Monday, October 26, 2015
Week of October 26- October 30, 2015
Dear Families and Friends,
Special Announcements: Halloween is being celebrated at school this Friday morning with the annual Halloween parade. Your child can come to school in his/her costume in the morning. We will have the parade first thing in the morning as usual and then resume our Friday schedule with P.E. at 9:20. Please be sure your child has regular/comfortable clothes and tennis shoes to change into for the rest of the day.
Head Phones: We had a special delivery from Amazon courtesy of Julie Thornton (Tom's mom)! Julie donated new head phones to our classroom for our computers. Wow! We use them all the time, and they are terrific. Thank you, Julie, you rock!
Report cards and parent conferences are coming up quickly--November 4-10. If you haven't done so, please click on the SignUpGenius link below as soon as you are able so that you can get a slot that works for your schedule. Thank you to those who have signed up thus far. The emails come straight into my in box, and I can see that it is working just fine.
SignUpGenius
**Please remember, your child is to come with you to the parent conference so that they can be directly involved in their progress thus far.
I will be conducting the remaining assessments in math (Thursday) and writing (Mon., Tues., Wed.). Please Make sure your child is on time, well rested and fed.
ELA: We will continue with our literature circle book--The Birchbark House as time allows around assessments.
Read Aloud: We have finished Kit Carson and will be writing a book review on it. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech in our next novel!
Math: Math facts should be practiced each night for 5 minutes. Please check your child's planner for specific math practice assignments. We are reviewing concepts in place value, rounding. estimating, factors and multiples in preparation for our math assessment Thursday.
Science: Now that Mrs. Dudley is back from Science Camp, 5th graders will continue with her, and the 4th will turn back to their study of magnets and circuits in the Foss Science Program.
Social Studies: We are researching our tribes for our narrative essays about Native Americans. Your child has homework to research his/her tribe this week. This could include a home library book or a bit of supervised web browsing on a particular tribe. They are welcome to bring in any information that they would like to share as they collect it. We will do this in class as well.
Writing and Grammar: We are reviewing prepositions, types of sentences, similes, and simple, compound and complex sentences in preparation for our writing assessment.
Have a great week!
Warmly,
Mrs. Young
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Week of October 19- October 23, 2015
Hello Families and Friends,
We had a magical and truly great experience on the water today on the O'Neill Sea Odyssey trip! Thank you to all those who drove and chaperoned. There was a lot to see and a great deal to learn about marine biology, ecology, and navigation. The water was calm and the day perfect for a sail. As homework tonight your child should get online and walk you through what they learned. Go to www.oneillseaodyssey.org. Select "Educators" on the top of the page and scroll down to the bottom of the orange drop menu. Select "View your Class Data." This will take you to the page where you can select the group your child was in--Great White Shark or Harbor Porpoise under Mountain School at the top of the page. Enjoy looking this over together. In addition, your child also took home a folder with a picture of them on the boat at the helm!
Special Announcement: there is no school on Friday Oct. 23!
Head Phones: We had a special delivery today from Amazon courtesy of Julie Thornton (Tom's mom)! Julie donated new head phones to our classroom for our computers. Wow! We used them today in the afternoon, and they were terrific. Thank you, Julie, you rock!
Report cards and parent conferences are coming up quickly--November 4-10. Please click on the SignUpGenius link below as soon as you are able so that you can get a slot that works for your schedule. Thank you to those who have signed up thus far. The emails come straight into my in box, and I can see that it is working just fine.
SignUpGenius
I will be conducting assessments over the next few weeks as we wind down the first trimester. Making sure your child is on time, well rested and fed is especially important.
ELA: We will continue with our literature circle book--The Birchbark House.
Read Aloud: We are finished Kit Carson today and will be writing a book review on it. Tomorrow we'll be starting Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech!
Math: We took our factors and multiples pretest on Friday. Monday we had our official test on this material. It is important for students to continue to review the divisibility rules which will help with division by a single digit. We will move into multi-digit multiplication and division in the coming weeks. Math facts should be practiced each night for 5 minutes. Please check your child's planner for specific math practice assignments.
Science: Now that Mrs. Dudley is back from Science Camp, 5th graders will continue with her, and the 4th will turn back to their study of magnets and circuits in the Foss Science Program.
