newsletter

Peregrine Press

October 26-30

Schedule

Monday: Art

Tuesday: Oregon Historical Society (ALL DAY-bring sack lunch!)

Wednesday: Art; PE

Thursday: Nothing special:-) Maybe Music if I can schedule it.

Friday: No School for Teacher In-Service

Last Week

Last week went very quickly! We started out the week by attending the Tom Sawyer play at the Theatre in the Grove which was great. We had three students from our class that were involved with the production so that was really fun to see them all in action. We started literacy circles this week as well. This round will take us through November and will help build fluency and comprehension. Students will meet with their circles 3-4 times per week and read together and complete activities that will enhance their learning. Tuesday we headed out to B Street Farm to learn how to use a compass (orienteering) with Erin, our Out and About teacher. The students all worked hard on learning those skills that can be quite challenging. On Tuesday we also started to research the Tillamook Indians for a project that will help the Friends of Historic Forest Grove. It will be a challenging project but I am excited to see everyone work together to accomplish the task. Thursday we headed back to the ELC for some Buddy Reading. It is such a great opportunity for our class to be good role models for these kids. They also just seem to have so much fun!

This Coming Week

This week will be a little odd. We will not have grade level math due to our full day Out and Abouts to the Historical Society. Each class is going a different day so we have instead made some packets of work for students to complete. I will provide time in class to work on them, but there is a chance that students will need to take these home if they don't finish them. Tuesday we will be gone all day at the Historical Society in Portland. We will take Tri-Met there, do the tour and then have lunch so please have your children pack a sack lunch like they did for the Ft. Clatsop trip. The rest of the week we will mostly focus on literacy circles and the Tillamook Project which includes a play about property rights. (I will send out more info later about that.) There will be no school on Friday due to a staff in-service day. There will also be no Halloween Party. I know this is going to disappoint a few students but there are many reasons for not having one. One, we are getting older, two we don't want to exclude anyone, and three, students have plenty of opportunities to have parties with their friends and we don't need to set aside time at school just for that purpose. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thanks for your understanding.

*We had another hard week with turning in homework. I again had 9 students not return their homework. A few of them were "first time offenders" but the rest have all forgotten homework already in previous weeks. PLEASE help me and help them by doing whatever it is that you can to be sure they turn this in. I will start taking privileges away at school if they can't hold up their end of this agreement. If your child forgot it for the first time, I am willing to overlook it, they just can't make it a habit:-)

***Also, in case you haven't heard, my husband and I are expecting a baby girl in March! Becky Tengs will be my long term sub that will finish out the year. She is fabulous and all my students from last year know her because she was our student teacher last year. She is very excited and will start coming in to get to know the class this winter. She knows how this school works and is full of amazing ideas and will do a phenomenal job!

Upcoming Events:

Outdoor School November 10-13

-First payment for this is due October 27^th.

 

Peregrine Press

October 19-23

Thanks to all the helpers on our trip to Ft. Clatsop!

Schedule:

Monday: Tom Sawyer play at Theatre in the Grove

Tuesday: Out and About to B Street Farm for an Orienteering Course with Erin

Wednesday: Art and PE
Thursday: Art and Buddy Reading at the ELC

Friday: Picture Day and Music

Last Week

We had a very fun filled week! The students compiled all the journal entries and made old, weathered covers for them so they would look a bit more authentic. They also made moccasins using felt and needles which was great fun for me to watch because they were being quite resourceful and determined to figure out how to make them. They followed these activities with their speeches. They shared the character they had become and then read from their journals. I was very impressed with how well they prepared for their speeches. Thursday was our big field trip to Fort Clatsop that went off without a hitch. We had a great time exploring the fort and learning about whales, plants and what life was like at the Fort during the winter of 1805. We wrapped up the week with music at Tom McCall and it was again, a highlight for many of the students.

This Week

We will start out the week with attending the Tom Sawyer production at Theatre in the Grove. We will start our unit on the Tillamook Indians which will be a project to help the Friends of Historic Forest Grove. The students will be in small groups with specific topics to research. The final product will be an informational brochure to be shared with the public. This is a great piggyback to the Lewis and Clark unit. We will head to B Street Farm for an orienteering course led by Erin on Tuesday. Thursday we will head to the ELC for Buddy Reading again which many of the kids are excited about. Friday will be picture day so please be sure to bring the picture form and money this week and I can keep it in the classroom until pictures on Friday. We might have to skip Running Club again this week because our schedule is pretty packed but I will let the students know if I do find a time to schedule it.

Reminders:

If you have not turned in your Outdoor School paperwork please do that ASAP because that was due last Friday. The payment plans are included in this although the first payment is not actually due until October 27^th. You can pay sooner if you would like and make checks out to Forest Grove Community School.

