Week of March 2nd

Notes/Reminders:

* The last day of the 2nd trimester is March 6th. All old work from the 2nd trimester must be turned in by Thursday, March 5th. Students have till Friday the 6th to complete their AR quizzes and any current work. Report Cards will be sent home the following Friday.  

* PVUSD board meetings this week are Wednesday (7pm at Ann Soldo) and Thursday (5pm at Aptos High). Come show your support for teachers, schools, librarians, school nurses, etc. 

* Please practice the multiplication facts with your child every day! There is a link to printable flashcards in the Student Links section. 

* Please check your homes for Social Studies and Science textbooks! We began the year with one for every child, and we are now missing a few. We need all the textbooks in the classroom for daily use. 

This week we will...

...take the state-wide fourth-grade writing assessment Tuesday. Please send your child to class on time, well-fed, and well-rested. 

...wrap up negative numbers with a math test Wednesday. Then we'll be diving into everyone's favorite...  fractions! 

...hopefully complete our reading of By the Great Horn Spoon!  Our goal is to complete the book by Thursday so that everyone has a chance to take the AR test before the end of the trimester. The book is worth 6 points! Students who have already reached their AR goal can "save" the quiz till next trimester if they wish. 

...start our weekly classes of ceramics (through the SPECTRA program) - Thursday mornings from 7:55 - 8:55. Please make sure students are in class on-time!

Week of February 23rd

*Check out some of the new links in the Student Link section! The HM Math Site (correlated with our text) is a great place to review for math tests, look up math vocab, or just play some fun games. The Flashcards site has printable flashcards - perfect for multiplication practice.*

I must say how proud I am of all of the students for their dedication to the Bully Skits! They performed the skits for the Kindergarten and 1st grade classes last week, and I have heard nothing but praise from those teachers! Great job! The skits are also being typed and printed for the rest of the Rio teachers to use in their classrooms. 

Notes/Reminders:

* Monday brings our fieldtrip to see a performance by the Santa Cruz Symphony. We'll be leaving (by bus) at 10:00 and returning by 1:00. Students need to bring a lunch (no hot lunch) since we'll be returning after our regular lunch time. There are still a few students who have not yet returned the permission slip and $4 fee - they will have to stay behind if not turned in first thing Monday morning. 

* The last day of the 2nd trimester is March 6th. All work for the 2nd trimester must be turned in by Thursday, March 5th. Report Cards will be sent home the following Friday.  

* PVUSD wants to hear from parents regarding the budget crisis! Go to the PVUSD website and take the parent survey. You can also show your support by joining us Friday afternoons (3:30-5) on the freeway overpass on Rio del Mar Blvd, and by attending the Board meetings. The next one is this Wednesday the 25th. Bring the kids! 

* Please practice the multiplication facts with your child every day - Just 5 minutes in the car on the way to school is all it takes. Mastery of these facts will be a huge help in many other math concepts.  

* Please check your homes for Social Studies and Science textbooks! We began the year with one for every child, and we are now missing a few. We need all the textbooks in the classroom for daily use. 

This week we will...

...finish up Chapter 5 in our Social Studies curriculum. We've been learning all about the Mexican-American War and how California became a state. There will be a test Friday.

...continue reading By the Great Horn Spoon! Thursday brings a quiz covering chapters 5-8. 

...learn about negative numbers and how they are used in "real life" . 

Week of February 16th

Thank you for a great Valentine's Day party! The kids had a great time, and we still somehow managed to squeeze in some work! Remember - Monday is a holiday!

Notes/Reminders:

* Our next fieldtrip will be to the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium to see a performance by the Santa Cruz Youth Symphony. This is coming up very soon (Monday, February 23rd). Permission slips are coming home Tuesday. Please send these back with your signature and $4.00 as soon as possible! 

* The last day of the 2nd trimester is coming up soon (March 6th). Report Cards will be sent home the following Friday. Keep an eye out for Missing Work notes (coming home this week). Please sign and return these notes! 

* PVUSD wants to hear from parents regarding the budget crisis! Go to the PVUSD website and take the parent survey. 

* Please practice the multiplication facts with your child every day - Just 5 minutes in the car on the way to school is all it takes. Mastery of these facts will be a huge help in many other math concepts.  

* Please check your homes for Social Studies and Science textbooks! We began the year with one for every child, and we are now missing a few. We need all the textbooks in the classroom for daily use. 

This week we will...

...perform our Bully Skits for the Kindergarten and 1st grade classes. 

