Upcoming Events
Wednesday, May 3rd: Haystack Rock Program @ Coast 8:10am-3pm
Please Note: THE BUS LEAVES at 8:30!
Level 2 will bus out to Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach.
To maximize our time at the coast, we will leave at 8:30 am-sharp!
In order to participate, we ask that you drop your Puffin off at school between 8:10-8:20 on this day.
Don't forget a sack lunch, water bottle, and clothing for any weather the coast might offer - including warm, waterproof layers and close-toed shoes for the tide pools.
At Haystack Rock, students will do an hour of coastal habitat research and beach clean-up. We also will meet with the Haystack Rock Awareness Program to learn how to explore the tide pools responsibly, and spot coastal birds (fingers-crossed for a Puffin sighting!)
PLEASE NOTE:
The bus ride is full for chaperones, but if you wish to chaperone and can drive yourself, please do! If you choose to meet us there, we expect to arrive on the beach just north of Haystack Rock around 10:00 am.
Friday, May 12th FULL SCHOOL DAY for all students with dismissal at 3:20pm
(snow day make-up)
Friday, May 12th FGCS Fund Run! Students should wear PE clothes this day
All FGCS students run or walk with their classes for 20 Minutes on the track at Tom McCall. If you have questions, contact Jonathan Kelly at [email protected]
Monday, May 15th Puffins walking to the Forest Grove Public Library 1:50-3pm
Students should bring books to return, their library card and a tote bag.
Chaperones Needed! We need parent volunteers to walk with us, and accompany students to check out books. If you would like to join us, simply meet us in the classroom at 1:50pm.
Our last visit to the library this year!
Friday, May 19th All School Meeting and Spirit Day! 9:45am – 11:15am
Level 2 Theme: Dress up as your Visitor Center character/job
Students have brainstormed ideas for costumes and props. They thought about things biologists wear when they go out into the field to study nature. Students should use items they already have or can borrow (boots, vests, hat, field note pad, binoculars).
Friday, May 19th FULL SCHOOL DAY for all students with dismissal at 3:20pm
(a second snow day make-up day)
Saturday, May 20th Backyard Garden Spring Clean-up
Monday, May 29th Memorial Day: NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, May 31st Celebrations of Learning Event 5:00pm – 6:30pm
Friday, June 2nd FGCS Talent Show
Forest Grove School District building (1728 Main St.) in the Grove Room @ 9:00 am
Tuesday, June 13th
Bridging Ceremony at Taylor-Meade Hall Pacific University map 1pm- 3pm
The Bridging Ceremony honors students in 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th grades who are moving up to a new grade level or graduating from FGCS.
Wednesday, June 14th Field Day and Last Day of School- 3:05/3:20pm dismissal
Level 2 Weekly homework
1. Typing Homework: This year, Level 2 students will have typing homework to develop and support important keyboarding skills.
Please practice at least 20 minutes per week on: Typing.com
2. Reading: Spend at least 20 minutes reading (outside of school) every day.
When you finish a book, add it to your Tower of Books!
3. Math homework:
Students should log on to either Dream Box or Khan Academy and complete 30 minutes (minimum) of math practice. Other ideas for home practice: workbooks/ games
4th grade math
- Math Homework Worksheet Packet: Measuring Angles
- Geometry Skills Practice on Khan Academy
(They know how to do this.... ask your kiddo to show you!)
What's Happening in the Puffin Nest?
This week, we visited Jackson Bottom Wetlands. Expert guides showed us how biodiversity keeps an ecosystem healthy. We compared forests and wetlands, and saw how the Tualatin River ties them all together.
Our O&A Objectives:
- Ask and answer: what is biodiversity? Describe how biodiversity makes an ecosystem strong and what happens to a food chain when diversity is lost. Give examples from the wetland.
- Consider: how can we measure biodiversity? Practice techniques that scientists use to measure biodiversity in plants and animals.
- Connect with our animal biology/visitor center project! How can we make our visitor center interesting to diverse people? (Old people, young people, people who like reading, people who like touching things with their hands...) Explore Jackson Bottom's Education Center and gather ideas for our classroom project.
PROJECT: Animal Biology:
Level 2 students are becoming animal experts!
Group 1 Tufted Puffin & Northern Spotted Owl
Group 2 Marbled Murrelet & Pileated Woodpecker
Group 3 Northern Sea Lion & Gray Wolf
Group 4 Gray Whale & Red Tree Vole
Group 5 Leatherback Sea Turtle & Pacific Giant Salamander
Group 6 Ochre Sea Star & Banana Slug
Our Visitor Center Jobs
Each student will be responsible for creating an exhibit for their visitor center as well as researching and writing a chapter in their group book. They will be comparing/contrasting a specific topic of their ocean and forest animals.
- Ecosystem Model Specialist: Focus on Habitat & Shelter
- Life Cycle Exhibit Educator: Focus on Life Cycle
- Animal Advocate Videographer: Focus on Survival Threats
- Biologist/ Animal Artist: Focus on Appearance & Diet
May 2017
Level 2 students will continue to complete state testing. Testing is administered in the computer lab in short sessions, and students have the opportunity to work on the same test over multiple sessions so they can work at their own pace.
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) State Testing
Please help support your Puffin by: encouraging them to do their best, making sure they eat breakfast and bring a snack, and helping them get plenty of sleep.
Your kiddo can also practice at home on the student practice test site. After following the link provided here, sign in as a guest, select your grade and test: Math or ELA (English Language Arts).
Read Aloud
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Our latest literary adventure involves an ecological mystery, made up of endangered miniature owls and their unlikely allies.