Molly and Pippa

3-20-14              
                         Today, Monday, is St. Patricks Day! Stories say that if you aren't wearing green on St.Patricks Day you should be pinched! 
      This week we are working on recorders in music. Monday was our first day! We got a sheet to take home and practice. It's ok if you forgot to but one. Cause Mr. Cheek has extras you can borrow. Don't forget to practice! 
    In honor of our class raising the most cans in the school Ms.Brown said this week we don't have homework and we don't have to do reading! (except math) We don't have to turn in our reading logs. And on Friday we get to eat lunch in the class. We raised 1,518 cans of food. 
  On Tuesday in math we had our post test. This test determines which math class you will be in next. Sometimes you get the same math teacher. This Thursday is our last day of this math unit. 
   In class we are studying NW Coastal Indians. We had to write a summary on a packet we read about food. Their main food was salmon and other types of fish. We draw a picture to go with our writing. 
   On Wednesday we had a late start so we missed P.E. and math. 

          Thursday was the first day of spring! 

Post by Renata and Molly

3-13-14          We just finished the food drive for our school. Our class got 1,518 cans of food.
         Tuesday night is the fourth grade concert. If there are any parents who didn't know about        this you are welcome to come! Your kid has to be there by 6:15 pm and the show starts 6:30 pm. We          have been learning about 9 different songs in music to sing at the concert. Summertime, Rockin' Robin, Sleepy Time Down South, They All Asked for You, I Got Rhythm, Iko Iko, Mardi Gras Mambo, You   Can Get it if You Really Want and It Don't Mean a Thing.
   Also we went to Fort Vancouver yesterday. Most kids were very sad when we visited the fur trappers. When he showed an example of how they trap them he laughed when the trap went off! And      they think this is a good environment for kids? While we were there we also went to a carpenter shop          and a bakery. The bakery had 150 year old hard tacks. We felt some of them and they were really hard! We went to a carpenter shop and had a race between 3 teams. Our team won! And that's all that happened this week! 

Post by Cadan & Alex

3-7-14        For the Food drive we have collected 1,518 cans of food which is the most in the fourth grade. Different table groups in our class have different classrooms that they're collecting food from. 
       During class time if everyone from a table group is on task you earn a table point. The table group with the most points at the end of the month gets to have lunch in the classroom. Also we can earn a fun activity by getting a fast time for clean up/pack up. 
       This week we are working on making generalizations in reading. 
       On Thursday March 6th we watched a play called Alice & Wonderland. It was done by the 5th graders.
       We just finished working on houses that we were trying to make look like native americans lived there 1,000 years ago. The homes were made out of cedar wood, but we made our houses out of popsicle sticks, glue and construction paper.
      Remember to go to the auction on Saturday night and remember to bid on our bird houses. Also There is a Pre-auction for just are class.

Project 2nd Wind and Pictures tomorrow

Two happenings tomorrow March 7th:

Tomorrow is the last day of Project 2nd Wind. If you have any extra food (or money) donations for Oregon Food Bank please bring them in in the morning.

Also, class pictures are being taken tomorrow afternoon. If you have not already brought in order forms you may still do that tomorrow as well.
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Class Pictures and Pizzacato dough for dollars

Tomorrow March fourth if you go to Pizzacato proceeds will go to Alameda, so go to Pizzacato and EAT!!! 

If you haven't turned in your class pictures for Friday March Seventh make sure you turn them in by Friday March seventh. SAY CHEESE :)

STRYDER & CADAN

 February Fun

            We just finished our coastal range scenery & split up into three groups , rivers & ocean, trees & animals & sky & mountains.  The sky & mountains are made up by either construction paper or tissue paper. To create the suns raise we used a light color of orange tissue paper. On Monday we started making a person that we thought would look like a thousand years ago in the Coastal Range.  We read a packet about Indians & what they wear. Then we started to clothes on them using materials such as fabric, seashells and feathers.
       For calendar we have an input number that is the day of the month & the output number which is the input number multiplied by three plus one. We have been recording observations & predictions about what has been happening with are calendar.  On Wednesday we had a math switch. Instead  of most kids going to a different classroom half the kids would stay in their own classroom.
       We had tri-star basketball on Wednesday which is when we use three different skills to try to get the highest score as we can,  the three skills are passings, shooting and dribbling.

        In reading street we are reading about a man who travels to Florida to take pictures of Hurricane Andrew.Then we did a vocabulary sheet and wrote a business letter to someone to tell about a hurricane that you experienced & possibly might need help with something.   
        On Thursday we went on a field trip to OMSI, & watched a video about Lewis & Clark & their journey across America.  It was an informative video and showed how hard it was to finally discover the Western part of the United States of America.
        On Friday we had passport. I hope you remembered to study with your map that we sent home at the beginning of the month. Also on Friday we had to sing the songs we have been learning through the past two months. To sum it up we had a very busy week.

Check your child's folder!

Today several important papers went home with your child:
1) Math Unit 4 letter (see below). Please read this letter as this switch differs from pervious math switches.
2) Oregon Trail overnight field trip forms


Dear Fourth Grade Families,

We will be starting our fourth math unit on Wednesday, February 26th. This short unit will cover Geometry concepts. Please reference the attachment. Students have completed a pre-assessment on the skills that will be presented in this unit. Our team has used this data to create two pacing levels, organized so that each student can work successfully at their rate and level. All five classes will be covering the fourth grade standards for this unit. Our roles and pacing as teachers has changed based on the results of the pre-assessments. In contrast from previous math switches, there will be two different pacing levels.

Both Ms. Brown and Mrs. Caton’s classes will continue to work at an accelerated pace. Both classes will experience compacted Bridges curriculum and offer extensions as needed. M3 (Mentoring Mathematical Minds) curriculum will be used to extend students’ geometrical skills and understanding.

Mrs. Hunting-Knight, Mrs. Largo and Mrs. Hirata’s classes will be working at a standard 4th grade level pace. Students will explore the Bridges content through use of manipulatives and sketches. Extensions and modifications will be provided as needed, based on classroom performance.

In an effort to simplify the math transitions, students whose pacing needs would be met by their homeroom teacher, will remain in their classroom.

The purpose of organizing math classes in this manner is to best meet each student’s needs in regards to the concepts and skills in each unit. Please feel free to contact your child’s classroom teacher with any specific questions or concerns you may have. Below you will find all fourth grade teachers’ email addresses for your convenience throughout the unit.

Sincerely,
The Fourth Grade Team

Kimberly Hunting-Knight    khunting@pps.net
Abby Largo    alargo@pps.net
Marisa Hirata    mhirata@pps.net
Christy Caton    ccaton@pps.net
Julie Brown    jbrown5@pps.net