There IS a weekly reminder this week (said Miss Scourkes!)

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

May 29- June 1

Mark Your Calendars:
• Friday, June 1 : Exploration field trip money and forms due
• Wednesday, June 6 Open House (see note below)
• Thursday, June 7: Field Trip to the Exploratorium in San Francisco
• Tuesday, June 12: Volunteer Appreciation Brunch 9:50 am
• Wednesday, June 13: PSCO Meeting 6:30


Open House:
We are really looking forward to seeing you on the evening of Wednesday, June 6.
Your children have prepared a special night for you beginning with an art show in the multiuse room and then oral and technology presentations in the individual classrooms.
If students have younger siblings, you can view the art show at 6:00 before visiting the primary classrooms and then head over to the Rockhopper Village at 7:00.  The students have worked hard and are proud to show off their most recent activities and can’t wait to show off for you!  The Rockhopper schedule is below:

Rockhopper Classrooms  7:00 - 7:45 pm
* Art4Schools Art Show*   6:00 - 7:30 pm (Multiuse Room)

Exploratorium Chaperones:
The Rockhoppers will be celebrating the end of the year by visiting the Exploratorium in San Francisco on Thursday, June 7th.  This will be a full-day trip; both students and chaperones will need to bring a lunch from home.  Each class will need 6 chaperones, so please email your child’s family room teacher if you are interested and available to enjoy this fun-filled day with us!

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:
We are currently finishing writing projects and working on our anthologies for the end of the year. Our last literature circle will be held on Friday, June 1 at 12:30.    

Math
4th grade: We are now completing our Game Factory game evaluations.  We now really understand what it will take to make a fair game of our own, which is our task for this week!  Each partner group will be coming up with a game theme, gameboard layout in full color, and directions for their game. Before others get to try their game, the partners will evaluate the probability of each player winning to assure the game’s fairness.  They’ll “test play” the game, figure out a good way to record results, and then their game will be ready for the class to evaluate. We’ll have several “game days” to get class member evaluations of our final game projects during the next two weeks.

5th grade:  Today we began “Biz World”, our final unit of the year!  Biz World is a business simulation where students work in teams to create a successful business - in this case, a friendship bracelet company.  Students will learn how companies are created and how to design, manufacture, market, and sell their products.  Success depends on each company’s “value” determined by decisions made throughout the game.


Science:
In Rooms 20 & 21, we are working on Investigation 4, Part 1 in the Water Planet unit. The investigation piece focuses our attention on the heating and cooling rates of different earth materials.  We’ll also be doing some analysis of our investigation results.  Finally, the are supporting book articles we’ll examine in relation to this topic to solidify our knowledge of the topic.

Social Studies:
We’re continuing with our Geography Wax Museum preparation.  Students are finishing up their presentation boards and memorizing their speeches. Please be sure to ask your child if you have any questions about the project or their progress.


Surprise - no Mystery State!  Stay tuned next week and thanks for reading!

Weekly Reminders for the Week of May 21-25

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

May 21-25

Mark Your Calendars:

• Tuesday, May 22: Literature Circles- Session #1 (8:00-9:00am)
• Tuesday, May 22 - 24 Book Fair (Buy One, Get One Free)
• Wednesday, May 23: PSCO meeting  @6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, May 24 Literature Circles- Session #2 (8:00-9:00am)
• Friday, May 25: Staff Learning Day -  NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
• Monday, May 28: Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
• Monday, May 29: Literature Circles- Session #3 (8:00-9:00am)
• Friday, June 1: Literature Circles- Session #4 (note the 12:30-1:15pm time!)

A Quick “Thank You”..... to all our wonderful families for making your two village teachers feel so appreciated today- the flowers we received were a beautiful way to express your thanks for the work we do!

Sincerely,

Miss Scourkes and Mr. Roels

10th Annual Portal Field Day!!!
(only a few more spots to fill, then signups are closed!)
On Friday, June 22nd, 2012, Portal will participate in our 10th Annual Field Day! This is a very fun and exciting day that our students look forward to all year.

We need at least 20 parents and lots of responsible and energetic alumni to help with games from 7:45 am until 12 noon.  We have two shifts:  7:45 – 10:00 and 9:45 – 12:00, or BOTH!!

Most schools are out for the summer on this date, so this is a wonderful opportunity for alumni to do community service.  Alumni must sign up in advance.  Alumni students who have not signed up will not be allowed to stay on campus.

Please, for the safety and enjoyment of the students, no cell phone use or texting during field events.  They need your full attention, encouragement, and enthusiasm.

Please sign up using our online form available at the link below.
We need you to make this fun-filled day happen for our students!  

Volunteer HERE!     

Spots are first-come, first-served. We are only taking a limited number of volunteers,
so please sign-up soon before all spots are filled!

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:

Our work with Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is almost done.  Students are composing formal responses to literature about the novel, finishing previous projects, and putting together their Sadako portfolios. We begin our last set of literature circle activities this week. Group literature circles will be held Tuesday, May 22, Thursday, May 24, Tuesday May 29, (all at 8:00) and Friday, June 1 at 12:30.     

*Volunteers Still Needed for Literature Circles!
We still need a few more volunteers for our literature circles- we really should have about 6 adults in the room for the best results.   This is an approximately one hour commitment two times a week for two weeks (a total of 4 times). As a volunteer, you are asked to sit with a group of students and listen to them discuss what they’ve read.  You’ll record how they listen and respond to each other. Parents who volunteer for this job have expressed how fun it is to hear the students discuss what they’ve read. Please email Miss Scourkes or Mr. Roels if you can help out!  Thank you- and thank you to those parents who have already made plans to join us this week!

Math
4th grade: We are nearing completion of our various Game Factory game evaluations.  Each time we’ve tried a new game, we made predictions about its fairness, we played the game, and then we discussed the probability of each player’s success and the overall fairness of the game. We’ll be using our understanding of fairness later in the week to begin the production of our own fair game!  This will take us several days of class time, and it is certainly a good use of our time :)  Then, our class members will play the games and evaluate their fairness to all players- a great application of our content understanding.  

5th grade:  Students are working on their final geometry project, Geometry Journey. Groups of students were given a list of geometry vocabulary words and need to wander the school trying to find real life examples of them. The take pictures using the ipad, upload the pictures to a Pages document, and explain the special features of each picture in a detailed caption. This allows students to put their understanding of geometry terms to the test and pushes their creativity to find unique and interesting way to exhibit each term. We will start BizWorld on Wednesday, May 30th.

Science:
In Rooms 20 & 21, we took our first Investigation Checks (I-Checks) today. These two I-Checks were conducted as open book/open note assessments.  On Wednesday and Thursday, we’ll present our technology Water Planet projects, and we’ll also self-evaluate our efforts on this group project.  Mr. Roels will also evaluate the technology portion of the project.

Social Studies:
We have started our Open House “Wax Museum” preparation. Students have written their essays and are beginning work on their project boards.  They will be working on their speeches and “sandwich boards next. Please be sure to ask your child if you have any questions about the project or their progress.

Name that State!

• The first public school in the United States was established in this state in 1635.
• The first World Series was played in this state.
• Cod is this state's official state fish.
• This state was the home state of four U.S. presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge, and John F. Kennedy.
• In 1620, the Mayflower landed in this state.
• Which state is it?

Weekly Reminders for May 14-18

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

May 14th - 18th

Mark Your Calendars:

• Monday- Friday, May 14 - 16:  STAR testing makeup
• Wednesday, May 16: Sadako Final Test
• Thursday, May 17:  Family Science Night 6:00 p.m. (ticket required)
• Friday, May 18 Spirit Day: “Black and White” Day
• Tuesday, May 22: Literature Circles 1
• Tuesday, May 22 - 24 Book Fair (Buy One, Get One)
• Wednesday, May 23: PSCO  6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, May 24 Literature Circles 2
• Friday, May 25: Staff Learning Day -  NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
• Monday, May 28: Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
• Monday, May 29: Literature Circles 3
• Friday, June 1: Literature Circles 4 (12:30 pm)

10th Annual Portal Field Day!!!
Field Day Help Needed!
On Friday, June 22nd, 2012, Portal will participate in our 10th Annual Field Day! This is a very fun and exciting day that our students look forward to all year.

We need at least 20 parents and lots of responsible and energetic alumni to help with games from 7:45 am until 12 noon.  We have two shifts:  7:45 – 10:00 and 9:45 – 12:00, or BOTH!!

Most schools are out for the summer on this date, so this is a wonderful opportunity for alumni to do community service.  Alumni must sign up in advance.  Alumni students who have not signed up will not be allowed to stay on campus.

