newsletter

Peregrine Press

April 27-May 1

 

Schedule

Monday:  Running Club

Tuesday: Out and About to B-Street Farm

Wednesday: ELC Buddies; PE

Thursday:  Art

 

     

Last Week

We had another great week!  Monday started out with Running Club that didn't have great participation I think partially due to the heat.  The 5^th graders completed the State Science Test with great results.  Monday afternoon Becky introduced different map projections and had the students draw the globe as best they could on beach balls.  Then they had to pop the ball and try and cut it in a way to make the ball flat like a map would be.  They got so frustrated!  It really made it more tangible for them to understand how difficult it is to get an accurate map projection.

 

Tuesday we headed up to the Tom McCall Forest to do some planting for a SOLV event.  We planted some Oregon Grape, raspberry and thimbleberry.  I was pleased to see how well everyone worked together. Tuesday afternoon Becky taught a really fascinating lesson on continent population vs wealth.  If your children have not already talked about it you should ask them to explain what the activity was demonstrating.  There was great class discussion that occurred during this activity and I was very pleased to see how insightful the class was.

 

Wednesday the class took a small quiz on the concepts they have learned through the yo-yo unit.  They explained the difference between kinetic and potential energy, flywheels, pendulums and the scientific method.  They also finished working on a writing sample they started on Monday about their weekend.  The main focus was writing a strong introduction and conclusion.  The time we spent with our ELC buddies was focused on writing stories.  The little buddies told their big buddies an imaginative story that tied into the nature walk we took last week.  The big buddies wrote down the stories in their journals and then on Thursday they typed up the stories so they can be given to their little buddies at our next visit.

 

Thursday we wrapped up the week with some catch up work time and practice for the spin wars.  The students took a quiz on our most recent read aloud titled Chasing Vermeer.  They were expected to identify the story elements and then also evaluate some deeper questions about what they would do in a difficult situation they could be faced with.

 

Next Week

This coming week we will continue to work with interpreting and making maps as part of Becky's "Forest Grove Grid Project."  We will also wrap up the yo-yo unit by participating in "spin wars" where the students will have to get their yo-yo to sleep as long as possible.  They will be required to go through the scientific method to create some baseline data before they begin the competition.

For Out and About on Tuesday we will head out to B Street Permaculture Farm to help with some sustainability projects so the students need to come prepared to do some outdoor work!  The weather looks like it will be raining off and of so please make sure your kids have coats and proper shoes on before they leave home.  Thanks!

 

Upcoming Events

State Reading Test for all Level 2 happens the week of May 4^th..

State Math Test for all Level 2 happens the week of May 11^th.

Peregrine Press

April 20-23

      

 

Schedule

Monday: 5^th Grade State Science Test; Running Club

Tuesday: 5^th Grade State Science Test; Out and About to Tom McCall Forest (SOLV Clean-Up)

Wednesday: Buddy Activity at the ELC; PE (no longer at Pacific)

Thursday: Art

Friday: No School Teacher In-Service Day

 

Last Week

We had such a fun week!  Monday started out with decorating Safeway paper bags with messages for Earth Day which were then delivered to Safeway on our Out and About on Tuesday.  The students presented the bags to the manager at the store and then we took a brief tour through the store to see what kinds of things Safeway does that is helping our Earth.  The students were able to identify several "green" practices including selling organic produce, cloth shopping bags and energy efficient light bulbs.  Once we were finished at Safeway we headed over to Roger's Park to participate in a teambuilding and egg protecting activity.  The students worked in groups to create contraptions that would protect an egg from cracking when dropped from a high location.  The teams worked very well together in creating their egg saver and then shared a brief commercial to advertise the greatness of the contraption.  Every team did such a great job that not a single egg cracked.  We even had to do a second round where I threw the eggs in their contraptions onto the concrete sidewalk and they still didn't crack!  The students were very supportive of each other and had a really fun time.

 

We finished our independent project speeches with some very fun video presentations.  I was very pleased with the work these students accomplished through the independent projects.  They all should have brought home a scoring rubric for their speech and essay.  If they earned a "proficient" rating that means they met the requirements.  If they were "developing" they were very close to meeting the requirements.  Several students even went above and beyond my expectations.

The yo-yo unit was introduced Tuesday afternoon with an activity that helped them work more with the scientific method.  They dropped rocks, pebbles and paper from the same height to see which ones would hit the ground first.  They then were given a little bit of time to start experimenting with the yo-yos.

 

Wednesday the students continued practice with the scientific method and were introduced to pendulums.  They also went on a nature walk with their buddies from the ELC.  They helped their buddies identify signs of spring and we could not have had a more beautiful day.  Trees and flowers were blossoming all over Pacific's campus and they all had a great time.  The last day for PE at Pacific was Wednesday afternoon and they all got to participate in a Field Day with really fun activities and games.  I think overall the program was a success.  We have lots of students that can't wait to have Rick for PE again though!

 

Thursday the students learned about kinetic and potential energy by working with flywheels (made with buttons and string) and their yo-yos.  These concepts are tricky but I think they are starting to make some sense of it.  We also practiced the state testing in the computer lab to get a feel for how that will work in the coming month.

