It's almost March Madness time for our universities across the country; basketball fever will soon grip the nation for a couple of fun-filled weeks. Here at Portal, it seems that "March Madness" has its own unique characteristics- just ask any busy Rockhopper student in Rooms 20 and 21! As we prepare for our upcoming play, review for the 6th grade math placement test (5th grade math students, that is), and continue with the usual assortment of language arts, science, and social studies work, good organizational skills will be the MOST valuable skill our students can demonstrate. Prioritizing assignments, asking for help from teachers and parents, and taking time for proper exercise, nutrition, and rest will be key to a fun first month of spring.
Just a quick reminder that our blogsite addresses are:
Volunteers for our Performance:
Outdoor School Parent Meeting
On Wednesday, March 10 at 6:30pm in our multipurpose room, a representative from Santa Cruz County's Outdoor School will be here to answer all your questions about our upcoming Outdoor School program taking place May 18-21. While it is not mandatory that parents come to this meeting, we STRONGLY encourage you to do so. This is your best opportunity to learn the details of the program and student requirements prior to your child's attendance. Note: Outdoor School is a required part of your student's curriculum in the Cupertino Union School District.
Curriculum:
Language Arts
Our focus continues to be on the persuasive writing genre this week. Students have constructed a rough draft of a writing piece. This week we'll evaluate the essays we've created and then refine them together.
We continue to read Dear Mr. Henshaw, take AR Quizzes and focus on root words in spelling. Finally, the majority of time over the next month will be devoted to our fine arts performance. These performances emphasize oral language capability, along with visual and performing arts skills. Our particular play also has quite a bit of social studies content embedded in the dialogue and lyrics, so we've got a lot that we'll be learning in the next month!
Math
In 4th grade math, we'll be working on graphing for the next 2-3 weeks. We begin with bar graphs and data collection, and we proceed on to coordinate graphing (including negative coordinates!) afterward.
In 5th grade math we're beginning to measure the area and perimeter of parallelograms and triangles. We'll then move on to solid figures nets and surface area.
Social Studies
The students did a great job on their keynote presentations last week! I was impressed with the quality and presentation skills that students displayed! This week we will be working on Explorer Essays in class. The students should also be studying for their next geography test on Friday. They were given the 12 states of the North Central region last week.
Science
We have begun or technology project that was introduced this past week. The topic will be plants, and the work will be done primarily at school with a partner. We'll be using Apple's iPhoto software to put together a visually informative presentation that could also be shared in BOOK form! Students this week will be expected to have their plant chosen, and to compile their information, including photographs, from books, Internet sites, and individual exploration (picture taking!) Final due dates for the project have not been set yet, but we anticipate a 2-3 week time period from beginning to end for project development and presentation.
Calendar of Events: (Please note that new dates have been added!)
March:
Mon., 3/8 Outdoor School Presentation for Students
Mon. 3/8 Oral presentations this week!
Tues., 3/9 Class Picture Day!
Wed. 3/10 Class performance Volunteer Parents to meet with teachers 3:00 Room 20!(See note above)
Wed., 3/10 Parent Outdoor School Presentation 6:30 pm
Fri., 3/12 Geography Quiz!
Mon., 3/15 Learning Day - NO SCHOOL
Wed. 3/17 5th Grade Level 1 Math Placement Test
3/18 - 3/26 Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences - 12:30 DISMISSAL EVERY DAY
Thur., 3/25 Middle School Parent Information Night - Lawson at 6:30
Fri., 3/26 Spirit Day: Crazy Socks Day!
MYSTERY STATE CLUES:
- The country's first department store opened in this state in the late 1880s.
- The world's largest natural-rock span is located in this state.
- The 2002 Winter Olympic Games were held in this state.
- Mormons were among the first settlers in this state and still make up a high percentage of the population.
- Which state is it?
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