Weekly Reminders 10/24/11

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders
October 24-28

Mark Your Calendars:
October 1/0/24-10/28: Great Schools Week
October 10/24-10/28: Red Ribbon Week
Tuesday, 10/25:

-Halloween Parade at 1:00 p.m.
-Lunch on the Lawn
-Expect Respect Team Meeting 8:00-11:45
Wednesday, 10/26: PSCO meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, 10/28: Wear RED day


Lunch on the Lawn & Halloween Parade:
Please come out to join us for Lunch on the Lawn this Tuesday. It just so happens to coincide with our Great Schools Week, so please check the list of participating businesses (in the flier going home today) if you’d like to pick up some food to bring! What a great way to support both Portal and the Cupertino schools. Hope you can make it!
The Halloween Parade will also take place on Tuesday at 1pm on the blacktop. There will be ice cream provided by PSCO immediately following.


Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:
Students continue to expand their repertoire of vocabulary each week. Please visit the link below under “Tech Tidbits” to view the complete list of words given so far. There are a variety of games and activities the children can explore to use these words in context.

In the next couple of weeks, students will be giving an oral presentation on a book of their choice from their reading contract. They have been given a set of guidelines and a rubric to help them prepare.

Fine Arts Performance Practice!
Today Rooms 20 and 21 started practicing for our December performance of U.S. Presidents: Washington to Lincoln. This will be our primary language focus for the next 5 weeks!
Reading Contract Reminder:
Parents, please help your child manage their time in regard to their “Famous Rockhopper Reading Contract”, due at the end of this trimester, on November 17th. If students don’t manage their time well, they will not be able to meet the requirement of reading seven books by the deadline.
Also, your child should give you an oral summary of the book in order to receive your signature.

Math
4th grade: Our work in the area of multiplication broadens this week with a concentration on arrays, factors, multiplication properties, and the use of basic multiplication facts to solve division problems with remainders.

5th grade: We continue with algebra, specifically incorporating problem solving with multi-step problems and application of skills that we have learned.

Science:
This week we shift our attention to personal health issues as part of our Red Ribbon Week activities. We make use of an excellent curriculum source called Too Good for Drugs to educate ourselves about good peer relationships, decision-making and refusal strategies, better ideas for living, and gateway drugs such as nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana.

Social Studies
In social studies, we continue our study of the Plains Indians. Students will be writing legends and creating a “Winter Count” from their legends. We will also be learning the capitals and locations of the “North Central” states.

Tech Tidbits
Quizlet.com: (website)
A great website for practicing and learning vocabulary in a fun and engaging way. I have started to create cards for students from our lessons. So far there is a science and social studies set. You can access all of my flashcards at the link located below. This website also pairs nicely with the mobile app Flashcards*, which allows you to take your flashcards with you. Please check back often for updates.
MrsDominguez’ cards



Stack the States: (Apple App)
This is an extremely fun way to practice your knowledge about the 50 states!

Name that State!
In the late 1700s, settlers here formed a "state" known as Franklin.
The stars on this state's flag represent the major landforms found there.
This state has five state songs, including "Rocky Top."
The Grand Ole Opry in this state is the longest continuously running live radio program in the world.
This state is the site of Graceland, singer Elvis Presley's home.
Which state is it?