Weekly Reminders 4/29/13

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders
April 29- May 3


Mark Your Calendars:
April 29th - May 3rd: STAR Testing Week
Thursday, May 2: I-Check Inv. 2
Friday, May 3: I-Check Inv. 3
Friday, May 3: Social Studies Research Due
Thursday, May 23rd: Sacramento Field Trip
Friday, May 24th: Learning Day (No School)
Wednesday, May 29th: Open House 7-7:45pm for Rockhoppers!


*Sacramento T-Shirts: Tell us your size and get a FREE SHIRT!!!
As part of our tour package, each child and adult attending is entitled to a FREE t-shirt to commemorate this event! The sizes available are:

Youth M, L, XL
Adult M – 2XL.
Note: there are a few Adult Small available, but not many. The Youth XL is pretty much the same as an Adult S.

Please let your classroom teacher know what your t-shirt size is (and your parent’s size if they are a chaperone!) by Friday, May 3. We’ll be placing our order at the end of the week. Thank you!

Curriculum Flash!
Language Arts

Rooms 20 & 21:
Due to STAR testing this week, we will only have three class periods of Language Arts. Therefore, our focus will be on Bridge to Terabithia. There is a lot of figurative language in the novel that we are examining closely, and we are also continuing to relate our own lives to the family situations that are presented in this piece of realistic fiction. We’ll be reading through Chapter 4 this week as a village.

Math:
4th grade:
Once again, STAR testing will limit our math meetings this week to three sessions. Our students will finish up customary and metric measurement concepts in Chapter 15 of our textbook during the first two class days. The last day of the week will allow us to test our understanding of measurement concepts and apply them to a fun, challenging task! Our classes will also take a Chapter 15 quiz to conclude the week on Friday covering both customary and metric units of measurement. The emphasis in this chapter is on remembering names and abbreviations of the various units, understanding their application (length vs. weight vs. capacity), and practicing conversion techniques between different units of measurement (centimeters to millimeters, for example.) The application of our measurement abilities will come after the quiz when we create our own “Perimeter Park.” Attending to precision in measurement and calculation will be the overriding theme of the project......along with exciting, individual design!

5th grade:
This week we will teach students how to find the surface area and volume of rectangular prisms, as well as taking a look at three dimensional nets and figures. We’ll analyze and calculate the size of what it is that we see from the top or the sides of these figures.

Social Studies:
Today, we will introduce the Gold Rush Wax Museum project to our students; the final presentation will be shared with you at Open House! The project has many different components (research essay, informational board, costume, speech, props) and a series of due dates to help students manage their time and accomplish tasks piece by piece. Time in class will be given to work on the project, but students will also need to complete some parts for homework. Please be sure to have your child show you the list of guidelines and expectations, which will be handed out today in class.

Science:
Investigation 3 of our Environments unit will wrap up this week for all classes. Aquatic environments have been established and are being observed. We will examine food chains and food webs to conclude this investigation. Assessing understanding with applicable I-Checks or response questions will also occur during the week. Each teacher will be scheduling these assessments with their groups, so check the village calendar for dates to plan supporting reading outside of class to prepare for the open book/note test.

CA Trivia:
What dam backs up four rivers to form the largest manmade lake in the state, a prime water recreation area?