well. My daughter Claudia studies archaeology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and my son Marcus is a junior at VA Tech. We have a very full house with 2 cats and 2 VERY active border collie mixes named Findlay and Skippy. In my spare time I LOVE to travel (especially to Scotland), try new restaurants, and hike with my dogs. I am a MAJOR Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fan and I love love love to READ!

Fifth grade marks a significant transition as students complete their last year of elementary school and prepare for the next phase of their education in middle school. We continue to strive to develop our students into balanced learners and to understand their roles and responsibilities as global citizens. In order to provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills for their continuing education, we not only focus on teaching important content, but important habits for students to succeed.

As readers, we will provide support to students to analyze, infer, predict, draw conclusions, interpret, and identify the main idea of more increasingly complex texts. Students will expand their repertoire of writing by producing new and various forms of writing.

Math content will build on previously introduced concepts and expose students to new ideas, skills, and strategies. As young scientists, students will explore energy and develop an understanding of how it changes and takes on multiple forms, including light, sound, motion, and electricity. Students will revisit ancient civilizations from around the world and reflect on their contributions in social studies.

Through our trans-disciplinary IB PYP units we will build connections across and between all of the content areas through our approaches to learning while also developing our learner profile attributes, including being caring, open-minded risk takers. Finally, as the culminating year of the IB PYP at Randolph, fifth graders maintain the opportunity to reflect on their learning through Exhibition. A largely student-directed process, Exhibition allows students to explore a topic of their interest and demonstrate its importance within the global community. We look forward to a wonderful year of learning!