Dear Parents and Portal Students,
Our first trimester has come to a close; it hardly seems possible that we’ve already spent 1/3 of our school year together! November is a great month to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with friends or family, and I’m sure you’re beginning to make plans for your own personal time. For teachers, this month is also our time to evaluate student performance for report cards; for students, the month provides an opportunity to reflect on their efforts thus far, and to apply their knowledge to the best of their ability in the second trimester. To be sure, this month has a great mixture of social and academic activities- a perfect setting for a balanced, well-rounded life!
NASA Trip:
Both classes have now had the opportunity to visit NASA! What a great trip it was! Students had the opportunity to see themselves in the roles of astronauts, engineers, and research scientists on a simulated space mission performing a variety of tasks and experiments. They also worked with scientific information gathered from space missions and high altitude flights to better understand our planet. Students explored the principles of flight, the use of wind tunnels, and computers to design rotorcraft and experienced basic concepts in the area of physics.
A big “Thank you” to all of the parents who helped with the chaperone duties. Both the adults and students had many positive comments to share. Be sure to ask your child about their favorite part of the trip if you haven’t had a chance to talk about it!
Fine Arts Performance News:
We have started organizing volunteers for our performance on December 11. Thank you to all who have offered to help. You will be contacted soon regarding your availability or food donation!
Important Dates to Remember:
11/18 - Math Olympiads 12:30 p.m. (Rm. 22 for Room 20 & 21 students)
11/19 - PSCO Meeting 6:30 p.m.
11/21 - Spirit Day - Sports Day!
11/24 -Social Studies Test on Native Americans
11/25 -5th grade math test on integers
11/26 - 11/28 Thanksgiving Holiday Break- No school.
12/1 - SSC Meeting
12/5 -Report Cards go home.
12/10 -Kitchen Science Due
California Trivia
Q: The Santa Clara Valley, famous for its fruit trees, was transformed in the 1970’s and 1980’s by what tiny manmade object?
Good luck!
Mr. Roels & Ms. Scourkes
Monday, November 17, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
November is Here- Weekly Reminders!
Dear Parents and Portal Students,
We hope you had a fun and spooky Halloween! Here at school, there were a lot of fantastic, inventive costumes for our parade. Luckily, the rain held off, and we got to parade and then have our ice cream social.
Classroom Volunteer Opportunity!
We’ll be starting our first literature circles of the year next week and we need parents to help us out!! The job is really very simple and it’s VERY fun. It consists of coming into the class room for four days (30-45 minutes per day) and listening to a small group of children discuss what they’ve read. Your job is to listen and observe. Are all students participating, taking turns, being respectful? Are they knowledgeable about what they’ve read? Have they completed the written assignment? There is a check off sheet that you fill out as the students are meeting. Talk to parents who’ve done it before - they’ll tell you how fun it is!! We need at least 6 parents for both rooms 20 and 21.
Please email us right away if you’re interested!
Here are the dates and times:
All sessions will go from 8:10 a.m. until approximately 9:00.
Wed. 11/12
Mon. 11/17
Wed. 11/19
Mon. 11/24
If you are interested in volunteering and would like to observe an introduction to literature circles for the students, we will be talking to our classes at 8:15 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, November 4.
Mega Skill for November:
November’s Mega Skill for Portal students and staff is Problem-Solving.
This skill encompasses all aspects of our lives; it has academic, social,
and physical components. Be sure to model effective problem-solving at
home, and we’ll do the same here on campus. Together, we can have a world that knows how to work toward solutions!
5th Grade Parent News Update on Human Growth & Development Preview:
The date for our parents to preview the materials used for our 5th grade
Human Growth & Development curriculum has been changed to Wed., November 12 from 6:30-8:30pm in the Portal multi-use room. Please let your family room teacher know if you will be attending.
Fine Arts Performance News:
Thank you to all of the parents who have returned the blue volunteer sheets! We will be contacting you soon. If you’d like to volunteer, but haven’t turned in the form, please do so as soon as possible. Thanks!
Important Dates to Remember:
Tues, 11/4 Election Day- Get Out and VOTE!!!
Wed, 11/05 Vision screening for 5th grader has been cancelled.
Wed, 11/05 Year of the Boar test
Thurs, 11/6 NASA/Ames field trip for Miss Scourkes’ class
Friday, 11/7 4th grade math test- Chapter 3
Friday, 11/7 5th grade algebra test
Mon, 11/10 & Tues, 11/11 NO SCHOOL- VETERANS’ DAY HOLIDAY
Wed, 11/12 Human Growth & Development Preview (5th grade parents ONLY) from 6:30-8:30pm in the Portal Multi-use room
Thurs, 11/13 NASA/Ames field trip for Mr. Roels’ class
California Trivia
Q: What is the largest flying bird in North America?
Good luck!
Mr. Roels & Ms. Scourkes
We hope you had a fun and spooky Halloween! Here at school, there were a lot of fantastic, inventive costumes for our parade. Luckily, the rain held off, and we got to parade and then have our ice cream social.
Classroom Volunteer Opportunity!
We’ll be starting our first literature circles of the year next week and we need parents to help us out!! The job is really very simple and it’s VERY fun. It consists of coming into the class room for four days (30-45 minutes per day) and listening to a small group of children discuss what they’ve read. Your job is to listen and observe. Are all students participating, taking turns, being respectful? Are they knowledgeable about what they’ve read? Have they completed the written assignment? There is a check off sheet that you fill out as the students are meeting. Talk to parents who’ve done it before - they’ll tell you how fun it is!! We need at least 6 parents for both rooms 20 and 21.
Please email us right away if you’re interested!
Here are the dates and times:
All sessions will go from 8:10 a.m. until approximately 9:00.
Wed. 11/12
Mon. 11/17
Wed. 11/19
Mon. 11/24
If you are interested in volunteering and would like to observe an introduction to literature circles for the students, we will be talking to our classes at 8:15 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, November 4.
Mega Skill for November:
November’s Mega Skill for Portal students and staff is Problem-Solving.
This skill encompasses all aspects of our lives; it has academic, social,
and physical components. Be sure to model effective problem-solving at
home, and we’ll do the same here on campus. Together, we can have a world that knows how to work toward solutions!
5th Grade Parent News Update on Human Growth & Development Preview:
The date for our parents to preview the materials used for our 5th grade
Human Growth & Development curriculum has been changed to Wed., November 12 from 6:30-8:30pm in the Portal multi-use room. Please let your family room teacher know if you will be attending.
Fine Arts Performance News:
Thank you to all of the parents who have returned the blue volunteer sheets! We will be contacting you soon. If you’d like to volunteer, but haven’t turned in the form, please do so as soon as possible. Thanks!
Important Dates to Remember:
Tues, 11/4 Election Day- Get Out and VOTE!!!
Wed, 11/05 Vision screening for 5th grader has been cancelled.
Wed, 11/05 Year of the Boar test
Thurs, 11/6 NASA/Ames field trip for Miss Scourkes’ class
Friday, 11/7 4th grade math test- Chapter 3
Friday, 11/7 5th grade algebra test
Mon, 11/10 & Tues, 11/11 NO SCHOOL- VETERANS’ DAY HOLIDAY
Wed, 11/12 Human Growth & Development Preview (5th grade parents ONLY) from 6:30-8:30pm in the Portal Multi-use room
Thurs, 11/13 NASA/Ames field trip for Mr. Roels’ class
California Trivia
Q: What is the largest flying bird in North America?
Good luck!
Mr. Roels & Ms. Scourkes
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