Please help your children to complete and turn in their homework on Fridays. I had 9 students forget this week. This happened a lot last year and I really hope it won't happen again. Remember that some students simply have a homework log they fill in that can be activities they did after school that aren't necessarily academic. They could be sports, instrument practice etc. If you aren't sure if your child has additional homework, you can ask them, or ask me if they don't know. :-)

newsletter

Peregrine Press

October 12-16

Schedule

Monday: Art

Tuesday: No Out and About

Wednesday: Art and PE

Thursday: Fort Clatsop Field Trip-Be here at 7:30 am!!!

Friday: Music, Fitness Friday

Thanks so much for coming to conferences! It was great to check in with everyone and see how supportive all of our FGCS families are!

Last Week

The short week really zoomed by. We worked on our Lewis and Clark Journals, continued our Word Work (spelling) and prepared for conferences. On Tuesday we headed out to B Street Permaculture Farm and helped them with some different jobs. Students helped rake out the soil to prep it for planting, some students weeded and others planted. It was great to see them all get their hands dirty and be smiling through the whole process. That farm is such an important part of our school that I feel truly lucky to be able to take my class there from time to time to see how they can steward a place. At the same time they can learn about how our food grows and how we can care for our environment first hand. Students also made portraits for their character in the Corps of Discovery. They used painted paper that they had made in Art class and they turned out beautifully! Our bulletin board is coming alive now.

This Week

We will spend the first part of the week compiling all the journal entries that they wrote for the Corps of Discovery Project. They will do some "aging" of the journal covers so they will look a little more authentic. Some students want cardboard to use to reinforce their journals but I just don't have enough to go around so if you have thin cereal box cardboard that could be used that would be great. It is not necessary, but I know some of the students will probably come home asking you for it, so I am telling you all that it is optional but it has to come from home. Students will also start practicing for a sort of speech that they will do either Wednesday or Friday depending on timing. Your child will know before hand what day they will do their speech so they are prepared. The speech will be about their character in the Corps and will also include reading at least one of their journal entries in front of the class.

Important Reminders

Tom Sawyer Performance at Theatre in the Grove: October 19^th,: Tickets cost $5 if you could please get that to me asap that would be great.

Outdoor School forms are due Friday the 16^th. The payment plan forms also need to be turned in. I have only gotten 2 of those back from students and I sent them home over a week ago.

No School October 30^th for a In-Service Day

newsletter

Peregrine Press

October 5-9

Schedule

Monday: Art

Tuesday: Out and About to B Street Farm (DRESS WARMLY)

Wednesday: Art; PE

Thursday and Friday: Conferences, please call the office or stop by the office to set up a conference time. (No school those 2 days.)

Last Week

We had a great week! The students have completed three journal entries now, with two more to go. For our Out and About we went to Nana Cardoon's and got to do a variety of super fun activities that I am sure you all heard about. They pressed cider, picked apples, grapes, plums and veggies, snuggled in a yurt and got to see ducks and chickens. All in all it was a great fall harvest experience for everyone. We went to the ELC for the first time and met our new buddies. We will be there on average 2 times per month to read with the preschool age buddies and occasionally do other activities with them as well. We also spent some time this week on geography and learning the states and capitals. There is a great site called Ben's Guide to the US Government that the kids should be familiar with now if you are looking for more practice at home. Friday we had music again as well as Running Club.

This Week

With the short week I am doing things slightly differently. I have learned from experience that sending home homework over the conference weekend usually ends up with nothing getting returned to me on Monday so I am not going to send anything home for homework this week. However, that does not mean that your children can't continue to practice skills. They can do the geography puzzle online at Ben's Guide to the US Government, they can read, they can go to the library etc. There is no shortage of stuff for them to do independently. We will resume the homework folders the following Monday. We will do several art and hands on activities in the next two weeks that will connect to Lewis and Clark. Students will also start reflecting on what they have done so far this year and what goals they have in mind for themselves. For our Out and About Tuesday we will head to B Street Permaculture Farm where students will do miscellaneous jobs to help improve the farm. This is a place that we have stewarded for the past two years and a favorite place for many students. PLEASE DRESS WARMLY!!!!!!

Couple of reminders:

October 15^th we are leaving for Ft. Clatsop at 7:45 so please have your children here at the school at 7:30, I will have my back door open to the classroom.

October 19^th we have a chance to go see the play Tom Sawyer at the Theatre in the Grove at 10:00 am. Tickets are $5 each so if you can please send money in for that that would be greatly appreciated. We are trying to use our Out and About budget for buses and bigger excursions so if you can contribute to the ticket costs that would be great. If you can't right now because we are also asking for Outdoor School money that is fine, we will make sure that every child attends the play. We have 3 students from this class that are a part of the performance so it will be great to go support them.

October 27^th we are heading to the Oregon Historical Society in Portland. We will be taking tri-met and leaving right at 8:50 so please make sure your child is here at 8:35 so we can get ready to leave right on time.