Dear Parents and Portal Students,
We hope you had a wonderful break! From listening to what the students had to say, many had great adventures and lots of time to relax and enjoy family activities. We hope everyone is as rejuvenated and ready for all of the great activities that will be happening in the upcoming months as we are!
Current Academics:
We continue to read Island of the Blue Dolphins, summarize, and make connections to what we are reading. These skills aid in our preparation for the formal Response to Literature writing standard, which incorporates many of the writing skills that we have been learning. We will begin with this writing standard this week.
Math for 4th graders will be progressing into an exploration of statistics and graphing starting this week. We’ll be using ourselves as data sources! This project is a great way to put ideas like mean, median, mode, range, and outliers in statistics to practical use.
5th graders are studying fractions, percentages, and decimals. We are learning how all of these concepts are related and how to move easily between the three.
In science class, our work this week will be focused on learning about the characteristics of aquatic environments, followed by a study of food webs and food chains in various environments. Our aquatic organisms will arrive next week too!
Mega Skill of the Month - Responsibility!
Responsibility is such a long word, but such a simple concept. When we think of how we can make life easier for ourselves and others, the most basic way to achieve success is to be accountable for our own actions. If you do the “next right thing”, the results will be positive- guaranteed!
Important Dates to Remember:
February 24 - Parent/Principal Exchange 8:15
February 25 - PSCO Meeting 6:30
February 27- Spirit Day - Red, White, and Blue Day!
February 27 - Bedroom Project Due
March 3 -4th grade STAR Writing Test, 5th Grade District Writing Test
March 3 - Math Olympiads 12:30
March 5 - Fitnessgram testing 5th graders
March 5- 4/5 Fresh Choice Night 4:00-8:00
March 5 - 5th Grade Parent Night- Cupertino Middle School 6:00-8:00
March 6- Fitnessgram testing 5th graders
March 6 - Second Trimester Ends
March 12 - Fitnessgram testing 5th graders
March 13 - GATE testing
March 18 - Science Fair Project Conclusions and Results due
CALIFORNIA TRIVIA!
Q: What is the mascot of the University of CA Santa Cruz?
Good luck!
Mr. Roels & Miss Scourkes
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Week Before Valentine's Day
Dear Parents and Portal Students,
Thank you to all of the parents who came with us on our trip to Mission San Juan Bautista last week. The kids had a great time and were able to see one of the actual missions we’ve been studying about in social studies. History brought to life! These trips are a valuable part of our curriculum and we truly appreciate the time parents take to help us make them a reality. Also, we can assure you that our Sacramento trip in April will be an equally powerful experience for our classes; there is so much that our state capital has to offer students. It’s the best “reality show” we can think of!
Current Academics:
In language arts, we our reading of Island of the Blue
Dolphins has taken us to the halfway point in the story. Karana, the central character in the book, faces many challenges as she attempts to survive alone on the island. Persuasive writing has begun, and we’re all learning how to present arguments with a reasoned AND emotional approach. We also are realizing that one must be able to counter arguments in our persuasive writing as well.
Math for 4th graders will be progressing into an exploration of statistics and graphing starting this week. We’ll be using ourselves as data sources! You’ll hear more about this “Profiles” activity in the next week or so.
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!
The first half of our Science Fair writeup (the student’s “official scientific method” experiment- Purpose/Question, Hypothesis, Materials, and Procedure) is due on February 11. In class, our work this week will be focused on increasing our scholarly knowledge of environments to complement our experimental efforts. After our break, we’ll resume investigations....with a water emphasis!
Mega Skill of the Month - Responsibility!
Responsibility is a good thing! For one, it makes life so much easier to manage when you realize that you can only manage YOURSELF. Taking responsibility for your own possessions, assignments, and behavior means that you enjoy your life more fully. Why? The answer is simple. We all want the best for ourselves, and if we apply this standard to everything we do, the results will make us happy!
Important Dates to Remember:
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: What object found a place on the CA state flag in 1911 with a grizzly bear?
Good luck!
Mr. Roels & Miss Scourkes
Thank you to all of the parents who came with us on our trip to Mission San Juan Bautista last week. The kids had a great time and were able to see one of the actual missions we’ve been studying about in social studies. History brought to life! These trips are a valuable part of our curriculum and we truly appreciate the time parents take to help us make them a reality. Also, we can assure you that our Sacramento trip in April will be an equally powerful experience for our classes; there is so much that our state capital has to offer students. It’s the best “reality show” we can think of!
Current Academics:
In language arts, we our reading of Island of the Blue
Dolphins has taken us to the halfway point in the story. Karana, the central character in the book, faces many challenges as she attempts to survive alone on the island. Persuasive writing has begun, and we’re all learning how to present arguments with a reasoned AND emotional approach. We also are realizing that one must be able to counter arguments in our persuasive writing as well.
Math for 4th graders will be progressing into an exploration of statistics and graphing starting this week. We’ll be using ourselves as data sources! You’ll hear more about this “Profiles” activity in the next week or so.
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!
The first half of our Science Fair writeup (the student’s “official scientific method” experiment- Purpose/Question, Hypothesis, Materials, and Procedure) is due on February 11. In class, our work this week will be focused on increasing our scholarly knowledge of environments to complement our experimental efforts. After our break, we’ll resume investigations....with a water emphasis!
Mega Skill of the Month - Responsibility!
Responsibility is a good thing! For one, it makes life so much easier to manage when you realize that you can only manage YOURSELF. Taking responsibility for your own possessions, assignments, and behavior means that you enjoy your life more fully. Why? The answer is simple. We all want the best for ourselves, and if we apply this standard to everything we do, the results will make us happy!
Important Dates to Remember:
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: What object found a place on the CA state flag in 1911 with a grizzly bear?
Good luck!
Mr. Roels & Miss Scourkes
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
The Week of Feb. 2-6
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
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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