Please, for the safety and enjoyment of the students, no cell phone use or texting during field events.  They need your full attention, encouragement, and enthusiasm.

Please sign up using our online form available at the link below.
We need you to make this fun-filled day happen for our students!  

Volunteer HERE!     

Spots are first-come, first-served. We are only taking a limited number of volunteers,
so please sign-up soon before all spots are filled!

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:

We’ve finished our reading of the novel Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, and we are going to work on creative connections like our bio-poem poetry compositions, poetry comparisons, vocabulary cards, hirakana character words, and Hiroshima landmark watercolors.  Students will have their AR Quiz on Tuesday and their written test on Wednesday. We will begin our last set of literature circle activities this week.   Group literature circles will be held Tuesday, May 22, Thursday, May 24, Tuesday May 29, (all at 8:00) and Friday, June 1 at 12:30.     

Volunteers Still Needed!
We still need volunteers for our literature circles. This is an approximately one hour commitment two times a week for two weeks (a total of 4 times). As a volunteer, you are asked to sit with a group of students and listen to them discuss what they’ve read.  You’ll record how they listen and respond to each other. Parents who volunteer for this job have expressed how fun it is to hear the students discuss what they’ve read.  Please consider helping us with this activity. We really need about 6 adults in the room for the best results.  Please email Miss Scourkes or Mr. Roels if you can help out!  Thank you- and thank you to those parents who have already responded!

Math
4th grade: We are now in progress on our various Game Factory game evaluations.  Each time we try a new game, we make predictions about its fairness, we play the game, and then we discuss the probability of each player’s success and the overall fairness of the game. In this manner, we’ll be able to really understand what it will take to make a fair game of our own. We’ll have an evaluation of our final game project at the conclusion of the unit.

5th grade: This week we finish our study geometry and will have a unit test toward the end of the week.  We will also work on  wrapping-up some unfinished graphing projects and extensions.

Science:
In Rooms 20 & 21, we are working on Investigation 3, Part 3 in the Water Planet unit. The investigation piece focuses our attention on surface area and its effect on evaporation. Half of our time this week will continue to be used to get Water Planet tech projects ready for our May 21 due date (most of our groups are already pretty far along in their work.) Finally, we’ll have our first Investigation Checks (I-Checks) on May 21 as well.  These two I-Checks will be conducted as open book/open note asssessments, but review of reading assignments and investigation details is recommended prior to this date.



Social Studies:
We have started our Open House “Wax Museum” preparation. Students have been researching, taking notes, and organizing their information.  This week they will begin writing their essays.  This end of the year project requires researching, writing an expository essay, an oral presentation, a costume, and a backboard, which will be presented to you at Open House! Please be sure to ask your child if you have any questions about the project or their progress.

Name that State!

• The world's largest silver nugget was found in this state in 1894.
• The highest suspension bridge in the world is in this state.
• Members of the Utes, a Native American tribe, have lived in this state continuously since the 1500s.
• On average, this state has the highest altitude in the United States.
• U.S. Air Force Academy cadets attend school in this state.
• Which state is it?

The Reminders for May 7-11

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

May 7th - 11th

Mark Your Calendars:

• PSCO Survey is live and ready to be completed:     https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PSCO

• May 7-11 STAR testing for Rockhopper students- no parent volunteers during testing time (8-10:50am M-Th, 8-11:45am F)

• Monday- Friday, May 14-16 STAR testing makeup
• Tuesday, May 22  8:00-9:00am    Literature Circle #1
• Thursday, May 24 8:00-9:00am    Literature Circle #2
• Tuesday, May 29 8:00-9:00am    Literature Circle #3
• Friday, June 1 12:30-1:15pm    Literature Circle #4

10th Annual Portal Field Day!!!
Field Day Help Needed!
On Friday, June 22nd, 2012, Portal will participate in our 10th Annual Field Day! This is a very fun and exciting day that our students look forward to all year.

We need at least 20 parents and lots of responsible and energetic alumni to help with games from 7:45 am until 12 noon.  We have two shifts:  7:45 – 10:00 and 9:45 – 12:00, or BOTH!!

Most schools are out for the summer on this date, so this is a wonderful opportunity for alumni to do community service.  Alumni must sign up in advance.  Alumni students who have not signed up will not be allowed to stay on campus.

Please, for the safety and enjoyment of the students, no cell phone use or texting during field events.  They need your full attention, encouragement, and enthusiasm.

Please sign up using our online form available at the link below.
We need you to make this fun-filled day happen for our students!  

Volunteer HERE!     

Spots are first-come, first-served. We are only taking a limited number of volunteers,
so please sign-up soon before all spots are filled!

Art Show Help Still Needed!
Judy Schulze, our great Rockhopper art teacher, needs our parent support!  She says, “I still need a few volunteers who can take artwork home to staple a colored paper backing and label on each piece of art (about 60 per classroom).  So far, I have helpers for rooms 19, 22, and possibly 24.”

The art show set-up date is Tuesday, June 5th from 8:00am-1:30pm.  At present, we have NO volunteers for our two classrooms- please help do our share of the art set-up work by volunteering today!  You can notify either Mr. Roels or Miss Scourkes if you would be able to help in this rewarding activity.Thank you!

Additional Rockhopper Donations:
We are in need of tissues (Kleenex) for our classes.  Any donations would be appreciated! Thank you!

PSCO Survey:
Last week there was a link in your Weekly Reminders to complete the PSCO survey, which relates to PSCO specific questions (this is not the SSC/School survey that you took earlier this year). We would appreciate it if you were to take a few minutes (approx. 3) to answer this short survey, so that PSCO can get your feedback.  Please use this link https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PSCO to access the survey. Thank you.

Science Night:
The flyer for Science night was sent home last week.  If you are interested, please be sure to sign up right away as it is on a first come, first serve basis.  The deadline to sign up is this Friday, May 11th.  We hope to see you there!

Curriculum Flash!

STAR Testing:
STAR testing begins today, so please be sure that your child gets enough sleep, eats a healthy breakfast, and arrives to school on time!  Testing will take place in the morning, and we will continue to teach curriculum in the afternoon.  Please try not to schedule appointments for your child, if at all possible, during the testing period. If your child is ill, STAR make-ups will take place next week. So if your child is ill, please keep them at home for that day. Also, be sure to tell your child not to worry about the test. Reassure your child that he or she will do just fine, communicating in a way to reduce anxiety rather than to increase it.

Language Arts:
We’ve finished our reading of the novel Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, and we are going to work on creative connections like our bio-poem poetry compositions, poetry comparisons, vocabulary cards, hirakana character words, and Hiroshima landmark watercolors.  We will begin our last set of literature circle activities on the following dates:

• Tuesday, May 22  8:00-9:00am    Literature Circle #1
• Thursday, May 24 8:00-9:00am    Literature Circle #2
• Tuesday, May 29 8:00-9:00am    Literature Circle #3
• Friday, June 1 12:30-1:15pm    Literature Circle #4

Both rooms are truly in need of volunteers for this activity, so please email your child’s teacher if you are interested in helping out. Please try to sign up for all four days. If you are not available on all days, let us know which days you ARE available, so we can assign you to different groups.

Math
4th grade: Our focus for the rest of this month is our exciting Game Factory probability unit.  Concepts that we review and explore include the basic terminology of probability, making predictions, determining the probability of particular events in games by using fractions, grids, and tree diagrams, and eventually developing our own fair game for others to play and enjoy.  We’ll have an evaluation of our final game project at the conclusion of the unit.

5th grade: (20) This week in math, we continue our study of geometry.  We’re learning about calculating the area of parallelograms, triangles, and complex figures.  We’ll also review “circle” concepts.

Science:
In Rooms 20 & 21, we are going to learn more about the water cycle through our work on Investigation 3 in the Water Planet unit. The investigation focus this week is on the effect of location, temperature, and surface area on evaporation. Half of our time this week will also be used to get Water Planet tech projects ready for our May 21 due date. We’ll be reviewing rubrics to determine whether our research information, oral presentation component, and our technology work in progress meet the grade level standards for this type of work.  

Social Studies:
This week we will continue to move forward in A History of Us.  Students will also be introduced to the Wax Museum project later on in the week, so please ask your child for the details.  This end of the year project requires researching, writing an expository essay, an oral presentation, a costume, and a backboard, which will be presented to you at Open House!

Name that State!

• This state has the tallest state capital in the United States.
• At different points in its history, this state was owned by France and Spain.
• This state's counties are called "parishes."
• Ninety-eight percent of the world's crayfish are in this state.
• This state hosts a huge Mardi Gras celebration every year.
• Which state is it?