Please Note: Puffins will be going outside every Monday (PE), Wednesday (O&A) and twice daily for recess.
In class we talked about our local climate and how we can be prepared.
Students are welcome to bring extra clothes and shoes to help them stay dry and warm.
Always dress for the weather!
March 27th- March 31st: SPRING BREAK- NO SCHOOL
Monday, April 3rd: Puffins walking to the Forest Grove Public Library 1:50-3pm
Students should bring 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
Returning Student Forms Due April 3rd
With open enrollment for 2017-18 underway, it is time for parents of current students to confirm that they plan to return to FGCS next year. Click here to fill out an online Returning Student Form. Current students are guaranteed a classroom place for next school year when their parents submit a form by the deadline.
Wednesday, April 5th: O&A: Fernhill Wetlands 10:40- 1:25 pm
Friday, April 7th: All School Meeting/ Spirit Day (Theme: Facial Hair!)
Wednesday, April 19th: O&A: Oregon Zoo Program 9:30-2pm
Thursday, April 20th: Student-led Conferences 4pm-7pm
Sign up with Vickie from the office for your conference time!
Friday, April 21st: NO SCHOOL: Student-led Conferences 8am-12pm
Sign up with Vickie from the office for your conference time!
Wednesday, April 26th: Jackson Bottom Wetlands Program 9:30-2pm
Chaperones Needed! If you are interested, please email: [email protected]
Wednesday, May 3rd: Haystack Rock Program @ Coast 8:30am-3pm
Please Note: Early Departure 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.
Upcoming Events From the ART ROOM:
April 1st Artwork deadline for Art Show/Concert
April 7th Art Show/Concert 5-7pm NOTE: Bring your cake in by 4pm
April 7th Yearbook Cover Contest: Submissions due
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(see below) and complete 30 minutes (minimum) of math practice.
3rd grade math
Multiplication Family Letter
Activities to Try at Home
Loops and Group Multiplication Game (we played with dice instead of the spinners)
In 3rd Grade Math, students have been working on a complex multiplication story problem called "How Long, How Tall?"
Using two large posters of a city center, students worked in pairs to measure buildings, buses, trees and other objects in the city in relation to the height of a character named Antonio, who is four feet tall.
For example, one of the trees was determined to be 12 feet high since it was 3 times the height of Antonio. Then, groups got to create their own setting for an Antonio problem, like under the sea, Jurassic world or "the land of giant school supplies," and measure the heights of the objects in their drawings.
This investigation will lead to the creation of measuring strips, or number lines, to compare the products of different sized groups. To support your student in their developing understanding of multiplication, remind them that a problem like "4 x 5" can be read as "4 groups of 5."
4th grade math
- We are currently working on our FRACTIONS unit
- Our fraction unit was developed with Dr. Gowri Meda. For information about how we approach instruction during this unit, or to get information about how to review concepts at home with your child, visit Dr. Meda's website of math videos: Math Precisely.
Here are the practice pages for the previous weeks:
- Homework #1: Introduction to Fractions
- Homework #2: Unit Fractions/ Finding Fractions on a Number line
- Homework #3: Comparing Fractions
- Homework #4: Adding & Subtracting Fractions
- Homework #5: Adding & Subtract Fractions with UNLIKE denominators AND Multiplying a Fraction by a Whole Number
- Homework #6: Proper and Improper fractions, Conversions between improper fractions and mixed numbers, addition of mixed numbers
- Homework #7: Multiplying a mixed number by a whole number
- Practice Test A review of all fractions topics we have covered
(They know how to do this- ask your kiddo to show you!)
What's Happening in the Puffin Nest?
Project:
This week, we visited the Backyard Garden to explore how organisms survive in their habitats by passing traits from one generation to the next.
Back in the classroom, students created their visitor center character and received their animal research assignments.
Animal Research Groups:
When they return from spring break, students will begin working on research and visitor center jobs. They will be focusing on comparing/contrasting their ocean and forest animals.
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
- Ecosystem Model Specialist
- Life Cycle Exhibit Educator
- Animal Advocate Videographer
- Biologist/ Animal Artist
Writing Workshop
Students continued to explore the "Art of Informational Writing" during writer's workshop.
This week, students worked hard to publish their books!
Our Goals:
- We will generate informational text from our own "expert" knowledge of 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
Our "Book Clubs" wrapped up this week. In small groups, students read chapters independently and held bi-weekly book club meetings.
After re-reading a few pages together, students shared their opinions, predictions, and questions about the text in a productive, structured way. Students took on specific group roles designed to develop reading, speaking, and thinking abilities.
Ask your kiddo to tell you about the book they just finished reading!
Our Book Club Books:
- The Wanderer
- View from Saturday
- Bridge to Terabithia
- Holes
- The Mouse & the Motorcycle
- Cricket in Times Square
- How to Train Your Dragon
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)
Read Aloud
Drizzle by Kathleen VanCleve