Mr. Chris's and Ms. Patti's Newsletter

Week of September 7th Update

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:08:00 GMT

Hello.

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. We are proud to say that the last of the Saxon Math Books arrived over the weekend. We will be sending them home with the students on Monday to start our Saxon work.

We are also happy to let you know that we have Study Island up and running for all the students. The student’s homework for this weekend is to complete the pre-tests for all of the subjects. For 4th grade that is reading, math and science. For 5th and 6th grade that is reading and math. To log onto Study Island go to http://www.studyisland.com/. The user name is the first letter of the first name plus last name @mission. The password is the first name. An example for Chris Kotila is below:

Username: ckotila@mission

password: chris

A lot of people have been asking about the due date for the book report and whether it is an at home work. Well, the book reports are due Oct. 1st. This gives the students a full four weeks to work on it. It is suppose to be done at home, including the reading.

Thank You

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:49:07 GMT

To our classroom family,

we would like to thank all of the families for their generous contribution to our classroom. Since parent orientation night, we have received many needed classroom supplies including tape, glue, notebooks, quadrille paper, atlases, books, flat screen monitors, and a vacuum. You have made our daily life much easier with your thoughtful donations. Thank you again!

Mr. Chris, Ms. Patti, and your children.

Modge Podge & Gardening Journal

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:58:30 GMT

Hello.

The children’s first gardening assignment was to create and decorate the sketch book that was brought in. They cut out items from magazines, including letters for their name. They look amazing(see photo album below) but unfortunately they are starting to peel off of the covers. Ms. Karen is hoping to have the covers last the year and will need some Modge Podge to make sure that it seals and allow them to last. We are needing roughly 8 jars to fully seal all of the covers in our classroom. We do not have the money for this in the Gardening budget and hope that some jars can be donated. They run for $10 but you can use the 40% off coupon at Michaels.

View Full Album

Sample Picture

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:56:38 GMT

Schedule and Curriculum

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:53:01 GMT

The students are broken up based on skill level and not always grade level.

New lessons taught on following days:

Monday – Computation
Tuesday – Geography & Science
Wednesday – Geometry
Thursday – History
Friday – Language

Daily work…

Follow up and individual lessons
independent work.

Specials

Physical Education
Spanish
Music

Curriculum – Computation

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division of whole numbers
Multiples, Prime Numbers and LCM & GCD
Prime Factorization
Fractions, Decimals, Percents, and Ratios
Pre-algebra (decimonials, cross-multiplication, square roots and cube roots)

Curriculum – Geometry

Nomenclature
Equivalency, Congruency, Similarity
Study of Shapes (Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Polygons, and Circles)
Lines and Angles
Area
Volume
Theory of Pythagoras

Curriculum – Language

Grammar (Parts of Speech and Sentence Analysis)
Spelling
Latin Roots
Vocabulary Building
Writing
Literary Concepts (Alliteration, Figurative Language…)
Novel Study and Reading Comprehension

Curriculum – History

tudy of Great Native American Civilizations
4th Grade – Study of Arizona
5th and 6th Grade – Study of United States (up to 20th century)

Exploration
Colonization
Formation of Government
Presidents

Curriculum – Geography

Principles of Geography
Land and Water Forms
Continents, Countries, Capitals
Study of a Nation (Physical, Political, Cultural, Economic)

4th – Native American
5th – The Americas
6th – The Americas

Curriculum – Science

Science Safety
Study of the Kingdoms

Prokaryots
Protoctista
Fungi
Plants

Magnets
Electricity
Simple Machines (Wedges, Pulley, Lever, Incline Plane, Wheel and Axle, and Screw)

Open House Notes

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:36:47 GMT

Classroom Teachers: Classroom Assistants

Ms. Patti and Mr. Chris Mr. Matthew and Ms. Renee

Communication:

Take home folders sent home every Friday (please return on Monday)
Must have a note to go home with anyone other than parent or people on blue card
Please check your e-mails and our classroom website daily for updates

Lunch & Snacks

Only water (please no juices, Kool-Aid, etc.)
Catered lunch available (including pizza Friday)
Snacks – no chocolate, candy, sugar foods (cookies)

Arrival

Green zone
Playground
After 8:00 considered late.
If late or tardy e-mail teacher.

Departure

Pick up kids on South Side (under canopy)
Time: 3:00 – 3:15
After 3:15 students go to aftercare ($10.00 fee)

Homework

Study Island
Saxon Math( Assigned and due each Monday)
Monthly book reports
Weekly unfinished classroom work sent home on Fridays.

Dress Code

Uniforms

Khaki Shorts
Purple or white shirt (needed for field trips)
Gray sweatshirts only.
Close toed shoes

Animals –send child with a change of clothing to wear when they have animal duty
Gardening – On Monday and Tuesday we have gardening outside. Lather up with sunscreen and bring water bottle & head covering.

Materials Needed

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:08:15 GMT

Hello Everyone.

We know all of you have brought in the materials that we asked on the supply list, but we did not get enough of two materials. We are in need of college ruled lined note books and Elmer's Glue. We do not need 39 of them but we are needing around 20 of each.

Thanks!

Mr. Chris & Ms. Patti

WELCOME BACK!

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:04:02 GMT

We are so happy to begin the new school year and have many exciting activities and experiences planned for your children. This first week will be filled with orientation activities and assessments. We have already begun introducing our procedures and areas of study, and of course we are all getting to know one another. Today we shared our favorites, created our writing folders and had team scavenger hunts to familiarize students with their environment. All students are creating a project about their summer and will need to bring in a small box by Wednesday the latest. Ask them about the assignment. At the end of the day, we played two truths and a lie, a fun group activity that helps the kids get to know their classmates.

A reminder about the snacks and lunch. We encourage healthy snacks and lunch. It is always beneficial if your child has a snack for mid morning that will keep them attentive and alert. Sweets and sugar products are not allowed.

We hope your student enjoyed the day. We did. We have a great group of children! Please email us with any questions and/or concerns. We hope to see all of you at the Open House on the 19th @ 6 PM.

Mr. Chris & Ms. Patti

Catalina Island, Day 3 (Our Goodbye)

Fri, 14 May 2010 19:17:05 GMT

The last day has arrived. It seems like we just stepped off the ferry and were greeted by this guy with a pink mesh cape. It has only been a few days but it has been a lifetime of new experiences for everyone. We have hiked, snorkeled, learned to put on a wetsuit, climbed to the stars, roasted marshmallows over a campfire, petted sharks, held invertebrates, tasted algae, fished for eels, saw videos and fossils of whales and seals, swam out and explored the ocean at night, fed an octopus, saw a one legged pelican, held a lobster and a sea urchin, made friends with a sea cucumber, rode a ferry, shared ground with a bison, stood silently on a hillside with deer. Equally important we made two new friends, our instructors and companions, Kevin & Donnel, saw beautiful scenery, swam in the ocean, walked on the beach, played Frisbee, ate meals with our classmates, and most importantly bonded as a community. We learned things about each other and about ourselves that we could never learn in a classroom.

On our last morning, we rose as usual by seven. The kids on kitchen duty set up breakfast for their class and teachers in the dining room. We sat down to breakfast. After kitchen duty, we put a shine and polish on our dorms and took out bags to the sidewalk. Yeh!! We passed inspection. Down to the beach for a final walk, pictures and Oreos and off to class. First stop, invertebrates, then marine mammals and sea turtles and then the microscope lab where we viewed the different plankton we had seen in the ocean during our snorkeling adventures. Not only were the microscopes state of the art but the lab also had a smart board. We all agreed! One smart board on our classroom wish list. Anyone have an extra?

Morning had come to a close as we headed back to the dorms for final departure instructions. We gathered our belongings, lined up with Kevin and Donnel and made our way down to the ferry. Kevin & Donnel told us that if every group was like us their job would be soooooo easy. We promised to write and lastly, KeviPoo & Doonal promised that if they heard us yelling goodbye as the ferry pulled away from the dock, they would dive off the dock without a wetsuit into the cold ocean. We climbed on the ferry, the ferry pulled out, and we yelled as loud as we could, “Goodbye KeviPoo and Doonal!”. Then there they were, in the air falling into the cold ocean. We cheered and waved. We were sad to say goodbye to CIMI and our new friends. One good thought, “We hope, we hope to see our friends again.” “We hope to return to CIMI next year.”

THANK YOU MS. BETTY, MS. JODENE, OUR PARENTS AND THE MMPTG FOR GIVING US THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY. THANK YOU TOO MS. MARILYN & MS. PAIGE FOR TAKING SUCH GOOD CARE OF OUR CLASSMATES. ………AND TO OUR 4^TH GRADE CLASSMATES, WE MISSED YOU!! THANK YOU FOR OUR WELCOME HOME SIGN!! WE LOVED IT! HAVE FUN ON YOUR SPECIAL FIELD TRIP!!

THE 5^TH & 6^TH GRADERS and MR. CHRIS & MS. PATTI

View Full Album

Catalina Island, Day 2 (A Night to Remember)

Fri, 07 May 2010 05:37:12 GMT

It all started with monkey in the middle. First with 3 people. Than with 4 people. And it ended up with the entire class playing Monkey in the Middle. We continued to play for a good 15 min until we found the most exciting game of Catalina Island trip, hitting the can with the Frisbee! It happened to be a Dr. Pepper. I dub this game, hitting the Dr. The game ended when Joey hurled the Frisbee through the air and hit the Dr. square on the side! After that, we met up with Kevin and headed down for our final snorkeling session. The only difference is that it was at night and there were small glowing orbs of red floating around. This is what they call night snorkeling. Imagine swimming through the ocean only able to see the light shining down to the ocean floor and little red and blue lights bobbing with the waves. As the students are looking down towards the ocean floor a dark object quickly darts by. You hear a muffled yell from all the students as they realize a leopard shark just swam by. After a while the students calmed down and began to look down at the sea floor again. Haley saw a small translucent object floating by. The arms of the jelly fish decide to wrap themselves around her arm, but luckily the belly flop proof wetsuits are thick enough that nothing happened. As the students begin to turn around, they approach the beach. The waves wash them up as if they were drifting wood floating to the beach. Then the ritual dance of the wetsuit starts up again, as the students begin to undress and warm up, with hot chocolate, in the cool night air.

To wrap up a great day, the students and teachers got together in a room and hung out. We were talking about their favorite things of the day.

To sum up the evening and day, the BEP say it best, “I gotta feelin’ that today was a good day.
That today was a good night.”