Click here to sign up to help our class: 
Please email me at myla.manese@ousd.k12.ca.us or mrs.manese@gmail.com if you have any
difficulty completing your sign-up.
May 14, 2012
**Supplies Needed: Our supplies are dwindling away. If you can help us out, we are in need of
boxes of tissues, paper towels, and reams of paper. Thank you!!
CST/STAR: We completed all our standardized testing on Friday. Thank you to all the families that
provided snacks! The students were very pleased with the selections provided.
SMARTboard: As you may already know, a SMARTboard was installed in our classroom last week. It
is an interactive whiteboard that one student likened to a giant iPad. Connected to our projector and
a computer, it allows us to use the SMARTboard as a touch screen to interact with the lesson or
website on the computer. I will display an activity on Open House night so that you may have an
opportunity to experience it as well.
Science Night: On Wednesday, we will have the Thornhill Science Night from 6:00-6:45 pm. Please
have your child ready to explain his/her project to our visitors. You are welcome to visit other
classrooms as well to see all the amazing science projects. Immediately following Science Night will
be the PFC General Meeting. Please note that free childcare will be provided in the Adventure Time
portable for the meeting.
Angel Island Field Trip: Our final field trip will be on Thursday, May 24th. Please note that we will
leave at 8:45 am. Please have your child arrive to school early so they may have time to deposit their
belongings in the classroom before our departure. All students and parent volunteers should also
bring a snack and a disposable lunch on that day. We will be driving to the Tiburon Ferry building
then hopping aboard a ferry to Angel Island. We should be arriving back at school by 2:00 pm.
Please note that we are limited to only 7 drivers and 2 additional chaperones. If you are interested in
being a parent volunteer for this trip, please contact Dorothy (Matthew’s Mom) by Wednesday, May
16th.
Spirit Days: May 29-June 1 will be Spirit Days sponsored by the Thornhill Student Council. These are
fun and optional. We hope your child will show support for our school by participating in these fun
days. Exact themes for each day will soon be announced.
Open House/Music Night: Grades 3-5 will have their Open House and Music Night on Thursday, May
31st, from 6:30-8:15 pm. We will begin in the classrooms where students will have the opportunity
to show their families and friends our classroom and the wonderful work they’ve been doing. We will
then move to the Multi-purpose Room to enjoy the musical offerings by the instrumental music
students.
The 4th grade students will be preparing a special art project for Open House and we will need
all students to bring in one of their own t-shirts. It should be a t-shirt that reflects the personality of
your child. You need not buy anything new. Please just have your child choose one they already
have. It will be returned in its original condition after Open House.
Birthday Treat Day: On May 31st, we will also have our final Birthday Treat Day of the school year.
We will celebrate the May, June, July, and August birthdays on this day. If your child has yet to have a
day for a birthday sharing, I will speak to them about scheduling a time for them to do that.
MILE Project: Our students have been hard at work creating first a poem then a song about a
California Gold Rush theme. They wrote one stanza on their own, then were placed in groups to
combine and add their stanzas to form 3 stanzas. Students then began the process of converting
their poems into songs by creating a rhythm for their poems. Last week, Mr. Spencer reviewed the
pitch matrix with them and now students are creating melodies for their songs. It has been
interesting and inspiring to see them try out new melodies on the xylophone as well as on their own
instruments. We hope to have complete songs in the next week or two before we choose 3 of the
songs. These 3 songs will be learned by all the students in our class and then performed for our
buddy class, Ms. Wu’s first graders. Mr. Kloess’ class has been going through the same process and
our classes will perform in front of each other as well as in front of our buddy classes. All fourth
grade families are welcome to attend our performance on Thursday, June 14th (same day as our end
of year party) at 9:00 am.
End of Year Party: Yes, it’s almost the end of 4th grade. Our class has been working toward having a
Luau party and an opportunity to bring a family member to our classroom. We’ve decided to combine
these with our class End of Year Party on Thursday, June 14th. There are a group of students
planning the activities for this party, but we will need parent helpers for these activities as well as to
provide lunch and other refreshments. Please see the Sign Up Genius website for more information
about the food needs. We will have the party from 12:15-1:20 pm on June 14th (this is the day
before the last day of school).
Upcoming Important Dates:
Wednesday, 5/16/12
Science Night, 6:00-6:45 pm
PFC Meeting, afterwards
Friday, 5/18/12
Emily’s birthday
Saturday, 5/19/12
Thornhill Carnival, 10 am-3 pm
Thursday, 5/24/12
Angel Island Field Trip
Friday, 5/25/12
In Lieu of Lincoln’s Day
Holiday (no school)
Monday, 5/28/12
Memorial Day Holiday
(no school)
Tues-Fri, 5/29-6/1
Spirit Days, more info to come
Thursday, 5/31/12
End of Year & Summer Birthday Treat Day; Open House & Music Night 6:30-8:15 pm
(Gr. 3-5 only)
Mon-Fri, 6/11-6/15
Minimum Days all week
Wednesday, 6-13
5th Grade Promotion, 10:30 am
Thursday, 6-14
MILE Presentation, 9:00 am in the MPR
End of Year Luau Party, 12:15 pm - 1:20 pm
Friday, 6-15
Last day of school for students