December News
Is it possible that December is already here? I enjoyed meeting with you for conferences. I am
very proud of the progress your third graders have made and I am pleased to be part of the
partnership in their education. The Oak Holiday Music program is Friday, December 18th in the multi.
We are already practicing and promise that it will be worth seeing these extremely talented third
graders. We are collecting new unwrapped children books for the San Jose Mercury News book drive. If
interested, please send in your unwrapped books by Dec. 4th. Oak’s Student Council is also fund
raising for school supplies in Sierra Leone in West Africa. The 10, 10 in ’10 challenge information was
sent home last month. There is more information on the school web site.
Curriculum
Math - It is time to get out the multiplication flash cards and start working on the 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 5’s, &
6’s. We expect 90% mastery by the spring. We have been doing various lead up multiplication activities
and the students are very excited about the “big time math”. The Circles and Stars game is just one way
you can make it fun. Please practice with your student several times a week using the flash cards and
games.
Science - We just finished designing animals with their own unique adaptations in the MAC Lab. Matter
& Energy, our physical science unit, is our next science area. Energy, light, matter, and changing
matter will be the focus of the investigations through March.
Our field trip to Jasper Ridge was fantastic Animal tracks, bones, slugs, and scat, among other
attractions, were spotted and closely examined.
Reading - Ramona Age 8, by Beverly Cleary, will be our next literature book as we take a break from the
Houghton Mifflin Series. Ask your students about Ramona. She is a character!
Writing - Along with reading, writing is a priority every day. Quality paragraphs, inferences, descriptive,
and expository writing are our goals with our “Step Up To Writing” program. The teachers at Oak are
very pleased with the results.
Social Studies - Our Pilgrim simulation was a great success. Each group worked very hard crossing the
Atlantic, building homes, raising food, trading with the Indians, and writing laws. The loss of life was
high, but all of our “plantations” fared better than the Pilgrims.