Puffin Newsletter
Upcoming Events Calendar for May & June:
Monday, May 2nd State (SBAC) Testing continues for Level 2 students throughout the week, for the next several weeks.
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. Please help support your Puffin by:
- encouraging them to do their best
- making sure they eat a healthy breakfast and bring a snack
- helping them get plenty of sleep
- practice keyboarding skills
Donations of nuts/trail mix, organic apples, yogurt and gum are needed! There are sign-ups on VolunteerSpot, and you are welcome to send snacks in with your child anytime over the next three weeks.
Friday, May 6th Fund Run- see below for more information
Monday, May 9th Puffins to Library- Chaperones welcome, simply join us at 1:45pm in the classroom
Wednesday, May 11th Oregon Children's Theater performance: James and the Giant Peach
Thank you to our early sign-up chaperones!
Wednesday, May 18th O&A: We will spend the day at Gales Creek Campground, practicing outdoor skills.
Thank you to our early sign-up chaperones!
Friday, May 27th All School Meeting: Puffins will present a special newscast all about earthquake preparedness and the kits they are creating for the school.
Forest Grove School District building (1728 Main St.) in the Grove Room @ 9:45 am
Monday, May 30th NO SCHOOL, Memorial Day
Wednesday, June 1st Celebrations of Learning 5 - 6:30 pm
Friday, June 3rd FGCS Talent Show
Forest Grove School District building (1728 Main St.) in the Grove Room @ 9:30 am
Thursday, June 9th Bridging Ceremony at Taylor-Meade @ 1pm
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.
Friday, June 10th Last Day of School- Field Day
Fund Run
FGCS is holding a Fund Run on Friday, May 6 to raise money to buy new sports and play equipment. The Fund Run is being organized by 8th grader Ramsey Pedroza for his Capstone Project.
Pledge/donation sheets were sent home with all students the week of April 25.
Students will walk or run for 20 minutes with their classes on the track at Tom McCall Upper Elementary School. All students will participate in the Fund Run. Collecting pledges or donations is greatly appreciated, but not required.
Become a Summer Garden Steward
Please consider helping care for the garden this summer!
Homework will be due on Thursday, May 5th:
Each week, homework is the following 3 parts:
1. Math:
Complete at least 30 minutes of math practice per week-(more is recommended)
Suggested IXL skills for 3rd grade math practice:
- Play Fraction Cookie Game (directions and game sets were sent home on Thursday!)
Extra game boards
- Math Homework Worksheet Packet: Perimeter & Area
- Area & Perimeter Skills Practice on Khan Academy
- IXL Geometry P.1-P.25
2. Writing:
- Reading Response Letter in Writer's Notebook. Parents! Please take a look at the directions for completing the Reading Response Letter (these can also can be found inside the front cover of the writing notebook.) Sentence starting ideas can be found on the last page of the notebook.
- NEW WRITING HOMEWORK OPTION: Students can TYPE their reading response and email it to:
[email protected] Title: Student Name/ Date
3. Reading:
Read for at least 20 minutes every night- track at home
Our Week in Review:
Project:
This week, we went to Tom McCall Forest for our lessons!
In Erin's outdoor classroom, students learned about: Survival & Shelters
- Discuss survival needs (Air, Shelter, Food, Water) "Rule of Three"
- Learn the principles of a good shelter (insulation, small size, protection from elements, observe surroundings for existing shelters, etc)
- Collaborate on creating a stick shelter
In Laura's outdoor classroom, students learned about: Clouds & Weather
- Cloud ID lesson / demonstration
- Cloud observations
- Gather and record weather data
In Ginny's outdoor classroom, students learned about: Sending Messages
- Discuss ways that people send messages when they need help so that a rescuer can find them
- Learn different ways to pass messages (light, sound, visual messages)
- Review and practice morse code
4th grade Math:
Current Topics:
Our Geometry unit wraps up with students finding the perimeter of polygons, and the area of rectangles, squares and triangles.
Ask your student to explain:
- how they find the perimeter of a shape
- the formula for finding the area of a square or rectangle
- the formula for calculating the area of a triangle
Reading Workshop:
Novel Study:
Students follow up sessions of focused, independent reading with a four part reflection. In their novel study journals, students list and define new words. They note examples of figurative language. They summarize the chapters they read, pose questions and make predictions about what might happen next in the story.
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.
Literature Circle Books we are reading:
- The Wanderer by Sharon Creech
- Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
- Navajo Longwalk by Nancy M. Armstrong
- Holes by Louis Sachar
- Frindle by Andrew Clements
- Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
Writing Workshop
We continue Bringing History to Life with our Biography Unit!
During this unit, students:
- Conduct a short research project that builds knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
- Write informational text by teaching about a topic clearly and including facts, quotations, details, formatting and illustrations.
Our kiddos brainstormed the following list of important questions to guide their research:
- Where are when did they grow up? What was their childhood like?
- What obstacles did they overcome? How?
- What were their hobbies and interests? What about education?
- Why are they famous? What are their major accomplishments?
- How have they made an impact on the lives of others?
- Do they have a famous quote?
Students are working to complete their first draft. Ask your child to tell you what they have learned so far!
Class Read Aloud
We are currently reading The Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Key Boarding Practice at Home
Students can get valuable keyboarding practice by typing their reading response letter each week. Please continue to proofread the letter and give feedback to your young writer. I recommend that students use Word or Pages to type/edit/save their work, and then cut and paste the finished response into the email. As you observe your kiddo typing, you will know if they need more "home-row" typing support. There are many free typing programs out there. Here are a few games/ websites to check out: