MR. WINSLOW'S - 4th GRADE

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Visit the TeacherWeb® videos to learn about the features, modifications, and customizations available on your website. Click here to learn more. NEWSLETTER small medium large Room 14 Newsletter May 22nd, 2012 OPEN HOUSE TONIGHT 6:30pm - 8:00pm Please plan on attending our 2011/12 Open House tonight. This is an event for the entire family. The evening begins with families gathering for a "BYO Food" picnic at 6:00 PM. -For parents of our 4th and 5th graders, there will be an informational meeting about Project Resilience in the multi-purpose room from 6 to 6:30. Come hear about what your child has been doing this spring in Project Resilience and get some wonderful insight on preparing you child and yourself for middle school. -Room 14 doors will open at 6:30 PM. -Our End of The Year Slideshow will begin promptly at 6:40pm. If you happen to miss our showing, don’t worry. I will convert the slideshow into a Quicktime video and send it home on your child’s flash drive, by the end of the year. I will also include a file with all the photos from the year. -Please have your child show you around our room and share with you what they have done this year. A large amount of your child’s work is in digital format, however we cannot allow laptops out this evening. Again, look forward to this work coming home on a flash drive at the end of the year. -We encourage you to visit all the classrooms in the school and let your child (ren) show off the school to you. PALO VERDE MUSIC CONCERT - THIS FRIDAY Palo Verde's annual Music Concert for parents will be this Friday, May 25th at 9:00am in the MP Room! Today our class looked great as they arrived to school ready to perform for our 3rd graders! PALO VERDE VOLUNTEER THANK YOU The Palo Verde Staff and PTA would like to invite all of our classroom, PTA, Site Council and Project Cornerstone volunteers to join us for some refreshments, sweets and good company! Palo Verde Volunteer Thank You Wednesday, June 6, 2012 7:45am -9:00am MP room (note: event for adults only please) Volunteers make Palo Verde a better place. Thank you! PALO VERDE TALENT SHOW Palo Verde's sixth annual Talent Show will be on Wednesday, May 30! Grades 4 and 5 will be at 9am. Kindergarten and 1st grade is scheduled for 10:30am. Grades 2 and 3 will be at 12:15pm. Parents are invited to attend the assemblies during the day. We will not be having an evening event this year. BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION The Palo Verde Box Top classroom competition is coming to an end. Turn in those Box Tops by the end of this week. Box Tops are due this Friday, May 25, 2012. See you all tonight! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter May 11th, 2012 THE GOLD RUSH FIELD TRIP Thank you to everyone who was able to drive and chaperone during yesterday’s field trip. We were all able to explore the life style of 1840’s pioneers as trappers, traders and settlers. We witnessed numerous demonstrations that included skills in trapping, blacksmithing, open-hearth cooking and spinning. We practiced candle making, gold panning, pioneer games and square dancing. We even had time to experience class as it may have been in a one-room schoolhouse, and listen to Isaac Graham’s story and Native American lore. This field trip concluded with a trip on a vintage locomotive, accompanied by a lively narrative of the California Redwood Forest. It’s fair to say that we all had a great day. SPECTRA ART This week we had our last Spectra Art class with Erica. During this lesson we finished our print art that students discovered to be very similar to the methods used on the printing presses back in the 1800s. Look for these pieces of art during Open House! Thank you again to Rachel’s dad who was able to assist with all of our art classes. LITERACY On Monday we all began reading the adventure book: By The Great Horn Spoon! This story takes place during the California Gold Rush, and is a great connection to our field trip and curriculum. SCIENCE Students are studying Earth Material with Mrs. Watson. TECHNOLOGY For this weeks in technology lesson we began creating our 1850’s Wanted Poster. students took digital pictures using PhotoBooth, edited digital pictures using iPhoto, and used a template to create a small poster on MS Word. You can find our wanted posters in Room 14 during the night of Open House. TALENT SHOW This year’s talent show will conveniently take place on Wednesday, May 30th during the school day. 4th & 5th grade performances will take the stage at 9:00am. Other grade-levels will perform after recess and after lunch. OPEN HOUSE It’s that time of year. Open house will be Tuesday, May 22nd at 6:00pm. Please come see all that we have learned, investigated, and challenged ourselves with during this last year in 4th grade. Room 14 students are eager to show you what they have accomplished. NO SCHOOL ON MON. 5/28 There will be no school on Monday, May 28th in recognition of the Memorial Day. School will resume as normal on Tuesday. PROJECT RESILIENCY Last week, Terese visited the class for our fourth lesson. We talked about the different types of listening skills and what it means to be an empathetic friend. Children also had time to write in their private journal. It was particularly interesting to learn that “communicating” involves 70% body language, 23% tone of voice, & 7% words chosen. BEHAVIOR CHARTS Today marks the end out of 4th two-week behavior chart. If your child has a behavior chart, please review the chart with him/her, sign the chart, and have it returned to school on Monday. The goal is to have no marks. During this time of year the energy at school is a bit higher and these charts are my effort to help students recognize their own behaviors and for me to recognize patterns. Have a great weekend! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter March 23, 2012 Project Resiliency This week Terese visited the class for a second time. We talked about our brains. Children also had time to write in a private journal. Our next meeting will focus on the question: “What is friendship?” She also sent home a flyer that your child will bring home. Math This week we worked more on fractions, decimals, and the adding and subtracting of decimals. MARS Testing Last week students did a great job focusing and doing their best at using their math skills to show their work and record their answers. In a few weeks these tests will be graded by PAUSD teachers. Shortly after that the class and I will review the tests, scores, and strategies used to solve the problems. ART Last week Erica taught us a Spectra Art lesson that involved papier-mâché. Next week we will paint our very cool figures, on Wednesday. Social Science We have just about finished our study of the Rancho Period in California’s history, when Mexico regained control from Spain and needed give out land grants to those people supporting the Mexican government. As a final project for this topic students are reading a script that they edited, and reading it into a Garage Band File. Science We have meet with Mrs. Watson two times this week, and continue to study Earth Materials. Science Fair Everyone did a great job working through the scientific method and presenting their new discoveries with others in class and during the Science Fair evening. Please find attached pictures at the end of this newsletter. Have a great weekend! Trebor XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter February 24, 2012 8:15am MORNING SCHOOL BELL Having a 3-minute warning bell before the 8:15 bells rings has really worked well. We now have very few tardies. SCIENCE The class continues meeting with Mr. Lindner for our Magnetism and Electricity science rotations on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 2nd BEHAVIOR CHART Today marks the end of another two weeks of behavior charts. The goal for students is to have no marks. Please remember that one or two marks is still very good. Thank you again for reviewing this chart with your child, and signing it. Any “7” on the chart may be related to homework not turned in, or not turned in on time. I need these behavior charts returned on Monday morning. DISENOs Ask your child about their diseño and letter to the Mexican Government of the 1800’s. These will be on display in our room next week. PALO VERDE AUCTION What: Palo Verde's Biggest Fundraiser and Social Event When: Saturday, March 3, 7pm Where: Michael's at Shoreline Park Who Attends: You! Parents of Palo Verde Students - current and former - come alone, come with friends, come with a spouse, but leave the kids with a sitter. This is your night to have fun. Why: To help fund important literacy and playground programs for all our students and to strengthen our school community. What Else: Visit http://pvptaauction.shutterfly.com/ PROJECT CORNERSTONE This Thursday, Elli’s mom taught our class the 5th lesson of 8 regarding Project Cornerstone. Her efforts and the class’ discussions have really helped us identify social issues that we may have had and address them more effectively. A flyer about this lesson was sent home yesterday. Thank you again for your time, Silvie! NEW STUDENT On Monday our class will welcome a new student to Palo Verde and Room 14. We are all looking forward to her arrival! Have a great weekend! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter February 10, 2012 VALENTINES DAY The class will be having a small , student-planned, Valentine's Day party on Tuesday, February 14th. Students will have time to share Valentines and have a small snack. If your child brings in Valentine cards, please make sure to have one for EVERY child in the class. I will send home a class list with your child this weekend. If you have any questions or concerns please let me know. 8:15am MORNING SCHOOL BELL This was the first full week of having a 3-minute warning bell before the 8:15 bells rings. The effort is to provide students a window of time to get settled into their classroom, so they are ready for instruction at 8:15. In Room 14 we have had numerous students frequently arrive tardy. The class and I agreed to lock the door for 2 minutes after the 8:15 bell. I personally close the door and allow anyone within sight to come in. After 8:15, students know that the closed door means to get a pass from the office. When they return, the door is unlocked and they can join the class. SCIENCE The class has been meeting with Mr. Lindner for our science rotations on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Recently our class has been studying: force, Earth’s magnetic field, compasses, and iron filings. The class is very excited to have their science rotations with Mr. Lindner! 1st BEHAVIOR CHART Today marks the end of the “first run” behavior chart. The goal for students is to have no marks. During this time of year, the energy at school is a bit higher and these charts are my effort at getting students to recognize their own behaviors, and for us to recognize any patterns. Today, I will have gone over the charts with the students. This weekend please review the chart with your child, sign it, and have them returned to school on the following Monday. Students know that they will owe recess until their chart is returned. MISSION WEBSITES For the first time, each child in Room 14 has created a website to present their Mission Project. The class did a great job incorporating their Mission Report essay, A Day In The Mission paper, A Spectra Art piece, and Map into their websites. I thought we could e-mail the student’s private Google Sites to you, however the district prevents sharing these sites with public e-mails. The solution is to have your child log-on at home using: mypausd.org and entering their student number and password. I welcome your feedback, and encourage you to review your child’s work. NO SCHOOL NEXT THURSDAY & FRIDAY Next week will be a 3-Day school week. Teachers have a staff development day on Thursday. You most likely know, next Friday and Monday are Presidents’ Days. This means a 5-Day weekend for students at the end of next week. Have a great 5-day weekend! Trebor XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter January 27, 2012 Mission San Juan Bautista Field Trip: Thank you so much to our five parents who were able to drive for our field trip to Mission San Juan Bautista! The class had a great time learning, exploring, and making connections to our study of CA missions. Technology: During the past week weeks we have been learning how to better use digital cameras, upload the images, and save them to iPhoto. From here we can edit and import the images into a Comic Life storyboard. There are many steps in this learning process and everyone is having fun. During yesterday’s field trip we had groups of photographers who took great pictures. Look for student pictures at the end of this newsletter. Science – Magnates: Students have continued their study of magnets and how iron is the element attracted to the magnetic force, with Mr. Lindner. The Mission Period: Our social studies focus is on California’s Mission Period. The children are engaged in activities that ask them to consider the historical situations from various perspectives (natives, padres, soldiers). This tragic chapter in California’s history is complex and fascinating, and we are striving to present a balanced examination of the events. With a solid background in the rationale and development of the mission movement, last week children were picked one of the 21 missions on which to become our classroom expert. Each student will research and write a report about the mission, write a creative essay called “My Day at the Mission” in the voice of either a padre or neophyte, label a map highlighting the mission and nearby points of interest, and create two pieces of original art. Spectra Art: Students have really been enjoying their Spectra lessons with artist/teacher, Erica. She visits our class every second Wednesday, and has really engaged the children. Next week we will continue our work on our mission projects, which will include an element of Spectra Art. The Mission Pics: These pictures from our field trip and others will be sent home at the end of the year in our digital portfolio. If you’d like pictures sooner, send me a flash drive and I’ll return it with the field trip pictures that our class took. Homework Reminders: Last week I told the class that I would be e-mailing you when homework was not being turned in. This really seemed to pave the communication gap, as this is the 1st week all the homework logs were turned in complete and on time. Thank you for your continued support at home, helping your child manage his/her time, materials, and practice with their skills. Have a great weekend! Trebor XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter January 6, 2012 Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a restful and fun winter break. Spectra Art: Students have really been enjoying their Spectra lessons with artist/teacher Erica. She visits our class every second Wednesday, and has really engaged the children. Erica’s next art lesson will focus on our mission art project. I’d like to thank Rachel’s dad who has volunteered to assist us for every art lesson. If you’d also like to join us, our next lesson is on Wednesday, January 18, at 10:30a. Math Facts Test: I have returned this week’s math facts tests to class. Please find your child’s most current score on its way home today. Mission Field Trip on Jan. 19th Thank you to everyone who turned in the permission forms. We have about half the class’ forms in, however only four drivers. We will need a few more to accommodate ten more students. The Mission Period: Our social studies focus is on California’s Mission Period. The children are engaged in activities that ask them to consider the historical situations from various perspectives (natives, padres, soldiers). This week we worked on the report about the mission, as a class and individually. We will also crate a map, a piece of art, and a paper titled, “A Day In The Life Of A Neophyte”. Those are the Indians trained to learn the Spanish ways of life at the missions. Students will not be required to make Mission Models (collective sigh of relief ☺), but are welcome to share models if they/you are interested in putting one together at home (kits, I believe, are available from Michael’s craft store and on-line). Literacy This week we began the book, Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White. We are experiencing this book as a read aloud and answering questions together. Have a great weekend! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter December 16, 2011 Happy Holidays As the calendar draws to an end, I would like to wish you all a joyful, restful Winter Break! Today we celebrated with a student led Winter Party that will included some treats and a video about the Wright Brother’s first flight 109 year ago, tomorrow. Happy Holidays to all, and healthy, safe travels to those hitting the road. Thank You! Thank you all very much for the fantastic holiday class gift! You are all very kind and I am sure I will be able to find something exciting at the Apple store! Multiplication As you know from reviewing your child’s Study Links, we are currently working on larger number multiplication strategies. Students are also gaining confidence in rounding and estimating, skills that are essential to math literacy. You can support your child’s learning by offering real life math challenges. The next time you’re at the gas station, ask you child to figure how many miles you’ll be able to go on the fuel you purchase by telling them approximately how many miles you get to the gallon. (Say you get about 21 miles to the gallon, gas costs $3.19, and you purchase 13 gallons. Round down to 20 miles, and 10 gallons (the cost is unnecessary information). Use the mental number model of 20 times 10 and get an answer of about 200 miles. An alternative number model would be 20 times 13, for a more exact answer of 260 miles. In the coming weeks, as we begin to explore division, students will also be able to calculate the approximate cost per mile. The grocery store will also give you lots of real life opportunities for multiplication practice. Students still struggling to internalize multiplication facts are now facing a serious obstacle. Please contact me if your child has been diligent about daily fact practice, but has still not reached mastery. (Look for your child’s most recent timed facts tests in this week’s Friday Folder. A mark of “NP” – not pass – indicates more work needs to be done) Missions Our focus in social studies is now the California Mission Period. We began by looking at the romanticized image granted to the 21 missions over the years, and heard the story of El Camino Real. Each student has been assigned one of the 21 missions on which to become our class expert. This will continue to involve researching the history and structure of the place, mapping its location, making a painting of the façade, producing a written report and presenting all of their report information on a website. Students will also write a story, “My Day At The Mission,” based on their studies, and their visit to Mission San Juan Bautista. FIELD TRIP DRIVERS NEEDED Our first 4th grade trip of the school year will be on Thursday, January 19th. We will visit Mission San Juan Bautista, about an hour’s drive south of Palo Alto. Parent volunteers are needed to transport and chaperone students on this wonderful adventure. We will be gone from campus all day. If you are available to drive on that day, please let me know. In January, each family will be asked for a donation to make this trip possible. Also, thank you in advance for making this experience possible by volunteering to drive! I will have additional information for you when we return in 2012. Island of the Blue Dolphins We recently completed our work with this great piece of literature. We kept a personal journal in the form of a personal diary. Many of the students in Room 14 have now been assigned to a “Guided Reading” group. The focus in each group is slightly different, however more groups will be formed when we return. Buddy Class Project We had a fun time meeting with our 1st Grade Buddies on Thursday. Your $2 donation made a huge difference in the selection of candies and goodies used to make this a thrilling activity for all the 1st and 4th graders. Thank you again to Roni’s mom for volunteering. Technology and Rotations We are currently working on creating our own website based on one of the 21 California Missions. Every student has been assigned a mission, and for the first time will create a digital report rather than a poster. We are working through the growing pains, however most students are very enthusiastic about this work. Beginning in mid-January, 4th Grade Rotations will begin. For an hour on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, students will go to Room 18 where Mr. Lindner will teach them a hands-on science unit about Electricity and Magnetism. (Mrs. Watson’s students will come to Room 14 for technology lessons.) Later in the spring, students will go to Mrs. Watson’s room for a unit on Earth Materials. The rotations give the students a chance to work with all the 4th grade teachers, to avail themselves of our expertise, and to get a taste for moving from one classroom to another. Happy Holidays, and see you in the New Year! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter November 22, 2011 MUSIC and PE Students in General Music will receive their recorders after the Thanksgiving Break. The budding musicians are encouraged to add frequent practice sessions to their at home study schedule. Last Wednesday in PE, children ran the mile. There was a lot of huffing and puffing, but this was followed by a real sense of accomplishment! THANK YOU Thank you to the many families who bought books for Room 14 from our outstanding Books Inc. Book Fair, here at Palo Verde. Kids are so funny, in that they can have many outstanding books in the classroom, however the “New Book” is always the most coveted object in the room. Thank you again for feeding the enthusiasm for reading in Room 14. MATHEMATICS Your child may have told you that we have been studying Unit 4 in EDM which is: Decimals and How They Are Used. We will continue our work with this chapter for the next two weeks. WRITING This week we worked on creating a list of people, places, and things that we are thankful for. From this list we categorized all of their ideas. Next, we worked on a craft project related to this writing (you will see this in your child’s backpack today). LITERACY Currently we are reading and investigating the novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins which is a 1960 American children's novel written by Scott O'Dell. This is the story of a young girl stranded for years on an island off the California coast, it is based on the true story of Juana Maria, a Nicoleño Indian left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island in the 19th century. The story’s events, the connections made to California’s history, and understanding the writer’s voice have all led to strong whole class discussions. “EXPLORERS” Our study of California history has moved into the period of exploration by the Europeans. We learned about the first non-natives to set foot along coastal California. In the next weeks we’ll study about the exploits of Sir Francis Drake, Vizcaino, and the mostly forgotten Cermeno. Students, like the explorers, have been fruitlessly working to find the Strait of Anian, a shortcut from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Ask your child to keep you posted on these adventures, discoveries, and our explorer trading cards. THANKSGIVING BREAK Have a great rest of the week. There will be school as usual on Monday and Tuesday. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter October 22, 2011 THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I thank all of you, very much, for your generosity and kindness. The monogrammed, baby blanket is just perfect and it’s being used everyday. Of course the Babies R Us gift card will also be put to great use. Carter is already two weeks old and we are doing pretty well. Thank you again for all of your support, kindness, and generosity. SUBSTITUTE DAYS During the several days I have been out of the classroom, Lauren has been my substitute. She knows the children in Room 14 very well and I have pre-planned each day with her so the class would have consistent curriculum and a familiar structure to their days. STUDENT PARTIES As I stated at Back to School Night, Room 14 students will plan and run their own parties this year. The class decided to ask for $5 to $10 from each family. That cash has been divided among each of the 4 party groups, to buy snacks, decorations, and game supplies. I will make sure the party planners stick to a budget and govern themselves well. Thank you for supporting their efforts. HALLOWEEN As we get closer to Halloween, I wanted to give you a few notes: • The parade will be on Monday, October 31st after recess at 10:30am • Our classroom party will be from the end of the parade to lunch. • No weapons or over- grotesque (bloody) costumes. • There will be on opportunity for children to change into their costumes at recess from 10:10 to 10:30, during recess. • We will have regular classroom lessons after lunch TECHNOLOGY This week we worked on: Type To Learn – A typing program Raz-Kids – A reading comprehension program MS Word – Use to publish writing 5 iPads – Used to support English Language Learners during Social Science MATH FACTS At the start of 4th grade, students are expected