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

Week of 2/24 Newsletter

Dear 4th & 5th Grade Families,

I hope this letter finds you well! We are nearing the end of our second trimester and I will be sending home report cards on March 17. We will not have restructured days for parent-teacher conferences, but if you have a pressing concern, I would be happy to try to accommodate a meeting with you after you’ve received your child’s report card. Please contact me with your request to schedule the conference and a brief description of specifics that you’d like to discuss.

Spring Student Council elections will be held on March 7. This Friday, your child will receive a packet with information on how to sign up to run for an office. It is a great opportunity to be a part of student leadership at Mountain School and all 4th, 5th and 6th graders are invited to participate!

What we’re learning this week:

ELA/Social Sciences:

We’re really enjoying reading By the Great Horn Spoon and through it, we’re learning about the California Gold Rush. In Social Sciences, we are learning more about the American Revolution.

Our vocabulary list for this week & next week is focused on Greek & Latin prefixes mono, bi, tri and can be found at http://quizlet.com/_be7sc. A test will be NEXT Friday.

Math:

4th Grade: We’re learning about mixed numbers and improper fractions. We will be able to model these numbers as well as convert back and forth.

5th Grade: We’re learning how to add and subtract mixed numbers and improper fractions.

Science:

4th Grade: We began a new unit called Solid Earth. We’ve started with “mock rocks” and will hear a presentation about geology from Ruby’s step-dad, Tom on Wednesday! (Thanks, Tom!)

5th Grade: We just finished a unit called Mixtures & Solutions and will begin a new unit called Living Systems in which we’ll learn about transport systems in the human body and vascular plants.

Thank you for your support at home and in class, we all really appreciate it so much! If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig

CORRECTION!

I mistakenly gave you the wrong date for Report Cards.

They will go home on March 17, 2014 - NOT March 10.

Thanks for your cooperation!

-Ms. Honig

Week of 2-11 Newsletter

February 11, 2014

Dear 4/5 Families,

I hope this letter finds you dry & well! Thank you so much for your support throughout the Science Fair Project process. I am so excited to hear about each child’s experiment. Please remember that the projects will be on display on Wednesday (tomorrow) from 10:30-3PM in the PAC Room. We’d love to share them with family members & friends, so come on by!

We began reading a Newbery Award winning novel called By the Great Horn Spoon! written by Sid Fleischman. It is a richly written adventure, set amidst the California Gold Rush. In an effort to continue teaching about Historical Fiction as well as just fabulous writing, we’ll be reading the novel together as a class. Occasionally, I will be sending home a copy with your child to read for homework. Please take the time to read aloud with your child and discuss the events & writing.

We are continuing to learn about fractions (5th graders are also working with their relationship with decimals). Please keep practicing multiplication & division facts NIGHTLY!

Dates to remember:

Feb. 12: Mountain School Science Fair (parents & families are welcome!)

Feb. 13: Student Council will be selling Hot Cocoa ($1/cup) before school - we encourage you to send a reusable mug!

Feb. 13: 2:30PM: Valentines’ exchange (please do not send edible treats with the cards and please remember to send one for EVERY child, if you send any at all - names on reverse

Feb. 14: NO SCHOOL - Staff Development Day

Feb. 17: NO SCHOOL - President’s Day

Mar. 17: Report Cards will be sent home

Thanks for your time and support both in the classroom and at home! If you have any questions or concerns, please send me an email at rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig

Week of 2/3 Newsletter

February 3, 2014

Dear 4/5 Families,

I hope this letter finds you well! Thank you for your continued support at home practicing math facts with your child. In an effort to record progress, an update will be sent home weekly showing how your child is moving forward. I hope this will help your child continue to practice the facts as well as work on automaticity.

Valentine’s Day lands on a Staff Development day, so we’ll be planning to have some time for children to exchange valentines at the end of the day on 2/13. I ask that if your child brings Valentines to share, they bring one for every child in the class. I’ll also ask that you do not send edible treats, but rather encourage thoughtful, handmade notes.

Dates to remember:

Feb 10: NO SCHOOL - Lincoln’s Birthday

Feb 11: Science Fair PROJECT IS DUE!

Feb 12: Mountain School Science Fair (parents & families are welcome!)

