Spelling Bee Winners!

Congratulations to Macie and Grace for being the Room 9 spelling champs! They will be competing against other 4th, 5th and 6th grade students this Friday. 

Week of January 26th

Notes/Reminders: 

* Please respond to the poll to the right - thank you! * 

* Back to a five-day week! We have a lot going on this week, so please read the entire posting so you are aware of all of the happenings in Room 9. 

* San Juan Bautista Mission Fieldtrip is coming up Tuesday, Feb. 3rd. Please return the signed permission slip and the $1 fee per student as soon as possible. I'll be sending home confirmations to parent drivers/chaperones later this week. 

* District Surveys, Yearbook Order Forms, and Dismissal Forms were all sent home - please return them if you haven't already done so. The Dismissal Form will assist us in keeping the dismissal process running smoothly, and is for the safety of your children. 

* Rio is looking for parent volunteers to assist in the lunch-time recycling program. Please contact Mrs. Dorney if you are interested. 

This week we will...

...have a class Spelling Bee on Monday. The top two spellers from each 4th, 5th, and 6th grade class will move on to the Rio Spelling Bee this Friday. This takes place in a 6th grade classroom during the school day, without an audience. The top two spellers from that round will compete in the North Zone Spelling Bee on February 5th, as well as the Santa Cruz County Spelling Bee. I'll post our 2 class winners Monday evening. 

...work on the Anti-Bullying skits that our class is writing and performing for the school. We'll be writing several skits for the 2nd-6th grade teachers to use in their own classes. We'll also be writing and performing skits for the Kindergarten and 1st grade classes. 

...complete our Rocks & Minerals science unit. There will be a test on Friday, with review homework on Thursday night. 

...have a math test Tuesday covering Chapter 13. 

....begin our next class novel:  Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.  This is a short but important novel about a young girl affected by the atomic bomb in Japan. We do have a class set, but students are welcome to bring in their own copies (please write their name inside).

...learn how to write a summary.  The fourth-grade state writing assessment is coming up in March, and 'summary' is one of the possible options. The other three are narrative, expository, and response-to-literature, which we'll be practicing along with summary over the next several weeks. 

 

Week of January 19th

Notes/Reminders: 

* Scholastic book orders are due Tuesday

* $2 for the California Bat Conservation Fund presentation due Tuesday

* District surveys were sent home last week - please complete and return as soon as possible

* Yearbook order forms were sent home last week - if you need another, ask in the office

* San Juan Bautista Fieldtrip permission slips were sent home last week. We'll be visiting the Mission on February 3rd. Please return the signed permission slip, along with $1 per student. 

* Afternoon Dismissal forms were sent home last week. Please return this form as soon as possible if you haven't already. The students' safety is at the heart of these new procedures, and I appreciate your patience and understanding as we work out the bugs in the new dismissal process. 

This week we will...

...delve deeper into long-division with 3-digit division. 

...see a presentation from the California Bat Conservation Fund on Tuesday morning.

...take the Summative Assessment in Language Arts for the District, which includes a writing assessment. We'll spend Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning working on the assessment. 

...continue learning about Rocks and Minerals. Each student needs to bring in rock by Thursday (no bigger than a fist, please). 

Welcome Back!

Reminder:  School resumes Tuesday, January 13th

I hope you all had a refreshing and relaxing Winter Break! We'll be jumping back into school-mode Tuesday. I know it's difficult to get back on track, but please be sure to get students to class on time and ready to learn! 

Take a look at the Class Wishlist on the right side of the page - we are in need of some school supplies. Any donations will be greatly appreciated. 

Optional Extra-Credit assignments are due Tuesday. Check the previous post for more information. 

Keep an eye out for a fieldtrip permission slip (San Juan Bautista Mission - February 3rd) and a new Scholastic book order. 

This week we will...

...begin a unit on Rocks and Minerals. For the next few weeks we'll be learning all about the different types of rocks and minerals and the rock cycle. Check out the Links section for some kid-friendly websites. 

...review for the next Language Arts district assessment, which we'll be taking next week. We'll also practice writing descriptive essays, which will also be a part of the assessment in coming weeks. 

...continue with Long-Division! It is essential that students have memorized the multiplication facts - please practice these at home! 

...have our first session in the new Computer Lab! Before break we had an orientation session, and now we are ready to start using the computers. Our regular time will be Thursdays from 1:00-2:00. If any parents are interested in volunteering their time to help out in the computer lab during that time, let me know. On the Rio home page in the Classroom Blog section there is a link to Diane Sampson's page, where you can learn more about the Computer Lab. 

Happy Holidays!

A huge thank you to Caryn and Kelly for organizing our class party, and to all of the parents who were able to help out in various ways. The food was delicious, the craft was adorable, and the game was a huge hit! 

 School resumes Tuesday, January 13th. 

Students have the option of completing an extra-credit assignment over the break. They are due the day we return from break and will not be accepted late. 

They may:

* complete the "You be the Judge" page from the James packet

* complete the "Giant Creatures" page from the James packet

* write a conversation (using the "Conversations" page in the James packet as a guide) - performing the conversation is optional

* memorize and perform one of the poems/songs from the book

* Please Note: The Tech Museum fieldtrip has been cancelled. Our next fieldtrip will be February 3rd to the San Juan Bautista Mission 

Please check the Class Wish List to the right (scroll down). At this point in the year we are beginning to run short on necessary supplies, such as pencils and erasers. Any donations are truly appreciated. 

Week of December 15th

* Parents: Please respond to the poll to the right if you haven't already done so!* 

* Please Note: The Tech Museum fieldtrip has been cancelled. Our next fieldtrip will be February 3rd to the San Juan Bautista Mission *

We have a lot going on this week! Please take the time to read the full blog. 

* Please check the Class Wish List to the right (scroll down). At this point in the year we are beginning to run short on necessary supplies, such as pencils and erasers. Any donations are truly appreciated. 

* This Wednesday is NOT a restructured day. Release time is 2:05. There will only be Homework Club on Monday and Tuesday of this week. 

* The Biography book report packet is due this Wednesday the 17th and will not be accepted late.  

* We will be putting on the Living Wax Museum this Thursday at 1:10 in the cafeteria. Students need to have their first-person speeches written and memorized. They also need to have a costume prepared. They can change into the costume before 1:00, they do not need to wear it to school. All parents are welcome to visit the museum.

* Caryn and Kelly have put together a holiday party for our class this Friday. An email was sent to all parents with information. We will be having a breakfast potluck, making a craft, and playing a "White Elephant" gift exchange game. Please be sure to bring in a wrapped, unisex gift that is UNDER $5.00!!! 

* Friday we had a school-wide lice check. Hopefully this will help combat the spread of lice we've recently had in the school. If your child has had any evidence of lice, please get them checked by the school nurse before sending them back to class. 

* A notice went home last week regarding a mountain lion in the area. Please read through the information and discuss this with your children. 

* There is a class photo album in the classroom for parents to add photos to throughout the year. This will be used to assist in the making of our yearbook page. 

* This week we are finishing up the Super Hero Picture Books for our reading buddies. These are turning out wonderful! The class will have ample time Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings to finish up their books. They must be completed by recess on Wednesday. We have a parent coming in to bind the books that afternoon (Thank you Jeaneen!). 

* Students will have an opportunity to earn extra-credit over the winter break. It will be related to James and the Giant Peach. The students will learn more about this Friday. 

* Thursday at 9:15 we'll be going to an assembly to see the "Rock Band" from the afterschool program perform, along with a holiday sing-a-long.