End of March Weekly Reminders

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

March 25-March 29

Mark Your Calendars:

• Monday, March 25th-Friday, March 29th:  Parent Conferences:  Dismissal at 12:30 each day!
• Monday, March 25 : Rooms 20 & 21 Literature Circles #1
• Wednesday, March 27 : Rooms 20 & 21 Literature Circles #2

• Thursday, March 28th:  Miller Middle School Parent Info. Night @ 6:00 p.m.
• Friday, March 29th:  Spirit Day: Ribbons or Pins Day
• Monday, April 1: Rooms 20 & 21 Literature Circles #3
• Wednesday, April 3: Rooms 20 & 21 Literature Circles #4
• Wednesday, April 3: 5th grade “Dream Bedroom” project due
• Thursday, April 4th:  Family Science Night
• Friday, April 5th:  Report cards go home
• April 8th-19th:  Spring Break!
• Monday, April 22nd:  School resumes

Do You Love Science?

On Thursday, April 4, our school will be holding our annual Family Science Night!  This is a terrific way to spend an evening with family and friends doing something you really love - SCIENCE!  Please check the Portal website, or the attached .pdf document if you’re reading this Reminder in your e-mail, for all the details.

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts

This week our focus is on literature.  Students have been given new literature circle books to review and study. Over the next two weeks, students will gather four times to share thoughts, ask questions and make connections to what they’ve read.  They made a great start today- be prepared for Wednesday, students!  On Thursday, students will take a brief 10 word vocabulary test of selected words from By the Great Horn Spoon. As time allows, we’ll continue revising and editing our finished drafts of other writing.

Math:

4th grade:

Geometry Rules!  Our classes continue this week with plane geometry concepts of bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, and congruence.  We’ve created geometry posters over the last week with key ideas to display proudly at home, and we’ll attempt to add even more information this week!  The two-dimensional world is really taking shape.  For our Friday session, we’ll get some initial practice with the measurement of angles using appropriate tools, and we’ll also spend some time exploring triangle construction and the Triangle Inequality Theorem.

5th grade:

In the coming week, our focus will be on division, using two-digit divisors, larger dividends, and decimals in divisors and dividends. We will also see the relationship between fractions, decimals, and percentages. We’ll also have Decimal Math Menu activities for students to work on throughout the week.

Social Studies:  

We are moving on to our next unit, which focuses on Mexican California; the transition from missions to life on a rancho.  Students will create a diseno, reata, and type up a narrative of rancho life experiences in the next couple of weeks.

Science:

Our Environments unit begins this week with Investigation 1: Terrestrial Environments.  Our classes will be setting up terrariums with a variety of living and nonliving components.  We’ll record our setup using a map and key, observe and record changes to the environment over time, and measure volume and length of certain components in the environment using metric tools.  While our sessions are limited during conferences, we still plan on making the most of our science time together!

CA Trivia:

Who turned from unsuccessful gold mining to candy making during the Gold Rush?

Conference Week Reminders, 3/18-3/22

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

March 18-March 22

Mark Your Calendars:

• Thursday, March 21st: 5th Grade Level 1 Math Placement Test
• Thursday, March 21st - Friday, March 29th:  Parent Conferences:  Dismissal at 12:30 each day!
• Monday, March 25: Lit. Circle  Day 1
• Wednesday, March 27: Lit. Circle Day 2
• Thursday, March 28th:  Miller Middle School Parent Info. Night @ 6:00 p.m.
• Friday, March 29th:  Spirit Day: Ribbons or Pins Day
• Monday, April 1: Lit. Circle  Day 3
• Wednesday, April 3: Lit. Circle Day 4
• Wednesday, April 3: 5th grade “Design a Bedroom” project due
• Thursday, April 4th:  Family Science Night
• Friday, April 5th:  Report cards go home
• April 8th-19th:  Spring Break!
• Monday, April 22nd:  School resumes

Volunteer Opportunity - Literature Circles!

It’s once again time for our famous “Literature Circle” discussions!  To make this activity successful we need parent volunteers to help out in class for about an hour twice a week for two weeks.  Last session we had a wonderful turnout of parents and we think they were the best literature circles we’ve had in a long time.  As a parent volunteer, your job is to listen to children discuss what they have read and let us know how they’re participating in the discussion session.  It’s easy and a great deal of  fun - that’s what the parents who volunteer tell us!  The dates and times are listed below.  Please do let us know as soon as possible, via email, if you can help out.  A complete direction sheet will then be sent home for you to review.  

