October 9 Make Up PE @ 12:15
October 10 All Day Out & About to Fort Clatsop (TBD - see below for more info)
October 11 No School
October 14 All School Meeting and Spirit Day (Mustache Mania)
October 14 Library Visit
October 15 Picture Day
October 15 Book Orders Due
October 18 No School
Homework
Regular homework assignments will begin after student-led conferences.
Upcoming Out and Abouts
Due to the government shutdown and the subsequent closure of the National Parks, we may not be able to go to Fort Clatsop on Thursday. We will make the final decision on Tuesday and notify families Tuesday evening. If we CAN go, students and chaperones need to plan to arrive at FGCS AT 8:35. Please do NOT BE LATE! It is a long drive to Astoria and we will need to load the bus promptly at 8:45. Students may bring books or activities for the bus ride, but please no electronics.
Volunteer Opportunities - Sign up on our VolunteerSpot page: http://vols.pt/drMimF
We will need 2-3 chaperones for our library visit next Monday. We will leave directly from the play yard at 1:45 and walk to the library (so be prepared for rainy weather). I will add a library chaperone sign up to the VolunteerSpot page this evening.
Thank you to our Mystery Readers and breakfast donors! Both of these new traditions are off to a great start! All spots are filled for this month, but you can sign up for future dates on our VolunteerSpot page.
Scholastic Book Orders
September book orders arrived today! I will send books and new catalogs home with students tomorrow (Tuesday). You can also view this month's selections and submit your order online at https://orders.scholastic.com/L79X9. When you place your order online, you'll help earn FREE books for our class. With the bonus points we earned on our first order, I was able to get OVER 30 FREE books for our classroom! Thank you to everyone who placed an order; it really does make a difference! October orders are due Tuesday, October 15th, and books should arrive in time for Halloween (in case you want to purchase any special holiday books).
Weekly Review
The Plovers were very excited to start their study of Oregon history last week. We began by watching a National Geographic movie called Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West. Students practiced taking notes while they watched the movie and they later shared what they learned. We then worked together to assemble a large map of the United States on the bulletin board in the front of the classroom. Each pair of students received 6-8 pieces of the map and the entire class had to work together to accurately glue the sections together! It was exciting to see it all come together.
We also read Seaman's Journal: On the Trail With Lewis and Clark, which is a story about the Corps of Discovery told from a dog's point of view! This helped prepare students to examine a trunk of artifacts from the Oregon Historical Society during our "In & About." Each student got to study and touch replicas such as a compass, tinder box, bullet mold, candle mold, Jefferson peace medal, tobacco twist and a very heavy lead canister for storing gun powder! During the "In & About," groups of students also had the opportunity to play a Lewis and Clark card game or help create large replicas of the 1776, 1806 or 2013 American Flag.
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.