Social Studies: We are researching our tribes for our narrative essays about Native Americans. Your child has homework to research his/her tribe this week. This could include a home library book or a bit of supervised web browsing on a particular tribe. They are welcome to bring in any information that they would like to share as they collect it. We will do this in class as well.
Writing and Grammar: We are reviewing transitions and will work on learning the process of organizing our ideas for our narratives.
Have a great week!
Warmly,
Mrs. Young
Hello Families and Friends,
We had a magical and truly great experience on the water today on the O'Neill Sea Odyssey trip! Thank you to all those who drove and chaperoned. There was a lot to see and a great deal to learn about marine biology, ecology, and navigation. The water was calm and the day perfect for a sail. As homework tonight your child should get online and walk you through what they learned. Go to www.oneillseaodyssey.org. Select "Educators" on the top of the page and scroll down to the bottom of the orange drop menu. Select "View your Class Data." This will take you to the page where you can select the group your child was in--Great White Shark or Harbor Porpoise under Mountain School at the top of the page. Enjoy looking this over together. In addition, your child also took home a folder with a picture of them on the boat at the helm!
Special Announcement: there is no school on Friday Oct. 23!
Head Phones: We had a special delivery today from Amazon courtesy of Julie Thornton (Tom's mom)! Julie donated new head phones to our classroom for our computers. Wow! We used them today in the afternoon, and they were terrific. Thank you, Julie, you rock!
Report cards and parent conferences are coming up quickly--November 4-10. Please click on the SignUpGenius link below as soon as you are able so that you can get a slot that works for your schedule. Thank you to those who have signed up thus far. The emails come straight into my in box, and I can see that it is working just fine.
SignUpGenius
I will be conducting assessments over the next few weeks as we wind down the first trimester. Making sure your child is on time, well rested and fed is especially important.
ELA: We will continue with our literature circle book--The Birchbark House.
Read Aloud: We are finished Kit Carson today and will be writing a book review on it. Tomorrow we'll be starting Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech!
Math: We took our factors and multiples pretest on Friday. Monday we had our official test on this material. It is important for students to continue to review the divisibility rules which will help with division by a single digit. We will move into multi-digit multiplication and division in the coming weeks. Math facts should be practiced each night for 5 minutes. Please check your child's planner for specific math practice assignments.
Science: Now that Mrs. Dudley is back from Science Camp, 5th graders will continue with her, and the 4th will turn back to their study of magnets and circuits in the Foss Science Program.
Social Studies: We are researching our tribes for our narrative essays about Native Americans. Your child has homework to research his/her tribe this week. This could include a home library book or a bit of supervised web browsing on a particular tribe. They are welcome to bring in any information that they would like to share as they collect it. We will do this in class as well.
Writing and Grammar: We are reviewing transitions and will work on learning the process of organizing our ideas for our narratives.
Have a great week!
Warmly,
Mrs. Young
Monday, October 19, 2015
Monday October 19, 2015
Hello Parents and Friends,
The time has arrived! We are departing tomorrow morning from the school at 7:45 a.m. sharp for our much anticipated O'Neill Sea Odyssey trip. Please have your child here by 7:30 to avoid any delays. We will have to leave the school on time to get to our destination at the harbor, park and meet our instructor downstairs at the west end of the building on the Plaza sidewalk across from the parking lot and the Crow's Nest Restaurant. I will give all drivers their maps and student forms in the morning here at the school.
Specifics:
Location: O'Neill Sea Odyssey
2222 East Cliff Drive, Suite 222
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
(East side of Santa Cruz Harbor next to the Crow's Nest. A map will be provided to each driver with permission slips for each student traveler.)
Go to the link below to see a preview of what we will see and do, maps, and more info.:
Parking: Cars and vans go to the metered parking in the launch ramp area OR the visitor's parking for up to $5.00 per hour (we are there approximately 3 hours).
Arrival/Departure: We must arrive no later than 8:15. Late arrivals result in an abbreviated program. We will wrap up at 11:30 and head back to school for recess and lunch.
Food: Please make sure your child has eaten a very good breakfast. During the 3 hour program, there is no break.
Clothing: Dress comfortably and bring a jacket, sun screen, a hat, and sunglasses.