Literature Circle Dates:

Monday- 3/25, Wednesday- 3/27, Monday- 4/1, Wednesday, 4/3  

All times are from 8:00 - approximately 9:00.

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:  

We have some fun projects planned over the next two weeks as we wrap up  By the Great Horn Spoon and move into our shortened days of conferencing  As we revisit the major themes of the book, students will be reviewing vocabulary, writing the final entries in their perspective journals, and completing a “One-Pager” open response to share their reflections of the novel.  

A wide selection of award-winning, thought-provoking picture books have been chosen in which to continue our practice of the various writing formats within the fourth and fifth grade standards. As fifth graders reach towards mastery of these structures and fourth graders sharpen their understanding and developing skills, all students continue to write within these various styles to strengthen their mechanics, sentence structure, vocabulary, and voice.

We teachers are looking forward to meeting with you to share your child’s progress in the Language Arts as we look ahead and set new goals for the final few months of the school year.

Math:

4th grade:

Welcome to Geometry!  Our classes shift their attention this week to plane geometry concepts like points, lines, line segments, rays and angles, polygons, quadrilaterals, circles, and bilateral symmetry.  Each person will create their own geometry poster with these key ideas to display proudly in their rooms at home!  This way, visions of equilateral triangles and rhombuses will dance in their heads as our students sleep peacefully each night.  Well, that’s our hope anyway!  For those of us working in small groups on our Click, Clack, Moo algebra explanations, we’ll take on another challenge problem and complete our work on Friday.

5th grade:

We will continue learning about and seeking real life examples of decimals.  We focus on both the operations and application of decimals in real life problem-solving. We look forward to witnessing student creativity in the Decimal Menu projects.  Please note the new due date of April 3 for the “Design a Bedroom” project.

5th Grade Math Placement Test:The Level 1 placement test for the fifth graders will be administered on Thursday, March 21st. Students should feel confident with their skills in the strands they have learned.  They may review the 4th grade geometry concepts learned last year to re-familiarize themselves with the vocabulary. It is important that students realize that this test is designed to place them in the correct level of math so that they will be successful in the upcoming year.

       Students will be given more placement tests throughout middle school. The Level 2  placement test  will be given on Thursday, April 4th. This test generally tests students’ proficiency in the sixth grade math standards. The middle school counselors and teachers will work with students and parents concerning all placement issues in the fall.

Social Studies:  

We are moving on to our next unit, which focuses on Mexican California; the transition from missions to life on a rancho.  Students will create a diseno, reata, and type up a narrative of rancho life experiences in the next couple of weeks.

Science:

Students will be finishing up their 2 minute oral presentations of our Electricity and Magnetism investigations this week. They are sharing the purpose of the investigation, the materials used in the presentation, the procedure for the investigation (including a look at the actual investigation setup), and the lesson learned from the investigation.  These oral presentations should be available for viewing during the technology portion of our conferences beginning on March 21 for most classes.  If time allows, we’ll also begin our preliminary discussions for our Environments unit.

CA Trivia:

What is the insect that takes four generations to migrate from Canada through CA to Mexico and back?

The Ides of March Weekly Reminders

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

March 11-March 15

Mark Your Calendars:

• Monday, March 11th:  Start of 3rd trimester!
• Thursday, March 14th:  CA Missions Test
• Thursday, March 21st: 5th Grade Level 1 Math Placement Test
• Thursday, March 21st - Friday, March 29th:  Parent Conferences:  Dismissal at 12:30 each day!
• Thursday, March 28th:  Miller Middle School Parent Info. Night @ 6:00 p.m.
• Friday, March 29th:  Spirit Day: Ribbons or Pins Day

Portal Enrichment Program (PEP): The final date for enrollment in our fabulous enrichment program has arrived.  During the April break, students enrolled in our PEP program are offered a wide variety of interesting and fun classes to help “enrich” their lives.  If your family will not be traveling during the April break, you may want to consider this opportunity.  The complete information and registration form can be found on the Portal website. The firm deadline for registration is TODAY- March 11!

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:  
We have some fun projects planned over the next two weeks as we wrap up  By the Great Horn Spoon and move into our shortened days of conferencing  As we revisit the major themes of the book, students will be reviewing vocabulary, writing the final entries in their perspective journals, and completing a “One-Pager” open response to share their reflections of the novel.  

A wide selection of award-winning, thought-provoking picture books have been chosen in which to continue our practice of the various writing formats within the fourth and fifth grade standards. As fifth graders reach towards mastery of these structures and fourth graders sharpen their understanding and developing skills, all students continue to write within these various styles to strengthen their mechanics, sentence structure, vocabulary, and voice.

We teachers are looking forward to meeting with you to share your child’s progress in the Language Arts as we look ahead and set new goals for the final few months of the school year.

Math:
4th grade:  Algebra wraps up for our 4th grade mathematicians this week.  We’ll be emphasizing the ability to interpret data in function tables; we’ll express our understanding of visible patterns in data with algebraic expressions and equations.  We will also apply algebraic expressions and equations to complete data sets.  Our week will finish with a short quiz to assess our understanding and a fun interactive reading/math experience on Friday.  Hint: Farm animals, typewriters, and electric blankets may enter into the picture- don’t miss it!

5th grade:
We are currently learning about decimals.  In addition to refreshing our addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills, students will be creating a variety of decimal based projects from a “menu”.  Some examples of projects might be to create a keynote presentation on how to solve decimal problems, to look for examples of decimals in the real world, or to create a crossword puzzle where all of the answers are found by solving decimal problems. We will also introduce the “Dream Bedroom” Project.  Students will work within a budget to create a three dimensional model bedroom and write a persuasive essay as to why their bedroom is the best choice for both parents and children to “purchase”.

5th Grade Math Placement Test: The Level 1 placement test for the fifth graders will be administered on Thursday, March 21st. Students should feel confident with their skills in the strands they have learned.  They may review the 4th grade geometry concepts learned last year to re-familiarize themselves with the vocabulary. It is important that students are not stressed over this test since this is a placement test, and will be used only to place students in the appropriate math classes. Students will be given more placement tests throughout middle school. The Level 2  placement test is generally given to those students who pass the Level 1 test. At Portal, all students take the second placement test, which will be given on Thursday, April 4th. This test generally tests students’ proficiency in the sixth grade math standards.

The placement of students in math classes is determined and communicated to you by the middle schools. It is the responsibility of the middle schools to share the testing information and students will learn about their placement in August when the sixth grade students receive their middle school schedules. Per the District rules, there will be no challenge test for incoming sixth grade students. The middle school counselors and teachers will work with students and parents concerning all placement issues in the fall.

Social Studies:  
Students should be reviewing all information on the study guide that was sent home in preparation for the Missions test, which they will take on Thursday.  In class, we will play Jeopardy to test our knowledge and understanding of the material.  Our next unit will focus on Mexican California; the transition from missions to life on a rancho.  Students will create a related project in the coming weeks.

Science:
This week in science is a unique opportunity for students to review their understanding of the concepts presented during our Electricity & Magnetism investigations.  We’ll be using these investigations as the basis for oral presentations that will be saved in a video format using iPads as our recording device.  Students will be giving a 2 minute recap of the purpose of the investigation, the materials used in the presentation, the procedure for the investigation (including a look at the actual investigation setup), and the lesson learned from the investigation.  These oral presentations should be available for viewing during the technology portion of our conferences later in the month.

CA Trivia:
Campers and hikers might encounter which kind of bear in the wild regions of CA?

March 4-8 Weekly Reminders

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders

March 4-March 8

Mark Your Calendars:

• Tuesday, March 5th: 4th Grade STAR Writing Test, and 5th Grade District Persuasive Writing Test
• Tuesday, March 5th:  Cupertino Middle School Parent Info. Night from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 6th: 5th grade math test on multiplication and division of fractions
• Thursday, March 7th: Science Final test in Electricity and Magnetism
• Friday, March 8th: Reading Contract Due!
• Friday, March 8th:  End of 2nd Trimester
• Thursday, March 14th:  CA Missions Test

Writing Test Reminder:  Please have students come tomorrow with a reading book in case they finish testing early.  (No e-books of any kind allowed during this time. Thank you.)

Portal Enrichment Program (PEP): The date for enrollment in our fabulous enrichment program is once again approaching.  During the April break, students enrolled in our PEP program are offered a wide variety of interesting and fun classes to help “enrich” their lives.  If your family will not be traveling during the April break, you may want to consider this opportunity.  The complete information and registration form are attached. The firm deadline for registration is March 11.

A School Volunteer Request:

Dear Parents,

Is there anyone who is available who could help our school with the morning duty in front of the office from 7:45-8:00 every morning? We have been staffing the area with parent helpers and Rockhopper student carhops recently.  We are looking for one or two parents who can share this job during the week. We need parents for this week, the week of March 11, and the week of March 18.  It’s a very easy job; please take a look at the requirements below:

·      Arrive at 7:45

·      Wear a vest

·      Direct cars to move all the way forward before stopping

·      Help students exit their cars

·      Enjoy the smiles and good morning greetings

Please let us know by e-mail if you would be willing to perform this valuable service for our student community. You will receive a follow-up e-mail from our office reminding you of your volunteer duty for the week you request.  Thank you in advance for your consideration!

Curriculum Flash!

Language Arts:   
This week the language arts periods are shortened for two reasons: the two different Writing Tests and the Middle School Counselor’s visit to our school. Despite the shortened time, the fourth grade students will have a chance to review expository writing versus narrative writing, while the fifth grade students will practice their art of persuasive writing. Please know that the persuasive writing test is a formative test, and is meant to guide our teaching. We will conclude the book By the Great Horn Spoon with the remaining two chapters and choose some interesting vocabulary to study. Although we will finish reading the book, there are numerous activities that we will pursue in the following week/s.

Math:
4th grade:  As we wrap up our conceptual exploration of algebraic functions using “Red Fences and Green Gates,” we begin studying  Chapter 8 with an emphasis on algebraic vocabulary and showing specific steps to isolate and solve for the unknown variable.

5th grade:
Students had a blast using pattern blocks to demonstrate division of fractions and videotaping examples of these on ipads. Next week, they will practice more word problems and will be prepared for the unit test on multiplication and division of fractions. We will also start the decimals unit and teach a lesson on scale drawing in order to prepare them for the upcoming “Designing a Bedroom” project.

5th Grade Math Placement Test: The Level 1 placement test for the fifth graders will be administered on Thursday, March 21st. Students should feel confident with their skills  in the strands we have learned.  They may review the 4th grade geometry concepts learned last year to re-familiarize themselves with the vocabulary. It is important that students are not stressed over this test since this is a placement test, and will be used only to place students in the appropriate math classes. Students will be given more placement tests throughout middle school. The Level 2  placement test is generally given to those students who pass the Level 1 test. At Portal, all students take the second placement test, which will be given on Thursday, April 4th. This test generally tests students’ proficiency in the sixth grade math standards.

The placement of students in math classes is determined and communicated to you by the middle schools. It is the responsibility of the middle schools to share the testing information and students will learn about their placement in August when the sixth grade students receive their middle school schedules. Per the District rules, there will be no challenge test for incoming sixth grade students. The middle school counselors and teachers will work with students and parents concerning all placement issues in the fall.

Social Studies:  
We continue our exploration this week of the establishment of California missions. Students are wrapping up various stages of activities that deepen and enrich their learning that include character poetry, mission watercolors, and California mission “trading cards” created by using a new and exciting app on our iPads!  Towards the end of the week, we will be beginning to prepare for a social studies assessment of the information children have retained throughout this unit.

Science:
Our investigatory work with electricity and magnetism draws to a close in the next couple of weeks.  This week, we will finish working with the telegraphs we’ve created by sending messages to one another over long distance lines!  We’ll get a real taste of high technology communication circa 1861!  Our classes will forego the Performance Assessment in Investigation 5 in favor of the unit’s Post Test.  Teachers will review the unit content on Wednesday, students will have their final chance to reread unit materials and study guides Wednesday night, and on Thursday, we’ll take the closed book/note Electricity & Magnetism Post Test.  

CA Trivia:
The grizzly bear, now extinct in CA, shares its space on the state seal with whom?