Weekly Reminders 3/06/12 Edited Version

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders
March 5 - March 9,


Mark Your Calendars:
Tuesday, March 6th: 4th grade STAR Writing test and 5th grade CUSD Persuasive Writing Task
Thursday, March 8th: Outdoor School forms due!
Thursday, March 8th: Conference slips go home
Friday, March 9th: Reading Contracts due!
Friday, March 9th: End of 2nd trimester
Wednesday, March 14th: Explorers Unit Exam



*Spring Conferences and Technology Showcase

Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up this month, beginning on Thursday, March 22 and running through Friday, March 30. This year’s conferences will feature a “Technology Showcase” in grades 2-5. In addition to the normal 20
minute meeting between parents, teachers, and students, there will be an additional 20 minute time slot which students will facilitate with their parents either in our computer lab, or in another designated spot on campus where our laptop carts will be set up. Students will showcase all of their awesome technology works in progress, projects that they have completed, as well as demonstrate their skills in using various applications. This technology showcase time slot is flexible, and can either occur before or after the scheduled parent-teacher conference appointment in the classroom (or before or after a siblings conference as well). We hope you enjoy checking out the great strides our techy penguins have been making!

Star and District Writing Tests:
On Tuesday, March 6th, fourth grade students will be taking the STAR writing test. The three writing genres that they may be tested on are: narrative, summary, or response to literature. We have spent time in class practicing all three of these styles of writing. Wednesday, March 7th will be the make-up day for any students who might be absent on March 6th. Also on March 6th, the fifth grade students will be taking the Cupertino district writing test, which will focus on persuasive writing.

Outdoor School:

In response to the questions we have received so far:
a. The cost for Outdoor School is $310 and the check should be made out to Portal School along with the forms by March 8th.
b. Here is an explanation of what we require with the yellow form:
(copied from an email from the director of Outdoor School)
This form is two sided and we require each student to have SECTION I completed by the parent. We only require SECTION II to be completed by the physician if the student takes prescription medications or if the parent would like their child to have access to the over the counter medications listed on the form. The important thing to note is, in the case of over the counter medication, if a physician does not complete and sign SECTION II then we do not have authorization to administer over the counter medications to that student (this is new this year in order to be in compliance with ed code). If a parent would like their child to have the ability to receive over the counter medication listed while at outdoor science school then they must obtain a physician's signature for SECTION II. There are a few items listed on the form (rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Bactine, Vaseline, sunblock, saline eye wash, etc) that are not considered medications. We list these items so that parents are aware of everything that we have in stock in our health office and have the opportunity to indicate if they prefer their child NOT to be given those treatments (in a first aid situation, for example).

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:

This week we have our STAR Writing test for 4th graders, and our 5th grade district writing assessment on Tuesday. We continue to work on revisions of our finished work for our anthologies, and we’re focused on developing more consistent verb use in our grammar lessons. For those of you who haven’t already heard, our read aloud book with our classes is The Adventures of Hugo Cabret- this has proven to be a popular choice!

Math

4th grade:

We have delved into the realm of geometry this past week, and we’ll continue to broaden our understanding of this area of mathematics in our classes this week. Symmetry, perimeter, area, and complex figures are the main areas of focus. At the end of the week, we will introduce and begin our Perimeter Park project. This project requires creativity and precision to be successful.

5th grade:
• Design a Bedroom Project: We have assigned students a "Design a Bedroom" project that they are responsible for finishing at home. This is a project that addresses multiple standards in mathematics, language arts and promotes art and creativity. Directions on procedures and expectations, as well as the rubric, colored construction paper, and graph paper have also been given to the students. You will need to provide a box, a poster board, and pieces of fabric cut out from old clothes that can be used as window coverings and elsewhere in the room. A box that usually gets recycled in the copying machine area of any office is sufficient for the project. Since this is all about your child's creativity, please do not buy ready made furniture pieces from stores. This project is due on March 30th.

This week, we’ll continue our study of decimals and division, their real life usage, and their connection to fractions. Our new Problem of the Week (given out on Monday) will keep us focused on real life application and communicating logic.


Science:

In Rooms 20 & 21, we are finishing our Keynote presentations on the element of our choice. We have definitely been working to go beyond the usual text/photo format. Linking information, audio input, and other “extras” are examples of things you might find in the construction of the students’ presentations. The students are also wrapping up a little creative writing task connected to their element, which they will present orally to the rest of the class. We’ll start presentations in the class on Friday.

Social Studies:

Our students are very excited about finishing the first volume of A History of US; they will get the second volume soon after the exam. To wrap up our unit, we will be learning about Sir Francis Drake and the dramatic defeat of the Spanish Armada. Our Explorers unit exam will be on Wednesday, March 14th. Students should continue to review all notes, re-read relevant chapters, and utilize all of their resources to prepare for the upcoming test. We will play Jeopardy in class next week to review as a class!
Name that State!
Three countries -- France, England, and Spain -- flew their flags over this state at separate times.
Nearly 60 percent of this state is covered by forest.
Coca-Cola was first bottled in this state in 1894.
Cotton is the most important crop in this state.
This state's name is also the name of the largest (by volume) river in the United States.
Which state is it?