Click here to sign up to help our class: 
Please email me at myla.manese@ousd.k12.ca.us or mrs.manese@gmail.com if you have any
difficulty completing your sign-up.
February 6, 2012
**Supplies Needed: Our supplies are dwindling away. If you can help us out, we are in need of boxes
of tissues, paper towels, and reams of paper. Thank you!!
Lunar New Year Luncheon: Thank you to Lisa Quan (Joanne’s Mom) and all the other parent helpers
for providing the class a delicious lunch and fun activities!
Food Allergies: Please note that we have students with particular food allergies, such as chocolate,
red dye, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, and pineapple. While those foods can be present at
parties and other events, I would like to suggest that all food donations provide enough variety so
that all students can partake in most of the foods available. Thank you for your cooperation!
Valentine’s Day: Next Tuesday, we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with a party at 2:00 pm.
Please see the SignUpGenius website if you’re available to help out in any way. If your child will be
giving Valentines, please be sure to have him/her address one for each member of our class. Our
class list is on the back of this newsletter.
Oratorical Assembly: Our class along with Mr. Kloess’ class have been practicing our song “I Have A
Dream”. We will be performing this song together at the assembly on Wednesday, the 29th. You are
welcome to be a part of the audience.
Peralta Hacienda: On Monday, students brought home the permission slip for our next field trip.
Please note that we will be going the day before Mr. Kloess’ class. Please contact Dorothy (Matthew’s
Mom) if you’re interested and available to be a driver for this field trip.
Coloma: Our trip to Coloma is fast approaching. On Monday, students brought home a health form
that needs to be completed prior to our trip. Don’t forget to make your final Coloma payment of
$165 by February 24th. Email me if you have any questions.
Portfolios: Each student will be bringing home his/her Portfolio of classwork and tests on
Wednesday. Please remember to look through the papers with your child and sign the sheet in the
Portfolio. Please have your child return all the papers.
Here’s what’s happening this week in our class:
Language Arts: We are reading “The Bridge Dancers”, the third story in our “From Mystery to
Medicine” unit. It is a story about a young girl, Maisie, who is afraid to cross the rickety bridge near
her home. One day her older sister gets hurt in an accident, but their mother, a healer, is with a
patient on the other side of the bridge. Too scared to cross the bridge, Maisie uses her knowledge of
healing to take good care of her sister. Our next story and spelling test will be on Wednesday.
Next, we will be reading “Emily’s Hands-on Experiment”, an article about an 11 year old whose school
project received national attention. Emily Rosa of Colorado conducted an experiment testing the
effectiveness of an alternative form of medicine called therapeutic touch. The article explains how
Emily began with a hypothesis and came up with a method for testing it.
Math: For the last few days, we’ve been reviewing all the math we’ve learned so far in preparation for
our mid-year math benchmark exam. By the end of the week, we will begin Topic 12, Operations
with Decimals. We will learn how to round decimals as well as add, subtract, multiply and divide with
decimals.
BOOF: For the last month, the 4th and 5th grade classes participated in the BOOF (Banking On Our
Future) program. This financial literacy program introduced us to the basics of banking and credit
unions, checking and savings accounts, insurance, credit, and investments. Our final session with
our volunteer, Mr. Sood who is a bank employee, will be on Monday, the 13th.
Upcoming Important Dates:
Monday, 2-6: Helen’s Birthday
Monday, 2-13: Gabby & Kalea’s Birthdays
Tuesday, 2-14: Valentine’s Day Class Party at 2:00 pm
Monday, 2-20: Presidents' Day Holiday (no school)
Wednesday, 2-22: Aidan's Birthday
Friday, 2-24: Final Payment for Coloma is DUE; Birthday Treat Day
Wednesday, 2-29: Leap Day; Oratorical Assembly at 9:00 am
Thursday, 3-1: Field Trip to Peralta Hacienda
Monday, 3-5: Pres' Birthday
Saturday, 3-10: Thornhill Benefit Auction
Thursday, 3-15: Chris' Birthday
Thursday, 3-29: Birthday Treat Day
Friday, 3-30: Cesar Chavez Holiday (no school)