Week of October 6th

Thank you to all of the parents who chaperoned the fieldtrip last Thursday - we couldn't have done it without all of your help!  The kids had a blast and everything went so smoothly! The class was given an optional extra-credit assignment - due tomorrow - to write a reflection on the fieldtrip. 

Notes/Reminders:

*Check out the "Book Wish List" on the right side of the page just above the "Class Wish List". Any donations of used or new books are greatly appreciated. I've compiled a list of desired books and will continue to update it throughout the year. Thank you!

*This Wednesday, October 8th, is NOT a restructured day. School will end at 2:05.

*Next week (October 13th - 17th) we have Parent Conferences. I will post the schedule on the blog later this week. Notes were sent home last week for you to confirm your conference time. Some parents have not returned these forms. Please do so as soon as possible. 

Every day that week is a restructured day - school will end at 12:05. There will NOT be Homework Club at all that week, so remember to make other arrangements. 

This week we will...

...be very busy! We will be starting the Endangered Animal Reports. Students were asked to think over the weekend about which animal they would like to research. Check out the list of websites to the right. These animal reports will be mostly done in class (research and rough drafts), but the final drafts will be mostly completed at home. All information regarding requirements and expectations will be given in class tomorrow. Students are encouraged to visit the public library for books about their animal. We will be visiting the school library tomorrow, as well as using the computers for research in class. 

...continue our science unit on the Energy of Living Things. We are learning all about decomposers, consumers, and producers, and how they all interact and survive together. These concepts will be incorporated into the Endangered Animal Reports. 

...read The City of Ember. Some students have brought in their own copies of the book, which is great! The first quiz will be this Friday. 

FIELDTRIP REMINDER!!

Tomorrow we are going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for our first fieldtrip. Parent drivers/chaperones need to be in the classroom at 9:45. We will return by 1:45. 

Students must bring a lunch and comfortable walking shoes. There is no need for students to bring any money since they are not allowed to buy anything at the gift shop. 

Parent chaperones who have Memberships need to bring their Membership Card. 

Students are welcome to bring cameras.

See you tomorrow!

Week of September 29th

Parents: Please respond to the poll on the right side of this page if you haven't already. Thank you!

Check out the "Book Wish List" on the right side of the page just above the "Class Wish List". Any donations of used or new books are greatly appreciated. I've compiled a list of desired books and will continue to update it throughout the year. Thank you!

This week we will...

...finish up our Native American unit and begin our first science unit. We will be learning all about how plants and animals live and grow together. Next week we will begin our Endangered Animal Reports. 

...start reading The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. We do not have a class set of these books. Students are welcome to bring their own copies to read along. 

...go on our first fieldtrip! This Thursday we will be going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. A reminder note with important information will be sent home Tuesday. 

...have the Harvest Festival Friday evening!

Week of September 22nd

Parents: Please respond to the poll on the right side of this page. Thank you!

Check out the "Book Wish List" on the right side of the page just above the "Class Wish List". Any donations of used or new books are greatly appreciated. I've compiled a list of desired books and will continue to update it throughout the year. Thank you!

A few notes/reminders...

 - This Tuesday, September 23rd, is Picture Day!!

 - Scholastic Book Orders are due Tuesday. 

 - There will be a substitute this Thursday. 

This week we will...

...start our next Writer's Workshop project - a fictional story based on an illustration from Chris Van Allsburg's book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.  Check out this website: 

http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/features/harrisburdick/introduction.html

...finish up Island of the Blue Dolphins by Friday. Next week we will begin reading The City of Ember. 

...have a math test Thursday. This will cover Chapter 5. 

...complete our Native Californian Centers.

Week of September 15th

A letter from Mrs. Dorney was sent home on Friday regarding the death of a Rio student. Sofia Wardle was a second-grader who had battled cancer for many years. Friday was a difficult day, but I was very impressed with the way your children handled it. We talked as a class about Sofia and about our feelings and experiences with losing loved ones. One of the first concerns from the class was how the little kindergarteners would handle it. There were some tears throughout the day, and they were all very sympathetic and respectful of each other's feelings. It was wonderful to see them all come together to support one another in such a mature, compassionate way. Sofia will certainly be missed by all of the Rio students, staff, and families. 

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This week we will...

...learn about common nouns, compound sentences, and using commas. 

...continue with our Native Californian Tribe centers and flipbooks.

...have a math test on Tuesday which will cover chapters 3 and 4. 

...go to an assembly Thursday morning - a performance by the Banana Slug String Band.

...have a Language Arts test Thursday. This will cover all of the reading and grammar skills we've been learning about through the Language Arts program (subject/predicate, common nouns, compound sentences, etc.)

Week of September 8th

Parent Volunteers are welcome to start coming in this week. If they'd rather not start till next week, that is fine too. A notice was sent home last week with an updated schedule. Please remember to coordinate with those who share your volunteer time so that you can alternate weeks. 

Starting this week the class will have a new regular homework assignment - Current Events. Students will be asked to find and read news articles, write a summary and reflection, and present them to the class. We will be practicing this process as a class on Monday. The class will be divided into two groups (A and B) so that each student is given the assignment every other week. 

This week we will...

...begin our Native Californians learning centers (Chapter 2 of Social Studies). Over the next few weeks we will be learning all about the Native American tribes throughout California.

...continue reading Island of the Blue Dolphins. We should be completing the novel in the next two weeks, then moving on to The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. We do not have a class set of this book so students are welcome to bring their own copy. 

...read a story about the Titanic. This is the third story of the "Journeys" theme in our Language Arts reader. 

...have our first lesson from Senora Murray! She will be here Wednesday mornings for the first half of the year to teach the class Spanish! 

...visit the library on Friday morning. Last week the students were able to check out books for the first time, so they are due back this Friday.