Class Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Students' progress reports are headed home. Please note that there are no grades generated for P.E., Spanish, or Character Education. Those will be finalized at the trimester.

Many students have not yet received a grade for reading accountability which is either because they have not finished an Accelerated Reader test on a novel or because I have not collected their reading responses to articles and nonfiction they read at home. Please be reminded that reading accountability is 25% of their reading grade so students who are unable to take an AR test for their nightly reading should be writing responses nightly.

Students in my math class will be taking their mid-module assessment very soon and this will impact their math grade substantially.  Study hard!

I have also included a short note for each student to give you and your student a sense of strengths and areas for improvement.

As a reminder, our field trip to the ropes course is this Wednesday. We are leaving promptly at 8:25 and returning 4:45. Please ensure your child wears comfy, warm clothes - layers are suggested for the morning - and close toed shoes.

The class enjoyed learning a bit of Kuk Sool Won on Friday and we hope to invite them back again. If your student was interested in doing more martial arts, Tony is offering a free six week class starting October 20th at the Parent's Resource Center in North San Juan. Call 292-3174 with questions or to secure a spot (no drop-ins will be allowed).

Thank you all,

Maggie Orion

Class Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The River Clean Up on the 15th was a great success. Students collected almost 40 pounds of trash in 45 minutes!

Most students have turned in Run-Walk-A-Thon funds but not everyone. Please help your student get money turned in promptly.

I'm currently scheduling a date for a full day field trip for a group-building day of fun and adventures on a ropes course in North San Juan. More details and a permission slip to arrive soon though next Wednesday, Oct. 1st is the tentative date for now!

In addition to the weekly newsletter, please see book order forms and Parent's Club information.

Last week, students completed their first timed write. I was blown away by the effort every student gave to their writing for a full hour. These timed writes will be collected over the course of the year to show writing growth over time. A few will be run through our writer's workshop to perfection and then published.

We also celebrated our first Dojo Party last week as the student's netted 1000 positive points since the beginning of the year! If you haven't already, you can still sign up to receive a weekly email with your student's dojo point earnings.

Homework consistency has been a little rough now that I am sending home spelling and grammar work. Please remind your student to check that he or she has completed homework and it is in their backpack in the morning ready to go.

Finally, I wanted to share with you that there has been an ongoing class discussion regarding gossip at school and at home. Students shared their wisdom and their questions regarding gossip - what it is, how it hurts people, and how it can be avoided. Consider continuing this conversation with your student about how and to whom anger/irritation can be vented appropriately, how gossip spreads and sticks around on social media, and how to respond to gossip so that it doesn't spread.  

Thanks so much for all you do!

Class Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers, 

The Run-Walk-A-Thon went great with a total of 38 miles ran for our class alone. Now it’s money-collecting time! Students are asked to gather the funds they raised and return them by next Monday at the latest. Thanks for all your support! I'm already hatching ideas for fun field trips and activities for this group!

 Students completed their first formal spelling and history exams this week. Independent and family-supported study time at home will be important to doing well on exams in my class. Though I do review sessions in class, students are also expected to study at home. Please help support your student by looking at their study materials with them and giving them practice verbal and/or written quizzes at home. I also highly encourage peer-to-peer study on the telephone. If you need any support on studying at home, let me know.

 Students completed an interesting artistic assignment on their favorite novel incorporating optical illusion and our study of literary analysis. These will be displayed in the hall within the next month, and a few examples will be posted to the class blog.

 In science, we are heading into an exploration of the scientific method, particularly the exploration of independent and dependent variables and our next block of social studies deals with early agriculture and human settlement.

Additionally, next Friday the 26th, our PE will be rescheduled for a martial arts introductory class led by Tony Reyna who runs Gold Country Kuk Sool Won in Nevada City.

If your child is interested in learning more about Kuk Sool Won, Tony is offering a free six-week class on Mondays at the Parents Resource Center in North San Juan. This will start October 20th with a class for 2-5 year olds at 3:15-3:45 and a class for children 6-13 from 4:00-5:00. Call 292-3174 with questions or to secure a spot (no drop-ins will be allowed).

Thank you,

Maggie Orion

Art and Analysis Project

Can you see what we found in our favorite novels when we analyzed them?

Class Update

                                    

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This is the final push for fundraising on our Run-Walk-A-Thon. We'll be doing laps on Friday. Please encourage your student to raise some funds to ensure that we can participate in field trips and extracurricular activities.

Next Monday the 15th, the whole school will be participating in a River Clean Up. Field trips forms will be sent home this week.

Our football team is up and running with games on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next several weeks. If you'd like to go cheer for our school, please pick up a schedule.

We have been working on identifying text structures in informational articles, analyzing literature, learning about early hunter-gatherer cultures, and the role of inquiry in the scientific method.

Thank you for your support!

Maggie Orion