The Last Weekly Reminder of the School Year!

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

June 18- June 22

Mark Your Calendars:
• June 18 - June 22: 5th Grade Human Growth and Development
• Tuesday, June 19: “Move Up” Day
• Tuesday, June 19th:  Family Game Night (sponsored by PSCO) 6:00-8:00
• Thursday, June 21: Band Concert 7:00 p.m.
• Friday, June 22: Field Day
• Tuesday, June 26th: Fifth Grade Recognition Ceremony 8:15 a.m.
• Tuesday, June 26th: Report cards go home
• Tuesday, June 26th: Last day of school- dismissal at 11:20!

This is our last weekly reminder of the 2011-2012 school year!  It has been a real pleasure teaching all of our students this year; they’re a very talented group with real enthusiasm for learning new ideas and experiencing life to the fullest.  We’ll be looking forward to seeing our 4th graders assuming their new roles as classroom leaders next year, and we wish all our outgoing 5th graders the absolute best in all their future endeavors- we want to continue to hear from you as continue on your journey!

5th Grade Families ONLY:
We are excited to invite you to our Fifth Grade Recognition Ceremony that will be held on Tuesday, June 26th, beginning PROMPTLY at 8:15am. In celebration of the big move to middle school, a potluck will immediately follow the ceremony. Please plan on bringing a potluck dish or drinks that serve 10-15 people.   We also will need help with set-up and clean-up, so any parent that has a few minutes to help would be greatly appreciated.Thank you for helping us celebrate our 5th graders!

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:
Our anthology books are almost complete- what a wonderful way to wrap up our language arts experience!  Now is a great time to remind our classes that blog articles are welcome over the summer from future 5th graders and “alumni”- it’s a great way to reminisce about your time as a Rockhopper, share your own particular areas of expertise, and keep your conversations with present or former classmates going!

Math
4th grade: We have been exchanging our Game Factory games with each other and evaluating their fairness to all players- a great application of our content understanding. We still practice our mathematical reasoning through our Problem of the Day work as well- school is still in session, after all!

5th grade:
This week in math, we “wrap up” our Biz World project.  Students continue to manufacture bracelets while working on their marketing campaigns.  They’re coming up with logos, slogans, and a commercial to be presented to their customers - the fourth graders! The Biz World Bazaar will be held this week and then we will do a final analysis of the profitability of each company.  Good work teams!

Science:
In Rooms 20 & 21, we have delved into Investigation 5: Weather, but we will not get through the entire investigation, I’m sorry to say.  This week, only 5th graders have Science- the very important and interesting Human Growth & Development unit is our focus.  4th graders will be working on language arts related material during the time allotted to the 5th graders for this curriculum.

Mystery State Clues:

• The first-ever revolving restaurant opened in this state in 1961.
• This state has the world's longest floating bridge.
• This state is the top producer of apples in the United States.
• This state is the home of Mount St. Helen's, a semi-active volcano that erupted in 1980.
• This state is the only state named after a U.S. president.
• Which state is it?

The Reminders for the Week of June 11-15

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

June 11- June 15

Mark Your Calendars:
• Tuesday, June 12: Volunteer Appreciation Brunch 9:50 a.m.
• Wednesday, June 13: PSCO Meeting 6:30 p.m.
• Friday, June 15th:  4th grade cumulative math test
• Friday, June 15: Hawaiian Day - Spirit Day
• June 18 - June 22: 5th Grade Human Growth and Development
• Tuesday, June 19: “Move Up” Day
• Thursday, June 21: Band Concert 7:00 p.m.
• Friday, June 22: Field Day
• Tuesday, June 26th: Fifth Grade Recognition Ceremony 8:20am
• Tuesday, June 26th:  Last day of school- Dismissal at 11:20!

5th Grade Families ONLY:

We are excited to invite you to our Fifth Grade Recognition Ceremony that will be held on Tuesday, June 26th, beginning PROMPTLY at 8:15am. In celebration of the big move to middle school, a potluck will immediately follow the ceremony. Please plan on bringing some kind of finger food to help keep things simple. We also will need help with set-up and clean-up, too. Thank you for helping us celebrate our 5th graders!


Volunteer Brunch TOMORROW, Tues., June 12:

Hooray for Portal volunteers! You give of yourselves, and you precious time, for the children at our school. Now, it's time we celebrate you and your efforts. The staff is specially going to be making homemade goodies for this event. Truly, it takes a village to raise a child. You are a very important part of that. Thanks as always for your willingness and enthusiasm to help at school!
        

When: Tuesday, June 12, 9:45 – 10:30am

         Where: The courtyard behind the school office
         Who should come: Anyone who has volunteered in any

way at school!

A Note from our Great Librarian- Books & DVDs are now PAST DUE!

All Portal library books were due back to by JUNE 8th, Friday. Please begin the search in your rooms, under your beds, behind your bookshelves, under your blankets, between your pillows, and anywhere else you think you may have left your library book, and bring it back to the library!

ALL library books and MATH DVDS must be returned by immediately. If your book is absolutely lost, please write a check to PORTAL SCHOOL in payment of a replacement for the amount that is due on your book. I've already sent out notices this past week to all students who still have books or DVDS checked out to help your student identify their errant books.

Thanks for helping us keep all Portal books safe and intact for the new school year!

Mrs. Lim

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:

We are currently finishing revisions of our writing projects from the year and working on our anthology covers to complete our language art experience. Now is a great time for some end-of-the-year blog submissions too from our classes- what a great way to reminisce about your time as a Rockhopper!

Math

4th grade: We will be exchanging our Game Factory games with each other and evaluating their fairness to all players- a great application of our content understanding. On Friday, we will take an End of the Year Test to assess how well we’ve retained the concepts learned this year.  Any areas of our curriculum that our students are uncertain about should definitely be reexamined before our Friday test.

5th grade:  In BIZ world this week, students are designing and manufacturing friendship bracelets. They will compare the benefits of raising money from the bank versus the venture capitalist. They will keep daily financial statements, pay rent and collect salaries. They will also discuss patents and consider the cost of registering their patent.

Science:

In Rooms 20 & 21, we finished up Investigation 4, Part 3: The Pressure is On today, and we’ll be involved in Investigation 5: Weather for the remainder of the week.  We’ll also have a brief check of our Investigation 4 understanding on Wednesday- this will be a “response-style” page based on the work we did in class.  The “response” will take no more than 10-15 minutes to complete, and it will be a rare “closed book” test of our understanding!

Social Studies:

I am so proud of the students from both classes for putting on quite a show last week at Open House!  The Wax Museum was a huge success, and it made learning about the states so much fun!  In class, we will focus our attention on our state posters (sandwich boards) that we didn’t have time to complete in time for Open House.  Students are also typing up a bibliography to go along with their state research reports.

Mystery State Clues:

• The country's first department store opened in this state in the late 1880s.
• The world's largest natural-rock span is located in this state.
• The 2002 Winter Olympic Games were held in this state.
• Mormons were among the first settlers in this state and still make up a high percentage of the population.

Open House Weekly Reminders

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

June 4- June 8

Mark Your Calendars:
• 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:

Grades 4 & 5 -  7 - 7:45 pm (Individual classrooms 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24)
* Art4Schools Art Show* - 6:00 - 7:30 pm (Multiuse Room)

5th Grade Families ONLY:
We are excited to invite you to our Fifth Grade Recognition Ceremony that will be held on Tuesday, June 26th, beginning PROMPTLY at 8:15am. In celebration of the big move to middle school, a potluck will immediately follow the ceremony. Please plan on bringing a potluck dish to share with others. We also will need help with set-up and clean-up, too. More information to come later! Thank you for helping us celebrate our 5th graders!

Volunteer Brunch on Tuesday, June 12
Hooray for Portal volunteers! You give of yourselves, and you precious time, for the children at our school. Now, it's time we celebrate you and your efforts. The staff is making homemade goodies for this event. Truly, it takes a village to raise a child. You are a very important part of that. Thanks as always for your willingness and enthusiasm to help at school!  Please come celebrate wtih us!
         When: Tuesday, June 12, 9:45 – 10:30am
         Where: The courtyard behind the school office
         Who should come: Anyone who has volunteered in any

way at school!

Art Show Disassembly Volunteer Opportunity- Read On!
Hello There!

I am in need of a few more volunteers to help take down the art show.  Volunteers can meet me in the Multi-Purpose room on Thursday, June 7th after 10am.  Please email me if you're able to help.

Thank you so much,

Judy Schulze
judy.schulze@gmail.com
408-910-3349

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.  Chaperones will need to check in at the front office and have a negative TB test on file in order to join us.  Thanks in advance!

A Note from our Great Librarian- Books & DVDs are DUE!
All Portal library books are due back to by JUNE 8th, Friday. Please begin the search in your rooms, under your beds, behind your bookshelves, under your blankets, between your pillows, and anywhere else you think you may have left your library book, and bring it back to the library!

ALL library books and MATH DVDS must be returned by THIS Friday. If your book is absolutely lost, please write a check to PORTAL SCHOOL in payment of a replacement for the amount that is due on your book. I'll be sending notices to all students who still have books or DVDS checked out beginning Monday, June 4 to help your student identify their errant books.

Thanks for helping us keep all Portal books safe and intact for the new school year!

Mrs. Lim

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:
We are currently finishing writing projects and working on our anthologies for the end of the year.  Thank you to all parents who assisted us during our Literature Circle activities; you were terrific helpers! Now is a great time for some end-of-the-year blog submissions too from our classes- what a great way to reminisce about the year!


Math
4th grade: We are in the process of producing our own fair game!  This is taking us several days of class time, and it is certainly a good use of our time :)  When we’re finished, our class members will play the games and evaluate their fairness to all players- a great application of our content understanding.  

5th grade: We continue with Biz World.  Students have formed companies and are now working on incorporation.  They will soon be working on their “pitch” to a venture capitalist for the purpose of raising money for their company.  Students also continue to finish 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.

Science:
In Rooms 20 & 21, we are preparing to give our families a brief presentation of our technology project for the Water Planet unit during Open House.  We’ll also continue our Investigation 4, Part 3: The Pressure is On later in the week.

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.

Mystery State Clues:

• Although this state is the driest state, its lakes are home to many rare fish.
• Gold and silver discoveries drew miners to this state in the 1860s.
• This state entered the Union during the Civil War.
• This state gets its name from a Spanish word that means "snowcapped."
• Hoover Dam is in this state.
• Which state is it?