...have a visit from a Santa Cruz Symphony docent, who will be teaching us all about the symphony for our upcoming fieldtrip.

...continue learning about the different systems of measurement. There will be a Chapter 15 test Friday the 20th. 

...read more of By the Great Horn Spoon! There will be a quiz Thursday covering chapters 1-4. 

...begin our next Writer's Workshop project:  "How I Can Make A Difference". We'll be using this topic to practice writing a 5-paragraph essay. 

Week of February 9th

Notes/Reminders:

* Please respond to the poll if you haven't already *

* We will be celebrating Valentine's Day as a class this Friday the 13th. An email was sent to all Room 9 families with more information. You can contact Michelle Guzman if you have any questions. There is a class list on the right side of this page. Students are not required to bring Valentines, but if they do, they need to bring one for every student in the class. 

* PVUSD wants to hear from parents regarding the budget crisis! Go to the PVUSD website and take the parent survey. If you can make it, there will be a board meeting this Wednesday the 11th. 

* As a staff, we are working on improving students' mastery of multiplication. We need your help at home, too! Please practice the multiplication facts with your child every day - Just 5 minutes in the car on the way to school is all it takes. Mastery of these facts will be a huge help in many other math concepts.  

Also, please help your child learn to tie his or her shoes if that hasn't already been accomplished. We would like to be able to teach our little kindergarten reading buddies to tie their own shoes, and I was surprised to hear that several fourth-graders do not know how (or have forgotten due to always wearing slip-ons). Once they've mastered this skill, they can pass on their knowledge to their little buddies.  

* Please check your homes for Social Studies and Science textbooks! We began the year with one for every child, and we are now missing a few. We need all the textbooks in the classroom for daily use. 

* Check out the changes to the right side of the page. I have combined the Homework and Tests sections. There are also now two Links sections, one for students and one for parents. The Student Links section contains several links to sites the kids can use at home to practice their math facts, learn to type, or study for social studies or science. 

* Keep an eye out for information and a permission slip for our next fieldtrip. We'll be going to the Santa Cruz Youth Symphony performance at the Civic Auditorium on Monday, February 23rd. The fee is $4 per student. 

This week we will...

...learn about the different methods and systems of measurement. 

...have our first 5-minute multiplication test  -  this is the same timed test the class has been taking all year, just with one less minute. 

...learn more about how California became a part of the United States. We'll also be starting our next novel, By the Great Horn Spoon, by Sid Fleischman, which is a fun and adventurous tale about a boy and his butler who travel to California in search of gold. 

...continue working on the Bully Skits. We are now in the process of typing the final drafts, and rehearsing the skits that will be performed for the Kindergarten and 1st grade classes. 

Thank you drivers and chaperones for joining us on the fieldtrip today! That is one of my favorite trips of the year - so much to see and learn, and it's all so beautiful! - I hope you all enjoyed it as well.  

Students have an optional extra-credit opportunity due this Friday - to write about what they learned and enjoyed about today's fieldtrip.

* Check out the changes to the right side of the page. I have combined the Homework and Tests sections. There are also now two Links sections, one for students and one for parents. The Student Links section contains several links to sites the kids can use at home to practice their math facts, learn to type, or study for social studies or science. 

* Join me in welcoming a new student to our class - Kimberley has just moved here from Auburn, and chose a great day to start at Rio! 

* Please read the previous posting for more information about this week * 

Week of February 2nd

* Please respond to the poll to the right *

Notes/Reminders:

* This Tuesday brings our fieldtrip to the San Juan Bautista Mission! Everyone has turned in their permission slip, but there are a few students who have not turned in the $1. This must be turned in by Monday! We will be leaving at 9am and returning by 2pm. Students (and parents) need to bring a bag lunch, comfortable shoes, and a jacket. We have several parents chaperoning, so parents will be able to carpool together if they wish. Parents - please be in the classroom by 9am. Let me know ASAP if you can no longer join us on this trip.

* We will have a Valentine's Day class party on Friday, February 13th. Please keep an eye out for a flyer or email from the parents who are coordinating this party. In an effort to save paper in these crazy budget times, I have posted the class list for Valentines here instead of sending them home on paper (on the right). 

* The next two Mondays are holidays (9th and 16th). 

This week we will...

...continue working on our Bullying Skits. I am very impressed with the teamwork and sincerity that is being put into these skits by all of the Room 9 students.

...move from science to social studies and begin a unit on the Mexican-American War. We'll then move on to the California Gold Rush in the coming weeks. Check the Links section on the right for websites. 

...finish reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. There will be a quiz on Friday.