Dear Parents and Portal Students,
Thank you to all of the parents who came with us on our trip to Mission San Juan Bautista last week. The kids had a great time and were able to see one of the actual missions we’ve been studying about in social studies. History brought to life! These trips are a valuable part of our curriculum and we truly appreciate the time parents take to help us make them a reality. Also, we can assure you that our Sacramento trip in April will be an equally powerful experience for our classes; there is so much that our state capital has to offer students. It’s the best “reality show” we can think of!
Current Academics:
In language arts, we our reading of Island of the Blue
Dolphins has taken us to the halfway point in the story. Karana, the central character in the book, faces many challenges as she attempts to survive alone on the island. Persuasive writing has begun, and we’re all learning how to present arguments with a reasoned AND emotional approach. We also are realizing that one must be able to counter arguments in our persuasive writing as well.
Math for 4th graders will be progressing into an exploration of statistics and graphing starting this week. We’ll be using ourselves as data sources! You’ll hear more about this “Profiles” activity in the next week or so.
5th graders are on to customary and metric units of measurement. Also, the “Bedroom Project” is now officially underway. The kids have chosen the format for their assignment, so ask them to give you the details about this home remodeling dream!
The first half of our Science Fair writeup (the student’s “official scientific method” experiment- Purpose/Question, Hypothesis, Materials, and Procedure) is due on February 11. In class, our work this week will be focused on increasing our scholarly knowledge of environments to complement our experimental efforts. After our break, we’ll resume investigations....with a water emphasis!
Mega Skill of the Month - Responsibility!
Responsibility is a good thing! For one, it makes life so much easier to manage when you realize that you can only manage YOURSELF. Taking responsibility for your own possessions, assignments, and behavior means that you enjoy your life more fully. Why? The answer is simple. We all want the best for ourselves, and if we apply this standard to everything we do, the results will make us happy!
Important Dates to Remember:
Feb 11 First half of Scientific Fair Write Up due (Question/Purpose,
Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure)
Feb 11 Social Studies Test: Missions, Pueblos, and Presidios
Feb 16 Mid Year Recess - no school
Feb 23 School Resumes
California Trivia
Q: What object found a place on the CA state flag in 1911 with a grizzly bear?
Good luck!
Mr. Roels & Miss Scourkes
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