Shoes: Sneakers or soft-soled, non-skid shoes are required!!! You will be asked to remove dress shoes, platforms, sandals, heels or thick-soled shoes.
Weather: The program is modified to accommodate all weather conditions. Therefore, rain or shine, we will plan to go.
Drivers/chaperones and carpools:
Kelley: Taylor, Mikayla, Owen, Jace
Marika: Kadin, Madi, Jon, Hannah F.
Dwayne: Anika, Maia, Micah, Isaiah
Julie: Sophie, Claire, Jack, Tom
Linda: Ruby, Hannah M., Tyler, Noah
Mary: Adrian, Hunter, Mrs. Young
Thank you for all of the support and see you tomorrow bright and early everyone! Otters, dolphins and whales await.
Warmly,
Mrs. Young
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Newsletter for Week of 10/12 - 10/16
Hello Families and Friends of the 4/5 Classroom,
We had a great time on the field trip to see Micha and company dance last Friday. Our class was very well behaved and enjoyed the show. Many of our students were up on stage participating. It was wonderful to be a part of the dance.
Reminders:
Field Trip: O'Neill Sea Odyssey. Tuesday October 20th from 7:45 -12:00. Please be sure you are here at the school with your child promptly at 7:45. Space is limited. We are allowed no more than 8 parent volunteers/ chaperones. Your child should eat a good breakfast. There are no breaks once on board. Dress comfortably, wear soft-soled sneakers only (no sandals, platforms, heels, or thick-soled shoes allowed) and a jacket (gloves and hats as necessary). This is a free event and promises to be a great adventure!
ELA: We will continue with our literature circle book--The Birchbark House.
Math: We have started learning about squares of a number and will continue that this week. It is important for students to still review the divisibility rules. Math facts should be practiced each night for 5 minutes, too. Please check your child's planner for specific math practice assignments.
Science: We are working on a STEM project about Curiosity the Mars space rover. This unit focuses on engineering. It will combine computer work, prototype/model building, literacy connections and team work/collaboration.
Social Studies: We are researching our tribes for our narrative essays about Native Americans. Your child has homework to research his/her tribe this week. This could include a home library book or a bit of supervised web browsing on a particular tribe. We will do this in class as well.
Writing and Grammar: We are continuing simile practice and did an informal drama yesterday in groups! This was very engaging and the students enjoyed it. We will work on word roots this week for vocabulary building and spelling. This will help students develop their writing as we begin writing projects like personal narrative, opinion, and expository pieces.
Have a great week!
Warmly,
Mrs. Young
Hello Families and Friends of the 4/5 Classroom,
We had a great time on the field trip to see Micha and company dance last Friday. Our class was very well behaved and enjoyed the show. Many of our students were up on stage participating. It was wonderful to be a part of the dance.
Reminders:
Field Trip: O'Neill Sea Odyssey. Tuesday October 20th from 7:45 -12:00. Please be sure you are here at the school with your child promptly at 7:45. Space is limited. We are allowed no more than 8 parent volunteers/ chaperones. Your child should eat a good breakfast. There are no breaks once on board. Dress comfortably, wear soft-soled sneakers only (no sandals, platforms, heels, or thick-soled shoes allowed) and a jacket (gloves and hats as necessary). This is a free event and promises to be a great adventure!
ELA: We will continue with our literature circle book--The Birchbark House.
Math: We have started learning about squares of a number and will continue that this week. It is important for students to still review the divisibility rules. Math facts should be practiced each night for 5 minutes, too. Please check your child's planner for specific math practice assignments.
Science: We are working on a STEM project about Curiosity the Mars space rover. This unit focuses on engineering. It will combine computer work, prototype/model building, literacy connections and team work/collaboration.
Social Studies: We are researching our tribes for our narrative essays about Native Americans. Your child has homework to research his/her tribe this week. This could include a home library book or a bit of supervised web browsing on a particular tribe. We will do this in class as well.
Writing and Grammar: We are continuing simile practice and did an informal drama yesterday in groups! This was very engaging and the students enjoyed it. We will work on word roots this week for vocabulary building and spelling. This will help students develop their writing as we begin writing projects like personal narrative, opinion, and expository pieces.
Have a great week!
