Week of 3/24 Newsletter

Dear 4th & 5th Grade Families,

Thank you so much for the parents who drove & chaperoned for our field trip to the Landfill! We had so much fun exploring the Resource Recovery Center learning about recycling and how so many materials are reused. Please find a letter from Ms. M in the Monday Folder describing the upcoming Common Core Standards field test and the incredible honor we’ve received by being recommended to the state of CA to be considered a California Distinguished School! Thank you to all of the parents and board members who took the time to meet with the panel.

Poetry Recital: March 25, during lunch time, Maria will be holding a Poetry Recital. Students who are interested in participating should memorize a poem to recite on March 25. More information to follow.

Please mark your calendars for Spring Break March 29-April 6.

What we’re learning:

Math: 4th graders are learning to compute with decimals. 5th graders are learning to multiply with fractions.

Writing: The students are learning to write persuasive or opinion essays. They are learning how to use appropriate transitions as well as elements that draw in the reader.

Science: 4th graders are learning about rocks & minerals like Calcite and how to determine the existence of certain minerals in rocks through testing reactions to certain acids. 5th graders are learning about the Solar System.

Social Sciences: We will be wrapping up our unit on the Revolutionary war this week and begin to learn about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Thank you for your help both in the classroom and at home! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns by emailing me at rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig

Week of 3/17 Newsletter

Dear 4th & 5th Grade Families,

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Your child’s Winter Report Card was sent home in this week’s Monday Folder. Please sign & return the empty envelope, by Friday, to confirm receipt of the report card. Please email me with any questions or concerns.

We are still scheduled to go on a field trip to the Santa Cruz Landfill, this Wednesday, however, we are short of parent drivers. If you are available to volunteer, please let me know ASAP. If I don’t get enough drivers by Tuesday, we will not be able to go! We are scheduled to leave at 8:30 and return to school by 12:35.

I am really proud of the perseverance demonstrated by every student while they took the MARS Assessment. The mathematical thinking that was required to solve the problems was very deep and the kids did great! It is so exciting to see the students demonstrate their abilities to reason mathematically and problem solve. If you are curious about the practices or assessments, go here.  

This Friday will be Crazy Hair Day! And, next Friday, Student Council will be selling popsicles at dismissal.

Poetry Recital: March 25, during lunch time, Maria will be holding a Poetry Recital. Students who are interested in participating should memorize a poem to recite on March 25. More information to follow.

Mark your calendars for Spring Break March 29-April 6.

Thank you for your support both at home and in class! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig

Week of 3/10 Newsletter

Dear 4th & 5th Grade Families,

I hope this letter finds you well! Kudos to all of our students who ran for Spring Student Council! It takes a lot of leadership and guts to get up in front of the whole school and give such amazing speeches. We are proud of each one of the candidates from our class: Ariel, Ruby, Ollie and Merc. Congratulations Ariel for becoming our Secretary! We will select 2 classroom representatives this week.

We are going on a field trip next Wednesday to the Santa Cruz Landfill and the permission slip was sent home Monday, 3-10. Please fill it out and return it with your child by Thursday. We would like to have at least 5 chaperones if at all possible, so please indicate if you’ll be available to join us, or go here.

Rainy Day Mornings:

With the Spring rains still to come, I’d like to remind you that on rainy day mornings, students should report directly to the PAC room, from 8-8:30 or until teachers come to collect their students. We are so very grateful for Michele taking over morning yard duty!

Report Cards:

I’ll be sending home report cards next Monday. We will not have any restructured days for conferences, but if you would like to request a meeting, after you’ve reviewed your child’s report card, please email me and I’d be more than happy to meet with you.

Poetry Recital:

March 25, during lunch time, Maria will be holding a Poetry Recital. Students who are interested in participating should memorize a poem to recite on March 25. More information to follow.

As always, thank you for your help and support! You are very greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig

Week of 3/3 Newsletter

Dear 4th & 5th Grade Families,

Happy March! I am excited to share with you that we will be going on a field trip on March 19 to the Santa Cruz Landfill. Please let me know if you are interested in driving and being a chaperone. We will plan to leave right at 8:30 and return to Mountain School by 12:35.

This Friday, 11AM, is the Spring Student Council Election! An information packet was sent home with your child on Friday and is due March 2 if he or she is interested in running for an office (4th Grade: Secretary and 5th Grade: Treasurer and Vice President). I will be going over speeches on Wednesday and students can bring posters to hang on Friday.

Students will begin practicing for the “Smarter Balanced Assessment” - the replacement for the STAR Test - this week. I encourage you to check out the sample test here if you are interested, the testing window begins in May.  There will not be student scores reported this year since they are still “testing the test” however I’d like the students to gain a comfort level with the interface and structure of the test to ease any anxiety. The 5th Graders will still be taking the STAR Science Test as well. If you have any questions, please let me know.

We are continuing to work with Fractions this week in both 4th & 5th grade, so please practice multiplication & division facts with your child as often as possible! We will be having a vocabulary test this Friday and the words can be practiced here. We are also learning how to write concise and informative summaries and the writing assessment will focus on those learned skills.

I appreciate your support both in class and at home, so THANK YOU! If you have any questions please contact me at rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig