Friday, April 12th NO SCHOOL for students:
Teacher grading and staff development day
Thursday & Friday April 18th-19th NO SCHOOL for students:
Student Led-Conferences (See note below)
Monday, April 22nd Puffins to Forest Grove Public Library
Parent chaperones: meet us in the classroom at 1:50pm if you would like to join us
Wednesday, April 24th ALL DAY O&A to Oregon Coast
We will depart promptly at 9am and return to school at 2:45pm
This is our first beach trip (of two) and it will be focused on a Service Project: Micro Plastic Clean-Up & Art Project
Chaperones are welcome to ride the bus, or drive themselves and meet us there.
Monday, April 29th: Oregon State Testing Begins for Level 2 Students (see details below)
Wednesday, May 1st ALL DAY O&A to Jackson Bottom Wetlands Biodiversity Program
The bus departs at 9:30am and returns to FGCS at 1:30pm
Chaperones Still Needed!
Chaperones are welcome to ride the bus, or drive themselves and meet us there.
Wednesday, May 22nd ALL DAY O&A to the Oregon coast to participate in the Haystack Rock Awareness Program. (NOTE: This is our second beach trip)
The HRAP is an environmental education program with a mission to protect, through education, the intertidal and bird ecology of the Marine Garden and Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge at Haystack Rock.
Community School Calendar 2018-2019
A little note about comfort: Spring is here! Please make sure that your kiddo is properly outfitted with waterproof layers and appropriate footwear on Monday and Wednesdays when they will be outside for at least part of their day.
Student-Led Conferences
It's time to sign up for student-led conferences, which will take place at FGCS on Thursday, April 18.
Call the office at 503-359-4600 to schedule a 30-minute conference with your student and student's teacher. Conference times are available 9 a.m.-noon (last morning slot 11:30 a.m.) and 3-7 p.m. (last evening slot 6:30 p.m.).
Up to three families are scheduled for student-led conferences during each half hour time slot on a first-come first-served basis. We recommend calling as soon as possible to find a time that works best for you.
A note about student-led conferences: All students are expected to participate in a conference with their parents/guardians. Student participation is required because students are leading their parents/guardians through a presentation of their recent school work. Teachers are on hand to answer questions, but students are in the lead. If you have questions or concerns you'd like to discuss privately with your student's teacher, please make arrangements directly with the teacher by phone or email.
State (SBAC) Testing
Level 2 students will begin state testing on Monday, April 29th. Testing is administered in the computer lab in short afternoon sessions, and students have the opportunity to work on the same test over multiple sessions so they can work at their own pace.
Please help support your Puffin:
- Every day, please send a healthy snack with your child
- Encourage them to do their best
- Help them get plenty of sleep and eat a good breakfast
- Homework: practice keyboarding skills
Your kiddo can also practice at home @ practice.smarterbalanced.org/student/
After following the link provided here:
sign in as a guest, select your grade and test (Math or ELA).
State Testing: A Note from the Principal
State Testing: Opt-Out Information:
If you are interested in learning more, please contact Karen Torry
[email protected]
Parent Rights/Opt Out Form (English / Spanish)
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) State Testing
What's Happening in the Puffin Nest...
This week in the garden, level 2 students met local beekeepers to learn about that important job, why bees are so important, and what we can do to protect them. Students played a “pollinator” game to learn more about the importance of pollination to plants. Finally, students made “seed bombs” to help plant more flowers that bees rely on.
Back in the classroom, students discovered the most dangerous animal in the world isn’t sharks or lions, but… mosquitoes! Mosquitoes are responsible for spreading diseases like malaria, West Nile, and Zika. In our activity, students applied knowledge about mosquito habitats and life cycles toward preventing mosquitoes in a fictional town.
Continuing with our unit of "Animals through time", we learned how living in space can affect people’s and animals’ bodies. Students examined how Scott Kelly, a NASA astronaut who spent an entire year aboard the International Space Station, changed after being in space. Then they imagined how their own physical traits (height, strength, balance) might change after living in space.
You can support your child’s curiosity about space by watching a video together of a surprising phenomenon in space. Col. Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency demonstrates an answer to the question, “What happens when you wring out a wet cloth in space?”: http://safeyoutube.net/w/OFPd.
Writing Workshop
Students have begun to explore the "Art of Informational Writing" during writer's workshop.
Our Goals:
- We will generate our own informational text after researching a topic.
- We will consider and choose a writing structure to organize information so it is clear.
- We will write an interesting beginning and conclusion. .
- We will read, revise, and edit as we work.
- Using Book Creator on the iPad, we will include headings, text boxes, pictures with captions, and other visuals in our finished books.
Reading Workshop: Literature Circles
These small group "Book Clubs" engage students in rich conversations about shared readings. Students can express their opinions, predictions, and questions about a text in a productive, structured way. Students take on specific group roles which are designed to develop reading, speaking, and thinking abilities. Ask your kiddo to tell you about the book they are reading!
Up next, Students will jump into non-fiction research clubs. They will continue to develop their collaborative reading skills while learning more about reading and research strategies.
Our "Research Club" unit focuses on these big ideas:
- Orienting ourselves with non-fiction text
- Digging into a topic and identifying subtopics
- Learning technical vocabulary
- Asking questions and analyzing collected information
- Recognizing text structure (Compare/Contrast and Cause/Effect)
Suggested Weekly Homework:
Reading Homework
Spend at least 20 minutes reading (outside of school) every day.
Reading is on the "honor system" and we ask that you help your kiddo to develop a daily reading routine with good-fit books and a well-lit, comfy reading spot away from distractions.
Typing Homework
Level 2 students have typing homework to develop and support important keyboarding skills. Please practice at least 20 minutes per week on: Typing.com
Math homework
Every week, the math homework is to complete at least 30 minutes of math practice.
Ideas for math practice:
- Recommended: Students can get valuable math practice with their Dreambox account. The Dreambox accounts offer an easy way to track math progress and feature assignments that are on-topic with what we are learning in class.
- If your family would prefer to practice math skills in other ways (practice books, worksheets, flash cards, math games or other online resources such as Khan Academy), please send in your student's work OR send me an email before Friday morning each week letting me know how they completed their 30 minutes of weekly math practice. Current 3rd/ 4th grade math topics are listed below.
3rd grade parent info:
Current 4th grade Math Topic:
All 4th grade math students should be practicing their multiples DAILY.
Review Topics for 4th Grade Math: