November 28- December 2 Reminders

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

November 28-December 2

Mark Your Calendars:

• Monday, 11/28: 4th grade 1st trimester cumulative math test
• Wednesday, 11/30: 5th grade Unit 11 math test
• Thursday, 12/1: Parent Training for Literature Circles @3:00
• Thursday, 12/1: “U.S. Presidents” fine arts performance @6:30pm
• Friday, 12/2: Rooms 19/24 Final science test
• Monday, 12/5: social studies Native American test
• Tuesday, 12/6: Rooms 20/21 literature circle session #1 @8:00am
• Thursday, 12/8: Rooms 20/21 literature circle session #2 @8:00am
• Friday, 12/9: Report cards go home!
• Tuesday, 12/13: Rooms 20/21 literature circle session #3 @8:00am
• Thursday, 12/15: Rooms 20/21 literature circle session #1 @8:00am

Fine Arts Costume Final Notice!!!

Attention Parents! Tuesday we will be sending home a sheet containing any costume needs your son or daughter may still have for their performance. These items must be located by the student and their family for use during our dress rehearsal on Wednesday this week and the performance on Thursday night.

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:
This week, students will continue to practice summary writing. Also, students will pick their literature circle books and begin reading in preparation for our first literature circle session on Tuesday, December 6. Our second trimester begins this week, so our classes will also need to start reading new genres of books for their Reading Contract for the second trimester (8 books are required this time!)

Math
4th grade: Students in our classes have taken a short, cumulative (first trimester) test today in class. The rest of the week will be devoted to the study of fractions in all their glory! We’ll be modeling fractions with counters, making fraction kits to explore equivalency, and playing some games at the end of the week to incorporate our understanding of fractional values and amounts.

5th grade: We continue to strengthen our understanding of addition and subtraction of negative and positive integers. Students are using integers in equations that contain variables, and reinforcing these concepts with interactive games. We will have the test on chapters 25 and 26 this Wednesday.

Science:
In Rooms 20 & 21, we received a variety of assessment pieces back from Mr. Roels today, and we reviewed the most recent, “I-Check: Investigation 3” in detail. Ask your student to see how well he/she was able to share their understanding of this trimester’s concepts. On Wednesday, we’ll begin our next unit, “Mixtures and Solutions.” Our class will prepare our new notebooks, start “Investigation 1: Separating Mixtures”, and do some reading to clarify our understanding of what we see and experience during the investigation.

Social Studies:
This week, students finish learning about the tribes in the Eastern Woodland region. Their Native American test is on December 5th. Students should be reviewing their notes, charts, reading material, and using the study guide as a resource to help them prepare. Today, we began working on our wampum belts! It’s a tricky project and the students did a great job getting started. Thank you to all of the parents who helped.

Reminder: Remember the various websites you can visit to practice your states and capitals, including Quizlet.

To access Quizlet flashcards to study the North Central States, click here: North Central States

Name that State!

• The oldest rock in the world, dated at 3.8 billion years old, was found in this state.
• The blueberry muffin is the official state muffin of this state.
• This state's motto is L'Etoile du Nord, which is French for "Star of the North."
• Charles M. Schultz, who drew the "Peanuts" cartoons, was born in this state.
• This state has 12,000 lakes.
• Which state is it?

Pre-Thanksgiving Week Reminders

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

November 14-19

Mark Your Calendars:

• Monday- Wednesday, 11/14-16: Rooms 20 & 21 oral presentations!
• Wednesday, 11/17: Rockhopper Reading Contracts due
• Friday, 11/18 Rooms 20 & 21 I-Check, Investigation 3
• Friday, 11/18: Spirit Day: Black & White (Penguin) Day
• Monday-Friday, 11/21-25: Thanksgiving break: No school
• Monday, 11/28: 4th grade 1st trimester cumulative math test
• Thursday, 12/1: “U.S. Presidents” fine arts performance @6:30pm
• Monday, 12/5: Native Americans Unit Test

Fine Arts Performance News Update

• Costume Notice Coming Home Today!

Attention Parents! Today we will be sending home an information sheet containing the details of each student’s costume needs for their performance. Although there are a few items that we will provide, most of the items will be located by the student and their family for use during our dress rehearsals and the performance. We will make sure your student knows what costume pieces we will be supplying for them.

• Treats Sign Up GoogleDoc available for you to use!

Please watch your email for a “treats sign up” document. We would appreciate it if every family would sign up to bring something to our celebration performance night.

• A BIG “Thank You” to our parent volunteers!

Thank you to the parents who have generously signed up to help us prepare for our performance! You will be contacted soon by either a parent or teacher regarding your availability and job.



Curriculum Flash!


Language Arts:

This week, students will continue to practice summary writing. Summary writing requires students to be able to write a very general “burrito” topic sentence and identify and sequence the main events of a story. Ask your child this week to tell you about the process of “Name it, Verb it, Big Picture” topic sentence that introduces a summary paragraph.

Reading Contracts/Oral Presentations:

Due this Friday, November 17th. Your child is required to give you an oral summary of the book in order to receive your signature.

Oral presentations are taking place this week. Students are aware of their presentation date and the specific requirements. Please help them manage their time so they are ready for presentation day.

Math

4th grade: Students in our classes are working with division. We will be dividing larger numbers with remainders, regrouping, and noticing patterns when we divide multiples of ten. Our project this week involves divisibility rules; we can’t reveal the details at this time! Let’s just say that it definitely has a Thanksgiving type of theme :) When we return from our break, our 4th graders will be taking a relatively short cumulative test on the 4th grade math concepts covered so far this year. Take a look at our math journals; they should have all the units we have presented in class this year!

5th grade: Students will be continuing to dive deeper into understanding negative numbers and operations. We will take this knowledge and apply it to graphing equations with negative numbers on coordinate planes.

In the near future we will start incorporating our incredible iTouches into the classroom. There are so many uses to enrich the math material. We will be taking our knowledge of negative numbers to the deep sea as we’ll turn into divers in search of an elusive pearl. Divers must know exactly where to dive for the pearl otherwise they may not find it in time. Hopefully their previous experience with number lines will come in handy!

Science:

In Rooms 20 & 21, Investigation 3 in our Living Systems unit is wrapping up before our break. We’ll have an I-Check on Investigation 3 Thursday that will allow us to demonstrate our understanding of the investigation concepts- books and notes will be available for reference during the I-Check.

Social Studies:

Students are currently learning about the tribes in the Eastern Woodland region. Our wampum belt project is scheduled for after Thanksgiving break! A study guide will be going home this Thursday for our final unit exam on all the regional tribes. Students should start reviewing their notes, charts, reading material, and use the study guide as a resource to help them prepare for the test on December 5th.

Reminder: Remember the various websites you can visit to practice your states and capitals, including Quizlet.


Name that State!

• The second-oldest city in the nation is located in this state.
• This state is named after a British king.
• Five other states share a border with this state.
• The Girl Scouts were founded in this state in 1912.
• Former President Jimmy Carter is a native of this state.
• Which state is it?

Nov. 7-11 Weekly Reminders

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

November 7-11

Mark Your Calendars:

• Thursday, 11/10 North Central States test
• Friday, 11/11: Veteran’s Day: No school
• Friday, 11/11: End of first trimester!

******FINE ART PERFORMANCE HELPERS NEEDED!******

We are looking for some creative, organized parents to help with our play backdrop setup and miscellaneous costume needs. Most of our backdrop is already prepared, but the installation and completion of the backdrop will need to be done during the week of November 14-18. Our costume and prop requirements will also need to be finalized during that week. If you think are interested in this aspect of our performance, please let us know. Additionally, we will be looking for support on the night of the performance with food donations, food setup, and food cleanup. Finally, if you would like to videotape our performance for us during one of our dress rehearsals or the evening of the performance, we would love to have you join the team! Contact Miss Scourkes or Mr. Roels if you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities.

Head Lice Alert:
Please read the previous email attachments from your classroom teacher regarding the sighting of head lice in the upper grades. Students who have been sent home due to lice are not allowed back at school until the situation has been remedied.

Library Vouchers:
Students who live outside of Cupertino can still use Cupertino libraries. The library will waive the $80 library card fee if the student shows one of the following:

• a Cupertino Student ID
• report card with the school and studnet name
• parent Teacher Conference form with school and child name.

Please check with the library for more information.


Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:

This week, students will continue to practice for our fine arts performance. You can help your child at home by encouraging them to practice their lines with you to add volume and expression. Movements and song lyrics can also be rehearsed. We have three weeks until our performance!

Reading Contracts/Oral Presentations:

These contracts are due for the end of the first trimester on November 17th. Your child is required to give you an oral summary of the book in order to receive your signature; your signatures should have been given at the time the book was read.

Oral presentations will be done November 14-16 in our classes. Students are aware of their date and the specific requirements. Please help them manage their time so they are ready for presentation day.

Math

4th grade: The students continue to work on writing expressions to fit a particular problem-solving situation. This week, fourth graders will also be working with division. We will be dividing larger numbers with remainders, regrouping, and noticing patterns when we divide multiples of ten.

