Dear Parents and Portal Students,
Welcome to February! Although this month is notable for it’s winter break and presidential holiday, it’s also a time of much activity in the classroom. We’re in the midst of significant work in social studies and science, math and language arts routines are fully established, and our technology hardware is about to be upgraded in a major way with the addition of our two Apple laptop carts (featuring 20 BRAND NEW MacBooks per cart!) I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about this important improvement to our tech program from your student as we establish our use procedures and student responsibilities. Finally, this week we are visiting Mission San Juan Batista; this is one of California’s most significant historical locations, so we have a terrific experience awaiting us this Wednesday. In short, it’s a typically action-packed week at Portal!
Current Academics:
In language arts, we continue our in-depth reading of Island of the Blue
Dolphins. In addition, we are reviewing summary writing this week, and we
will venture into the realms of response to literature and persuasive
writing in the next two weeks.
Math for 4th graders is currently focused on understanding and using
decimals. Chapter 8 in our book contains the basic concepts that we’ll be
covering. We focus on addition and subtraction of decimals this week, along with estimated sums and differences for decimal problems. We will have a chapter test on the content on Monday, February 8. 5th graders are on to customary and metric units of measurement. Also, the “Bedroom Project” is now officially underway. The kids have chosen the format for their assignment, so ask them to give you the details about this home remodeling dream!
Social studies is preparing our classes well for our Wednesday trip to
Mission San Juan Batista, one of the most well-preserved California missions
available to visit. Class activities are beginning that introduce the chain
of missions throughout historic California, the lifestyles of the natives
and missionaries, and the cultural changes that took place in this time.
This past week, students submitted ideas for their Science Fair assignment that all students will be participating in. The assignment provides students with an opportunity to choose an experimental topic from one of our six grade-level science subject areas, and to use the scientific method to properly explore the question they have about their chosen topic. The next step for those whose ideas were approved is to prepare the first half of their “official scientific method” experiment- Purpose/Question, Hypothesis, Materials, and Procedure- all due on February 11. In class, our investigations of environments suitable for a variety of living organisms continues. We now have isopods and darkling beetles in our terrariums, and we’re developing a greater understanding of environmental factors and healthy living!
Mega Skill of the Month - Responsibility!
Responsibility is something everyone can embrace; it simply means to do the right thing in a given circumstance. It is also a PERSONAL duty; we need to do things for ourselves where appropriate, ask for assistance where appropriate, and allow others to fulfill their duties where appropriate. When we are responsible, we work better as individuals and as groups!
Important Dates to Remember:
Feb 3 Math Olympiads
Feb 3 Hyde Middle School: New Parent Orientation 7-8pm, Hyde Multi-Use Room
Feb 3 5th grade measurement/integer test
Feb 4 Field Trip - Mission San Juan Bautista
Feb 5 Sacramento Field Trip forms and money due!
Feb 5 Kennedy Middle School: New Parent Orientation 7-8pm, Kennedy Multi-Use
room
Feb 8 4th grade Chapter 8 Math test
Feb 11 First half of Scientific Fair Write Up due (Question/Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure)
Feb 11 Social Studies Test: Missions, Pueblos, and Presidios
Feb 16 Mid Year Recess - no school
Feb 23 School Resumes
California Trivia
Q: Considering the latitude, are the ocean waters along CA generally warm
or cold?
Good luck!
Mr. Roels & Miss Scourkes
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