Mrs. Smith's Fifth Grade ELA Class
Welcome to Our Class Page
Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year! I am thrilled to be your child's fifth grade English Language Arts teacher. We are embracing our school wide "Level Up" theme by encouraging students to grow as readers, writers, and thinkers while building confidence and independence.
At Chelsea School, we want each and every student to know they are valued and that they hold tremendous worth. Our school is built on the foundation of our three core values~ Respect, Responsibility, and Caring. Both students and teachers work towards these values daily. We also believe in fresh-starts and new beginnings. Let's make each school year special by believing in a growth mindset and by unlocking your child's true potential. We can accomplish this by working together. This school year will be a success on their educational journey!
Use this class page as an extension of our classroom to stay informed. It contains important dates, reminders, homework, the quarterly curriculum standards, links, and other essential information about what's happening in our classroom, school, and district.
Please check back often! Each school day's activities and homework assignments will be featured in the "Week at a Glance." The standard ELA homework is to read for a minimum of 20 minutes per day at home. Please encourage reading! We will also have occasional reading response homework.
E-Learning Plan
The purpose of an emergency E-Learning plan is to provide for a continuation of learning and engagement for all students when conditions require that school cannot be in the building. Students will receive instruction through digital resources, and it would count as attendance days without the need to add emergency days to the end of our school year.
If an E-Learning Day is necessary, we will be utilizing the fifth-grade schedule.
See E-Learning attachment at the bottom of this page.
Important Days
Friday, October 9th - Institute Day No School
Monday, October 12th - No School
Friday, October 23rd - End of Quarter 1
Monday, October 26th -Field Trip
Friday, October 30th-Fall Party
Theme Thursdays at Chelsea
Let's make school days even more fun! Students are encouraged to join in our upcoming Theme and Spirit Days. Participation is always optional, but we would LOVE to see our Tigers show their school spirit. They can also show Chelsea pride by wearing our school colors of maroon and gold!
October 1st
Workout Wear Day-Ready, set, go! Come dressed in your favorite athletic or workout wear. It could be sweats, joggers, jerseys, or sport apparel.
October 8th
Superhero Day-Every Tiger has a superpower! Dress as your favorite superhero or wear a superhero shirt. No cape? No problem. Come dressed as the superhero version of YOU!
October 15th
Football Fandom-Are you ready for some football? Represent your favorite NFL, college, or local football team by wearing team colors, jerseys, shirts, or sweatshirts.
October 22nd
Silly Socks Day- Put your best foot forward! Wear your silliest, brightest, funniest, or most mismatched socks today.
Encore Schedule
Quarter 1 Spanish with Mrs. Smerz
Quarter 2 STEM with Mrs. Jozaitis
Quarter 3 Music with Ms. Haley Hughes
Quarter 4 Art with Mrs. Maney
Library on Thursdays
My ELA classes will be going to the library on Thursdays. My homeroom will have the opportunity to visit the library from 10:30-10:55 and my Block 2 will visit the library from 2:45-3:10.
Erin's Law Presentations
Governor Pat Quinn signed Erin's Law in January of 2013, which requires all schools in the state of Illinois to provide age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention education programs for students in grades Pre-K through 12. The Chelsea Intermediate School social workers will be teaching each lesson in the child’s classroom. The "Think First and Stay Safe" program will be the curriculum utilized for these lessons with a focus on Child Lures.
ClassLink at Home
Students can access ClassLink from their home computers! Directions for how to access the ClassLink launchpad from home are in the downloads section of this page. In order for students to not have to reenter usernames and passwords they will need to add an extension to their web browser. Directions for how to do that are also linked to this page. If the extension is not added, then login credentials will have to be entered each time.
This information can also be found on the district website under "Student/Parent Technology Tutorials."
Communicating with Students and Families
I am committed to establishing a strong parent-teacher relationship. I will be using this teacher webpage, email blasts, and the Remind app to communicate on a regular basis. You will be able to find the homework assignments in the "Week at a Glance" tab. The quarterly standards are listed in the "ELA Curriculum" tab.
If you would like to receive text notifications about your child's ELA class with information on homework and general reminders or announcements, then please select the Remind link that corresponds to your child's ELA block.
To sign up for Mrs. Smith's Homeroom notifications, click the link below:
To sign up for Mrs. Smith's Block 2 notifications, click the link below:
Birthday Reminder
Birthdays are definitely a special day for students. It is a time to celebrate! That being said, per our district policy, we highly discourage the passing out of invitations at school. The only exception is if the entire class is being invited. However, you are more than welcome to send a non-food item (pen, pencil, etc.) for each student in class. We have 26 students in our homeroom (ELA Block 1) and 25 students in my afternoon ELA Block 2. Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
- Name
- Mrs. Julie Smith
- Position
- 5th Grade Teacher