Warmly,
Mrs. Young
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Newsletter for Week of 10/5 -10/9
Hello Families and Friends of the 4/5 Classroom,
I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall weather that is beginning in our area. We have a great week planned which will wrap up with our field trip on Friday to see Micha Dance. Details follow.
Field Trip Announcement: The "Micha Scott Dances" show at the Mello Center is Friday October 9. The show is from 10-11. Your child should come to school at the usual time. We will leave the school at 9:00. We do need 1 more driver. If you are able to help us out, please let me know today, if possible, so that I can get all the drivers and passengers arranged. The cost is $2.00 ea. for every child and parent driver. You must have all paperwork signed in the office to be a driver.
Reminders:
Field Trip: O'Neill Sea Odyssey. Tuesday October 20th from 7:45 -12:00. Please be sure you are here at the school with your child promptly at 7:45. Space is limited. We are allowed no more than 8 parent volunteers/ chaperones. Your child should eat a good breakfast. There are no breaks once on board. Dress comfortably, wear soft-soled sneakers only (no sandals, platforms, heels, or thick-soled shoes allowed) and a jacket (gloves and hats as necessary). This is a free event and promises to be a great adventure!
ELA: We will continue with our literature circle book--The Birchbark House.
Math: Our test on factors and multiples went well for most students last Friday. We will continue to practice divisibility rules and concepts this week. Your child should review the divisibility rules each night this week in his/her Blue Binder. Math facts should be practiced each night for 5 minutes, too. Please check your child's planner for specific math practice assignments.
Science: Magnets and circuits continue.
Social Studies: We will finish highlighting chapter 3--The Tribes of North America in our History Alive texts and make notes in the margins on Tuesday and Thursday. We are creating and coloring our totem projects. Students can pick out additional texts today as we will write a brief essay on a tribe of their choice to practice our writing skills. This will be a research project that can, for the most part, be done in class. This is an example of expository text with the purpose of informing the reader.
Writing and Grammar: We will continue sentence variety this week in grammar and use the strategies we learn in our journal writing over the coming weeks. Yesterday, we added similes to the mix. This will help students develop their writing as we begin writing projects like personal narratives, opinion, and expository pieces.
Have a great week!
Warmly,
Mrs. Young
Hello Families and Friends of the 4/5 Classroom,
I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall weather that is beginning in our area. We have a great week planned which will wrap up with our field trip on Friday to see Micha Dance. Details follow.
Field Trip Announcement: The "Micha Scott Dances" show at the Mello Center is Friday October 9. The show is from 10-11. Your child should come to school at the usual time. We will leave the school at 9:00. We do need 1 more driver. If you are able to help us out, please let me know today, if possible, so that I can get all the drivers and passengers arranged. The cost is $2.00 ea. for every child and parent driver. You must have all paperwork signed in the office to be a driver.
Reminders:
Field Trip: O'Neill Sea Odyssey. Tuesday October 20th from 7:45 -12:00. Please be sure you are here at the school with your child promptly at 7:45. Space is limited. We are allowed no more than 8 parent volunteers/ chaperones. Your child should eat a good breakfast. There are no breaks once on board. Dress comfortably, wear soft-soled sneakers only (no sandals, platforms, heels, or thick-soled shoes allowed) and a jacket (gloves and hats as necessary). This is a free event and promises to be a great adventure!
ELA: We will continue with our literature circle book--The Birchbark House.
Math: Our test on factors and multiples went well for most students last Friday. We will continue to practice divisibility rules and concepts this week. Your child should review the divisibility rules each night this week in his/her Blue Binder. Math facts should be practiced each night for 5 minutes, too. Please check your child's planner for specific math practice assignments.
Science: Magnets and circuits continue.
Social Studies: We will finish highlighting chapter 3--The Tribes of North America in our History Alive texts and make notes in the margins on Tuesday and Thursday. We are creating and coloring our totem projects. Students can pick out additional texts today as we will write a brief essay on a tribe of their choice to practice our writing skills. This will be a research project that can, for the most part, be done in class. This is an example of expository text with the purpose of informing the reader.
Writing and Grammar: We will continue sentence variety this week in grammar and use the strategies we learn in our journal writing over the coming weeks. Yesterday, we added similes to the mix. This will help students develop their writing as we begin writing projects like personal narratives, opinion, and expository pieces.
Have a great week!
Warmly,
Mrs. Young
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