to know their math facts: addition, subtraction, multiplication & division. I am happy with the progress we are making with our Everyday Mathematics curriculum, however I need to spend extra time helping many students master their math facts. This week we took the 4 basic math facts assessments. Please look for these graded tests to come home next week. These current scores are the data I will use in our fall report cards. PARENT / TEACHER CONFERENCES Our Room 14 parent/teacher conferences have concluded, however if you’d like to meet with me for any reason, please don’t hesitate to contact me with the earliest time and date that will work for you. The sooner I learn about a concern, the sooner I can clarify or address the issue. LITERACY This week we concluded working through story, In The Year Of The Boar & Jackie Robinson. We have had great conversations and reflections about this story. I strongly encourage you to ask your child about the highlights and personal connections they made from this story. Thank you again! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A Quick Note September 23, 2011 This is a quick note to let you know that our 3 tests today went pretty well. Everyone passed the math test, however I'd like to try something new this year: In the past, I kept all the Math Unit Test, because I needed the data to inform instruction and to use for report cards. This year I'd like to send the tests home and ask for them to be returned. This way, parents can see the test, discuss concerns, and understand in detail what we are covering in class. Please sign the bottom, front, test Page 1, AND have your child return the test to class on Monday. I also want to take this opportunity to welcome Back Zina C. to Palo Verde, and Room 14. Have a great weekend, Trebor XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter September 16, 2011 WALK-A-THON This morning we had a fun time walking and raising money for Palo Verde! Palo Verde’s 7th annual Walk-A-Thon was organized by our own Room 14 Super-Aide, Lauren, and was raising money for student lunchtime activities such as noon art, games, YMCA and walking club. We had a great time, got some exercise, and made some money. Thank you for your support and contributions! BOOK ORDERS Thank you very much to Pallavi’s dad for facilitating Room 14’s Scholastic Book orders this year. This week he sent home the first book order catalog, and included was a slip of paper with directions to order online if you’d like. By ordering online you also donate a free book to the class. We also want to request the ordering deadline be sooner: The new deadline for the current catalog will not be next Friday, September 23rd! Thank you. To sign-up online go to: www.scholastic.com/bookclubs Click on “register” Our class activation code is: DWQ2B Then select your book, submit your order, and the books will be shipped to Room 14. PROJECT CORNERSTONE Thank you very much to Ellie’s mom for presenting the first of three lessons involved with Project Cornerstone. This week we had a read aloud and a good discussion about “filling a person’s bucket”. Ask your child what filling what the term means and you may be pleasantly surprised. ERB WRITING TEST Next Wednesday morning and Thursday morning, all 4th grade students will be taking the ERB Writing Assessment. You may ask, “What are the basic elements of the ERB Writing Assessment Program?” The ERB Writing Assessment Program provides a direct measure of writing ability by asking for a writing sample from each student. Schools may test their students at five levels: Elementary (grades 3-4); Intermediate (grades 5-6); Middle (grades 7-8); Secondary (grades 9-10), and College Preparatory (grades 11-12). Within each level, students write on the same prompt regardless of grade. The same scoring criteria are employed for each level. Modes of discourse and scoring standards change over the five levels of the Program, keeping pace with the progressively more sophisticated writing skills acquired by students as they move through the grades. HOMEWORK Just a reminder that we have a nightly homework assignment that will be posted online and written down by your child each day. I do not give homework on Friday night or over the weekend. However, if your child has a busy week ahead, the weekend may be a good time to work on the Wordly Wise definitions, graphic organizer, rough draft, and final draft. One WW lesson spans over two weeks. If you have questions or concerns, please let me know. I have been talking with parents during our conferences about Wordly Wise. If this task has been a challenge, I will provide more clarification during our parent/ teacher meeting. Meanwhile just send your child to me for clarification. The first WW journals are due next Friday. SPELLING & WORDLY WISE Wordly Wise Story #1: This week students should have began a creative a story, using three (3) or more of their Wordly Wise words. The story must be original and not a copy of the example in the book. I provided a new Composition Book that will be sent home on every-other Monday. This first story is due next Friday, and every-other Friday after that. On the same day that the story is due, we will take the Wordly Wise test. I have been talking with parents during our conferences about Wordly Wise. If this task has been a challenge, I will provide more clarification during our parent/ teacher meeting. Meanwhile just send your child to me for clarification. Again, the first WW journals, and graphic organizers, are due next Friday. TECHNOLOGY This week students continued working with MS Word and Type To Learn 4. Have a great weekend! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX No Newsletter this week. Sept. 9, 2011 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter September 2, 2011 E-MAIL This is our 1st e-mailed Newsletter, so if you are aware of a problem please let me know. I will be using this group list frequently during the year. BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our Palo Verde Back to School Night last Tuesday evening! 2nd WEEK REVIEW This week students continued to exercise their strengths at building a classroom community. WARMUP We literally start our days with a 20-minute academic warm-up in class, and then move outside for a 10-minute physical warm-up activity. SOCIAL SCIENCE California State History has been our main focus in social science with emphasis on CA’s symbols. MATH In math we have been working with our math curriculum: Everyday Mathematics. Our first few lessons have been on line, rays, line segments, angles, and polygons. PARENT / TEACHER CONFERENCES Those of you who returned your forms should have the same form returned to you this evening via your child. I have highlighted the date and time that will work best. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me and we can work together to find a better time. The openings we have left are: 9/14 at 1:40, 2:50, 3:25 9/15 at 4:10 9/19 at 3:00, 4:10 9/21 at 2:50 9/22 at 3:35 If you have not returned a parent conference form yet, please let me know what day/time would work for you. Thank you. CLASSROOM VOLUNTEERS - Thank you in advance for your time! Your help makes a big difference in the classroom. I will contact each of you next week to further discuss your volunteer duties. ROOM PARENT – Mrs. Yaron PiE REP FOR ROOM 14 – Ms. McKenzie LIBRARY – Mrs. Eustaquio & Mrs. Hiroshima SPECTRA ART – Mrs. Yaron & Ms. Gaudet BOOK ORDERS – Mr. Chigurupati PROJECT CORNERSTONE CLASSROOM READER – Mrs. Pierce PARTIES – No Volunteers Needed PERSONAL INTERESTS/SPECIALTIES - Any time you are willing to share your occupation, hobbies, interests, skills, and/or cultural knowledge with the students, just let me know. NO SCHOOL NEXT MONDAY! Have a great 3-Day Weekend XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Room 14 Newsletter August 26th, 2011 Welcome to 4th Grade! Welcome to an exciting new year at Palo Verde, which will be full of learning, new experiences and fun. We are off to a great start in Room 14. All the students in our class seem eager to be back in school, excited to see their friends, and prepared to learn: especially tech and social science. Mr. Winslow This marks my tenth year at Palo Verde and I am very excited to be teaching 4th grade again. This year I plan to expand on my previous experiences and build new, healthy challenges to support our curriculum. The warm welcomes from students and parents have been fantastic and I can already see that we have an exciting year ahead of us. Back to School Night Please join us for Back to School Night on Tuesday 8/30 from 6:00pm to 6:45pm. I will discuss 4th grade curriculum, my homework policy, and behavior expectations, and so much more. I look forward to seeing you all. Afterwards, from 6:45 to 7:00, Principal Brown will introduce staff, PTA, and PiE members in the MP Room. First Week Review This week students were introduced to classroom “norms”, procedures and practiced emergency drills. Additionally, we discussed conflict resolution skills and safety around our campus. We practiced several team-building activities, which allowed us a chance to get reacquainted with others we missed during the summer. Students also took several beginning-of-the-year assessments: math assessments, a writing prompt, a Wordly Wise placement quiz, and two 4th grade spelling tests. 4th Grade Rotations At Palo Verde, 4th grade students are very lucky to have the opportunity to have a science and technology ratotaions with different 4th grade teachers. Thanks to our Palo Verde PTA funding, Site Council support, and your parent contributions we have enough laptops that all our 4th graders will have access to technology to better support their learning and study habbits. These 4th grade rotations have been successful in the past, however recently we have adopted a new plan that I will explain on Tuesday night. Trebor L.Winslow *This is the last hard-copy newsletter that I will be sending home. Let me know if you have a concern, or need a paper copy for future news. Automatically clean input to optimize for the web. Or, would you like to view and optionally restore one of these previous versions? Password: Forgot your password?

MR. WINSLOW'S - 4th GRADE

NEWSLETTER

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