Weekly Reminders 9/19/11

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders
September 19 - september 22

Mark Your Calendars:
9/19-9/22 Goal Setting Conferences!


Goal-setting conferences will continue this week! Please be punctual to take advantage of the full 20 minutes allocated to you. This conference is attended by both parents and child. As a reminder, students will be dismissed at 12:30 each day. Be sure to check out the Book Fair in the multi-use room.
Friday, 9/23 Staff Learning Day- No School!
Monday, 9/26 Science I-Check, Investigation #1 (open book/note)
Monday, 9/26 DI Info Night at 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, 9/27 4th grade math- Ch. 5 Quiz
Wednesday, 9/28 PSCO Meeting 6:30 p.m.
Friday, 9/30 Learning plans go home
Friday, 9/30 Geography Test : Southeast States. A reminder: all geography tests are cumulative.


Curriculum Flash!
Writing
In our next lessons on writing technique, students will be learning different ways to write topic sentences, peer editing strategies, and personal revision and editing of work to create the best expository writing.

Science:
Students are working in groups on a poster and paragraph as part of the first investigation in the unit “Living Systems,” which addresses the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, and excretory systems in the human body. After the poster is complete, we will assess our understanding of the unit with our first Investigation Check (I-Check) on Monday, Sept. 26.

Fourth Grade Math:
We are currently learning the distinctions between expressions, equations, and inequalities. Of course, we’re also learning proper technique for evaluating and simplifying expressions by themselves, or as part of an equation or inequality. We challenge our students to use the appropriate vocabulary to describe their work! There will be a quiz on this chapter on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Fifth Grade Math:
We began this year by looking at patterns in nature and sequential number patterns, and then moved along looking for patterns in the base 10 number system, both with whole numbers and decimals. Students learned prime factorization and how to express numbers as exponents. The students were given a quiz on these topics on Friday to assess any standard that needs to be retaught.


Volunteer Opportunity in Social Studies!
Yes, we have another fun hands-on project coming up in Social Studies! On September 26th (12:30-2:40) and September 28th (1:15-2:40), we will need parent volunteers to help students make tribal masks representative of the tribes located in the Pacific Northwest. Please email your child’s social studies teacher if you’re available and have submitted your negative TB test results to the front office. Thank you in advance!

Name That State!
The first baseball stadium was built in this state in 1909.
This state is the only one of the 13 original colonies not bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.
Punxsutawney Phil, a famous groundhog who checks for his shadow every Groundhog Day, lives in this state.
A town in this state is considered the Chocolate Capital of the United States.
The Declaration of Independence was signed in this state in 1776.
Which state is it?