Feb. 13: Valentine’s Day valentine exchange, 2:30PM

Feb 14: NO SCHOOL - Staff Development Day

Feb 17: NO SCHOOL - President’s Day

Thanks for your time and support both in the classroom and at home! If you have any questions or concerns, please send me an email at rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig

Week of 1/27 Newsletter

Dear 4/5 Families,

I hope this letter finds you well! We are halfway through this school year, if you can believe it!

What we’re learning:

SCIENCE FAIR:

I hope the science fair projects are going well. I will be asking your child to bring in his/her notebook of observations to have a brief meeting on Wednesday or Thursday, during the school-day.

MATH:

4th: Fractions! We are continuing our unit on fractions and I would like to encourage you to keep up the practice with multiplication facts, nightly. We will be comparing and ordering fractions and then learning how to add & subtract fractions.

5th: Division with decimals! As part of this unit, we are encouraging students to estimate the quotient as a tool to guide them to the correct, accurate answer. It is imperative that they have their multiplication & division facts memorized to support their mathematical practice.

SOCIAL SCIENCES:

We have learned about the 13 Colonies and will work on writing an essay to compare them. Then we will be learning about the lead up to the Revolutionary War.

ELA:

Your child has been working to revise his/her Historical Fiction and I hope to publish the class book this week! If you haven’t had a chance to check out their stories, you can access them on our website.

Dates to remember:

Feb 10: NO SCHOOL - Lincoln’s Birthday

Feb 11: Science Fair PROJECT IS DUE!

Feb 12: Mountain School Science Fair (parents & families are welcome!)

Feb 14: NO SCHOOL - Staff Development Day

Feb 17: NO SCHOOL - President’s Day

Thanks for your time and support both in the classroom and at home! If you have any questions or concerns, please send me an email at rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig

Week of 1/21 Newsletter

January 21, 2014

Dear 4/5 Families,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! This weather has been just beautiful! I am writing this letter to enlist your help in the upcoming weeks in 2 major areas.

SCIENCE:

First of all, thank you for working with your child to write up the science fair proposal. I was very impressed with the high caliber of project ideas. I encourage you, while your child continues to research and set up his/her project, to ask questions and discuss with your child the process they are following. One of the most important parts of participating in the science fair is for the children to understand how the Scientific Method works. While we will continue to use the method at school, my hope is that by completing the project, the ideas will be reinforced. Please keep the packet that I sent home readily available throughout this process and use it as a guide. I will be available after school this Thursday, Friday and next Monday to meet with students to discuss their progress. This is not required, but highly recommended. If you’d like your child to meet with me, please send me a note or email and I look forward to being as involved as I can.

MATH:

Both the 4th and 5th graders are working very hard in math, using the 8 Mathematical Practices outlined in the Common Core State Standards. I would like to ask you to work with your child at home on his/her multiplication facts. It is imperative that they know them with automaticity by the end of 4th grade, through the 12s. Our 4th graders have just begun a unit on fractions and will be asked to recall factors and multiples of numbers as they learn how to compare, order, add, subtract & multiply with common fractions. Our 5th graders are learning how to multiply and divide decimals and it will benefit them immensely if they know their facts automatically. So, I’m asking you to commit to making sure your child spends a minimum of 15 minutes a night, with flash-cards, practicing his/her multiplication facts. If you are unable to get flash-cards for your child, please let me know ASAP.

Thank you for your support at home and in class. We appreciate it so much! If you have any questions or concerns, please send me an email at: rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Warmly,

Ms. Honig

Week of 1/13 Newsletter

Dear 4/5 Families,

I hope this letter finds you well! With cold season in full swing, please remind your child to dress in layers, wash their hands a lot, and get lots of rest! I am hopeful that we can keep healthy if we remember these habits.

Thank you for taking the time over the weekend to look over the Science Fair packet. Please work with your child to write a proposal, due this Wednesday. I am available for questions or help so please don’t let your child wait until the last minute! The project should be fun, focused on a topic your child is interested in and is capable of doing in the time allotted. I have many resources to share so please contact me if needed.

Just a quick reminder: Cell phones are not allowed on campus. If you must send one with your child, please be sure they understand that it should stay in their backpack and in the off position while on Mountain School campus. Thank you for your support both in the classroom and at home! If you need to contact me, please email me at rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig

Wed., January 15: Science Fair proposal is due!

Mon., January 20: No School - in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tues., January 21: Special Board Meeting, 3PM

Thur. - Mon., January 23, 24, 27: After school one-on-one meetings with me to discuss Science Fair Projects (not required, but encouraged).