February 24 Library Visit
February 27 O&A to Oregon Symphony (Optional "formal" dress)
March 3 Dr. Seuss/Read Across America Day (PJs and stuffed animals encouraged!)
March 3 Returning Student Forms Due
March 7 All School Meeting and Spirit Day (another PJ day!)
Homework Due Thursday, February 27th - More details posted on the Homework Page
1. Read for at least 30 minutes per day.
2. Complete your Reading Response Letter to Laura
3. 3rd Graders complete pages 40, 41 & 42 in Math Practice Book
4th Graders complete pages 39, 40 & 41 in Math Practice Book
MISSING LIBRARY BOOK: Just joking : 300 hilarious jokes, tricky tongue twisters, and ridiculous riddles.
Families, I need your help locating a library book. Library books checked out on my card are meant to stay in the classroom, but we are unable to find this one and I will have to pay for it if it is not returned. Please take a look around your house in case it accidentally found its way home with your student. Thank you!
Upcoming Out and Abouts
This week, we will see the Oregon Symphony's Young People's Concert at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. This trip fits in with our storytelling and performance theme, but it is also a chance for the students to experience a full orchestra. A narrator will help students understand the many sections of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra! Optional: Plovers may dress up for our day at the Symphony!
Volunteer Opportunities - Sign up on our VolunteerSpot page: http://vols.pt/drMimF
We are in need of breakfast donations, especially fresh fruit, for Friday Community Breakfasts. See the VolunteerSpot page for more details. Thank you for your support!
Math Notes
Last week in 3rd Grade Math, students completed a complex multiplication story problem call "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. This investigation led to the creation of measuring strips, or number lines, to compare the products of different sized groups.
Last week in fourth grade math, we continued our post assessment on multi-digit multiplication. We also discussed and watch inspirational videos about perseverance. Students were asked to continue to work on their assessments until they can reach 100% correct. I am happy to report that 100% of 4th graders received an 85% or higher! This also marks our shift away from multiplication. Although we will continue with Rocket Math and regular reviews, multiplication practice will need to shift to at-home support. Please plan to practice multiplication facts with your Puffin or Plover on a weekly basis. If you have questions or concerns about this, please let Becky know ([email protected])
Weekly Review
Last week The Plovers focused on getting their work and projects ready to share at Celebrations of Learning. I was happy to see so many students sharing their math, love monsters, writing and pen pal letters with their families! If you weren't able to make it and would like to stop in the room to see some of our recent work, please let me know. On Thursday, after Celebrations of Learning, the students were so excited to unpack all of the book donations! They determined we collected 572 books. WOW! Next, we will have to agree on a method for sorting and displaying (and storing) our books. Thank you so much to every family who was able to donate. I will let you know when we are ready to accept more donations.
You may have heard that we have a new iPad in our classroom! Some students have had a chance to try reading eBooks on the iPad and my hope is that all students will have a turn with it this week. I have also had a few students test out spelling, math, music and art apps. Our goal for this year is to figure out some ways that iPads might help enhance instruction in the classroom, and then we would consider purchasing more tablets for students use. I am also very interested in learning about new methods for tracking data, creating student portfolios, and making audio and video presentations. So far, the Plovers' favorite app is "Too Noisy," which gives a visual display of the noise level in the classroom by using the built-in microphone on the iPad!
Communication
Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Parents and students can e-mail me at [email protected]. You can also leave a voice message on the class phone, come into the classroom before or after school, or call me before 8PM at home.