5th grade: Students will be introduced to negative numbers and use integers in solving algebraic equations. They will also learn to graph equations on coordinate planes.

Science:

We have begun exploring the final investigation in Living Systems. This week, students are working by reading in detail about the concept of food production (photosynthesis), then observing food production in action during a class experiment conducted in their small groups.

Social Studies:

Reminder: Students will be taking their cumulative geography test, which includes the North Central states, this week. Remember to practice spelling and location of all states and capitals we have studies so far - the test is cumulative!

To access Quizlet flashcards to study the North Central States, click here:
North Central States

Name that State!

• This state elects four people to the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Helium was discovered at a university in this state in 1905.
• This state leads the United States in cattle and wheat production.
• This state's state song is "Home on the Range."
• Female aviator Amelia Earhart was born in this state.
• Which state is it?

Weekly Reminders- Nov. 1-4

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

November 1-4

Mark Your Calendars:

• Wednesday, 11/2: Destination Imagination Parent Training at 6:30 p.m.
• Wendesday, 11/2: Let Miss Scourkes know if you are able to help with our social studies project!
• Thursday, 11/4: 5th grade math unit test on algebra (finding patterns, rules, graphing equations, properties, and other strands that may not be listed here)
• Thursday, 11/10: Geography Test - Cumulative up through the North Cental States
• Friday, 11/11: Veteran’s Day: No school
• Thursday, 11/17: Rockhopper Reading Contract Due

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:

Our oral presentation dates will be the week of November 14-16. Planning ahead for this presentation will entail rereading book details for clarity, preparing costume and prop items, and rehearsing your speech several times to gain confidence and volume! We will not have literature circles until December; stay tuned for times and dates.

In writing, students have completed their first expository essay. We’ve also practiced peer revision and editing to improve our work. They will apply these skills on our future informational assignments in social studies and science.

We continue to devote the majority of our time to our fine arts performance- oral language, conveying meaning through proper expression, and body language are also critical life skills!

Reading Contracts:

The Rockhopper Reading Contract is due at the end of the trimester on November 17th. Your child is required to give you an oral summary of the book in order to receive your signature.

Math

4th grade: Last week, students learned new mathematical vocabulary related to multiplication (factors, multiples, prime, composite, square numbers), and created beautiful factor wheels as a way to visually represent their learning! This week, our concentration is on the order of operations and using this knowledge to create expressions that fit a given situation.

5th grade: We’re covering Mathematical Properties this week with a strong emphasis on understanding and using the Distributive Property in equations and functions.


Science:

We have switched back to our curriculum on Living Systems and we will working on Investigation 3: Sugar & Cells. Before the trimester ends, we will make as much progress in this unit as possible. At the end of the trimester, I will collect notebooks to review in-class work and effort.

Social Studies Volunteer Opportunity!

Dear Parents:

the time has come for our next volunteer opportunity in the classroom! We will be learning about the Native American Tribes of the Eastern Woodlands. In the coming weeks, in our classrooms, we will be working on an art project to reinforce our understanding of the cultures of these tribes. We will be making wampum belts and need extra helping hands to make this project successful. No specific art skills are required for volunteers! We need two to three parents per classroom to volunteer.

Please understand that we have had to cancel previous projects due to a lack of parent volunteers, and that we really do need help in the classroom to be able to integrate crafts into our social studies curriculum.

If you are available on Monday, November 28th from 12:30pm - 2:50p.m., please email your child's social studies teacher by Wednesday, November 2nd!

If you would like to help out "behind the scenes," we need a few parents to help dye macaroni. Please let us know by Wednesday, November 2nd!

Thank you in advance,
Your Social Studies Teachers: Athena Scourkes, Jen Lu, Rebecca Regosin

Birthday Book Donations: A note from Mrs. Lim

Students are encouraged to each make a book donation in honor of their birthday. Parents write a check for $10 to PORTAL SCHOOL, and they come into the library to choose a book from a selection of brand new hard-cover books.

Some students have already made donations this year, but there are many who would be new to this. Students get their names and birthday printed on a Penguin label. That label is affixed permanently to the inside cover of the book. They get to be first to check out the book.

Students can make the donation anytime of year (it doesn't have to be during their birthday month only).

Thanks very much!

To access Quizlet flashcards to study the North Central States, click here:
North Central States


Name that State!

• Swedish immigrants to this state built the first log cabins in North America in 1683.
• This state was named after an early Virginia governor.
• The state bug of this state is the ladybug.
• This state was the first of the original 13 states to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
• It is the second-smallest state in the United States.
• Which state is it?