Did they really bring up cutting with scissors? And are they really taking lots of notes? Both of those are things that my kids have *not* had in 5th grade classes... so I'm kinda guessing that they can't be *that* significant of an issue

Oh yes! They write a tremendous amount. It's kind of ridiculous. But I can't have it all my way! DS loves going to 5th grade. He grumbles about the amount of homework (also excessive - 30-40 problems a night). But it's the only homework he gets. School can't be perfect. I am certainly not going to start complaining about the amount of homework when we are looking at only about 5 months left now.