Week of 4/28 Newsletter

Dear 4th & 5th Grade Families,

I hope this letter finds you well! I want to commend ALL of the students for working so hard during the SBAC testing. They persevered and did great!

The 5th Graders will be doing their PE testing tomorrow, Tuesday, April 29. Please be sure your child comes to school with comfortable clothes & shoes, a water bottle and a hat or sunscreen.

The Spring Concert is this Thursday, May 1 at 5:30. Our students will be playing their ukeleles and singing. The weather forecast looks good so bring a dinner picnic and enjoy the fabulous Mountain School music!

WHAT WE’RE LEARNING ABOUT:

4th Grade Math: Types of lines, angles and how to measure and identify them.

5th Grade Math: The relationship between percents, fractions and decimals.

ELA & Social Sciences: The Bill of Rights and the beginning of the Westward Movement. We will begin reading Patty Reed’s Doll, a story about the Donner Party.

4th Grade Science: Erosion, deposition and how landforms are affected using stream tables.

5th Grade Science: Wrapping up the Water Planet unit.

Mountain School will be getting a new web address next year and I have begun to transfer my account over. Please change your address book to reflect my new email address: rhonig@mountainesd.org. Any emails sent to the other address will be forwarded there from now on. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know via email.

Best,

Ms. Honig

Week of 4/21 Newsletter

Dear 4th & 5th Grade Families,

I hope this letter finds you well! Thank you again for your outpouring of support, last week was fantastic and we are looking forward to the remaining 8 weeks of school to continue that way.

This week, we will be taking the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Pilot Test. We spent some time last week learning how to use the tools and navigate within the test (practice test can be found here) and I feel confident that the students will be very comfortable “testing the test”. Below are a few notes about the test and our altered schedule.

>Gum: Studies have shown that chewing gum can help with concentration so I’d like to allow students to chew gum while they take the test. You may send in gum anytime this week, we’ll begin taking the test on Monday. If you choose to send in gum for your child, I will collect it, distribute it during the test, and return any extra pieces on Friday.  
>Volunteer Schedule: I would ask that if your normal volunteer time falls between 8:30 and 12 that you would take the week off from working in our classroom, since that will be when we’re taking the test. Afternoon volunteers will still be greatly appreciated!

>Homework: I will not be assigning any homework other than reading this week and there will be no spelling nor a math test this Friday.

This Friday is our Mountain School Earth Day Celebration, thanks to the Independent Studies Class! We would also like to celebrate our March & April birthdays at the end of the day, so if your child had a birthday during the last 2 months, please contact me.

Thank you again and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig

Week of 4-14 Newsletter

Dear 4th & 5th Grade Families,

I want to start off with a note of gratitude for the support I have received from many of you regarding recent classroom behavior. I am looking forward to the remainder of the school year with positive improvements that will continue to allow me to effectively deliver curriculum, while supporting your child. If you have any further concerns, please feel free to contact me or Ms. M directly and we’d be happy to speak with you.

This week we will begin practicing with the SBAC test on our class-set of Chromebooks. (Thanks to Ms. M for purchasing them for our students!) My intention is to familiarize your child with the interface as well as the computer itself. I would appreciate parental support in the classroom during the morning hours, anytime between 9AM-12PM. If you’re available, please let me know.

If you would like more information about the test and implementation of the Common Core,  Ms. M encourages parents to participate in one of two town hall meetings on Wednesday, April 16, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm (ends right before pick-up time) and from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm, both in the school's Library. Child Care during the evening session will be provided by Mountain School 6th graders for children age 5 and up. Please RSVP to Teresa for either town hall meeting at tbell@santacruz.k12.ca.us. If you need child care for the evening session, please include the number of children and their ages in the RSVP email.

The students have met their first class goal! We will do a test run this week of eating snack in the classroom immediately following the morning recess. I am confident that they will follow the protocol (promptly lining up to come in and eating in a timely manner, cleaning up and staying on task so as not to waste any class time) to be able to continue that for the remainder of the school year.

Thanks again for all of your support both in the classroom and at home. Please feel free to email me with questions or concerns at rhonig@santacruz.k12.ca.us.

Best,

Ms. Honig

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