Friday the students started the mapping unit that Becky will be teaching for her work sample.  It is titled "The Forest Grove Grid Project."  They explored Google Earth and then created wordles to describe our town.  Ask your kids what wordles are-they loved it!  You can go to www.wordle.net to see them.

 

This Week

This coming week we will continue the yo-yo unit and the really get into "The Forest Grove Grid Project."  The students will have running club on Monday but we will do that in the morning because it looks like it will be a very warm day.  We will help clean up the Tom McCall Forest for part of a SOLV clean up.  Wednesday we will return to the ELC and write stories with our little buddies.  The 5^th graders will be taking the State Science Test this week as well.  There is no school Friday for a teacher in-service day.

 

**Becky has been teaching the 5^th grade math and several other activities each day and she is doing very well.  The students have made her feel very welcome and enjoy her sense of humor.

 

** Please remind your 5^th grade students to get lots of rest Sunday night and eat a good healthy breakfast Monday morning.  We want them to feel prepared and ready for the science test

newsletter

Peregrine Press

April 13-17

      

Schedule

Monday:  Running Club

Tuesday:  Out and About to Safeway (deliver Earth Day bags)

Wednesday:  ELC Buddies and PE at Pacific

Thursday:  Art; Practice State Testing

 

First of all I want to say a giant thank you to everyone for coming to Student-Led Conferences.  We had a great turnout and the students were very engaged in sharing their work with their parents.  They have a great deal to be proud of.

 

Last Week

For such a short week we sure accomplished a lot!  The majority of the class presented their Independent Project Speeches.  I was very pleased with the presenters and the audience.  Great questions were asked, and sincere compliments were given.  This was a great opportunity for me to see just how caring this class really is.  They were so supportive of each other during all the speeches!

On Tuesday we walked over to Pacific to do some water color painting of nature in a spot on campus that has beautiful flowers and tree blossoms.  The students painted some beautiful works!  We also participated in Running Club, which was a bit disappointing this week.  I rarely saw students running and many complained about the heat (funny that it was not even 70 degrees).  I really need them to step up and start running again because we will be coordinating a fundraising run for the end of the year and I need them in good form.  They know that they do not need to run the whole time, but they need to be really pushing themselves.

We checked out books from the City Library to read to our Buddies and I think that went really well.  They are really starting to bond!

 

This Week

This week we will wrap up the last of the independent project speeches.  We will then be moving into a short yo-yo unit to teach more of the scientific method and physics.  It should be a fun unit because all of the students will get a yo-yo to use in class.

In preparation for Earth Day we will be decorating Safeway paper bags with messages for caring for our Earth. Then, for Out and About we will be delivering them to Safeway.

We will meet with our ELC buddies again and will hopefully get nice enough weather to take them on a nature walk to help identify signs of spring.

Later in the week we will be heading to the computer lab to practice all the state testing.  The following week the 5^th graders will take the State Science Test.

Becky will also start her unit that is titled "The Forest Grove Grid Project" that will incorporate photography, local mapping and possibly a treasure map.  It is a very cool unit that I think the students will really enjoy!  We will start with some Google Earth activities that will be sure to please.  (The class seemed really excited about Google Earth when we did the world fair unit.)

 

*Thank you to those of you that donated pencils, we are still low though.

newsletter

Peregrine Press

April 6-10

 

      

Schedule

Monday: Library Visit; Independent Project Speeches

Tuesday: Out and About-Water Color Painting in Nature; and Running Club; Independent Project Speeches

Wednesday: PE at Pacific; Independent Project Speeches

Thursday: No School-Student Led Conferences

Friday: No School-Conferences

 

Last Week

We had a great first week back after Spring Break!  The students spent much of their time this week typing their final essays and finishing their posters/visuals for their speeches starting next week.  I was very pleased with how well the class stayed on task during these work sessions.  It is so great to see them all working on something they are truly interested in.  It makes learning so much more fun!

The class also finished the second round of literacy circles.  I will spend time this weekend reviewing the packets they turned in.  The packets had activities that focused on story elements, parts of grammar and vocabulary development (including synonyms and antonyms).

On Tuesday we had an In and About focused on drama and teambuilding.  The students participated in really fun activities that included charade type activities, telephone with gestures instead of words, and an observation game.

Wednesday we returned to the Early Learning Community to read and play with our buddies.  The class did a great job of being patient with their little buddies that do have a shorter attention span than they are used to.  They started out reading to them and then they had time to play as well.  In the future we will be planning some ongoing projects to do with our buddies to finish out the school year.

We started to brainstorm a list of all the things we did this year at school in preparation of Student Led Conferences.

 

This Week

We will be cramming quite a bit in this week.  Monday we will start our speeches and will also go to the library to check out books to read to our buddies at the ELC.  Please remind your child to bring their library card.  Tuesday we will head out to Pacific University to do some nature water color paintings.  We will then have running club.  In the afternoon, students will continue speeches.  Wednesday we will have Buddy Reading at the ELC, PE at Pacific, speeches and prep time for Student Led Conferences.

 

Upcoming Events

April 15^th Last Day for PE at Pacific

No School April 24