Weekly Reminders 5/4/09

Dear Parents and Portal Students,
Students have been doing a great job this week! There are many new and exciting events going on and we will continue to be busy for the rest of the year. Please remember to take the time to have fun and relax at home!

Megaskill of the Month: Common Sense
At this time of the year, it’s a pleasure to see so many students using their common sense. We’ve noticed that when students encounter problems, they work to find solutions that make sense for all involved. They think ahead and consider the consequences and look at different points of view. They are also remembering the expectations that exist at our school and are using their common sense to help meet these expectations. Keep up the good work, students, so that we can continue to have fun the rest of the year!

STAR Testing
As you all are aware, the next two weeks (May 4 - 11) will be STAR testing. To help make sure your child is the best prepared for the tests:

1. Make sure your child is getting enough sleep every night - doctors
recommend NINE TO TEN hours for this age group!
2. Feed your child a balanced breakfast before school starts. Include
some protein, fruit or vegetable, and whole grains. (Cereal with milk and
bananas; eggs, pancakes, and bacon; etc.) Donuts and other sweets may boost a person’s energy for a short time, but will not sustain the brain through a long test.
3. Send your child with a healthy balanced snack and water.
4. DO have your 5th grade child study their work from last year for the Science test. Specific facts and ideas covered in the curriculum will be on the test.
5. Try not to put too much pressure on your child about these tests. They are only one measure of your child’s true abilities. Be sure to balance the evenings and weekend with relaxing activities.

Thanks for your support!

Language Arts:
This week we will finish our literature circles and begin reading our novel, Bridge to Terabithia. Since friendship is so important to understanding the theme of this novel, the students did a “friendship podcast” as part of our pre-reading activities this week. Be sure to ask them how it went! Students will need their books no later than Wednesday of this week.

Math:
4th grade students are working on a “solid” understanding of the surface area and volume of three-dimensional shapes! These concepts require a good understanding of perimeter, measurement, and application of multiplication to specific data. We’ll be reviewing all the geometry terms and definitions this week so we can have our chapter test on Friday. We will definitely provide some of our class “flex” time for study as well, since we do not want to burden our kids with too much work outside of school this week.

5th grade students are currently working on our geometry unit. So far this year, we covered basic vocabulary terms and reviewed properties of triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, congruence of figures, points, lines, and rays. We are now be learning about perimeter and area of complex figures, and parallelograms, finding the area of triangles and parallelograms, and the circumference of circles. We will then move on to solid figures, nets, volume and symmetry.

Social Studies:
Students have started their research of their gold rush era topic. They are free to research at home, and due to limited time, home research will be helpful to keep students on track for their timeline. Students need to remember the rules about note taking and plagiarism as they do their research, and should use their Writer’s Express book as an aide to help them correctly site the sources they use. Students must have at least three sources, including, but not limited to one book.

Science:
Research on magnetic properties continues. We have two more magnetic inquiries to take part in, then electricity beckons! This week is also a good week for 5th grade students to review notes and concepts from previous science units; students will be surprised how much they really remember with a little time spent revisiting these science concepts.

Important Dates to Remember:
5/4-5/11 STAR testing
5/4 Literature Circles at 12:30 p.m.
5/12 - 5/15 Book Fair
5/19 Open House
5/22 Staff Learning Day - no school for students


CALIFORNIA TRIVIA!
Q: The Bay Bridge, built in 1936, links what two cities?

Good luck!

Mr. Roels & Miss Scourkes