We'll see you back at school on Monday, January 5th, 2015!

We sure had fun celebrating the end of 2014!

Don't forget to read every day!

Practice your math facts over break!

Remember to revisit your goals from conferences!

Holiday Party

Friday, December 19^th

Just taking some time to celebrate the beginning

of winter and the end of 2014! Students are welcome to bring a board game to play with other students. We will also have popcorn and a movie.

                Pajama Day

December 19th—

We are celebrating the last day before Winter Break with pajamas and a Sing-Along starting at 2:15 in the gym.   

Winter Break

December 20th - January 5

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Make sure to read everyday!

  

IXL/Xtra Math UPDATE:

Over Winter break, please encourage your child to practice IXL or Xtra Math for 15 min. daily. We are working on multiplication fluency (up to 10) in class and simple division. 

Celebrations~ Yesterday students took a four minute timed multiplication quiz with 64 problems.  Everyone showed growth from last month's quiz! Keep up the great work and practice!

The following students mastered this test with a score of 57 or above and have moved on to division facts: Adil, Aidan, Adrian, Evan, and Kayley! Our next quiz will happen in mid-January.

Thank You for Attending Conferences!

Thank you to everyone who attended conferences. Thank you for coming and spending the time. I really appreciate your support. Copies of your student's goals will be in their homework folder tomorrow. We'll also be revisiting these goals every week at school. Setting AND working toward goals is an important life skill. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 

Again, my email address is: linda_long@ddouglas.k12.or.us 
My phone number is: 503-256-6500 x 8145.

There were so many great questions at Conferences!  Here are a few reminders:

*Homework sheets come home on Wednesday and are due the following Wednesday.  Please let me know if you ever have special circumstances.  I am very respectful of family time and understand that, sometimes, family obligations take priority over homework.  Just let me know ahead of time if possible. 

*Rockin’ Readers Reading Logs – They come home at the beginning of the month.  As a part of our required homework, each child needs to read 15 or more minutes each school night.  It is okay to make up those minutes on another day if he or she misses a day.  Also, if you read to your child, that counts!  MOST IMPORTANTLY … they are due at the end of the month. Thanks for sending in those November Logs!

  

*Xtra Math: I am asking that families with Internet access please include 10 minutes of practice each night on Xtra Math. Let's do our best to use this resource to strengthen math skills! 

https://xtramath.org/signin/student

December’s character trait is Integrity. Integrity means to do the right thing, even when someone isn’t looking. Talk to you child about a time when he or she showed integrity.

I am thankful for...

Students used their Chrome books to access the Padlet website and write about things for which they were thankful. 

Do You Think P.E. is Important?

Good Afternoon! Students in room 21 had a great week. In writing, we learned language to state opinions. Today I asked students the following question: Do you think P.E. is important?

Here are some students' opinions on the matter:

I believe physical education or P.E. is not important. I feel this way because us kids have to work the pacer test and stretches, 4 corners, mingle, and the actual pacer. An example of this is after gym we do recess and I'm sweating like a hedgehog. Additionally, after gym I'm aching. p.s. we do too many stretches. Therefore, I think physical ed is not important.
By: Corbin

On the other hand...

I believe that P.E. is important. I feel this way because it increases your strength and it makes you healthy. An example of this is when you don't go to P.E.  you can't stay healthy. Additionally, P.E. makes your body do work. Therefore, I think that P.E. is important for your body.
By: Evan

Conversely...

I believe P.E. is not important. I feel this way because we don't do anything. An example of this is he makes you run 20 inches. Additionally, we play games. Therefore, I think PE is not important.
By: Hailee

And finally...

I believe that P.E. is helpful because P.E. is an important subject in school. I feel this way because when you're at school you're normally sitting doing your work. But with P.E. you have more time to get exercise. An example of this is when you're sitting sometimes your blood doesn't flow as much as it should. Additionally, P.E. gives you a lot of exercise and helps your body. Therefore, I think P.E. is important subject in school.
By: Anna

We will spend the next few weeks learning how to state opinions with supporting details and evidence. :)

Now for some updates and reminders...

*There is no school this Monday (Teacher Work Day) or Tuesday (Veterans Day). 

*We've been working on multiplication and division in math. Students may use the following website for fluency practice: https://xtramath.org/signin/student. The site asks for my email address: linda_long@ddouglas.k12.or.us, your student's name, and PIN. Many students have their PIN memorized however, next Wednesday I'll be sending home your student's PIN in his or her folder.

*Thank you to Liliana, Corbin, Kayley, Adil, Hailee, and Adrian's families for donating snacks the past few weeks!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the November sunshine!

Fall Conferences

Fall Conferences

November 24th and 25th

I look forward to meeting with all of you at fall conference time. Thank you for quickly returning your time and date preferences. In this week's Wednesday folder, you will find a confirmation sheet.  I tried my best to give everyone their first choice.  Also, I gave priority to families in the order in which they turned in their preference sheet.  If your scheduled time doesn’t work, call me at school or send me an email and we will reschedule.  Please bring your child with you to conferences so that we can all work together!  Conference times are tightly scheduled together because of families with multiple children and those who need interpreters, so please arrive on time.  Kim and Denese (in the office) will have a copy of our schedule in case you misplace your confirmation sheet.

Thank you!

Days to Note:

No school on the following days:

Monday, November 10

(Teacher Grading Day)

Tuesday, Nov 11

(Veterans Day Observed)

Monday & Tuesday, Nov. 24-25 (Conferences) 

*Please note:

Monday, November 24th -- 2 pm dismissal

Wed/Thurs/Fri, Nov. 26-28(Thanksgiving)

"A Touch of Whimsy" with Joan Miró

Miró Watercolor

Joan Miró was a Spanish artist who developed a very whimsical style back in the 1930’s. His work has been called funny, exciting, scary, imaginative, but never boring. Miró painted what was important to him, perhaps the way he would have liked things to be, not necessarily how they are in reality. Many of his paintings contain a story or scene disguised by abstract shapes and colors. Painting surrealistically gave Miró the opportunity to interpret, to think. Miró worked mostly in primary colors, abstract shapes, and in "2-dimensions" (with no shadows or depth to the form). Miró
used lines often as a way of showing flow and illusion.

Learning Targets

Here's what we're learning this week:

Writing: Students are taking a district writing assessment. They are practicing skills such as note taking, summarizing, and citing their sources while examining informational articles. 

Reading: We are reading informational text about forces and motion. Students are learning how to locate information using text features such as: captions, labels, sidebars, bolded print and titles. They are also locating details and using them to identify the main idea of the article.

Math: We are learning about how to find the area of a figure using different units (inches and centimeters).

Social Studies: Students are being introduced to maps skills and are learning to use a map key, compass rose, and scale to find cities in the US.

Character Trait for October: Responsibility- You are responsible when you make appropriate choices in everyday actions. How does your child show responsibility at school and at home?

Spelling: New spelling lists are in your student's backpack today! Spelling tests are given each Friday.

Thank you to Adrian and Aliyah's families for providing snacks this week!

Great News! EB recently received a technology grant and Chrome books have arrived for students to use! Students are learning how to log on and off, to properly care and handle the computers, and are practicing math skills they've learned in class.

What Did You Learn Today?

Here are the learning targets for this week. Your child has been learning these skills and you can ask them to explain what they've been studying.

Writing: Ask your student about the personal narrative he or she wrote in class. What did they write about? Can they tell you the beginning, middle and ending? Ask them if they used dialogue with quotation marks in their writing.

Reading: Encourage your student to tell you about Realistic Fiction. We've analyzed figurative language, point of view, illustrations, and the central message in the books, The Raft, and His Favorite Sweatshirt. 

Math: Can your student round to the nearest 10 and 100? Can they add and subtract multi-digit numbers within 1000 using at least two different strategies?

Social Studies: Ask your student about where we live (Hemisphere, Continent, Country, State, City, Neighborhood).

Character Trait for October: Responsibility- You are responsible when you make appropriate choices in everyday actions. How does your child show responsibility at school and at home?

Spelling: We recently had our first spelling test. Spelling lists will come home on Mondays and students will be tested on Fridays.

*Good news is that the IXL website is now working again. Students' usernames and passwords are located on a sticker in their homework folder. Please encourage them to practice for 10-15 minutes a day or to complete two skills. Please focus on rounding, place value, or adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers. Thank you!!!

Donated Snacks- Thank you Adil and Corbin's families for recently donating snacks!!!

The Colors of Us

The Colors of Us

This afternoon, we read a "Tasty tale" that showcased the skin we live in. Students named the color of their skin and drew a picture of themselves. What a beautiful class!

 

Here are some of the names that were created by students: 

Light chocolate

Ginger

Buttery Toast

Cookie Dough

Vanilla Swirl

Butterscotch Coffee

Café Latte

Lolli Latte

Cinnamon

Toffee Coffee

Cocoa

Peanut butter

Buttermilk

Chocolate           

Coconut Cream

Chocolate Milk

White Chocolate

Cocoa bean

Honey

Banana Swirl

Chocolate Chip

Chocolate Syrup

Honey Chocolate

Hershey Chocolate

Milk Chocolate

Butter Bean

Mocha

Brownie

Hot Cocoa

Cinnamon Roll

Vanilla Chai
Cinnamon Swirl