Friday, Feb. 8th All School Meeting- Puffins Present!
Parents are welcome to attend the meeting:
Forest Grove School District building (1728 Main St.) in the Grove Room @ 9:45 am
Spirit Day Theme: Monochromatic
Monday, Feb. 11th NAEP Testing for 4th graders
Monday, Feb 18th NO SCHOOL President's Day
Thursday, Feb. 21st Celebrations of Learning!
Our School-wide Open House from 5-6:30pm
Level 2 students will be presenting their class business and their Mini-Golf course will be open for business!
Community School Calendar 2018-2019
Forest Grove Public Library November Calendar of Events
A little note about comfort: Winter is here! 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.
What's Happening in the Puffin Nest...
O&A: TopGolf facilities tour and putting tips from the Golf Pros!
This week, we visited a local business to observe and discover the answers to these questions:
- What does the front desk/reception area look like?
- Why are first impressions important? What does an entrance need in order to appeal to customers?
- How is the reception area set up to receive and help serve customers?
- What are some of the jobs involved in keeping this business running?
- What does this business do to bring in customers?
- What are the benefits and costs involved with choosing to support this business?
In the classroom, the Puffins continue to work on their class business as well as preparing for our All School Meeting presentation next Friday 2/8.
Students worked on a commercial to inform people about their minigolf course. They also designed and built models of their “favorite book” themed golf course holes out of materials from our recycle bins.
Current Creative Reuse Home Project:
The Puffins have decided that they would like to get a head start on making the mini-golf clubs for their class business at home.
Students brainstormed ideas for where they might find the supplies needed for such a building project. They talked about getting permission to hunt for materials in closets, basements, garages and sheds.
They know that they will be looking for items that are not currently being used, and that could be put together creatively to make a putter. A major goal is for the students to use ALL repurposed materials, and we hope that this might be a fun project for you and your kiddo to work on together.
Students who are able to repurpose existing materials at home to make a putter, should try to bring it in by February 8th.
PLEASE NOTE: this is an optional design/build home project that you can assist with
to support their class business.
Next week, we will have our Out & About to Top Golf in Hillsboro, where students will investigate new ideas for their own business.
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!
Our Book Club Books:
- Flora & Ulysses
- No Talking
- Because of Winn Dixie
- Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
- Sideways Stories from Wayside School
- Charlie Bumper vs the Teacher of the Year
- Sasquatch Escape
- Clementine
- How to Train Your Dragon
- One and Only Ivan
- Time Cat
- The People of Sparks
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. At fall conferences, your kiddo brought home the Tower of Books wall poster, which is a fun (and optional) reading genre challenge.
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 are listed below.
- 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
- Place Value and Rounding
- Multi-digit Adding and Subtracting
- Factors & Multiples
- Prime and Composite Numbers
- Multi-digit Multiplication
- Division with Remainder
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.
Prefer a paper copy of math homework? Here are the practice pages for the previous 4 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
All 4th grade math students should be practicing their multiples DAILY.