Week of 9/15/2014

Hello 4th & 5th Grade families,

I hope this letter finds you well! We had a fabulous field trip on Friday to Golden State Bulb Growers and you'll see a few photos on Sunday's post. We all learned a lot about how they pollinate flowers without bees, hybridization of plants and how the flower industry works! Thanks to the Brown family for the awesome tour and beautiful bouquets of yellow calla lilies! 

Unfortunately, I have a surgery that was just scheduled for this Wednesday. That means I will have to reschedule my Back-to-School Night presentation for Wednesday, 9/24 at 5:30PM. At that time, I will be sharing with you information about our classroom, what we'll be learning about this year and how you can get involved! I'm looking forward to seeing you all there. If you cannot make it, I will have information packets available to pick up on 9/17 in the front office.

The Jog-a-thon is coming up, Tuesday, September 23, 2014! Envelopes went home last Monday. Mountain Elementary School Arts & Music program is very dependent on fundraisers like the Jog-a-thon, so please work with your child to gather his/her sponsors!

Our next field trip will be to Coloma on October 1-3, 2014. If you have not already received the parent information packet about the trip, you will find some information on our website under the Field Trips page.

Math:
This week we will be learning how to "Approximate & Estimate" and round large numbers. Your child will have "Friendly Notes" in his/her blue math binder that explains the process & purpose.

Science:
4th Grade: Students planted several different types of seeds and will be studying how they grow and determine the "optimal" environmental factors for each plant.
5th Grade: Students are learning about mixtures and solutions.

ELA & Social Sciences:
We will begin reading our first novel as a class, The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare. It ties in well with learning about Native Americans and the cultural regions of the US. Students will also begin to research about a selected Native American tribe for a report.

Thank you for your support at home with homework and in our classroom! If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at rhonig@mountainesd.org.

Best,
Mrs. Honig