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. :-)

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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

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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.

Peregrine Press

September 28-October 2

Schedule:

Monday: Art

Tuesday: NO Out and About

Wednesday: Out and About to Nana Cardoon's (Local Garden-cider pressing and garden activities); PE

Thursday: Art; Buddy Reading at the ELC

Friday: Music at Tom McCall; Fitness Friday (Vanessa subbing for me so I can get ready for my wedding the next day!)

Last Week:

We had a very fun and productive week! We worked on writing and reading assessments that were not necessarily fun for the students, but a necessary part of school. They were wrapped up on Friday so now we can really just focus on fun learning! Tuesday we did some team building at Roger's Park. We played a game called "Chocolate River" that you should ask your kids about. It is a favorite in this class for returning students. When we returned to school we created mini-weather experiments with convection currents and twisters. The rest of the week was more Lewis and Clark journal writing, Word Work to improve spelling, and some weather activities. On Thursday we had a great presentation on managing energy levels. It is called "How's your engine running?" The students experienced different sensory things and gauged if it brought their energy level up or down and put it where it needed to be. I thought it was very beneficial for the whole class. Friday we had our first music class at Tom McCall. It was so much fun! The kids really seemed to be excited about it. They were very respectful and really represented our school well. I was very impressed.

This Week

We will continue our focus on Lewis and Clark, and weather. Students will be writing their second, and hopefully third journal entry for their experience on the Corps of Discovery. We will also have some changes in our schedule. We will not have Out and About on Tuesday because we will be going to a local garden/farm, Nana Cardoon's, on Wednesday instead. The students will get to press apple cider and help with some other projects that need to be done. This will also shift our Wednesday art class to Thursday morning. On Thursday we will also start Buddy Reading at the ELC (Early Learning Community) at Pacific University. We participated in this last year and it was a very positive experience. We join with a class of preschool kids and read to them, write stories with them and occasionally do some art projects. This will happen 2 times a month. Friday Vanessa will be subbing for me because I am getting married on Saturday and I have a lot of prepping to do. The kids will have a great time with her!

Outdoor School Information:

Monday I will be sending home information about Outdoor School. The blue guidebook, the medical information form, and the souvenir form need to be returned to me, by October 16^th. (If you can return them at conferences, that would even be better!) The blue guidebook is just some generic information so please don't write in them because they get shared through the whole region. We will also send home a "what to bring" list which you can keep.

Important Upcoming Events:

October 8 and 9: Goal Setting Conferences (We will have more information coming about signing up.)

October 15^th (Thursday): Field Trip to Fort Clatsop. We need 2 more parent volunteers to let me know if you can come. Also, we have to leave the school at 7:45 on a Mid-Columbia bus so we need all students to the school at 7:30! We will be back in time for a normal dismissal.

October 27^th (Tuesday): Field Trip to Historical Society in Portland. We need 1 or 2 more volunteers for this event so please let me know if you can come. We will be riding tri-met and need to leave right at 8:50 so please have your children here by 8:35. We will return in time for a normal dismissal.

newsletter

Peregrine Press

September 21-25

Schedule

Monday: Art

Tuesday: Out and About (Teambuilding in the Community)

Wednesday: Art; PE, Back to School Night 6:00-7:30

Thursday: Regular Day

Friday: Music at Tom McCall; Fitness Friday

Last Week

We had a very productive week for our first full week! The students researched the person they have become on the "corps" and wrote their first journal entry. They also learned about the Louisiana Purchase through an activity using google earth. They used maps to identify the present day states that the Louisiana Purchase included as well as the route the Corps of Discovery took. For our Out and About we headed to the Tom McCall Forest and did a teambuilding activity to start with. Then they spent an hour doing a variety of sketching activities to mimic the record keeping that Lewis and Clark did with the flora and fauna (plants and animals.)

We also spent a some time learning about different clouds and what they mean. Fitness Friday was successful with the majority of the class really participating well. We met our new Out and About teacher Erin and had a chance to as her some questions and share some ideas for outings this year.

This Week

This coming week we will continue our focus on Lewis and Clark and weather. Our Out and About will be at a park in the community where we will do some teambuilding activities to help build our classroom bond. We will also start a music class at Tom McCall Upper Elementary School on Friday. This means that we will leave the school at 9:00 and walk to Tom McCall for the music class.

Back to School Night: This night will be an opportunity for parents to come to the classroom and learn about how we do things at FGCS. Please leave your lovely children at home because this is really meant to be an information night for the parents. We will have 2 sessions: 6:00-6:45 an 6:45-7:30. You just choose the session you want to come to (you don't need to tell me beforehand) and head to the classroom. We will go over the PLP, Report Cards and our teaching methods. This will not be a time to ask specific questions about your child, we will be able to discuss those personal things at the conferences on October 8^th and 9^th.

Upcoming Events

October 8 and 9^th: Conferences

newsletter

Good Morning Everyone,
Here is the newsletter for this week.  I forgot my camera cord, so I will get pictures added to the blog later today, or tomorrow.  Feel free to check them out later.  To get to the blog you can go to the school website fgcschool.org, click on the Classroom Info and then click on Peregrine Falcons.  Also, don't forget that pizza money is due on Tuesdays, and please encourage your child to bring a plate from home so we don't have to waste paper plates.
Thanks and I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Veronica

newsletter

Hello Peregrine Falcon Families,
Here is the newsletter for this week.  Let me know if you can't open it.   I hope you all enjoyed the weekend!
Thanks,
Veronica

I just remembered one more thing.
Pizza Wednesday starts this week.  Please have your money in by Tuesday.  I sent home the forms on Friday, let me know if you have any questions.