Dear Room 20 & 21 parents and students,
First of all, a BIG thank you to the parents who volunteered to chaperone our trip to Chabot Space Center last week. The trip was both educational and fun for everyone involved! In addition to having independent time to explore all of the exhibits, students were treated to a planetarium show about the workings of the telescope, and a class in which the effects of meteorite impacts and the relative sizes of the planets in our solar system were explored. After such a fun-packed day, there was a lot of napping on the bus on the way home - always the sign of a good trip! In the next two weeks, our curriculum will be enriched with assemblies in the subject areas of science and the fine arts.
Just a quick reminder that our blogsite addresses are:
Room 20 (Scourkes) http://rockhopperroom20.blogspot.com
Room 21 (Roels) http://gtfroom22.blogspot.com
Another Big Thank You!
Thank you to all of you that have donated to our One Warm Coat program. We have received some coats, but are far short of our goal. Please consider donating a gently used coat to those that are less fortunate than we are during this season of giving.
Curriculum:
Language Arts
In Language Arts, we have started our second literature circle of the year. Students were very excited to choose their books last week and have had their first discussions with their new groups. We will also continue to work on writing essays and will be working on forming strong introductions and conclusions in the next couple of weeks. Students are reading their Accelerated Reader books and taking electronic quizzes to demonstrate comprehension. Soon we will be setting specific goals for each child in this area of reading.
*** Volunteer Opportunity! ***
Literature Circles have begun this week! The dates will be Mondays and Thursdays, December 7, 10, 14, and 17th from 8:10- 9:00 am. If you were a volunteer last time and would like to join us again, we'd love to have you, and if you are someone who would like to try this for the first time, we welcome you! If you are interested in volunteering, please let us know right away!
Math
In 4th grade math, we will be starting our hands-on explorations of algebraic concepts- very fun and clearly enlightening! We'll discuss the existence and purpose of variables, then we'll get some real life perspective by using some "Menu Math" to apply algebraic principles. There's nothing like thinking about a meal to really help someone understand the unknown!
In 5th grade math, we will wrap our study of multiplication and division of fractions. Students have been exposed to the theories behind why certain procedures are done to solve problems. They have been applying their skills to written problems.
Social Studies
We continue our unit on explorers. Students are learning about events that are occurring in Europe and Asia that influenced the explorers to begin their voyages all over the world. Soon we will be applying our knowledge of explorers to hands on projects and written reports.
Science
We've begun our new unit entitled Living Systems. The initial focus of the unit is the human body and its systems. This week's activities will help solidify our understanding of the human circulatory system through a kinesthetic activity on Wednesday (students will be taking on the role of "blood" in our system!) and a individually produced diagram and explanation of the circulatory system's functions.
Calendar of Events:
Mon. 12/7, Thur. 12/10, Mon. 12/14, Thur. 12/16 Literature Circles (8:10-9:00 am on each day listed)
Mon., December 7: Assembly - Ventriloquist Steve Chaney
Mon., December 14: Assembly - Rescheduled Lawrence Hall of Science presentation
Mon., December 14: SSC 3:00 pm
Tues., December 15: Math Olympiads 12:30 pm
Tues., December 15: Barnes and Noble/Willow Street Pizza Night 4:00 pm
Wed., December 16: PSCO 6:30 pm
Fri., December 18: Spirit Day: Crazy Hair Day
Mon., December 21: Winter Recess Begins
MYSTERY STATE CLUES:
This state elects four people to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Helium was discovered at a university in this state in 1905.
This state leads the United States in cattle and wheat production.
This state's state song is "Home on the Range."
Female aviator Amelia Earhart was born in this state.
Which state is it?
Sincerely,
Mr. Roels and Miss Scourkes
Rooms 20 & 21
Rockhopper Village
Portal School
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