Monday, September 18th: Puffins to Forest Grove Public Library 2pm-3pm
Chaperones Welcome! If you would like to join us, please send your kiddo's teacher an email.
NOTE: All 3rd graders will need a library card (ideally their own card) to keep in the teacher file here at school. Please send a library card in with your kiddo before September 18th.
Tuesday, September 19th: Level 2 school picture day
Wednesday, September 27th: Out & About to Fernhill Wetlands 10am-1:30pm
We will need 2 chaperones for each class. The bus is a snug fit for both classes, so we prefer if chaperones can carpool/drive themselves to nearby Fernhill. If you are interested, email Email teacher Erin Morgan: [email protected].
Please note who your child is when you email.
Friday, October 13th
Staff Development- NO SCHOOL for students
Friday, October 20th
Grading & Staff Development- NO SCHOOL for students
Thursday, Oct. 26th and Friday, Oct. 27th
Fall Parent Conferences- NO SCHOOL for students
Let's Get That Homework Going!
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.
Math: 15 minutes (or more) of math practice each week day. If you are able to support your child’s math practice at home, we recommend that students use their Eureka “Apply” math homework workbook with adult supervision. You can read more about this by clicking on the "Homework-Schedule-Class Info" link at the top of the page.
NOTE: Module 1 homework workbooks were sent home at Family Visits or in backpacks on Friday, Jan. 15th. Please note: the Puffin classroom experienced some flooding after a big thunderstorm right before school started, so if you did not pick up the math book at Family Visits, this one module will be a bit wrinkly due to the water damage.
For the upcoming week of 9/18 - 9/21, focus on these Apply homework pages:
For 4th graders:
Students should work to complete all lessons up to lesson 6 in the Module 1 book.
For 3rd graders:
Students should work to complete all lessons up to lesson 6 in the Module 1 book.
Also strongly recommended: daily practice with multiplication facts for 2-10's
Check out these multiplication fact practice apps: For independent computer practice, you can set up a free account for your child:
- Khan Academy: instructional videos and problem solving practice
- Prodigy: answer math questions, complete quests, earn rewards
- SumDog: solve math problems while playing video games
- Math Game Time: no account set-up required, select grade level & play!
What's happening in the Puffin Nest?
During our first full week, we continued to work on establishing routines, getting to know each other and building community with lots of fun partner activities. Our Puffins created maps of the classroom, built towers from post-its, built reading and writing stamina, and engaged with a STEM activity based around “Fred the Worm” and his misadventures. Students worked together to put a “life preserver” on Fred (without using their hands) so he wouldn’t drown while whitewater rafting!
Our goals:
- Learn and practice classroom expectations
- Brainstorm ideas for our classroom rules
- Encourage each other to explore ideas and take risks while having fun
- Practice flexible thinking and problem solving
- Work on our communication and collaboration skills
- Information collected through senses is processed in the brain.
- Information travels to and from the brain through the nervous system.
- Animals use sensory information to guide their actions and help them survive.
Out & About
On Wednesday, we headed to the school garden to put students’ olfactory sense (smell) to the test. They were challenged to identify a variety of different smells, like mint, rose and vanilla. Then, they used their nose-smarts to mimic the apple moth, a garden creature that depends on its sense of smell to locate fellow moths and reproduce. We also sampled some garden produce with our noses plugged and without: did you notice whether your smell affects your taste? What is your favorite smell?
Thanks to everyone who came to school ready to learn outside on Wednesday with walking shoes, weather-appropriate clothing and a water bottle. Keep it up!
Please, email teacher Erin Morgan
with questions about our Out & Abouts: [email protected].
Upcoming Project Work in Level 2: Fall 2023
Level 2 students engage in two "Storypath" units of study each year.
What is Storypath?
Storypath is an instructional strategy for developing and organizing social studies units which incorporate science, math, reading and writing. It uses a narrative structure to give a sense of context and connection to the information that is being taught. Students are engaged with investigations framed as stories in which characters experience certain events and are affected by them.
Each Storypath unit is comprised of the following episodes:
- Creating the Setting
- Creating Characters
- Context Building
- Critical Incidents
- Concluding Event
Beginning in October, students will explore the history of early NW coastal people through the creation of a story that centers around a community living on the Pacific Northwest Coast in the 1800s.
Students begin their study of the people of the Northwest Coast by creating a setting and characters. They learn more about early Northwest Coast culture through role-playing and writing about critical historical events. This unit spans the time period from pre-European contact through Native American relocation to reservations.
The culminating episode, a First Salmon Ceremony, focuses on honoring traditions, community values and generosity.