Meet the 5th Grade Team:

Mr. Manning

Dustin Manning is beyond delighted to be teaching 5th grade at WISH! Mr. Manning earned his BA degree, MA degree, and teaching credentials from the University of San Francisco.  He decided to become a teacher because he loves to help students grow and develop to become their best selves.  His favorite subject to teach is reading because he once struggled with reading in school and now he loves to read. In his free time, he enjoys any adventure involving the outdoors, playing games with friends like Dungeons and Dragons, and spending time with animals.  He thinks WISH is the best place to work because of their dedication to meeting the needs of each and every student through inclusivity, family partnerships, and teamwork!

 

Ms. LaTorre

Tina LaTorre earned her BA degree from Loyola Marymount University and her Masters degree and teaching credential from University of Southern California. Ms. LaTorre’s first experience teaching was in dance. She has always had a love for working with children and found herself continually inspired by student’s innate creativity and innovation.  It was through her passion for teaching dance that she found her way into education. Her favorite subject to teach is writing. She loves helping students find the joy in expressing themselves through writing and appreciating good story telling. In her free time, Ms. LaTorre loves to cook, do yoga and spend time with her family and friends. Ms. LaTorre thinks WISH is the best place to work because it's filled with inspired teachers and staff whose priority is to provide an engaging and valuable education to all students. 

 

Ms. Healey

Morgan Healey is beyond excited to be joining the WISH community as a 5th grade teacher! She earned her BA in Liberal Studies from Chico State University and her Masters and teaching credential from University of California, Irvine. She wanted to become a teacher because she is a life-long learner, enjoys authentic connections with students, and wants students to find their passions and interests! Ms. Healey's favorite subject to teach is math because she enjoys making connections between the content and student's lives to make it engaging and relatable. In her free time, Ms. Healey loves to coach and play golf, ride her bike to the beach, and find new hiking trails in LA and Orange County. Ms. Healey thinks WISH is truly the best place to work because of the strong sense of community, the inclusive classroom settings, and the other amazing teachers and staff!

Ms. Zavala

Cristina Zavala is thrilled to be joining the 5th-grade team this school year as the Education Specialist! She has a passion for supporting students and collaborating with others to help all learners thrive. Ms. Zavala earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from CSULA, then began her journey at WISH as a paraprofessional. Inspired by WISH’s unique inclusive practices, she pursued a career in Special Education and earned her Master’s degree in Education from Alder GSE. In her free time, she loves to go on adventures with her dog, Blu, tend to the plants in her garden, and paint! Ms. Zavala thinks WISH is the best place to work because of the strong sense of community built on celebrating and embracing each student’s unique abilities. She feels this supportive environment is truly one of a kind. 

Learn more about the 5th grade program:
The fifth grade program incorporates the constructivist learning theory into everyday instruction, engaging students in hands on, project-based learning. Curriculum is differentiated to meet each child's learning needs. Scholars participate in cooperative and collaborative learning activities designed to develop their social and academic skills. In addition, technology, art, music, and PE are important, integral components of the fifth grade curriculum.

The language arts curriculum provides students an opportunity to solidify literacy skills. This includes:  fluency, comprehension, critical thinking, predicting, drawing conclusions, inference, and constructing genuine responses to literature. Fifth graders engage in multiple novel studies to help develop a deep level of comprehension. The writing program is integrated throughout all subjects and students practice the writing process through a variety of genres, such as, narratives, expository, and persuasive essays. Along with the writing process, vocabulary, spelling, and grammar are taught in context in order to be more meaningful to the students.

In math, fifth grade students begin to delve into complex mathematical concepts that utilize their higher level thinking skills. Students begin to learn and master adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing whole numbers, decimals and fractions. Students also begin learning algebraic expressions, volume, and graphing. Project-Based learning, manipulatives and computer-based programs are utilized to help students grasp concepts.

In social studies, fifth graders learn about United States history. Students cover the following topics: early explorers, the settlement of colonists, the American Revolution, the development of the United States, and the Civil War. Students also learn about the 50 states through state report projects.   

In science, fifth graders study mixtures and solutions, water, planets and living systems. Scholars utilize the scientific method through hands-on science experiments and record their hypothesis, data, and conclusions in a science notebook.

Technology instruction is an important part of our curriculum. Multi-media presentations, including iMovie, digital citizenship, blended learning opportunities, programming, and building an iPad application are all part of the Planet Bravo technology curriculum.