News
In order for Ms. Seishas to complete her training, she must videotape a lesson in class and provide copies of written work performed by the students. I have attached a permission slip which will authorize her to videotape a lesson that she will be teaching to the class while I am observing from the side. The video tape is to be submitted to The University of San Francisco and will be treated with care. Students who are not given permission to sit in on the lesson will be placed in a separate classroom during filming. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me. The exact date for when this will take place is yet to be determined, but I wanted to get the permission slip to you as soon as I had received it.
Parent Volunteers
Thank you for all of your hard work and participation in and out of the classroom.
Recent Fieldtrips
We recently traveled to Oak Ridge High School to see the “Tempest.” The students had an enjoyable time.
Upcoming Fieldtrips
Sly Park – We will be attending Sly Park the week of February 21st – February 25th. We will be leaving school on Tuesday morning of that week and will be arriving back on Friday after lunch. I am missing paperwork for several students. I wanted to remind all of you that all of the paperwork must be turned in to me by Wednesday, February 16th, 2011. If you would like additional information about Sly Park, please go onto the Silva Valley website or go to Sly Park’s website at http://www.scoe.net/slypark/.
Current Projects
The Colonies
Colony Project (I will be handing your child a copy and it is online.)
Project Begins: January 28th
Final Project is due: February 11th
Upcoming Projects
The students will be working on the following projects in the upcoming months:
¨ My Skills Tutor and Education City
o Students have passwords and have been assigned assignments that they can work on at home or during their computer lab time to review certain concepts and to provide enrichment. If you hear your child stating that they don’t have any homework, please encourage them to log in and dive into their work online.
¨ Social Studies
The American Revolution
We will be reading My Brother Sam is Dead.
¨ Language Arts
Core Literature
Review areas of weakness in preparation of the STAR Test
Literature Circles
Practice with Grammar and Spelling
Writing – Narrative and Persuasive
¨ Science
Science Teacher - students will be paired up with a partner to teach a state standard to the class from the 4th and 5th grade curriculum to help prepare students for the STAR test.
Project Begins: February 14th
Presentations Begin: March 11th
Planet Fact Book – students will be asked to take a journey through space. On their travels, they will stop at each planet and send home a postcard describing what each one is like. They even get to make up their own planet.
¨ Math – Please be sure to look at the top of the weekly homework online to see what we are presently working on in math. The following concepts will be taught in the upcoming weeks: geometry, area and perimeter of a complex figure, division of decimals, percentages, negative numbers, and a review of concepts we have learned so far this year.
STAR Testing
This year, STAR testing will be occurring the 2 weeks before Spring Break (April 5th – April 15th). I would appreciate full attendance during our week of review prior to STAR testing, unless someone is sick. It is also important that during STAR testing, each child gets the appropriate amount of sleep they require for performing well the next day. During STAR testing, I will be assigning a minimal amount of homework to ensure they are not up late working on homework after they have completed any after school activities.