Wednesday, October 17th: Out & About to Goodwill
12:15-2pm Chaperones Needed!
Puffins will board a school bus at 12:15 pm, and will be walking back to the school after our tour. Students should dress for being outside and wear good walking shoes. If you are able to join us, please email: [email protected]
Thursday, October 18th: NO SCHOOL for students
Goal-Setting Student Conferences
Thursday, October 18th: Backyard Garden Work Party from 1pm - 4pm
19th Ave. & Main St., Forest Grove (map)
Families are invited to join garden coordinator Amy Staats in our School Garden, for a work party. Drop in any time 1-4 to help lay bark chips, weed beds that are still producing and prepare other beds for winter. Muffins, cookies and cider will be provided!
Friday, October 19th: NO SCHOOL for students
Goal-Setting Student Conferences
Monday, October 22nd: Puffins to Forest Grove Public Library 2pm-3pm
Chaperones Needed! We will be visiting the children's department every three weeks and can always use parent volunteers to walk with us, encourage our kiddos to make smart choices, and to help kids find and check out books.
Monday, November 12th: Veterans Day NO SCHOOL for students
A little note about comfort: As our weather is getting cooler and rain is often in the forecast, please make sure that your kiddo is properly outfitted with warm (waterproof) layers and appropriate footwear on Monday and Wednesdays when they will be outside for at least part of their day.
How's your homework routine 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. We will talk more about how to encourage and track reading at our "Goal-Setting" conferences in October.
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
Passwords were sent home at family visits. Please email Ginny if you need help getting into your child's account.
Math homework
It is strongly recommended that your student practice math skills at least 30 minutes (or more) per week.
Our Dreambox math program for homework has started. Passwords and account information were sent home with your kiddo this week.
If you are interested in exploring other ways to practice math at home, take a look at these ideas:
Ideas for math practice:
- 4th graders can get valuable math practice with Khan Academy. Current 4th grade math topics to explore: Addition/Subtraction & Place Value/Rounding
- Online Math Game Sites: ZapZap Math or Prodigy- create your own account!
- Multiplication Facts Practice with a simple dice game. How to Play: Each player takes turns rolling 3 dice. First to break 200 (or 500, etc.) wins. On your turn, you get to choose two dice to add together, then you multiply the sum by the final die. That’s your score for that turn.
- Facts Practice with Free Math Apps: Sushi Monster & Math Hero
- Facts Practice with Purchased Math Apps: Operation Math & Math Vs. Zombies
What's Happening in the Puffin Nest...
This week, level 2 students had the opportunity to tour the nearby Jesse Quinn apartment building across from the school to learn about the process of turning an empty lot into something that benefits the local community.
Back in the classroom, they participated in their own local business council to decide the fate of an empty lot in their Storypath Grove community. Student business owners considered many different options and weighed the costs/benefits of each. A vote determined that the empty lot would be turned into energy efficient apartments and students submitted designs for the project.
Level 2 students also participated in a LEGO engineering lab brought to FGCS by an Intel Outreach program. We had a special guest teacher facilitate the STEM activity and students got hands-on with supply chain concepts:
Source - Make - Deliver - Reuse & Recycle
Students learned about how businesses use a Bill of Materials (BOM) as a recipe: it tells how many of each part is needed to make something.
They applied math skills with a Bill of Materials for the production of a LEGO car. Using those materials, they got to design and build their own car.
In groups, students got to tackle two production challenges.
They sourced materials, assembled cars based on their prototype design, ran quality checks and delivered the product to a customer.
Students were asked to reflect about their experiences after two challenges. At the end of the activity, students worked together to recycle parts.
STEM topics included: ratios, story problems, quality engineering, line assembly, prototype production, and supply chain competition.
Next week, we will be visiting Goodwill for a tour to learn about how businesses can play a role in sustaining renewable and non-renewable resources.
Read Aloud
In class, we just finished reading Kate Dicamillo's: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane explores the theme of learning from one’s journey. The plot involves the trials and triumphs of a China rabbit as he is lost at sea and then must find his way home, all the while understanding and experiencing the miracles of love and compassion.
Throughout our read aloud, students have been thinking about character traits. They learned that character traits are all the aspects of a person's behavior and attitudes (both good and bad) that make up that person's personality. Using the read aloud as our guide, students considered how characters can grow and change as a result of learning from experiences.
To help us compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author, we are now reading Kate Dicamillo's: Tale of Despereaux
This engaging book abounds with interesting characters and rich themes.
As we read, students are encouraged to connect the story to their personal experiences and feelings, and to their general background knowledge. To boost comprehension, we are practicing our book club response work, where students express their opinions, make predictions, and ask questions about a text while developing their vocabulary skills, and writing abilities.